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.
Schurink A, van Grevenhof EM, Ducro BJ, van Arendonk JA.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a seasonal recurrent allergic reaction of horses to the bites of certain Culicoides spp. and is found throughout the world. The aim of our study was to estimate the heritability and repeatability of IBH in the Dutch Shetland pony population. A total of 7,924 IBH scores on 6,073 mares were collected during foal inspections in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Mares were scored for clinical symptoms of IBH from June until February by 16 inspectors. Of all mares, 74.4% (n = 4,520) had a single observation, 20.7% (n = 1,255) had 2 observations, and 4.9% (n = 298) had 3 ob...
Blanco ID, Devito LG, Ferreira HN, Araujo GH, Fernandes CB, Alvarenga MA, Landim-Alvarenga FC.This study examined the effect of treating mares with equine pituitary extract (EPE) alone or in combination with hCG on the recovery rate of immature follicles by transvaginal follicular aspiration (ovum pick-up; OPU). Ten normally cycling crossbred mares aged 3-15 years and weighing 350-400 kg were subjected to each of three treatments in a random sequence with each exposure to a new treatment separated by a rest cycle during which a spontaneous ovulation occurred. The treatments were (1) superovulated with 25mg EPE and treated with 2500 IU hCG, (2) superovulation with 25mg EPE, and (3) cont...
Bakheit MA, Torra D, Palomino LA, Thekisoe OM, Mbati PA, Ongerth J, Karanis P.Three LAMP (loop-mediated isothermal DNA amplification) assays were applied to detect Cryptosporidium species DNA in a total number of 270 fecal samples originating from cattle, sheep and horses in South Africa. DNA was extracted from 0.5 g of fecal material. Results of LAMP detection were compared to those obtained by nested PCR targeting the Cryptosporidium 18 small subunit rRNA (18S) gene. All samples were negative by nested PCR, while up to one-third of samples were positive by LAMP assays. The SAM-1 LAMP assay, shown to detect C. parvum, C. hominis and C. meleagridis, amplified Cryptospor...
Wagner B, Childs BA, Erb HN.Skin hypersensitivity is an allergic disease induced in horses by allergens of Culicoides midges. The condition is typically diagnosed by clinical signs and in some horses in combination with allergy testing such as intradermal skin testing or serological allergen-specific IgE determination. Here, we describe an alternative method for allergy testing: a histamine release assay (HRA) that combines the functional aspects of skin testing with the convenience of submitting a blood sample. The assay is based on the principle that crosslinking of allergen-specific IgE bound via high-affinity IgE rec...
Heath TJ.To describe the location, type, support from and effects of their first position for the veterinary graduates of 2005, and to make comparisons with graduates of 1950-2000. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to veterinarians who had graduated from an Australian university in 2005, and data were analysed with SAS System 8 for Windows. Results: One-sixth of the graduates left for overseas, and 55% (Murdoch) to 85% (Melbourne) of the remainder found their first veterinary position in the state where they were trained. More were in small animal (48%) and less in mixed practice (48%) than in previous...
Craven JA.To identify the frequency, variety and disposition of horse-related injury presentations to the ED and to use this information to evaluate the existing institutional trauma team activation criteria following horse-related injuries. Methods: A retrospective case analysis was performed of all horse-related injury presentations to the ED of Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, Australia, in the 5 year period between January 1999 and December 2003. Results: A total of 186 children presented with horse-related injuries during the 5 year study period. The median age of injury was 9 years (rang...
El-Hage CM, McCluskey MJ, Azuolas JK.Ross River Virus (RRV) was believed to be the cause of acute illness in four horses around the Bellarine peninsula in south-west Victoria, Australia. The horses presented with clinical signs including petechial haemorrhages, lymphadenopathy, distal limb swelling and reluctance to move. Fibrinogen was also elevated in three of the four horses. Whilst no virus was isolated, serological testing revealed elevated RRV IgM titres in all horses indicating acute infection. The outbreak occurred at a time when a known RRV vector, the mosquito Aedes camptorhynchus was recorded at very high levels in the...
Yamada M, Aramaki S, Kurosawa M, Kijima-Suda I, Saito K, Nakazawa H.The use of anabolic steroids in racehorses is strictly regulated. We have developed a method for the simultaneous analysis of 11 anabolic steroids: fluoxymesterone, 17alpha-methyltestosterone, mestanolone, methandienone, methandriol, oxymetholone, boldenone, furazabol, methenolone, nandrolone, and stanozolol, for possible application to a doping test in racehorses. We selected 15 kinds of target substances for a doping test from the main metabolites of these anabolic steroids, and established a method for simultaneous analysis. Urine was hydrolyzed and subjected to solid-phase extraction. Then...
Henderson IS, Mair TS, Keen JA, Shaw DJ, McGorum BC.The records of 65 horses with peritonitis examined at two UK referral centres over a period of 12 years were reviewed. Peritonitis was defined in terms of the horse's peritoneal fluid containing more than 5 x 10(9) nucleated cells/l. Horses that had developed peritonitis after abdominal surgery or a rupture of the gastrointestinal tract were excluded. Of the 65 horses, 56 (86 per cent) survived to be discharged. Follow-up information was obtained from practice records and telephone calls to the owners for 38 of the horses. Of these, 32 (84 per cent) had survived for at least 12 months and were...
Cotovio M, Monreal L, Armengou L, Prada J, Almeida JM, Segura D.Septicemia in human neonates frequently is complicated by activation of the coagulation system, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and multiple organ failure syndrome, which may contribute to high mortality. In adult horses with DIC, the lung has been the organ most frequently affected by fibrin deposits. In addition, in vivo studies suggest that hemostatic mechanisms may be immature in foals < 1-day old. Objective: Newborn foals with severe septicemia have fibrin deposits in their tissues independently of their age, and these fibrin deposits are associated with organ failure. Met...
Grace PB, Drake EC, Teale P, Houghton E.Following administration of the anabolic steroid 19-nortestosterone or its esters to the horse, a major urinary metabolite is 19-nortestosterone-17beta-sulphate. The detection of 19-nortestosterone in urine from untreated animals has led to it being considered a naturally occurring steroid in the male horse. Recently, we have demonstrated that the majority of the 19-nortestosterone found in extracts of 'normal' urine from male horses arises as an artefact through decarboxylation of the 19-carboxylic acid of testosterone. The aim of this investigation was to establish if direct analysis of 19-n...
Valentine BA.Gross and histopathologic evaluation of skeletal muscle was performed in 229 equids (217 horses, 8 ponies, 3 donkeys, and 1 mule) 1 year of age or older undergoing postmortem examination at Oregon State University in a 2.5-year period. Animals were evaluated for grossly evident muscle lesions, and muscle samples were fixed in formalin, processed routinely, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) for glycogen. Muscle lesions were detected in 149 animals (65%). Chronic myopathic change (excessive fiber size variation and internal nuclei) was evaluated in horses...
Smith LJ, Mair TS.Twelve horses underwent standing laparoscopic ovariectomy using electrocoagulation and fine dissection as the only means of achieving haemostasis of the severed ovarian pedicle. Four mares had bilateral ovariectomy performed as a treatment for aggressive behaviour thought to be associated with the oestrous cycle. Eight mares had unilateral ovariectomy performed for removal of a granulosa thecal cell tumour (GCT). Electrocoagulation provided an effective means of haemostasis in both normal and pathological ovaries. Only one case (removal of a GCT) had mild haemorrhage following electrocoagulati...
DebRoy C, Roberts E, Jayarao BM, Brooks JW.Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains carrying distinct virulence attributes are known to cause diseases in humans and animals and infect organs other than the gastrointestinal tract. A fatal case of bronchopneumonia in a 12-year-old female Quarterhorse was investigated. Following postmortem examination, E. coli, Enterococcus sp., and Klebsiella pneumonia were isolated from the lungs, which contained multifocal intra-alveolar accumulations of neutrophils and macrophages with edema, hemorrhage, and fibrin. The strain of E. coli belonged to O2H21 and carried virulence genes...
Suárez-Bonnet A, Espinosa de los Monteros A, Herráez P, Rodríguez F, Andrada M, Caballero MJ.A 4-year-old female Appaloosa horse was referred to the Department of Comparative Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, with a history of colic and acute respiratory distress. At necropsy, gross lesions consisted of extensive firm, multinodular, hemorrhagic foci in fat tissues with yellow-brown discoloration. The most affected areas were peritoneal fat and perirenal, epicardial, and subcutaneous adipose tissues. Other findings were hepatic lipidosis and multiple 1-1.5 cm hemorrhagic foci scattered in both lungs. Histopathological examination revealed severe degeneration and necrosis of adipose tissue...
Cehak A, von Borstel M, Gehlen H, Feige K, Ohnesorge B.Twelve horses with a history of a unilateral malodorous nasal discharge were examined clinically, endoscopically and radiographically. The head of one of the horses was examined by computed tomography. Tissue samples were taken for microbiology from four of the horses and for histology from three. The conchal necrosis was unilateral in 11 of the horses and bilateral in the other, and no particular concha was affected more than the others. The affected tissue was removed transendoscopically with a polypectomy snare while the horses were sedated and standing. Mild disinfectants were used locally...
Fales-Williams A, Sponseller B, Flaherty H.A 6-year-old, gelded, Paint horse displayed clinical signs of muscle wasting and limb stiffness for a 6-month period. The horse's clinical signs abated with corticosteroid therapy, but returned upon cessation of treatment. Upon necropsy, severe lesions of aortic thickening and aortic valve rigidity were observed. Histologically, the tunica media of the aorta, coronary arteries, and pulmonary arteries were expanded by foci of elastin fiber calcification and extracellular matrix with lacunae formation. The vascular lesions are comparative to what has been described as medial arterial calcificati...
Bemis DA, Bryant MJ, Kania SA, Newman SJ.Based on the scarcity of reports in veterinary medicine literature, it appears that Arcanobacterium spp. are rarely isolated from horses. Recently, a single isolate from vaginal discharge in a mare was characterized as a new species, Arcanobacterium hippocoleae. The present report describes a case of necrosuppurative placentitis and stillbirth in an American Quarterhorse mare. Numerous colonies of irregular, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria were observed by histological examination within fibrin lattice associated with placental lesions. Arcanobacterium hippocoleae was isolated in large numb...
Dieckhöfer R.Borna Disease Virus (BDV) is a unique RNA virus, whose organs of manifestation are the brain and blood of animals as well as humans. The infection disrupts certain cell functions, but does not damage the cell structure. The infection with BDV can exist without associated clinical symptoms. Furthermore the majority of natural BDV-infections occur unnoticed without causing symptoms particularly those in connection with only a slight BDV-infection. BDV-infected horses can be detected by an extremely practicable ELISA based on blood samples and developed by the Berlin Working Group under guidance ...
Maher O, Nieto JE, Stanley SD, Dore E, Snyder JR.To determine the effect of ranitidine on gastric emptying in horses. Methods: 11 adult horses. Methods: In vitro, isolated muscle strips from the pyloric antrum and duodenum of 5 horses were suspended in baths and attached to isometric force transducers. Once stable spontaneous contractions were observed, ranitidine or diluent was added at cumulative increasing concentrations. Isometric stress responses were compared. In vivo, 6 horses were assigned to a group in a prospective randomized crossover study design with a wash-out period of 2 weeks between trials. Ranitidine (2.2 mg/kg) or saline (...
Byron CR, Benson BM, Stewart AA, Pondenis HC.To evaluate the effects of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) on proteoglycan production by equine chondrocytes and to investigate whether glucosamine hydrochloride modulates these effects at clinically relevant concentrations. Methods: Articular cartilage with normal gross appearance from metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints of 8 horses (1 to 10 years of age). Methods: In vitro chondrocyte pellets were pretreated with glucosamine (0, 1, 10, and 100 microg/mL) for 48 hours and exposed to MPA (0, 0.05, and 0.5 mg/mL) for 24 hours. Pellets and media were assayed for proteoglycan prod...
Ginther OJ, Beg MA, Gastal EL, Gastal MO, Cooper DA.The effect of treatment with an ovulation-inducing dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) on 17beta-estradiol (estradiol) and LH concentrations was studied in mares. In Experiment 1, treatment with hCG resulted in ovulation in approximately 48 h. The LH surge centralized to ovulation and the preovulatory decline in estradiol were not different between hCG-treated (n=15) and control (n=13) groups. In Experiment 2, concentrations of hCG decreased 92% between 1 and 48 h after hCG treatment, estradiol decreased (P<0.003) within 6h, and LH increased at a greater (P<0.02) rate after 12h (n...
Wang L, Tong G, Liu H, Yang Z, Qiu H, Kong X, Wang M.Proviral DNA was extracted from donkey leukocyte infected with Chinese donkey leukocyte attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (DLA-EIAV), and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from a horse infected with the virulent EIAV strain Liaoning (EIAV L). The entire proviral DNA from both viruses was cloned and sequenced. The lengths of complete genomic sequences of DLA-EIAV and EIAV L provirus were 8266 bp and 8235 bp, respectively. Sequence comparison indicated that DLA-EIAV shares 97.0% and 97.5% in sequence homology with EIAV L and donkey-adapted EIAV (DA-EIAV), respectively. Lots of variation...
Paltrinieri S, Meazza C, Giordano A, Tunesi C.Thromboelastometry is used for identifying or monitoring coagulation abnormalities. It has been validated in several species but not in horses and the characteristics of the equine thromboelastogram have not yet been detailed. Objective: The purpose of this study was to validate a thromboelastometer to be used with equine blood and to define the normal equine thromboelastogram. Methods: A Rotem-gamma thromboelastometer (Pentapharm GmbH, Munich, Germany) was used on 38 citrated blood samples to investigate native coagulation, the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways, the function of fibrinogen (lar...
Dietze B, Cierpka E, Schäfer M, Schill W, Lutz MB.Equine dendritic cells (eqDC) can be generated from peripheral blood monocytes by propagation in GM-CSF and IL-4. Despite similarities with the generation of human DC, we found significant improvements for eqDC generation and functional influences on eqDC maturation. The fractionation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by two subsequent gradients at densities of 1.090 and 1.077 as well as an adherence step in AIM V((R)) medium on dishes coated with extracellular matrix components (Primaria) improved the purity and yield of DC. After 3 days, eqDC cultures with GM-CSF alone developed i...
Bello AC, Da Cunha AP, Leite RC, Oliveira PR, Ribeiro AC, Domingues LN, De Freitas CM, Bastianetto E, Dalla Rosa RC.This trial evaluated control practices of Anocentor nitens on equines, using spraying devices and application of acaricide paste formulation in the auricular pavilion and nasal diverticulum. The study was carried out from October 2003 to March of 2008 and the evaluations had been divided in the following stages: Phase 1--out/03 mar/04 and Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, correspondents to the month's periods until março/08. It was used score of 0 to 3 to classify infestation levels. From abr/04 to mar/06 was implanted a schedule of acaricide sprayings every seven days and divided in two se...
Armstrong PJ, Derksen FJ, Slocombe RF, Robinson NE.We measured lung function and airway reactivity in response to methacholine and citric acid administered by aerosol in 2 groups of ponies (principal and control). Principal ponies had a history of heaves, a disease characterized by recurrent airway obstruction. Control ponies had no history of respiratory disease. Both principal and control ponies were paired (principal and control), and measurements were made when principal ponies were in clinical remission (Period A), following barn exposure when principal ponies had acute airway obstruction (Period B), and 1 and 2 wk after they were returne...
Gilger BC.This article reviews the literature for studies describing advanced imaging of the equine eye as a reference for practitioners to help in the selection of image modalities, describe how to use the instruments, and help interpret the image findings. Indications for, technique of, and image interpretation of advanced image modalities such as ultrasound, computed tomography, MRI, optical coherence tomography, confocal microscopy, and angiography are reviewed. The article is organized anatomically, not by instrument, so that the reader will be able to quickly research ways to image specific diseas...
Tóth F, Frank N, Geor RJ, Boston RC.To investigate the effects of dexamethasone or levothyroxine sodium on endotoxin-induced alterations in glucose and insulin dynamics. Methods: 24 horses. Methods: Horses were randomly allocated to 3 treatment groups and received 48 mg of levothyroxine mixed with 200 g of oats, 20 mg of dexamethasone plus oats, or oats alone (control) for 15 days, followed by IV infusion of lipopolysaccharide (20 ng/kg) while individually housed in stalls. Frequently sampled IV glucose tolerance tests were performed prior to pretreatment, after pretreatment, and 20 hours after lipopolysaccharide administration....
Guillaume D, Rio N, Toutain PL.The aims of the present study were to determine basic kinetic parameters and the nycthemeral production rate of melatonin in the horse. Seven pony mares were used for the kinetic studies. Five other pony mares were used under long and short days for the production rate studies. Melatonin was administered by intravenous, oral, and intragastric routes at different dose levels. The plasma melatonin clearance was 1.02 +/- 0.31 l.kg-1.h-1, and the volume of distribution was 0.89 +/- 0.53 l/kg for the 0.4 microgram/kg melatonin dose. The systemic availability after oral and intragastric administrati...
Akiba M, Sameshima T, Anzai T, Wada R, Nakazawa M.Most Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. choleraesuis serovar Abortusequi strains of equine origin harbor a 95kb plasmid, pSA95. Results of PCR and Southern blot analysis suggest that pSA95 contains spv genes. A pSA95-cured strain of S. Abortusequi was 48 times less virulent to mice than its parental strain. Virulence was restored by reintroduction of pSA95. These results provide clear evidence that pSA95 confers virulence on S. Abortusequi in mice. This is the first report describing a virulence plasmid of S. Abortusequi.
Scheurer L, Bachofen C, Hardmeier I, Lechmann J, Schoster A.Equid Gamma herpesvirus (eGHV) infections have been reported worldwide and may be correlated with clinical signs, e.g., affecting the respiratory tract in young horses. eGHV are shed by healthy horses as well as horses with respiratory tract disease. The prevalence in healthy Swiss horses is unknown to date but this data would provide valuable information for causal diagnosis in clinical cases and formulation of biosecurity recommendations. Nasal swabs from 68 healthy horses from 12 Swiss stables and 2 stables near the Swiss border region in Germany were analyzed by panherpes nested PCR. Posit...
Adam EN, Southwood LL.To determine historical, physical, and microbiologic findings in horses with limb cellulitis and identify factors associated with short- and long-term outcome. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 44 horses with limb cellulitis. Methods: Information obtained from medical records included use, history, affected limb, diagnostic procedures, treatment, and short-term outcome. Long-term follow-up information was obtained by means of a telephone survey. Results: Twenty-four horses had primary cellulitis, and 18 of the 24 (75%) had a hind limb affected. Results of microbiologic culture were ...
Wilson WD, Hughes SJ, Ghoshal NG, McNeel SV.Occipitoatlantoaxial malformation was diagnosed in a 19-month-old mare of Appaloosa breeding and in a 3-year-old Quarter Horse gelding. Both horses had abnormal head and neck carriage since birth, but neurologic deficits did not become evident clinically until the horses reached 2 and 3 years of age, respectively. Palpation and manipulation of the base of the skull and cervical area proved to be useful diagnostically. Movement could not be elicited at the atlantooccipital joint but, in comparison with clinically normal horses, the range of dorsoventral motion at the atlantoaxial joint was incr...
Sander J, Terhardt M, Janzen N, Renaud B, Kruse CJ, François AC, Wouters CP, Boemer F, Votion DM.Equine atypical myopathy is caused by hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPrG), the known protoxins of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus). Various tissues from five atypical myopathy cases were analyzed but only HGA was found. Whether deamination of MCPrG has already occurred in the intestine as the first stage of metabolization has not been investigated. Activation of the protoxins to methylenecyclopropylacetyl (MCPA)-CoA and methylenecyclopropylformyl (MCPF)-CoA, respectively, occurred mainly in the skeletal muscles, as evidenced by very high concentrations of MCPA-carnit...
Sairanen J, Katila T, Virtala AM, Ojala M.Racing and fertility are connected with each other in many ways. Stress and increased body temperature induced by racing may have negative effects on fertility, but on the other hand, high quality nutrition and management of racing horses may have positive effects. Fertility may also be genetically associated with racing performance. The analysed data consisted of Finnish mating records of Standardbreds (n=33,679) and Finnhorses (n=32,731), from 1991 to 2005, and the harness racing records of both mares and stallions. Fertility was measured by foaling outcome, and racing performance was measur...
Lee DH, Lee EB, Seo JP, Ko EJ.Despite vaccination, equine influenza virus (EIV) and equine herpesvirus (EHV) infections still cause highly contagious respiratory diseases in horses. Recently, concurrent vaccination with EIV and EHV was suggested as a new approach; however, there have been no reports of concurrent vaccination with recombinant canarypox EIV and inactivated EHV vaccines. In this study, we aimed to compare the EIV-specific immune responses induced by concurrent administrations of a recombinant canarypox EIV vaccine and an inactivated bivalent EHV vaccine with those induced by a single recombinant canarypox EIV...
Roşu O, Melega I, Evans AL, Arnemo JM, Küker S.Feral horses are immobilized for a variety of reasons including population control via contraceptives. Although opioid combinations have been successfully used for immobilization of feral horses, there is a need for combinations using drugs that are more readily available and present less of a human health hazard. We evaluated the chemical immobilization with physiological measurements and blood gas analyses of 91 free-ranging feral horses () remotely immobilized with a combination of 30 mg medetomidine and 775 mg ketamine in a single disposable 6 ml dart. During immobilization, heart rate, re...
Ahlengard S, Tufvesson G, Pettersson H, Andersson T.A total of 134 horses of various breeds were treated for aseptic arthritis of traumatic origin using Orgotein (Palosein). The drug was injected into 192 affected joints of these animals. Recovery rates of 94 per cent were recorded in cases which had shown lameness for less than 2 months before treatment commenced and 49 per cent in those lame for longer than 2 months.
Young LE, Blissitt KJ, Clutton RE, Molony V.To evaluate temporal hemodynamic effects of dobutamine in horses anesthetized with halothane. Methods: 8 adult Thoroughbreds. Methods: Anesthesia was induced by i.v. administration of romifidine and ketamine and maintained using halothane in oxygen. After 60 minutes, dobutamine was administered i.v. for 60 minutes at 4 micrograms/kg of body weight/min. Measurements of left ventricular function were obtained by transesophageal echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. Results: Mean, systolic, diastolic, aortic, pulmonary arterial, and left and right ventricular end-diastolic and systolic pr...
Journal of medical entomologyFebruary 21, 2008
Volume 45, Issue 1 115-124 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[115:hdcfah]2.0.co;2
Gerry AC, Nawaey TM, Sanghrajka PB, Wisniewska J, Hullinger P.Hematophagous Diptera landing on a horse were removed by vacuum, and their numbers were related to a paired carbon dioxide-baited suction trap at three locations in southern California where West Nile virus activity was high during the preceding year. Insects collected from the horse included mosquitoes (nine species), biting midges (Culicoides sonorensis Wirth & Jones), and black flies (Simulium bivittatum Malloch). Mosquitoes were predominantly collected from the head, crest, withers, neck, chest, and shoulders of the horse, whereas biting midges and black flies were predominantly collected ...
Brinsko SP, Ball BA, Miller PG, Thomas PG, Ellington JE.This study was designed to investigate the development of day 2 embryos obtained from young and aged mares, co-cultured with oviductal epithelial cells obtained from mares in each age group in a 2 x 2 crossover design. Young, fertile mares (n = 19; 2-7 years of age) and aged, subfertile, mares (n = 16; 17-24 years of age) were used as embryo and oviductal epithelial cell donors. Embryos (n = 37) were collected from the oviducts 2 days after ovulation and were paired (embryos obtained from young mares with embryos obtained from aged mares) so that eight pairs were co-cultured with young mare ov...
Brito LF, Baldrighi JM, Wolf CA, Ginther OJ.The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of reproductive hormones (GnRH, hCG, LH and progesterone) on the regulation of corpus luteum (CL) and ovarian blood flow. Diestrous mares received a single treatment of saline, 100μg gonadorelin (GnRH), or 1500IU hCG 10days after ovulation. Plasma LH and progesterone concentrations, resistance index (RI) for ovarian artery blood-flow, and percentage of corpus luteum (CL) with color-Doppler signals of blood flow were determined immediately before treatment (hour 0) and at hours 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. In the GnRH gr...
Barakzai SZ, Es C, Milne EM, Dixon P.To report ventroaxial luxation of the apex of the left or right corniculate process of the arytenoid cartilage under the contralateral corniculate process during resting endoscopic examination, and morphologic features of the larynx of 1 affected horse. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Horses (n=8). Methods: Horses had endoscopic examination as part of a survey of Clydesdale horses (n=7), or investigation of poor performance in Thoroughbred horses (1). One Clydesdale was euthanatized and the larynx examined; 4 cadaver larynges from normal horses were also examined. Results: Ventroaxial l...
Small AC, Kelly WR, Seawright AA, Mattocks AR, Jukes R.A foal, small and jaundiced from birth, succumbed after two months to chronic hepatic damage which was characterised by fibrosis, biliary ductular hyperplasia and the presence of pleomorphic hepatocytes containing either a single large nucleus or multiple nuclei. The fixed liver contained sulfur-bound pyrroles, which are derived from pyrrolizidine alkaloids. During pregnancy the pasture was heavily infested with the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plant, Senecio madagascariensis. The hepatic disease affecting the foal appears to have been initiated by consumption of the alkaloids by the mare...
Mitchell G, Liu IK, Perryman LE, Stabenfeldt GH, Hughes JP.Immunoglobulin concentrations were compared in serum and in saline uterine washings from 10 normal mares and 7 subfertile mares with chronic endometrial pathology. Samples were collected in dioestrus and in oestrus. For each immunoglobulin class (IgA, IgG, IgG(T), IgM) the results were expressed as a percentage of total immunoglobulin present in uterine washings or serum. Comparison was also made between changes in immunoglobulin concentrations between dioestrous and oestrous uterine samples, and uterine immunoglobulin concentrations between groups of mares. There was significantly more IgA in...
Diego R, Douet C, Reigner F, Blard T, Cognié J, Deleuze S, Goudet G.Transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicular punctures are widely used in the mare for diagnosis, research, and commercial applications. The objective of our study was to determine their influence on pain, stress, and well-being in the mare, by evaluating heart rate, breath rate, facial expression changes, and salivary cortisol before, during, and after puncture. For this experiment, 21 pony mares were used. Transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspirations were performed on 11 mares. After injections for sedation, analgesia, and antispasmodia, the follicles from both ovaries were aspirated with a needl...
Padoan E, Ferraresso S, Pegolo S, Barnini C, Castagnaro M, Bargelloni L.Mild equine asthma (MEA) and severe equine asthma (SEA) are two of the most frequent equine airway inflammatory diseases, but knowledge about their pathogenesis is limited. The goal of this study was to investigate gene expression differences in the respiratory tract of MEA- and SEA-affected horses and their relationship with clinical signs. Methods: Clinical examination and endoscopy were performed in 8 SEA- and 10 MEA-affected horses and 7 healthy controls. Cytological and microbiological analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were performed. Gene expression profiling of BAL fluid wa...
Abraham G, Kottke C, Ammer H, Dhein S, Ungemach FR.Muscarinic receptors are considered to be of comparable clinical importance in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in equines and in humans. At present, data are scarce on the expression and distribution of probable subtypes of these receptors and their signalling pathways in airway segments, including lung parenchyma and bronchial and tracheal epithelium with the underlying smooth muscle in horses. Specific [N-methyl-3H]scopolamine chloride ([3H]NMS) binding to all three tissues was saturable and of high affinity, with KD values ranging between 1.6+/-0.7 and 1.9+/-0.3 nmol/L. [3H]NMS...
McKenzie DM, Diffay BC.Cryptosporidial oocyst shedding was detected in a 2.5-year-old Quarterhorse stallion with diarrhoea. Based on the detection of cryptosporidial oocysts, and the absence of other aetiological agents or enteropathogens, cryptosporidiosis was presumptively diagnosed. This case was unusual because cryptosporidial oocyst shedding is primarily found in some immunocompromised or immature horses, and has not been reported in healthy mature horses.
Jöchle W, Irvine CH, Alexander SL, Newby TJ.Nine mares received cannulae to collect blood from the pituitary venous outflow in the intercavernous sinus (ICS) and the jugular vein; in 4 mares, only jugular cannulae were used. Those 4 mares and 3 of the mares with cannulae in both positions received 7.5 mg luprostiol i.m. and 1 mare with both cannulae was treated with 3.75 mg uprostiol i.v. Blood samples were kept before and after treatment at 2-, 5- or 10-min intervals and concentrations of LH, FSH and GnRH were determined by RIA. Treatments resulted in an immediate sharp rise of LH and FSH in ICS and jugular blood samples within 2-10 mi...
