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.
Miró F, Manso C, Diz A, Novales M.To gain insight into the radiographic appearance of maxillary deciduous incisors and dental germs of maxillary permanent incisors in the period prior to teeth shedding, radiographs and computed tomography (CT) of 25 horse skulls, with an estimated age of between 12 and 42 months, were studied. Data regarding morphology and development were obtained. Dental germs of first maxillary permanent incisors were identified radiographically as rounded radiolucent areas at the level of the apical parts of the first deciduous incisors, in skulls with an estimated age of twelve months. The first sign of c...
Rørvang MV, Nielsen BL, McLean AN.Vision, hearing, olfaction, taste, and touch comprise the sensory modalities of most vertebrates. With these senses, the animal receives information about its environment. How this information is organized, interpreted, and experienced is known as perception. The study of the sensory abilities of animals and their implications for behavior is central not only to ethology but also to animal welfare. Sensory ability, perception, and behavior are closely linked. Horses and humans share the five most common sensory modalities, however, their ranges and capacities differ, so that horses are unlikel...
Tahoun A, Elnafarawy HK, Elmahallawy EK, Abdelhady A, Rizk AM, El-Sharkawy H, Youssef MA, El-Khodery S, Ibrahim HMM.Diagnosis and treatment of ocular fungal infection in equine seems very challenging for owners and clinicians. The present study aimed to identify and characterize fungal species isolated from the eyes of clinically healthy and diseased equines (N = 100) from Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. The work also involved morphological and molecular characterization of the major fungal species. In addition, correlations between the occurrence of isolated fungi and some of the potential risk factors were also investigated. Interestingly, the prevalence rate of ocular mycosis in all examined equines in the ...
So YM, Wong JKY, Choi TLS, Prabhu A, Stewart B, Farrington AF, Robinson P, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.This paper describes the studies of the in vitro biotransformation of two selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), namely, RAD140 and S-23, and the in vivo metabolism of RAD140 in horses using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry. in vitro metabolic studies of RAD140 and S-23 were performed using homogenised horse liver. The more prominent in vitro biotransformation pathways for RAD140 included hydrolysis, hydroxylation, glucuronidation and sulfation. Metabolic pathways for S-23 were similar to those for other arylpropionamide-based SARMs. The a...
Byrne CA, Marshall JF, Voute LC.Investigation of image quality in clinical equine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may optimise diagnostic value. Objective: To assess the influence of field strength and anaesthesia on image quality in MR imaging of the equine foot in a clinical context. Methods: Analytical clinical study. Methods: Fifteen equine foot studies (five studies per system) were randomly selected from the clinical databases of three MR imaging systems: low-field standing (LF St), low-field anaesthetised (LF GA) and high-field anaesthetised (HF GA). Ten experienced observers graded image quality for entire studies an...
Nagel C, Melchert M, Aurich C, Aurich J.Equine fetomaternal monitoring is based on endocrine and cardiac parameters which may differ among small, medium-size, and full-size horses. Therefore, Shetland ( = 6), Haflinger ( = 8), and Warmblood pregnancies ( = 9) were studied during late gestation and at foaling. Weight of mares, foals and placenta, plasma progestin and cortisol concentration, heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) were determined. Foal weight always approximated 10% of mare weight but relative placenta weight was highest in full-size mares ( < 0.05). Progestin ( < 0.001) and cortisol ( < 0.05) concentrati...
MacKay AV, McOnie RC, Riddell LP, Robinson KA.Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) research has prioritized mechanism of action and efficacy. Data regarding frequency of use and clinical opinion are not available. A web-based survey was offered to members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners; 144 responses were obtained. Frequency of ESWT use by respondents was as follows: daily by 8.3% (12/144), at least once weekly by 36.8% (53/144), at least once per month by 22.9% (33/144), less than once per month by 19.4% (28/144), and never by 12.5% (18/144) of respondents. The most common reason for use was to treat ligamentous ...
Mustikka MP, Pietilä EM, Mykkänen AK, Grönthal TSC.To obtain a reference range for evaluation of intraocular pressure (IOP) in horses using Tonovet Plus , to compare the IOP readings obtained with Tonovet and Tonovet Plus , and to evaluate the repeatability of readings. Unassigned: Intraocular pressure of 30 client-owned horses (60 eyes) with no signs of illness or ocular disease was evaluated using Tonovet and Tonovet Plus rebound tonometers. Horses' mean age was 10.7 (range 6-17) years. Triplicate measurements were performed without using sedatives or local anesthetics, with minimal restraint. Results: Calculated reference intervals (the CLS...
Erdemsurakh O, Purevdorj B, Ochirbat K, Adilbish A, Vanaabaatar B, Aoshima K, Kobayashi A, Kimura T.Glanders is caused by the gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia mallei. In this study, we investigated the histopathology and immunohistochemical localization of B. mallei in natural cases of equine glanders. Four horses showing clinical signs of nasal discharge and multiple cutaneous nodules or papulae in the hindlimbs and abdomen were reported in Mongolia. They tested positive for B. mallei infection on complement fixation, Rose Bengal agglutination, and mallein tests. Gross and histological lesions observed in these cases were similar to those previously reported in equine glanders. Immunohi...
Kutasi O, Fehér O, Sárdi S, Balogh N, Nagy A, Moravszki L, Bódai E, Szenci O.West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes between wild birds (natural hosts) and other vertebrates. Horses and humans are incidental, dead-end hosts, but can develop severe neurological disorders. Owing to the close contact of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with the extracellular fluid of the brain, the analysis of CSF composition can reflect central nervous system (CNS) impairments enabling the diagnosis and understanding of various neurodegenerative CNS disorders. Our objective was to compare the findings from the CSF samples of horses with neuroinvasive WNV infectio...
Coultous RM, Leadon DP, Shiels BR, Sutton D, Weir W.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a notifiable disease in Ireland and a significant concern to domestic and international equine industries. Information regarding EP presence in Ireland is currently limited. This retrospective surveillance study describes a serological and molecular analysis of blood samples submitted to the Irish Equine Centre for EP testing between January 2013 and April 2016. Methods: Following serological testing, seropositive samples were screened using a PCR targeting the 18S ribosomal RNA gene. Amplicon sequences were bioinformatically analysed to identify the parasite speci...
Novotny EN, White SJ, Wilson AD, Stefánsdóttir SB, Tijhaar E, Jonsdóttir S, Frey R, Reiche D, Rose H, Rhyner C, Schüpbach-Regula G....Allergy to bites of blood-sucking insects, including biting midges, can affect both human and veterinary patients. Horses are often suffering from an IgE-mediated allergic dermatitis caused by bites of midges (Culicoides spp). With the aim to improve allergen immunotherapy (AIT), numerous Culicoides allergens have been produced as recombinant (r-) proteins. This study aimed to test a comprehensive panel of differently expressed Culicoides r-allergens on a cohort of IBH-affected and control horses using an allergen microarray. IgE levels to 27 Culicoides r-allergens, including 8 previously unpu...
Ferreira JF, Albuquerque ALH, Amorim RM, Ferreira RS, Takahira RK, Borges AS, Oliveira-Filho JP.In this retrospective study, clinical records of nine horses with a diagnosis of Bothrops envenomation were investigated. The accidents were classified as severe (5/9), moderate (2/9), or mild (2/9) according to the adapted bothropic snakebite severity score (BSSS). All snakebites were on the head region. The main clinical signs were local edema, blood coagulation disorders, and respiratory distress. The whole-blood clotting time (WBCT) was prolonged in all horses, and five horses presented with uncoagulable blood. All horses received specific snake antivenom according to the BSSS (six vials f...
Villar T, Pascoli AL, Chaulagain S, Fadl-Alla BA, Martins BC.Corneal neovascularization can result from many pathological processes affecting the ocular surface leading to disturbances and opacifications that reduce corneal clarity and may impact vision. In veterinary medicine, the use of topical corticosteroid is contraindicated in the presence of ulcerative keratitis, and there is sparse research regarding safe medical alternatives to inhibit corneal neovascularization in dogs to improve visual outcome. To investigate the pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) concentration in equine amniotic membrane homogenate (EAMH) and its in-vitro vascular endo...
Alonso BB, La Rosa L, Carregaro AB, Gasthuys F, Schauvliege S.To examine the influence of detomidine or romifidine on recovery quality from isoflurane anesthesia, 78 anesthetic records were reviewed, from horses that had received romifidine (group R) during premedication [80-120 μg kg IV], anesthetic maintenance (40 μg kg hour IV), and recovery (20 μg kg IV) or detomidine (group D), at doses of 10-20 μg kg IV, 5 μg kg hour IV, and 2.5 μg kg IV, respectively. Duration of the different recovery phases, the number of attempts to sternal and standing, scores for transition to standing (TrSta), balance and coordination once standing (BC), and fina...
Sierra-Rodriguez T, Groover ES, Lascola KM, Mora-Pereira M, Lee YH, Duran SH, Ravis WR, Spangler E, Hathcock T, Wooldridge AA.Voriconazole (VRC) is a potential treatment for pneumomycosis in horses. The objectives of this study were to determine if the delivery of Vfend using a Flexineb nebulizer produced clinically significant [VRC] in lower airways. The hypothesis was that [VRC] after delivery by nebulization would be greater in the pulmonary epithelial lining fluid than plasma. A secondary objective was to determine [VRC] in upper airways through the collection of nasopharyngeal wash (NPW) samples. Voriconazole solution [Vfend-6.25 mg/mL, 100 (n = 2), 200 (n = 3), 500 (n = 1) mg] was nebulized once in 6 health...
Pluim M, Martens A, Vanderperren K, van Weeren R, Oosterlinck M, Dewulf J, Kichouh M, Van Thielen B, Koene MHW, Luciani A, Plancke L, Delesalle C.High-power laser therapy is often used as a treatment for human sport injuries but controlled standardized studies on its efficacy are lacking. The technique has also been introduced in the equine field and recently promising results were reported in a retrospective study focusing on 150 sporthorses suffering from tendinopathy and desmopathy of the SDFT, DDFT, suspensory ligament, and suspensory branches. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of high-power laser in a standardized lesion model in horses. Lesions were created in all lateral suspensory branches of 12 warmblood ...
Nocera I, Aliboni B, Sgorbini M, Gracia-Calvo LA, Conte G, Ben David L, Citi S.Ultrasound (US) is a well-established technique for investigating joint diseases in horses, complementary to radiography. Few studies have been performed on the ultrasonographic aspect of the elbow joint in horses and no reports are available on donkeys. The aim of this study is to describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the elbow joint in healthy donkeys. Descriptive cohort study included 34 elbow joints, which were evaluated in 17 donkeys. Inclusion criteria included no lameness or musculoskeletal diseases in the donkeys. The structures evaluated were the lateral and medial collateral li...
Gehlen H, Faust MD, Grzeskowiak RM, Trachsel DS.Heart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive technique to detect changes in the autonomous nervous system. It has rarely been investigated in horses with colic. Therefore, the objective was to assess the evolution of HRV parameters and cortisol concentrations in horses with colic. The 43 horses included in this study were categorized into three groups according to the treatment (1, surgical; 2, conservative; 3, euthanized). The HRV and laboratory variables were measured at admission (T1), the day after admission (T2), and at discharge (T3) and compared between groups and over time with an ANO...
Zhang C, Svensson RB, Montagna C, Carstensen H, Buhl R, Schoof EM, Kjaer M, Magnusson SP, Yeung CC.Tendon is a highly organized, dense connective tissue that has been demonstrated to have very little turnover. In spite of the low turnover, tendon can grow in response to loading, which may take place primarily at the periphery. Tendon injuries and recurrence of injuries are common in both humans and animals in sports. It is unclear why some areas of the tendon are more susceptible to such injuries and whether this is due to intrinsic regional differences in extracellular matrix (ECM) production or tissue turnover. This study aimed to compare populations of tenocytes derived from the tendon c...
Williamson KM, Wheeler S, Kerr J, Bennett J, Freeman P, Kohlhagen J, Peel AJ, Eby P, Merritt T, Housen T, Dalton C, Durrheim DN.In June 2019 the first equine case of Hendra virus in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia was detected. An urgent human and animal health response took place, involving biosecurity measures, contact tracing, promotion of equine vaccinations and investigation of flying fox activity in the area. No human or additional animal cases occurred. Equine vaccination uptake increased by over 30-fold in the surrounding region in the three months following the case. Black flying fox and grey-headed flying fox species were detected in the Valley. The incident prompted review of Hendra virus resou...
Rossi SL, Russell-Lodrigue KE, Plante KS, Bergren NA, Gorchakov R, Roy CJ, Weaver SC.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a re-emerging virus of human, agriculture, and bioweapon threat importance. No FDA-approved treatment is available to combat Venezuelan equine encephalitis in humans, prompting the need to create a vaccine that is safe, efficacious, and cannot be replicated in the mosquito vector. Here we describe the use of a serotype ID VEEV (ZPC-738) vaccine with an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) to alter gene expression patterns. This ZPC/IRES vaccine was genetically engineered in two ways based on the position of the IRES insertion to create a vaccine th...
Javanshir S, Younesi Soltani F, Dowlati G, Parham A, Naderi-Meshkin H.Managing tendon healing process is complicated mainly due to the limited regeneration capacity of tendon tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have potential applications in regenerative medicine and have been considered for tendon repair and regeneration. This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of equine adipose tissue-derived cells (eASCs) to differentiate into tenocytes in response to platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and growth differentiation factor-6 (GDF-6) in vitro. Frozen characterized eASCS of 3 mares were thawed and the cells were expanded in basic culture medium (DMEM...
Scherrer NM, Knickelbein KE, Engiles JB, Johnstone LK, Tewari D, Johnson AL.To describe the clinical presentation, treatment, and clinical outcome of horses with ocular disease and evidence of systemic or ocular Lyme disease. Methods: Five horses met the inclusion criteria of ocular disease with evidence of B burgdorferi present in ocular or CNS tissues. Methods: The goal of this study was to describe the clinical presentation and progression of ocular disease when associated with ocular or CNS B burgdorferi infection in horses. A retrospective review of medical records was performed on horses admitted for ocular disease with evidence of B burgdorferi infection bet...
Zambruno T, Georgopoulos SP, Boden LA, Parkin TDH.To examine the association between prerace administration of phenylbutazone and the risk of musculoskeletal injury (MSI) and fatal injury in Thoroughbred racehorses that raced between 2006 and 2015 at 2 of the 4 official racetracks in Argentina. Methods: Data from racetrack databases and veterinary reports on 283,193 race starts. Methods: Data were collected relating to race performance and injury outcomes for starts at these tracks. The incidence of MSI and fatal injury was calculated for each year, stratified by the declared prerace administration of phenylbutazone. Univariable logistic regr...
Barton CK, Sandow CB, Rodgerson DH.This manuscript describes exostosis lesions originating from the caudal aspect of the proximal tibia identified in three Thoroughbred yearlings as part of the routine review of presale radiographic images. These lesions are hypothesized to be osteochondromas. The identification of bony exostoses on the proximal tibia has not been reported before in current literature. As they have not been described, the future effect on performance or soundness is unknown. Although these cases were not lame at the time of detection, the future growth of the lesion and its impact on surrounding soft tissues is...
Kumar P, Mehta JS, Ravi SK, Dedar RK, Purohit GN, Legha RA, Tripathi BN, Talluri TR.The present study was conducted with the hypothesis that addition of cholesterol to the extender would stabilize the sperm membranes by increasing the cholesterol-to-phospholipid (C:P) ratio and would result in an improved post-thaw semen quality and reduce oxidative stress in the jack (Martina franca) semen. Forty-eight ejaculates from six jacks were collected and analyzed for the present study. The freshly collected semen sample of each jack stallion was divided into five equal fractions after addition of the primary extender without cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin (CLC) (C) and with 1, 1.5,...
Dern K, van Eps A, Wittum T, Watts M, Pollitt C, Belknap J.Although continuous digital hypothermia (CDH) protects lamellae from injury in the oligofructose (OF) model of sepsis-related laminitis (SRL), conflicting results exist from these studies regarding effects of CDH on lamellar inflammatory events. Objective: To determine the effect of CDH on lamellar inflammatory events in normal and OF-treated horses when instituted at a clinically relevant time point (onset of clinical signs of sepsis in this model). Methods: Standardbred geldings (n = 15) aged 3-11 years were used. Methods: In a randomized, controlled discovery study, animals were administ...
Goodrich EL, Mittel LD, Glaser A, Ness SL, Radcliffe RM, Divers TJ.This case report describes an outbreak and novel findings associated with a beta coronavirus (BCoV) infection that occurred on an American Miniature Horse (AMH) breeding farm in upstate New York, in January and February of 2013. Twenty-nine AMH and one donkey were present on the farm when the outbreak occurred. One 10-year-old Quarter Horse mare, stabled at a separate location and owned by an employee of the farm, also tested positive. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of BCoV was performed at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) at Cornell on all faecal samples. ...
Godard S, Schibler L, Oustry A, Cribiu EP, Guérin G.A horse BAC library was constructed with about 40,000 clones and mean insert size of 110 kb representing a 1.5 genome equivalent coverage and a probability of finding a single sequence of 0.75. It was characterized by PCR screening of about 130 sequences of horse microsatellites and exonic gene sequences retrieved from databases. BACs containing 8 microsatellites and 12 genes were subsequently localized by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) on chromosomes. Two linkage groups were newly assigned to chromosomes: LG2 to ECA3 and LG5 to ECA24, and five linkage groups were also oriented--LG3,...
Rogers CW, Firth EC.To identify the magnitude and sources of error involved in simply quantifying the workload of a group of Thoroughbred racehorses in training. Methods: Data were obtained from seven 2-year-old fillies trained for 13 weeks on sand and grass tracks at various cantering velocities, and at the gallop in the last 4 weeks. Four fillies completed training and comprised a 'high exercise intensity' subgroup; three fillies did not complete all gallops due to lameness or injury and comprised a 'medium exercise intensity' subgroup. The trainer recorded the distance, time, track used, and subjective gait (S...
Messick JB, Rikihisa Y.The effects of equine antiserum, immunoglobulin G (IgG) specific for Ehrlichia risticii, and its Fab fragment on E. risticii binding to, internalization into, and proliferation in P388D1 cells were studied by immunofluorescence flow cytometry. Anti-E. risticii equine serum or IgG inhibited E. risticii at a stage beyond binding and internalization. In contrast, monovalent anti-E. risticii equine Fab fragments inhibited E. risticii binding and internalization into P388D1 cells. In the presence of control equine serum, IgG, or its Fab fragment, E. risticii cells were bound, were internalized and ...
Westermann CM, de Sain-van der Velden MG, van der Kolk JH, Berger R, Wijnberg ID, Koeman JP, Wanders RJ, Lenstra JA, Testerink N, Vaandrager AB....Two horses (a 7-year-old Groninger warmblood gelding and a six-month-old Trakehner mare) with pathologically confirmed rhabdomyolysis were diagnosed as suffering from multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD). This disorder has not been recognised in animals before. Clinical signs of both horses were a stiff, insecure gait, myoglobinuria, and finally recumbency. Urine, plasma, and muscle tissues were investigated. Analysis of plasma showed hyperglycemia, lactic acidemia, increased activity of muscle enzymes (ASAT, LDH, CK), and impaired kidney function (increased urea and creatinine). ...
Carroll CSE, Andrew ER, Malik L, Elliott KF, Brennan M, Meyer J, Hintze A, Almonte AA, Lappin C, MacPherson P, Schulte KM, Dahlstrom JE, Tamhane R....We describe intratumoral injection of a slow-release emulsion of killed mycobacteria (complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)) in three preclinical species and in human cancer patients. Efficacy and safety were tested in mammary tumors in mice, in mastocytomas in mice and dogs, and in equine melanomas. In mice, survival, tumor growth, and tumor infiltration by six immune cell subsets (by flow cytometry) were investigated and analyzed using Cox proportional hazards, a random slopes model, and a full factorial model, respectively. Tumor growth and histology were investigated in dogs and horses, as well...
Bell KS, Philp JC, Christofi N, Aw DW.Two regions in the gene coding for 16S rRNA in Rhodococcus equi were selected as species-specific primer sequences for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR using these primers was tested against 10 strains of R. equi (including the type strain) and gave positive results for all but was negative for all other tested species of Rhodococcus; representatives of the most closely related genera and a number of other bacterial species. This method could therefore be used to identify this species which can infect the lungs or other organs of horses, pigs, humans and other animals.
Carnevale EM.Assisted reproductive techniques that are based on oocyte manipulations have gained acceptance in the equine industry. Methods to collect and handle immature or maturing oocytes have been developed, and systems to ship oocytes now allow for collection in one location and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in another. Subsequently, ICSI-produced embryos can be transferred onsite, shipped to another location, or cryopreserved. Methods for the collection, identification, culture, maturation, and shipment of equine oocytes are reviewed, with an emphasis on procedures from laboratories providi...
Gray WL, Yalamanchili R, Raengsakulrach B, Baumann RP, Staczek J, O'Callaghan DJ.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) preparations enriched in defective interfering particles (DIPs) have previously been demonstrated to mediate the coestablishment of persistent infection and oncogenic transformation in primary hamster embryo fibroblasts. In this study, it was demonstrated that infection of a rabbit kidney (RK) cell line with EHV-1 DIP-enriched preparations also results in the establishment of persistent infection. Viral transcription was characterized in RK cells infected with DIP-enriched stocks and compared to viral transcription in RK cells infected with standard (STD) EHV-...
Scantlebury CE, Pinchbeck GL, Loughnane P, Aklilu N, Ashine T, Stringer AP, Gordon L, Marshall M, Christley RM, McCarthy AJ.Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum, the causative agent of epizootic lymphangitis (EZL), is endemic in parts of Africa. Diagnosis based on clinical signs and microscopy lacks specificity and is a barrier to further understanding this neglected disease. Here, a nested PCR method targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA operon was validated for application to equine clinical samples. Twenty-nine horses with signs of EZL from different climatic regions of Ethiopia were clinically examined. Blood samples and aspirates of pus from cutaneous nodules were taken, along ...
Gigante A, Bevilacqua C, Cappella M, Manzotti S, Greco F.Articular cartilage defects do not heal. Biodegradable scaffolds have been studied for cartilage engineering in order to implant autologous chondrocytes and help cartilage repair. We tested some new collagen matrices differing in collagen type, origin, structure and methods of extraction and purification, and compared the behavior of human chondrocytes cultured on them. Human chondrocytes were grown for three weeks on four different equine type I collagen matrices, one type I, III porcine collagen matrix and one porcine type II collagen matrix. After 21 days, samples were subjected to histoche...
Veronesi F, Moretta I, Moretti A, Fioretti DP, Genchi C.A study was carried out to assess the field efficacy of ivermectin (IVM) and pyrantel pamoate (PYR) against Parascaris equorum. Seventy-three foals (3-18 months old) from 5 stud farms, not treated with anthelmintics in the previous 10 weeks and with individual faecal egg counts (FEC) >200, were included in the study. For each stud farm, 5-7 foals were included in the IVM-treatment group (IVM 0.2%, 200 mcg/kg body weight) or in the PYR-treatment group (PYR 38%, 13.2mg/kg body weight) and 3 were untreated as controls. For each foal, FECs were carried out before treatment (Day 0) and on Days 7 an...
Egberink H, Horzinek MC.Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) has morphological, physical and biochemical characteristics similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS in man. However, it is antigenically and genetically distinct from HIV; an antigenic relatedness with equine infectious anaemia virus has been demonstrated. FIV has been molecularly cloned and sequenced. Diagnostic tests are commercially available and attempts at preparing inactivated, subunit and molecularly engineered vaccines are being made in different laboratories. During FIV infection a transient primary illness can be recognized...
van der Kuyl AC.Information on endogenous retroviruses fixed in the horse (Equus caballus) genome is scarce. The recent availability of a draft sequence of the horse genome enables the detection of such integrated viruses by similarity search. Using translated nucleotide fragments from gamma-, beta-, and delta-retroviral genera for initial searches, a full-length beta-retrovirus genome was retrieved from a horse chromosome 5 contig. The provirus, tentatively named EqERV-beta1 (for the first equine endogenous beta-retrovirus), was 10434 nucleotide (nt) in length with the usual retroviral genome structure of 5'...
Pyörälä S, Taponen J, Katila T.Use of antimicrobials for veterinary indications related to reproduction in cattle and horses is reviewed. Antimicrobial compounds are widely used to treat and prevent infections of reproductive organs. Total amounts of antimicrobials for such purposes, estimated by weight, are low compared with major uses in food animals. The most common reproduction-related indication in cattle is mastitis. The number of intramammary products available for treatment of mastitis in the European Union is high. Metritis and endometritis also require antimicrobial treatment of cattle and specific products for in...
Williamson RM, Beveridge I, Gasser RB.To compare the sensitivities of three coprological techniques for the diagnosis of Anoplocephala perfoliata infection in horses and to assess the value of the methods for diagnosis of horses at risk of clinical cestodiasis. Methods: Faecal samples were collected from necropsied horses with or without A perfoliata infection and examined using one sedimentation and two different flotation methods. The coprological results were compared with worm counts performed at necropsy of the horses and the degree of mucosal damage. In addition, the efficiency of recovery of A perfoliata eggs from faeces wa...
Raudsepp T, Lear TL, Chowdhary BP.The X chromosomes of the extant equids, in general, share morphology and banding pattern similarities. However, the donkey X is, in part, an exception because of significantly different centromeric index and variant banding patterns in the pericentromeric region. To verify the underlying molecular basis of this difference, twelve equine BAC clones were FISH mapped to donkey (EAS) and Hartmann's mountain zebra (EZH) metaphase spreads. Loci from the terminal region of Xp and distal to terminal regions of the Xq showed the same order and relative position in all three species, implying cross-spec...
Schoster A, Staempfli HR, Arroyo LG, Reid-Smith RJ, Janecko N, Shewen PE, Weese JS.Point prevalence studies have reported carriage rates of enteric pathogens in healthy horses, but longitudinal data are lacking. Commensal E. coli is an indicator organism to evaluate antimicrobial resistance of enteric bacteria, yet there are limited data for horses. The objectives of this study were to investigate and molecularly characterize isolates of Clostridium difficile, Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella, collected sequentially over a one year period, and to determine the antibiotic susceptibility profile for E. coli. Fecal samples were collected monthly from 25 adult horses for o...
Campbell ML, Sandøe P.Welfare problems related to the way horses are bred, whether by coitus or by the application of artificial reproduction techniques (ARTs), have been given no discrete consideration within the academic literature. This paper reviews the existing knowledge base about welfare issues in horse breeding and identifies areas in which data is lacking. We suggest that all methods of horse breeding are associated with potential welfare problems, but also that the judicious use of ARTs can sometimes help to address those problems. We discuss how negative welfare effects could be identified and limited an...
Brommer H, van Weeren PR, Brama PA, Barneveld A.The equine fetlock joint has the largest number of traumatic and degenerative lesions of all joints of the appendicular skeleton. Objective: To gain insight into the distribution of cartilage degeneration across the articular surface in relation to age in order better to understand the dynamic nature and progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Objective: That there would be a specific age-related distribution pattern of cartilage degeneration in the equine metacarpophalangeal joint. Methods: The proximal articular cartilage surfaces of the first phalanges (P1) of 73 slaughter horses (age range 0.4...
Nash D, Lane E, Herath S, Sheldon IM.Endometritis after insemination is ubiquitous in the horse and is associated with semen and/or bacteria in the uterus. In up to 40% of horses, inflammation persists causing infertility. An endometrial explant culture was developed to study uterine secretion of prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha)) in response to physiological and pathological challenge. Methods: Uteri were collected from mares, the endometrium dissected and explants from the uterine body or horn cultured in William's or RPMI medium. The response of explants to oxytocin, semen or bacteria compared to untreated tissue was tested...
Broeckx SY, Maes S, Martinello T, Aerts D, Chiers K, Mariën T, Patruno M, Franco-Obregón A, Spaas JH.Besides the presence of somatic stem cells in hair follicles and dermis, the epidermis also contains a subpopulation of stem cells, reflecting its high regenerative capacity. However, only limited information concerning epidermis-derived epithelial-like stem/progenitor cells (EpSCs) is available to date. Nonetheless, this stem cell type could prove itself useful in skin reconstitution after injury. After harvesting from equine epidermis, the purified cells were characterized as EpSCs by means of positive expression for CD29, CD44, CD49f, CD90, Casein Kinase 2β, p63, and Ki67, low expression f...
Monzon CM, Mancebo OA, Russo AM.An ELISA test was used to determine the persistence of antibody levels in horses following treatment for Trypanosoma evansi. In 17 horses with T. evansi from two farms treated and cured with quinapyramine sulphate, ELISA antibody levels fell progressively post-treatment, but remained with positive results for 22.6 months in one horse, 12.8 months in a second, 4.1 months in another four and 2.3 months in three, whilst the rest became negative at 2.3 months. In two horses that suffered a post-treatment infection relapse the decrease in ELISA levels was only temporary, and a new increase in antib...
Immonen IA, Karikoski N, Mykkänen A, Niemelä T, Junnila J, Tulamo RM.Surgical treatment of colic is expensive and complications may occur. Information on the prognosis and the use of the horse after surgery for colic is important for surgeons and owners. Current literature on return to athletic function after celiotomy is limited. The present study reviewed surgical cases of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Helsinki, Finland for 2006-2012. The aim was to follow the population of horses of different breeds for surgical findings, postsurgical complications, long-term recovery and prognosis. The findings and their influence on survival, return to previous or inte...