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.
Samper JC, Plough T.In the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the quality and commercial use of frozen equine semen. The emergence of new reproductive technologies, coupled with the high prices for an insemination dose from some stallions, the increasing costs of import and export and the marketing policies of stallion agents or owners in the sport horse industry has stimulated the fractionation of doses for insemination. Consequently, the sperm number and the volume of an insemination dose are significantly reduced. To deliver lower doses of sperm in lower volumes compared to the standard dose...
Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Moran K, Beauchamp G, Mauel S, Steinbach F, Lefebvre-Lavoie J, Martin JG, Lavoie JP.Neutrophils are potent contributors to the lung pathophysiological changes occurring in allergic airway inflammation, which typically involve T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine overexpression. We have previously reported that equine pulmonary endothelial cells are activated by the Th2 cytokine IL-4 and express chemotactic factors for neutrophils after stimulation. We have further explored the possible mechanisms linking Th2-driven inflammation and neutrophilia by studying the effects of recombinant equine IL-4, a prototypical Th2 cytokine, on peripheral blood neutrophils (PBN) isolated from normal...
Hinrichs K.In vitro embryo production is possible in the horse both clinically and for research applications. Oocytes may be collected from excised ovaries post-mortem, or from either immature follicles or stimulated pre-ovulatory follicles in the live mare. In vitro maturation of immature oocytes typically yields approximately 60% mature oocytes. As standard in vitro fertilization is not yet repeatable in the horse, fertilization is performed by intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Embryo culture requires medium with high glucose, at least during blastocyst development, and rates of blastocyst development ...
von Teichman BF, Dungu B, Smit TK.The polyvalent African horsesickness (AHS) attenuated live virus (AHS-ALV) vaccine produced at Onderstepoort Biological Products incorporates 7 of the 9 known serotypes circulating in southern Africa. Serological cross-reaction has been shown in vitro to Serotypes 5 and 9 by Serotypes 8 and 6 respectively, but the degree of in vivo cross-protection between these serotypes in vaccinated horses has not previously been reported. Due to the increasing incidence of AHS Serotypes 5 and 9 in the field, over the last 3-4 seasons of AHS in South Africa, and the absence of Serotypes 5 and 9 in the AHS-A...
Gray BP, Teale P.A simple, low cost system for the backflushing of capillary gas chromatography (GC) columns has been investigated and integrated into a method for the detection of anabolic steroids in equine urine. The modification to the method was simple to make and quick to setup and optimize. The use of backflushing technology was found to offer significant benefits in terms of sample throughput and improved system robustness.
Snook ER, Wakamatsu N.A 17-year-old, Thoroughbred mare was presented for necropsy with a large, invasive oral mass determined via immunohistochemistry to be a soft tissue sarcoma of neural origin. Oral sarcomas are rare in veterinary medicine, and to the authors' knowledge, this is the first oral sarcoma of neural tissue origin reported in a horse.
Lorenzo JM, Fuciños C, Purriños L, Franco D.The effects of sex, slaughtered age (9 vs. 12 months) and livestock production system (freedom extensive system vs. semi extensive system) of "Galician Mountain" foals breed on the fatty acid composition were studied. The sex and slaughtered age of the animals had no statistical significance in the intramuscular fatty acids. Furthermore, the livestock production system showed differences in the fatty acid profiles from the Longissimus dorsi. The feeding system showed significant differences in PUFA content (P<0.001) higher in freedom extensive production system that semi extensive system, wher...
Aquino LP, Machado RZ, Lemos KR, Marques LC, Garcia MV, Borges GP.The present research investigated the presence of T. evansi antibodies in animals from the subregion of Nhecolandia, in the Pantanal Sul-mato-grossense, by means of an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT), and the pattern of polypeptide recognition by sera from experimentally and naturally infected hosts using Western blotting. Serum samples were obtained from bovines (n = 102), horses (n = 98), and dogs (n = 55), and from 32 free-ranging coatis (Nasua nasua). None of the bovines were found positive, while sera from 16 dogs (29%) and 23...
Sindak N, Kandemir L, Yertürk M, Biricik HS.To determine physiologic levels of tear production in Arabian (AH) and throughbred horses (TH) by using phenol red thread test (PRT). Methods: The study was performed on 16 AH and 14 TH, ranging from 2.5 to 24 years of age, housed in a stable situated in the Sanliurfa of Turkey. Methods: For the measurement of PRT, the strip was placed under the lower eyelid approximately one-third the distance from the temporal to nasal canthus and left for 15 s. The length of the wet area was measured in mm and compared among breed, sex, and age groups and between eyes of both sides. Results: The mean length...
Kirschvink N, Reinhold P.In veterinary medicine, upper airway resistance deserves a particular attention in equines athletes and brachycephalic dogs. Due to the anatomical peculiarities of the upper airway and/or pathological conditions, significant alterations of performance and/or well being might occur in horses and dogs. Physiological specificities and pathological changes of the lower respiratory tract deserve a major attention in other species.
Bolton T, Kuskie K, Halbert N, Chaffin K, Healy M, Lawhon S, Jackson A, Cohen N.Rhodococcus equi is an important pathogen of foals aged 1-6 months. Evidence exists that foals are exposed to a wide diversity of R. equi strains in their environment. However, limited data are available regarding the extent to which genotypic variation exists among isolates infecting individual foals. Therefore, electrophoresis of repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) amplicons in an automated microfluidics chip format was used to genotype 9 virulent R. equi isolates obtained from distinct anatomic locations in a single foal. Four of the isolates were obtained from dif...
Sedacca CD, Bright JM, Boon J.Univentricular atrioventricular (AV) connections are rare and complex congenital cardiac anomalies in which both AV valves communicate into a large, common (single) receiving chamber. The common chamber can be of left, right, or mixed ventricular morphology. Although well documented in people, reports of the double-inlet ventricle malformation are rare in the veterinary literature. This report provides description of an Arabian horse with a double-inlet univentricular connection of left ventricular type, a hypoplastic subpulmonary right ventricle, two muscular ventricular septal defects, and a...
Lewis MJ, Wagner B, Irvine RM, Woof JM.As in other mammals, immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the horse has a key role in immune defense. To better dissect equine IgA function, we isolated complementary DNA (cDNA) clones for equine J chain and polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR). When coexpressed with equine IgA, equine J chain promoted efficient IgA polymerization. A truncated version of equine pIgR, equivalent to secretory component, bound with nanomolar affinity to recombinant equine and human dimeric IgA but not with monomeric IgA from either species. Searches of the equine genome localized equine J chain and pIgR to chromosomes 3 and 5, resp...
Dall'Olio S, Fontanesi L, Nanni Costa L, Tassinari M, Minieri L, Falaschini A.Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative modulator of muscle mass. We characterized the horse (Equus caballus) MSTN gene and identified and analysed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in breeds of different morphological types. Sequencing of coding, untranslated, intronic, and regulatory regions of MSTN gene in 12 horses from 10 breeds revealed seven SNPs: two in the promoter, four in intron 1, and one in intron 2. The SNPs of the promoter (GQ183900:g.26T>C and GQ183900:g.156T>C, the latter located within a conserved TATA-box like motif) were screened in 396 horses from 16 breeds. The g.26C an...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Stevens KB, Sepulveda MF, Jarvis N, Marr CM.The aim of this study was to evaluate both the repeatability (intraobserver agreement) and reproducibility (interobserver agreement) of Obel grading, the most widely accepted method for describing the severity of equine laminitis. The study comprised two parts. In study A, to test intraobserver agreement, 25 ponies were graded twice by a single blinded experienced equine veterinary surgeon, on the first occasion via clinical examination and on the second occasion via a video recording of the initial clinical examination. In study B, to test interobserver agreement, video recordings of 13 ponie...
Rüfenacht S, Roosje PJ, Sager H, Doherr MG, Straub R, Goldinger-Müller P, Gerber V.Chorioptes bovis infestation is a common cause of pastern dermatitis in the horse, with a predilection in draft horses and other horses with thick hair 'feathers' on the distal limbs. The treatment of this superficial mite is challenging; treatment failure and relapse are common. Furthermore, C. bovis infestation may affect the progression of chronic pastern dermatitis (also known as chronic proliferative pastern dermatitis, chronic progressive lymphoedema and dermatitis verrucosa) in draft horses, manifesting with oedema, lichenification and excessive skin folds that can progress to verruci...
Carter RA, Shekk V, de Laat MA, Pollitt CC, Galantino-Homer HL.The dermo-epidermal interface that connects the equine distal phalanx to the cornified hoof wall withstands great biomechanical demands, but is also a region where structural failure often ensues as a result of laminitis. The cytoskeleton in this region maintains cell structure and facilitates intercellular adhesion, making it likely to be involved in laminitis pathogenesis, although it is poorly characterized in the equine hoof lamellae. The objective of the present study was to identify and quantify the cytoskeletal proteins present in the epidermal and dermal lamellae of the equine hoof by ...
Caloni F, Cortinovis C.Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins principally produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, which are both natural contaminants of food and feedstuff. Aflatoxin B(1) is the most prevalent member of this group that is normally detected and is the most powerful hepatocarcinogen known. Few naturally occurring episodes of aflatoxicosis in horses have been reported in the literature. Indeed, the published information about aflatoxin exposure, metabolism and the effects on horses is limited and controversial, possibly indicating a lack of awareness rather than the rarity of the occurrence. T...
Kurtz BM, Singletary LB, Kelly SD, Frampton AR.In this study, Equus caballus major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) was identified as a cellular entry receptor for the alphaherpesvirus equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). This novel EHV-1 receptor was discovered using a cDNA library from equine macrophages. cDNAs from this EHV-1-susceptible cell type were inserted into EHV-1-resistant B78H1 murine melanoma cells, these cells were infected with an EHV-1 lacZ reporter virus, and cells that supported virus infection were identified by X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-d-galactopyranoside) staining. Positive cells were subjected t...
Morel MC, Newcombe JR, Hayward K.The importance of elucidating factors affecting reproductive performance and efficiency is of paramount concern to the equine industry. Oocyte viability is known to be one of the determinants of reproductive success and evidence suggests that it may be linked to follicle size. The aims of this study were, therefore, to ascertain: i) the average diameter and range of pre-ovulatory follicles in Thoroughbred mares; ii) whether this is affected by either mare age, time within the breeding season, or the presence of multiple pre-ovulatory follicles (MO). One thousand, four hundred and ninety two Th...
Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Maghni K, Lavoie JP.The systemic component of chronic inflammatory diseases may lead to clinical complications. High levels of TNFα, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, are found in human patients with COPD and asthma. Horses are also susceptible to an array of chronic inflammatory disorders possibly associated with systemic inflammation, including respiratory diseases. Currently, there is no commercially available ELISA validated to assess TNFα in equine serum samples. Moreover, the reported normal mean concentration of serum TNFα in horses vary greatly. Hence, we sought to optimize and validate a procedure to quant...
Spolidorio MG, Labruna MB, Machado RZ, Moraes-Filho J, Zago AM, Donatele DM, Pinheiro SR, Silveira I, Caliari KM, Yoshinari NH.Blood samples collected from 201 humans, 92 dogs, and 27 horses in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil, were tested by polymerase chain reaction, indirect immunofluorescence assays, and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for tick-borne diseases (rickettsiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, borreliosis, babesiosis). Our results indicated that the surveyed counties are endemic for spotted fever group rickettsiosis because sera from 70 (34.8%) humans, 7 (7.6%) dogs, and 7 (25.9%) horses were reactive to at least one of the six Rickettsia species tested. Although there was evidence of ehrlic...
Grady JA, Davis EG, Kukanich B, Sherck AB.To assess pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of dexamethasone administered PO as a solution or powder, compared with properties of dexamethasone solution administered IV, in apparently healthy horses. Methods: 6 adult horses. Methods: Serum cortisol concentration for each horse was determined before each treatment (baseline values). Dexamethasone (0.05 mg/kg) was administered PO (in solution or powdered form) or IV (solution) to horses from which feed had or had not been withheld (unfed and fed horses, respectively). Each horse received all 6 treatments in random order at 2-week in...
Kouam MK, Masuoka PM, Kantzoura V, Theodoropoulos G.Maximum entropy ecological niche modeling and spatial scan statistic were utilized to predict the geographic range and to investigate clusters of infections for equine piroplasms in Greece, using the Maxent and SaTScan programs, respectively. The eastern half of the country represented the culminating area with high probabilities (p>0.75) of presence of equine piroplasms and encompassed most regions with high concentration of equid host populations. The most important environmental factor that contributed to the ecological niche modeling was land cover followed by temperature. Significant c...
Moura J, Simplício AL.This study describes an electrophoretically mediated microanalysis method, suitable for the preclinical evaluation of the hydrolysis of ester drugs by the serum of different animals and for further characterization of human-animal correlation. Dog, cat, cow, horse, sheep, rat and human serum were diluted (25%) in the appropriate buffer and replaced the enzyme solution usually used in electrophoretically mediated microanalysis methods for the study of enzyme kinetics. They were then compared in terms of the ability to hydrolyze acetylthiocholine and butyrylthiocholine (0.25 mM) by in-capillary ...
Alghamdi AS, Funnell BJ, Bird SL, Lamb GC, Rendahl AK, Taube PC, Foster DN.We performed a series of comparative studies of bull and stallion seminal plasma (SP) and its role on sperm-neutrophil binding as well as the interaction between semen extender and seminal DNase. Because of contrasting roles of SP on sperm-neutrophil binding between horses and cattle, it was suspected there were some species-specific differences on sperm interaction with SP proteins due to the variations in the natural location of semen deposition (uterus compared to vagina). Bull frozen-thawed sperm removed from egg yolk extender showed similar results to fresh sperm, but this also caused ext...
Loftus JP, Williams JM, Belknap JK, Black SJ.Laminitis is a crippling disease of horses characterized by an inflammatory response in the tissue that suspends the axial skeleton within the hoof. Pain is a common feature of laminitic pathology and its management is an important component of the treatment regime for this disease. Systemic lidocaine administration is commonly utilized to manage pain in equine laminitis; however, the potential anti-inflammatory effects of this drug during the treatment of equine laminitis have not been investigated. Here, we sought to determine if lidocaine concentrations achieved in the plasma (therapeutic c...
Bell RJ, Textor JA.To establish the prevalence of intussusceptions involving the caecum in a population of horses admitted to a university hospital for colic. Methods: Retrospective clinical study Methods: Medical records of all horses admitted to the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 1991 and 2004 were examined for information of those horses diagnosed with an intussusception involving the caecum. Results: A total of 135 horses were admitted for colic surgery during the study period and 61 horses had a diagnosis of ileocaecal (37), caecocaecal (5) or caecocolic intussusception (19) made eit...
Joó K, Povázsai Á, Nyerges-Bohák Z, Szenci O, Kutasi O.It is important to treat the upper and lower respiratory tracts as a single unit, as lower respiratory tract diseases can often cause upper respiratory functional disorders, whereas upper respiratory obstructions could be a factor in lower respiratory problems. The present study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that asthmatic diseases may be an underlying cause of dorsal displacement of the soft palate in horses. Pleasure or sport horses (n = 57) with a history of asthmatic disease were incorporated in the study. All horses were examined in the exacerbation phase of the asthmatic disease. ...
Genton M, Farfan M, Tesson C, Laclaire AL, Rossignol F, Mespoulhes-Rivière C.To assess the feasibility of balloon catheter occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA), external carotid artery (ECA), and maxillary artery (MA) in standing horses. Methods: Experimental and clinical cases series. Methods: Eight healthy horses (phase 1) and 11 clinical cases (phase 2). Methods: Occlusions were performed on standing horses under sedation and local anesthesia. In phase 1, four horses underwent bilateral ICA balloon catheter occlusion, and four horses underwent balloon catheter occlusion of the ECA and MA. In phase 2, horses were treated by occlusion of ICA (n = 7), ECA (n ...
Hardy J, Bertone AL, Weisbrode SE, Muir WW, O'Dorisio TM, Masty J.To describe the acute cellular response, inflammatory mediator release, and effect on chondrocyte metabolism of interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) in isolated innervated or denervated equine metacarpophalangeal joints. Methods: One metacarpophalangeal joint of 24 adult horses. Methods: The metacarpophalangeal joint was isolated for 6 hours in a pump-perfused, auto-oxygenated, innervated or denervated metacarpophalangeal joint preparation. Isolated joints were assigned to 4 groups: control, control-denervated, inflamed, and inflamed-denervated, and inflammation was induced by intra-articular inject...
Semik-Gurgul E, Szmatoła T, Gurgul A, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Gałuszka A, Pędziwiatr R, Witkowski M, Ząbek T.DNA methylation is a key mechanism in transcription regulation, and aberrant methylation is a common and important mechanism in tumor initiation, maintenance, and progression. To find genes that are aberrantly regulated by altered methylation in horse sarcoids, we used reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) accompanied by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) for methylome (whole genome DNA methylation sequencing) and transcriptome profiling, respectively. We found that the DNA methylation level was generally lower in lesion samples than in controls. In the analyzed samples, a total of 14,692 d...
Murray DR, Ladds PW, Johnson RH, Pott BW.Extensive subcutaneous phycomycosis of the lower hindlimb developed over a period of 8 months in a Thoroughbred filly. There was no response to treatments such as trichlorphon, sodium iodide, or etisazole. Extension of the limb lesion over the following 3 months was associated with an enlarged inguinal lymph node, which was removed. Characteristic phycomycotic lesions were observed in the node, and a fungus having the morphologic features of Hyphomyces destruens was isolated from both the limb and nodal lesions.
Hood DM.Many of the difficulties in managing the horse with chronic laminitis are associated with the foot's mechanical failure. The occurrence of digital collapse cannot be viewed in isolation as the primary therapeutic focus. The circulatory, metabolic, and growth pattern changes induced by the foot's mechanical collapse often serve as major limiting factors to successful rehabilitation. From the discussion above, it is obvious that a significant amount of research is needed to better understand the biomechanical pathologies of the failed foot.
Wong AS, Ho EN, Wan TS, Lam KK, Stewart BD.Bisphosphonates are used in the management of skeletal disorder in humans and horses, with tiludronic acid being the first licensed veterinary medicine in the treatment of lameness associated with degenerative joint disease. Bisphosphonates are prohibited in horseracing according to Article 6 of the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering (published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities). In order to control the use of bisphosphonates in equine sports, an effective method to detect the use of bisphosphonates is required. Bisphosphonates are difficult-to-de...
Wilks CR.The immune response in horses following experimental infection with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) was assessed by measuring cytotoxicity for EHV-1-infected target cells. A technique was developed, using [125I]5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine ([125I]IUDR)-labeled equine fetal kidney cells infected with EHV-1 as the target cells. It was shown that peripheral blood leukocytes from a recovered horse were capable of lysing target cells, as measured by the loss of radio-active label. Following the experimental infection of specific-pathogen-free ponies with EHV-1, cytotoxicity was obtained with fresh auto...
Kaabia Z, Dervilly-Pinel G, Hanganu F, Cesbron N, Bichon E, Popot MA, Bonnaire Y, Le Bizec B.During last decades, the use of natural steroids in racing and food producing animals for doping purposes has been flourishing. The endogenous or exogenous origin of these naturally occurring steroids has since remained a challenge for the different anti-doping laboratories. The administration of these substances to animals is usually made through an intra-muscular pathway with the steroid under its ester form for a higher bioavailability and a longer lasting effect. Detecting these steroid esters would provide an unequivocal proof of an exogenous administration of the considered naturally occ...
Navas de Solis C, Dallap Schaer BL, Boston R, Slack J.The objectives of this investigation were to: (1) Determine if acute hemorrhage is associated with increased plasma cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentration or cardiac arrhythmias, (2) to describe the types of arrhythmias and their clinical course in horses following acute hemorrhage, (3) to determine the ability of clinical or clinicopathological variables to predict an increase in cTnI concentration and the presence of arrhythmias, and (4) to determine the associations of cTnI and cardiac arrhythmias with outcome. Methods: Prospective observational study. Methods: Large animal veterinary teac...
Jones B, Taylor K, Lucas RM, Merritt T, Chicken C, Heller J, Carrick J, Givney R, Durrheim DN.This report describes the challenges encountered in using serological methods to study the historical transmission risk of from horses to humans. In 2017, serology and risk factor questionnaire data from a group of individuals, whose occupations involved close contact with horses, were collected to assess the seroprevalence of antibodies to and identify risk factors associated with previous exposure. 147 participants were enrolled in the study, provided blood samples, and completed a questionnaire. On ELISA testing, antibodies to the Chlamydia genus were detected in samples from 17 participa...
Ragle CA, Meagher DM, Schrader JL, Honnas CM.A blind study was designed to determine if abdominal auscultation is an effective method for detecting the presence of intestinal sand. Fifteen horses divided into two groups were used in the study. There were seven horses in Group 1 and eight horses in Group 2. All horses were auscultated and determined to be free of sand sounds before initiation of Trial 1. Group 1 horses were given 4.2 g/kg body weight of sand via nasogastric tube using carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as a suspending agent at 9.0 ml/kg body weight. Group 2 horses were given CMC only. Horses remained in the same group through a...
Vdovina NV, Yuryeva IB.Mezenskaya horse (Mezenka) is Russia's aboriginal breed. It is a domestic selection in the northern territories of Arkhangelsk region. The breed is perfectly adapted to the conditions of the Far North, and has a number of valuable economic and biological qualities. At present, it has a limited gene pool and is bred only in the Mezensky district, where one gene pool-breeding farm is operating and so is a number of basic farms, where selection and breeding activities take place with the breed. Due to a small population of Mezen horses, the challenge of preserving its intra-breed diversity is ver...
The renal resistive index (RRI) is used as a measurement of downstream resistance in arteries. The aim of this study was to assess the RRI of the arcuate arteries by pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasonography in healthy conscious horses and donkeys, and to verify any differences related to age, breed, bodyweight (BW) or body condition (BCS). Thirty-three healthy conscious horses and nine donkeys had their systolic and diastolic flow velocities at the level of the arcuate arteries estimated by pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound, and the RRI was calculated. The relationship of RRI with age, breed (Trotters...
Bobbert MF, Santamaría S, van Weeren PR, Back W, Barneveld A.The purpose of this study was to quantify performance characteristics of good jumping horses, and to determine whether these were already detectable at foal age. Kinematic data were collected of horses performing free jumps over a 0.60 m high fence at six months of age and of these same horses jumping with a rider over a 1.15 m high fence at five years of age. At five years of age the horses were divided into three groups on the basis of a puissance competition: a group of seven best jumpers that made no errors and in the end cleared a 1.50 m high fence, a group of nine worst jumpers that were...
Ivermectin (IVM) is an anthelmintic compound commonly used off-label in mules due to its broad-spectrum of activity. Despite the general use of IVM in mules with the same dose and route of administration licensed for horses, significant pharmacokinetic differences might exist between horses and mules, as already observed for donkeys. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile and anthelmintic efficacy of an oral paste of IVM in mules naturally infected with cyathostomins. Fifteen adult mules with fecal egg counts (FEC) ≥200 eggs per gram (EPG), with exclusive pr...
Niedermaier G, Wollanke B, Hoffmann R, Matiasek K, Gerhards H.Neither the ultrastructure of the vitreous body from horses without ocular diseases, nor the pathomorphological changes in the vitreous body associated with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) have been described. However, the vitreous body plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ERU. Ten vitreous body samples obtained from 5 horses without ocular disease, and 38 vitreous body samples from horses with ERU (collected during vitrectomy) were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The vitreous body samples of horses without ocular diseases were characterized by a loose network of unbranc...
Camp CJ, Leid RW.A method for the isolation of equine neutrophils was developed using metrizamide cushions. A purity of greater than 95% was routinely obtained with greater than 90% viability. These cells were radiolabeled and tested for their chemotactic response in Boyden chambers to zymosan-activated equine serum, the partially purified equine complement component C5a, and formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine. The time and ionic requirements for chemotaxis of radiolabeled equine neutrophils were investigated and maximal movement was observed at 2 hours' incubation and 1.0 mM Ca and 0.5 mM Mg. Dinitro...
Pellegrini M, Corda M, Manca L, Olianas A, Sanna MT, Fais A, De Rosa MC, Bertonati C, Masala B, Giardina B.A study was made of the haemoglobin (Hb) system from the Sardinian dwarf horse (Equus caballus jara), one of the last surviving wild horse species in Europe. The oxygen binding properties of the whole haemolysate and of the four different horse Hbs, separated by ion-exchange chromatography, were studied with special regard to the effect of chloride, 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and lactate. Results indicate that no significant functional differences exist between the four Hb components of horse haemolysate. Moreover, the molecular basis of the intrinsically low oxygen affinity and of the weak intera...
Tozaki T, Ohnuma A, Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Kakoi H, Hirota K, Kusano K, Nagata S.Gene doping is prohibited in horseracing. In a previous study, we developed a method for non-targeted transgene detection using DELLY, which is based on split-read (SR) and paired-end (PE) algorithms to detect structural variants, on WGS data. In this study, we validated the detection sensitivity of DELLY using artificially generated sequence data of 12 target genes. With DELLY, at least one intron was detected as a deletion in eight targeted genes using the 150 bp PE read WGS data, whereas all targeted genes were detected by DELLY using the 100 bp PE read data. The detection sensitivity was h...
Trahan RA, Byron CR, Dahlgren LA, Pleasant RS, Werre SR.OBJECTIVE To compare the effects of 3 equimolar concentrations of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA), triamcinolone acetonide (TA), and isoflupredone acetate (IPA) on equine articular tissue cocultures in an inflammatory environment. SAMPLE Synovial and osteochondral explants from the femoropatellar joints of 6 equine cadavers (age, 2 to 11 years) without evidence of musculoskeletal disease. PROCEDURES From each cadaver, synovial and osteochondral explants were harvested from 1 femoropatellar joint to create cocultures. Cocultures were incubated for 96 hours with (positive control) or without (n...
Forster HV, Erickson BK, Lowry TF, Pan LG, Korducki MJ, Forster AL.Two questions were addressed in this study: 1) Does respiratory resistive unloading (inspired O2 fraction = 0.21, inspired He fraction = 0.79) elicit a compensatory reduction in stimulation of the diaphragm? 2) Do diaphragm and lung afferents contribute to compensatory responses to unloading? Ten intact (I), five diaphragm-deafferented (DD), four hilar nerve-denervated (HND), and seven DD+HND adult ponies were studied at rest and during mild and moderate treadmill exercise. During steady-state unloading at rest, duration of the diaphragm electromyogram (EMGdi) was less (P < 0.05) than contr...
Patteson MW, Gibbs C, Wotton PR, Cripps PJ.Twenty-six horses were sedated with detomidine hydrochloride (Domosedan, SmithKline Beecham Animal Health, Tadworth, Surrey, UK) at a dose of 10 micrograms/kg bwt, administered i.v. Echocardiograms were recorded before and after sedation, measurements of cardiac dimensions were made and functional indices were calculated. The pre- and post sedation values were compared. No significant change was detected following sedation in the ejection time (ET), left ventricular dimension, left atrial diameter at the sinotubular junction at end-systole or end-diastole or at the sinus of Valsalva at end-dia...
Thomas KC, Hamilton NA, North KN, Houweling PJ.The sarcomeric α-actinins, encoded by the genes ACTN2 and ACTN3, are major structural components of the Z-line and have high sequence similarity. α-Actinin-2 is present in all skeletal muscle fibres, while α-actinin-3 has developed specialized expression in only type 2 (fast, glycolytic) fibres. A common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the human ACTN3 gene (R577X) has been found to influence muscle performance in elite athletes and the normal population. For this reason, equine ACTN3 (eACTN3) is considered to be a possible candidate that may influence horse performance. In this stud...
Frank N, Andrews FM, Elliott SB, Lew J, Boston RC.Plasma lipid concentrations, lipoprotein composition, and glucose dynamics were measured and compared between mares fed diets containing added water, corn oil (CO), refined rice bran oil (RR), or crude rice bran oil (CR) to test the hypothesis that rice bran oil lowers plasma lipid concentrations, alters lipoprotein composition, and improves insulin sensitivity in mares. Eight healthy adult mares received a basal diet fed at 1.5 times the DE requirement for maintenance and each of the four treatments according to a repeated 4 x 4 Latin square design consisting of four 5-wk feeding periods. Blo...
Conwell RC, Hillyer MH, Mair TS, Pirie RS, Clegg PD.This retrospective study was conducted in the UK and identifies the most frequent causes, diagnoses, treatment and prognoses for short- and long-term survival in 54 cases of horses with haemoperitoneum. Clinical signs of haemorrhagic shock and colic were common, and abdominal ultrasound was very useful for the identification of haemoperitoneum. Causes of haemoperitoneum included uterine injury (22 per cent), involvement of specific blood vessels (20 per cent), splenic injury (19 per cent), neoplasia (13 per cent) and other (4 per cent). No source was identified in 22 per cent of cases. Fifty-s...
Sellke L, Patan-Zugaj B, Ludewig E, Cimrman R, Witter K.Different measuring techniques have been used to objectify the classification of hoof shape. The MicroScribe is a novel tool that might prove useful for measuring hooves without prior reconstruction or compensation of projection artefacts. The aim of this study was to compare biometric data of the equine hoof collected by the MicroScribe tool and measurements collected directly from hooves, scaled photographs and radiographs, from photogrammetry models and computed tomography datasets. The suitability of MicroScribe generated data to differentiate individual hoof conformations was tested. A to...
