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.
Hermeyer K, Seehusen F, Gehlen H, Peters M, Wohlsein P.Cutaneous malignant lymphomas are rare in horses and comprise predominantly T-cell-rich B-cell lymphomas. They are characterized by multiple tumour nodules affecting predominantly female horses with a survival rate of months to years. At the final stage, metastases to regional lymph nodes occur, whereas widespread organ involvement is rarely reported. In this case report, a cutaneous T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma in a 7-year-old standardbred gelding with metastases is described. Clinically, multiple cutaneous and subcutaneous nodules, enlarged superficial lymph nodes, rapid weight loss, and vent...
Asplin KE, Patterson-Kane JC, Sillence MN, Pollitt CC, Mc Gowan CM.Ponies with laminitis associated with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia lack systemic and/or intestinal inflammatory signs, suggesting a different pathogenesis potentially reflected in differing histopathology. Objective: To describe the histological appearance and quantify morphological changes in primary and secondary epidermal lamellae (PEL and SEL) of laminitis lesions from ponies with insulin-induced laminitis. Methods: Equine hoof lamellar tissue was obtained from 4 control ponies and 5 ponies with laminitis induced following infusion of insulin (1036 ± 55 µU/ml) while maintai...
Morrissey NK, Bellenger CR, Ryan MT, Baird AW.To measure the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA in gastric biopsy specimens serially obtained from horses before, during, and after an 8-day intermittent feed-deprivation trial and to investigate the mucosal location of COX-2. Methods: 9 mixed-breed horses for retrieval of gastric biopsy specimens and 16 additional horses for immunohistochemical analysis. Methods: Gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from 6 horses; 3 of these horses and 3 more participated in an intermittent feed-deprivation trial 9 weeks later. A quantitative PCR assay was used to determine the amount of COX-2 mR...
Arnold C, Chaffin MK, Cohen N, Fajt VR, Taylor RJ, Bernstein LR.To determine the pharmacokinetics of gallium maltolate (GaM) after intragastric administration in adult horses. Methods: 6 adult horses. Methods: Feed was withheld for 12 hours prior to intragastric administration of GaM (20 mg/kg). A single dose of GaM was administered to each horse via a nasogastric tube (time 0). Blood samples were collected at various time points from 0 to 120 hours. Serum was used to determine gallium concentrations by use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy. Noncompartmental and compartmental analyses of serum gallium concentrations were performed. Pharmacoki...
Urosevic M, Lako B, Milanov D, Urosevic I, Aurich C.Uterine microbiology, antimicrobial susceptibility and endometrial cytology were investigated in a total of 51 mares with fertility problems from 16 different stud farms in Serbia. Uterine cultures were performed after collection with a double guarded uterine swab, and endometrial cytology was evaluated after collection of endometrial cells with a special device (cytology brush). In 21 of 51 mares, at least one bacterial species was isolated from the uterus; the most frequent were Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (13 isolates) and E. coli (four isolates). All isolates of Streptococcus e...
Brink P, Schumacher J, Schumacher J.There is a need for study of a method for restoring a ventrally positioned uterus to a horizontal position involving fertility of mares with delayed uterine clearance. Objective: A ventrally-angled uterus can be elevated to a horizontal position using a laparoscopic technique. Objective: To develop a laparoscopic technique of imbricating the mesometria to elevate the uterus to a horizontal position. Methods: The right and left mesometria of 5 pluriparous mares, all barren for 1-8 years (mean 3.8 years), with a pendulous, ventrally-angled uterus were shortened laparoscopically, by imbrication, ...
Reeves WK, Miller MM.Organic insect repellents are of interest to many agricultural producers and animal owners. Geraniol, a plant-derived alcohol, is naturally produced by a wide range of plants and is a US Environmental Protection Agency minimum risk pesticide. Previous studies have shown various concentrations of geraniol repel or kill mosquitoes; however, geraniol might cause allergic contact dermatitis in humans or animals. We tested a commercially available 2% aqueous solution of geraniol on ponies as a mosquito repellent. Five trials were conducted on ponies treated with a 60-ml aerosol mist (30 ml per side...
Viklund A, Näsholm A, Strandberg E, Philipsson J.For Swedish Warmblood sport horses, breeding values (BVs) are predicted using a multiple-trait animal model with results from competitions and young horse performance tests. Data go back to the beginning of the 1970s, and earlier studies have indicated that some of the recorded traits have changed through the years. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of including all performance data or excluding the older ones compared to a bivariate model (BM) considering performance traits in early and late periods as separate traits. The bivariate approach was assumed to give the mo...
Kuiper H, Blum N, Distl O.In a 1.5-year-old Oldenburg horse, a clitoris-like structure instead of a penis was identified in the prepuce. The external genital organs did not show any abnormalities at visual inspection except that exteriorization of the penis was not possible, not even under general anesthesia. The horse's owner observed a continuous dripping of urine and a tendency to mild colics beginning 2 weeks after birth. Testosterone concentration was 0.01 ng/ml and therefore under the threshold for geldings, and the horse did not respond to the application of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The inner genit...
Chen H, Wang L, Zeller M, Hornshaw M, Wu Y, Zhou M, Li J, Hang X, Cai J, Chen T, Shaw C.From defensive skin secretions acquired from two species of African hyperoliid frogs, Kassina maculata and Kassina senegalensis, we have isolated two structurally related, C-terminally amidated tridecapeptides of novel primary structure that exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activity. In reflection of their structural novelty and species of origin, we named the peptides kassorin M (FLEGLLNTVTGLLamide; 1387.8 Da) and kassorin S (FLGGILNTITGLLamide; 1329.8 Da), respectively. The primary structure and organisation of the biosynthetic precursors of kassorins M and S were deduced from cloned s...
Kim TI, Chung CP, Heo MS, Park YJ, Rhee SH.This study was performed to evaluate the periodontal wound healing effect of particulate equine bone mineral on canine alveolar bone defects. Methods: Twelve adult male beagle dogs were used as study subjects. The mandibular second and fourth premolars were extracted prior to the experimental surgery, and the extraction sites were allowed to heal for 8 weeks. After periodontal probing, two-walled defects were created at the mesial and distal sides of the mandibular third premolars bilaterally, and the defects were filled with equine particulate bone with collagen membrane or bovine particulate...
Giorgi M, Cuniberti B, Ye G, Barbero R, Sgorbini M, Vercelli C, Corazza M, Re G.Tepoxalin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug with analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic properties and has been recently introduced into veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) profile of tepoxalin to assess whether it would be suitable for clinical use in horses. Six female fasting/fed horses were given 10mg/kg tepoxalin orally in a cross-over study. After administration, tepoxalin underwent rapid and extensive hydrolytic conversion to its carboxylic acid metabolite RWJ-20142. In animals that had been fed, the plasm...
Marsh GA, Todd S, Foord A, Hansson E, Davies K, Wright L, Morrissy C, Halpin K, Middleton D, Field HE, Daniels P, Wang LF.Bat-to-horse transmission of Hendra virus has occurred at least 14 times. Although clinical signs in horses have differed, genome sequencing has demonstrated little variation among the isolates. Our sequencing of 5 isolates from recent Hendra virus outbreaks in horses found no correlation between sequences and time or geographic location of outbreaks.
Mykkänen AK, Koho NM, Reeben M, McGowan CM, Pösö AR.Polymorphisms in human lactate transporter proteins (monocarboxylate transporters; MCTs), especially the MCT1 isoform, can affect lactate transport activity and cause signs of exercise-induced myopathy. Muscles express MCT1, MCT4 and CD147, an ancillary protein, indispensable for the activity of MCT1 and MCT4. We sequenced the coding sequence (cDNA) of horse MCT4 for the first time and examined polymorphisms in the cDNA of MCT1, MCT4 and CD147 of 16 healthy horses. To study whether signs of myopathy are linked to the polymorphisms, biopsy samples were taken from 26 horses with exercise-induced...
Claerhoudt S, Bergman EH, van der Veen H, Vanderperren K, Raes EV, Saunders JH.The morphological features of the distal border synovial invaginations (SI) of the distal sesamoid bone (DSB) in horses were described by the use of computed tomography (CT). Transverse CT images were obtained on 50 cadaver forefeet from 25 Warmblood horses. Dorsal and sagittal planes were reformatted. The CT images allowed the evaluation of the number, shape, depth of penetration and direction of the SI into the bone. The total number of SI was 295 (mean 5.9). The number of invaginations in a particular DSB ranged from 3 (n = 3), 4 (n = 6), 5 (n = 11), 6 (n = 12), 7 (n = 13), 8 (n = 3), 9 (n ...
Wilsterman S, Soboll-Hussey G, Lunn DP, Ashton LV, Callan RJ, Hussey SB, Rao S, Goehring LS.Infection with equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory disease, late term abortions and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalitis (EHM) and remains an important problem in horses worldwide. Despite increasing outbreaks of EHM in recent years, our understanding of EHM pathogenesis is still limited except for the knowledge that a cell-associated viremia in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) is a critical link between primary respiratory EHV-1 infection and secondary complications such as late-term abortion or EHM. To address this question our objective was to identify which PBMC subpo...
Cehak A, Rohn K, Barton AK, Stadler P, Ohnesorge B.Dynamic nasopharyngeal collapse with upper airway obstruction is an important cause of exercise intolerance in performance horses. Its underlying pathophysiology is not fully understood. We hypothesize that head position affects pharyngeal diameter, and thus head position may be a contributing factor to nasopharyngeal obstruction. Fifteen adult healthy horses were subjected to endoscopy and radiography at rest. The pharyngeal diameter was measured at nine different head and neck positions. The effect of sedation and breathing cycle on the pharyngeal diameter was determined, and the relationshi...
Nagy A, Dyson S, Barr A.The transrectal ultrasonographic appearance of the lumbosacral joint was assessed in 43 horses with no history or clinical evidence of back pain or hindlimb lameness. In the majority of horses (34/43, 79.1%) the lumbosacral disc had uniform or mildly heterogeneous echogenicity. However, variation in the ultrasonographic appearance of the lumbosacral joint was also identified, including hyperechogenic regions within the lumbosacral disc with or without an acoustic shadow, and mild or moderate irregularity of the opposing surfaces of the last lumbar and the first sacral vertebral bodies. Marked ...
Pavone S, Veronesi F, Genchi C, Fioretti DP, Brianti E, Mandara MT.In this study, pathological changes caused by Anoplocephala perfoliata in the ileocecal junction were investigated in 31 regularly slaughtered mixed-breed horses of both sexes. Our results showed a significant relationship between parasite burden and grading of histopathological lesions in the mucosa and submucosa. Hypertrophy of the circular muscle layer was found in infected horses. Moreover, enteric nervous system evaluation showed a significant injury of intestinal nervous elements in the horses with moderate to high parasitism expressed as an increase of degenerative-regressive changes in...
Holowinski M, Judy C, Saveraid T, Maranda L.Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is important in diagnosing musculoskeletal injuries in horses. However, there is still much to learn regarding the significance of lesions identified in equine MR images. Of particular importance is the clinical significance of signal change as a function of pulse sequence. We hypothesized that a resolution of tendon, ligament, and bone marrow lesions on short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) images would be associated with a return to soundness, and that a persistence of tendon and ligament lesions on only T1-weighted (T1w) gradient recalled echo (GRE) images woul...
Spriet M, Wisner ER, Anthenill LA, Buonocore MH.Seven isolated equine front limbs were used to establish the normal T1 relaxation time of equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT), deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), and suspensory ligament (SL) using magic angle magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MR imaging of the metacarpi was performed with the limbs positioned at 55° (the magic angle) relative to the main magnetic field. Transverse spin-echo proton density and inversion recovery images were acquired. T1 relaxation time was calculated based on ratios of signal intensity determined from the different pulse sequences. T1 relaxation tim...
Nuñez CM, Adelman JS, Rubenstein DI.Although the physiological effects of immunocontraceptive treatment with porcine zona pellucida (PZP) have been well studied, little is known about PZP's effects on the scheduling of reproductive cycling. Recent behavioral research has suggested that recipients of PZP extend the receptive breeding period into what is normally the non-breeding season. Results: To determine if this is the case, we compiled foaling data from wild horses (Equus caballus) living on Shackleford Banks, North Carolina for 4 years pre- and 8 years post-contraception management with PZP (pre-contraception, n = 65 births...
Edwards SE, Martz KE, Rogge A, Heinrich M.Equine dysautonomia or equine grass sickness (EGS), as it is more commonly known, is a usually fatal disease of equids of uncertain etiology, although associated with grazing, that affects the autonomic and enteric nervous system. Lowered gastrointestinal motility, leading to paralysis of the gut, is one of the main symptoms of EGS. Previous studies have implicated anaerobic bacteria, notably Clostridium botulinum, but what triggers the severe bacterial infestations remains enigmatic. We hypothesized that a detailed comparison of soil mineral and botanical composition of EGS and control sites ...
Meghoufel A, Cloutier G, Crevier-Denoix N, de Guise JA.The fiber bundle density (FBD) calculated from ultrasound B-scan images of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) can serve as an objective measurement to characterize the three metacarpal sites of normal SDFTs, and also to discriminate a healthy SDFT from an injured one. In this paper, we propose a shock filter algorithm for the thinning of hyper-echoic structures observed in B-scan images of the SDFT. This algorithm is further enhanced by applying closing morphological operations on filtered images to facilitate extraction and quantification of fiber bundle fascicles. The mean F...
Selvaggi M, Pesce Delfino AR, Dario C.The aim of this study was to assess genetic polymorphism at two loci in the exon 1 of the CSN3 gene in Murgese horse breed by PCR-RFLP analysis. The overall frequencies of alleles A and G at c.-66AÂ >Â G locus were 0.80 and 0.20, respectively, and no GG animals were found in the population. At the c.-36CÂ >Â A locus allelic frequencies were 0.74 and 0.26 for allele C and A, respectively, and no AA animals were detected. Population genetic indexes, namely gene heterozygosity, gene homozygosity, effective allele numbers, fixation index, and polymorphism information index were calculated. C...
Simhofer H, Niederl M, Anen C, Rijkenhuizen A, Peham C.The objective of this study was to compare masticatory movements before and after dental treatment using kinematic analysis. The masticatory movements of 15 adult Warmblood horses with mild dental pathology chewing standardised hay were recorded on three consecutive days before and three times after (days 7, 21, 28) dental correction. The results of the leading mandibular tracking marker, located at the caudal edge of the inter-mandibular suture, were compared statistically. Reproducibility of measurements prior to dental treatment was excellent (P<0.05). Rostrocaudal mandibular motion was ...
Figueredo LA, Cafarchia C, Otranto D.Fungi of the genus Geotrichum are commonly found in the environment and, in some circumstances, they may cause diseases in humans and animals. Although these fungi have been isolated from skin lesions of some animal species, their pathogenic role in horses remains uncertain. With the aim to investigate the role of Geotrichum candidum as etiological agent of dermatomycoses, a retrospective study of 64 horses presenting skin lesions and suspected to have fungal infections was carried out. For each animal, anamnestic data were recorded and fungal culture were performed using hair. Out of 64 cases...
Yamashita J, Oki H, Hasegawa T, Honda T, Nomura T.Genetic contributions of nine historically important ancestors and allelic diversity in the Japanese Thoroughbred population were examined by applying the gene dropping simulation to the foals produced from 1978 to 2005. Full pedigree records traced to ancestors (base animals) born around 1890 were used for the simulation. Alleles originated from some of the historically important ancestors were found to be at risk of future extinction, although their genetic contributions to the foal population have increased during the last three decades. The proportion of surviving alleles to the total alle...
Scarth JP, Teale P, Kuuranne T.A detailed understanding of equine drug metabolism is important for detection of drug abuse in horseracing and also in veterinary drug development and practice. To date, however, no comprehensive review of equine drug metabolism has been published. The majority of literature regarding equine drug metabolite profiles is derived from sports drug detection research and is generally targeted at detecting marker metabolites of drug abuse. However, the bulk of the literature on equine drug metabolism enzymology is derived from veterinary studies aimed at determining the molecular basis of metabolism...
Golombieski L, Bassi das Neves G, Casa MDS, Costa GCS, Miletti LC, Saito ME, Fonteque JH.Campeiro horse is a breed locally adapted to the Santa Catarina plateau region and its main characteristic is the gait, it is known as "Marchador das Araucárias." It is a breed considered in danger of extinction, being fundamental the search for the preservation of this important genetic resource. Surra, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma evansi, is among the diseases that affect horses. However, there are no data on the prevalence of infection in Campeiro horses. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of T. evansi in Campeiro horses, correlate hematology and serum biochemistry, and id...
Sternberg S.Swab samples were collected from the oral cavity of 174 horses in 10 farms and cultured selectively for Actinobacillus equuli. A. equuli could be isolated from 37% of all samples, varying between 12 and 88% in the different farms. Eight horses were sampled repeatedly for several days, with a variation in isolation frequency between 50 and 88%. Isolates were compared by restriction enzyme digestion and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis. A high degree of strain variability was found within each horse population as well as some variability over time between strains isolated from the same horse.
Meneses CS, Müller HY, Herzberg DE, Uberti B, Bustamante HA, Werner MP.The role of glial cells in pain modulation has recently gathered attention. The objective of this study was to determine healthy spinal microglia and astrocyte morphology and disposition in equine spinal cord dorsal horns using Iba-1 and GFAP/Cx-43 immunofluorescence labeling, respectively. Five adult horses without visible wounds or gait alterations were selected. Spinal cord segments were obtained post-mortem for immunohistochemical and immunocolocalization assays. Immunodetection of spinal cord dorsal horn astrocytes was done using a polyclonal goat antibody raised against Glial Fibrillary ...
Orsolini MF, Meyers SA, Dini P.As the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and in vitro embryo production (IVP) expand in the equine industry, it has become necessary to further our understanding of semen physiology as it applies to overall fertility. This segment of our two-section review will focus on normal sperm parameters, beginning with development and extending through the basic morphology of mature spermatozoa, as well as common issues with male factor infertility in IVP. Ultimately, the relevance of sperm parameters to overall male factor fertility in equine IVP will be assessed.
Cassiat G, Pourcelot P, Tavernier L, Geiger D, Denoix JM, Degueurce D.The costs and investments required for the purchase and training of showjumpers justify the need to find selection means for jumping horses. Use of objective kinematic criteria correlated to jumping ability could be helpful for this assessment. Objective: To compare back kinematics between 2 groups of horses of different competition levels (Group 1, competing at high level; Group 2 competing at low level) while free jumping over a 1 m vertical fence. Methods: Three-dimensional recordings were performed using 2 panning cameras. Kinematic parameters of the withers and tuber sacrale (vertical dis...
Omura CM, Drumond B, Rossi JL, Coelho CS, Gioso MA.Cephalometric studies are important to quantify abnormalities of jaw length and positioning. In this study, 4 to 7-month-old Quarter horse foals (n = 51) were examined to determine overjet (horizontal overlap) prevalence and measure the size of the physiological diastemata. Results were analyzed in relation to age, sex, and lineage. Another aim of this study was to develop a simple field technique for measuring incisor malocclusion and physiological diastemata dimensions that could be used to monitor the growth of the rostral components of maxilla, incisive bone, and mandible. The overall prev...
Principato M.Comparative data collected over 4 years show the most frequent species of Gasterophilus infesting free-ranging horses in Umbria (Central Italy) to be G. intestinalis (93.8%), G. nasalis (76.5%) and G. inermis (71%). G. pecorum and G. haemorrhoidalis were less frequent and appeared in 39.3 and 10.8% of the animals, respectively. For each of the 5 species, the duration of gastric and enteric lesions, the average numbers of larvae isolated throughout the year and the probable duration of oral lesions were discussed.
Moore T, Wilcke J, Chilcoat C, Eyre P, Crisman M.Equine neutrophils (PMN) play a critical role in inflammatory processes in horses. The objective of this study was to characterize equine PMN function ex vivo following stimulation with calcium ionophore A23187 (A23187) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). These stimulants trigger different branches of the PMN activation process that occurs in vivo. Equine PMN were isolated from the whole blood of six clinically normal geldings using a one-step discontinuous Percoll gradient technique. Neutrophil aggregation, degranulation, and superoxide anion production were evaluated in assay systems which ...
Fujita K, Suzuki I, Ochiai J, Shinpo K, Inoue S, Saito H.We found that aloe extract contains a lectin-like substance which reacts with serum proteins of various animals. Furthermore, in human serum 2 proteins, alpha2-macroglobulin and alpha1-antitrypsin, were shown to be reactive with aloe extract.
Marycz K, Bourebaba N, Serwotka-Suszczak A, Mularczyk M, Galuppo L, Bourebaba L.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is recognized as one of the leading cause of health threatening in veterinary medicine worldwide. Recently, PTP1B inhibition has been proposed as an interesting strategy for liver insulin resistance reversion in both equines and humans, however as being a multifactorial disease, proper management of EMS horses further necessities additional interventional approaches aiming at repairing and restoring liver functions. In this study, we hypothesized that in vitro induction of Eq_ASCs hepatogenic differentiation will generate a specialized liver progenitor-like cell...
Stawicki RJ, McDonnell SM, Giguère S, Turner RM.The cryopreservation of epididymal sperm can be useful in a variety of circumstances for ensuring genetic preservation of a valued stallion. Although early studies have reported pregnancy rates significantly lower than those achieved with cryopreserved ejaculated sperm, two recent studies report over 60% one-cycle pregnancy rates with epididymal sperm stored for 24 hours at 5 °C before harvest and cryopreservation. The aims of this study were to: (1) attempt to replicate the one-cycle pregnancy rate of over 60% using epididymal sperm cooled and stored within the epididymis for 24 hours before...
Clode A, Davis J, Davidson G, Salmon J, Lafevers H, Gilger B.To determine the transcorneal penetration and systemic absorption of a compounded 0.2% terbinafine solution following repeated topical administration to normal equine eyes. Sample population  Six healthy adult horses with normal ocular examinations. Methods: One eye of each horse received 0.2 mL of a compounded 0.2% terbinafine solution every 4 h for seven doses. During the 1 h following administration of the final dose, multiple peripheral blood samples were obtained, and a single aqueous humor (AH) sample was collected at the end of the hour. AH and plasma concentrations of terbinafine wer...
Edlund O, Bowers L, Henion J, Covey TR.Urine samples were spiked with [17-methyl-2H3]methandrostenolone as internal standard and extracted with a mixture of dichloromethane and cyclohexane. The organic phase was concentrated and injected onto a short octyl-silica column (30 mm x 4.6 mm I.D.) for separation of methandrostenolone and 17-epimethandrostenolone. The effluent from the column was connected to a Sciex TAGA 6000E triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an atmospheric pressure ion source for sampling of ions generated by a heated pneumatic nebulizer with corona discharge ionization. This ion source produced abundan...
Lotz J, Içli S, Liu D, Caliskan S, Sieme H, Wolkers WF, Oldenhof H.Rational design of cryopreservation strategies for oocytes and ovarian cortex tissue requires insights in the rate at which cryoprotective agents (CPA) permeate and concomitant water transport takes place. The aim of the current study was to investigate possible differences in permeation kinetics of different CPAs (i.e., glycerol/GLY, ethylene glycol/EG, dimethyl sulfoxide/DMSO, and propylene glycol/PG), in equine oocytes as well as ovarian tissue. Membrane permeability of oocytes to water (Lp) and to CPAs (Ps) was inferred from video microscopic imaging of oocyte volume responses during perfu...
Williams IF, Heaton A, McCullagh KG.The connective tissue composition and organisation of the "equine sarcoid" was compared with that of normal adult equine skin to determine whether the cells which produce their respective connective tissue matrices show similar biosynthetic characteristics. No major qualitative difference could be found between the collagen compositions of skin and sarcoid material, although the organisation into fibres of Type III collagen in the sarcoid was markedly greater than that of skin.
Wernery U, Joseph S, Raghavan R, Dyer B, Spendrup S.Our investigation has shown that multiple vaccinations with inactivated African horse sickness (AHS) vaccines containing all 9 serotypes and produced at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai, UAE, protect horses from AHS. However, the immunization did not prevent African horse sickness fever (AHSF) in approximately 10% of the vaccinated horses despite high enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralizing antibodies. African horse sickness fever is a very mild form of AHS with similar clinical signs. From all 6 horses which had developed AHSF, no virus was isolated from ED...
Physick-Sheard P, Avison A, Sears W.Ontario's Alcohol and Gaming Commission records equine racing fatalities through its Equine Health Program. The present study examined all Thoroughbred fatalities from 2003 to 2015, inclusive, to identify associations. Official records and details of fatalities were combined in multivariable logistic regression modelling of 236,386 race work-events (433 fatalities), and 459,013 workout work-events (252 fatalities). Fatality rates were 2.94/1000 race starts (all fatalities) and 1.96/1000 (breakdowns only) with an overall rate of 2.61% or 26.1 fatalities/1000 horses. Comparison with published re...
Wickhorst JP, Sammra O, Hassan AA, Alssashen M, Lämmler C, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Erhard M, Metzner M, Paschertz K, Timke M, Abdulmawjood A.In the present study an Arcanobacterium hippocoleae strain isolated from a uterus swab of an apparently healthy mare could be identified by phenotypic properties, by MALDI-TOF MS analysis and genotypically by investigating the molecular targets 16S rDNA, 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region and the genes encoding the β subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase (rpoB), elongation factor tu (tuf) and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gap). The presented data are one of the few reports about the species A. hippocoleae and might help to elucidate the role this species plays in infections of ho...
Johnson AK, Hinrichs K.There are few reports on the birth of foals resulting from equine adult somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT). On evaluation of reports of 28 live-born adult somatic-cell NT (clone) foals, 3 died within 2 weeks of birth of complications. Approximately 50 % of all reported cloned foals had complications, some requiring aggressive supportive care. The most common abnormalities reported were neonatal maladjustment syndrome, enlarged umbilical remnant, and angular deformity of the forelimbs, similar to problems described in cloned cattle. In contrast, large offspring syndrome and gross abnormalities ...
Menzies RA, Easley J.Dental surgeries refer to procedures that affect the dental tissues or their supporting structures. With the development of specific, efficacious, and conservative treatments, morbidity risks have been lowered and chances of benefiting the health of equids improved. Advances in quality of sedation, analgesia, and locoregional anesthesia allow a majority of dental surgeries to be performed in the standing patient. This update focuses on an orthograde endodontic technique, a minimally invasive buccotomy technique, with the potential to combine it with a transbuccal screw extraction technique, an...
Benton RE, Lyons ET.A total of 118 horses was examined at necropsy in central Kentucky for the tapeworm Anoplocephala perfoliata. The examination period was between 28 August and 21 December 1992. Prevalence was 64% for Thoroughbreds (n = 81 examined) and 54% for non-Thoroughbreds (n = 37 examined). The number of tapeworms per infected horse varied from one to 853. Data on infections are categorized by breed, sex (n = 38 males, 8 geldings, and 72 females), age (1-31 years), and month of necropsy of the horses.
Knych HK, Arthur RM, McKemie DS, Baden R, Oldberg N, Kass PH.Flumetasone is a potent corticosteroid reportedly used in horses to decrease inflammation associated with strenuous exercise. There are currently no reports describing the use of this drug in horses. Objective: To describe the pharmacokinetics and effects on cortisol and eicosanoid concentrations, following administration of flumetasone to exercised horses. Methods: Parallel design. Methods: Twelve exercised horses received a single i.v. administration of 5 mg of flumetasone. Blood and urine samples were collected before and for 72 h post-drug administration for determination of flumetasone an...
Rich FR, Glisson RR.In vitro failure modes and mechanical properties of the equine cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) were evaluated in 15 stifle joints from 10 ponies. Ponies were from 3 to 25 years of age and weighed from 122 to 208 kg. Femur-CCL-tibia specimens were mounted in 48 degrees of flexion, distracted until a 500-g tensile preload was achieved, and then tested by tensile loading to failure. Specimens failed by complete midsubstance CCL rupture (n = 9), combined tibial insertion avulsion fracture and midsubstance CCL rupture (n = 4), and combined femoral origin avulsion fracture and midsubstance CCL ruptu...
Faber E, Tshilwane SI, Kleef MV, Pretorius A.African horse sickness (AHS) is caused by African horse sickness virus (AHSV), a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus of the genus Orbivirus, family Reoviridae. For the development of new generation AHS vaccines or antiviral treatments, it is crucial to understand the host immune response against the virus and the immune evasion strategies the virus employs. To achieve this, the current study used transcriptome analysis of RNA sequences to characterize and compare the innate immune responses activated during the attenuated AHSV serotype 4 (attAHSV4) (in vivo) and the virulent AHSV4 (virAHSV4) (in...
Okano S, Hurley DJ, Vandenplas ML, Moore JN.To determine the effect of fetal bovine serum (FBS) and heat-inactivated FBS (HI-FBS) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- and zymosan-induced procoagulant activity of equine and canine mononuclear cells. Methods: Mononuclear cells from 18 horses and 3 dogs. Methods: Cells were incubated with various concentrations of FBS, HI-FBS, LPS, zymosan, polymyxin B, and anti-LPS-binding protein monoclonal antibody or combinations of these constituents. A 1 stage recalcification assay was used to determine procoagulant activity. Results: Addition of FBS to media significantly increased procoagulant activity; eq...
Hartmann C, Gerner W, Walter I, Saalmüller A, Aurich C.In the mare, early pregnancy loss is common, but involvement of the maternal immune system in the pathogenesis of this condition has not been investigated in detail so far. In the present study, we assessed effects of exposure of the endometrium to semen or seminal plasma in oestrous mares on the response of regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) in the peripheral circulation as well as in the endometrium. Raw semen, seminal plasma or PBS (control) were introduced into the uterus of oestrous mares (n = 12). Blood was collected immediately before insemination or PBS infusion (time 0), and 12, 24 ...
Pusterla N, Bowers J, Barnum S, Hall JA.The objective of this study was to detect Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) (Lactobacillales: Streptococcaceae) using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in flies collected from a farm with a documented outbreak of strangles. A total of 1856 face flies [Musca autumnalis (Diptera: Muscidae)] were collected using conventional fly traps. The flies were processed for nucleic acid purification and tested for the presence of S. equi by qPCR. A total of 10/1856 flies (0.54%) tested qPCR-positive for S. equi. The results may implicate the presence of face flies as a risk factor...
Rubio C, Cubillo MA, Hooghuis H, Sanchez-Vizcaino JM, Diaz-Laviada M, Plateau E, Zientara S, Crucière C, Hamblin C.The mortality rate in susceptible populations of horses during an epizootic of African horse sickness (AHS) may be in excess of 90%. Rapid and reliable assays are therefore essential for the confirmation of clinical diagnoses and to enable control strategies to be implemented without undue delay. One of the major objectives of a recent European Union funded project was the validation of newly developed diagnostic assays which are rapid, sensitive, highly reproducible and inexpensive, for the detection of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) antigens and antibodies. The Laboratorio de Sanidad y ...
Diaz-Jimenez M, Rota A, Dorado J, Consuegra C, Pereira B, Camillo F, Panzani D, Fanelli D, Tesi M, Monaco D, Hidalgo M.Sperm vitrification has been recently developed, but fertility trials have not been performed yet in equine species. In this study, a new warming technique for vitrified donkey semen was developed and the uterine inflammatory response and fertility were compared to conventional freezing. In Experiment 1, sperm was vitrified in straws and warmed in 3 ml of extender or in a water bath at: 37 °C/30 s; 43 °C/10 s; and 60 °C/5 s. Sperm motility, plasma and acrosome membranes and DNA integrity were compared between treatments. In Experiment 2, jennies were inseminated twice (500 Ã...
