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.
Salciccia A, Sandersen C, Grulke S, de la Rebière de Pouyade G, Caudron I, Serteyn D, Detilleux J.The objectives of this study were to describe and relate perioperative changes in blood leukocyte counts to the outcome of surgical colic horses, determine a cut-off value in the early postoperative period to obtain an indicator of the outcome, and compare the obtained value to a validation population of horses. Fifty-three horses undergoing colic surgery were included in the descriptive part of the study. Total leukocyte counts were performed before, during and serially after surgery. A receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed on the leukocyte counts of 45 of these horses to d...
Davies Morel MC, Lawlor O, Nash DM.Endometritis is an important cause of sub-fertility in mares. The critical indicator of reproductive success and financial return for commercial studs is live foaling rate. Endometrial bacteriology and/or cytology are used to diagnose endometritis and thus identify mares at risk of early embryonic death. However, mares with endometritis may conceive but then abort in late gestation. The aims of this study were to establish, as part of a standard breeding examination (1) whether a threshold percentage of uterine polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) exists above which a significant reduction in ...
Cluzel C, Blond L, Fontaine P, Olive J, Laverty S.Adult articular cartilage (AC) has a well described multizonal collagen structure. Knowledge of foetal AC organisation and development may provide a prototype for cartilage repair strategies, and improve understanding of structural changes in developmental diseases such as osteochondrosis (OC). The objective of this study was to describe normal development of the spatial architecture of the collagen network of equine AC using 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and polarised light microscopy (PLM), at sites employed for cartilage repair studies or susceptible to OC. T2-weighted fast-spin e...
Bäumer W, Herrling GM, Feige K.To test the efficacy of the recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) alteplase in horses, the thrombolytic effect was tested in in vitro generated equine thrombi. The extent of lysis was determined by measuring the decrease in thrombi weight over a period of 4 hours. In vivo pharmacokinetics of alteplase were determined in 6 healthy horses. A single dose (1 mg/kg) was applied via intravenous infusion over a period of 30 minutes Coagulation-related variables, blood count and clinical parameters were taken before the treatment and until 48 h after treatment. In addition, plasma rt-P...
Singha H, Goyal SK, Malik P, Khurana SK, Singh RK.Equine infectious anemia (EIA)-a retroviral disease caused by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)-is a chronic, debilitating disease of horses, mules, and donkeys. EIAV infection has been reported worldwide and is recognized as pathogen of significant economic importance to the horse industry. This disease falls under regulatory control program in many countries including India. Control of EIA is based on identification of inapparent carriers by detection of antibodies to EIAV in serologic tests and "Stamping Out" policy. The current internationally accepted test for diagnosis of EIA is the ...
Earley E, Rawlinson JT.This article discusses the classification systems for dental fractures and how the assessment affects treatment options. Diagonal incisor malocclusion is discussed in relation to skull asymmetry and how this commonly relates to premolar and molar occlusion. Oral and radiographic assessment of incisive bone fracture and incisor avulsion is reviewed for determining treatment options. A summary of incisor and canine resorption and hypercementosis is presented. Clinical presentations, staging, and classifications of tooth resorption as well as canine odontoplasty are discussed. Excessive plaque an...
Casey M.Equine dental disease has a high prevalence. Because of developmental, functional, and anatomic differences, limited inference can be made from brachydont dental pathology to that of equine cheek teeth. This article reviews the pathology of equine cheek teeth and their associated oral tissues, with specific information on periodontitis, pulpitis, maxillary infundibular changes, dental fractures, dental overgrowths, mucosal ulceration, and the regenerative capacity of equine teeth.
Dixon PM, du Toit N, Staszyk C.There have been many significant and interesting developments in equine dental anatomy during the past 20 years that are of major clinical significance in better understanding the physiology of equine mastication, the etiopathogenesis of some dental disorders, and their safe treatment. The many recent significant developments include descriptions of the enamel infolding of cheek teeth and of infundibular anatomy, including the frequent absence of cementum infilling in many infundibulae, which can lead to infundibular caries. Many important developments in equine dental anatomy are summarized i...
Vairo S, Favoreel H, Scagliarini A, Nauwynck H.Currently, little is known on the cellular pathogenesis of equine arteritis virus (EAV). The purpose of the present study was to identify the target cells in ponies experimentally inoculated with EAV 08P178 (EU, clade-1). EAV-target organs (respiratory tissues with associated lymphoid tissues and large intestines), collected at 3 and 7 days post inoculation (dpi) and with virus titers≥10(5.0) TCID50/g, were processed with double immunofluorescence staining for the simultaneous detection of EAV N-protein and one of the following cell markers: CD172a (myeloid cells), CD3 (T lymphocytes), IgM (...
Tobin T, Dirikolu L, Brewer K, Hughes CG.Equine forensic science can now detect concentrations down to 25 femtograms/mL (parts per quadrillion, ppq) or less in blood and urine. As such, horsemen are increasingly at risk of inadvertent 'positives' due to therapeutic medication 'overages' or trace identifications of dietary or environmental substances. Reviewed here are the factors which determine detection times and 'withdrawal times' for substances administered to horses. Withdrawal times are affected by many factors, including dose, formulation, route and frequency of administration, bioavailability, plasma half-life, sensitivity of...
Baxter C.This is a clinician's view of the current state of veterinary dentistry at the level of the general practitioner across the different species. An indication of the work done and the hazards commonly encountered are covered. Conclusions: To increase awareness within the dental profession of the current state of veterinary dentistry.
Lanz S, Gerber V, Marti E, Rettmer H, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Gottstein B, Matthews JB, Pirie S, Hamza E.Equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is an inflammatory, obstructive airway disease induced by exposure of susceptible horses to inhaled organic dust particles. The immunological process underlying RAO is still unclear. Previous studies have shown that RAO is linked to the Interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) gene in one Warmblood family (F1), but not in another (F2). It has also been shown that in F1, but not in F2, RAO is associated with resistance against parasites, suggesting that this association may have an immuno-genetic basis. Therefore, we hypothesized that the T helper (h)1/Th2/regula...
Viry S, Sleimen-Malkoun R, Temprado JJ, Frances JP, Berton E, Laurent M, Nicol C.In riding, most biomechanical studies have focused on the description of the horse locomotion in unridden condition. In this study, we draw the prospect of how the basic principles established in inter-personal coordination by the theory of Coordination Dynamics may provide a conceptual and methodological framework for understanding the horse-rider coupling. The recent development of mobile technologies allows combined horse and rider recordings during long lasting natural events such as endurance races. Six international horse-rider dyads were thus recorded during a 120 km race by using two t...
Nelis H, D'Herde K, Goossens K, Vandenberghe L, Leemans B, Forier K, Smits K, Braeckmans K, Peelman L, Van Soom A.Equine embryos remain for 6 days in the oviduct and thus there is a need for an in vitro model to study embryo-oviductal interactions in the horse, since this subtle way of communication is very difficult to analyse in vivo. Until now, no equine oviduct explant culture model has been characterised both morphologically and functionally. Therefore, we established a culture system for equine oviduct explants that maintained epithelial morphology during 6 days of culture, as revealed by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. We demonstrated the presence of highly differentiated, ta...
Pequito M, Amory H, de Moffarts B, Busoni V, Serteyn D, Sandersen C.The effects of norepinephrine (NOR) infusion on hemodynamic alterations induced with sedative doses of acepromazine (ACP) were evaluated. Infusion of NOR at 1 μg/kg body weight (BW)/minute for 15 min was administered to 5 standing horses 45 min (T45) after intravenous injection of ACP at 0.1 mg/kg BW. Systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP) and hemodynamic parameters were evaluated on the median artery. Parameters were evaluated every 5 min from 45 to 65 min (T65) at 75 (T75), 90 (T90), and 105 (T105) minutes after ACP administration, and the vessel's surface (SURF), diameter (DIAM), circumfer...
Voelter-Ratson K, Monod M, Unger L, Spiess BM, Pot SA.To characterize the conjunctival fungal flora and to determine the susceptibility of 2 isolated molds to antifungal drugs in samples of 64 healthy horses from The National Stud in Switzerland. Methods: Conjunctival cytobrush samples were collected from both eyes of 64 ophthalmologically normal horses in August 2012 and subsequently cultured on Sabouraud's agar medium. Growing fungi were identified and counted. Etests or broth microdilution tests for Aspergillus fumigatus and Eurotium amstelodami were carried out to determine antifungal drug sensitivity. These species had previously been detect...
Tomlinson JE, Boston RC, Brauer T.To determine racing performance after surgery for colic in Thoroughbreds. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: 85 racing Thoroughbreds that survived to discharge following colic surgery and 170 race-matched reference horses. Methods: Earnings, starts, and earnings per start were compared between horses that underwent surgery and reference horses, the proportions of horses that returned to racing were analyzed, and career longevity was determined. Results: Among 85 racing Thoroughbreds that underwent colic surgery, 31 (36%) had primarily small intestinal lesions, of which 11 underwent ...
Daly JM, Newton JR, Wood JL, Park AW.Mathematical modelling of infectious disease is increasingly regarded as an important tool in the development of disease prevention and control measures. This article brings together key findings from various modelling studies conducted over the past 10 years that are of relevance to those on the front line of the battle against equine influenza.
Halse S, Pizzirani S, Parry NM, Burgess KE.A 3-year-old Marwari mare was presented for evaluation of an irregular, reddish mass protruding from behind the right third eyelid. The mass appeared to arise at the ventral limbal area, involved the perilimbal bulbar conjunctiva and widely extended into corneal tissue. No other ocular or systemic abnormalities were detected at the time of presentation. The mass was surgically removed by lamellar keratectomy, with defocused CO(2) laser used as adjunctive therapy to treat the surgical exposed area and its surroundings. Histopathologic evaluation showed sheets of densely packed, well-differentia...
Cwiklinski K, Merga JY, Lake SL, Hartley C, Matthews JB, Paterson S, Hodgkinson JE.Clade V nematodes comprise several parasitic species that include the cyathostomins, primary helminth pathogens of horses. Next generation transcriptome datasets are available for eight parasitic clade V nematodes, although no equine parasites are included in this group. Here, we report next generation transcriptome sequencing analysis for the common cyathostomin species, Cylicostephanus goldi. A cDNA library was generated from RNA extracted from 17 C. goldi male and female adult parasites. Following sequencing using a 454 GS FLX pyrosequencer, a total of 475,215 sequencing reads were generate...
Schemann K, Firestone SM, Taylor MR, Toribio JA, Ward MP, Dhand NK.A growing body of work shows the benefits of applying social cognitive behavioural theory to investigate infection control and biosecurity practices. Protection motivation theory has been used to predict protective health behaviours. The theory outlines that a perception of a lack of vulnerability to a disease contributes to a reduced threat appraisal, which results in poorer motivation, and is linked to poorer compliance with advised health protective behaviours. This study, conducted following the first-ever outbreak of equine influenza in Australia in 2007, identified factors associated wit...
Rumpler MJ, Kandala B, Vickroy TW, Hochhaus G, Sams RA.Glycopyrrolate (GLY) is an antimuscarinic agent that is used in humans and domestic animals primarily to reduce respiratory tract secretions during anesthesia and to reverse intra-operative bradycardia. Although GLY is used routinely in veterinary patients, there is limited information regarding its pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) properties in domestic animals, and an improved understanding of the plasma concentration-effect relationship in racehorses is warranted. To accomplish this, we characterize the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) actions of GLY during and after a 2...
Peacock RE, Smart L.A dog was presented for acute abdominal distension after inadvertent access to a large amount of dry dog food and possibly horse feed consisting of chaff, pony cubes and vitamin, mineral and yeast supplements. Results: A marked hyperchloraemia and decreased anion gap on blood electrolyte analysis prompted a review of the patient's history for potential ingestion of bromide. It was revealed that the horse feed was supplemented with potassium bromide. The serum bromide level was 23.6 mmol/L. The dog recovered uneventfully. Conclusions: This case report highlights the importance of knowing common...
Mendez D, Judd J, Speare R.To identify the perceived barriers to Hendra virus (HeV) management by private equine veterinarians in Queensland. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study of private equine veterinarians registered and working in coastal Queensland. Methods: A questionnaire that included eight open-ended questions about the management of HeV was used in face-to-face in-depth interviews with 21 veterinary personnel working in equine or mixed private practice between Far North and South-East Queensland in 2009-10. The qualitative data was entered and analysed thematically using QSR's International's Nvivo 9 qu...
König von Borstel U, Bernhard V.The objective of this study was to compare the impact of health disorders and reasons for culling on the functional and biological longevity of warmblood breeding stallions using semi-parametric survival analysis accounting for competing risks. Complete breeding records were collected from 455 warmblood stallions serving between 1975 and 2010 at Marbach State Stud in Germany. The median length of life (18.0 years) was twice as long as the median length of service (9.0 years). However, both figures increased significantly over the time period examined (e.g., functional longevity increased from ...
Sharma R, Barakzai SZ, Taylor SE, Donadeu FX.Despite the high prevalence of skin conditions in the horse, there is a dearth of literature on the culture and biology of equine skin cells, and this is partially attributable to the lack of suitable in vitro skin models. The objective of this study was to develop a three-dimensional (3D) culture system that would support the proliferation and differentiation of equine keratinocytes, similar to that observed in natural epidermis. Cell monolayers were obtained from explants of equine skin and serially passaged as highly pure keratinocyte populations (> 95% of cells), based on their express...
Lange-Consiglio A, Rossi D, Tassan S, Perego R, Cremonesi F, Parolini O.We have recently demonstrated that heterologous transplantation of horse amniotic membrane-derived mesenchymal cells (AMCs) can be useful for cell therapy applications in tendon diseases, and hypothesized that these cells may promote tendon repair via paracrine-acting molecules targeting inflammatory processes. To test this hypothesis, here we examined the immunomodulatory characteristics of AMCs and of their conditioned medium (AMC-CM) in vitro, and studied the potential therapeutic effect of AMC-CM in thirteen different spontaneous horse tendon and ligament injuries in vivo. Our results demo...
Roepstorff L, Johnston C, Drevemo S, Gustås P.According to riding texts, draw reins are supposed to support increased collection. This has not been measured objectively. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine whether a horse ridden with draw reins would relatively increase weightbearing of the hindquarters while worked with the draw reins compared to a normal rein. Ground reaction forces were measured in 8 horses at the slow trot over a force plate in 3 different experimental set-ups: 1) riding with only a draw rein (DR); 2) riding with the combination of a normal and a draw rein (NR-DR) and 3) riding with a normal rein (...
Hepworth-Warren KL, Nelson N, Dembek KA, Young KAS.Thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) is widely used in equine practice but comparison to radiography is limited in horses. Unassigned: To validate a novel, objective scoring system for TUS in adult horses and to compare ultrasonographic and radiographic findings. Unassigned: 13 healthy horses and 9 with confirmed bacterial pneumonia. Unassigned: Prospective study in which TUS and radiography were performed on healthy horses and those with bacterial pneumonia confirmed by clinical signs and results of transtracheal wash analysis. Ultrasonography was scored utilizing a novel scoring system evaluating ...
Kalashnikov V, Zajcev A, Atroshchenko M, Miroshnikov S, Frolov A, Zav'yalov O, Kalinkova L, Kalashnikova T.A study on the Russian trotting breeds was conducted to assess the impact of horses' sporting results and the degree of accumulation of chemical elements in the hair. In the first phase of the research, the elemental composition of the mane hair of trotter horses (n = 215) was studied. Based on these studies, percentile intervals for the distribution of concentrations of chemical elements in the hair have been established, and the values of 25 and 75 percentile adopted as a "physiological standard" have been defined. In the second stage of the research into clinically healthy Russian trott...
Ueno D, Yabuki A, Obi T, Shiraishi M, Nishio A, Miyamoto A.We investigated the effect of bradykinin (BK) on isolated equine basilar arterial rings with and without endothelium. BK induced concentration-dependent contraction of resting arterial rings and no relaxation when the rings were precontracted by prostaglandin F(2alpha). The maximal response and pD(2) value were 161.2 +/- 28.1% (to 60 mm KCl-induced contraction) and 8.24 +/- 0.25 respectively. The cumulative concentration-response curve for BK was not shifted to the right by des-Arg(9)-[Leu(8)]-BK (a B(1)-receptor antagonist), HOE140 (a B(2)-receptor antagonist) or NPC567 (another B(2)-receptor...
Langreder N, Schäckermann D, Meier D, Becker M, Schubert M, Dübel S, Reinard T, Figge-Wegener S, Roßbach K, Bäumer W, Ladel S, Hust M.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most common allergic skin disease of horses. It is caused by insect bites of the Culicoides spp. which mediate a type I/IVb allergy with strong involvement of eosinophil cells. No specific treatment option is available so far. One concept could be the use of a therapeutic antibody targeting equine interleukin 5, the main activator and regulator of eosinophils. Therefore, antibodies were selected by phage display using the naïve human antibody gene libraries HAL9/10, tested in a cellular in vitro inhibition assay and subjected to an in vitro affinity...
Saadi, A, Tavassoli, M, Dalir-Naghadeh, B, Samiei A.Dictyocaulus arnfieldi is a lungworm commonly found in equids; however, relatively little is known about it. The aim of the present study was to establish the prevalence of equine lungworms in naturally-infected working and sporting horses, donkeys and mules in rural areas of Urmia, northwest Iran. The fecal samples were collected from 299 working horses, 57 sporting horses, 66 donkeys and 37 mules during the period March 2014 to June 2016. The collected fecal samples were processed within 48 hours following rectal sampling. The larval count/g (LPG) of feces was determined using the Baermann t...
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 ...
Wong PL, Nickel LS, Bowling AT, Steffey EP.Serum samples of 20 horses were evaluated for antibodies against RBC after homologous blood transfusion. Transfusion-associated antibodies against RBC were detected in 10 horses. Antibodies recognizing horse blood group antigens Aa, Ae, Db, and Dc were identified. Antibodies against Aa were found in all samples from Aa-negative horses that were transfused with Aa-positive RBC. Antibodies against Aa persisted for at least 1 year after transfusion. Antibodies against Ae were detected in 7 of 8 horses transfused with Ae-positive RBC. Initial appearance and persistence of antibodies against Ae dif...
Martel G, Crowley D, Olive J, Halley J, Laverty S.Extensive osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions of the lateral ridge of the trochlea of the femur (LRTF), the most common OCD-affected site in the stifle, have a poor outcome with surgical debridement and can be career ending. The early detection of osteochondrosis lesions and their conservative management holds the promise to enhance outcome. We hypothesise that ultrasonography is a valuable field screening tool to detect and monitor early subclinical LRTF osteochondrosis. Objective: The goals were to 1) describe the normal ultrasonographic features of the LRTF in foals of different ages an...
Stokes A, Corteyn AH, Murray PK.A group of three horses was experimentally infected with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and showed clinical signs characterised by a biphasic febrile response, leucopenia and cell associated viraemia accompanied by virus shedding from the nasopharynx. A second exposure to the virus 18 days later resulted in the isolation of virus from the nasopharynx of one horse. This and a further group of three EHV-1 seropositive horses were subsequently infected with equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) 147 days after the initial EHV-1 infection and virus was shed from the nasopharynx in the absence of cli...
Rovira S, Muñoz A.Echocardiographic values need to be established for each age and breed to be applied to equine medicine. The present research aims to describe echocardiographic measurements in Spanish fillies and colts of different age, to compare these values with those previously described for other equine breeds and to determine whether there is an influence of gender on echocardiographic measurements. Seventy unsedated and healthy Spanish foals of both sexes (39 females and 31 males) were divided into five age groups: A (22-60 days; n=15), B (61-90 days; n=13), C (91-180 days; n=18), D (181-270 days; n=12...
Fowler AL, Hayes SH, Crum AD, Lawrence LM.Titanium dioxide has been used as a marker for determining diet digestibility indirectly, but some authors have expressed difficulty in measuring TiO2 concentrations in fecal material. We developed an accurate and precise method to determine TiO2 concentrations in equine feces. The method includes dry-ashing samples, digestion with (NH4)2SO4 in concentrated sulfuric acid, followed by the addition of H2O2 to produce a yellow to orange color that can be read spectrophotometrically. Accuracy was tested by spike recovery, and precision was tested by examining the coefficient of variation (CV) betw...
Stewart AJ, Pettigrew A, Cochran AM, Belknap JK.The liver and lung are not only described as "target organs" in sepsis in most species, but are purported to be sources of circulating inflammatory mediators central to the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). As we have recently reported an inflammatory response in the laminar tissue in laminitis similar to that described in "target organs" in human sepsis, we investigated the inflammatory response of the lung and liver in the black walnut extract (BWE) model of equine laminitis to determine (1) if a similar systemic inflammatory response occurs in this laminitis model as described...
Barros ML, Borges AMC, Oliveira De ACS, Lacerda W, O Souza De A, Aguiar DM.The prevalence of equine infectious anaemia (EIA) in the three biomes of the state of Mato Grosso (Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal) was estimated. Serum samples were collected from 3,858 equines in 1,067 herds between Septemberand December 2014. The agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay was used to detect EIA virus antibodies, and if a herd contained a seropositive animal itwas classified as a focus. The prevalence rates were 17.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.9-19.8%) for herds and 6.6% (95% CI: 5.8-7.5%) for animals. The Pantanal region showed the highest prevalence rates: 36.1% (95% CI: 3...
Bauquier JR, Tennent-Brown BS, Tudor E, Bailey SR.Polymyxin-B is used to treat equine systemic inflammation. Bacterial toxins other than lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contribute to systemic inflammation but the effects of polymyxin-B on these are poorly defined. Whole blood aliquots from six healthy horses diluted 1:1 with RPMI were incubated for 21 hr with 1 μg/ml of LPS, lipoteichoic acid (LTA) or peptidoglycan (PGN) in the presence of increasing concentrations of polymyxin-B (10-3000 μg/ml). A murine L929 fibroblast bioassay was used to measure TNF-α activity. Polymyxin-B significantly inhibited the effects of all three bacterial toxins. ...
Johnston AS, Riggs CM, Cogger N, Benschop J, Rogers CW, Rosanowski SM.Many racing jurisdictions monitor race-day musculoskeletal injury (MSI) but fail to evaluate injuries occurring during training. Additionally, previous risk factor analyses have failed to explore temporal trends in injury occurrence. Objective: To use time-series analysis techniques to identify trends, cyclicity and peaks in MSI incidence, in racehorses training and racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) from July 2010 to June 2018. Methods: Retrospective longitudinal study. Methods: The monthly incidence of all MSI, superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury, suspensory ligament inju...
Wilson AD.Horses are affected by a wide variety of arthropod ectoparasites, ranging from lice which spend their entire life on the host, through ticks which feed over a period of days, to numerous biting insects that only transiently visit the host to feed. The presence of ectoparasites elicits a number of host responses including innate inflammatory responses, adaptive immune reactions and altered behaviour; all of which can reduce the severity of the parasite burden. All of these different responses are linked through immune mechanisms mediated by mast cells and IgE antibodies which have an important ...
Mizobe F, Takahashi Y, Kusano K.Jockey safety is of paramount importance from welfare perspective and public perception. This retrospective case-control study aims to identify risk factors associated with jockey falls (JF) in flat races of Japan Racing Association (JRA). JF in 715,210 race starts by 74,328 horses at 10 racecourses from 2003 to 2017 were reviewed. Data were extracted from a database maintained by JRA and from official accident reports issued by race stewards. Seventeen possible risk factors were evaluated using multivariable logistic regression, to identify those significantly associated with JF. A total of 9...
Bitew M, Andargie A, Bekele M, Jenberie S, Ayelet G, Gelaye E.A cross-sectional serological survey was undertaken in selected districts of different agro-ecology of Jimma zone (Dedo, Yebu, Seka, Serbo, and Jimma town) from November 2009 to February 2010 to determine the seroprevalence of African horse sickness virus and associated risk factors of the disease. Two hundred seventy-four equids (189 horses, 43 mules, and 47 donkeys) with a history of non-vaccination for at least 2 years were selected randomly from the above areas. Sera samples were collected and assayed for the presence of specific antibody against African horse sickness virus using blocking...
Christmann U, Page AE, Horohov DW, Adams AA, Chapman SE, Hancock CL, Emery AL, Poovey JR, Hagg C, Ortega Morales SM, Duncan AR, Morgan J, Couetil LL....To perform lipidomic analysis of surfactant and plasma from asthmatic and healthy horses. Methods: 30 horses with clinical signs of asthma and 30 age-matched control horses. Methods: Detailed history, physical examination, CBC, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytologies were obtained. Asthmatic horses were grouped based on their BALF inflammatory profile: severe equine asthma (SEA), mild equine asthma with neutrophilic airway inflammation (MEA-N), or mild equine asthma with eosinophilic airway inflammation (MEA-E). Each asthma group was assigned its own age-matched control group. Lipid...
Hagen J, Jung FT, Brouwer J, Bos R.This study aimed to determine whether a hoof-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU) system would provide similar timing characteristics and step lengths, in walk and trot on different grounds, compared to those of an established optoelectronic motion system. The right hoof of one horse was equipped with an IMU sensor with an optical reference marker on top. Fifteen steps on firm ground, and five on penetrable ground, were performed at walk and trot. Level of agreement between the two measurement systems was determined by assessing the concordance correlation coefficients, accuracy, and precis...
Hansen S, Baptiste KE, Fjeldborg J, Betancourt A, Horohov DW.An imbalance in various cytokine mRNA expression in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in horses suffering from recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) has been demonstrated; however, the natural variation of cytokine expression in healthy horses has yet to be described. The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify age-related differences in the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in BAL and PBMC, (2) compare the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines between BAL and PBMC, and (3) evaluate the relationship between BAL pro-inflammatory cytokine ex...
Andersson L, Juneja RK, Sandberg K.Genetic linkage between the equine loci for phosphohexose isomerase (PHI) and serum Xk protein was demonstrated by means of segregation data from three sire families. The recombination frequency was estimated from pooled data to be 0.23 +/- 0.02; a significant heterogeneity between sires for estimates of the recombination frequency was observed. No indication of linkage was detected between Xk and 14 other blood marker loci. Linkage between the Xk locus and the locus for soluble malic enzyme (ME1) has recently been reported in horses. An equine linkage group designated LG IV comprising the thr...
Trim CM, Colbern GT, Martin CL.Intraocular pressure was measured with a MacKay-Marg tonometer in eight horses following auriculopalpebral nerve block and topical application of lignocaine. Measurements were recorded before and after xylazine, 1.1 mg/kg intravenously, every two minutes for 16 minutes after administration of ketamine, 2.2 mg/kg intravenously, and after recovery from anaesthesia. Before xylazine, intraocular pressure was 17.1 +/- 3.9 and 18.4 +/- 2.2 mm Hg in the left and right eyes, respectively. Intraocular pressure tended to decrease after administration of xylazine and ketamine, with a significant decrease...
Gingold BM, Killos MB, Griffith E, Posner L.Maintaining adequate muscle tissue oxygenation is of paramount importance during equine general anesthesia. The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility, reliability and repeatability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) muscle oximetry using the Inspectra m650 in conscious healthy adult horses. Methods: Prospective, observational study. Methods: A group of 30 healthy client-owned adult horses admitted to the equine hospital between July 2017 and July 2018. Methods: The probe of an Inspectra m650 NIRS tissue oximeter was placed on the hairless surface of five muscle sites (omotr...
Inácio SV, de Brito RL, Zucatto AS, Coelho WM, de Aquino MC, Aguirre Ade A, Perri SH, Meireles MV, Bresciani KD.The present study aimed to analyze the occurrence of infection by Cryptosporidium spp. in mares and their respective foals. This study was carried out in 11 farms located in the municipalities of Araçatuba, Birigui, Guararapes and Santo Antônio do Aracangua, in the northwest region of the State of Sao Paulo, from November 2010 to March 2011. A total of 98 mares and 98 foals of several breeds were analyzed; among foals, 59 were males and 39 females, aged from three to 330 days. Feces were collected directly from the rectal ampulla, purified and processed according to modified Kinyoun stain. O...
Clayton HM, Lavagnino M, Kaiser LJ, Stubbs NC.It is considered that specific exercises to strengthen limb musculature would be helpful. Objective: To describe swing phase kinematic and kinetic changes in the hindlimbs of trotting horses in response to the addition of leg weights to the hind pasterns. Methods: Six horses were prepared by placing reflective skin markers on the hindlimbs, the withers and fore hooves. Horses were evaluated at trot for 6 trials with and without leg weights (700 g) attached around the pasterns, with the 2 conditions applied in random order. The markers were tracked to determine peak heights of the flight arc of...
