Veterinary medicine for horses encompasses the study and application of medical practices to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases in equine species. This field involves a comprehensive understanding of equine anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Veterinary practitioners employ a range of diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions to address health issues in horses, including lameness, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory conditions, and infectious diseases. Preventative care, such as vaccination and deworming programs, is also a significant aspect of equine veterinary medicine. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of veterinary medicine as it pertains to horses, including advancements in diagnostic techniques, treatment protocols, and preventive health strategies.
The approach to respiratory diseases in donkeys is similar to that for horses; nevertheless, Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and tracheal wash cytology in this species have been described only a few times in the literature. To describe BALF cytological findings in a cohort of 24 healthy Amiata donkeys. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was carried out via standing sedation with a large animal where the BAL catheter passed blindly through the nasal passage into the trachea. The total nucleated cell count of the BALF was found similar to that already described in healthy horses and donkeys. No di...
Meeremans M, Van Damme L, De Spiegelaere W, Van Vlierberghe S, De Schauwer C.(1) Background: Tendinopathy is a common injury in both human and equine athletes. Representative in vitro models are mandatory to facilitate translation of fundamental research into successful clinical treatments. Natural biomaterials like gelatin provide favorable cell binding characteristics and are easily modifiable. In this study, methacrylated gelatin (gel-MA) and norbornene-functionalized gelatin (gel-NB), crosslinked with 1,4-dithiotreitol (DTT) or thiolated gelatin (gel-SH) were compared. (2) Methods: The physicochemical properties (H-NMR spectroscopy, gel fraction, swelling ratio, an...
Veado HC, Silva AS, Fagundes JLA, Bittencourt AA, de Castro MB, Câmara ACL.Skin lesions are among the leading diseases in equids, and the urogenital region is considered the third most frequently affected body location with tumors and tumor-like skin lesions in horses. Tumor-like skin lesions or multiple tumors of different types in the equine prepuce and penis are a challenging clinical presentation leading to misdiagnosis and subsequent ineffective treatment. An 18-year-old 395-kg male mixed-breed gelding was referred for evaluation of preputial enlargement. Clinical examination revealed a 2.5 × 2.0 × 0.8 cm proliferative ulcerated lesion on the penile mucosa...
Suthar A, Maji C, Gopalkrishnan A, Raval SH, Kumar R, Kumar S.Theileria equi and Babesia caballi are the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis (EP). Currently, imidocarb dipropionate (ID) is the only available drug for treating the clinical form of EP. Serious side effects and incomplete clearance of infection is a major drawback of ID. Heat-shock proteins (Hsp) play a vital role in the life cycle of these haemoprotozoans by preventing alteration in protein conformation. These Hsp are activated during transmission of EP sporozoites from the tick vector (poikilotherm) to the natural host (homeotherm) and facilitate parasite survival. In the present stu...
Lizarraga I, Panizzi L, Gieseg MA, Riley CB, Chambers JP.To evaluate thermal nociceptive thresholds (TNTs) before and after inducing a standardized radiocarpal bone osteochondral fracture (OCF) in horses. Methods: Prospective, controlled, randomized, masked study. Methods: A group of 10 Thoroughbred fillies aged 2 years. Methods: Skin temperature and TNTs were measured on the skin over the triceps brachii muscle in both the thoracic limbs before (week 0) and weekly (weeks 1-8) after unilateral arthroscopic induction of a radiocarpal OCF (n = 4) or sham surgery (n = 6) followed by a standardized exercise programme. The contralateral, non-operated t...
Bastos RG, Sears KP, Dinkel KD, Kappmeyer L, Ueti MW, Knowles DP, Fry LM.The apicomplexan parasite is one of two known causative agents of equine theileriosis. It causes milder clinical disease than its more virulent counterpart, , in experimentally infected horses, and can superinfect -positive horses. The current equi merozoite antigen 1 (EMA1)-based competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)used in the U.S. to detect equine theileriosis detects but not , and the complexity of molecular assays precludes widespread use for epidemiologic studies. In order to facilitate urgently needed studies on the prevalence of , the goal of this study was to develop...
Pan W, Shen Z, Wang H, He H.Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an archetypal member of Mononegavirales which causes important diseases in cattle, horses and pigs. The matrix protein (M) of VSV plays critical roles in the replication, assembly/budding and pathogenesis of VSV. To further investigate the role of M during viral growth, we used a two-hybrid system to screen for host factors that interact with the M protein. Here, NADH: ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex assembly factor 4 (Ndufaf4) was identified as an M-binding partner, and this interaction was confirmed by yeast cotransformation and GST pulldown assays. ...
Weller D, Franklin S, White P, Shea G, Fenner K, Wilson B, Wilkins C, McGreevy P.This article reports on the results of a survey of racehorse trainers (n = 112) outlining the reasons for tongue-tie (TT) and noseband (NB) use by Thoroughbred trainers (TBTs) (n = 72) and Standardbred trainers (SBTs) (n = 40). The study also investigated the reported effectiveness of TTs and possible complications arising from their use. Tongue-tie use was reported by 62.5% (n = 70) of racehorse trainers. The reasons for TT use varied between TBTs and SBTs. For TBTs, the most common reason for TT use was to prevent or reduce airway obstruction (72.3%, n = 34), followed closely by to prevent o...
Ferrando Meseguer E, Roig Sánchez S, Pino Almero L, Romano Bataller A, Mínguez Rey MF.Talipes equinovarus or clubfoot is a congenital deformity of the foot with bone, muscle, and tendon involvement. It's one of the most frequent foot malformations in pediatric orthopedics. Although generally idiopathic, it may have a syndromic cause and be associated with musculoskeletal, neurological, or connective tissue conditions. The treatment of choice in idiopathic clubfoot is the Ponseti method based on manipulation and fixation with serial casts that seek progressive correction of the deformity. The Ponseti method effectiveness has been demonstrated in arthrogryposis and myelomeningoce...
Shaffer SK, Sachs N, Garcia TC, Fyhrie DP, Stover SM.To assess the motion of the proximal sesamoid bones (PSBs) relative to the third metacarpal bone (MC3) of equine forelimbs during physiologic midstance loads. Methods: 8 musculoskeletally normal forelimbs (7 right and 1 left) from 8 adult equine cadavers. Methods: Each forelimb was harvested at the mid-radius level and mounted in a material testing system so the hoof could be moved in a dorsal direction while the radius and MC3 remained vertical. The PSBs were instrumented with 2 linear variable differential transformers to record movement between the 2 bones. The limb was sequentially loaded ...
De Clercq E, Den Hondt S, De Baere C, Martens AM.To compare the effect of multiple wound dressings on microbial growth in a perfused equine wound model. Methods: Abdominal musculocutaneous flaps from 16 equine cadavers. Methods: 8 full-thickness skin wound covered were created in each flap. Tissues were perfused with saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. Wounds were inoculated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Pseudomonas aeruginosa (106 CFUs), incubated, and covered with a dressing containing activated charcoal, boric acid, cadexomer iodine, calcium alginate, manuka honey, nanoparticle silver, or polyhexamethylene biguanide ...
Lindroth KM, Dicksved J, Pelve E, Båverud V, Müller CE.Free faecal liquid (FFL) is a condition in horses which manifests as differential defecation of solid and liquid phases of faeces. The etiology of FFL is currently unknown, but deviances in the hindgut microbiota has been suggested to be of importance. The present study aimed to compare the faecal bacterial composition of farm-matched horses with (case, n = 50) and without (control, n = 50) FFL. Samples were collected at three different occasions. The V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene were amplified and sequenced using Illumina sequencing. Also, samples were cultivated for detecti...
Trachsel DS, Calloe K, J Rgensen E, Lunddahl CS, Pedersen PJ, Kanters JRK, Klaerke DA, Buhl R.To determine whether administration of trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (TMS), detomidine (DET), or TMS plus DET would be associated with changes in ECG repolarization parameters in horses. Methods: 9 healthy adult horses. Methods: Each horse received 4 treatments in a blinded, randomized, crossover study design as follows: TMS, 16 to 24 mg/kg, IV; DET, 0.015 to 0.02 mg/kg, IV; TMS plus DET; and saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. Surface ECG traces were obtained over 24 hours, and repolarization parameters were measured at predefined time points after each treatment and compared with a 2-way ANOVA for repe...
Muraro LS, Souza AO, Leite TNS, Cândido SL, Melo ALT, Toma HS, Carvalho MB, Dutra V, Nakazato L, Cabezas-Cruz A, Aguiar DM.The genus includes tick-borne bacterial pathogens affecting humans, domestic and wild mammals. has been identified in different animal species and geographical locations, suggesting that this is a widely distributed and generalist . In the present study, we evaluated infection in 148 Equidae presented to the Medical Clinic Department of a Veterinary Hospital from a midwestern region of Brazil. Blood samples and ticks collected from the animals were tested by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for the presence of spp. A multigenic approach including Anaplasmataceae-specific (i.e., 16S rRNA, , ...
Lee AKK, Uhl EW, Osborn ML.Therapies based upon whole-body biomechanical assessments are successful for injury prevention and rehabilitation in human athletes. Similar approaches have rarely been used to study equine athletic injury. Degenerative osteoarthritis caused by mechanical stress can originate from chronic postural dysfunction, which, because the primary dysfunction is often distant from the site of tissue injury, is best identified through modeling whole-body biomechanics. To characterize whole-body equine kinematics, a realistic skeletal model of a horse was created from equine computed tomography (CT) data t...
Farag AMM, Ibrahim HMM.The current study was undertaken to investigate the effect of intravenous administration of ondansetron on the small and large intestinal motility in donkeys (Equus asinus) using non-invasive transabdominal ultrasonography. The current prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study was conducted on thirty healthy donkeys (15 males and 15 females). The selected donkeys underwent two trials; the first was performed by intravenous administration of saline solution as a placebo, while the second was carried out by intravenous administration of ondansetron hydrochloride. The contracti...
Vitale V, Berg LC, Larsen BB, Hannesdottir A, Dybdahl Thomsen P, Laursen SH, Verwilghen D, van Galen G.This pilot prospective study reports the feasibility, management and cost of the use of a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system in critically ill adult horses and foals. We compared the glucose measurements obtained by the CGM device with blood glucose (BG) concentrations. Neonatal foals (0-2 weeks of age) and adult horses (> 1 year old) admitted in the period of March-May 2016 with clinical and laboratory parameters compatible with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) were included. Glucose concentration was monitored every 4 hours on blood samples with a point-of-care (POC) gl...
Canola PA, Cardenas JJ, Sá GC, de Paula VB.To evaluate the feasibility of performing needle arthroscopy of the scapulohumeral joint and bicipital bursa in standing horses by using the thoracic limbs of euthanized horses. To that purpose, this experimental study was designed. Ten thoracic limbs, five left and five right from euthanized horses were retained in an upright position to simulate a standing horse. The craniolateral and lateral scapulohumeral arthroscopic portals were used to access the articular structures. A third (caudal) portal was also identified and described. The degree of difficulty in accessing the articular space and...
Rossi TM, Kavsak PA, Maxie MG, Pearl DL, Pyle WG, Physick-Sheard PW.Accumulating evidence indicates intense exercise can be associated with myocardial damage. Investigating the impact of maximal effort on myocardium and exploring possible association of injury with rhythm disturbance requires a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin assay. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the effect of racing on serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in Standardbred horses using a high-sensitivity assay; (2) to determine the 99th percentile of cTnI in healthy horses and investigate the effect of demographic variables on cTnI prevailing pre-race in Standardbred horses us...
Górski K, Tremaine H, Obrochta B, Buczkowska R, Turek B, Bereznowski A, Rakowska A, Polkowska I.The aim of this paper is to thoroughly describe the etiology, diagnostic processes and recommended treatment of equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH). It is a relatively recently described disease. Most recent reports show that it is a common problem involving older equine patients. The most common and significant symptom of EOTRH is oral pain. The main clinical signs include periodontitis and gingivitis with a gingival recession, alveolar bone protrusion, periodontic fistulas and soreness of the incisors. When establishing the final diagnosis, it is necessary to co...
Zarski LM, Giessler KS, Jacob SI, Weber PSD, McCauley AG, Lee Y, Soboll Hussey G.Equine herpesvirus-1 is the cause of respiratory disease, abortion, and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in horses worldwide. EHM affects as many as 14% of infected horses and a cell-associated viremia is thought to be central for EHM pathogenesis. While EHM is infrequent in younger horses, up to 70% of aged horses develop EHM. The aging immune system likely contributes to EHM pathogenesis; however, little is known about the host factors associated with clinical EHM. Here, we used the "old mare model" to induce EHM following EHV-1 infection. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC...
Bauck AG, Nelson E, McLain A, Cock G, Sanchez LC, Freeman DE.To describe a modified celiotomy to improve access to cranial abdominal structures in horses. Methods: Four horses. Methods: Short case series. Methods: Three horses with gastric impactions were treated with gastrotomies. One horse was treated for a diaphragmatic hernia with herniorrhaphy and mesh augmentation. In all horses, the ventral midline celiotomy was modified cranially with a J-incision through the body wall, along the paracostal arch. Results: The only surgical complications were midline incisional infections in all horses. Three of the four horses had good long-term outcomes; the re...
Li J, Zhao Y, Gao Y, Zhu Y, Holyoak GR, Zeng S.Bacterial infections are the main causes of endometritis in mares. It is well known that the most common bacterial pathogen is Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (SEZ). This structured review was completed according to the PRISMA procedure to search endometritis treatment protocols published between 1990 and 2020 it was our intent to evaluate the actual effects of different treatment protocols for endometritis caused by SEZ. The trials included were collected from Pubmed, CAB and Agricola. Ten articles with 116 horses and 17 different interventions were identified. The results of this...
Hagen J, Geburek F, Kathrinaki V, Naem MA, Roecken M, Hoffmann J.This study aimed to examine how short-term loss of proprioception in the equine foot influences the individual COP path during the stance phase of the trot in sound horses. Ten horses were evaluated to be objectively non-lame using the 'Equinosis Q System and subsequently examined using a portable pressure measuring system with pressure foils fixed directly underneath both front hooves prior to and after perineural anesthesia of the palmar digital nerves. The individual COP paths of both forelimbs was assessed prior to and after unilateral and bilateral abaxial sesamoid nerve blocks. COP from ...
Keating DL, Lehman JS, Burk SV.Identification of factors associated with parasite infestation in horses could reduce frequency of anthelmintic administration and slow development of anthelmintic resistance. The study aim was to evaluate management factors, equine characteristics, and equine salivary cortisol concentrations for association with strongyle-type egg shedding levels. As immunocompromised horses appear to be more susceptible to parasite infestation, it was hypothesized that salivary cortisol concentration could be associated with parasite egg shedding. Saliva and fecal samples were collected from 200 horses acros...
Ramírez A CE, Hurtado-Macías A, Talamantes R, Flores E, Ladrón de Guevara HP, Delgado JI, Estrella RA, Riestra JM, Montes JM, Esmonde-White K....Guided bone regeneration surgeries are based on grafting a scaffold in the site to be repaired. The main focus of the scaffold is to provide mechanical support to newly formed blood vessels and cells that will colonize the grafted site, achiving bone regenertation. In this regards, the aim of this study was to characterize the anatomy, structular, surface morphologycal, chemical composition, and nanomechanical properties of ostrich and equine trabecular bone. Ostrich and equine specimens were obtained from a local abattoir and bone was obtained by blunt dissection, n = 5. Tissue bone anatomy...
Teodorowski O, Kalinowski M, Winiarczyk D, Janecki R, Winiarczyk S, Adaszek Ł.The purpose of the study was to carry out the molecular surveillance of piroplasmosis, granulocytic anaplasmosis and lyme borreliosis in horses which originated from Poland and exhibited symptoms raising the suspicion of the aforementioned disease units. The presence of Theileria equi genetic material was detected in 37 out of 512 examined horses (7.2%), and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in 9 (1.8%). The DNA of Borrelia burgdorferi was found in 11 out of 204 examined horses (5.4%). The above-cited results indicate that the problem of tick-borne diseases affecting horses in Poland is not as signifi...
Holcomb KE, Tucker CB, Stull CL.Housing recommendations for horses invariably include providing access to shade on hot, sunny days, but the potential benefits have not been scientifically studied. This experiment measured physiological, behavioral, and serological responses of horses confined individually to completely shaded (SH) or completely unshaded (SUN) drylot pens during the summer in Davis, CA. Twelve healthy adult horses in a crossover design experienced both treatments for 5 d each. Rectal temperature, respiration rate, skin temperature, and sweat scores were recorded hourly from 1230 to 1730 h daily. Observations ...
Matera MG, Calzetta L, Rogliani P, Bardaro F, Page CP, Cazzola M.Equine obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as heaves or recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a common equine pulmonary disease with some similarities to human asthma and COPD, which represents a major cause of morbidity and loss of lung performance. Salbutamol has been widely used for the treatment of human airway diseases and has usually been prepared as the racemic form of the drug. However, recently the R-enantiomer of salbutamol has been introduced into clinical practice in the treatment of asthma in humans and this has been suggested to be an improvement on the racemic form of the ...
Evers F, Garcia JL, Navarro IT, Zulpo DL, Nino Bde S, Ewald MP, Pagliari S, Almeida JC, Freire RL.This study aimed to investigate anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and to isolate the parasite from the brains of horses processed at slaughterhouses in Brazil. We collected brain and blood samples from 398 horses of various ages, from six Brazilian states. Serum samples were evaluated by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT cut-off titre ≥ 1:64), and brains were submitted to mouse bioassay. Among the 398 horses, positivity for T. gondii was identified in 46 (11.6%) by IFAT and in 14 (3.5%) by mouse bioassay. In 12 of those 14 bioassays, mice were positive only by IFAT (cut-off titre ≥ ...
Vaccaro C, Busetto R, Bernardini D, Anselmi C, Zotti A.To evaluate the precision and accuracy of assessing bone mineral density (BMD) by use of mean gray value (MGV) on digitalized and digital images of conventional and digital radiographs, respectively, of ex vivo bovine and equine bone specimens in relation to the gold-standard technique of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Methods: Left and right metatarsal bones from 11 beef cattle and right femurs from 2 horses. Methods: Bovine specimens were imaged by use of conventional radiography, whereas equine specimens were imaged by use of computed radiography (digital radiography). Each specim...
Dorado J, Acha D, Ortiz I, Gálvez MJ, Carrasco JJ, Gómez-Arrones V, Calero-Carretero R, Hidalgo M.The main aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two commercially available liquid stallion semen extenders for the preservation of Andalusian donkey semen at 5°C for up to 72h, and to evaluate the effect of amino acid addition on sperm quality of cooled donkey semen. In addition, this study investigated the effect of seasons on semen characteristics of Andalusian jackasses. Throughout a year, 50 ejaculates were collected from ten adult donkeys and a complete semen evaluation was performed immediately after collection. In Experiment 1, semen samples (n=32) were pooled, divided into ...
Lindsay AM, Zhang M, Mitchell Z, Holden MTG, Waller AS, Sutcliffe IC, Black GW.Streptococcus equi causes equine 'strangles'. Hyaluronate lyases, which degrade connective tissue hyaluronan and chondroitins, are thought to facilitate streptococcal invasion of the host. However, prophage-encoded hyaluronate lyases are hyaluronan-specific and are thought to be primarily involved in the degradation of the hyaluronan capsule of streptococci during bacteriophage infection. To understand the role of prophage-encoded hyaluronate lyases further, we have biochemically characterized such a hyaluronate lyase, SEQ2045 from S. equi, and have shown that it is produced during equine infe...
Santos RG, Hurtado R, Gomes LGR, Profeta R, Rifici C, Attili AR, Spier SJ, Mazzullo G, Morais-Rodrigues F, Gomide ACP, Brenig B, Gala-García A....Bacteria of the genusGlutamicibacterare considered ubiquitous because they can be found in soil, water and air. They have already been isolated from different habitats, including different types of soil, clinical samples, cheese and plants. Glutamicibacter creatinolyticus is a Gram-positive bacterium important to various biotechnological processes, however, as a pathogen it is associated to urinary tract infections and bacteremia. Recently,Glutamicibacter creatinolyticusLGCM 259 was isolated from a mare, which displayed several diffuse subcutaneous nodules with heavy vascularization. In this s...
Hainisch EK, Brandt S, Shafti-Keramat S, Van den Hoven R, Kirnbauer R.Infection with bovine papillomaviruses types 1 and 2 (BPV-1, BPV-2) can lead to the development of therapy-resistant skin tumours termed sarcoids and possibly other skin diseases in equids. Although sarcoids seriously compromise the welfare of affected animals and cause considerable economic losses, no prophylactic vaccine is available to prevent this common disease. In several animal species and man, immunisation with papillomavirus-like particles (VLP) has been shown to protect efficiently from papillomaviral infection. Objective: BPV-1 L1 VLPs may constitute a safe and highly immunogenic va...
Pavone S, Veronesi F, Genchi C, Fioretti DP, Brianti E, Mandara MT.In this study, pathological changes caused by Anoplocephala perfoliata in the ileocecal junction were investigated in 31 regularly slaughtered mixed-breed horses of both sexes. Our results showed a significant relationship between parasite burden and grading of histopathological lesions in the mucosa and submucosa. Hypertrophy of the circular muscle layer was found in infected horses. Moreover, enteric nervous system evaluation showed a significant injury of intestinal nervous elements in the horses with moderate to high parasitism expressed as an increase of degenerative-regressive changes in...
Hui A, Altan E, Slovis N, Fletcher C, Deng X, Delwart E.Circoviruses infect vertebrates where they can result in a wide range of disease signs or in asymptomatic infections. Using viral metagenomics we analyzed a pool of five sera from four healthy and one sick horse. Sequences from parvovirus-H, equus anellovirus, and distantly related to mammalian circoviruses were recognized. PCR identified the circovirus reads as originating from a pregnant mare with fever and hepatitis. That horse's serum was also positive by real time PCR for equine parvovirus H and negative for the flavivirus equine hepacivirus. The complete circular genome of equine circovi...
Williams CA, Lamprecht ED.Most herbs and functional foods have not been scientifically tested; this is especially true for the horse. This paper reviews some of the literature pertinent to herbal supplementation in horses and other species. Common supplements like Echinacea, garlic, ginger, ginseng, and yucca are not regulated, and few studies have investigated safe, efficacious doses. Ginseng has been found to exert an inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokines and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Equine studies have tested the anti-inflammatory effects of a single dose of ginger, post-exercise. Echinacea has been re...
Reis JL, de Carvalho EC, Nogueira RH, Lemos LS, Mendoza L.Three cases of equine subcutaneous pythiosis with dissemination to the internal organs were investigated. The subcutaneous lesions were observed on the mammary gland, nostrils and limbs of the infected horses. Histopathological analysis of the infected tissues revealed a strong eosinophilic reaction, with macrophages, mast cells and giant cells. Sparsely septated hyphal filaments of 4-6 microm diameter were identified in the center of the eosinophilic areas. Specific fluorescent antibody against Pythium insidiosum confirmed the hyphae in the infected tissues in three examined horses. In one of...
Bhide M, Yilmaz Z, Golcu E, Torun S, Mikula I.The aim of the study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in a population of Turkish dogs and horses, as well as to compare the sensitivity of novel flow-cytometry-based borreliacidal antibody test (BAT) with ELISA assay. Serum samples collected from 400 dogs and 300 horses were tested with enzyme-linked protein A/G assay (ELPAGA), using Borrelia whole cell antigens. ELPAGA test showed 93 dogs (23.2%) and 18 horses (6%) serologically positive for anti-Borrelia antibodies. In parallel testing of sera with BAT, we found 27.75% positive dogs and 6.33% positi...
Pohlin F, Brabender K, Fluch G, Stalder G, Petit T, Walzer C. Ecosystems with seasonal fluctuations in climate and food availability present physiological challenges to resident mammals and may cause "stress." The two predominant physiological responses to stressors are (1) the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and (2) the modulation of the autonomic nervous system. To date, the primary indicator for "stress" in wildlife- and zoo animal research are glucocorticoid levels. By measuring the autonomic regulation of cardiac activity, particularly the vagal tone, heart rate variability (HRV) is presently emerging as a suitable indicator o...
Nicholson AM, Trumble TN, Merritt KA, Brown MP.To determine the effects of horse age, osteochondral injury, and joint type on a synthesis biomarker and 3 degradative biomarkers of type II collagen in Thoroughbreds. Methods: Healthy rested adult (3- to 12-year-old) Thoroughbreds (n = 19), yearling (1- to 2-year-old) Thoroughbreds (40), and Thoroughbred racehorses (2 to 7 years old) undergoing arthroscopic surgery for removal of osteochondral fragments that resulted from training or racing (41). Methods: Samples of blood and metacarpophalangeal, metatarsophalangeal, or carpal joint synovial fluid (SF) were collected from all horses. Commerci...
Lee MC, Seonwoo H, Jang KJ, Pandey S, Lim J, Park S, Kim JE, Choung YH, Garg P, Chung JH.Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a representative substance that induces bone regeneration. Our research team extracted nanohydroxyapatite (EH) from natural resources, especially equine bones, and developed it as a molecular biological tool. Polyethylenimine (PEI) was used to coat the EH to develop a gene carrier. To verify that PEI is well coated in the EH, we first observed the morphology and dispersity of PEI-coated EH (pEH) by electron microscopy. The pEH particles were well distributed, while only the EH particles were not distributed and aggregated. Then, the existence of nitrogen elements of PEI ...
van Galen G, Leblond A, Tritz P, Martinelle L, Pronost S, Saegerman C.Diagnosis of equine herpesvirus-1 associated myeloencephalopathy (EHM) can be troublesome, but early recognition and knowledge of risk factors are essential for prevention and control. The objectives for this study are to (1) describe EHM in France, (2) improve clinical recognition, (3) identify risk factors. Through epidemiosurveillance of acute neurological cases (all considered to be potentially infectious cases) in France (2008-2011), 26 EHM cases were identified and 29 EHM negative control cases. EHM cases were described and compared to controls with univariate, multivariate and classific...
Fadok VA, Greiner EC.Forty-four seasonally pruritic horses and 21 asymptomatic horses in Florida, USA, were tested for insect, grass and mould hypersensitivity by intradermal injection of allergenic extracts. The affected horses ranged in age from 10 months to over 30 years and included a variety of breeds. Affected horses reacted to varying dilutions of extracts made from Culicoides, mosquitoes, horse flies and black flies. Reactions to Culicoides were more intense than those caused by injection of antigens from other arthropods. Mild pruritus existed from the end of February until the end of June when the condit...
Powell K.A promising new horse vaccine may reignite enthusiasm for DNA vaccine technology in designing prophylactics against infectious disease. Kendall Powell reports.
Alves Ada S, Melo AL, Amorim MV, Borges AM, Gaíva E Silva L, Martins TF, Labruna MB, Aguiar DM, Pacheco RC.The aim of the study was to evaluate exposure of equids to rickettsial agents (Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia parkeri, 'Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii', Rickettsia rhipicephali, and Rickettsia bellii) and rickettsial infection in ticks of a Pantanal region of Brazil. Sera of 547 equids (500 horses and 47 donkeys) were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence assay. In total, 665 adults and 106 nymphal pools of Amblyomma cajennense F. sensu lato, 10 Dermacentor nitens Neumann ticks, and 88 larval pools of Amblyomma sp. were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Overall, 337 (61.6%) eq...
Onmaz AC, Beutel RG, Schneeberg K, Pavaloiu AN, Komarek A, van den Hoven R.Most diseases of horses with zoonotic importance are transmitted by arthropods. The vectors belong to two very distantly related groups, the chelicerate Ixodidae (Acari = ticks) and the hexapod Diptera (true flies). Almost all relevant species are predestined for transmitting pathogens by their blood-sucking habits. Especially species of Diptera, one of the megadiverse orders of holometabolan insects (ca. 150.000 spp.), affect the health status and performance of horses during the grazing period in summer. The severity of pathological effect depends on the pathogen, but also on the group of ve...
Richt JA, Grabner A, Herzog S.Borna disease is a sporadically occurring, progressive viral polioencephalomyelitis that primarily affects horses and sheep. The etiological agent, Borna disease virus (BDV), is an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus that has been classified in the new virus family Bornaviridae within the order Mononegavirales. Serological evidence of BDV infection has been found in an increasing number of countries throughout the world. After an incubation period lasting a few weeks to several months, BDV infection can cause locomotor and sensory dysfunction followed by paralysis and death. Borna disease is ...
Buckley P, Dunn T, More SJ.Pony Club is one of the leading junior equestrian organisations in the world, and was established to teach young people the many aspects of horsemanship. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the health and performance of Pony Club horses from the perspective of their owners. In-depth interviews were conducted with Pony Club members at two sites in Australia, and topics relating to participants' background with horses, horse attributes valued by participants, horse health and performance, and Pony Club-related matters. The in-depth interviews were taped, transcribed and analyse...
Baumann C, Daly CM, McDonnell SM, Viveiros MM, De La Fuente R.Pairing of the sex chromosomes during mammalian meiosis is characterized by the formation of a unique heterochromatin structure at the XY body. The mechanisms underlying the formation of this nuclear domain are reportedly highly conserved from marsupials to mammals. In this study, we demonstrate that in contrast to all eutherian species studied to date, partial synapsis of the heterologous sex chromosomes during pachytene stage in the horse is not associated with the formation of a typical macrochromatin domain at the XY body. While phosphorylated histone H2AX (γH2AX) and macroH2A1.2 are pres...
Aguilar-Lazcano CA, Espinosa-Curiel IE, Ríos-Martínez JA, Madera-Ramírez FA, Pérez-Espinosa H.The development of technology, such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, has significantly advanced many fields of study. Animal research is no exception, as these technologies have enabled data collection through various sensing devices. Advanced computer systems equipped with artificial intelligence capabilities can process these data, allowing researchers to identify significant behaviors related to the detection of illnesses, discerning the emotional state of the animals, and even recognizing individual animal identities. This review includes articles in the English langu...
Baselgia S, Doherr MG, Mellor P, Torsteinsdottir S, Jermann T, Zurbriggen A, Jungi T, Marti E.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated allergic dermatitis caused by bites of Culicoides and Simulium species, and improved means of diagnosis are required. Objective: The cellular antigen simulation test (CAST) with C. nubeculosus and S. vittatum extracts was assessed in a population of IBH-affected and healthy horses. Variations in test results over a one year period and possible cross-reactivity between different insect extracts was studied. Methods: A total of 314 mature horses were studied using the CAST. Influence of severity of clinical signs, gender and age were evaluate...
Kristensen L, Buhl R, Nostell K, Bak L, Petersen E, Lindholm M, Jacobsen S.The purpose of the study was to investigate whether acute strenuous exercise (1600- to 2500-m race) would elicit an acute phase response (APR) in Standardbred trotters. Blood levels of several inflammatory markers [serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin, fibrinogen, white blood cell count (WBC), and iron], muscle enzymes [creatinine kinase (CK) and aspartate transaminase (AST)], and hemoglobin were assessed in 58 Standardbred trotters before and after racing. Hemoglobin levels increased and iron levels decreased 12 to 14 h after racing and haptoglobin concentrations, white blood cell counts, and i...
