Veterinary research in horses encompasses the study of diseases, health management, and medical treatments specific to equine species. This field investigates various aspects of horse health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Researchers focus on understanding the pathophysiology of equine ailments, developing diagnostic tools, and evaluating therapeutic interventions. The study of horse health also involves examining preventive measures such as vaccination protocols and nutritional management to promote overall well-being. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse areas of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into disease mechanisms, treatment strategies, and advancements in equine healthcare.
Darke PG, Holmes JR.The paper describes the distribution of cardiac potentials on the body surface of four horses. Potentials were recorded at 200 to 300 equallyspaced sites synchronously with a reference lead; they were measured at 10 msec. instants of time, and were plotted on diagrams. While some evidence of multiple dipolar activity occurred during each part of the cardiac cycle, the majority of potentials arose as if from a single resultant dipole.
Slade LM, Hintz HF.A comparative digestion trial was conducted between horses, ponies, rabbits and guinea pigs. Alfalfa and alfalfa-grain diets were compared.
Although there was a trend for ponies to be more efficient than horses in digesting proximate principles of both diets, differences were not significant. Digestibility coefficients for crude fiber and energy were lowest in rabbits. The digestion of nitrogen-free extract (NFE) was greatest in guinea pigs, whereas digestion of crude protein was lowest.
Horses, ponies and rabbits digested organic matter, NFE and energy in the mixed ration more efficient...
Adrian AM, Koene M, Roberts S, Doughty P, Bolas N, Kinns J, Brehm W, Gerlach K.The extent of fat suppression using short tau inversion recovery (STIR) imaging is variable between horses. Our aim was to determine if patient's age and/or hoof temperature have an influence on the T(1) relaxation time of bone marrow in the equine distal limb, thereby affecting the suppression of fat signal. Magnetic resonance imaging was conducted on standing horses and cadaver samples using a low-field magnet (0.27 T). The hoof temperature was measured at the lateral side of the coronary band. A modified inversion recovery fast spin-echo (IR-FSE) sequence was used to measure the signal inte...
Blair MJ, Gionfriddo JR, Polazzi LM, Sojka JE, Pfaff AM, Bingaman DP.To evaluate the feasibility of using a subconjunctivally implanted micro-osmotic pump for continuous delivery of medication to the eyes of horses- during a 7-day period. Methods: 4 healthy adult horses. Methods: With horses restrained in a standing position, micro-osmotic pumps were implanted subconjunctivally in each eye for 7 days. The treatment eye received an atropine-loaded micro-osmotic pump (100 microl of 1.5% atropine), and the contralateral eye received a sterile saline-loaded pump (100 microl of 0.9% NaCl) as a control treatment. Pupil size was measured at 12-hour intervals until val...
Wiest JJ, Thompson DL, McNeill-Weist DR, Garza F.Twenty ovariectomized pony mares were used to determine if dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP) administration, with or without estradiol benzoate (EB) pretreatment, would have the same effects on follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion as testosterone propionate (TP) administration. All mares were given an initial injection of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) to characterize their LH and FSH response, and then two groups of mares (n = 4/group) were administered EB (22 micrograms/kg of body weight), two groups were administered vehicle (safflower oil) an...
Ramzan PHL, Wylie CE.Arthroscopy has been advocated as the treatment of choice for dorsal osteochondral chip fracture of the metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal (MCP/MTP) joint. However, there is no published research on racing performance outcomes of horses with this pathology managed nonsurgically. Objective: To compare racing career outcomes of Thoroughbred racehorses with nonsurgically (non-SX) or surgically (SX) managed MCP/MTP dorsal osteochondral chip fracture alongside a cohort of horses with no dorsal osteochondral chip fracture (unexposed). Methods: Retrospective cohort study conducted between 2006 and 2014. M...
O'Rielly JL, Beard WL, Renn TN, Padden AJ, Hinchcliff KW.To investigate the effect of combined staphylectomy and laryngotomy on upper airway mechanics in clinically normal horses running on a treadmill. Methods: 6 Standardbreds. Methods: Upper airway mechanics were measured with horses trotting or pacing on a treadmill at 5, 8, and 10 m/s before and 6 weeks after combined staphylectomy and laryngotomy. Pharyngeal and tracheal inspiratory and expiratory pressure were measured by use of transnasal tracheal and pharyngeal side hole catheters connected to differential pressure transducers. A pneumotachograph mounted on the rostral end of an airtight fac...
König B, Budras KD.The three superimposing strata of the coronet and the ageing process and decay of the hoof horn were studied in 56 fore hooves of 28 domestic horses of different age and sex. Except for horn clefts at the weight bearing margin, their hooves did not show any signs of pathological changes. Their hooves did not show any signs of pathological changes. The investigation comprised the analysis of the structure and the mechanical-physical measurement of horn hardness. The own results showed that the functional and clinical importance of the three strata of the coronet concerns the absorption and dist...
Uhlendorf F, Gehlen H, Stadler P.The aim of the study was to extend the range of the electrocardiographic examination in horses, evaluating the practicability of special electrocardiographic techniques (exercise- and Holter-ECG) and comparing these with more common techniques (resting-ECG) in equine medicine. Methods: Electrocardiographic examination (resting-ECG for 1 minute, exercise-ECG and Holter-ECG) was performed in 20 horses without any clinical or echocardiographic findings and in 80 patients with abnormal findings (valvular regurgitation and/or atrial fibrillation). Results: In comparison with the resting-ECG, the ex...
Challis JR, Bassett N, Berdusco ET, Han VK, Lu F, Riley SC, Yang K.In domestic ruminants such as the sheep, birth is effected through sequential maturation of the foetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to the increased output of cortisol. Factors regulating foetal pituitary adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) secretion have been delineated, and these include corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), arginine vasopressin, prostaglandin (PG) E2 and endogenous opioids. The pre-partum increase in foetal plasma ACTH is associated with a rise in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA in the foetal pars distalis, and with an altered pattern of POMC post-translati...
Suontama M, van der Werf JH, Juga J, Ojala M.Genetic correlations for body measurements and subjectively scored traits between foals and studbook horses were estimated using bivariate linear mixed models. Observations for nine foal and eleven studbook traits in Finnhorses on 6529 foals and 6596 studbook horses and in Standardbred trotters on 3069 foals and 2112 studbook horses were available from the Finnish horse breeding shows. The number of sires with progeny in both foal and studbook data was 203 in Finnhorse and 145 in Standardbred trotters. Estimates of heritability for body measurements in foals and studbook horses using univariat...
Boles C.Emergency equine abdominal surgery is easiest and most efficiently carried out with a team of surgeons. The surgical site should be as protected as possible by the use of sterile drapes and wound protectors. A ventral midline laparotomy incision has been found to be the most convenient approach to most equine intestinal obstructions. A standing laparotomy through the left paralumbar fossa gives adequate exposure for exploration of the abdomen and is, therefore, useful as a diagnostic tool. Horses tolerate having both ventral midline and left paralumbar laparotomy incisions well. If the cause o...
Landoni MF, Foot R, Frean S, Lees P.The objective of this study was to analyse the effects of 4 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on the production of beta-glucuronidase (beta-glu), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated equine synoviocytes. The agents studied were flunixin, tolfenamic acid, S(+)ketoprofen (KTP) and R(-)ketoprofen. LPS-induced release of beta-glu from synoviocytes was inhibited in a concentration dependent manner by all 4 compounds, tolfenamic acid being the most potent. Of the 2 KTP enant...
López-Plana C, Sautet JY, Ruberte J, Sabaté D.Histochemical and morphometric parameters of the cricoarytenoideus lateralis muscle of the horse are presented. Using myosin ATPase staining after acid preincubation, 3 fibre types (I, IIA and IIC) were identified. Using NADH-TR staining, type I fibres showed high oxidative capacity, whereas type II fibres had high or low oxidative capacity. The type I to type II ratio was of 35:65. This ratio remained constant in the age range examined. Statistically significant (p < 0.01) differences were found in values for fibre size between groups of horses weighing more than 500 kg and less than 400 k...
Hagedorn HW, Schulz R, Jaeschke G.An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to detect the anabolic steroid boldenone in equine blood and urine. The polyclonal antiserum was raised in rabbits, employing boldenone-17-hemisuccinate-bovine serum albumin as antigen. Boldenone-17-hemisuccinate-horseradish peroxidase served as enzyme conjugate. Sensitivity of the assay was 26.0 +/- 3.0 pg/well. Among the endogenous steroids tested only progesterone and testosterone exhibited moderate cross-reactivities, 3.4 and 2.5%, respectively. These cross-reactivities are of no importance for the boldenone assay. For the reductio...
Henion JD, Maylin GA.A sensitive, quantitative method has been developed for the determination of hydrochlorothiazide in equine plasma and urine. Thin-layer chromatography is used to screen for the presence of the drug in unknown samples. The TLC screening methods described provide minimum detection limits of 50 ng/mL in plasma and 25 ng/mL in urine. A silica micro chromatography column is used to clean up ethyl acetate extracts for HPLC analysis and mass spectral confirmation. An internal standard, trichloromethiazide, is used to derive quantitative data at concentrations as low as 25 ng/mL for plasma disappearan...
Monkos K.This paper presents the results of viscosity determinations on aqueous solutions of equine, porcine and rabbit serum albumin over a wide range of concentrations and at temperatures ranging from 5 degrees C to (42-45) degrees C. The results are compared with human and bovine serum albumin previously studied. Viscosity-temperature dependence is discussed on the basis of the modified Arrhenius formula. The effective specific volume, the activation energy and entropy of viscous flow for all investigated albumins are compared. Viscosity-concentration dependence, in turn, is discussed on the basis o...
Kalpokas I, Martínez MN, Cavestany D, Perdigón F, Mattos RC, Meikle A.We investigated the early effects of the equine embryo on maternal serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), leptin and adiponectin, uterine immune cells and genes and proteins related to embryo development and the maintenance of pregnancy. Ipsilateral endometrial expression was assessed on Days 7 and 13 after ovulation for the following transcripts: oestrogen receptor ERα (ESR1), progesterone receptor (PGR), progestin and adipoQ receptor family member 5 (PAQR5), oxytocin receptor (OXTR), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), raf-1 proto-oncogene serine/threonine k...
Novelli EL, Rodrigues NL, Chiacchio SB.Biochemical values are widely related with environmental agents, sex and age, and are used in disease diagnosis. Numerous reports have been published on the biochemical parameters of different breeds of horses. However, there is a paucity of information concerning Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD), ceruloplasmin, copper and zinc determinations in the serum. Blood samples from a total of 60 horses of the Mangalarga-Paulista breed, representing three age groups (0 to 4 months old, 6 to 18 months old and adult) were examined. Male horses have a higher mean value of SOD, ceruloplasmin and copper th...
Peachey KL, Lower T. To assess demographic and causal factors of fatal farm incidents involving animals in Australia. Descriptive study of the National Coronial Information System for persons fatally injured by an animal on an Australian farm over the 2001-20 period. Data were analysed in relation to age, sex, state where incident occurred, work-relatedness and causal agents. There has been little change in the mean number of animal-related injury deaths across Australia in the 2001-20 period (mean 6.5), however this is a 35% reduction on an earlier 1989-92 assessment (mean 10). The majority of incidents (81%) ...
Stratil A, Tomásek V, Bobák P, Glasnák V.Homozygous horse transferrin (Tf O) is highly heterogeneous. In starch gel electrophoresis it gives at least 9 zones. Two main components (2a and 4b) were purified by rivanol and ammonium sulphate precipitation, DEAE-Sephadex chromatography and SP-Sephadex chromatography. Molecular weights of 75 200 and 80 500 for components 2a and 4b, respectively, were determined by sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation. Amino acid compositions of the two components were similar, and there were no differences in the N-terminus (glutamic acid followed by glutamine) and the C-terminus (valine). Differe...
Woollam DH.The history of teratology is reviewed. Methods available for causing malformations in mammals by subtle changes in the environment during pregnancy are discussed. A table is provided in which the commoner teratogens are listed. Methods are described by means of which the activity of some common teratogens may be opposed. The occurrence at Battle Creek, Michigan, USA, of a chemical agent dangerous to health, life and development of all mammals is described. This gives an indication that injury and death to all mammals, as in the Sevaso disaster, including teratogenesis may be expected to be a f...
Owens JG, Kamerling SG, Keowen ML.The eicosanoids are a family of lipid-derived autocoids that are released in response to a variety of physical and hormonal stimuli. In this study, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) were measured in the digital veins of clinically normal horses and horses with chronic laminitis to determine whether these arachidonic acid metabolites have a role in mediating signs of hoof pain and lesions associated with chronic laminitis. Horses were evaluated at rest and after a brief exercise period, to determine whether eicosanoids are released into the circulation after mild concussion. Dig...
Gandini M.To compare 3 dorsal techniques for arthrocentesis of the distal interphalangeal joint in horses with regard to ease of performing the technique and to determine the role of operator experience in ease of performing these techniques. Methods: Observational study. Sample Population-Forelimbs from 17 equine cadavers and 12 horses (16 joints) undergoing arthrocentesis for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes. Methods: In both forelimbs from 7 of the equine cadavers, 3 arthrocentesis techniques (dorsal perpendicular, dorsolateral, and dorsal inclined) were performed in random order by a single experi...
Aida Y, Okada K, Kageyama R, Amanuma H.Tumor-associated antigens that are expressed in lymphosarcoma B cells of cattle with enzootic bovine leukosis had been analyzed in terms of their reactivity with 13 monoclonal antibodies (MAB). By use of flow cytometry and radioimmunoprecipitation, 1 of the MAB (c143) that recognized a tumor-associated antigen cross-reacted with blood lymphocytes (BL) from various mammalian species. By use of flow cytometry, the c143 MAB reacted with 10 to 49% of BL derived from human beings, mice, dogs, horses, pigs, llamas, sheep, goats, and cattle. Titer of the c143 MAB with BL from horses, pigs, human bein...
Manohar M, Goetz TE, Sullivan E, Griffin R.The present study was carried out to examine the effects of phenylbutazone treatment on the pulmonary haemodynamic effects of frusemide in strenuously exercising horses. Using catheter mounted manometers, whose in vivo signals were referenced at the point of the shoulder, heart rate, right atrial, right ventricular and pulmonary vascular pressures were measured in 3 different sets of experiments. Seven Thoroughbreds were subjected to 1) control (no medications), 2) frusemide control and 3) phenylbutazone + frusemide. The experiments were carried out in random order and were separated by 7 days...
Garcia P, Paris AC, Leufroy A, Popot MA, Bonnaire Y.A quantitative method, using LC/ESI-MS(n) with a quadrupole linear ion trap mass analyzer, has been developed for the analysis of ipratropium cation in horse plasma and urine. The method applies solid-phase extraction with WCX cartridges for plasma and MM2 cartridges for urine, prior to analysis by LC/ESI-MS(n). The efficiency of extraction combined with the sensitivity and the selectivity of MS(n) allows for the quantification of ipratropium cation at picogram per milliliter levels. The analytical capabilities of the method have been successfully checked by the quantitative analysis of ipratr...
Amann JF, Smith RM, Ganjam VK, Paull WK, McClure RC, Green EM, Garner HE.The distribution of cells that stain positive for beta-endorphin and ACTH immunoreactivity was studied in the pars intermedia (PI) of the hypophysis in 3 healthy horses and 2 healthy ponies. Serial sections treated with commercial antibodies generated against beta-endorphin or ACTH were processed for immunocytochemical studies, using the avidin biotin immunoperoxidase-complex method. Distribution patterns of cells reacting with antibodies were similar in cells from all equids. Cells immunostained for ACTH were numerous and widely distributed in the PI. Cells immunopositive for ACTH probably co...
Aguilera-Tejéro E, Pascoe JR, Woliner MJ.Effects of phenylbutazone (PBZ) and furosemide (FUR) on the respiratory tract of horses were evaluated, focusing on bronchial responsiveness. Four healthy Thoroughbreds were used and data were analyzed by use of a Latin square design. Histamine provocation tests (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 micrograms/min, i.v.) were done: (1) without prior treatment with PBZ or FUR, (2) 30 minutes after administration of PBZ (8 mg/kg, i.v.), (3) 1 hour after administration of FUR (1 mg/kg, i.v.), and (4) after administration of PBZ plus FUR. Pulmonary function tests (dynamic compliance, resistance, respiratory frequency...
DiPietro JA, Paul A, Todd KS.Forty horses from a herd known to have benzimidazole-resistant small strongyles were treated with mebendazole (8.8 mg/kg) or combinations of mebendazole and piperazine monohydrochloride (25, 40, or 55 mg of piperazine base/kg). Pretreatment and 7-day posttreatment fecal examinations were done. Fecal cultures and strongyle egg per gram (epg) counts, and in vitro testing for benzimidazole resistance were performed. Results of fecal examinations prior to treatment were similar in all horses, and results of testing were positive for benzimidazole resistance. Horses treated with mebendazole and pip...
Pusterla N, Hagerty D, Mapes S, Vangeem J, Groves LT, Dinucci M, Fielding LC, Higgins JC.This study investigated the role of a district irrigation canal in Nevada County, California, USA, as the point source of infection for Neorickettsia risticii, causative agent of equine neorickettsiosis (EN). A total of 568 freshwater snails comprising Juga spp., Planorbella subcrenata (Carpenter, 1857) (Rough Rams-horn), Physella virgata (Gould, 1855) (Protean Physa) and feces from three horses with EN were collected and tested for N. risticii by real-time PCR. A total of four freshwater snails tested PCR positive for N. risticii. Phylogenetic analysis showed 99.8-100% homology between the di...
Kelling CL, Schipper IA, Schermeister LJ, Vacik JP.Extracts of 28 plants were tested without demonstable antiviral activity in an agar-overlay plaque-reduction antiviral assay system, using infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus and bovine endocardial cell cultures. Ethanolic extract of Narcissus tazetta L bulb elicited antiviral activity by inhibition of viral plaque formation. Antiviral activity was demonstrated against infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and equine rhinopneumonitis viruses. Narcissus tazetta L bulb did not directly inactivate the virus extracellularly. The extract exhibited only limited toxicity to rapidly multiplying bovine...
