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.
Cuervo-Arango J, Claes AN, Stout TA.Advancing maternal age is known to negatively affect fertility in the horse. This age-related decrease in fertility has been linked primarily to reduced oocyte quality rather than to impaired uterine function. In the past decade, the use of ovum pick-up (OPU) and ICSI to produce foals has rapidly gaining popularity amongst sport horse breeders. However, it is not yet known how maternal age influences the efficiency of a commercial OPU-ICSI program and whether the age effect is similar to that observed for other ART in the horse. To answer this question, reproductive records of 289 mares bred b...
Hawkes M, Richard A, Oldfield C, Toothaker A, Stokes M, Causey R.Postbreeding bacterial uterine infections inflict major losses on the equine industry. Microcurrents propelled by ciliated cells between the folds of the uterus and cervix have been proposed as a means by which contaminants are expelled. Previous data have shown possible ciliary microcurrents propelling carbon particles, occasionally rotating, through cervical folds. However, adherence to the epithelium may have interfered with movement of carbon in these studies. Therefore, we tested potentially nonadherent substances to reveal ciliary microcurrents on the equine cervix under high magnificati...
Nielsen MK, Sauermann CW, Leathwick DM.Anthelmintic resistance is widespread in equine cyathostomin populations across the world, and with no new anthelmintic drug classes in the pharmaceutical pipeline, the equine industry is forced to abandon traditional parasite control regimens. Current recommendations aim at reducing treatment intensity and identifying high strongylid egg shedders in a targeted treatment approach. But, virtually nothing is known about the effectiveness of these recommendations, nor their applicability to different climatic regions, making it challenging to tailor sustainable recommendations for equine parasite...
Gold S, Regan CE, McLoughlin PD, Gilleard JS, Wilson AJ, Poissant J.Variability in host resistance or tolerance to parasites is nearly ubiquitous, and is of key significance in understanding the evolutionary processes shaping host-parasite interactions. While ample research has been conducted on the genetics of parasite burden in livestock, relatively little has been done in free-living populations. Here, we investigate the sources of (co)variation in strongyle nematode faecal egg count (FEC) and body condition in Sable Island horses, a feral population in which parasite burden has previously been shown to negatively correlate with body condition. We used the ...
Willis AT, Magdesian KG, Byrne BA, Edman JM.Enterococci have been increasing in prevalence in foal sepsis over the past three decades. There are no published studies in the peer-reviewed literature documenting common sites of infection, antimicrobial susceptibility, or outcome specifically associated with enterococcal infections in foals. Our objectives were to evaluate the sites of origin, antimicrobial susceptibility, and survival outcome to discharge in foals with enterococcal infections compared with foals with sepsis of another bacterial etiology. Seventy-five foals 0-30 days of age with cultures positive for Enterococcus and 170 c...
Adegbeye MJ, Elghandour MMMY, Barbabosa-Pliego A, Monroy JC, Mellado M, Ravi Kanth Reddy P, Salem AZM.Several concerns exist regarding horse rearing such as environmental pollution, antibiotics resistance, digestive disorders, mycotoxins contamination of animal feed, gut health management, and improvement of feed efficiency. Nanoparticles have the potential to address these issues and thus could be used as feed additive. Citrate reduces and stabilizes gold nanoparticles, alongside biosynthesized silver nanoparticles have the potential to prolong and improve digestive enzyme activity, which would enhance starch digestibility in the stomach. Zinc oxide and selenium nanoparticles could be used to...
Durket E, Kersh K, Dembek K, Riedesel E, Silverstone A, Kraus KH.To determine the influence of plate fixation (locking or dynamic compression) and the site of application (ventral [V] or ventrolateral [VL]) on the resistance to bending of transverse mandibular fractures. Methods: Ex vivo, simple randomized study. Methods: Mandibles harvested from adult equine cadavers (n = 18). Methods: Bilateral osteotomies were created 1 cm caudal to the mental foramen and perpendicular to the long axis of each mandible. Mandibles were fixed with 1 of 3 methods: (1) VL dynamic compression plate (DCP), (2) V-DCP, or (3) VL locking compression plating (LCP). Construct...
Nostell K, Lindåse S, Edberg H, Bröjer J.There is little evidence that horses with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) have higher resting blood pressures than horses with normal insulin sensitivity. However, there are indications that EMS horses have an altered dynamic response to the cardiovascular effects of insulin. Objective: To examine heart rate and the systemic blood pressure response in EMS and control horses during insulin infusion. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Horses were examined with an oral sugar test (OST) and a euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp (EHC). Based on the results from the OST, the horses were classi...
McKenzie HC, Funk RA, Trager L, Werre SR, Crisman M.Potomac horse fever (PHF) is a potentially fatal enterocolitis of horses caused by Neorickettsia risticii. The disease was originally recognised almost 40 years ago in the state of Maryland in the US. It is now known to occur in many areas of North America, as well as having been described in South America and Europe. Monocomponent PHF vaccines are available, but clinical protection with vaccination has been reported to be inconsistent. Objective: This study was designed to assess the immunogenicity of a commercially available Potomac Horse Fever (PHF) vaccine when administered as either a mo...
Poelaert KCK, Van Cleemput J, Laval K, Descamps S, Favoreel HW, Nauwynck HJ.Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as sodium butyrate (SB), sodium propionate (SPr), and sodium acetate (SAc), are metabolic end-products of the fermentation of dietary fibers. They are linked with multiple beneficial effects on the general mammalian health, based on the sophisticated interplay with the host immune response. Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV1) is a major pathogen, which primarily replicates in the respiratory epithelium, and disseminates through the body via a cell-associated viremia in leukocytes, even in the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Infected monocytic CD172a cells and ...
Pfeiffenberger M, Bartsch J, Hoff P, Ponomarev I, Barnewitz D, Thöne-Reineke C, Buttgereit F, Gaber T, Lang A.Fractures in horses-whether simple fractures with just one clean break, or incomplete greenstick with stress fractures, or complications such as shattered bones can all be either minimal or even catastrophic. Thus, improvement in fracture healing is a hallmark in equine orthopedics. The fracture healing process implements a complex sequence of events including the initial inflammatory phase removing damaged tissue, re-establishment of vessels and mesenchymal stromal cells, a soft and hard callus phase closing the fracture gap as well as the remodeling phase shaping the bone to a scar-free tiss...
Fonseca-Rodríguez O, Pinheiro Júnior JW, Mota RA.In Brazil, glanders remains a serious problem, with the obligatory sacrifice of disease-positive animals without compensation. Each year, glanders cases are reported in several regions of the country, causing severe economic losses and trade restrictions. The present study describes and discusses the occurrence of glanders foci in Brazil during a 12-year period from 2005 to 2016. The highest frequency of reported affected holdings during the study period was in the northeast region. Moreover, during this period, the disease incidence in Brazil showed an overall increasing tendency. The number ...
Gunn AJ.This study involves the case of a young Thoroughbred filly who exhibited symptoms like reluctance to stand and vulva hemorrhagic discharge. The physical examination revealed normal physiological parameters, but an […]
Yasine A, Ashenafi H, Geldhof P, Bekana M, Tola A, Van Brantegem L, Van Soom A, Duchateau L, Goddeeris BM, Govaere J.Trypanosoma equiperdum (T. equiperdum) causes dourine, a venereally transmitted infection in horses. Purification of semen by single layer centrifugation (SLC) has been proven to be successful in reducing venereally transmitted diseases when dealing with other pathogens. The objective of this study was to evaluate the purification of T. equiperdum spiked semen by SLC. Semen was spiked using cryopreserved T. equiperdum stabilates (Dodola strain isolate 943). In total, 6 concentrations, varying from 10 to >5 × 10 trypanosomes, were added to semen samples. Subsequently, SLC was performed ...
Saini S, Singha H, Siwach P, Tripathi BN.Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 activate plethora of immune cells and induce the humoral immune response. However, recombinant version of horse IL-4 and IL-10 has not been investigated to understand their immunomodulating activities. This study aimed to produce recombinant horse mature IL-4 and IL-10 in . Immune-modulating activities of recombinant horse IL-4 and IL-10 were investigated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Methods: Equine PBMCs were stimulated with recombinant IL-4 and IL-10. A proliferation of PBMCs was measured by XTT assay and cytokines induction was measured by enzy...
Huang W, Yaraghi NA, Yang W, Velazquez-Olivera A, Li Z, Ritchie RO, Kisailus D, Stover SM, McKittrick J.The equine hoof has been considered as an efficient energy absorption layer that protects the skeletal elements from impact when galloping. In the present study, the hierarchical structure of a fresh equine hoof wall and the energy absorption mechanisms are investigated. Tubules are found embedded in the intertubular matrix forming the hoof wall at the microscale. Both tubules and intertubular areas consist of keratin cells, in which keratin crystalline intermediate filaments (IFs) and amorphous keratin fill the cytoskeletons. Cell sizes, shapes and IF fractions are different between tubular a...
Mitchell CJ, O'Sullivan CM, Pinloche E, Wilkinson T, Morphew RM, McEwan NR.Next-generation sequencing of DNA from nematode eggs has been utilised to give the first account of the equine 'nemabiome'. In all equine faecal samples investigated, multiple species of Strongylidae were detected, ranging from 7.5 (SEM 0.79) with 99+% identity to sequences in the NCBI database to 13.3 (SEM 0.80) with 90+% identity. This range is typical of the number of species described previously in morphological studies using large quantities of digesta per animal. However, the current method is non-invasive; relies on DNA analysis, avoiding the need for specialist microscopy identificatio...
Seong HS, Kim NY, Kim DC, Hwang NH, Son DH, Shin JS, Lee JH, Chung WH, Choi JW.The Jeju horse is an indigenous horse breed in Korea. However, there is a severe lack of genomic studies on Korean horse breeds. The objective of this study was to report genomic characteristics of domestic horse populations that inhabit South Korea (Jeju, Jeju crossbred, and Thoroughbred) and a wild horse breed (Przewalski's horse). Using the equine reference genome assembly (EquCab 2.0), more than ~ 6.5 billion sequence reads were successfully mapped, which generated an average of 40.87-fold coverage throughout the genome. Using these data, we detected a total of 12.88 million SNPs, of w...
Viljanto MJ, Kicman AT, Walker CJ, Parkin MC, Wolff K, Pearce CM, Scarth J.Boldenone is an anabolic-androgenic steroid that is prohibited in equine sports. Urine from the uncastrated male horse contains boldenone that is thought to be of endogenous origin and thus a threshold ('cut-off') concentration has been adopted internationally for free and conjugated boldenone to help distinguish cases of doping from its natural production. The testis is likely to be a source of boldenone. Qualitative analysis was performed on extracts of equine testicular homogenates (n = 3 horses) incubated non-spiked and in the presence of its potential precursors using liquid chromatog...
Hunt S, Kuo J, Aristizabal FA, Brown M, Patwardhan A, Hedman T.The mechanical properties of the soft palate can be associated with breathing abnormalities. Dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) is a naturally occurring equine soft palate disorder caused by displacement of the caudal edge of the soft palate. Snoring and a more serious, sometimes life-threatening, condition called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are forms of sleep-related breathing disorders in humans which may involve the soft palate. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of injecting the protein crosslinker genipin into the soft palate to modify its mechanical propert...
Kaspar U, von Lützau K, Schlattmann A, Rösler U, Köck R, Becker K.Colonization with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) belonging to the genus Staphylococcus and the order Enterobacterales poses a particular threat to populations at risk. While previous studies focused on MDRO carriage among livestock or companion animals, respective epidemiological data on the general equine population are limited. Here, carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) in non-hospitalized horses living on private farms in the rural area in Northwest Germany was assessed. Intran...
Craig AF, Packer GC, Guthrie AJ, Venter EH.A prospective study was undertaken during 2013 and 2014, to determine the prevalence of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) in Culicoides midges and the incidence of infection caused by the virus in 28 resident horses on two equine establishments on the East Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Field caught Culicoides midges together with whole blood samples from participating horses were collected every two weeks at each establishment. Culicoides midges and blood samples were tested for the presence of AHSV RNA by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Nine i...
Butler D, Valenchon M, Annan R, Whay HR, Mullan S.The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions held by British racing industry stakeholders of factors influencing racehorse welfare. Ten focus groups were held across the UK with a total of 42 stakeholders from a range of roles within racehorse care including trainers, stable staff and veterinarians. Participants took part in three exercises. Firstly, to describe the scenarios of a 'best life' and the minimum welfare standards a horse in training could be living under. Secondly, to identify the main challenges for racehorse welfare and thirdly, to recall any innovative or uncommon pr...
Boakari YL, Alonso MA, Riccio AV, Fernandes CB.In equine management, it is important to predict the approximate foaling date of mares to monitor parturition and allow early identification and intervention of problems during the perinatal period. There are no studies comparing accurate gestational length (GL) when mares are carrying mule foals and no controlled comparisons between GL of mares pregnant with equine or mule foals. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to compare GL of mares pregnant with equine or mule foals and establish normal reference values for GL of mares pregnant with male and female mules. Gestational length of ...
Canonici P, Beccati F, Canonici F, Pepe M.To develop a reliable method for injection of the tarsometatarsal (TMT) joint of horses through a medial approach and to characterize anatomy of the synovial recesses of the TMT joint with CT. Methods: 13 pairs of fresh cadaveric equine tarsi. Methods: TMT joints were assessed with radiography and CT. Twelve pairs of TMT joints were assigned to an experienced veterinarian (8 joints) or veterinary student (16 joints) for injection with contrast medium through a medial or a lateral approach. Every TMT joint was then reexamined radiographically and with CT to assess diffusion of contrast medium. ...
Tyrnenopoulou PC, Rizos ED, Kritsepi-Konstantinou M, Papadopoulou PL, Patsikas MN, Papazoglou LG, Aggeli A, Diakakis NE.To determine whether differences existed in the viscoelastic properties of synovial fluid samples from the metacarpophalangeal, intercarpal, and distal interphalangeal joints of orthopedically normal athletic horses. Methods: 45 warmblood horses and 30 Thoroughbreds (age range, 4 to 16 years). Methods: Synovial fluid samples were aseptically obtained via arthrocentesis from 1 metacarpophalangeal, intercarpal, and distal interphalangeal joint of each horse, and nucleated cell counts were performed. A commercial ELISA was used to measure sample hyaluronic acid concentrations, and full rheologica...
Steel CM, Collins VL, Hance SR, Adkins AR, Hitchens PL.Veterinarians are required to interpret the significance of radiographic findings for sale, soundness and future racing performance of weanling and yearling Thoroughbreds. We investigated the prevalence and radiographic appearance of slab fractures of the third (T3) and central tarsal (Tc) bones. Methods: Weanling and yearling horses with complete or incomplete T3 or Tc fracture were identified by searching a database of radiographs. The prevalence and radiographic appearance at initial diagnosis and after continued pasture turnout, as well as prognosis for racing, of fractures of T3 and Tc we...
Hardefeldt LY, Crabb HK, Bailey KE, Gilkerson JR, Billman-Jacobe H, Browning GF.Appropriate dosing with antimicrobial agents is critical for effective treatment and to prevent the development of antimicrobial resistance. Methods: A review was undertaken of equine journal articles (Equine Veterinary Journal, Equine Veterinary Education, Australian Veterinary Journal, Australian Equine Veterinarian, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine and Journal of Equine Veterinary Science) between January 2015 and August 2018. Those with dosing regimens for procaine penicillin G, gentamicin or trimethoprim-sulfonamide in adult horses were examined and evaluated. Pharmacokinetics and ...
Beythien E, Aurich C, Wulf M, Aurich J.Seasonal changes in metabolic rate have been shown in horses and we hypothesized that this leads to the birth of smaller foals early in the year. Mares and their foals were assigned to three groups by day of foaling within the year (e.g. 1 January = day 1): Group 1 (n = 10) day 40-65, group 2 (n = 8) day 67-92, group 3 (n = 9) day 94-121. Groups did not differ with regard to parity. In foals, height at withers and body weight were determined on days 1-5 and weekly until 12 weeks of age. Chest circumference, distances fetlock to carpus, carpus to elbow, poll to nose and crown-rump lengt...
Fougerolle S, Legrand L, Garrett D, Birand I, Foursin M, D'Ablon X, Bayssat P, Newton RJ, Pronost S, Paillot R.Numerous equine influenza (EI) epizooties are reported worldwide. EI vaccination is the most efficient methods of prevention. However, not all horses develop protective immunity after immunisation, increasing the risk of infection and transmission. This field study aimed to understand the poor response to primary EI vaccination. The EI antibody response was measured in 174 Thoroughbred foals set in 3 stud farms (SF#1 to SF#3) over a 2years period. All foals were immunised with a commercial recombinant canarypox-based EI vaccine. Sera were tested by single radial haemolysis against the A/equine...
Tessier GJ, Traynor TR, Kannan MS, O'Grady SM.Equine tracheal epithelium, stripped of serosal muscle, mounted in Ussing chambers, and bathed in plasmalike Ringer solution generates a serosa-positive transepithelial potential of 10-22 mV and a short-circuit current (Isc) of 70-200 microA/cm2. Mucosal amiloride (10 microM) causes a 40-60% decrease in Isc and inhibits the net transepithelial Na flux by 95%. Substitution of Cl with gluconate resulted in a 30% decrease in basal Isc. Bicarbonate substitution with 20 mM N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid decreased the Isc by 21%. The Cl-dependent Isc was inhibited by serosal add...
Galvão A, Skarzynski DJ, Szóstek A, Silva E, Tramontano A, Mollo A, Mateus L, Ferreira-Dias G.Knowledge on the regulation of corpus luteum (CL) function in the mare is scarce. In this study, the presence of cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) and interferon gamma (IFNG), and their receptors (TNFRI, TNFRII and IFNRI), was investigated in equine CL throughout the luteal phase. The effects of TNF and IFNG on secretory function and viability of luteal cells were defined in vitro. Cytokine ligands and receptors were present in steroidogenic and endothelial cells. Protein expression for TNF was greater in mid-phase and regressing CL, while TNFRI was increased in regressing CL and TNF...
Gebremedhn S, Gad A, Ishak GM, Menjivar NG, Gastal MO, Feugang JM, Prochazka R, Tesfaye D, Gastal EL.Innumerable similarities in reproductive cyclicity and hormonal alterations highlight the considerable utility of the mare to study aspects of follicular dynamics and reproductive function in view of the largely constricted, human research subjects. The bi-directional communication between the growing oocyte and the surrounding somatic cells embodies the hallmark of mammalian follicular development, partially mediated by extracellular vesicles (EVs) encapsulated with microRNAs (miRNAs) and present in the follicular fluid (FF). Here, we aimed to decipher the dynamics of the miRNAs in EVs from e...
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...
Vos NJ.Data are lacking in the literature regarding the incidence of osteochondrosis (dissecans) [OC(D)] in relation to lameness evaluation in Dutch Warmblood horses. The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the incidence of radiological abnormalities consistent with osteochondrosis or osteochondrosis dissecans in 1,231 sound Dutch Warmblood (DW) horses presented for pre-purchase examination. Standardised (Dutch) pre-purchase examination protocols were evaluated. The pre-purchase examination included a clinical, lameness and radiological evaluation, performed at a private equine clinic...
Vinther AM, Skovgaard K, Heegaard PM, Andersen PH.In horses, insights into the innate immune processes in acute systemic inflammation are limited even though these processes may be highly important for future diagnostic and therapeutic advances in high-mortality disease conditions as the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the expression of 31 selected blood leukocyte immune genes in an equine model of acute systemic inflammation to identify significantly regulated genes and to describe their expression dynamics during a 24-h experimental period. Systemic inflammation ...
Dória RG, Carvalho MB, Freitas SH, Laskoski LM, Colodel EM, Mendonça FS, Silva MA, Grigoletto R, Fantinato Neto P.Treatment for horses with pythiosis of a limb is challenging. This study aims to evaluate the effects of administering amphotericin B in a 10 % solution of dimethylsulfoxide by intravenous regional limb perfusion (IRLP) to treat horses for cutaneous pythiosis of a limb. Results: All 15 of the horses treated had complete resolutions of their lesion between 6 to 9 weeks after a single IRLP treatment. No complications were observed at the site of venipuncture for IRLP. Before initiation of treatment, there was anemia and marked leucocytosis which resolved following treatment. Serum biochemistry ...
Santschi EM, Williams JM, Morgan JW, Johnson CR, Bertone AL, Juzwiak JS.To determine if medial femoral condylar (MFC) subchondral cystic lesions (SCL) causing lameness will demonstrate radiographic evidence of healing and lameness reduction after placement of a transcondylar screw in lag fashion. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Horses (n = 20) with lameness attributed to a MFC SCL. Methods: A 4.5 mm screw was inserted in lag fashion across MFC SCL in horses with hindlimb lameness. Post-operative radiography and lameness examinations were performed at 30-60 day intervals after surgery for 120 days, and SCL radiographic area and lameness were graded. Tr...
Gross A, Torge A, Schaefer UF, Schneider M, Lehr CM, Wagner C.Native horse mucus is characterized with micro- and macrorheology and compared to hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) gel as a model. Both systems show comparable viscoelastic properties on the microscale and for the HEC the macrorheology is in good agreement with the microrheology. For the mucus, the viscoelastic moduli on the macroscale are several orders of magnitude larger than on the microscale. Large amplitude oscillatory shear experiments show that the mucus responds nonlinearly at much smaller deformations than HEC. This behavior fosters the assumption that the mucus has a foam like structure ...
Blythe LL, Craig AM, Lassen ED, Rowe KE, Appell LH.Plasma alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) values were monitored serially in 9 foals sired by a stallion with equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM) and in 5 age-matched control foals (sired by a clinically normal stallion) raised in the same environment for the first year of life. Clinical evaluation determined that 8 of the 9 foals sired by the stallion with EDM had neurologic deficits consistent with the disease on one or more occasions during the study period, whereas control foals had normal gait. From 6 weeks to 10 months of age, plasma alpha-tocopherol values in foals with signs of EDM ...
Mecocci S, Porcellato I, Armando F, Mechelli L, Brachelente C, Pepe M, Gialletti R, Passeri B, Modesto P, Ghelardi A, Cappelli K, Razzuoli E.Equine genital squamous cell carcinomas (egSCCs) are among the most common equine tumors after sarcoids, severely impairing animal health and welfare. papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) infection is often related to these tumors. The aim of this study was to clarify the molecular mechanisms behind egSCCs associated with EcPV2 infection, investigating receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) signaling in NF-kB pathway, together with the Wnt and IL17 signaling pathways. We analyzed the innate immune response through gene expression evaluation of key cytokines and transcription fac...
Perrier M, Lu Y, Nemke B, Kobayashi H, Peterson A, Markel M.To compare the efficacy of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2)/calcium phosphate (CP) to autogenous cancellous bone graft (CBG) and to no treatment on bone healing, in surgically induced osteotomies and ostectomies of the accessory metatarsal bones in an equine model. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Adult horses (n=9). Methods: Segmental ostectomies of the second metatarsal bone (MT2) and osteotomies of the fourth metatarsal bone (MT4) were performed bilaterally in 9 horses. There were a total of 35 defects (1 MT4 was previously fractured) created and supplemented randomly...
Hahn CN, Mayhew IG, de Lahunta A.Equine grass sickness (EGS) is an acquired disease of unknown aetiology affecting horses kept at grass. The disease is characterised by postganglionic sympathetic and parasympathetic neuronal pathology and is categorised as a dysautonomia. This study undertook a systematic examination of brain stem cranial nerve nuclei in 59 cases of EGS. Pathology consisting of neuronal chromatolysis was most consistently noted in the lower motor neurons of the general visceral efferent nucleus of CN III and X and the general somatic efferent nuclei of CN III, V, VII and XII. The prevalence of chromatolysis d...
Moreira JJ, Moraes AP, Brossi PM, Machado TS, Michelacci YM, Massoco CO, Baccarin RY.This experimental controlled study was performed to evaluate the composition of autologous processed plasma (APP), and the effects of APP intra-articular injection into healthy equine metacarpophalangeal joints. The effects on joints were analysed with a short-phase protocol and a prolonged-phase protocol using saline-injected joints as controls. For the short protocol, horses received one intra-articular APP injection. Synovial fluid samples were collected prior to the injection and 3, 6, 24, 48, and 16 h after treatment. For the prolonged protocol, the joints received three weekly injections...
Khan RZU, Rosanowski SM, Parkes RSV.Hoof morphometry, conformation and shoeing practices have all been associated with lameness in horses. Hoof morphometry in working donkeys in Pakistan has not been objectively measured. Objective: To quantitatively assess hoof morphology in donkeys, to identify factors underlying hoof morphology, and interrelationships between conformation, lameness, and shoeing status. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Donkeys were assessed in-harness using a modified five-point lameness scale by two veterinarians and digital photographs of front hooves taken alongside a grid. Factor analysis was used ...
Braverman Y, Ungar-Waron H, Frith K, Adler H, Danieli Y, Baker KP, Quinn PJ.A survey of sweet itch in horses in Israel based on a questionnaire to owners reported that 158 of 723 horses (21.8 per cent) had sweet itch lesions. The results indicated that the likelihood of a horse acquiring sweet itch decreased with increasing altitude but no definite association with rainfall zones was evident. Variation in the density of the horse population, however, obscured these observations. In the population surveyed, stallions were more sensitive than mares and pale horses appeared to be less sensitive than dark ones, but the sample size of this latter group was much smaller. In...
Ratzlaff FR, Osmari V, da Silva D, de Paula Vasconcellos JS, Pötter L, Fernandes FD, de Mello Filho JA, de Avila Botton S, Vogel FSF, Sangioni LA.Leishmaniasis is a zoonosis caused by protozoan species of the genus Leishmania. It generates different clinical manifestations in humans and animals, and it infects multiple hosts. Leishmania parasites are transmitted by sandfly vectors. The main objective of this systematic review was to identify the host, or reservoir animal species, of Leishmania spp., with the exception of domestic dogs, that were recorded in Brazil. This review included identification of diagnostic methods, and the species of protozoan circulating in the country. For this purpose, a literature search was conducted across...
van den Enden MS, Dixon PM.Examination of 110 cheek teeth (CT) that were clinically extracted (between 2004 and 2008) because of apical infection (n=79; mean dental age 3.5 years) or idiopathic CT fractures (n=31; median dental age 8.5 years), including examinations of transverse and longitudinal sections, showed the apical infections to be mainly (68%) due to anachoresis, with the residual cases caused by periodontal spread, infundibular caries spread, fissure fractures and dysplasia. The idiopathic fracture patterns were similar to previously described patterns. Occlusal pulpar exposure was found in 32% of apically in...
Alpoim-Moreira J, Fernandes C, Rebordão MR, Amaral A, Pinto-Bravo P, Bliebernicht M, Skarzynski DJ, Ferreira-Dias G.Inflammation and fibroproliferative diseases may be modulated by epigenetic changes. Therefore, we suggest that epigenetic mechanisms could be involved in equine endometrosis pathogenesis. DNA methylation is one of the methods to evaluate epigenetics, through the transcription of methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B). The correlation between DNMTs and collagen (COL) transcripts was assessed for the different Kenney and Doig's (Current Therapy in Theriogenology. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1986) endometrium categories. Endometrial biopsies were randomly collected from cyclic mares. Histolog...
Nguyen D, Vilela R, Miraglia BM, Vilela G, Jasem-Alali N, Rohn R, Glass R, Hansen RD, Mendoza L.To describe the geographic distribution of infections caused by Pythium insidiosum in dogs, horses, and other animal species in the US. For the last 20 years, we have collected data from cases of pythiosis in 1,150 horses, 467 dogs, and other species (59) from various geographic locations in the US. Due to lost data (from 2006 to 2016), the selected cases include years 2000 to 2005 and 2016 to 2020. The selection of cases was based on infected host clinical features, serum samples demonstrating strong positive anti-P insidiosum IgG titers in serologic assays, and positive results on ≥ 1 of t...
van Duijkeren E, Vulto AG, Sloet van Oldruitenborghoosterbaan MM, Mevius DJ, Kessels BG, Breukink HJ, van Miert AS.The biopharmaceutical properties of four fixed trimethoprim/sulfonamide combinations were investigated in the horse. Eight fasted horses were dosed at 1 week intervals in a sequentially designed study with one intravenous (i.v.) and three oral trimethoprim/sulfadiazine (TMP/SDZ) formulations (1, 2 and 3) administered at a dose of 5 mg/kg trimethoprim (TMP) and 25 mg/kg sulfadiazine (SDZ). Plasma concentrations of each compound were monitored for 48 h. Pharmacokinetic parameters (volume of distribution, bioavailability and total body clearance) for TMP and SDZ were calculated and compared. Afte...
Musilova P, Kubickova S, Zrnova E, Horin P, Vahala J, Rubes J.Using laser microdissection we prepared a set of horse chromosome arm-specific probes. Most of the probes were generated from horse chromosomes, some of them were derived from Equus zebra hartmannae. The set of probes were hybridized onto E. grevyi chromosomes in order to establish a genome-wide chromosomal correspondence between this zebra and horse. The use of arm-specific probes provided us with more information on the mutual arrangement of the genomes than we could obtain by means of whole-chromosome paints generated by flow sorting, even if we used reciprocal painting with probe sets from...
Lansade L, Trösch M, Parias C, Blanchard A, Gorosurreta E, Calandreau L.Pet-directed speech (PDS) is a type of speech humans spontaneously use with their companion animals. It is very similar to speech commonly used when talking to babies. A survey on social media showed that 92.7% of the respondents used PDS with their horse, but only 44.4% thought that their horse was sensitive to it, and the others did not know or doubted its efficacy. We, therefore, decided to test the impact of PDS on two tasks. During a grooming task that consisted of the experimenter scratching the horse with their hand, the horses (n = 20) carried out significantly more mutual grooming g...
Clayton HM.High speed cinematography was used to describe the stride kinematics in a group of six, sound horses subjected to two farriery treatments, designated 'normal' and 'acute' hoof angulation. Normal was defined as having the dorsal hoof wall aligned with the pastern axis, whereas the acute hoof angulation was approximately 10 degrees lower than the normal angle for the individual horse. The acute angle was achieved by allowing the toes to grow relatively longer than the heels. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences between the two farriery treatments in t...
Parbhakar OP, Duke T, Townsend HG, Singh B.Pulmonary intravascular macrophages (PIMs) are present in horses and are believed to increase their sensitivity to endotoxin-induced cardio-pulmonary shock. However, owing to a lack of a marker for PIMs and the inability to isolate them, their precise contributions in the horse remain unknown. We designed this study to identify an immuno-phenotypic marker for PIMs and to develop a protocol for their transient depletion with gadolinium chloride (GC). GC is a lanthanide that has been used to deplete liver and lung macrophages. The horses (N = 15) were divided into control (n = 5) and GC-treated ...
Björnsdóttir S, Axelsson M, Eksell P, Sigurdsson H, Carlsten J.The prevalence of degenerative joint disease (DJD) in the distal tarsal joints and the relation between radiographic and clinical signs compatible with the disease were estimated in a population of Icelandic horses used for riding. The material consisted of 614 horses age 6-12 years (mean age = 7.9 years). Radiographs with 3 projections of each tarsus were made and a clinical examination, including palpation of the medial aspect of the distal tarsus and motion evaluation of the hindlimbs before and after a flexion test of the tarsus, was performed. Radiographic signs of DJD in the distal tarsa...
El-Sabban ME, El-Khoury H, Hamdan-Khalil R, Sindet-Pedersen S, Bazarbachi A.Colloss and Colloss-E are sterile acellular lyophilizates extracted from bovine and equine bone matrix, respectively. Animal and clinical studies have shown that these xenogenic bone matrix extracts (BMEs) are effective as bone graft substitutes. In this report, we investigated the effect of Colloss and Colloss-E on human adult in vitro-expanded bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs). Specifically, we assessed whether these xenogenic BMEs induced osteoblastic differentiation of cultured BMMSC. We show that BMMSCs treated with either Colloss or Colloss-E exhibited characteristic os...
Balasuriya UB, Evermann JF, Hedges JF, McKeirnan AJ, Mitten JQ, Beyer JC, McCollum WH, Timoney PJ, MacLachlan NJ.A virus isolated from an aborted equine fetus was determined to be antigenically distinct from several other strains of equine arteritis virus (EAV) by use of a neutralization assay with a large panel of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The virus was readily neutralized by polyclonal equine anti-EAV serum. Comparative nucleotide and amino acid sequence analyses indicated that the virus (WA97) isolated from the aborted fetus was virtually identical to a virus (S1971) isolated from imported semen used to inseminate another mare on the farm. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the WA97/S1971 ...
