Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
Topic:Veterinary Medicine
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.
Unexplained underperformance syndrome in sport horses: classification, potential causes and recognition. When inadequate training stress is applied and recovery time is insufficient, performance reduction and chronic maladaptation occurs. Known as overtraining syndrome (OTS), this complex condition afflicts horses in top training. The name of the syndrome implies causation and it is necessary to differentiate it from over-reaching, a term used in horses that, after suffering a loss of performance without an obvious clinical reason, recover their performance within 1 or 2 weeks. The term OTS should be used for horses in heavy training losing performance without an obvious clinical reason and which...
Evaluation of dimethyl sulphoxide effects on initial response to endotoxin in the horse. Endotoxaemia is one of the most severe and ubiquitous disease processes in horses. Although dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) is used clinically in horses, there is no study indicating its efficacy in endotoxaemic horses. Objective: DMSO ameliorates the clinical response to i.v. lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration. Methods: Eighteen horses were assigned randomly to one of 4 groups: Normosol-LPS (0.2 mug/kg bwt, i.v.); DMSO (1 g/kg bwt, i.v.)-saline; high-dose DMSO (1 g/kg bwt, i.v.)LPS; low-dose DMSO (20 mg/kg bwt, i.v.)-LPS. Horses participating in the DMSO-saline group were later assigned rando...
Molecular cloning and characterization of equine Toll-like receptor 9. Innate immunity relies on a series of germline-encoded pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), to detect conserved microbial components. TLR9 is typically expressed intracellularly in immune cells such as dendritic cells and recognizes unmethylated bacterial or viral cytosine-phosphate-guanine DNA (CpG-DNA). To investigate innate immune responses through TLR9 signaling pathway in horses, we cloned and characterized equine TLR9. Protein sequence analysis shows that equine TLR9 has a typically conserved cytosolic Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain, three l...
Validity of indicators of dehydration in working horses: a longitudinal study of changes in skin tent duration, mucous membrane dryness and drinking behaviour. Dehydration is a serious welfare concern in horses working in developing countries. Identification of a valid and practical indicator of dehydration would enable more rapid treatment and prevention. Objective: To examine changes in bodyweight, clinical and blood parameters during rehydration of working horses, identify a 'gold standard' criterion for dehydration and use this to validate a standardised skin tent test, drinking behaviour and mucous membrane dryness as potential field indicators. Methods: Fifty horses with a positive skin tent test, working in environmental temperatures of 30-44 ...
Morphological features of the placenta at term in the Martina Franca donkey. This study was designed to establish the morphological features of the placenta of the Martina Franca jenny. Ten placentas were harvested at the time of foal delivery and examined both for gross and histological characteristics. The following factors were determined: the total weight and volume of the placenta and its components, the surface area of the allantochorion, umbilical cord length and site of insertion, and the diameter of the umbilical cord vessels and vascular pattern type. The weight of the placenta was similar to previously reported for ponies, and represented 12% of foal birth w...
Effect of a dietary antioxidant supplementation on semen quality in pony stallions. Lipid peroxidation contributes to the damage of the sperm plasma membrane. In different species, dietary supplementation with antioxidants has been shown to improve semen quality. Therefore, we tested effects of dietary supplementation with antioxidants and l-carnitin on semen quality in Shetland pony stallions (n=6). Semen was collected twice a week over a time period of 16 weeks. From weeks 5 to 12, a special diet for stallions containing a variety of antioxidants (STALLION, Pavo Pferdenahrung GmbH, Goch, Germany; tocopherol 300 mg/day; ascorbic acid 300 mg/day; l-carnitin 4000 mg/day; folic...
Glycogen synthase (GYS1) mutation causes a novel skeletal muscle glycogenosis. Polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) is a novel glycogenosis in horses characterized by abnormal glycogen accumulation in skeletal muscle and muscle damage with exertion. It is unlike glycogen storage diseases resulting from known defects in glycogenolysis, glycolysis, and glycogen synthesis that have been described in humans and domestic animals. A genome-wide association identified GYS1, encoding skeletal muscle glycogen synthase (GS), as a candidate gene for PSSM. DNA sequence analysis revealed a mutation resulting in an arginine-to-histidine substitution in a highly conserved region of G...
Transmission dynamics and changing epidemiology of West Nile virus. West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus that is maintained in a bird-mosquito transmission cycle. Humans, horses and other non-avian vertebrates are usually incidental hosts, but evidence is accumulating that this might not always be the case. Historically, WNV has been associated with asymptomatic infections and sporadic disease outbreaks in humans and horses in Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. However, since 1994, the virus has caused frequent outbreaks of severe neuroinvasive disease in humans and horses in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. In 1999, WNV underwent a dramatic expansion of ...
Effects of exogenous insulin on luteolysis and reproductive cyclicity in the mare. Insulin is a pancreatic hormone that classically regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism, but also appears to play a role in various reproductive processes. A preliminary study suggested insulin production by day 10 to 18 equine conceptuses. The aim of the present study was to examine the hypothesis that insulin is the conceptus signal responsible for maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP) in the mare, or otherwise influences reproductive cyclicity during the MRP period. Six Warmblood mares were treated daily during days 7 to 17 after ovulation of two successive oestrous cycles with either ...
Naturally arising point mutations in non-essential domains of equine infectious anemia virus Rev alter Rev-dependent nuclear-export activity. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) exhibits a high rate of genetic variation in vivo, and results in a clinically variable disease in infected horses. In vivo populations of EIAV have been characterized by the presence of distinct, genetic subpopulations of Rev that differ in phenotype and fluctuate in dominance in a manner coincident with each clinical stage of disease. This study examined the specific mutations that arose in vivo and altered the phenotype. The Rev protein was found to be highly conserved, and only 10 aa mutations were observed at a frequency greater than 10 % in the sampl...
Clinical, serological and molecular investigations of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in 15 unweaned thoroughbred foals. Fifteen unweaned thoroughbred foals, born on a stud farm to vaccinated mares, were clinically monitored during their first six months of life and repeatedly tested for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4). Nasopharyngeal swabs and blood samples were collected and screened respectively by PCR and seroneutralisation to detect the presence of the virus, explore its role as a possible cause of respiratory disease, and to assess the efficiency of the pcr for the diagnosis of this disease. The foals were divided into three groups on the basis of their clinical sign...
Multinodular pulmonary fibrosis in five horses. 5 horses were evaluated because of decreased appetite, weight loss, fever, cough, tachypnea, and respiratory distress. Results: Tachycardia, tachypnea, increased respiratory effort, lethargy, fever, poor body condition, and nasal discharge were detected in various combinations on initial physical examination. Evaluation of the lower portion of the respiratory tract via radiography and ultrasonography revealed a severe nodular interstitial pattern. Histologic examination of lung tissue revealed interstitial expansion of alveolar parenchyma with collagen, intraluminal accumulation of neutrophils...
Impaired instrumental choice in crib-biting horses (Equus caballus). Horses displaying an oral stereotypy were tested on an instrumental choice paradigm to examine differences in learning from non-stereotypic counterparts. Stereotypic horses are known to have dysfunction of the dorsomedial striatum, and lesion studies have shown that this region may mediate response-outcome learning. The paradigm was specifically applied in order to examine learning that requires maintenance of response-outcome judgements. The non-stereotypic horses learned, over three sessions, to choose a more immediate reinforcer, whereas the stereotypic horses failed to do so. This suggests...
Health management of horses under high challenge from trypanosomes: a case study from Serengeti, Tanzania. Horses kept for recreational riding purposes by a wildlife tourism company in a heavily tsetse fly-infested region of north-western Tanzania were systematically monitored to investigate the occurrence, presentation and management of tsetse-transmitted trypanosomosis. During a 23-month period, 18 clinical cases were diagnosed (Trypanosoma brucei or Trypanosoma congolense were identified) and treated and trypanosomes were implicated of involvement in four deaths. Pyrexia consistently aided early detection (17 cases). Ataxia, weight loss and anaemia were seen in chronic cases and conferred a poor...
Mineral balance in horses fed two supplemental silicon sources. Numerous studies suggest that silicon (Si) supplementation is beneficial for mineral metabolism and bone health. Mineral balance studies have not been performed in horses to determine how these supplements affect absorption of other minerals. The purpose of these studies was to investigate the effects of two different Si supplements on mineral absorption and retention in horses. Eight geldings were randomly placed in one of two groups: control (CO) or supplemental Si, which was provided by one of two supplements. The first, sodium aluminium silicate (SA), contains a bioavailable form of Si and...
Bradykinin stimulates prostaglandin E2 production and cyclooxygenase activity in equine nonglandular and glandular gastric mucosa in vitro. There are few data available regarding regulation of prostaglandin (PG) generation by equine gastric mucosae and the role of the cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms in their production. Objective: To: 1) characterise and quantify PGE2 output in vitro; 2) examine the sensitivity of PGE2 production to exogenous bradykinin (BK) exposure; 3) determine the contribution of the COX-1 and COX-2 pathways to basal and BK-stimulated PGE2 production; and 4) measure if BK influences electrogenic ion transport in equine gastric mucosae in vitro. Methods: Full thickness gastric sheets were obtained from horses at ...
American cutaneous leishmaniasis in horses from endemic areas in the north-central mesoregion of Paraná state, Brazil. American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is an endemic disease in the north-west of Paraná state, Brazil, where it occurs in humans and dogs. Few studies have been undertaken on the occurrence of the disease in other domestic animals and horses. In this study we investigated the infection of horses by Leishmania in ACL-endemic rural areas. Direct agglutination test (DAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed. Fifty-five horses from rural areas in the municipalities of Doutor Camargo, Ourizona, São Jorge do Ivaí, Ivatuba and Santa Fé (Agua do O) were analysed. DAT-detected antibod...
Retrospective analysis of exploratory laparotomies in 192 Andalusian horses and 276 horses of other breeds. The medical records of 468 horses that underwent 490 exploratory laparotomies for the correction of gastrointestinal diseases were reviewed to search for differences between Andalusian horses and other breeds. The seasonal distribution of surgical colics and their outcome and complications were also investigated. Bivariant analysis was used to compare the horses' age, gender and breed with the type of surgery, the bowel affected and the type of colic, and all these variables were compared in relation to euthanasia during surgery, complications, short-term survival and seasonal distribution. A ...
Student training in large-animal handling at the School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Australia. The ability to handle animals safely, competently, and with confidence is an essential skill for veterinarians. Poor animal-handling skills are likely to compromise credibility, occupational health and safety, and animal welfare. In the five-year veterinary science degree at Murdoch University, animal handling is taught in a prerequisite unit in the second semester of the second year. From 2008, however, this unit will be taught in the first year of the five-year course. Students are taught to handle sheep, cattle, pigs, and horses safely and competently. Each student receives 30 hours of form...
Study of equid herpesviruses 2 and 5 in Iceland with a type-specific polymerase chain reaction. The horse population in Iceland is a special breed, isolated from other horses for at least 1000 years. This provides an exceptional opportunity to investigate old and new pathogens in an inbred herd with few infectious diseases. We have developed a high sensitivity semi-nested PCR to study equid gammaherpesviruses 2 and 5 (EHV-2 and 5) in Iceland. The first PCR is group specific, the second type-specific, targeting a 113bp sequence in the glyB gene. DNA isolated from white blood cells and 18 different organs was tested for the presence of EHV-2 and 5. This was done in adult horses and foals, ...
Teaching animal handling to veterinary students at Massey University, New Zealand. The veterinary program at the Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand, is 4.5 years long. Animal handling and restraint are taught to first-year veterinary students via lectures and practical sessions. Students are taught to catch, restrain, and hold the five important domesticated species (horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, and cats) in a series of five practical sessions, each lasting about three hours. Safety is emphasized. Students are taught in groups of 10-12, and generally the tutors demonstrate the various techniques of restraint and then super...
Chondrocytes harvested from osteochondritis dissecans cartilage are able to undergo limited in vitro chondrogenesis despite having perturbations of cell phenotype in vivo. Our objective was to characterize the variation in gene expression for key genes associated with chondrogenic phenotype of osteochondrosis (OC)-affected and normal chondrocytes, and to identify whether OC chondrocytes can redifferentiate and regain a phenotype similar to normal chondrocytes if appropriate chondrogenic signals are given. Equine articular cartilage removed at surgery to treat clinically significant OC lesions was collected (n = 10), and the gene expression evaluated and compared to aged-matched normal samples (n = 10). Cartilage was harvested from normal (n = 4) and OC (n = 3) j...
Training in animal handling for veterinary students at Charles Sturt University, Australia. Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia, is responding to a national need for veterinarians with the skills and attributes to fulfill roles in rural practice and the large-animal industries. Rural practitioners must competently and confidently handle a range of large animals if they are to build a relationship of mutual trust with clients and deliver effective animal-health services. Training in animal handling begins in the first year of the course with highly structured small-group practical classes involving cattle, horses, sheep, dogs, cats, pigs, poultry, and laboratory ani...
Heart murmurs and valvular regurgitation in thoroughbred racehorses: epidemiology and associations with athletic performance. Cardiac murmurs associated with valvular regurgitation occur commonly in conditioned performance horses, but their association with athletic performance is unknown. Objective: Cardiac valvular regurgitation has a negative association with race performance. Methods: Five hundred and twenty-six "race fit" Thoroughbred racehorses engaged in either flat (race distance 1,000-2,500 m) or jump racing (race distance 3,200-6,400 m). Methods: Cardiac auscultation and color flow Doppler (CFD) echocardiography were performed on 777 occasions. The associations between the presence and severity of either an...
Detection of Bartonella henselae in the blood of 2 adult horses. Bartonella spp. are emerging zoonotic agents that have been found in a wide variety of domestic animals and wildlife and cause a number of clinical syndromes. Bartonella sp. infection has been identified in a growing number of animal species, including cats, rodents, porpoises, and canids, but has not been reported in horses. Objective: To document the presence of Bartonella sp. in the blood of horses. Methods: One horse with chronic arthropathy and 1 horse with presumptive vasculitis. Methods: Blood samples were tested for the presence of Bartonella sp. by a combination of multiplex real-time...
Stereological characteristics of the equine accessory nerve. Stereological techniques have been increasingly employed for assessment and characterization of neuromuscular diseases in humans and animals. As an adjunct to histopathology, morphometrical algorithms provide quantitative evidence of the peripheral nerve composition, thereby shedding light on its fibre characteristics and basic electrophysiological properties. In the horse, stereological investigations already have focussed on the recurrent laryngeal, deep peroneal and lateral palmar nerves (LPN). Of these, only the latter is suitable for taking biopsies in clinical settings, however, it does ...
The effect of adding oral dexamethasone to feed alterations on the airway cell inflammatory gene expression in stabled horses affected with recurrent airway obstruction. Chemokine expression in airway epithelium and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells of horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is increased. Objective: For RAO-affected horses that are stabled and fed a pelleted ration, the addition of oral dexamethasone further improves pulmonary function and reduces inflammatory gene expression in pulmonary cells. Methods: Twelve RAO-affected horses. Methods: In a randomized cross-over experiment, the effect of feeding pellets in lieu of hay to stabled, RAO-affected horses was compared with the effect of feeding pellets and administering a 21-day ...
Intake and excretion of disodium monomethylarsonate in horses: a speciation study. Capillary electrophoresis coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used in a speciation study on disodium monomethylarsonate (DS-MMA(V)) and its metabolites in horses, to which the drug was administered by intramuscular injection on five consecutive days at a single arsenic dosage of 270 mg day(-1). Samples of urine, whole blood, plasma, and mane hair were analyzed before, during, and after drug administration. The data show that blood clearing and urinary excretion of MMA is a fast process following first-order kinetics with biological half-lives of about 38 h and 44 h for ...
