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.
Forsyth J, Halliwell RE, Harrand R.Identification of environmental allergens in horses with allergic disease facilitates allergen avoidance and targeted immunotherapy. Objective: To evaluate allergenic co-reactivity between 44 environmental allergens. Methods: Horses with suspected allergic disease (n = 344) whose sera were submitted for environmental allergen testing. Methods: Allergen-specific IgE serological assays were performed using 44 allergens divided into six taxonomically related groups: house dust/storage mites, moulds, insects, grass, tree and weed pollens. Using pairwise comparisons, odds ratios (ORs) were calcul...
Silva ESM, Leite RO, Maciel LFS, Francia CCDA, Padovani CR, Oliveira-Filho JP, Meira C.Aiming to investigate the effects of different hormonal protocols on the endometrium morphometry of anestrous mares, 26 animals were assigned to four different treatment groups: (1) EB2.5LAP4: single dose of 2.5Â mg of estradiol benzoate (EB); (2) EB5LAP4: 5Â mg of EB in 2 consecutive days; (3) EB10LAP4: 10Â mg of EB in three consecutive days, considering that all EB-treated groups received a single dose of 1,500Â mg of long-acting progesterone (LA P4) after the single/last EB dose; and (4) LAP4: only 1,500Â mg of LA P4. Results were also compared with those found in cyclic mares (control grou...
Guinnefollau L, Gee EK, Bolwell CF, Norman EJ, Rogers CW.Horses are one of the most dangerous animals veterinarians have to work with. For many veterinary students, their first exposure to horses occurs during practical classes. To evaluate the level of knowledge students have of equine behaviour and their equine handling competency when entering the programme, 214 veterinary students (1st and 4th year) were recruited to participate in a questionnaire. Participants were asked to choose one out of 12 terms that best represented the affective state of a horse in a picture, and to self-assess their equine handling skills. Half (n = 56/115) of the first...
Orlando L, Librado P.Domestication has changed the natural evolutionary trajectory of horses by favoring the reproduction of a limited number of animals showing traits of interest. Reduced breeding stocks hampered the elimination of deleterious variants by means of negative selection, ultimately inflating mutational loads. However, ancient genomics revealed that mutational loads remained steady during most of the domestication history until a sudden burst took place some 250 years ago. To identify the factors underlying this trajectory, we gather an extensive dataset consisting of 175 modern and 153 ancient genome...
Much ML, Leatherwood JL, Zoller JL, Bradbery AN, Martinez RE, Keegan AD, Lamprecht ED, Wickersham TA.Stock-type mares (498 ± 9 kg BW; 12 ± 7 yr) were used in a completely randomized design for 56 d to test the hypothesis that concentrate fortification improves apparent digestion and enhances lean mass over the topline. Horses were stratified by age, BW, and BCS and randomly assigned to either a custom pelleted concentrate (CON; = 13), or an iso-caloric, iso-nitrogenous pellet that included amino acid fortification, complexed trace minerals, and fermentation metabolites (FORT; = 10). Concentrate was offered at a total 0.75% BW/d (as-fed) twice daily, and diets were designed to meet or exce...
Witkowska-PiÅ‚aszewicz O, BÄ…ska P, Czopowicz M, Å»migrodzka M, Szarska E, Szczepaniak J, Nowak Z, Winnicka A, CywiÅ„ska A.Development of an anti-inflammatory state during physical training has been postulated in both human and equine athletes, but it is not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether endurance training changes pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine profiles within a 20-week training season in young inexperienced endurance horses. Nine Arabian horses were examined in this prospective 20-week follow-up study. Blood samples were analysed 5 times monthly, at rest and after training sessions. Routine haematological examinations were performed. Cytokine patterns including IL-1Î...
Legg KA, Weston JF, Gee EK, Bolwell CF, Bridges JP, Rogers CW.The welfare of horses in endurance competitions has been the focus of recent media attention. Epidemiological studies have examined the sport at the international (FEI) level. However, much of the participation in the sport occurs at a national level in preparation for FEI level competition. The aims of this study were to describe participation in, and risk factors for elimination, from New Zealand endurance competitions. Data were collated from all endurance competitions (≥40 km) held in New Zealand during the 2010/11-2015/16 competition seasons. There were 6885 starts (n = 775 horses, n = ...
Moorman VJ, Bass L, King MR.To determine the effects of 3 α2-adrenergic receptor agonists (α2-ARAs), alone or in combination with butorphanol tartrate, on objective measurements of lameness in horses. Methods: 17 adult polo horses with naturally occurring forelimb or hind limb lameness (or both). Methods: In a crossover design, each horse received each protocol (saline [0.09% NaCl] solution [2 mL, IV] or xylazine hydrochloride [0.33 mg/kg, IV], detomidine hydrochloride [0.007 mg/kg, IV], or romifidine hydrochloride [0.033 mg/kg, IV] alone or in combination with butorphanol [0.007 mg/kg, IV]) in random order, with a was...
Mertenat D, Cero MD, Vogl CR, Ivemeyer S, Meier B, Maeschli A, Hamburger M, Walkenhorst M.In the pre-antibiotic era, a broad spectrum of medicinal plants was used to treat livestock. This knowledge was neglected in European veterinary medicine for decades but kept alive by farmers. Emergence of multidrug resistant bacterial strains requires a severely restricted use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. We conducted a survey on the ethnoveterinary knowledge of farmers in the bilingual (French and German speaking) Western region of Switzerland, namely the cantons of Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Jura, and in the French speaking part of the canton of Bern. Objective: To find out whether ...
Paim WP, Weber MN, Cibulski SP, da Silva MS, Puhl DE, Budaszewski RF, Varela APM, Mayer FQ, Canal CW.Horses are often used as blood donors for commercial horse serum (HS) production and to manufacture biologicals. HS is an alternative for fetal bovine serum (FBS) used as a supplement for cell culture and vaccine production. Furthermore, HS is also frequently obtained in order to produce antisera toxins and pathogens. The advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has promoted changes in virus detection, since previous knowledge of targets is not required. Thus, the present study aimed to describe the virome of five different batches of commercial HS from New Zealand (three batches) and Brazil...
Self Davies ZT, Spence AJ, Wilson AM.The horse has evolved to gallop economically at high speed. Limb force increases with speed but direct measures of limb ground reaction forces (GRFs) at gallop are sparse. This study reports GRFs for multiple limbs, using force plates, across seven Thoroughbred racehorses during ridden galloping. The results show peak vertical GRF values of 13.6 N kg (non-lead hindlimb), 12.3 N kg (lead hindlimb), 14.0 N kg (non-lead forelimb) and 13.6 N kg (lead forelimb) at 11.4 m s and recorded values are consistent with those predicted from duty factor. The distribution of body weight b...
Shnaiderman-Torban A, Paitan Y, Arielly H, Kondratyeva K, Tirosh-Levy S, Abells-Sutton G, Navon-Venezia S, Steinman A.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) have been investigated in adult horses, but not in foals. We aimed to determine shedding and infection in neonatal foals and mares. Rectal swabs were sampled from mare and foal pairs on admission and on the 3rd day of hospitalization; enriched, plated, and bacteria were verified for ESBL production. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined (Vitek2). Genotyping was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Genes were identified by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Medical data were analyzed for risk factors (...
Rendle DI, Armstrong SK, Heller J, Hughes KJ.Point-of-care glucometry is used commonly in clinical and research settings; however, accuracy and precision of this method are concerns. The objectives of this study were to determine the accuracy of glucometry in adult horses and the precision of duplicate measurements. Blood samples were collected from 62 horses into one plain syringe, one EDTA tube and three fluoride oxalate (FO) tubes. Immediately after collection, glucose concentrations in whole blood were determined, in duplicate, by glucometry from the syringe (plain whole blood [WB] group), EDTA tube (EDTA group) and one FO tube (FO g...
Miller JE, Mann S, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A, Wagner B.Culicoides hypersensitivity (CH), an intensely pruritic and seasonal allergic dermatitis, is a common allergic disease affecting horses worldwide. Currently, there is no validated clinical scoring system for the quantification of clinical signs associated with CH. Objective: To (i) determine the best cut-off point of three scoring systems, (ii) test the accuracy of each system when compared to the clinical diagnosis of an experienced veterinarian and (iii) assess agreement between systems. Methods: Icelandic horses (n = 20); eight with CH and 12 unaffected, from a research herd receiving no ...
Deshiere A, Berthet N, Lecouturier F, Gaudaire D, Hans A.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is responsible of acute disease episodes characterized by fever, anemia, thrombocytopenia and anorexia in equids. The high mutation rate in EIAV genome limited the number of full genome sequences availability. In the present study, we used the SureSelect target enrichment system with Illumina Next Generation Sequencing to characterize the proviral DNA of Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) from asymptomatic horses. This approach allows a direct sequencing of the EIAV whole genome without cloning or amplification steps and we could obtain for the first ti...
Savage VL, Marr CM, Bailey M, Smith S.Hospital-acquired acute kidney injury (AKI) in humans and dogs increases morbidity and nonsurvival. Azotemia at presentation has been associated with a poor outcome in horses; however, prevalence and consequences of hospital-acquired AKI are unreported. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of AKI in hospitalized horses, risk factors associated with AKI, and the effect of AKI on short-term survival. We hypothesized that the prevalence of AKI in horses is similar to that reported in other domestic mammalian species and would be associated with nonsurvival. Methods: Adult horses hospitalized for...
Jørgensen E, Bay L, Skovgaard LT, Bjarnsholt T, Jacobsen S.Objective: Relevant animal models to study effects of bacterial aggregates on wound healing are lacking. We aimed at establishing an equine wound model with bacterial aggregates to investigate the impact of bacterial inoculation on normal (thorax) and impaired (limb) wound healing. Approach: Wounds were created on three limbs and both thorax sides of six horses. Twelve out of 20 wounds per horse were inoculated with 104 Staphylococcus aureus and 105 Pseudomonas aeruginosa on day 4. Healing was monitored until day 27 by clinical assessment, including wound scoring, surface pH measurements, and ...
Nieth J, Wehrend A.The study aimed to present a systematic and standardized examination for neonatal foals' abdominal sonography and to describe physiological topographic conditions of some abdominal organs and structures. Methods: A standardized sonographic examination of the abdomen was performed in 57 foals in left and right lateral recumbency. Left and right intercostal spaces as well as the ventral abdomen which was divided into 6 segments (left, middle and right cranial, left middle and right caudal abdomen) were examined. The locations, in which the various organs could be found, were described. Furthermo...
Hampe M.Torsteinsdottir S, Scheidegger S, Baselgia S et al. A prospective study on insect bite hypersensitivity in horses exported from Iceland into Switzerland. Acta Vet Scand 2018; 60: 69 BEIM SOMMEREKZEM HANDELT ES SICH UM EINE IGE-VERMITTELTE DERMATITIS INFOLGE EINER ALLERGISCHEN REAKTION AUF DEN SPEICHEL STECHENDER INSEKTEN (Z. B. CULICOIDES SPP.). BIS ZU 50 % DER AUS ISLAND NACH KONTINENTALEUROPA IMPORTIERTEN TIERE ERKRANKEN, DAGEGEN NUR 3–10 % DER AUF DEM FESTLAND GEBORENEN ISLäNDER. IN ISLAND GIBT ES DIE ERKRANKUNG NICHT, DA DIE VERURSACHENDEN GNITZEN DORT NICHT VORKOMMEN. HAT EINE SENSIBIL...
Seidel SRT, Vendruscolo CP, Moreira JJ, Fülber J, Ottaiano TF, Oliva MLV, Michelacci YM, Baccarin RYA.Blood-derived autologous products are frequently used in both human and equine medicine to treat musculoskeletal disorders. These products, especially the platelet-rich plasma (PRP), may contain high concentrations of growth factors (GFs), and thus improve healing in several tissues. Nevertheless, the procedures for preparation of PRP are currently non-standardized. Several protocols, which are based on distinct centrifugation patterns (rotation speed and time), result in PRPs with different characteristics, concerning platelet and GFs concentrations, as well as platelet activation. The aim of...
Neuhauser S, Gösele P, Handler J.Cryopreservation of epididymal sperm allows final preservation of the gene reserve from valuable sires in case of unexpected injury terminating the breeding career. This case report describes the birth of a healthy foal following insemination with frozen-thawed epididymal sperm. The testes and epididymides were removed under general anaesthesia and sent cooled to the laboratory overnight. The cauda epididymidis was dissected and 17.79 × 109 sperm were harvested by a retrograde flush technique. A fertile mare was inseminated 1 year later with frozen-thawed epididymal sperm. Sperm were deposite...
White S, Moore-Colyer M, Marti E, Coüetil L, Hannant D, Richard EA, Alcocer M.Severe asthma in horses, known as severe equine asthma (SEA), is a prevalent, performance-limiting disease associated with increased allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) against a range of environmental aeroallergens. Objective: To develop a protein microarray platform to profile IgE against a range of proven and novel environmental proteins in SEA-affected horses. Methods: Six SEA-affected and 6 clinically healthy Warmblood performance horses. Methods: Developed a protein microarray (n = 384) using protein extracts and purified proteins from a large number of families including pollen, ba...
Zynda HM, Scare JA, Steuer AE, Anderson HP, Nielsen MK.Cyathostomins are pervasive equine parasites in horses across the world, and larval stages are known to cause the deadly disease larval cyathostominosis. The mucosal digestion technique is widely used for enumeration of encysted larval stages. Previous studies have investigated the spatial variation of encysted larvae, however current protocols lack a description of a standardized area from which to take the tissue sample. This study sought to evaluate spatial variation in encysted cyathostomin larval counts among the large intestinal organs and their subsections. Following humane euthanasia, ...
Rosser J, Bachmann B, Jordan C, Ribitsch I, Haltmayer E, Gueltekin S, Junttila S, Galik B, Gyenesei A, Haddadi B, Harasek M, Egerbacher M, Ertl P....In this work, we describe a microfluidic three-dimensional (3D) chondrocyte culture mimicking in vivo articular chondrocyte morphology, cell distribution, metabolism, and gene expression. This has been accomplished by establishing a physiologic nutrient diffusion gradient across the simulated matrix, while geometric design constraints of the microchambers drive native-like cellular behavior. Primary equine chondrocytes remained viable for the extended culture time of 3 weeks and maintained the low metabolic activity and high Sox9, aggrecan, and Col2 expression typical of articular chondrocytes...
Valente JDM, Mongruel ACB, Machado CAL, Chiyo L, Leandro AS, Britto AS, Martins TF, Barros-Filho IR, Biondo AW, Perotta JH, Campos ANS, Vidotto O....Tick-borne diseases (TBD) constitute an important group of illness affecting animals and humans worldwide. In Brazil, carthorses are frequently exposed to ticks and tick-borne pathogens, leading to impairment of horse performance and imposing restrictions by the international veterinary authorities for the importation of horses. Accordingly, this study has aimed to i) determine the prevalence of the TBD agents Theileria equi, Babesia caballi, Ehrlichia spp., and hemotropic mycoplasmas in carthorses, ii) identify the tick species parasitizing the animals, and iii) determine factors associated w...
Cain JL, Foulk D, Jedrzejewski E, Stofanak H, Nielsen MK.Anthelmintic resistance in equine cyathostomin parasites is widespread. A surveillance-based parasite control program using fecal egg counts (FECs) and fecal egg count reduction tests (FECRTs) to decrease anthelmintic use and monitor treatment efficacy is recommended. The purpose of this study was to examine shifts in equine parasite control program management practices via a short course presented by the Penn State Extension, and to highlight how data collected from these programs is useful for monitoring anthelmintic efficacy on a large scale. Horse owners were enrolled after participating i...
Myagmarsuren P, Sivakumar T, Enkhtaivan B, Davaasuren B, Zoljargal M, Narantsatsral S, Davkharbayar B, Mungun-Ochir B, Battur B, Inoue N, Igarashi I....Equine piroplasmosis caused by and is an economically important disease with a worldwide distribution. The objective of the present study was to investigate the seroepidemiology of and in horses reared in various Mongolian provinces. Serum samples prepared from blood collected from horses in 19 Mongolian provinces were screened for antibodies specific to and using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays based on recombinant forms of merozoite antigen-2 and the 48-kDa merozoite rhoptry protein, respectively. Of 1,282 horses analyzed, 423 (33%) and 182 (14.2%) were sero-positive for and , re...
Wenzel RG, Major D, Hesp KF, Hall E, Doble P.To monitor cobalt concentrations in urine, red blood cells and plasma after chronic parenteral administration of cobalt chloride evaluate these results against the current International Federation of Horseracing Authorities thresholds for detecting cobalt misuse. Methods: Eight mares were randomly assigned to four treatment groups, with two mares in each group: Group 1 - control group, Group 2 - 25 milligrams cobalt intravenously as CoCl weekly, Group 3 - 50 milligrams cobalt intravenously as CoCl weekly, and Group 4 - 25 milligrams cobalt intravenously mid-week and at the end of the week. Uri...
Schlegel T, Brehm H, Amselgruber WM.The purpose of this comparative study was to evaluate morphological differences between the cartilages of the third eyelid in dogs, cats, pigs, cows, small ruminants and horses. For that reason a total of 83 third eyelids were investigated. By the aid of a modified maceration technique, the three-dimensional form of the cartilage could be demonstrated for the first time. Generally, the cartilage consists of a long narrow appendix which is followed by a variable crossbar. In dogs the appendix is cone shaped in the basal end and extends to form a triangular plate. The former is crescent-like in ...
Pedersen PJ, Karlsson M, Flethøj M, Trachsel DS, Kanters JK, Klaerke DA, Buhl R.Quantitative measurements of cardiac repolarization, defined as the electrocardiographic QT interval, have important diagnostic implications in humans, as irregularities can trigger potentially fatal ventricular tachyarrhythmia. In both humans and horses, cardiac repolarization is influenced to some extent by heart rate, age, body weight (BW), sex, autonomic tone, and environment. In horses, there is substantial inter-breed variation in size and training, and the aims of this study were therefore to determine the best model describing the QT to RR relationship in breeds of various athletic hor...
Arai K, Misumi K, Carter SD, Shinbara S, Fujiki M, Sakamoto H.Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is abundant within cartilage; its turnover and/or degradation have been investigated in various equine joint diseases and it has been suggested that COMP fragmentation might be useful for monitoring such conditions. Objective: To determine whether COMP metabolism is compromised in equine osteoarthritis (OA) and whether COMP degradation is a useful joint marker representing cartilage destruction. Objective: A monoclonal antibody (mAb) with a higher affinity for degraded COMP allows discrimination of diseased joints by quantifying COMP levels and fragme...
Lloyd KC, Stover SM, Pascoe JR, Baggot JD, Kurpershoek C, Hietala S.The concentration of gentamicin in plasma and synovial fluid of normal adult horses was measured periodically for 24 hours after IV (2.2 mg/kg of body weight), intra-articular (IA; 150 mg), and simultaneous IV and IA administrations. Gentamicin also was buffered with sodium bicarbonate (3 mEq) and then was administered IA and simultaneously IV and IA. Synovial fluid specimens were obtained via an indwelling catheter placed into the antebrachiocarpal joint. The peak mean plasma gentamicin concentration (8.30 micrograms/ml) after IV administration was significantly (P less than 0.05) greater tha...
Brown MP, Trumble TN, Plaas AH, Sandy JD, Romano M, Hernandez J, Merritt KA.(1) To investigate the effects of exercise and osteochondral (OC) injury on synovial fluid (SF) chondroitin sulfate (CS) and hyaluronan (HA) concentration and chain length, (2) to compare SF and cartilage CS data from joints with OC fragmentation, and (3) to compare SF CS and HA profiles with those seen in serum from the same horses. Methods: Serum and SF were obtained from (1) normal horses after 8 weeks rest, (2) the same horses after 9 months treadmill training, and (3) horses with OC injury from racing. Articular cartilage was also collected from group 3 horses. Concentrations and chain le...
Baldacchino F, Cadier J, Porciani A, Buatois B, Dormont L, Jay-Robert P.Urine volatiles from different ungulates (cows, horses and sheep) were tested as bait for tabanids in southeastern France using Nzi traps during the early summer of 2011. Tabanus bromius Linnaeus, 1758 and Atylotus quadrifarius (Loew, 1874) (both: Diptera: Tabanidae) were the most captured species, respectively representing 57% and 41% of all tabanids collected (all of which were female). Horse urine significantly increased catches of T. bromius (1.6-fold) and A. quadrifarius (3.5-fold), and sheep urine significantly increased catches of A. quadrifarius (2.5-fold). In parallel, an electroanten...
Lupo A, Haenni M, Saras E, Gradin J, Madec JY, Börjesson S.A predominance of the bla/IncHI1 plasmid combination in horses has been reported in Czech-Republic, Denmark, and The Netherlands. To clarify a possible specific plasmid epidemiology of bla in horses in a European perspective, a collection of 74 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli recovered from diseased horses in France and Sweden during the period 2009-2014 was investigated in respect of their genetic relatedness, plasmid content, and molecular features. Overall, 80% of E. coli isolates from diseased horses harbored bla on large IncHI1 plasmids with plasmid sequence ty...
Parente EJ, Martin BB, Tulleners EP, Ross MW.To evaluate the occurrence of dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) during high-speed treadmill (HSTM) exercise in racehorses, and determine treatment efficacy relative to the endoscopic findings observed during resting and HSTM endoscopic examination. Methods: Retrospective study. Animals-Ninety-two racehorses (74 Thoroughbreds, 18 Standardbreds). Methods: The signalment, history (clinical and race), treatments, and video recordings made during resting and HSTM endoscopy were reviewed in 92 racehorses that developed DDSP during HSTM exercise. Only horses that completed 3 starts before...
French KR, Pollitt CC.The key lesion of laminitis is separation at the hoof lamellar dermal-epidermal interface. For this to happen the structural and adhesion proteins of the basement membrane zone must be altered. Which proteins and how damage to them leads to the lamellar separation of laminitis is unknown. Objective: To investigate lamellar hemidesmosome and cytoskeleton damage and basement membrane dysadhesion using light microscopy (LM) and immunofluorescence microscopy (IFM). Methods: Cryostat sections of lamellar tissues from 2 control and 6 Standardbred horses with oligofructose induced laminitis were stud...
Ortolani F, Scilimati N, Gialletti R, Menchetti L, Nannarone S.The purpose of this study was to describe the development and preliminary validation of a composite pain scale, called the Equine Ophthalmic Pain Scale (EOPS), to assess ocular pain in horses. Indicators associated with ocular pain were selected and classified as behavioural, physiological or ocular expressions. Eight horses diagnosed with ocular or adnexa diseases that required medical or surgical treatment were enrolled in the study (group P). The developed EOPS was applied at the baseline (T0) and 1 week later (T7). Moreover, the EOPS was applied twice, 1 week apart, to 15 healthy control h...
Mota MD, Abrahão AR, Oliveira HN.The aim of the present study was to investigate genetic parameters for racing time in Thoroughbred horses racing at distances between 1000 and 1600 m subdivided into 100-m intervals. The data provided by TURFETOTAL Ltda comprised races that occurred in the Gávea and Cidade Jardim race tracks over a period of 11 years (1992-2002) and consisted of 32,145 races and 238,890 time records. The variance components necessary to obtain the heritability and repeatability estimates of the traits studied were estimated with the MTDFREML program, and animal age at race (3 years old or younger, 4, 5 and ol...
Brault LS, Famula TR, Penedo MC.To determine the mode of inheritance for cerebellar abiotrophy (CA), a neurologic disease in Arabians. Methods: 804 Arabians, including 29 horses (15 males and 14 females) with CA. Methods: Most horses (n = 755) belonged to 1 of 4 paternal families. Among the 29 CA-affected horses, all had clinical signs consistent with the disease; the disease was confirmed histologically following euthanasia in 8 horses. From the pedigree information, inbreeding coefficients were calculated for 16 affected horses and compared with coefficients for a subgroup of 16 unaffected horses. Complex segregation analy...
Gemingguli M, Iskhan KR, Li Y, Qi A, Wunirifu W, Ding LY, Wumaierjiang A.The Kazakh horse is an important old horse breed in Xinjiang. They have contributed greatly to the breeding and improvement of other local horse breeds, yet their genetic diversity and population structure are not well understood. In the present study, we evaluated the genetic diversity of Kazakh horses and their relationship with other horse breeds using the mtDNA D-loop region, Cyt b gene, and a DNA fragment (nps 7974-9963, containing COX3, tRNA-Gly, ND3, and tRNA-Arg). A total of 130 Kazakh horses from 8 populations in China and Kazakhstan were analyzed. A total of 88 haplotypes (haplotype ...
Maxwell LK, Bentz BG, Bourne DW, Erkert RS.Recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus type-1 infections have stimulated renewed interest in the use of effective antiherpetic drugs in horses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of valacyclovir (VCV), the prodrug of acyclovir (ACV), in horses. Six adult horses were used in a randomized cross-over design. Treatments consisted of 10 mg/kg ACV infused intravenously, 5 g (7.7-11.7 mg/kg) VCV delivered intragastrically (IG) and 15 g (22.7-34.1 mg/kg) VCV administered IG. Serum samples were obtained at predetermined times for acyclovir assay using high-performance li...
Faleiros RR, Nuovo GJ, Belknap JK.Laminar inflammation is one of the earliest events in equine laminitis. Calprotectin (CP), a Damage-Associated Molecular Pattern protein, is overexpressed in inflammatory conditions of human skin. Objective: CP is overexpressed in the laminar epidermis of horses with black walnut extract (BWE)-induced laminitis. Methods: Twenty adult horses. Methods: Experimental study. Horses were allocated to one of 4 groups. BWE was administered to horses in 3 groups, which were sampled 1.5, 3, and 12 hours (LAM) later. CP was visualized by immunohistochemistry. Laminar leukocyte counts and intensity of lam...
Fragkaki AG, Kioukia-Fougia N, Kiousi P, Kioussi M, Tsivou M.The artificial increase of the physical capability of horses using drugs is well known in racing and other equine sports. Both illicit and therapeutic substances are regarded as prohibited substances in competition in most countries. Some countries make distinctions for a few, specific drugs which are, however, allowed for use in other countries. The primary objective in the case of doping control is the detection of any trace of drug exposure, either parent drug or any of its metabolites, using the most powerful analytical methods which are generally based on chromatographic/mass spectrometri...
KornaÅ› S, Gawor J, Cabaret J, Molenda K, Skalska M, Nowosad B.The prevalence of infection with cyathosthomes of horses is high worldwide. Identification of species on infective larvae based on available morphological keys is not fully accurate and the aim of the present study was to provide a reliable identification key of cyathostomes infective larvae. At the abattoir, horse large intestines were examined and the cyathostomes females extracted and identified. The eggs from uteruses of identified cyathostomes females were used for breeding the infective larvae. Morphological parameters of Cyathostominae infective larvae, i.e. the length of the larvae wit...
Maleas G, Mageed M.This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) and leukocyte rich PRP (LR-PRP) compared to horses undergoing controlled exercise alone in horses with >3 months proximal suspensory desmopathy in hindlimbs (HPSD). Nighty-three horses were divided into three groups according to the treatment: a control (n = 22), LR-PRP (n = 46), and BMAC (n = 25) group. Lameness and ultrasound scores were recorded before treatment (T0) and at 6 months (T1) post-treatment. Records horses considered sound at evaluation and level of performance were addition...
Martineau H, Thompson H, Taylor D.Gastric ulceration is now widely recognised as an important disease in high performance horses. Little is known about gastric histopathology in healthy or diseased animals; a comprehensive assessment would enhance interpretation of gross findings through assessment of their accuracy and allow for identification of lesion variety and pathogenesis in different anatomical regions of the stomach. Objective: To investigate the true extent and variety of gastric lesions in a mixed population of mature horses at post mortem. Methods: Stomachs were removed from a mixed population of 21 horses at post ...
Abbott Y, O'Mahony R, Leonard N, Quinn PJ, van der Reijden T, Dijkshoorn L, Fanning S.A complete gene cassette contained in a class 1 integron from a multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolate of Acinetobacter baumannii cultured from a horse was characterized by molecular methods. Methods: Template genomic DNA purified from the A. baumannii isolate was investigated by PCR. A gene cassette-associated amplicon was detected and completely characterized. Results: A 2.6 kbp DNA fragment containing four gene cassettes was amplified from the MDR A. baumannii isolate. Sequence analysis showed it was similar to sequences recently reported in Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens and an Esch...
Alford P, Geller S, Richrdson B, Slater M, Honnas C, Foreman J, Robinson J, Messer M, Roberts M, Goble D, Hood D, Chaffin M.Risk factors for equine laminitis were examined in a prospective case-control study of the 258 cases seen at six collaborating veterinary teaching hospitals over a 32-month period. Case-control pairs were matched on institution, clinician, and season of diagnosis. The 90% of case-control pairs (78 acute, 155 chronic) that had complete data for age, gender, and breed were used in separate conditional logistic-regression models for acute and chronic laminitis. There was an increase in risk for horses with acute laminitis from 5 to 7 years of age (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.3-16) and from 13 to 31 years of...
Fesseha H, Mathewos M, Kidanemariam F.Gastrointestinal helminth parasite infection is a major influencing factor against profitability of working equines all over the world. Objective: A study was conducted from October 2016 to May 2017 in and around Hosaena to determine the efficacy of benzimidazole (BZ) and avermectin (AVM) chemical groups against strongyle nematodes in working donkeys. Methods: A total of 230 donkeys from Hosaena, Soro, Anlemo, and Gombora were randomly allocated into 5 groups of 46 donkeys in each group. All groups, except group 1 (control), were treated with ivermectin 1%, ivertong 10%, fenbendazole, and Fena...
Siegers EW, de Ruijter-Villani M, van Doorn DA, Stout TAE, Roelfsema E.Health risks associated with obesity are more likely a factor of the localization of fat excess, rather than of elevated BW per se. The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to determine the effect of a long-term high energy diet on BW, fat accumulation and localization. Eight Shetland pony mares, 3 to 7 years old, were randomly divided into a control and a high energy (HE) diet group fed either maintenance or double maintenance energy requirements (200% net energy (NE)) for two consecutive summers, with a low energy diet in the winter in between. Body condition score (BCS) did ...
Camozzato GC, Martinez MN, Bastos HBA, Fiala-Rechsteiner S, Meikle A, Jobim MIM, Gregory RM, Mattos RC.The aim of this study was to evaluate ultrastructural and histological changes in the endometrium on days 7, 10 and 13 post-ovulation in pregnant and cyclic mares. Mares were routinely examined by transrectal palpation and ultrasonographic examination of the reproductive tract until estrus was detected. In the first cycle, endometrial biopsies from 30 cyclic mares (Cyclic group) were collected on days 7, 10 and 13 post-ovulation. In the second cycle, the same mares were bred by a fertile stallion. At days 7, 10 and 13 post-ovulation intrauterine biopsies were collected. Immediately after sampl...
Holbrook TC, Birks EK, Sleeper MM, Durando M.Information is lacking regarding the influence of long distance exercise on the systemic concentration of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in horses. Objective: To determine if the concentration of cTnI in horses competing in 80 and 160 km endurance races increases with exercise duration and if cTnI concentrations can be correlated with performance data. Methods: Blood samples for the measurement of cTnI and 3 min electrocardiogram recordings were obtained from horses prior to, during and after completion of 80 and 160 km endurance races at 3 ride sites during the 2004 and 2005 American Endurance Rid...
Valberg SJ, McKenzie EC, Eyrich LV, Shivers J, Barnes NE, Finno CJ.Although exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) is common in Arabian horses, there are no dedicated studies describing histopathological characteristics of muscle from Arabian horses with ER. Objective: To prospectively identify distinctive histopathological features of muscle from Arabian endurance horses with a history of ER (pro-ER) and to retrospectively determine their prevalence in archived samples from Arabian horses with exertional myopathies (retro-ER). Methods: Prospective and retrospective histopathological description. Methods: Middle gluteal muscle biopsies obtained from Arabian controls ...
Knubben JM, Furst A, Gygax L, Staﾬher M.Studies on the prevalence and predisposing factors of bite and kick injuries in horses have not been reported in a population-based data sample. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of bite and kick injuries in horses and associated risk factors in a representative sample of horses in Switzerland. Methods: A questionnaire on the incidence of disease and injury, which included the frequency of bite and kick injuries and their association with breed, housing, use and feeding regime, was sent to 2559 horse owners randomly selected throughout Switzerland. Results: The data of 2912 horses with ...
Stahlbaum CC, Houpt KA.The role of the Flehmen response in equine behavior was investigated under field and laboratory conditions. In Experiment 1, a field study made of five stallions on pasture with between three and eighteen mares each during the season indicated the following: 1) The Flehmen response was most frequently preceded by nasal, rather than oral, investigation of substances; 2) The stallions' rate of Flehmen varied with the estrous cycles of the mares; 3) The rate of Flehmen response did not show a variation with time of day; and 4) The Flehmen response was most frequently followed by marking behaviors...
