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.
Hughes KJ, Nicolson L, Da Costa N, Franklin SH, Allen KJ, Dunham SP.Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is a common disorder of performance horses and is associated with poor performance and accumulation of mucus and inflammatory cells in lower airway secretions. Horses with IAD frequently have increased relative counts of neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); less commonly relative counts of eosinophils and/or mast cells may be increased. The aetiopathogenesis of IAD is unknown and may involve innate and/or acquired immune responses to various factors including respirable dust constituents, micro-organisms, noxious gases and unconditioned air. The...
Alberghina D, Giannetto C, Piccione G.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of exercise on plasma tryptophan (TRP) and free serotonin (f5-HT), whole blood-5-HT (WB-5-HT) and f5-HT/WB-5-HT ratio in Italian Saddle horses. Six clinically healthy Italian Saddle horses were subjected to a 450 meters obstacles course. Blood samples were collected from each horse by jugular venipuncture using vacutainer tubes with K(3)-EDTA at rest, immediately after exercise, and after 30 min. TRP, f5-HT and WB-5-HT were analyzed by HPLC. Immediately after exercise, statistically significant increases of f5-HT (p <0.001) and WB-5-HT (p...
White SD, Bourdeau P.Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) in Quarter Horses is an inherited degenerative skin disease. Initially reported as hyperelastosis cutis, HERDA has a phenotype of hyperextensible, fragile skin, with secondary seromas, haematomas, ulcers and scarring. It primarily affects the dorsal aspect of the body. An autosomal recessive mode of inheritance is considered likely, with affected horses more at risk to produce affected offspring. A mutation in cyclophilin B (PPIB) as a novel, causal candidate gene for HERDA has been described, and verified as segregating with carriers and affe...
Taylor P, Scarth JP, Hillyer LL.Within equine drug surveillance, there is significant interest in analyzing intact phase II conjugates of drugs in urine, but progress has been limited by a lack of reference material. Methods: In this study, in vitro techniques using equine liver fractions were employed to produce glucuronide and sulfate conjugates of stanozolol, 16β-hydroxystanozolol and nandrolone, the glucuronide conjugate of morphine and the glutathione metabolite of chlordinitrobenzene for the first time in equine sports drug surveillance. Results: The glucuronide conjugate of the synthetic progestagen altrenogest was a...
Newcombe JR, Cuervo-Arango J.One hundred and fifty-four mares were inseminated with fresh semen either during the pre- or post-ovulatory periods at different intervals relative to ovulation: 36-24 h (n = 17) and 24-0 h (n = 30) before ovulation; 0-8 h (n = 21), 8-16 h (n = 24), 16-24 h (n = 48) and 24-32 h (n = 14) h after ovulation. All mares received the same routine post-mating treatment consisting of an intrauterine infusion with 1 litre of saline and antibiotics followed 8 h later by an intravenous administration of oxytocin. Artificial inseminations (AI) from 36 h before ovulation up to 16 h post-ovulation were perf...
Song JW, Na KS, Tae SH, Kim YK.During the last two decades, Borna disease virus (BDV) has received much attention as a possible zoonotic agent, particularly as a cause of psychiatric disease. Although several studies have shown that BDV is present in Asia, BDV has not been detected in Korea. This study was designed to further investigate the presence of BDV infection in Korea. Methods: Blood samples were taken from 39 race horses and 48 jockeys. Antibody to BDV was detected by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test and RNA of BDV by real time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR). Results: No evidence of BDV was detected i...
Dickey EJ, McKenzie H, Johnson A, Furr MO.Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is used in human medicine in the management of vasodilatory shock and cardiac arrest, but it is not widely used in equine neonatal intensive care because of concerns about potential side effects and suboptimal efficacy. This retrospective study reports the clinical use of AVP and norepinephrine (NE) in foals with refractory hypotension. Objective: To report the cardiovascular responses and fluid balance in critically ill, hypotensive foals receiving either NE or AVP. Methods: The medical records of neonatal foals (<7 days of age) from 2000 to 2007 admitted to the ...
Schmitz A, Demmel S, Peters LM, Leeb T, Mevissen M, Haase B.Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450s) represent a superfamily of haem-thiolate proteins. CYP450s are most abundant in the liver, a major site of drug metabolism, and play key roles in the metabolism of a variety of substrates, including drugs and environmental contaminants. Interaction of two or more different drugs with the same enzyme can account for adverse effects and failure of therapy. Human CYP3A4 metabolizes about 50% of all known drugs, but little is known about the orthologous CYP450s in horses. We report here the genomic organization of the equine CYP3A gene cluster as well as a compara...
Raudsepp T, Durkin K, Lear TL, Das PJ, Avila F, Kachroo P, Chowdhary BP.Male-to-female 64,XY sex reversal is a frequently reported chromosome abnormality in horses. Despite this, the molecular causes of the condition are as yet poorly understood. This is partially because only limited molecular information is available for the horse Y chromosome (ECAY). Here, we used the recently developed ECAY map and carried out the first comprehensive study of the Y chromosome in XY mares (n=18). The integrity of the ECAY in XY females was studied by FISH and PCR using markers evenly distributed along the euchromatic region. The results showed that the XY sex reversal condition...
Lykkjen S, Dolvik NI, McCue ME, Rendahl AK, Mickelson JR, Roed KH.Osteochondrosis (OC), a disturbance in the process of endochondral ossification, is by far the most important equine developmental orthopaedic disease and is also common in other domestic animals and humans. The purpose of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) at the intermediate ridge of the distal tibia in Norwegian Standardbred (SB) using the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay. Radiographic data and blood samples were obtained from 464 SB yearlings. Based on the radiographi...
Cook D, Gallagher PC, Bailey E.Extreme lordosis, also called swayback, lowback or softback, can occur as a congenital trait or as a degenerative trait associated with ageing. In this study, the hereditary aspect of congenital swayback was investigated using whole genome association studies of 20 affected and 20 unaffected American Saddlebred (ASB) Horses for 48,165 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A statistically significant association was identified on ECA20 (corrected P=0.017) for SNP BIEC2-532523. Of the 20 affected horses, 17 were homozygous for this SNP when compared to seven homozygotes among the unaffected ho...
Cuervo-Arango J, Domingo-Ortiz R.Prostaglandins play an obligatory role during the process of ovulation in mammals. Ovulation can be blocked by intrafollicular administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in several domestic species including the mare as well as by systemic administration of these drugs in women. In the mare, the effect of systemic NSAIDs treatment on ovulation has not been critically studied. The objectives of this study were: a) to determine whether high dose of flunixin-meglumine (FM) administered systemically to mares during the periovulatory period was able to block ovulation; and b) ...
Lopes MS, Diesterbeck U, Machado Ada C, Distl O.Navicular disease is characterized by a progressive degenerative alteration of the equine podotrochlea. In this study, we refined a previously identified quantitative trait locus (QTL) on horse chromosome 10 for the abnormal development of canales sesamoidales (DCS) of the navicular bone in Hanoverian warmblood horses. Genotyping was done in 192 Hanoverian warmblood horses from 17 paternal half-sib groups. The whole marker set comprised 45 markers including seven newly developed microsatellites and 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within positional candidate genes. Chromosome-wide sig...
Tseng CT, Miller D, Cassano J, Bailey E, Antczak DF.A system for identifying equine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes was developed based on five polymorphic microsatellites located within the MHC region on ECA 20. Molecular signatures for 50 microsatellite haplotypes were recognized from typing 353 horses. Of these, 23 microsatellite haplotypes were associated with 12 established equine leucocyte antigen (ELA) haplotypes in Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds. Five ELA serotypes were associated with multiple microsatellite subhaplotypes, expanding the estimates of diversity in the equine MHC. The strong correlations between serolog...
McGowan TW, Pinchbeck G, Phillips CJ, Perkins N, Hodgson DR, McGowan CM.To describe the prevalence and risk factors for clinical signs of disease and owner-reported health or welfare issues of aged horses in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Owners of horses were contacted via an equestrian organisation in Queensland and asked to complete a questionnaire about their horses aged 15 years and older, to gain information about clinical signs observed in the horse and disease history. Owners were asked to identify health or welfare issues they felt were important in aged horses. Results: Owners were able to identify many clinical signs of disease, with 83% of horses havi...
Scharrenberg A, Gerber V, Swinburne JE, Wilson AD, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Laumen E, Marti E.Equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a chronic lower airway disease of the horse caused by hypersensitivity reactions to inhaled stable dust, including mould spores such as Aspergillus fumigatus. The goals of this study were to investigate whether total serum IgE levels and allergen-specific IgE and IgG subclasses are influenced by genetic factors and/or RAO and whether quantitative trait loci (QTL) could be identified for these parameters. The offspring of two RAO-affected sires (S1: n=56 and S2: n=65) were grouped by stallion and disease status, and total serum IgE levels and specifi...
Binns MM, Boehler DA, Lambert DH.One hundred and eighty-nine Thoroughbred horses that had won Graded Stakes races in North America were genotyped with the Illumina Equine SNP50 bead chip. Association tests using PLINK to determine whether any SNPs were associated with optimum racing distance (7 furlongs and under compared to 8-10 furlongs) identified a locus on ECA18 that was statistically significant (-log 10 EMP2=1.63) at the genome-wide level following permutation analysis (10,000 permutations). Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the two ECA18 SNPs with the highest statistical significance spanned the MSTN (myostatin) lo...
Dierks C, Komm K, Lampe V, Distl O.In this study, we refine a quantitative trait locus for equine osteochondrosis (OC) on horse chromosome (ECA) 2 to a genome-wide significant interval at 20.08-30.94 Mb. The marker set contained 27 newly developed microsatellites equidistantly distributed over ECA2 and 44 nucleotide polymorphisms, located in 16 positional candidate genes for OC. Genotyping was performed in 211 Hanoverian horses from 14 paternal half-sib groups. A NCDN-associated SNP and haplotype were significantly associated with OC in fetlock and/or hock joints. This study is a further step towards the identification of genes...
Orr N, Back W, Gu J, Leegwater P, Govindarajan P, Conroy J, Ducro B, Van Arendonk JA, MacHugh DE, Ennis S, Hill EW, Brama PA.The recent completion of the horse genome and commercial availability of an equine SNP genotyping array has facilitated the mapping of disease genes. We report putative localization of the gene responsible for dwarfism, a trait in Friesian horses that is thought to have a recessive mode of inheritance, to a 2-MB region of chromosome 14 using just 10 affected animals and 10 controls. We successfully genotyped 34,429 SNPs that were tested for association with dwarfism using chi-square tests. The most significant SNP in our study, BIEC2-239376 (P(2df)=4.54 × 10(-5), P(rec)=7.74 × 10(-6)), is lo...
Nergadze SG, Lupotto M, Pellanda P, Santagostino M, Vitelli V, Giulotto E.The insertion of mitochondrial DNA in the nuclear genome generates numts, nuclear sequences of mitochondrial origin. In the horse reference genome, we identified 82 numts and showed that the entire horse mitochondrial DNA is represented as numts without gross bias. Numts were inserted in the horse nuclear genome at random sites and were probably generated during the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. We then analysed 12 numt loci in 20 unrelated horses and found that null alleles, lacking the mitochondrial DNA insertion, were present at six of these loci. At some loci, the null allele is prev...
Tozaki T, Miyake T, Kakoi H, Gawahara H, Sugita S, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Hirota K, Nakano Y.Using 1400 microsatellites, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed to identify genomic regions associated with lifetime earnings and performance ranks, as determined by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). The minimum heritability (h(2) ) was estimated at 7-8% based on the quantitative trait model, suggesting that the racing performance is heritable. Following GWAS with microsatellites, fine mapping led to identification of three SNPs on ECA18, namely, g.65809482T>C (P=1.05E-18), g.65868604G>T (P=6.47E-17), and g.66539967A>G (P=3.35E-14) associated with these performance ...
Brooks SA, Bailey E.Inflammatory damage to the digital laminae, a structure responsible for suspension of the distal skeleton within the hoof capsule, results in a painful and often life-threatening disease in horses called laminitis. There can be many diverse causes of laminitis; however, previous work in the horse has suggested that in each case, the inflammation and resulting tissue damage is consistent with the action of mediators released from mast cells (MC), as well as the downstream consequences of their activation. The recent development of molecular genetics tools to characterize cells based on their tr...
Tozaki T, Hirota K, Sugita S, Ishida N, Miyake T, Oki H, Hasegawa T.Tying-up syndrome, also known as recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis in Thoroughbreds, is a common muscle disorder for racehorses. In this study, we performed a multipoint linkage analysis using LOKI based on the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method using 5 half-sib families (51 affected and 277 nonaffected horses in total), and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using microsatellites (144 affected and 144 nonaffected horses) to map candidate regions for tying-up syndrome in Japanese Thoroughbreds. The linkage analysis identified one strong L-score (82.45) between the loci UCDEQ411 and...
Mata X, Ducasse A, Vaiman A, Diribarne M, Fraud AS, Guérin G.A category of cation gate proteins was shown to be present in sensory neurons and act as receptors of protons present in tissues such as muscles. The Amiloride-sensitive Cation Channel, Neuronal (ACCN) gene family is known to play a role in the transmission of pain through specialized pH sensitive neurons. Muscles from horses submitted to strenuous exercises produce lactic acid, which may induce variable pain through ACCN differential properties. The sequences of the equine cDNAs were determined to be 2.6 kb in length with an open reading frame of 1539 bp for ACCN1 and 2.1 kb in length with an...
Vergari C, Pourcelot P, Holden L, Ravary-Plumioën B, Gerard G, Laugier P, Mitton D, Crevier-Denoix N.Excessive axial tension is very likely involved in the aetiology of tendon lesions, and the most appropriate indicator of tendon stress state is the true stress, the ratio of instantaneous load to instantaneous cross-sectional area (CSA). Difficulties to measure tendon CSA during tension often led to approximate true stress by assuming that CSA is constant during loading (i.e. by the engineering stress) or that tendon is incompressible, implying a Poisson's ratio of 0.5, although these hypotheses have never been tested. The objective of this study was to measure tendon CSA variation during qua...
Brinkmeyer-Langford CL, Murphy WJ, Childers CP, Skow LC.The assembled genomic sequence of the horse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) (equine lymphocyte antigen, ELA) is very similar to the homologous human HLA, with the notable exception of a large segmental duplication at the boundary of ELA class I and class III that is absent in HLA. The segmental duplication consists of a ∼ 710 kb region of at least 11 repeated blocks: 10 blocks each contain an MHC class I-like sequence and the helicase domain portion of a BAT1-like sequence, and the remaining unit contains the full-length BAT1 gene. Similar genomic features were found in other Perissod...
McCue ME, Anderson SM, Valberg SJ, Piercy RJ, Barakzai SZ, Binns MM, Distl O, Penedo MC, Wagner ML, Mickelson JR.The GYS1 gene mutation that is causative of Type 1 Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (PSSM) has been identified in more than 20 breeds of horses. However, the GYS1 mutation frequency or Type 1 PSSM prevalence within any given breed is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of the GYS1 mutation and prevalence of genetic susceptibility to Type 1 PSSM in selected breeds from Europe and North America. The GYS1 mutation was detected in 11 breeds, including, in order of increasing allele frequency, Shires, Morgans, Appaloosas, Quarter Horses, Paints, Exmoor Ponies, Saxon-Thu...
Carrade DD, Owens SD, Galuppo LD, Vidal MA, Ferraro GL, Librach F, Buerchler S, Friedman MS, Walker NJ, Borjesson DL.The development of an allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product to treat equine disorders would be useful; however, there are limited in vivo safety data for horses. We hypothesized that the injection of self (autologous) and non-self (related allogeneic or allogeneic) MSC would not elicit significant alterations in physical examination, gait or synovial fluid parameters when injected into the joints of healthy horses. Methods: Sixteen healthy horses were used in this study. Group 1 consisted of foals (n = 6), group 2 consisted of their dams (n = 5) and group 3 consisted of half-siblings ...
Kuzmina TA, Tolliver SC, Lyons ET.Three species of cyathostomes--Cylicocyclus ashworthi, Cylicostephanus bidentatus, and Cylicostephanus hybridus were identified recently in horses in Kentucky. General characteristics and distinguishing description of these species are presented. Distribution of these species and their role in the horse strongylid community are discussed. The importance of examining the entire contents of the large intestine or alternatively a high number of specimens in order to recover and identify species residing in low numbers is stressed.
Veres-Nyéki KO, Leandri M, Spadavecchia C.Electrically induced reflexes can be used to investigate the physiology and pathophysiology of the trigeminal system in humans. Similarly, the assessment of the trigemino-cervical (TCR) and blink reflexes (BR) may provide a new diagnostic tool in horses. The aim of this study was to evoke nociceptive trigeminal reflexes and describe the electrophysiological characteristics in non-sedated horses. The infraorbital (ION) and supraorbital nerves (SON) were stimulated transcutaneously in 10 adult Warmblood horses in separate sessions using train-of-five electrical pulses. The current was increased ...
Thomasy SM, Mama KR, Stanley SD.This study evaluated the validity of measuring fentanyl concentrations in equine plasma using radioimmunoassay (RIA) by comparing it to the established technique of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Equine plasma samples were analyzed using a solid-phase Coat-A-Count fentanyl RIA and a validated LC-MS method. The fentanyl concentrations derived by both methods were compared by linear regression and pharmacokinetic analysis. The cross-reactivity of the primary equine fentanyl metabolite, N-[1-(2-phenethyl-4-piperidinyl)]maloanilinic acid (PMA), with the RIA was determined. The bi...
Geiser DR.There are several beneficial physiologic and therapeutic effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The indications list for the use of HBOT in the horse has been developed through extrapolation from a review of human indications and from anecdotal clinical experiences. Hyperbaric therapy is a safe treatment option with very few side effects when administered properly.
Stowe HD.Thirty-four adult ponies were used to determine the effects of single oral doses of copper (Cu) supplements (0, 20, and 40 mg of Cu/kg of body weight) on the toxicity of oral doses of selenium (Se) supplements (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 mg of Se/kg of body weight) administered 24 hours after the copper was given. Signs of Se toxicosis-sweating, diarrhea, tachycardia, tachypnea, mild pyrexia, lethargy, and colic-developed in ponies given 6 and 8 mg of Se/kg of body weight without Cu pretreatment. Two of 4 ponies given 6 mg of Se/kg and both ponies given 8 mg of Se/kg without Cu pretreatment died within...
Markel MD, Wheat JD, Jones K.The medical records of 10 horses with invasive neoplasms of the penis, prepuce, and/or superficial inguinal lymph nodes in which treatment involved en bloc resection and penile retroversion were reviewed. All were geldings and ranged in age from 12 to 25 years (mean, 19 years). Evaluation of biopsy specimens obtained before surgery confirmed lymphosarcoma in 1 horse and squamous cell carcinoma in 9 horses. Typical history included swelling, ulceration, and abscessation of the penis and prepuce and large superficial inguinal lymph nodes. Complications after surgery included dehiscence of the ur...
Fretz PB, Li Z.Low energy helium-neon laser irradiation was administered to full thickness skin wounds (3 cm x 3 cm) on the dorsal surface of the metacarpophalangeal/metatarsophalangeal joints and cranial surface of the tarsocrural joints of eight horses. The effects on wound healing were analyzed statistically. There were no differences (p > 0.55) observed in the rate of wound healing between the low energy laser irradiated wounds and the control wounds. There was a significant difference (p < 0.006) observed in the rate of healing between the anatomical sites. Tarsal wounds healed more rapidly than fetlock...
Shih AC, Queiroz P, Vigani A, Da Cunha A, Pariaut R, Ricco C, Bornkamp J, Garcia-Pereira F, Bandt C.To assess the accuracy of an ultrasound velocity dilution cardiac output (UDCO) method, compared with that of the lithium dilution cardiac output (LiDCO) method, for determination of cardiac output (CO) in juvenile horses with experimentally induced hypovolemia. Methods: 12 anesthetized 2- to 6-month-old horses. Methods: For each anesthetized horse, CO was determined by the LiDCO and UDCO methods prior to any intervention (baseline state), after withdrawal of approximately 40% of the horse's blood volume (low CO state), after maintenance of hypovolemia and infusion of norepinephrine until mean...
de Albuquerque AL, Zanzarini Delfiol DJ, Andrade DGA, Albertino LG, Sonne L, Borges AS, Valberg SJ, Finno CJ, Oliveira-Filho JP.In the Quarter Horse (QH), myosin heavy chain myopathy (MYHM), which is characterised by nonexertional rhabdomyolysis or immune-mediated myositis (IMM) with acute muscle atrophy, is strongly associated with the missense E321G MYH1 mutation. Objective: To document the existence of MYHM in the Brazilian QH population, this study includes a case report of two related QH foals with the E321G MYH1 mutation that had clinical signs of MYHM, with histological confirmation of IMM in one of the foals. This prompted an investigation the aim of which was to determine the allele frequency of the E321G MYH1...
Gillen A, Catherine Archer D.Epidemiologic studies are essential for the generation of evidence-based, preventive health care strategies. This includes ways to minimize colic risk and assist informed decision making concerning diagnosis, treatment, and likely outcomes. It is important to consider that colic is not a simple "disease" but is a syndrome of abdominal pain that encompasses multiple different disease processes, and which is multifactorial in nature. This review focuses on prevention and diagnosis of colic, including specific forms of colic, communications with owners/carers concerning colic risk and management,...
Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Grinwis GC.Equine sarcoidosis may present as a generalized or localized exfoliative dermatitis and/or as a granulomatous inflammation of multiple organs. Objective: To report the clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and outcome for 22 horses with histologically confirmed sarcoidosis. Methods: Twenty-two horses of different breeds, between 3 and 17 years of age. Methods: Diagnosis was based on clinical signs and histopathological findings. Results: The following three forms of equine sarcoidosis were identified: generalized (13.6%), partially generalized (18.2%) and localized (68.2%). High-dose systemic c...
Camillo F, Marmorini P, Romagnoli S, Cela M, Duchamp G, Palmer E.The aim of this study was to test whether low dose oxytocin i.v. injection once a day to mares diagnosed as being ready for birth by mammary secretion calcium strip test measurements could be used as a reliable method to induce parturition and/or predict the mare would not foal during the following night if parturition did not occur within 2 h of treatment. Fifty-one near-term Haflinger mares were used and a single injection of 2.5 iu oxytocin was given between 1700 and 1900 h, including 10 mares used as controls which were administered a placebo. Administration of oxytocin resulted in the del...
Lawson GH, McPherson EA, Murphy JR, Nicholson JM, Wooding P, Breeze RG, Pirie HM.The sera of horses affected and not affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were examined for precipitins to Micropolyspora faeni and Aspergillus fumigatus. Precipitins to both antigens were not restricted to COPD cases but occurred more frequently in animals affected with COPD. Many animals without detectable precipitins responded clinically to inhalation challenge with these antigens.
Jones JH, Cox KS, Takahashi T, Hiraga A, Yarbrough TB, Pascoe JR.We determined whether the caudodorsal region of the intrapleural space in exercising horses experiences larger pressure fluctuations than other regions and whether systematic phase-shifting of peak intrapleural pressures along the length of the thorax suggests the existence of locomotor-induced intrapleural pressure waves. We utilised percutaneous introducers and solid-state pressure-tip transducers implanted along the dorsal aspect of the thorax, mid-thorax or oesophagus to measure regional intrapleural pressures while 3 horses galloped on a flat treadmill at 13-14 m/s, then recorded pressure...
Nett TM, Pickett BW, Seidel GE, Voss JL.Jugular venous blood was collected from 16 mares at daily intervals throughout the estrous cycle. Twelve of these mares were bred to fertile stallions. Of the twelve, four were palpated daily throughout the estrous cycle, four were palpated daily during estrus and four were not palpated. The remaining four mares were not palpated or bred and blood samples were collected at 6-h intervals during estrus. Serum was harvested from all blood samples by centrifugation. The serum samples were analyzed for luteinizing hormone (LH) and/or progesterone by radioimmunoassay. Levels of LH in serum increased...
Tesena P, Kingkaw A, Phaonakrop N, Roytrakul S, Limudomporn P, Vongsangnak W, Kovitvadhi A.Equine melanocytic neoplasm (EMN) is a common disease in older grey horses. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential proteins throughout EMN stages from faecal proteomic outlining using functional analysis. Faecal samples were collected from the rectum of 25 grey horses divided into three groups; normal group without EMN ( = 10), mild EMN ( = 6) and severe EMN ( = 9). Based on the results, 5910 annotated proteins out of 8509 total proteins were assessed from proteomic profiling. We observed differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between the normal group and the EMN group, and 1...
Moorman VJ, Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW.OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of altering location of right forelimb and pelvic sensors on kinematic data obtained with a commonly used inertial sensor system during gait analysis of trotting horses. DESIGN Experimental study. ANIMALS 12 horses with mild to moderate lameness of at least 1 hind limb, with or without lameness of the forelimbs. PROCEDURES All horses were examined while trotting on a high-speed treadmill. The right forelimb sensor was tested at 3 anatomic locations in random order: dorsal midline and 2 cm medial and lateral to that midline. During another treadmill session, t...
Kilcoyne I, Dechant JE.To report the clinical findings, incidence of complications, and outcome associated with perineal urethrotomy in equids. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Equids (n = 27). Methods: Medical records (January 2000 to December 2010) of equids that had a perineal urethrotomy were reviewed. Data retrieved and evaluated were breed, age, surgical technique, use of general anesthesia, complications, time from surgery to development of complications and their management, and outcome. Results: Perineal urethrotomy was performed for urolithiasis (n = 22), for treatment of urethral rents...
Knych HK, Stanley SD, Seminoff KN, McKemie DS, Kass PH.Methocarbamol (MCBL) is commonly used in performance horses for the treatment of skeletal muscle disorders. Current regulatory recommendations for show horses and racehorses are based on a single oral dose of 5 g, although doses in excess of this are often administered. The goal of the current study was to characterize the disposition of MCBL following higher dose administration and administration in combination with another commonly used drug in performance horses, phenylbutazone (PBZ). Exercised Thoroughbred horses were administered various doses of MCBL as a sole agent and MCBL in combinat...
Adams SB, Fessler JF, Rebar AH.Cytologic examination of serial peritoneal fluid samples of nine experimental ponies was performed during a 72 hour period following laparotomy. Six of the ponies had jejunal infarction induced by occlusion of the corresponding vasculature. Cytologic examination was also performed on the peritoneal fluid of a series of horses with naturally occurring abdominal crises presented to the Large Animal Clinic. A rapid staining technique allowed evaluation of smears within 5 minutes of obtaining the fluid. Alterations in peritoneal fluid of the experimental and clinical cases reflected an acute infla...
Serpa PBS, Brooks MB, Divers T, Ness S, Birschmann I, Papich MG, Stokol T.Horses with inflammatory and infectious disorders are often treated with injectable heparin anticoagulants to prevent thrombotic complications. In humans, a new class of direct oral acting anticoagulants (DOAC) appear as effective as heparin, while eliminating the need for daily injections. Our study in horses evaluated apixaban, a newly approved DOAC for human thromboprophylaxis targeting activated factor X (Xa). Our goals were to: (1) Determine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of apixaban after oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) administration in horses; (2) Detect any inhibitory effects of...
Lombard CW, Scarratt WK, Buergelt CD.Clinical, echocardiographic, and right-side cardiac catheterization data were collected in 6 horses with ventricular septal defects. The defects were confirmed by necropsy in 5 horses. On echocardiography, the cardiac dimensions were normal in 3 horses and enlarged in 2 others. A step-up in partial oxygen pressure between right atrium and right ventricle suggested a left-to-right shunt in 3 of the 4 horses catheterized. In 1 foal, a small defect without PO2 step-up was documented by angiocardiography. The oxymetry and pressure data were compared with previous cases from the reviewed literature...
Campbell TM, Studdert MJ, Blackney MH.Some kinetic data on the inactivation of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV1) and equine rhinovirus type 1 (ERhV1) by betapropiolactone (BPL) and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation are reported. 0.25% BPL at 37 degrees C for 1 h reduced the titre of EHV1 by greater than 10(3 . 4) and of ERhV1 by greater than 10(4 . 1) TCID50/ml. UV irradiation (334 microW/cm2) produced similar reductions in titre after 2 min. These data were used as a basis for inactivating EHV1 and ERhV1 by the combined action of BPL and UV irradiation. Viruses were exposed to 0.1% BPL for 1 h at 4 degrees C with constant stirring, fol...
Wrench N, Pinto CR, Klinefelter GR, Dix DJ, Flowers WL, Farin CE.The objective of this study was to determine the effect of season on sperm quality variables, expression of the fertility-related protein SP22 and selected mRNA transcripts in fresh and cryopreserved stallion sperm. Four stallions were collected in each of the four seasons: summer, fall, winter and spring. Ejaculates were divided and then evaluated for motility, morphology, SP22 staining and expression of selected mRNAs as either fresh semen samples or cryopreserved samples. A significant interaction between season and cryopreservation status was found for total and progressive sperm motility....
Sabnis SG, Gunson DE, Antonovych TT.Seven horses ranging from three to 15 years of age had nephrotic syndrome; at necropsy, renal tissue of all seven horses had the morphologic lesions of mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis). Homogeneous eosinophilic material which filled the glomerular capillary lumina was found in five horses. Ultrastructurally, this material primarily consisted of electron-dense deposits with a fibrillar pattern in five horses and in one horse, rhomboid crystalline deposits which resembled deposits seen in human cryoglobulinemia. The association of mesangioprolif...
Loomes K, Louro LF.The recovery phase after equine general anaesthesia (GA) is a time of considerable risk and therefore has been the subject of extensive research over the last 20 years. Various pharmacological interventions have been developed and studied with the objective of improving recovery quality and reducing anaesthetic-related mortality and morbidity. Nevertheless, some controversy remains regarding the influence of anaesthetic protocol choice on recovery quality from GA and its implications for recovery-related mortality and morbidity. A systematic review of the literature investigating the influenc...
Fedorka CE, Scoggin KE, Ruby RE, Erol E, Ball BA.Placentitis is the leading cause of infectious abortion in the horse and contributes to roughly 19% of all abortions in the United States. A type of placental infection, nocardioform placentitis (NP) is associated with gram-positive branching actinomycetes localized within the ventral body of the feto-maternal interface to create a lymphoplasmacytic mucoid lesion. While the etiology of this disease is poorly described, this placental infection continues to cause episodic abortions in addition to weak and/or growth retarded neonates. The goal of the present study was to perform a comprehensive ...