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Topic:Veterinary Research

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.
Garlic (Allium Sativum) Supplementation Improves Respiratory Health but Has Increased Risk of Lower Hematologic Values in Horses.
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI    January 2, 2019   Volume 9, Issue 1 13 doi: 10.3390/ani9010013
Saastamoinen M, Särkijärvi S, Hyyppä S.Garlic () is claimed to have numerous beneficial properties to the health of humans and animals. It is commonly used for example to treat respiratory diseases and infections in horses' lungs. However, in addition to its possible positive influences, garlic may also have adverse health effects. The hypotheses of this study were that garlic supplementation may help to clear mucus in the airways, but also causes declining hematologic values in prolonged feeding. To our knowledge, this is the first organized study in controlled conditions to show the health effects of garlic supplementation for ho...
Diffusion of enrofloxacin to pregnancy fluids and effects on fetal cartilage after intravenous administration to late pregnant mares.
Equine veterinary journal    January 2, 2019   Volume 51, Issue 4 544-551 doi: 10.1111/evj.13044
Ellerbrock RE, Canisso IF, Roady PJ, Rothrock LT, Zhong L, Wilkins P, Dirikolu L, Lima FS, Honoroto J.In selective cases, enrofloxacin may be an alternative antibacterial agent to treat unresponsive infections in pregnant mares. Supratherapeutic doses of enrofloxacin are toxic to adult horses and also to newborn foals, however, it is unknown if enrofloxacin crosses the equine placenta or if it is toxic to the fetus. Objective: To assess the diffusion of enrofloxacin and its metabolite to fetal fluids and its effects on fetal cartilage when administered to pregnant mares. Methods: In vivo and terminal controlled experiment. Methods: Healthy mares at 260 days of gestation were allocated into thr...
Analysis of factors affecting the pregnancy rate of mares after inseminations with cooled transported stallion semen.
Theriogenology    January 2, 2019   Volume 127 7-14 doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.12.036
Kareskoski M, Venhoranta H, Virtala AM, Katila T.Artificial insemination (AI) with cooled stallion semen has increased markedly during the last decades in all countries, but fertility is often lower than when fresh semen or natural mating is used. The objective of this study was to examine field data (1634 ,cycles 523 Standardbred (SB) mares, 575 Finnhorse (FH) mares, and 90 stallions) using multivariable logistic regression for factors influencing the pregnancy rate (PR) after AI with cooled transported semen from SB and FH stallions. The PR per cycle for the material was 47%: Finnhorses 42% and Standardbreds 53%. When assessed with multiva...
Managing the risk of Hendra virus spillover in Australia using ecological approaches: A report on three community juries.
PloS one    December 31, 2018   Volume 13, Issue 12 e0209798 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209798
Degeling C, Gilbert GL, Annand E, Taylor M, Walsh MG, Ward MP, Wilson A, Johnson J.Hendra virus (HeV) infection is endemic in Australian flying-fox populations. Habitat loss has increased the peri-urban presence of flying-foxes, increasing the risk of contact and therefore viral 'spillovers' into horse and human populations. An equine vaccine is available and horse-husbandry practices that minimize HeV exposure are encouraged, but their adoption is suboptimal. Ecological approaches-such as habitat creation and conservation-could complement vaccination and behavioural strategies by reducing spillover risks, but these are controversial. We convened three community juries (two ...
Cyathostomin faecal egg counts in horse farms from Central Italy.
Veterinaria italiana    December 31, 2018   Volume 54, Issue 4 317-322 doi: 10.12834/VetIt.787.3812.1
Sconza S, Di Cesare A, Iorio R, Bartolini R, Paoletti B, Traversa D.Cyathostomins,  or  'small  strongyles',  are  the  most  important  equine  helminths  because  of their  worldwide  distribution,  spread  of  anthelmintic‑resistant  populations,  and  pathogenic impact.  The  so‑called  'selective  treatment'  of  those  animals  exceeding  a  certain  faecal  egg  count  (FEC)  has  recently  been  proposed  to  implement  cyathostomin  control  programmes.  The present study evaluated the extent of egg shedding in 475 horses living in 12 farms from 3 regions of Italy. All examined farms and 224 horses (47.6%...
The reliability and forensic soundness of the equine shin circumference measurement in living animals versus post‑mortem examination.
Veterinaria italiana    December 31, 2018   Volume 54, Issue 4 281-286 doi: 10.12834/VetIt.1497.8069.2
Peli A, Roccaro M.Catastrophic injuries in racehorses mostly involve the metacarpal region. Although many studies describe fractures of equine limbs, few examine the relationship between bone morphometrics and musculoskeletal problems in racing horses. And yet, according to the regulation of some Italian traditional races, the shin circumference represents a qualifying prerequisite for horses to be admitted to races. This study aims to evaluate the conformity of the shin circumference measurement in living animals and in post‑mortem examinations, in order to evaluate the forensic reliability of these measurem...
ECHINOCOCCUS EQUINUS HYDATID CYST IN THE LIVER OF A PRZEWALSKI’S HORSE ( EQUUS PRZEWALSKII) IN A CANADIAN ZOO.
Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine : official publication of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians    December 29, 2018   Volume 49, Issue 4 1047-1050 doi: 10.1638/2018-0072.1
Milnes E, Delnatte P, Dutton CJ, Brouwer E, Cai HY, Smith DA, Peregrine AS.A 23-yr-old captive-born Przewalski's horse mare ( Equus przewalskii) was euthanized at a Canadian zoo because of severe colic resulting from rupture of a jejunal pseudodiverticulum. An incidental finding of an encysted larval cestode within a hepatic granuloma was diagnosed on histopathology. Gel-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on liver tissue was positive for Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, and deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing of the PCR product was 100% homologous with Echinococcus equinus. This appears to be the first molecular confirmation of E. equinus in North America, and the...
Anti-Horse Podoplanin Monoclonal Antibody PMab-219 is Useful for Detecting Lymphatic Endothelial Cells by Immunohistochemical Analysis.
Monoclonal antibodies in immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy    December 29, 2018   Volume 37, Issue 6 272-274 doi: 10.1089/mab.2018.0044
Kato Y, Yamada S, Itai S, Kobayashi A, Konnai S, Kaneko MK.Podoplanin (PDPN) is expressed in lymphatic endothelial cells, where it induces platelet aggregation through C-type lectin-like receptor-2 (CLEC-2). This protein has been characterized for a number of animal species using specific anti-PDPN monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We recently established the mAb against horse PDPN (horPDPN) named PMab-219. Therefore, in this study, we investigated whether PMab-219 can detect lymphatic endothelial cells in horse tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that PMab-219 strongly stained lymphatic endothelial cells in horse colon tissues, indicating ...
Measurement of plasma endothelin-1 concentration in healthy horses and horses with cardiac disease during rest and after exercise.
The Journal of veterinary medical science    December 28, 2018   Volume 81, Issue 2 263-268 doi: 10.1292/jvms.18-0325
Gehlen H, Shety T, El-Zahar H, Hofheinz I.Cardiac biomarkers are important tools for monitoring disease progress and can monitor progression of therapy. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) has been studied for its use as a cardiac biomarker in human and small animal medicine while in horses with cardiac disease it has not been evaluated yet. The objective of the present study was to determine the concentration of plasma ET-1 in healthy horses and compare it with ET-1 concentration in horses with cardiac disease during rest and after exercise. Fifty four horses admitted to the Equine Clinic of Free University of Berlin were used in the present study, ...
Evaluation of a portable device for assessment of motility in stallion semen.
Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene    December 28, 2018   Volume 54, Issue 3 514-519 doi: 10.1111/rda.13390
Buss T, Aurich J, Aurich C.In horse breeding, quality assessment of semen before insemination is often requested. Non-laboratory-based techniques for objective analysis of sperm motility are thus of interest. The aim of this study was evaluating a portable device for semen analysis (Ongo sperm test) and its comparison with computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA). Semen was collected from 10 stallions, diluted to 100, 50 and 25 × 106  sperm/ml and analysed for total (TM) and progressive motility (PM). The final sperm concentration influenced total motility analysed by Ongo (p < 0.05) which was higher at 100 × 10...
Anaerobic fungal communities differ along the horse digestive tract.
Fungal biology    December 27, 2018   Volume 123, Issue 3 240-246 doi: 10.1016/j.funbio.2018.12.004
Mura E, Edwards J, Kittelmann S, Kaerger K, Voigt K, Mrázek J, Moniello G, Fliegerova K.Anaerobic fungi are potent fibre degrading microbes in the equine hindgut, yet our understanding of their diversity and community structure is limited to date. In this preliminary work, using a clone library approach we studied the diversity of anaerobic fungi along six segments of the horse hindgut: caecum, right ventral colon (RVC), left ventral colon (LVC), left dorsal colon (LDC), right dorsal colon (RDC) and rectum. Of the 647 ITS1 clones, 61.7 % were assigned to genus level groups that are so far without any cultured representatives, and 38.0 % were assigned to the cultivated genera Ne...
Reference intervals for haematological parameters in the Lusitano horse breed.
Acta veterinaria Hungarica    December 26, 2018   Volume 66, Issue 4 530-541 doi: 10.1556/004.2018.047
Silvestre-Ferreira AC, Cotovio M, Maia M, Queiroga F, Pires MJ, Colaço A.The Lusitano horse is an autochthonous Portuguese breed with a growing worldwide expansion. Our objective was to establish reference intervals for haematological parameters using the haematological cell counter LaserCyte (IDEXX). For this purpose, blood samples from 100 healthy adult horses (13 females and 87 males, ranging from 3 to 25 years of age) were analysed. The reference intervals were estimated following the ASVCP guidelines with the Reference Value Advisor software. The obtained reference intervals were 6.4-10.1 × 1012/L for red blood cells, 30.6-45.1% for haematocrit, 11.6-17.1 g/d...
Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of Trypanosoma evansi from Northern India based on 18S ribosomal gene.
Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports    December 26, 2018   Volume 15 100259 doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2018.100259
Kumar R, Sarkhel SP, Kumar S, Batra K, Sethi K, Jain S, Kumar S, Tripathi BN.Six Trypanosoma evansi isolates were collected from ponies (PH1 and PK6), camel (CB2), donkeys (DJ3 and DH4) and cattle (CK5) from different States of Northern India (Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat) for molecular characterization based on 18S rRNA gene. The 18S rRNA gene (2251 bp) of different isolates was amplified, cloned and custom sequenced separately. Based on sequence and phylogenetic analysis of all six isolates, collected from different hosts as well as geographical areas, were having high identity among Indian T. evansi strains (99.7%) and with other strains of T. eva...
Use of Music Therapy in Aiding the Relaxation of Geriatric Horses.
Journal of equine veterinary science    December 21, 2018   Volume 78 89-93 doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2018.12.011
Wiśniewska M, Janczarek I, Wilk I, Wnuk-Pawlak E.The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of music therapy on changes in the level of parameters describing heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) as excitability indicators in geriatric horses. The study involved 20 warmblood geriatric horses, aged 20 years or more. Animals were kept in two identical stables in one facility. Horses from stable No. 1 were considered the experimental group, whereas horses from stable No. 2 constituted a control group. The experiment consisted in playing relaxation new age music to the horses in the experimental group for 28 days use special so...
Emergence of Resistance to Macrolides and Rifampin in Clinical Isolates of Rhodococcus equi from Foals in Central Kentucky, 1995 to 2017.
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy    December 21, 2018   Volume 63, Issue 1 e01714-18 doi: 10.1128/AAC.01714-18
Huber L, Giguère S, Slovis NM, Carter CN, Barr BS, Cohen ND, Elam J, Erol E, Locke SJ, Phillips ED, Smith JL.The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of strains resistant to macrolides and rifampin over time in clinical samples from foals submitted to diagnostic laboratories in central Kentucky. We performed a retrospective observational study of all clinical samples from foals that were submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Kentucky between January 1995 and December 2017. Samples were included if the bacterium was cultured and tested for susceptibility to erythromycin or rifampin. susceptibility testing to erythromycin was available for 2,169 isolates of , while s...
Eye Surface Temperature as a Potential Indicator of Physical Fitness in Ranch Horses.
Journal of equine veterinary science    December 21, 2018   Volume 75 1-8 doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2018.11.015
Esteves Trindade PH, de Camargo Ferraz G, Pereira Lima ML, Negrão JA, Paranhos da Costa MJR.This study aimed to investigate the use of maximum eye surface temperature (EST), recorded by infrared thermography, as an indicator of physical fitness in ranch horses. Data collection was carried out with 16 horses by recording six physical fitness biomarkers (EST, respiratory rate, creatine kinase activity [CK], and concentrations of total serum protein, plasmatic cortisol, and lactate) before and after a regular working day. We also recorded heart rate during the exercise, exercise duration, average velocity, distance traveled, and air temperature and humidity. The variation between the sa...
Effects of 2 preparation methods and long-term storage on structural integrity and bacterial loads of equine amnion.
Veterinary surgery : VS    December 20, 2018   Volume 48, Issue 2 222-228 doi: 10.1111/vsu.13138
McCoy AM, Smith RL, Secor EJ, Roady PJ.To determine the influence of tissue preparation and long-term storage methods on structural integrity and risk of bacterial contamination of equine amnion. Methods: Prospective experimental investigation SAMPLE POPULATION: Amniotic membranes from 8 healthy mares (n = 440 tested samples). Methods: Samples for baseline bacteriology and histology were taken after removal of debris. The remaining tissue was divided and processed with 0.05% chlorhexidine or 2% iodine/0.25% acetic acid. Processed amnion samples were assigned to 1 of 9 combinations of storage media (saline, chlorhexidine, acetic...
Letter to the Editor: A response to ‘What is lameness and what (or who) is the gold standard to detect it?’.
Equine veterinary journal    December 20, 2018   Volume 51, Issue 2 270-272 doi: 10.1111/evj.13043
Adair S, Baus M, Bell R, Boero M, Bussy C, Cardenas F, Casey T, Castro J, Davis W, Erskine M, Farr R, Fischer A, Forbes B, Ford T, Genovese R....No abstract available
Development and validation of a novel 13-plex PCR system for commonly used short tandem repeats in horses (Equus caballus).
Equine veterinary journal    December 20, 2018   Volume 51, Issue 5 688-695 doi: 10.1111/evj.13047
Shang S, Zhang M, Zhao Y, Dang W, Hua P, Zhang S, Wang Z.Due to the thriving development of the modern horse industry and the occurrence of horse related crimes, the demand for methods of individual horse identification, parentage tests and other genetic analyses is increasing. Previous methods had disadvantages that decreased the accuracy of the results, lacked the inclusion of all commonly used short tandem repeats (STR) or increased the experimental cost and time. Objective: We aimed to develop a novel 13-plex STR typing system to resolve the above issues. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Twelve autosomal and most commonly used di-nucleotide...
Kinetics of the chromosome 14 microRNA cluster ortholog and its potential role during placental development in the pregnant mare.
BMC genomics    December 20, 2018   Volume 19, Issue 1 954 doi: 10.1186/s12864-018-5341-2
Dini P, Daels P, Loux SC, Esteller-Vico A, Carossino M, Scoggin KE, Ball BA.The human chromosome 14 microRNA cluster (C14MC) is a conserved microRNA (miRNA) cluster across eutherian mammals, reported to play an important role in placental development. However, the expression kinetics and function of this cluster in the mammalian placenta are poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the expression kinetics of the equine C24MC, ortholog to the human C14MC, in the chorioallantoic membrane during the course of gestation. Results: We demonstrated that C24MC-associated miRNAs presented a higher expression level during early stages of pregnancy, followed by a decline later in g...
Evaluation of a prototype dynamic laryngoplasty system in vitro with an equine vacuum airflow system.
Veterinary surgery : VS    December 20, 2018   Volume 48, Issue 2 173-179 doi: 10.1111/vsu.13137
Ahern BJ, Lukas E, Lam K, Wilke E, Bertin FR, Van Eps A, Franklin S.To evaluate a prototype dynamic laryngoplasty system (DLPS) in a static airflow model. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Ten equine larynges. Methods: The right arytenoid was fixed in abduction in all specimens. A left-sided laryngoplasty was performed with No. 2 Fiberwire and a FASTakII anchor. Each larynx was tested in a static airflow model. The system was adjusted to a flow rate of 55 L/s and prelaryngeal pressure of 12 mm Hg prior to testing in maximal arytenoid abduction. In phase 1, the left suture was loosened, shortened, and tested in 3-mm steps from 0 to 30 mm. In phase 2, the su...
An Objective Assessment of the Effect of Anesthetizing the Median Nerve on Lameness Caused by Pain in the Cubital Joint.
Journal of equine veterinary science    December 19, 2018   Volume 75 9-13 doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2018.12.008
McGlinchey L, Agne G, Passler T, Cole R, Schumacher J.The median nerve, along with the ulnar nerve, is often anesthetized when performing a lameness examination in horses. Because of the close proximity of the median nerve to the cubital joint, proximal migration of local anesthetic might ameliorate pain originating from the cubital joint. The objective of this study was to determine if a median nerve block will ameliorate lameness caused by pain in the cubital joint. A forelimb lameness was induced in six healthy horses by injecting 100 ng of recombinant equine interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) into the cubital joint. The median nerve of the lame leg...
Concentrations of indomethacin and its metabolite desmethylindomethacin in plasma and urine after repeated indomethacin topical application to Thoroughbreds.
Equine veterinary journal    December 19, 2018   Volume 51, Issue 4 506-509 doi: 10.1111/evj.13049
Kusano K, Minamijima Y, Mashita S, Kunii H, Yamashita S, Nagata S.Repeated topical application of indomethacin is common in Japanese racehorses, despite the lack of pharmacokinetic data. Objective: To determine the concentrations of indomethacin and its metabolite, desmethylindomethacin, in plasma and urine of Thoroughbreds topically treated repeatedly with indomethacin. Methods: In vivo experimental. Methods: Seven female Thoroughbreds were topically treated with 50 g of 1% indomethacin cream per horse to the back and hips (500 mg of indomethacin/head/2400 cm , 0.21 g/cm ) for 3 consecutive days. Samples were pretreated by protein precipitation for plas...
Serological diagnosis of equine infectious anemia in horses, donkeys and mules using an ELISA with a gp45 synthetic peptide as antigen.
Journal of virological methods    December 19, 2018   Volume 266 49-57 doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2018.12.009
Naves JHFF, Oliveira FG, Bicalho JM, Santos PS, Machado-de-Ávila RA, Chavez-Olortegui C, Leite RC, Reis JKP.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a disease caused by a Lentivirus that is currently controlled exclusively by identification of seropositive animals. In most countries, including Brazil, the official diagnostic test for EIA is the agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID). Although this assay has a high specificity it can produce false negative reactions or equivocal results due to weak precipitation lines, especially in samples from donkeys, mules or newly infected equids. In this pioneering study, it was used overlapping synthetic peptide pools to map and identify a consensus, widely recognised ...
Contribution of lung function tests to the staging of severe equine asthma syndrome in the field.
Research in veterinary science    December 18, 2018   Volume 123 112-117 doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2018.12.014
Simões J, Sales Luís J, Tilley P.Staging methods are useful tools for monitoring disease and response to treatment, and because Severe Equine Asthma Syndrome (SEAS) has a high prevalence in the equine population, a clinical staging method can provide important information to optimize equine care. Our team has previously developed and published a clinical staging method for SEAS and in the present study we further evaluated information provided by lung function tests, in order to determine their contribution to disease staging. Using discriminant analysis we set out to produce a new staging method with applicability in the fie...
Genetic analyses for conservation of the traditional Tokara horse using 31 microsatellite markers.
Journal of equine science    December 18, 2018   Volume 29, Issue 4 97-104 doi: 10.1294/jes.29.97
Senokuchi A, Ishikawa S, Tozaki T, Takasu M, Kakoi H, Misumi K, Hobo S.In order to promote conservation of the traditional Tokara horse in its remaining three breeding areas in Japan (Nakanoshima, Kaimondake, and Iriki), we genotyped 123 horses using 31 microsatellite markers and determined their genetic diversity. On average, the number of alleles (N), observed heterozygosity (H), expected heterozygosity (H), and inbreeding coefficient (F) among all horses were 3.0, 0.424, 0.481, and 0.108, respectively. Compared with other endangered horse breeds, we found that, even though the size of the Tokara horse population has recently increased, the N, H, and H of Tokar...
First attempts for vitrification of immature oocytes in donkey (Equus asinus): Comparison of two vitrification methods.
Theriogenology    December 18, 2018   Volume 126 261-265 doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.12.030
Douet C, Reigner F, Barrière P, Blard T, Deleuze S, Goudet G.Most wild donkey breeds are severely threatened by poaching for meat, habitat loss, and competition with livestock for food resources. Moreover, due to the mechanization in agriculture and in transport, most domestic donkey breeds are at risk of extinction. Considering the importance of biodiversity and preservation of genetic resources, the creation of genetic banks for endangered donkey breeds is urgently needed. Cryopreservation of immature jennies oocytes would be an efficient tool to allow storage of female genetics. The aim of the present study was to establish conditions for immature do...
Long live the worms: methods for maintaining and assessing the viability of intestinal stages of Parascaris spp. in vitro.
Parasitology    December 18, 2018   Volume 146, Issue 5 685-693 doi: 10.1017/S0031182018002019
Scare JA, Steuer AE, Shaffer CL, Slusarewicz P, Mousley A, Nielsen MK.In vitro maintenance of helminth parasites enables a variety of molecular, pharmaceutical and immunological analyses. Currently, the nutritional and environmental in vitro requirements of the equine ascarid parasite, Parascaris spp., have not been determined. Additionally, an objective method for assessing viability of Parascaris spp. intestinal stages does not exist. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the in vitro requirements of intestinal stages of Parascaris spp., and to develop a viability assessment method. A total of 1045 worms were maintained in a total of 212 cultures. Worms o...
Intra-articular Corticosteroids for Knee Pain-What Have We Learned from the Equine Athlete and Current Best Practice.
The journal of knee surgery    December 18, 2018   Volume 32, Issue 1 9-25 doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1676449
McIlwraith CW, Lattermann C.The use of intra-articular corticosteroids for traumatic arthritis and osteoarthritis (OA) is common in the horse. The beneficial and deleterious effects of the principal corticosteroids used betamethasone esters (Celestone [Soluspan], methylprednisolone acetate [Depo Medrol], and triamcinolone acetonide [TA] [Vetalog or Kenalog]) have been defined for the horse. While TA has both disease-modifying as well as symptom-modifying effects, methyl prednisolone acetate has deleterious effects on the articular cartilage. Studies in traumatically injured joints show the same rationale (suppression of ...
Study of factors affecting the body conformation traits of Iranian Turkoman horses.
Journal of equine science    December 18, 2018   Volume 29, Issue 4 91-96 doi: 10.1294/jes.29.91
Ghezelsoflou H, Hamidi P, Gharahveysi S.The Iranian Turkoman horse is considered one of the major categories of Iranian native horses. The aim of this research was to study the genetic and nongenetic factors affecting body conformation traits in Iranian Turkoman horses. For this, measurements were performed on body conformation traits of 121 horses. To study the effect of nongenetic factors, the Lsmeans procedure was used. Variance components and heritability were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood method (REML) and AI-REML convergence algorithm. The standard deviation was estimated to be 7.04 cm for croup depth and 2.08 cm ...