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.
Lagounova M, MacNicol JL, Weese JS, Pearson W.Synbiotics are often provided to horses receiving antibiotics to protect against microbiome disturbances, despite a lack of evidence for efficacy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a synbiotic product in horses receiving antibiotics. Sixteen actively racing Standardbred horses were randomly allocated (four-way crossover) to one of four groups: antibiotics (10 days; AB), synbiotics (28 days; PROBIOPlusTM; PBP), PBP + AB, or Control. The fecal microbiome was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing, and fecal dry matter (DM; %), pH, and scores (FS; 0-9) were measured. Data we...
McCarthy MB, Duesterdieck-Zellmer KF, Larson MK.To determine whether Botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) ameliorates the effects of interleukin 1 (IL-1) on equine articular cartilage, or exerts negative effects on normal equine articular cartilage homeostasis in vitro. Methods: Articular cartilage explants from 6 healthy femoropatellar joints of 3 adult horses. Methods: Explants were allocated to the IL-1 challenged or unchallenged group, then exposed to 1 of 6 concentrations of BoNT-A (0, 1, 10, 50, 100, or 500 pg/mL) for 96 hours. To assess BoNT-A's effects on inflammation, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) was measured in media via ELISA. Matrix ...
Zaha C, Schuszler L, Dascalu R, Nistor P, Florea T, Rujescu C, Sicoe B, Igna C.The field of veterinary medicine lacks information on equine thermal hoof printing, and few data on the same subject are available in dogs. In human medicine, thermography is used to detect heat emitted by the foot when it comes in contact with a flat surface to detect the abnormalities of the foot balance. The hypothesis states that the thermal pattern of the hoof print in Warmblood horses is detectable and it does not vary among the four limbs in leisure and cross-country Warmblood horses in terms of mean temperature of the hoof print surface. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the a...
Bonomelli N, Höglund OV, Bonilla AG.To report the use and feasibility of a self-locking resorbable loop device for cryptorchidectomy. Methods: Clinical prospective study. Methods: Twenty horses. Methods: Horses suspected to have an abdominal testicle/s after admission work-up were enrolled. Horses were anesthetized in dorsal recumbency and a standard laparoscopic technique was performed. The looped device was inserted into the abdomen, glided around the testis/cord and tightened. Then, the spermatic cord was transected prior testis removal. Surgical procedure details and remarks, perioperative complications and total surgical ti...
Triant DA, Walsh AT, Hartley GA, Petry B, Stegemiller MR, Nelson BM, McKendrick MM, Fuller EP, Cockett NE, Koltes JE, McKay SD, Green JA, Murdoch BM....Current genome sequencing technologies have made it possible to generate highly contiguous genome assemblies for non-model animal species. Despite advances in genome assembly methods, there is still room for improvement in the delineation of specific gene features in the genomes. Here we present genome visualization and annotation tools to support seven livestock species (bovine, chicken, goat, horse, pig, sheep, and water buffalo), available in a new resource called AgAnimalGenomes. In addition to supporting the manual refinement of gene models, these browsers provide visualization tracks for...
Pearson GB, Papa B, Mosaddegh A, Cooper H, Aprea M, Pigott J, Altier C, Cazer CL, Reesink HL.To investigate (1) variables associated with the likelihood of obtaining a positive culture, (2) commonly isolated microorganisms, and (3) antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolates from horses with presumptive synovial sepsis. Methods: Synovial fluid, synovium, and bone samples from equine cases with presumptive synovial sepsis submitted to the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center from 2000 to 2020 for microbial culture and antimicrobial sensitivity testing. Methods: Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to determine the effect of variables on the likelihood o...
Li H, Kim JV, Pickering BS.Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are biosafety level 4 zoonotic pathogens causing severe and often fatal neurological and respiratory disease. These agents have been recognized by the World Health Organization as top priority pathogens expected to result in severe future outbreaks. HeV has caused sporadic infections in horses and a small number of human cases in Australia since 1994. The NiV Malaysia genotype (NiV-M) was responsible for the 1998-1999 epizootic outbreak in pigs with spillover to humans in Malaysia and Singapore. Since 2001, the NiV Bangladesh genotype (NiV-B) has been t...
Barrett MF, Goorchenko GE, Frisbie DD.Damage to the soft tissue structures of the digit is a common source of equine lameness. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows for the most complete diagnostic imaging of the equine digit, ultrasound is more readily available and less expensive. This prospective diagnostic accuracy study compares ultrasound to MRI for the diagnosis of injuries visible with ultrasound within the digit, including the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), collateral sesamoidean ligament (CSL), and navicular bursa. Clinical patients underwent an MRI of the digit and a blinded ultrasound of the digit between t...
Holguin-Rocha AF, Calle-Tobon A, Vásquez GM, Astete H, Fisher ML, Tobon-Castano A, Velez-Tobon G, Maldonado-Ruiz LP, Silver K, Park Y....Ticks are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites that transmit pathogens among various vertebrates, including humans. The microbial and viral communities of ticks, including pathogenic microorganisms, are known to be highly diverse. However, the factors driving this diversity are not well understood. The tropical horse tick, Dermacentor nitens, is distributed throughout the Americas and it is recognized as a natural vector of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, the causal agents of equine piroplasmosis. In this study, we characterized the bacterial and viral communities associated with partial...
Chen Q, Wang Z, Chen H.Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) can indirectly cause increased testosterone in animals, which leads to the improvement of the athletic ability of horses. For the protection of horses and the consideration of fair competition, AIs were listed as prohibited drugs by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). There were several disadvantages using traditional pretreatment methods before analyzing these drugs from biological samples. A rapid and green pretreatment method has been developed by utilizing the hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (D...
St George L, Spoormakers TJP, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ, Clayton HM, Richards J, Serra Bragança FM.The reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) has not been adequately demonstrated in the equine literature and is an essential consideration as a methodology for application in clinical gait analysis. This observational study investigated within-session, intra-subject (stride-to-stride) and inter-subject reliability, and between-session reliability of normalised sEMG activity profiles, from triceps brachii (triceps), latissimus dorsi (latissimus), longissimus dorsi (longissimus), biceps femoris (biceps), superficial gluteal (gluteal) and semitendinosus muscles in n = 8 clinically non-lam...
Bergmann R, Schroedl W, Müller U, Baums CG.Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is a major equine pathogen that causes pneumonia, abortion, and polyarthritis. It can also cause invasive infections in humans. SEZ expresses the M-like protein SzM, which recruits host proteins such as fibrinogen to the bacterial surface. Equine SEZ strain C2, which binds only comparably low amounts of human fibrinogen in comparison to human SEZ strain C33, was previously shown to proliferate in equine and human blood. As the expression of SzM_C2 was necessary for survival in blood, this study investigated the working hypothesis that SzM_C2 inhibi...
Pielok A, Kępska M, Steczkiewicz Z, Grobosz S, Bourebaba L, Marycz K.Medicinal signaling cells (MSC) exhibit distinct molecular signatures and biological abilities, depending on the type of tissue they originate from. Recently, we isolated and described a new population of stem cells residing in the coronary corium, equine hoof progenitor cells (HPCs), which could be a new promising cell pool for the treatment of laminitis. Therefore, this study aimed to compare native populations of HPCs to well-established adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in standard culture conditions and in a pro-inflammatory milieu to mimic a laminitis condition. ASCs and HPCs were either...
Bolz NM, Sánchez-Andrade JS, Torgerson PR, Bischofberger AS.The purpose of the study was to determine the diagnostic performance of computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) and 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting artificial cartilage lesions in equine femorotibial and femoropatellar joints. Methods: A total of 79 cartilage defects were created arthroscopically in 15 cadaver stifles from adult horses in eight different locations. In addition, 68 sites served as negative controls. MRI and CTA (80-160 mL iodinated contrast media at 87.5 mg/mL per joint) studies were obtained and evaluated by a radiologist unaware of the lesion distributi...
Roberts JH, Zhang J, David F, McLean A, Blumenshine K, Müller-Alander E, Halper J.Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD) negatively impacts connective tissues in horses, which often leads to progressive chronic pain and lameness. DSLD has been shown to be a systemic disorder that affects multiple body systems, including tendons, sclerae, and the aorta. Currently, the diagnosis is confirmed by post mortem histological examination of a tendon or suspensory ligament. Histology reveals inappropriate accumulations of proteoglycans in the tendons and other tissues in DSLD-affected horses. Unfortunately, there is no reliable method to diagnose DSLD in living horses. Rece...
Zahradnik E, Sander I, Lotz A, Liebers V, Thullner I, Tacke S, Raulf M.The study aimed to determine the allergen, endotoxin and β-(1,3)-glucan concentrations at various areas on a university campus of veterinary medicine. Methods: Dust samples were collected four times a year for three years using electrostatic dust collectors (EDC) at 25 different locations on a campus of veterinary medicine and in laboratories of inorganic chemistry as a control area representing animal-free environment. Major animal allergens from dog, cat, horse, cattle and mouse, domestic mite (DM) allergens, and β-(1,3)-glucan were measured using enzyme immunoassays and endotoxin using th...
Trsan J, Nottle BF, Pusterla N.This study was designed to determine the effect of PPG and/or flunixin meglumine on SAA response when used at clinical dosing regimens in healthy adult horses. Six healthy adult horses were enrolled in a crossover study design including one control and three treatment groups: no treatment (control); PPG alone (intramuscularly q12h for 72h); flunixin meglumine alone (intravenously q24h for 72h); and PPG (intramuscularly q12h for 72h) and flunixin meglumine (intravenously q24h for 72h). Whole blood was collected at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours post-initial drug administration to measure SAA u...
Knych HK, McKemie DS, Kass PH, Stanley SD, Blea J.Ketoprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug that is commonly administered to racehorses for the alleviation of musculoskeletal pain and inflammation. This study represents a comprehensive examination of the metabolism (in vivo and in vitro), pharmacokinetics and ex vivo pharmacodynamics, of ketoprofen in horses. The in vitro metabolism as well as specific enzymes responsible for metabolism was determined by incubating liver microsomes and recombinant CYP450 and UGT enzymes with ketoprofen. For the in vivo portion, 15 horses were administered a single intravenous dose of 2.2-mg/kg ketoprofen. Blood...
Gonzálvez M, Franco JJ, Barbero-Moyano J, Caballero-Gómez J, Ruano MJ, Martínez R, Cano-Terriza D, García-Bocanegra I.The largest epidemic of West Nile virus (WNV) reported ever in Spain in both humans and equines occurred in 2020, affecting 77 humans and 139 equine herds. Here, we aimed to monitor the outbreaks detected in equid herds in Andalusia (southern Spain), the Spanish region where 89.9% of the outbreaks were reported, and to evaluate the virus circulation and risk factor associated with WNV exposure in the affected herds. The first WNV case was detected in mid-July 2020, the number of outbreaks peaked in mid-August and the last one was confirmed on 26th October 2020. WNV lineage 1 was detected in 12...
Fletcher KA, Limon G, Padalino B, Hall GK, Chancellor N, Grist A, Gibson TJ.Current legislation in the United Kingdom stipulates that horses should not be slaughtered within sight of one another. However, abattoir personnel anecdotally report that, for semi-feral horses unused to restraint, co-slaughtering alongside a conspecific could reduce distress through social buffering and improve safety, but there is a lack of evidence to support this. CCTV footage from an English abattoir was assessed retrospectively with welfare indicators from when horses entered the kill pen until they were killed. Of 256 horses analysed, 12% (32/256) were co-slaughtered (alongside a consp...
Dallarosa P, Monteiro ER, Borenstein APS, Valle SF.Packed cell volume (PCV) is important for assessing a patient's health status. Some blood gas analyzers measure hematocrit, and the agreement with PCV varies among different analyzers. Objective: We aimed to determine the agreement between PCV measured by microcentrifugation and hematocrit measured by the Cobas b121 blood gas analyzer in dogs, cats, and horses. Methods: Whole blood samples for PCV and blood gas analysis were collected in lithium-heparin syringes and analyzed within 10 min of collection. Agreement and association between the PCV and Cobas b121 generated hematocrit were assess...
Tallon RE, Gough RL, McGovern KF.To describe the use of an equine compression suit to manage a deep axillary wound in a Thoroughbred filly with bilateral pneumothorax. Methods: A 2-year-old Thoroughbred filly was referred for management of a deep wound to the left axilla. Packing and bandaging of the area were initially attempted, but this became repeatedly dislodged, and bandaging was discontinued. The filly subsequently developed widespread subcutaneous emphysema, and the wound was slow to granulate. Acute onset respiratory distress occurred 11 days after admission, secondary to bilateral worsening pneumothorax, and requir...
Montaner-Angoiti E, Llobat L.Leishmania is a genus of parasitic protozoa that causes a disease called leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female sandflies. There are several different species of Leishmania that can cause various forms of the disease, and the symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on species of Leishmania involved and the immune response of the host. Leishmania parasites have a variety of reservoirs, including humans, domestic animals, horses, rodents, wild animals, birds, and reptiles. Leishmaniasis is endemic of 90 countries, mainly in South Amer...
Reed RA, Krikorian AM, Reynolds RM, Holmes BT, Branning MM, Lemons MB, Barletta M, Quandt JE, Burns CC, Dantino SC, Sakai DM.Equine pain scoring may be affected by the residual effect of anesthetic drugs. Unassigned: To compare pain scores in the hours immediately following anesthetic recovery to baseline pre-anesthetic scores in equine patients undergoing surgical and non-surgical procedures. Unassigned: Clinical observational study. Unassigned: Fifty adult horses undergoing anesthesia for surgical or non-surgical procedures were enrolled. Horses underwent pain scoring using the Composite Pain Score (CPS) and Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP) prior to anesthesia (T0) and foll...
Costa LRR, Swiderski C, Palm C, Aleman M.To investigate if hepatitis A virus cell receptor 1/kidney injury molecule 1 (HAVCR1/KIM1) in urine is detectable concurrently with increases in serum creatinine concentrations in horses receiving a recommended dose of phenylbutazone (PBZ) for 7 days. Methods: Preliminary study. Methods: Ten clinically healthy horses with normal physical examination and laboratory work were randomly assigned to PBZ or placebo groups (5 each). The PBZ group received PBZ at 4.4 mg/kg mixed with corn syrup orally every 12 hours. The placebo group received corn syrup orally every 12 hours. Both groups were tre...
Crecan CM, Peștean CP.Objective gait analysis provides valuable information about the locomotion characteristics of sound and lame horses. Due to their high accuracy and sensitivity, inertial measurement units (IMUs) have gained popularity over objective measurement techniques such as force plates and optical motion capture (OMC) systems. IMUs are wearable sensors that measure acceleration forces and angular velocities, providing the possibility of a non-invasive and continuous monitoring of horse gait during walk, trot, or canter during field conditions. The present narrative review aimed to describe the inertial ...
Harman RM, Rajesh A, Van de Walle GR.Treatment of skin wounds is a high priority in veterinary medicine because healthy uncompromised skin is essential for the well-being of horses. Stem cells and other biologic therapies offer benefits by reducing the need for surgical procedures and conventional antibiotics. Evidence from in vitro studies and small in vivo trials supports the use of equine stem cells and biologics for the treatment of acute and chronic cutaneous wounds. Larger clinical trials are warranted to better evaluate the regenerative and immunological responses to these treatments. Additionally, delivery methods and t...
Fortier LA.Bone marrow concentrate is generated by centrifugation of bone marrow aspirate. It contains mesenchymal stromal cells, anabolic chemokines/cytokines, and supraphysiological concentrations of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-1RA). It is an effective treatment for osteoarthritis or desmitis, or as an adjunct in surgery to enhance bone or cartilage repair.
Castro-Mesa AF, Resende Faleiros R, Martínez-Aranzales JR.The transmural ultrasound allows for the definition of the normal appearance of the hoof tissues and internal structures. Determining such measurements and proportions could contribute to evaluations of the normal spatial distal phalanx-hoof relationship. The objective was to describe the hoof's dermis and epidermis measurements using the transmural technique, in comparison with DR and anatomical sections. Sixty-two healthy hooves without digital radiographic abnormalities, made up of 30 anatomical pieces (phase 1) and 32 alive horse hooves (phase 2), and 16 sagittal sections of the first ones...
Colbath AC, Frye CW.Biologic therapies are becoming increasingly utilized by veterinarians. The literature regarding the interaction of biologic therapies with other therapeutics is still in its infancy. Initial studies have examined the effects of exercise, stress, various pharmaceutical interventions, extracorporeal shockwave, therapeutic laser, and hyperbaric oxygen on biologic therapies. Continued research is imperative as owners and veterinarians increasingly choose a multimodal approach to injury and illness. Further, understanding the effects of concurrently administered treatments and pharmaceuticals as w...
Wiedmeyer CE, Johnson PJ, Cohn LA, Meadows RL, Kerl ME, Tessman RK, Perlis J, DeClue AE.With the emergence of continuous glucose monitoring systems being used to provide a detailed glucose picture in humans, a commercially available system (CGMS(R), Medtronic Minimed, Northridge, CA) was examined for use in veterinary species. Methods: Adult, clinically normal horses (n = 7), cats (n = 3), dogs (n = 4), and cows (n = 5) were studied. Cats (n = 4), dogs (n = 5), and one horse with diabetes were included in the study. Several of the normal horses, including the horse with diabetes, and one cow were subjected to an intravenous glucose tolerance test. The CGMS was attached to each an...
Gao W, Chan Y, You M, Lacap-Bugler DC, Leung WK, Watt RM.This study explored the range of bacterial taxa present within healthy subgingival (below the gum-line) niches in the horse oral cavity using 16S rRNA gene amplicon pyrosequencing. Pooled subgingival plaque samples were collected from approximately 200 sulcus sites from two horses (EQ1, EQ2) for analysis. A total of 14,260 quality-filtered pyrosequencing reads were obtained, which were assigned to 3875 operational taxonomic units (OTUs; 99% identity cut-off); 1907 OTUs for EQ1 and 2156 OTUs for EQ2. Diverse taxa from 12 phyla were identified, including Actinobacteria (3.17%), Bacteroidetes (25...
Álvarez-Narváez S, Giguère S, Cohen N, Slovis N, Vázquez-Boland JA.Multidrug resistance has been detected in the animal and zoonotic human pathogen Rhodococcus equi after mass macrolide/rifampin antibioprophylaxis in endemically affected equine farms in the United States. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) R. equi emerged upon acquisition of pRERm46, a conjugative plasmid conferring resistance to macrolides, lincosamides, streptogramins, and, as we describe, tetracycline. Phylogenomic analyses indicate that the increasing prevalence of MDR R. equi since it was first documented in 2002 is caused by a clone, R. equi 2287, attributable to coselection of pRErm46 with a ch...
Cook VL, Meyer CT, Campbell NB, Blikslager AT.To determine whether treatment of horses with firocoxib affects recovery of ischemic-injured jejunum, while providing effective analgesia. Methods: 18 horses. Methods: Horses (n = 6 horses/group) received saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (1 mL/50 kg, IV), flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg, IV, q 12 h), or firocoxib (0.09 mg/kg, IV, q 24 h) before 2 hours of jejunal ischemia. Horses were monitored via pain scores and received butorphanol for analgesia. After 18 hours, ischemic-injured and control mucosa were placed in Ussing chambers for measurement of transepithelial resistance and permeability to lipo...
Hollis AR, Wilkins PA, Palmer JE, Boston RC.Bacteremia in sick foals is associated with survival, but the association of bacteremia and diarrhea is not reported. Objective: Neonatal foals with diarrhea will commonly be bacteremic. Methods: One hundred and thirty-three neonatal foals. Methods: Records of all foals <30 days of age presenting with diarrhea between January 1990 and September 2007 were reviewed. Results: Sixty-six of 133 foals (50%) were bacteremic at admission, with 75 isolates from the 66 samples. The blood culture from a further 18 foals (13.5%) grew coryneform bacteria. Nine foals (6.8%) had 2 or more organisms grown on ...
Saiz JC.West Nile virus (WNV) is a widely distributed enveloped flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes, which main hosts are birds. The virus sporadically infects equids and humans with serious economic and health consequences, as infected individuals can develop a severe neuroinvasive disease that can even lead to death. Nowadays, no WNV-specific therapy is available and vaccines are only licensed for use in horses but not for humans. While several methodologies for WNV vaccine development have been successfully applied and have contributed to significantly reducing its incidence in horses in the US, n...
Egenvall A, Tranquille CA, Lönnell AC, Bitschnau C, Oomen A, Hernlund E, Montavon S, Franko MA, Murray RC, Weishaupt MA, Weeren vR, Roepstorff L.Orthopaedic, or other, injuries in sports medicine can be quantified using the 'days-lost to training' concept. Both the training regimen and the surface used in training and racing can affect the health of racehorses. Our aim was to associate 'days-lost to training' in elite-level show-jumpers to horse characteristics, training and management strategies, and the time spent working on various training and competition surfaces. We designed a longitudinal study of professional riders in four European countries. Data were recorded using training diaries. Reasons for days-lost were classified into...
Campos RK, Brum MC, Nogueira CE, Drumond BP, Alves PA, Siqueira-Lima L, Assis FL, Trindade GS, Bonjardim CA, Ferreira PC, Weiblen R, Flores EF....During the last bovine vaccinia (BV) outbreaks, several Vaccinia virus (VACV) strains were isolated and characterised, revealing significant polymorphisms between strains, even within conserved genes. Although the epidemiology of VACV has been studied in BV outbreaks, there is little data about the circulation of the Brazilian VACV isolates. This study describes the genetic and biological characterisation of two VACV isolates, Pelotas 1 virus (P1V) and Pelotas 2 virus (P2V), which were obtained concomitantly from a horse affected by severe cutaneous disease. Despite being isolated from the sam...
Tilley P, Sales Luis JP, Branco Ferreira M.As recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is progressive and as medical history is frequently unknown by owners, it's important to suggest a score model to characterize RAO stages for a more accurate diagnosis and treatment. The authors correlated clinical (CS), endoscopic (ES), thoracic X-ray (XRS) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALFS) scores in horses with RAO, in an attempt to establish relevance of each factor's contribution for the characterization of RAO stages and to suggest a staging method. Thirty horses with RAO and ten healthy controls were studied. Pearson correlation coefficients w...
Cheadle MA, Tanhauser SM, Dame JB, Sellon DC, Hines M, Ginn PE, MacKay RJ, Greiner EC.The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is an intermediate host of at least three species of Sarcocystis, Sarcocystis dasypi, Sarcocystis diminuta, and an unidentified species; however, life cycles of these species have not been determined. Following feeding of armadillo muscles containing sarcocysts to the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), the opossums shed sporulated Sarcocystis sporocysts in their faeces. Mean dimensions for sporocysts were 11.0x7.5 microm and each contained four sporozoites and a residual body. Sporocysts were identified as Sarcocystis neurona using PCR and...
Fenner K, Hyde M, Crean A, McGreevy P.Owner-reported behavioural observations form an essential part of the veterinarians' diagnosis and treatment plan. The way we train and manage horses affects their behaviour and, in turn, their health and welfare. Current horse training and management practices are largely driven by traditional techniques and longstanding methodologies. These approaches generally lack an evidence base for evaluation purposes. The absence of evidence and evaluation contributes to the persistent use of risky practices and this, in turn, increases risk of potential harms for both horse and rider, and fuels questi...
Patterson-Kane JC, Firth EC.Despite the high incidence of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury in racehorses, the pathobiology of the condition is not clearly defined. The SDFT improves locomotor efficiency by storing elastic energy, but as a result it has low mechanical safety margins. As with the Achilles tendon in humans, rupture during athletic activity often follows accumulation of exercise and age-induced degenerative change that is not repaired by tenocytes. There is limited understanding of tenocyte biology and pathology, including responses to high mechanical strains and core temperatures during exerc...
MacLeay JM, Sorum SA, Valberg SJ, Marsh WE, Sorum MD.To determine incidence, effect on performance, and management practices associated with exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) in Thoroughbreds. Methods: Medical records for 984 Thoroughbreds and a survey of trainers of horses with and without ER. Methods: Medical records for 984 Thoroughbreds stabled at a midwestern racetrack were examined to determine the incidence of ER during the 1995 racing season. A retrospective questionnaire was administered to trainers to determine management practices associated with ER in 59 Thoroughbreds with ER and 47 control Thoroughbreds in training. Multiple logistic r...
Boemer F, Detilleux J, Cello C, Amory H, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Richard E, van Galen G, van Loon G, Lefère L, Votion DM.Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is caused by hypoglycin A intoxication and is characterized by a high fatality rate. Predictive estimation of survival in AM horses is necessary to prevent unnecessary suffering of animals that are unlikely to survive and to focus supportive therapy on horses with a possible favourable prognosis of survival. We hypothesized that outcome may be predicted early in the course of disease based on the assumption that the acylcarnitine profile reflects the derangement of muscle energetics. We developed a statistical model to prognosticate the risk of death of diseased a...
Franzén P, Aspan A, Egenvall A, Gunnarsson A, Karlstam E, Pringle J.Anaplasma phagocytophilum infects several mammalian species, and can persist in sheep, dogs, and calves. However, whether this organism persists in horses or induces long-term clinical abnormalities is not known. Objective: To evaluate whether A. phagocytophilum can persist in horses and to document clinical findings for 3 months after complete recovery from acute disease. Methods: Five clinically normal adult horses that had recovered spontaneously from experimentally induced acute disease caused by a Swedish equine isolate of A. phagocytophilum. Methods: Horses were monitored for up to 129 d...
Sun TC, Riggs CM, Cogger N, Wright J, Al-Alawneh JI.Reports of fractures in racehorses have predominantly focused on catastrophic injuries, and there are limited data identifying the location and incidence of fractures that did not result in a fatal outcome. Objective: To describe the nature and the incidence of noncatastrophic and catastrophic fractures in Thoroughbreds racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) over seven racing seasons. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Data of fractures sustained in horses while racing and of race characteristics were extracted from the HKJC Veterinary Management Information System (VMIS) and Ra...
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...
Bressan FF, Bassanezze V, de Figueiredo Pessôa LV, Sacramento CB, Malta TM, Kashima S, Fantinato Neto P, Strefezzi RF, Pieri NCG, Krieger JE....Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have enormous potential in developmental biology studies and in cellular therapies. Although extensively studied and characterized in human and murine models, iPSCs from animals other than mice lack reproducible results. Herein, we describe the generation of robust iPSCs from equine and bovine cells through lentiviral transduction of murine or human transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc and from human and murine cells using similar protocols, even when different supplementations were used. The iPSCs were analyzed regarding morphology, gene and...
LaPolt PS, Tilly JL, Aihara T, Nishimori K, Hsueh AJ.The actions of gonadotropins on ovarian differentiation are associated with dynamic changes in gonadotropin receptor content, presumably due to modulation of receptor gene expression. The present studies used a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to obtain a rat FSH receptor cDNA fragment, followed by synthesis of a labeled cRNA probe to examine the regulation of FSH receptor mRNA levels during follicular maturation, ovulation, and luteinization. Northern blot analysis of ovarian RNA with the FSH receptor probe revealed two predominant hybridization signals of 7.0 and 2.5 kilobases...
Borjesson DL, Peroni JF.This article focuses on the emerging field of equine regenerative medicine with an emphasis on the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for orthopedic diseases. We detail laboratory procedures and protocols for tissue handling and MSC isolation, characterization, expansion, and cryopreservation from bone marrow, fat, and placental tissues. We provide an overview of current clinical uses for equine MSCs and how MSCs function to heal tissues. Current laboratory practices in equine regenerative medicine mirror those in the human field. However, the translational use of autologous and allogeneic M...
Barr ED, Pinchbeck GL, Clegg PD, Boyde A, Riggs CM.Thoroughbred racehorses are commonly affected by subchondral bone injury, but the exact prevalence and the distribution of palmar/plantar osteochondral disease (POD) lesions are unknown. The relationship between pathologies has not been elucidated, although it is widely accepted that POD is a manifestation of traumatic overload arthrosis. Objective: There is an association between grade of POD and other pathologies affecting the third metacarpal and metatarsal (MC/MTIII) condyles (wear lines, cartilage loss, marginal remodelling, dorsal impact injuries and linear fissures). Objective: To evalu...
Ferris RA, McCue PM, Borlee GI, Glapa KE, Martin KH, Mangalea MR, Hennet ML, Wolfe LM, Broeckling CD, Borlee BR.Bacteria in a biofilm community have increased tolerance to antimicrobial therapy. To characterize the role of biofilms in equine endometritis, six mares were inoculated with -engineered strains isolated from equine uterine infections. Following establishment of infection, the horses were euthanized and the endometrial surfaces were imaged for luminescence to localize adherent -labeled bacteria. Samples from the endometrium were collected for cytology, histopathology, carbohydrate analysis, and expression of inflammatory cytokine genes. Tissue-adherent bacteria were present in focal areas bet...
Rivero JL, Serrano AL, Barrey E, Valette JP, Jouglin M.Combined methodologies of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), immunoblotting, traditional myofibrillar ATPase (mATPase) histochemistry and immunocytochemistry of whole biopsied samples were used to study myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms in the equine gluteus medius muscle. The ELISA technique allowed the quantification of the three MHC isoforms known to be present in different horse muscles: slow (MHC-I) and two fast (termed MHC-IIA and MCH-IIX). The SDS-PAGE method resolved MHCs in three bands: MHC-I, MHC-IIX and M...
Morrow KL, Park RD, Spurgeon TL, Stashak TS, Arceneaux B.The head from three horses euthanized due to diseases unrelated to the head and neck was imaged using computed tomography (CT). Gross cross-sectional slices of equine head #1 and skeleton of equine head #2 were compared with the CT images of the three equine heads to identify normal structures of the cranium, brain, paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity, and teeth. Labeled transverse CT images of the equine head are presented sequentially as a reference for normal anatomy.
Jacob SI, Geor RJ, Weber PSD, Harris PA, McCue ME.Glucose and insulin dynamics may be different in adult and aged horses. Objective: To determine the effects of age and dietary carbohydrates on glucose and insulin dynamics in healthy horses. Methods: Balanced Latin square with four isocaloric diets: CONTROL (hay plus restricted-starch-and-sugar fortified pellets), STARCH (control plus kibbled corn), FIBER (control plus unmolassed sugar beet pulp/soybean hull pellets) and SUGAR (control plus dextrose powder). Methods: A total of 16 healthy Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds divided into two age groups: ADULT (8.8 ± 2.9 years; n = 8) and AGE...
van den Boom R, van de Lest CH, Bull S, Brama RA, van Weeren PR, Barneveld A.The importance of osteoarthritis (OA) in the horse and the difficulty in its early diagnosis have led to a search for potential biomarkers of joint disease. If the levels of such markers are to be interpreted accurately, clinicians and researchers need to know whether they are influenced by environmental factors and/or interventions such as exercise and repeated arthrocentesis. Objective: To investigate the influence of repeated arthrocentesis and exercise on nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentrations in synovial fluid (SF) from normal equine joints. ...
Fritz D.Positive PCR results for piroplasms were obtained on EDTA blood samples from 166 dogs and 111 horses between March 2006 and March 2008. The organisms were initially identified using common primers, followed by restriction enzyme profiles to determine the species and types of Babesia/Theileria. In 27 dogs and eight horses with positive results, the size of the specimen was insufficient to separate species/types. We identified Babesia canis canis in 105 of the 166 dogs (63%) and Theileria equi in 89 of the 111 horses (80%). Babesia caballi was also present, but rare, in only two Babesia/Theileri...
Kienapfel K, Link Y, König V Borstel U.Much controversy exists among riders, and in particular among those practicing dressage, regarding what can be considered an "appropriate" Head-Neck-Position (HNP). The objective was to assess the prevalence of different HNPs in the field, the behavioural reactions of horses during warm-up and competition rides in relation to HNP and the relation between HNP and marks achieved in the competition. Horses (n = 171) were selected during dressage competitions according to their HNP (3 categories based on the degree of flexion), and their behaviour was recorded during 3 minutes each of riding i...
Williams IF, McCullagh KG, Goodship AE, Silver IA.The histological and morphological characteristics of the scar tissue formed during healing after traumatic equine tendon injury have been compared with those of scar tissue produced in response to an enzyme-induced pony tendon injury. Several techniques are currently in use in the treatment of equine tendon sprain and this work formed part of a study of their respective efficacy. It was concluded that the enzyme-induced lesion is resolved by a reparative process very similar in its prognosis and extent to that following a naturally occurring tendon sprain. It may therefore justifiably be used...
