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.
Richardson LE, Dudhia J, Clegg PD, Smith R.Stem cells have evoked considerable excitement in the animal-owning public because of the promise that stem cell technology could deliver tissue regeneration for injuries for which natural repair mechanisms do not deliver functional recovery and for which current therapeutic strategies have minimal effectiveness. This review focuses on the current use of stem cells within veterinary medicine, whose practitioners have used mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), recovered from either bone marrow or adipose tissue, in clinical cases primarily to treat strain-induced tendon injury in the horse. The backgr...
Seino KK, Long MT, Gibbs EP, Bowen RA, Beachboard SE, Humphrey PP, Dixon MA, Bourgeois MA.We used a severe challenge model that produces clinical West Nile virus (WNV) disease to test the efficacy of three commercially available equine WNV vaccines in horses. Twenty-four healthy, WNV-seronegative horses of varying ages and genders were placed, in random and blind manner, into three trial groups consisting of eight horses each; two horses in each group received (i) an inactivated WNV vaccine (K-WN), (ii) a modified-live vaccine (CP-WN) containing the WNV prM and E proteins expressed by a canarypox vector, (iii) a live-chimera vaccine (WN-FV) containing WNV prM and E proteins express...
Masri M, Lombardero G, Velasquillo C, Martínez V, Neri R, Villegas H, Ibarra C.The goal of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of obtaining a large number of viable cells within a construct that will not be detached by high fluid flow during arthroscopic implantation. Methods: Arthroscopic osteochondral biopsy specimens were obtained from the medial femoral trochlea of 8 horses. Chondrocytes were isolated by collagenase digestion and expanded in M199 media until confluency. After 10 to 12 days, cultures were trypsinized and cells resuspended in culture media. Then, 5 x 10(6) cells x mL(-1) were seeded on a culture dish and the same amount in a flask. Once extracellu...
Matsuda K, Kousaka Y, Nagamine N, Tsunoda N, Taniyama H.A 20-year-old thoroughbred mare had a mass in the right kidney. The mass was encapsulated with fibrous capsule and composed of variably-sized papillary projections lined by a single layer of flattened to cuboidal neoplastic epithelial cells with no cytological and nuclear atypia. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were broadly positive for cytokeratin AE1/AE3 and granular staining for alpha-1-antitrypsin was focally detected; this immunohistochemical property was similar to that of the normal distal nephron. From these results, this case was diagnosed as papillary renal adenoma of dis...
Fietz S, Bondzio A, Moschos A, Hertsch B, Einspanier R.The aim of this study was to develop a specific myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity assay in the synovial fluid of horses and investigate whether MPO activity is increased in different forms of joint diseases. Synovial fluid samples were taken from affected joints from horses with osteoarthritis, chronic non-septic arthritis and septic arthritis, and from healthy control horses. MPO activity was measured using a specific modified o-dianisidine-assay containing 4-aminobenzoic acid hydrazide as a potent and specific inhibitor of the MPO. This assay is characterized by high reproducibility. The result...
Zhang J, Miszczak F, Pronost S, Fortier C, Balasuriya UB, Zientara S, Fortier G, Timoney PJ.Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships among 22 French isolates of equine arteritis virus (EAV) obtained over four breeding seasons (2001-2004) were determined by sequencing open reading frames (ORFs) 2a-7. The ORFs 2a-7 of 22 isolates differed from the prototype virulent Bucyrus strain of EAV by between 14 (99.5% identity) and 328 (88.7% identity) nucleotides, and differed from each other by between 0 (100% identity) and 346 (88.1% identity) nucleotides, confirming genetic diversity among EAV strains circulating in France. Phylogenetic analysis based on the partial ORF5 sequences (n...
Beech J, Boston R, Lindborg S, Russell GE.To compare the effect of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) administration on endogenous ACTH concentrations in healthy horses and those with pituitary pars inter-media hyperplasia and compare the test with the dexamethasone suppression test (DST). Methods: Prospective case series. Methods: 15 horses with clinical signs of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), 4 horses with equivocal signs of PPID, and 29 horses without signs of PPID. Methods: ACTH concentrations prior to and after administration of TRH were measured 61 times in 48 horses. Results of the DST (cortisol response) were c...
Robertson TP, Moore JN, Noschka E, Lewis TH, Lewis SJ, Peroni JF.To determine the effects of inhibition of Rho-kinase or Src-family protein tyrosine kinases (srcPTK) on agonist-induced contractile responses in equine laminar arteries and veins. Methods: Laminar arteries and veins obtained from 13 adult mixed-breed horses. Methods: Laminar vessels were mounted on myographs and exposed to phenylephrine (PE), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), prostaglandin F(2) (PGF(2)), and endothelin-1 (ET-1) with or without the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632 (10 microM), srcPTK inhibitor PP2 (10 microM), or a negative control analogue for PP2 (PP3; 10 microM). Results: Responses to...
Lowden S, Gray S, Dawson K.The horse biting louse (Werneckiella equi) is a common global equine ectoparasite. To our knowledge, benzoyl(phenyl)urea insecticides (triflumuron, diflubenzuron) commonly used as sheep lousicides, have not been evaluated for efficacy against W. equi. The aim of this study was to determine louse control efficacy, general wellness and dermal safety following triflumuron application as a backline pour-on to horses. Two efficacy trials using 25 adult naturally infested lousy horses, and a dermal safety trial using 10 adult louse-free horses were conducted over a 14-month period. Lousy animals wer...
Young BD, Samii VF, Mattoon JS, Weisbrode SE, Bertone AL.To evaluate and correlate patterns of subchondral bone density and articular cartilage degeneration (derived by use of gross, histologic, and computed tomographic [CT] examinations) in equine third metacarpal condyles with and without osteoarthritis. Methods: 8 metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints (n = 4 horses) without osteoarthritis and 6 osteoarthritis-affected MCP joints (4). Methods: Horses were euthanized. The third metacarpal condyles of the joints were examined grossly and via CT (3 slice images/condyle). For 6 condylar zones, mean bone density and pattern of density distribution were dete...
Yapklç O, Yavru S, Kale M, Bulut O, Simşek A, Sahna KC.In this study, 162 horses, 80 donkeys and 51 mule serum samples were collected in Konya city. Additionally, 64 horse serum samples from Ankara and 49 samples from Kayseri city were included in the study. A total of 406 serum samples were examined by agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for antibody to equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) and no positive result was detected.
Lewis MJ, Wagner B, Woof JM.Recombinant versions of the seven equine IgG subclasses were expressed in CHO cells. All assembled into intact immunoglobulins stabilised by disulphide bridges, although, reminiscent of human IgG4, a small proportion of equine IgG4 and IgG7 were held together by non-covalent bonds alone. All seven IgGs were N-glycosylated. In addition IgG3 appeared to be O-glycosylated and could bind the lectin jacalin. Staphylococcal protein A displayed weak binding for the equine IgGs in the order: IgG1>IgG3>IgG4>IgG7>IgG2=IgG5>IgG6. Streptococcal protein G bound strongly to IgG1, IgG4 and IgG7, moderately t...
González F, Rodríguez C, De Lucas JJ, Waxman S, San Andrés MD, Serres C, Nieto J, San Andrés MI.Six donkeys each received 2 mg/kg marbofloxacin as a 10 per cent aqueous solution administered intravenously. Principal pharmacokinetic parameters were determined and two efficacy indices were computed by using pharmacokinetic parameters and selected mic90 values of marbofloxacin against pathogenic equine strains to predict the efficacy of the drug at this dose. The pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in donkeys was characterised by a large mean volume of distribution at a steady state (1.15 [0.09] l/kg) and a long mean (sd) elimination half-life of 9.24 (1.96) hours. It was also characterised b...
Oki H, Kusunose R, Nakaoka H, Nishiura A, Miyake T, Sasaki Y.Genetic variation of the behaviour of racehorses is one of the major concerns for racehorse breeders. In this study, the heritabilities of behavioural responses to the inspections of conjunctiva, auscultation and blood sampling and the genetic correlations among them were estimated in the Thoroughbred racehorse. The estimation was done with Bayesian analysis with Gibbs sampling based on the univariate or bivariate threshold animal models. The behavioural responses were scored with four categories at the first entrance quarantine in Miho Training Center of Japan Racing Association from 1993 to ...
Zemanová J, Lukác N, Massányi P, Trandzík J, Burócziová M, Nad P, Capcarová M, Stawarz R, Skalická M, Toman R, Koréneková B, Jakabová D.In this study, the concentration of nickel in stallion, bull, ram, boar and fox semen, and its relation with spermatozoa quality was analyzed. The concentration of nickel in semen was 0.20 mg kg(-1) in stallion, 0.12 mg kg(-1) in bull, 0.31 mg kg(-1) in ram, 0.06 mg kg(-1) in boar and 0.36 mg kg(-1) in fox. Seminal nickel concentration was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in foxes than that in bulls and significantly higher (P < 0.01) in rams and foxes in comparison with boars. Evaluation of total pathological spermatozoa revealed the highest number in stallions followed by rams, bulls, boars a...
Mealey RH, Littke MH, Leib SR, Davis WC, McGuire TC.Although CTL are important for control of lentiviruses, including equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), it is not known if CTL can limit lentiviral replication in the absence of CD4 help and neutralizing antibody. Adoptive transfer of EIAV-specific CTL clones into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) foals could resolve this issue, but it is not known whether exogenous IL-2 administration is sufficient to support the engraftment and proliferation of CTL clones infused into immunodeficient horses. To address this question we adoptively transferred EIAV Rev-specific CTL clones into four EIAV-...
de Niederhäusern S, Sabia C, Messi P, Guerrieri E, Manicardi G, Bondi M.Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in healthy people and in food-producing animals seems to be quite common in Europe. The existence of this community reservoir of VRE has been associated with the massive use of avoparcin in animal husbandry. Eight years after the avoparcin ban in Europe, we investigated the incidence of VanA enterococci, their resistance patterns, and the mobility of their glycopeptide-resistance determinants in a sampling of animal rectal swabs and clinical specimens. A total of 259 enterococci isolated from equine, swine, and clinical samples were subcultured on KF-stre...
Morris GJ, Faszer K, Green JE, Draper D, Grout BW, Fonseca F.The cellular damage that spermatozoa encounter at rapid rates of cooling has often been attributed to the formation of intracellular ice. However, no direct evidence of intracellular ice has been presented. An alternative mechanism has been proposed by Morris (2006) that cell damage is a result of an osmotic imbalance encountered during thawing. This paper examines whether intracellular ice forms during rapid cooling or if an alternative mechanism is present. Horse spermatozoa were cooled at a range of cooling rates from 0.3 to 3,000 degrees C/min in the presence of a cryoprotectant. The ultra...
Quinn BA, Hayes MA, Waelchli RO, Kennedy MW, Betteridge KJ.During the third week of pregnancy, the equine conceptus is enclosed within a capsule, the glycan composition of which changes at around day 16 (ovulation = day 0) when the conceptus becomes immobilized (fixed) in the uterine lumen. Our objective was to characterize the process of fixation by identifying changes in major capsule-associated proteins. Individual equine conceptuses (n = 55) were collected transcervically by uterine lavage between days 13.5 and 26.5. Major proteins extracted from capsules were compared with those in fluids from the uterus and yolk sac by SDS-PAGE. Until day 14, a ...
Milinovich GJ, Trott DJ, Burrell PC, Croser EL, Al Jassim RA, Morton JM, van Eps AW, Pollitt CC.Carbohydrate-induced laminitis in horses is characterized by marked changes in the composition of the hindgut microbiota, from a predominantly Gram-negative population to one dominated by Gram-positive bacteria. The objective of this study was to monitor changes in the relative abundance of selected hindgut bacteria that have previously been implicated in the pathophysiology of equine laminitis using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Caecal cannulae were surgically implanted in five Standardbred horses and laminitis induced by oral administration of a bolus dose of oligofructose. Caec...
Ferreira-Dias G, Mateus L, Costa AS, Solá S, Ramalho RM, Castro RE, Rodrigues CM.Soon after ovulation, the newly formed corpus luteum (CL) starts secreting progesterone (P(4)), necessary for implantation. The CL, an ovarian transient endocrine organ, undergoes growth and regression throughout its life span. The objective of this study was to evaluate if caspase-3 mediates cell death in the equine cyclic luteal structures and relate it to luteal endocrine function. Blood and luteal tissue were collected during the breeding season after slaughter from 38 randomly assigned cycling mares. Luteal tissues were classified as corpora haemorrhagica (CH; n = 7); mid luteal phase cor...
El-Sabban ME, El-Khoury H, Hamdan-Khalil R, Sindet-Pedersen S, Bazarbachi A.Colloss and Colloss-E are sterile acellular lyophilizates extracted from bovine and equine bone matrix, respectively. Animal and clinical studies have shown that these xenogenic bone matrix extracts (BMEs) are effective as bone graft substitutes. In this report, we investigated the effect of Colloss and Colloss-E on human adult in vitro-expanded bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs). Specifically, we assessed whether these xenogenic BMEs induced osteoblastic differentiation of cultured BMMSC. We show that BMMSCs treated with either Colloss or Colloss-E exhibited characteristic os...
Gandini M.To compare 3 dorsal techniques for arthrocentesis of the distal interphalangeal joint in horses with regard to ease of performing the technique and to determine the role of operator experience in ease of performing these techniques. Methods: Observational study. Sample Population-Forelimbs from 17 equine cadavers and 12 horses (16 joints) undergoing arthrocentesis for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes. Methods: In both forelimbs from 7 of the equine cadavers, 3 arthrocentesis techniques (dorsal perpendicular, dorsolateral, and dorsal inclined) were performed in random order by a single experi...
Schober D, Aurich C, Nohl H, Gille L.Cryopreservation of spermatozoa is of essential importance for artificial insemination and breeding programs in horses. Besides other factors, spermatozoal motility depends on mitochondrial energy metabolism. Based on changes of single mitochondrial functions it has been suggested that mitochondrial damage during cryopreservation could be a major reason for diminished post thaw semen quality. However, it is still unclear to which extent this influences the whole bioenergetic performance of mitochondria and whether this plays a role during routine cryopreservation procedures. Therefore, it was ...
Penell JC, Egenvall A, Bonnett BN, Pringle J.The aim was to evaluate the agreement between computerized insurance data in a large Swedish horse insurance database and the information in the corresponding clinical records (CR). A random sample of 400 veterinary care and 140 life claims was included. Information on name of the horse, breed and gender, year of birth, specific diagnosis and system diagnosis (e.g. joints, digestive and skeletal) was compared between sources. The concordance for demographic variables was categorized as agreement, disagreement or data missing. For diagnostic information, the categories were agreement, minor dis...
Bigley RF, Gibeling JC, Stover SM, Hazelwood SJ, Fyhrie DP, Martin RB.Materials, including bone, often fail due to loading in the presence of critical flaws. The relative amount, location, and interaction of these flaws within a stressed volume of material play a role in determining the failure properties of the structure. As materials are generally imperfect, larger volumes of material have higher probabilities of containing a flaw of critical size than do smaller volumes. Thus, larger volumes tend to fail at fewer cycles compared with smaller volumes when fatigue loaded to similar stress levels. A material is said to exhibit a volume effect if its failure prop...
Gough RL, McGovern KF.Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is widely used in other species as a marker of renal dysfunction and is considered a more sensitive indicator of glomerular filtration rate than creatinine. Reference ranges are established in healthy adult horses (≤14 μg/dL) and concentrations are increased in horses with acute kidney injury (median 32 μg/dL; range 15-92). Objective: To establish the normal range of SDMA concentrations in neonatal Thoroughbreds. Methods: Cross-sectional. Methods: Blood samples were collected from Thoroughbred foals <36 h old deemed healthy by physical examination. E...
Lawson SE, Chateau H, Pourcelot P, Denoix JM, Crevier-Denoix N.As equine musculoskeletal models become common, it is important to determine their sensitivity to the simplifications used. A subject-specific distal forelimb model was created using bones extracted from CT scans to examine movement from in-vivo invasive-marker motion capture. The movements of the sesamoid bones were simulated using the constraints of maintaining an isometric virtual ligament and maintaining contact between the appropriate articular surfaces, creating a variable moment arm for the tendons. The simulation of the proximal sesamoid bones was compared to movement recorded in-vitro...
Hansson A, Knych H, Stanley S, Thevis M, Bondesson U, Hedeland M.Selective androgen receptor modulators, SARMs, constitute a class of compounds with anabolic properties but with few androgenic side-effects. This makes them possible substances of abuse and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has banned the entire class of substances. There have been several cases of illicit use of aryl propionamide SARMs in human sports and in 2013, 13 cases were reported. These substances have been found to be extensively metabolized in humans, making detection of metabolites necessary for doping control. SARMs are also of great interest to equine doping control, but the in...
Gerber V, De Feijter-Rupp H, Wagner J, Venta P, Harkema JR, Robinson NE.Airway mucus accumulation is associated with indoor irritant and allergen exposure in horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and a chloride channel (calcium activated, family member 1; CLCA1) are key signalling molecules involved in mucin gene expression. Objective: We hypothesised that exposure to irritants and aeroallergens would lead to increased expression of the mucin gene eqMUC5AC and increased stored mucosubstance in the airways of RAO-affected horses, associated with increased neutrophils and CLCA1 and EGFR mRNA levels. Methods: We perfo...
Salvioli G, Gaetti E, Panini R, Lugli R, Pradelli JM.To evaluate why hemolysis of red blood cells (RBC) by bile acids varies in different mammalian species, we determined the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), lipid content and the concentrations of the conjugates of deoxycholate and of NaCl inducing 50% hemolysis of RBC from healthy humans, pigs, horses, cows, sheep and jaundiced humans. A volume of 0.05 mL of washed RBC at 1% hematocrit, which has the same lipid content but different phospholipid composition and number of erythrocytes (owing to the variable MCV), was incubated in taurodeoxycholate (TDC) solution (0-5 mM) to determine the TDC conce...
Costa LR, Seahorn TL, Moore RM, Oliver JL, Hosgood GL.To determine concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and localize nitric oxide synthesis in the lungs of horses with summer pasture-associated obstructive pulmonary disease (SPAOPD). Methods: 7 adult horses with SPAOPD and 6 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Severity of SPAOPD was determined by use of clinical scores, change in intrapleural pressure (APpl) during tidal breathing, cytologic analysis of BALF, and histologic evaluation of lung specimens obtained during necropsy. Nitric oxide concentrations in plasma, BALF and epithelial lining ...
Álvarez C, Gil L, González N, Olaciregui M, Luño V.The rise of assisted reproduction techniques in equine medicine has fostered investigations that seek to optimize methods to increase fertility rates. Since cryopreservation continues to give low values of viability in stallions, the handling and preservation of the sperm is of vital importance. This reduction of fertility makes it essential for farmers to find new options that ensure reliability in the use of these techniques. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of INRA 96® (manufactured commercial extender for cooling of Equine semen) as an extender for cryopreservatio...
Flachowsky G, Kirchgessner M.The paper describes the energetic feed evaluation systems for ruminants, pigs, poultry and horses presently used in Germany. During the last ten years the "Ausschuss für Bedarfsnormen" (AfB; Committee of Nutrient Requirements) of the "Gesellschaft für Ernährungsphysiologie" (GfE, Society of Nutritional Physiology) introduced new recommendations for energy requirements of domestic animals including national and international references. The energetic requirements were factorially deduced (demand for maintenance and various performances) under consideration of partial efficiency of utilized m...
Winter JC, Sponder G, Merle R, Aschenbach JR, Gehlen H.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a worldwide disease in horses that parallels human diabetes mellitus type 2. In both diseases, patients show an altered peripheral insulin sensitivity as a key feature. In humans, multiple studies have demonstrated the beneficial effect of magnesium supplementation on insulin sensitivity. However, serum magnesium levels vary and are therefore not a reliable indicator of the patients' magnesium status. Determining the intracellular free magnesium concentration appears to be a more sensitive diagnostic indicator. In this study, the free intracellular magnesium ...
Liu Y, Uboh CE, Li X, Guan F, You Y, Maylin GA, Zhu F, Soma LR.A rapid and sensitive method for simultaneous screening, quantification and confirmation of 17 barbiturates in horse plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry is described. Analytes were recovered from plasma by liquid-liquid extraction using methyl tert-butyl ether, separated on a C18 column, and analyzed in negative electrospray ionization mode. Multiple-reaction monitoring was employed for screening and quantification. Confirmation for the presence of the analytes was achieved by comparing ion intensity ratio. The ranges for limits of detection, quantification and confirma...
Del Campo MR, Del Campo CH, Mapletoft RJ, Ginther OJ.Morphology and location of the attached cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) were studied in slaughter-house ovaries in horses (49 follicles, 9 to 44 mm), cattle (68 follicles, 6 to 18 mm), and llamas (38 follicles, 3 to 14 mm). The expected point of ovulation was marked, using the ovulation fossa in mares and the center of the projecting follicular surface in cattle and llamas. A follicle was dissected from an ovary, and tissue was removed from the follicle until the COC became visible by transillumination. However, most llama follicles protruded prominently from the ovarian surface so that dissectio...
Dockalova H, Zeman L, Baholet D, Batik A, Skalickova S, Horky P.Milk thistle seeds contain a mixture of flavonoids known as silymarin, which consists of silybin, isosilybin, silychristine, and silydianin. Until now, there has been no evidence of monitoring the digestibility of silymarin complex in horses. The aim of the research was to evaluate the digestibility of silymarin complex and the effect of nutrient digestibility in horses. Different daily feed doses (FD) of milk thistle expeller (0 g, 100 g, 200 g, 400 g, 700 g) were administered to five mares kept under the same conditions and at the same feed rations. Digestibility of silymarin complex was mon...
Boakari YL, El-Sheikh Ali H, Schnobrich M, Lofrumento K, Scoggin C, Bradecamp E, Scoggin K, Esteller-Vico A, Claes A, Lawrence L, Ball B.High blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration is linked to low fertility in cows and ewes; however, this relationship has not been reported in mares. The study characterized the relationship between BUN and follicular fluid urea nitrogen (FUN) during follicle growth (Experiment 1) and the impact of BUN from embryo donors on the pregnancy outcome of recipient mares (Experiment 2). In experiment one, follicular fluid and blood samples were collected from mares during diestrus with growing follicles and during estrus with pre-ovulatory follicles (n = 16 and 10 mares, respectively). In experiment...
Fintl C, Pearson GT, Ricketts SW, Mayhew IG, Hudson NP.This study set out to determine the pattern of development and distribution of the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the intestinal tract of the equine fetus and neonate. Intestinal tissue samples from 12 naturally aborted equine fetuses and three euthanized neonates were collected and fixed in formalin prior to applying standard immunohistochemical labelling techniques targeting the c-Kit protein of the ICC. At 6 months of gestation, a network of ICC was present in the myenteric plexus region of both the small and the large intestine. ICC were also present within the circular muscle layer....
Piličiauskienė G, Kurila L, Ežerinskis Ž, Šapolaitė J, Garbaras A, Zagurskytė A, Micelicaitė V.The tradition of burying horses in Lithuania lasted from the Early Roman period until the late 14th C AD. It was the longest-lasting custom in Europe, which has left about 2000 known horse burials. This paper publishes the osteometric data and age of horses found in Lithuanian cemeteries and castles of the 3rd-14th C AD, over 200 individuals in total. These are the remains of all the horses still stored in Lithuanian institutions. The paper discusses the dynamics of horse body size in order to test previously suggested hypotheses regarding the relationship between large horse body size and its...
Ziegler A, Olzhausen J, Hamza E, Stojiljkovic A, Stoffel MH, Garbani M, Rhyner C, Marti E.Allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) constitutes the only curative approach for allergy treatment. There is need for improvement of AIT in veterinary medicine, such as in horses suffering from insect bite hypersensitivity, an IgE-mediated dermatitis to Culicoides. Dendritic cell (DC)-targeting represents an efficient method to increase antigen immunogenicity. It is studied primarily for its use in improvement of cancer therapy and vaccines, but may also be useful for improving AIT efficacy. Immunomodulators, like the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) agonist monophosphoryl lipid-A (MPLA) has been ...
Henshall C, Randle H, Francis N, Freire R.Horse training exposes horses to an array of cognitive and ethological challenges. Horses are routinely required to perform behaviours that are not aligned to aspects of their ethology, which may delay learning. While horses readily form habits during training, not all of these responses are considered desirable, resulting in the horse being subject to retraining. This is a form of cognitive flexibility and is critical to the extinction of habits and the learning of new responses. It is underpinned by complex neural processes which can be impaired by chronic or repeated stress. Domestic horses...
Ostevik L, de Souza GA, Wien TN, Gunnes G, Sørby R.Two horses with chronic uveitis and histological lesions consistent with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) were examined. Microscopical findings in the ciliary body included deposits of amyloid lining the non-pigmented epithelium, intracytoplasmic, rod-shaped, eosinophilic inclusions and intraepithelial infiltration of T lymphocytes. Ultrastructural examination of the ciliary body of one horse confirmed the presence of abundant extracellular deposits of non-branching fibrils (9-11 nm in diameter) consistent with amyloid. Immunohistochemistry revealed strong positive labelling for AA amyloid and m...
Gregg AJ, Schenkel AR.Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM, CD31) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1, CD106) are essential for leukocyte emigration and diapedesis. PECAM is an essential histologic marker of endothelial cells; VCAM-1 is a prototype marker for endothelial cell activation. In this study, equine PECAM and VCAM mRNA were cloned and sequenced. Both genes are highly conserved amongst several species. This study also revealed conserved structural and regulatory motifs, emphasizing the importance of these genes' physiological roles in immunological responses.
Sato T, Itou T, Sakai T.The complete coding region sequence of equine muscle-type phosphofructokinase (ePFKM) was obtained from skeletal muscle of a thoroughbred horse. The deduced amino acid sequence of ePFKM showed 97%, 96%, 96%, 96% and 95% identity to canine, human, mouse, rabbit and rat PFKM, respectively. The amino and carboxyl terminal halves of ePFKM presented a structure of tandem repeat, as other mammalian PFKMs. As the amino acid residues constituting various ligand-binding sites were also conserved, it is thought that ePFKM has enzymatic activity similar to PFKM in other mammals.
Paraschou G, Vogel PE, Lee AM, Trawford RF, Priestnall SL.Multisystemic eosinophilic epitheliotropic disease (MEED) is a rare condition of equids characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of multiple organs. Clinical signs are variable depending on the affected organs. The most common clinical signs include chronic weight loss, diarrhoea and exfoliative dermatitis. Respiratory distress and raised liver enzymes are less frequently seen. The cause is unknown and the pathogenesis is poorly understood. There are less than 50 reported cases of horses with MEED. We now document the lesions in three donkeys with fluctuating or chronic loss of weight, letha...
Blaga R, Cretu CM, Gherman C, Draghici A, Pozio E, Noeckler K, Kapel CM, Dida I, Cozma V, Boireau P.Herbivorous animals are usually, by virtue of their diet, outside the major transmission cycles of Trichinella spp. However, since 1975, the year of the first report of human trichinellosis caused by the consumption of infected horse meat, the domestic horse has appeared as a novel vector of Trichinella spp. infection to humans, with 15 outbreaks documented in France and Italy. Romania, one of the main countries exporting horses into the European Union (EU), experienced a dramatic increase of Trichinella spp. infection in both domestic pigs and humans in the 1990s. Some Trichinella spiralis-in...
Oleksiewicz MB, Snijder EJ, Normann P.A putative zinc finger (ZF) domain in the Equine arteritis virus (EAV) nsp1 protein was described recently to be required for viral transcription. The nsp1 ZF (50 aa) was expressed on the surface of M13KE gIII phage, fused to the N terminus of the phage pIII protein. To evaluate the functionality of the ZF domain, a binding assay was developed, based on the use of immobilized Ni(2+) ions (Ni-NTA). Phages displaying ZF bound significantly better to Ni-NTA than did phages displaying negative-control peptides, which also contained metal-coordinating residues. Also, binding of ZF-displaying phages...
Powell DG, David JS, Frank CJ.This report contains details of the code of practice for the control of contagious equine metritis (CEM) during the 1979 breeding season. It was prepared under the guidance of a scientific committee established by the Horserace Betting Levy Board under the chairmanship of Sir David Evans, FRS. The code is similar to the one introduced for the 1978 breeding season but takes into account the experience gained during the past 12 months. Following discussions with colleagues in Ireland it has been agreed that a similar code of practice will be introduced in the United Kingdom and Ireland so as to ...
