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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.
Anthelmintic therapy of equine cyathostomin nematodes – larvicidal efficacy, egg reappearance period, and drug resistance. Cyathostomins are ubiquitous in grazing horses across the world, and anthelmintic resistance has been reported with increasing levels over past decades. The aims of the present study were (i) to investigate the efficacy against encysted larval stages of moxidectin (0.4 mg/kg) and fenbendazole (10 mg/kg daily for five consecutive days) and compare these regimens at 2 and 5 weeks post-treatment, (ii) to investigate individual cyathostomin species associated with shortened egg reappearance periods, and (iii) to document species exhibiting decreased susceptibility to the evaluated compounds....
Transmission of henipaviruses. The genus Henipavirus has expanded rapidly in geographic range, number of species, and host range. Hendra and Nipah virus are two henipaviruses known to cause severe disease in humans with a high case-fatality rate. Pteropid spp. bats are the natural reservoir of Hendra and Nipah virus. From these bats, virus can be transmitted to an amplifying host, horses and pigs, and from these hosts to humans, or the virus can be transmitted directly to humans. Although the main route of shedding varies between host species, close contact is required for transmission in all hosts. Understanding the transm...
Contributions to the knowledge of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Colombia. The known tick fauna of Colombia includes 58 species (15 Argasidae and 43 Ixodidae). To add to the knowledge of the biology of ticks in Colombia, hard ticks (Ixodidae) were collected from domestic animals or vegetation during 2014-2016 in 10 of Colombia's Departments. Ticks were identified to species through morphological examinations. Taxonomic identification was confirmed for some specimens by molecular methods, including phylogenetic analyses inferred from three tick genes (cytochrome c oxidase, 16S rDNA, second internal transcribed spacer). A total of 1745 tick specimens encompassing 8 spe...
Evaluation of Three Methods of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Treatment of Equine Distal Limb Skin Wounds. Wounds localized on the distal limbs in horses are difficulty healing. No studies have been conducted to evaluate homologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in horses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect upon applying autologous PRP, homologous PRP, and autologous PRP gel on the wound healing process of wounds on the distal limb of horses. To study a possible correlation between the platelet count and wound healing time, four skin wounds of 4 cm2 were surgically created on the dorsolateral aspect of the third metacarpus in eight healthy adult horses. Each skin wound was randomly treate...
Risk factors for race-day fatality, distal limb fracture and epistaxis in Thoroughbreds racing on all-weather surfaces in Great Britain (2000 to 2013). The incidence of race-day injuries in Great Britain (GB) is higher on all-weather (AW) surfaces than on turf. However, to date no studies have focused on identifying risk factors for injury specific to AW racing. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to determine risk factors for fatality, distal limb fracture (DLF) and episodes of epistaxis in flat racing Thoroughbreds racing on AW surfaces in GB. Data included all flat racing starts on AW surfaces (n=258,193) and race-day veterinary events recorded between 2000 and 2013. Information on additional course-level variables was gather...
Evolution of equine influenza viruses (H3N8) during a Brazilian outbreak, 2015. Equine influenza is one of the major respiratory infectious diseases in horses. An equine influenza virus outbreak was identified in vaccinated and unvaccinated horses in a veterinary school hospital in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, in September 2015. The twelve equine influenza viruses isolated belonged to Florida Clade 1. The hemagglutinin and neuraminidase amino acid sequences were compared with the recent isolates from North and South America and the World Organisation for Animal Health recommended Florida Clade 1 vaccine strain. The hemagglutinin amino acid sequences had nine substitutions, com...
Domestic horses (Equus caballus) prefer to approach humans displaying a submissive body posture rather than a dominant body posture. Signals of dominance and submissiveness are central to conspecific communication in many species. For domestic animals, sensitivities to these signals in humans may also be beneficial. We presented domestic horses with a free choice between two unfamiliar humans, one adopting a submissive and the other a dominant body posture, with vocal and facial cues absent. Horses had previously been given food rewards by both human demonstrators, adopting neutral postures, to encourage approach behaviour. Across four counterbalanced test trials, horses showed a significant preference for approaching the s...
Acute and Chronic Exercise in Animal Models. Numerous animal cardiac exercise models using animal subjects have been established to uncover the cardiovascular physiological mechanism of exercise or to determine the effects of exercise on cardiovascular health and disease. In most cases, animal-based cardiovascular exercise modalities include treadmill running, swimming, and voluntary wheel running with a series of intensities, times, and durations. Those used animals include small rodents (e.g., mice and rats) and large animals (e.g., rabbits, dogs, goats, sheep, pigs, and horses). Depending on the research goal, each experimental protoc...
Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance from bacterial culture and susceptibility records from horse samples in South Africa. The continuous increase in prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria presents a significant public health problem and is an indicator that antimicrobial prudent usage guidelines are not being followed, especially in developing countries. Despite trends being available from numerous countries, there is little published for South Africa. This study was aimed at estimating the prevalence and trends of antimicrobial resistance from bacterial isolates from equine clinical samples submitted for culture and susceptibility testing to the veterinary bacteriology laboratory of the University of Pre...
Evaluation of accuracy and precision of a smartphone based automated parasite egg counting system in comparison to the McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC methods. Fecal egg counts are emphasized for guiding equine helminth parasite control regimens due to the rise of anthelmintic resistance. This, however, poses further challenges, since egg counting results are prone to issues such as operator dependency, method variability, equipment requirements, and time commitment. The use of image analysis software for performing fecal egg counts is promoted in recent studies to reduce the operator dependency associated with manual counts. In an attempt to remove operator dependency associated with current methods, we developed a diagnostic system that utilizes a ...
The Contribution of Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Platelet-Rich Plasma to the Treatment of Chronic Equine Laminitis: A Proof of Concept. Laminitis, a highly debilitating disease of the foot in ungulates, is characterized by pathological changes of the complex lamellar structures that maintain the appendicular skeleton within the hoof. Laminitis is a multifactorial disease that involves perturbation of the vascular, hematological, and inflammatory homeostasis of the foot. Interestingly, the pathogenesis of the disease resembles what is observed in metabolic syndromes and sepsis-induced organ failure in humans and animals. We hypothesized that local administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) mi...
To pace or not to pace: a pilot study of four- and five-gaited Icelandic horses homozygous for the DMRT3 ‘Gait Keeper’ mutation. The Icelandic horse is a breed known mainly for its ability to perform the ambling four-beat gait 'tölt' and the lateral two-beat gait pace. The natural ability of the breed to perform these alternative gaits is highly desired by breeders. Therefore, the discovery that a nonsense mutation (C>A) in the DMRT3 gene was the main genetic factor for horses' ability to perform gaits in addition to walk, trot and canter was of great interest. Although several studies have demonstrated that homozygosity for the DMRT3 mutation is important for the ability to pace, only about 70% of the homozygous mu...
Detection and molecular characterization of equine infectious anemia virus in Mongolian horses. The genetic characterization and actual prevalence of EIAV in Mongolian horse in the disease endemic region is currently unknown. Here, 11 of 776 horse serum samples from four Mongolian provinces tested positive on agar gel immunodiffusion test. Genomic DNA extracted from all seropositive samples was subjected to nested PCR assay. Among these, three samples tested positive with nested PCR assay and were identified by sequencing analysis based on long termination repeat and tat gene of the virus. Two of the three sequences were identical, with 94.0% identity with the third. These two independen...
Straight from the Horse’s “Mouth”: Genomic Epidemiology of an Icelandic Equine Epidemic. Despite tight biosecurity measures, an outbreak of respiratory disease rapidly spread across the Icelandic equine population in 2010. Horse transportation was brought to a halt in order to contain the spread of the infectious agent. In a recent article, Björnsdóttir and colleagues (S. Björnsdóttir et al., mBio 8:e00826-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00826-17) employ the power and resolution of "genomic epidemiology," the combination of whole genomic sequencing and epidemiological approaches, to examine the source and spread of the outbreak. Intriguingly, the outbreak was not viral ...
Refinement of the equine influenza model in the natural host: A meta-analysis to determine the benefits of individual nebulisation for experimental infection and vaccine evaluation in the face of decreased strain pathogenicity. Equine Influenza (EI) is an important respiratory disease of horses caused by H3N8 equine influenza viruses (EIV). Vaccination is a key strategy to prevent or control this disease. However, EIV undergoes continuous antigenic drift and whilst numerous EI vaccines are commercially available worldwide, an accurate evaluation of their efficacy is frequently required through clinical trials conducted in the natural host. Room nebulisation is one of the chosen methods to challenge horses during EI vaccine studies. A potential decreased pathogenicity observed with recent Florida Clade 2 (FC2) EIV iso...
Reliability of histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry of a single biopsy for evaluation of endometrial health in Icelandic mares. Endometritis and endometrosis have been and still are the major reasons for infertility in mares. The diagnosis of endometritis can be based on cytology and microbiology, but endometrial biopsy is still the only way to diagnose endometrosis in the mare. Our study attempted to determine if a single biopsy using his-topathology and immunohistochemistry is sufficient to ascertain reasons for infertility in Icelandic mares. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between deviations in endometrial biopsies in terms of prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase-2 (PTGS-2) and fibronec...
Comparison of McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC fecal egg counting techniques in cattle and horses. The aim of this study was to compare two fecal egg count (FEC) techniques; McMaster (McM) and Mini-FLOTAC (mF), for the detection of cattle and horse gastrointestinal nematode eggs, in different locations. Experiment 1: feces were collected from 16 cattle and FEC was performed individually, using mF with the sensitivity of 5 eggs per gram of feces (EPG) and McM with a sensitivity of 50 EPG at Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais - EPAMIG and the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases of the University of Parana - LDP/UFPR. Experiment 2: Fecal samples from 30 horses were analyzed with mF...
Technique-associated outcomes in horses following large colon resection. To compare survival and complications in horses undergoing large colon resection with either sutured end-to-end or stapled functional end-to-end anastomoses. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Twenty-six client-owned horses with gastrointestinal disease. Methods: Retrospective data were retrieved from the medical records of 26 horses undergoing colectomy, including 14 horses with sutured end-to-end and 12 horses with stapled functional end-to-end anastomoses, between 2003 and 2016. Records were evaluated for signalment, medical and surgical treatments, and survival to hospital disch...
A comparison of progesterone assays for determination of peripheral pregnane concentrations in the late pregnant mare. During the latter half of gestation in mares, there is a complex milieu of pregnanes in peripheral blood. Progesterone concentrations are often assessed by immunoassay during late gestation as a measure of pregnancy well-being; however, interpretation of results is complicated by the numerous cross-reacting pregnanes present in high concentrations during late gestation. Further, many mares are supplemented with an exogenous progestin, altrenogest, which may also cross-react with existing assays and further confound interpretation. The objectives of this study were: 1) to compare differences in...
Antibody response to equine coronavirus in horses inoculated with a bovine coronavirus vaccine. A vaccine for equine coronavirus (ECoV) is so far unavailable. Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) is antigenically related to ECoV; it is therefore possible that BCoV vaccine will induce antibodies against ECoV in horses. This study investigated antibody response to ECoV in horses inoculated with BCoV vaccine. Virus neutralization tests showed that antibody titers against ECoV increased in all six horses tested at 14 days post inoculation, although the antibody titers were lower against ECoV than against BCoV. This study showed that BCoV vaccine provides horses with antibodies against ECoV to some exte...
Equine mesenchymal stem cells derived from endometrial or adipose tissue share significant biological properties, but have distinctive pattern of surface markers and migration. Adult stromal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been postulated as responsible for cell renewal in highly and continuously regenerative tissues such as the endometrium. MSCs have been identified in the endometrium of many species including humans, rodents, pets and some farm animals, but not in horses. The objective of this work was to isolate such cells from the endometrium of mares and to compare their main biological attributes with horse adipose-derived MSCs. Here we successfully isolated and characterized endometrial MSCs (eMSCs) from mares. Said cells showed fibroblast-like morphology, ...
Morphological integration in the appendicular skeleton of two domestic taxa: the horse and donkey. Organisms are organized into suites of anatomical structures that typically covary when developmentally or functionally related, and this morphological integration plays a determinant role in evolutionary processes. Artificial selection on domestic species causes strong morphological changes over short time spans, frequently resulting in a wide and exaggerated phenotypic diversity. This raises the question of whether integration constrains the morphological diversification of domestic species and how natural and artificial selection may impact integration patterns. Here, we study the morpholog...
A retrospective study of radiographic abnormalities in the repositories for Thoroughbreds at yearling sales in Japan. This study aimed to evaluate whether radiographic abnormalities at yearling sales were associated with the failure to start racing at 2-3 years of age. Radiographic abnormalities in the carpal (n=852), tarsal (n=976), metacarpophalangeal (n=1,055), and metatarsophalangeal joints (n=1,031) from 1,082 horses, recorded at yearling sale, were reviewed. Eighty-two horses (7.6%) failed to start racing. Radiographic abnormalities such as wedged or collapsed tarsal bones, irregular lucency of a sagittal ridge at the distal aspect of the distal third metatarsal bone, and proximal dorsal fragmentation o...
Topical use of 5% acyclovir cream for the treatment of occult and verrucous equine sarcoids: a double-blinded placebo-controlled study. Previous studies mention the use of topical acyclovir for the treatment of equine sarcoids. Success rates vary and since the bovine papillomavirus (BPV) lacks the presence of a kinase necessary to activate acyclovir, there is no proof of its activity against equine sarcoids. Results: Twenty-four equine sarcoids were topically treated with acyclovir cream and 25 with a placebo. Both creams were applied twice daily during 6 months. Before the start of the treatment and further on a monthly basis, photographs and swabs were obtained. On the photographs, sarcoid diameter and surface area were meas...
Genetic diversity of piroplasmids species in equids from island of São Luís, northeastern Brazil. Equine piroplasmosisis, a tick-borne disease caused by the intra-erythrocytic protozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, has economic importance due to the international trade and the increased movement of horses all over the world. The goal of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of phylogenetic diversity of T. equi and B. caballi genotypes among infected equids from São Luís Island, state of Maranhão, northeastern Brazil. Between December of 2011 and June of 2012, EDTA-blood and serum samples were collected from 139 equids (90 donkeys, 39 horses and 10 mules). From 139 serum samp...
Longitudinal analysis of allergen-specific IgE and IgG subclasses as potential predictors of insect bite hypersensitivity following first exposure to Culicoides in Icelandic horses. Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by bites of Culicoides spp. IBH does not occur in Iceland because of the absence of Culicoides, but the prevalence is high in horses imported from Iceland to environments where Culicoides are present. Objective: Test, in a longitudinal study before and after Culicoides exposure, whether a primary sensitizing Culicoides allergen can be identified and if an increase of allergen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E or IgG subclasses precedes clinical signs of IBH. Methods: Thirty two horses imported from Iceland to Europe; 16 ...
Impact of supplementation of semen extender with antioxidants on the quality of chilled or cryopreserved Arabian stallion spermatozoa. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation of semen extender with various non-enzymatic antioxidants on the quality of cooled or cryopreserved Arabian stallion spermatozoa. Semen collected from four pure Arabian stallions was centrifuged at 600g for 15 min. Spermatozoa were then diluted in INRA-82 extender supplemented with bovine serum albumin (BSA; 0, 10, 15 and 20 mg/mL) or trehalose (0, 75, 100 and 150 mM) or zinc sulphate (0, 100, 150 and 200 μM). The diluted semen was then either cooled at 5 °C or cryopreserved in 0.5-ml plastic straws. After cooli...
Medical and Surgical Management of Equine Recurrent Uveitis. Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is characterized by recurrent bouts of inflammation interrupted by periods of quiescence that vary in duration. There is little consensus on the clinical manifestations, the underlying causes, or the management. The 3 commonly recognized syndromes of ERU (classic, insidious, and posterior) do not accurately separate the clinical manifestations of disease into distinct categories. An accurate diagnosis and early intervention are essential to minimizing the effects of disease and preserving vision. There are multiple medical and surgical options for controlling ERU...
