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.
Jedziniak P, Szprengier-Juszkiewicz T, Olejnik M, Zmudzki J.A confirmatory method for the determination of residues of nine non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and one metabolite in animal muscles has been developed. After enzymatic hydrolysis samples were extracted with acetonitrile and cleaned up using alumina and C(18) SPE cartridges. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used for the separation and determination of analytes. The method was validated in bovine muscles, according to the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC criteria. Applicability of the method in the analysis of swine, horse and chicken muscles was checked by precision and ...
Covaleda L, Gno BT, Fuller FJ, Payne SL.The macrophage-tropic lentivirus, equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), encodes the small auxiliary protein S2 from a short open reading frame that overlaps the amino terminus of env EIAV S2 is dispensable for virus replication in cultured cells but is required for disease production. S2 is approximately 7 kDa and has no overall amino acid sequence homology to other cellular or viral proteins. Therefore it is likely that S2 plays a role as an adaptor protein. To further investigate S2 function we performed a yeast-2-hybrid screen to identify cellular proteins that interact with EIAV S2. The s...
Millward LM, Hamberg A, Mathews J, Machado-Parrula C, Premanandan C, Hurcombe SD, Radin MJ, Wellman ML.A 6-year-old female Rocky Mountain horse was presented for evaluation of draining tracts and distal limb subcutaneous edema on the left front and left hind limbs that had been present for 2 weeks. Direct smears of fluid collected by fine-needle aspiration of subcutaneous fluid from both limbs were highly cellular with a predominance of eosinophils accompanied by numerous, moderately atypical, variably granulated mast cells. The cytologic diagnosis was mast cell tumor (MCT) with prominent eosinophilic infiltration with a differential diagnosis of eosinophilic granuloma. Histologic evaluation of...
Dieckmann SM, Winkler M, Groebel K, Dieckmann MP, Hofmann-Lehmann R, Hoelzle K, Wittenbrink MM, Hoelzle LE.Haemotrophic mycoplasmas (HM) are parasites on the surface of red blood cells and known to infect a wide range of animals. However, there are no previous evidences of HM infections in horses. In this study HM were detected for the first time in the blood of two horses suffering from poor performance, apathy, weight loss, and anaemia. Using a HM specific PCR assay and subsequent sequencing the infective agents isolated from the blood of said horses were confirmed as closely related to the HM species Mycoplasma haemofelis and 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos'.
Bailey CS, Macpherson ML, Pozor MA, Troedsson MH, Benson S, Giguere S, Sanchez LC, Leblanc MM, Vickroy TW.The objective was to determine if long-term treatment with trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (antimicrobial), pentoxifylline (anti-inflammatory/anti-cytokine) and altrenogest (synthetic progestin), would improve pregnancy outcome in mares with experimentally induced placentitis. Seventeen normal, pregnant pony mares were enrolled in the study at 280-295 d of pregnancy. Placentitis was induced in all mares by intra-cervical inoculation of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (10(7) CFU). Five mares served as infected, untreated control animals (Group UNTREAT). Twelve mares (Group TREAT) were inf...
Mortensen CJ, Choi YH, Ing NH, Kraemer DC, Vogelsang MM, Hinrichs K.Heat above homeothermy can be detrimental to embryonic development, and cells may produce heat shock proteins to try to mitigate these effects. The authors examined the developmental competence of equine oocytes after a single heat exposure (42 degrees C, 2 or 4 h) during early or late stages of in vitro maturation. Rates of nuclear maturation, cleavage after intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and advanced embryonic development (morula or blastocyst) were compared to those for unexposed controls. Concentrations of heat shock protein 70 (HSPA1A) mRNA were determined by real-time RT-PCR in result...
Müller AJ, Letelier ME, Galleguillos MA, Molina-Berríos AE, Adarmes HH.To evaluate the antioxidant effects of synovial fluid (SF) pooled from metacarpophalangeal joints of healthy horses and horses with various pathological conditions, and to compare then with the antioxidant effects of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS). Methods: SF from 1 metacarpophalangeal joint was obtained from 42 horses immediately after humane slaughter. Samples were classified into 3 groups on the basis of origin: healthy joints or joints with chronically damaged cartilage or vascularly congested synovial membranes as detected via macroscopic evaluation. Methods: Antioxida...
Noble P, Lumay G, Coninx M, Collin B, Magnée A, Lecomte-Beckers J, Denoix JM, Serteyn D.An equine fetlock joint pendulum test was studied and the influence of post mortem time and intra-articular lipid solvent on the viscous frictional response examined. Fresh equine digits (group 1, n=6 controls; group 2, n=6 lipid solvent) were mounted on a pendulum tribometer. Assuming that pendular joint damping could be modelled by a harmonic oscillator fluid damping (HOFD), damping time (τ), viscous damping coefficient (c) and friction coefficient (μ) were monitored for 5h under experimental conditions (400N; 20°C). In all experiments, pendular joint damping was found to follow an expone...
Olive J, D'Anjou MA, Girard C, Laverty S, Theoret C.The purpose was to evaluate the capacity of 1.5 T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to assess articular cartilage in racehorses with naturally occurring metacarpophalangeal joint osteoarthritis. A sagittal, three-dimensional spoiled gradient-recalled echo (SPGR) with fat saturation (FS) sequence was acquired ex vivo on 20 joints. Following joint dissection, specific areas on the third metacarpal condyle were designated for subsequent sampling for histologic cartilage thickness measurement and modified Mankin scoring. Cartilage thickness was measured and cartilage signal intensity was also graded...
Kodaira K, Muranaka M, Naito H, Ode H, Oku K, Nukada T, Katayama Y.A 1-year-old male thoroughbred racehorse experienced swelling of the left upper lip. The swelling was attributable to enlargement around the incisive bone of the interdental space posterior to the third incisor in the left maxilla. Even after two operations to reduce the bulk of the mass, it continued to increase in size. Dyspnea caused by stenosis of the nasal cavity forced us to perform euthanasia, and a pathological examination was conducted. Macroscopic examination of a section of the mass revealed the formation of multiple areas of solid fibrous tissue, and trabeculae within the incisive ...
Hampson BA, Ramsey G, Macintosh AM, Mills PC, de Laat MA, Pollitt CC.The present study investigated the foot health of the Kaimanawa feral horse population and tested the hypotheses that horses would have a large range of foot morphology and that the incidence of foot abnormality would be significantly high. Methods: Abnormality was defined as a variation from what the two veterinarian assessors considered as optimal morphology and which was considered to impact negatively on the structure and/or function of the foot. Fifteen morphometric variables were measured on four calibrated photographic views of all four feet of 20 adult Kaimanawa feral horses. Four morp...
Fasanella A, Garofolo G, Galante D, Quaranta V, Palazzo L, Lista F, Adone R, Jones MH.Anthrax is a disease of humans and animals caused by the encapsulated, spore-forming Bacillus anthracis. In Italy, anthrax is normally a sporadic disease. During the summer 2004, anthrax broke out in the Basilicata, in southern Italy, a region with a low prevalence of anthrax in which vaccination had been suspended since 1998. The disease involved several animals in few weeks and in a large area. Over 41 days, 81 cattle died, as well as 15 sheep, 9 goats, 11 horses and 8 deer. The Multiple-locus Variable-Number Tandem Repeats Analysis (MLVA) showed that all the 53 isolates belonged to the Clus...
Bellier S, Cordonnier N.The goal of this article is to present the technical aspects and the applications of the blood cells examination and haemostasis in dogs and cats. Technical realisation of blood counts, cytology of normal and abnormal blood cells and significance of the pathologic cell counts are successively treated. Distinctive features of cytology and cell counts in herbivores, horses and cattle, are detailed in a separate chapter.Difficulties of veterinary haematology lie in qualitative and quantitative differences between blood cells of various animal species.Bone marrow cells exploration is not performed...
Rashid A, Mubarak A, Hussain A.Equine babesiosis is a tick-borne haematological disease of equidae that can affect acutely, subacutely and chronically. The disease is manifested by intermittent fever, anaemia, icterus and haemoglobinuria. The authors describe the clinical, haematological and therapeutic aspects of babesiosis in equines at two units in Kotley and at two units in Jehlum of the Remount Veterinary and Farms Corps (RVFC). Animals on these units showed the signs of illness. On clinical examination, intermittent temperature, increased respiratory rate, anaemia, lacrimation, conjunctivitis and pale mucous membranes...
Jann HW, Breshears MA, Allison RW, Pechman RD, Day J, Hart JC, Moorman VJ.Intestinal adenocarcinomas are rare but have been described in the literature. The present case is unusual in both its clinical presentation and in the distribution of metastatic lesions. The sequestrum formation and pathological fracture present are most commonly associated with osteomyelitis in horses and the details of the case highlight the need for differential diagnosis in these particular circumstances and of which clinicians should be aware.
Olstad K, Ytrehus B, Ekman S, Carlson CS, Dolvik NI.It is presently unknown whether cartilage ischaemia plays any part in the pathogenesis of osteochondral fragmentation within the equine metatarsophalangeal joint, as no detailed studies on microcirculation in the area have been reported. Objective: To describe the developmental pattern of the blood supply to the epiphyseal growth cartilage in the metatarsophalangeal joint of foals. Methods: Eight Standardbred foals were sacrificed between birth and age 7 weeks to undergo a barium perfusion procedure to demonstrate vessels within growth cartilage canals of one hindlimb. The metatarso-phalangeal...
Wilsher S, Ousey J, Allen WR.Abnormal cord attachment can be a manifestation of an inappropriate fixation position of the conceptus in the uterus, or it may result from disorientation of the conceptus post fixation. The potential for this resulting in fetal and neonatal compromise is reviewed in the light of previous reports and to which 3 cases within the authors' experience are added.
Whittaker AG, Love S, Parkin TD, Duz M, Hughes KJ.Regulation of pH homeostasis in the equine lung is poorly understood. Measurement of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH provided a simple, highly repeatable and noninvasive method for the longitudinal investigation of changes in airway pH in response to environmental changes. Stabling of horses was found to lead to a small (approximately 100-200 parts/billion) but significant (P < 0.001) increase in ambient ammonia concentration when compared to pasture. This increase in exposure to ambient ammonia concentration was associated with significant (P = 0.002) increases in EBC pH and exhaled amm...
Veraa S, Voorhout G, Klein WR.Infundibular changes are frequently encountered computed tomographic studies of the equine maxillary cheek teeth but the possible importance of this finding is not known. Infundibular caries is a possible cause for pulpitis and apical infection in some horses. Objective: To study the relationship between the 2 pathologies and the frequency of changes. Methods: The maxillary cheek teeth 108-208, 109-209 and 110-210 of 25 horses were evaluated using computed tomography and both the prevalence of infundibular and apical infection changes as the possible link with apical infection evaluated statis...
Tóth F, Frank N, Chameroy KA, Bostont RC.Insulin resistance (IR) is a risk factor for pasture-associated laminitis in equids and alimentary carbohydrate overload may trigger laminitis. Whether glucose metabolism responses to carbohydrate overload are more pronounced in insulin-resistant horses requires further study. Objective: Horses pretreated with endotoxin to alter insulin sensitivity differ significantly in their glucose and insulin responses to carbohydrate overload. Methods: Horses (n=24) were divided into 3 groups. A lipopolysaccharide (LPS; n=8) group that received endotoxin as an 8 h 7.5 ng/kg bwt/h i.v. continuous rate inf...
Bosh KA, Powell D, Neibergs JS, Shelton B, Zent W.There have been no studies reporting the impact of reproductive efficiency and mare financial value on economic returns. Objective: To explore the economic consequences of differences in reproductive efficiency over time in the Thoroughbred mare. Methods: Complete production records for 1176 mares were obtained. Production history and drift in foaling date were calculated. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors influencing the probability of producing a registered foal in 2005. The 'net present value' and 'internal rate of return' were calculated for economic scenarios invol...
Hunter JO.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in man is not a single entity but has several causes. One of the most common forms has similarities with colic and laminitis in horses. Undigested food residues may pass from the small intestine into the colon where bacterial fermentation produces chemicals that lead to disease. In horses the consequences may be disastrous, but in healthy humans such malabsorption may not be harmful. After events such as bacterial gastroenteritis or antibiotic treatment, an imbalance of the colonic microflora with overgrowth of facultative anaerobes may arise, leading to malferme...
Meghoufel A, Cloutier G, Crevier-Denoix N, de Guise JA.The hypothesis is that an imaging technique based on decompression and segmentation of B-scan images with morphological operators can provide a measurement of the integrity of equine tendons. Methods: Two complementary approaches were used: (i) Simulation of B-scan images to better understand the relationship between image properties and their underlying biological structural contents and (ii) extraction and quantification from B-scan images of tendon structures identified in step (i) to diagnose the status of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) by using the proposed imaging technique...
Bosh KA, Powell D, Shelton B, Zent W.To improve efficiency at the farm level, a better understanding of how farm management factors impact reproductive performance is important. Objective: To assess reproductive efficiency and effectiveness among Thoroughbred mares in central Kentucky. Methods: A cohort of 1011 mares on 13 farms in central Kentucky was followed during the 2004 mating and 2005 foaling season. Information on farm level practices was collected via interviews with farm managers. Reproductive records were collected for each mare mated to obtain information on mare characteristics. The influence of mare age and status ...
Withers JM, Voûte LC, Hammond G, Lischer CJ.Plain radiography is the standard imaging technique for investigation of diseases associated with the articular process joints (APJ) of the caudal neck; however, the radiographic anatomy of these structures on both lateral and oblique radiographic projections has not previously been described in detail. Objective: To determine the optimal technique for obtaining oblique radiographs of the APJ of the caudal cervical vertebrae (C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7) and to provide a detailed description of their normal radiographic appearance, on both lateral and oblique radiographic projections. Methods: Radiopa...
van Eps AW.Acute laminitis is a serious complication of many primary conditions in the horse. This article summarizes the most appropriate approach to management of the horse with acute laminitis, based on current information.
Belknap JK.The black walnut extract (BWE) model was developed after the discovery that horses bedded on shavings from black walnut trees commonly developed laminitis. The first investigators that consistently induced laminitis with black walnut shavings established that it was only the heartwood of the tree that induced laminitis. The BWE model of laminitis has allowed investigators to determine many of the early pathologic signaling events likely to occur in the developmental and acute clinical stages of the disease process, and has brought inflammatory injury to the forefront of laminitis research. The...
McKeever KH, Antas LA, Kearns CF.The objective of the present study was to measure plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) at rest and during exercise in the horse. Six healthy, Standardbred and Thoroughbred mares (5.3+/-0.8 years; 445.2+/-13.1 kg) which were unfit, but otherwise accustomed to running on the treadmill, were used in the study. Plasma ET-1 concentrations were measured using a commercially available radioimmunoassay kit. Horses performed three trials: a standing control (CON) trial where blood was collected from the jugular vein every minute for 5 min; a graded exercise test (GXT) where blood samples were collected at the en...
Duncan JL, Abbott EM, Arundel JH, Eysker M, Klei TR, Krecek RC, Lyons ET, Reinemeyer C, Slocombe JO.These guidelines have been designed to assist in the planning, operation and interpretation of studies which would serve to assess the efficacy of drugs against internal parasites of horses. Although the term anthelmintic is used in the title and text, these guidelines include studies on drug efficacy against larvae of horse bot flies, Gasterophilus spp., which are non-helminth parasites commonly occurring in the stomach of horses. The advantages, disadvantages and application of critical and controlled tests are presented. Information is also provided on selection of animals, housing, feed, d...
Loretti AP, Colodel EM, Gimeno EJ, Driemeier D.This study reports a neurological disease unrecognised until now in ponies in southern Brazil. Objective: Epidemiological data strongly suggests that the ingestion of Sida carpinifolia is involved in the aetiology. We tested the hypothesis that it is an acquired lyosomal storage disease. Methods: Following the death of 3 ponies, all ponies from the premises were closely monitored; epidemiological data and clinical findings carefully recorded. Fragments of several organs, including CNS, were fixed in neutral formalin and embedded in paraffin-wax. Sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosi...
Boscan P, Rezende ML, Grimsrud K, Stanley SD, Mama KR, Steffey EP.To define the pharmacokinetic profile of propofol 5% microemulsion formulation in horses. Methods: First, propofol was administered as bolus injection (2 mg kg(-1)) to six xylazine-sedated horses. Secondly, after sedation and bolus injection, propofol was maintained with continuous infusion for 3 h [8.1 (sd 3.2) mg kg(-1) h(-1)] to the same six horses. Thirdly, in two horses, a commercial propofol was used for comparison. Response to noxious stimulation was used to evaluate analgesia. Venous blood samples were obtained to measure propofol plasma concentration using liquid chromatography-mass s...
McKeever KH, Hinchcliff KW, Reed SM, Robertson JT.Six intact and 6 splenectomised mares were given an incremental exercise test on a treadmill to examine the fluid and electrolyte changes associated with exercise and the role of the spleen in these changes. Blood samples were obtained at rest and at the end of each 1-min step of the test. Exercise at 7 m/sec caused significant (P 0.05) in either group (intact = 2.7%; splenectomised, = 3.5%). This appears to be the first record of substantial changes of these constituents during short-term exercise, even before the onset of visible sweat losses. The changes in the concentration of plasma prot...
Rumpler MJ, Sams RA, Colahan P.A rapid, sensitive, and specific ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with heated electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HESI-MS-MS) method to detect and quantify glycopyrrolate in horse plasma has been developed and validated. We also determined glycopyrrolate in plasma after oral and intravenous administration of clinically relevant doses to Thoroughbred horses. Calibration was accomplished by weighted, linear regression analysis using a deuterated analogue of glycopyrrolate as internal standard (IS). Glycopyrrolate (GLY) and the IS (GLY-d(3)) were isolated from plas...
Goetz TE, Manohar M, Nganwa D, Gustafson R.The effects of 1.1, 1.5 and 1.8 MAC (minimum alveolar concentration) isoflurane-02 anaesthesia on skeletal muscle blood flow, 02 delivery and vascular resistance were studied in the non-dependent region of seven healthy normothermic, isocapnoeic ponies. Muscle blood flow was determined with 15 microns diameter radionuclide labelled microspheres that were injected into the left ventricle. Muscle blood flow during anaesthesia was compared to unanaesthetised (control) measurements. Isoflurane administration caused a dose dependent decrease in mean aortic pressure, and skeletal muscle (temporalis,...
Cuervo-Arango J, Claes AN, Stout TA.Asynchronous embryo transfer is an excellent tool to investigate how subtle differences in the uterine environment affect embryo development and survival. Progesterone secreted from the corpus luteum following ovulation is one of the main factors responsible for establishing endometrial receptivity for the pre-implantation embryo via complex alterations in the expression of genes involved in the secretion of the histotroph. The objective of this retrospective study was to determine whether the recipient's Day after ovulation and the number of CL at ET influence the pregnancy rates of IVP horse...
Duggan VE, Holyoak GR, MacAllister CG, Cooper SR, Confer AW.The objective of this study was to investigate the protein, amyloid A3 (AA3), in equine colostrum and early milk. We hypothesized that AA3 was consistently present in equine colostrum and early milk, that no correlation existed between serum and colostrum concentrations of this protein in individual mares at parturition and that colostrum/milk concentrations of this mammary protein may be affected by age, breed, length of gestation and/or induction of parturition. Thirty-eight peripartum mares and seven non-pregnant, non-lactating mares were included in the study. Mean serum concentrations of ...
Tarancón I, Armengou L, Melendez-Lazo A, Pastor J, Ríos J, Jose-Cunilleras E.To assess the prevalence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) among elite endurance horses after competition in a long-distance race. 20 endurance horses and 12 nonexercised or minimally exercised age-, breed-, and trainer-matched horses from the same environment (control horses). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples collected from endurance horses at 3 to 8 days (sample A) and 36 to 38 days (sample B) after the race (100 km in 1 day [n = 3], 70 km/d for 2 days [12], or 100 km/d for 2 days [5]) were cytologically examined for the presence of hemosiderophages. Samples from control ho...
Jackson JA, Ducharme NG, Hackett RP, Rehder RS, Ainsworth DM, Shannon KJ, Erickson BK, Erb HN, Jansson N, Soderholm LV, Thorson LM.To determine whether laryngeal hemiplegia would increase transmural pulmonary artery pressure (TPAP). Methods: 6 horses. Methods: Horses were studied under 5 conditions: control conditions, after induction of left laryngeal hemiplegia, during obstruction of the left nostril, after placement of an instrumented tracheostomy, and after placement of an open tracheostomy. Horses were evaluated after being given saline solution and after being given furosemide. Methods: Horses were exercised on a high speed treadmill, using a maximum speed of 13 m/s. During each exercise, airway pressures, airflow, ...
Portela DA, Di Franco C, Chiavaccini L, Araos J, Romano M, Otero PE, Biedrzycki AH, Schramel JP.To evaluate the impact of a 30% end-inspiratory pause (EIP) on alveolar tidal volume (V), airway (V) and physiological (V) dead spaces in mechanically ventilated horses using volumetric capnography, and to evaluate the effect of EIP on carbon dioxide (CO) elimination per breath (Vcobr), PaCO and the ratio of PaO-to-fractional inspired oxygen (PaO:FiO). Methods: Prospective research study. Methods: A group of eight healthy research horses undergoing laparotomy. Methods: Anesthetized horses were mechanically ventilated as follows: 6 breaths minute, tidal volume (V) 13 mL kg, inspiratory-to-expir...
Beaumier A, Dixon CE, Robinson N, Rush JE, Bedenice D.Cardiac hemangiosarcoma, especially primary, is infrequently reported in the horse and remains a diagnostic challenge because of vague clinical signs and difficulty to reach an antemortem diagnosis. A 17-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding was presented with a history of tongue swelling and secondary aspiration pneumonia. Initial assessment indicated dehydration, and thoracic ultrasound revealed an abnormal structure within the myocardium alongside the previously suspected aspiration pneumonia. A subsequent, complete echocardiogram identified a large, heterogeneous, ill-defined mass invadi...
Edmond AJ, Brinsko SP, Love CC, Blanchard TL, Teague SR, Varner DD.Centrifugal fractionation of semen is commonly done to improve quality of human semen in assisted-reproduction laboratories, allowing sperm separation based on their isopycnic points. Sperm with morphologic abnormalities are often more buoyant, promoting their retention above defined density media, with structurally normal sperm passing through the media following centrifugation. Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of density-medium type, centrifuge-tube size, sperm number, and density-medium volume (column height) on stallion sperm quality and recovery rate in sperm pelle...
Blythe LL, Cardinet GH, Meagher DM, Brown MP, Wheat JD.The histologic and histochemical features of palatine muscles from 53 horses were studied; 25 of the horses were racehorses that had upper airway obstruction associated with dorsal displacement of the soft palate and 28 of the horses did not have any respiratory disorders and served as controls. Pathologic features observed included myonecrosis, phagocytosis, mononuclear cell infiltration of perimysial connective tissue, alkaline phosphatase-positive myofibers, and myofibers with cytoarchitectural changes that included irregular staining of the intermyofibrillar sarcoplasm and sarcoplasmic mas...
Soma LR, Uboh CE.Furosemide has been used empirically and has been legally approved for many years by the US racing industry for the control of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) or bleeding. Its use in horses for this purpose is highly controversial and has been criticized by organizations outside and inside of the racing industry. This review concentrates on its renal and extra-renal actions and the possible relationship of these actions to the modification of EIPH and changes in performance of horses. The existing literature references suggest that furosemide has the potential of increasing perfo...
Wilson GJ, Walsh LJ.To quantify the temperature changes in the dental pulp associated with equine dental procedures using power grinding equipment. Methods: A matrix experimental design with replication on the same sample was followed to allow the following independent variables to be assessed: horse age (young or old), tooth type (premolar or molar), powered grinding instrument (rotating disc or die grinder), grinding time (15 or 20 seconds) and the presence or absence of water coolant. Methods: Sound premolar and molar teeth from a 6-year-old horse and a 15-year-old horse, which had been removed postmortem, wer...
Loynachan AT, Bolin DC, Hong CB, Poonacha KB.Hepatoblastoma was diagnosed in 3 Thoroughbreds at the University of Kentucky Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center (LDDC) since 1997. Case #1 involved a fetus with a well-demarcated, multilobulated, solitary mass that extended from the left liver lobe. Case #2 was observed in a neonate with a primary hepatic mass and multiple metastases in the skin, brain, meninges, and stylohyoid bone. Case #3 was a solitary hepatic mass incidentally discovered in a neonate at necropsy. Microscopically, the masses were similarly composed of sheets and cords of fetal and embryonal epithelial cells that frequent...
Kwak YB, Yu J, Im EJ, Jeong BS, Yoo HH.Cobalt is a substance that has been abused for athletic performance enhancement and has thus been prohibited by human and animal sports doping control authorities. However, because cobalt is present in humans and animals as a trace element, a certain level of cobalt is naturally present in their excretions. In the racing industry, cobalt is a controlled substance with a threshold concentration specified by the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering (IABRW) for international harmonization. Due to environmental and feed consumption differences among countries, regional cobalt c...
Ledbetter EC, Irby NL.To describe the corneal in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) findings in horses with putative immune-mediated keratitis (IMMK). Methods: Sixty five horses with IMMK. Methods: Horses diagnosed with IMMK were examined with a modified Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II and Rostock Cornea Module. The findings from the IVCM examinations were correlated with clinical details from ophthalmic examination and diagnostic test results. Results: Eighty eyes from 65 horses were examined. Clinical IMMK lesions were categorized as epithelial (n = 17 eyes), superficial stromal (n = 38), midstromal (n = 18), a...
Pearce SG, Hurtig MB, Boure LP, Radcliffe RM, Richardson DW.To investigate the feasibility of resurfacing the equine fetlock joint using cylindrical, orthotopic, press-fit, osteochondral allografts. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Ten mature, mixed-breed horses. Methods: Cylindrical, osteochondral grafts (6.5-mm diameter) were harvested aseptically from cadaveric equine metatarsophalangeal joints. Allografts were transplanted into 6 horses; 4 horses were sham operated. The surgical approach involved creation of a bone block at the origin of the medial collateral ligament and luxation of the metatarsophalangeal joint. Grafts were placed into the m...
Zamboulis DE, Senior M, Clegg PD, Milner PI.Tissue sensitisation and chronic pain have been described in chronic-active laminitis in the horse, making treatment of such cases difficult. Purinergic P2X receptors are linked to chronic pain and inflammation. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of purinergic P2X receptor subtypes 1, 2, 3 and 7 in the hoof, palmar digital vessels and nerve, dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord in horses with chronic-active laminitis (n=5) compared to non-laminitic horses (n=5). Immunohistochemical analysis was performed on tissue sections using antibodies against P2X receptor subtypes 1-3 and ...
Cummings CO, Krucik DDR, Price E.Clinical predictive models use a patient's baseline demographic and clinical data to make predictions about patient outcomes and have the potential to aid clinical decision making. The extent of equine clinical predictive models is unknown in the literature. Using PubMed and Google Scholar, we systematically reviewed the predictive models currently described for use in equine patients. Models were eligible for inclusion if they were published in a peer-reviewed article as a multivariable model used to predict a clinical/laboratory/imaging outcome in an individual horse or herd. The agreement o...
Nieto JE, Maher O, Stanley SD, Larson R, Snyder JR.To determine the effects of domperidone on in vivo and in vitro measures of gastrointestinal tract motility and contractility in healthy horses. Methods: 18 adult horses and tissue samples from an additional 26 adult horses. Methods: Domperidone or placebo paste was administered to healthy horses in a 2-period crossover study. Gastric emptying was evaluated after oral administration of domperidone paste (1.1 or 5.0 mg/kg) or placebo paste by means of the acetaminophen absorption test in 12 horses. Frequency of defecation, weight of feces produced, fecal moisture, and stomach-to-anus transit ti...
Sievers J, Distl O.Chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL) is a common disease in Rhenisch German draught horses. The objective of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of this disease and its progression with age in 493 Rhenish German draught horses from different regions in Germany. We employed generalized linear models with binomial, multinomial, and normal distributions to analyse the effects of breeding association, coat colour, sex and age within sex, time of examination, limb on which CPL was recorded, and farm-related factors on disease scores. The occurrence and severity of CPL were significantly influe...
Castaneda C, Radović L, Felkel S, Juras R, Davis BW, Cothran EG, Wallner B, Raudsepp T.Structural rearrangements like copy number variations in the male-specific Y chromosome have been associated with male fertility phenotypes in human and mouse but have been sparsely studied in other mammalian species. Here, we designed digital droplet PCR assays for 7 horse male-specific Y chromosome multicopy genes and SRY and evaluated their absolute copy numbers in 209 normal male horses of 22 breeds, 73 XY horses with disorders of sex development and/or infertility, 5 Przewalski's horses and 2 kulans. This established baseline copy number for these genes in horses. The TSPY gene showed the...
Wetmore LA, Pascoe PJ, Shilo-Benjamini Y, Lindsey JC.OBJECTIVE To determine the locomotor response to the administration of fentanyl in horses with and without the G57C polymorphism of the μ-opioid receptor. ANIMALS 20 horses of various breeds and ages (10 horses heterozygous for the G57C polymorphism and 10 age-, breed-, and sex-matched horses that did not have the G57C polymorphism). PROCEDURES The number of steps each horse took was counted over consecutive 2-minute periods for 20 minutes to determine a baseline value. The horse then received a bolus of fentanyl (20 μg/kg, IV), and the number of steps was again counted during consecutive 2-...
Ahern BJ, Boston RC, Parente EJ.Mechanical evaluation of a novel alternate laryngoplasty system (ALPS). Methods: Experimental. Methods: Cadaveric horse larynges (n = 10). Methods: Arytenoid and cricoid cartilages were embedded for testing. A novel laryngoplasty system consisting of a metallic anchor, 2 stands of #2 suture material, and a metallic button were evaluated. A traditional laryngoplasty using a single strand of #5 Ethibond was evaluated in parallel. Constructs were evaluated in cyclic testing oscillating from 30 to 50 N for 3600 cycles. Constructs subsequently underwent a single cycle to failure. Distraction during...
Verwilghen DR, Vanderheyden L, Franck T, Busoni V, Enzerink E, Gangl M, Lejeune JP, van Galen G, Grulke S, Serteyn D.Developmental osteochondral lesions are often encountered in the equine population and are a major cause of lameness. Different growth factors that act systemically as well as locally regulate the growth of cartilage. Among them is Insulin-like Growth Factor I that has been demonstrated to promote chondrocyte growth and differentiation and that has been shown to influence cartilage repair. The aims of this study were to investigate differences in circulating plasma levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-I in post-pubescent horses affected with developmental osteochondral lesions compared to unaf...
Wilson KA, Raisis AL, Drynan EA, Mosing M, Lester GD, Hayman J, Hosgood GL.To determine the agreement of invasive blood pressure measured in the facial, metatarsal and carotid arteries, and evaluate the effects of two haemodynamic conditions on agreement. Methods: Prospective randomized study. Methods: A group of eight horses aged 7 (4-23) years with a body weight of 493 ± 33 kg. Methods: Horses were anaesthetized and positioned in dorsal recumbency. Invasive blood pressure was measured simultaneously via catheters placed in the facial, metatarsal and carotid arteries. Cardiovascular function and agreement between arteries was assessed before and during administr...
