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Topic:Veterinary Research
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.
Recent advances in cooled-semen technology. The majority of horse registries approve the use of artificial insemination, and horse breeding has widely taken benefit from the use of cooled-stored semen. New insights into cooled-semen technology open possibilities to reduce problems such as impaired semen quality after cooled-storage in individual stallions. The stallion itself has major impacts on quality and fertility of cooled-stored semen. Dietary supplementation of antioxidants and polyunsaturated fatty acids improves semen quality in a variety of species, but only few studies on this topic exist in the horse. Proper semen collection...
Oxidative stress, osmotic stress and apoptosis: impacts on sperm function and preservation in the horse. Oxidative stress is an important component of the cytopathology of equine spermatozoa undergoing storage as liquid or frozen semen. Damage to chromatin, membranes and proteins of sperm are important components of oxidative damage to sperm. Similarly, sperm are exposed to a variety of osmotic stresses during storage that result from exposure to hypertonic media or result as a consequence of osmotic changes induced during freezing. A number of changes induced during processing and storage of equine sperm also appear to induce apoptotic-like changes which may adversely affect sperm survival and f...
Diagnostic imaging of the equine fetlock region using radiography and ultrasonography. Part 1: Soft tissues. The equine fetlock is the joint most commonly associated with lameness. Although the fetlock is regarded as a simple joint, diagnosis of a fetlock disorder can be a challenge and various imaging modalities are routinely used to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. This review describes the principal disorders affecting the soft tissues of the fetlock region and addresses some of the technical aspects involved in taking radiographic and ultrasonographic images of the different soft tissue lesions. A combination of radiography and ultrasonography is still the most commonly used diagnostic approach i...
Species-specific concentrations of perfluoroalkyl contaminants in farm and pet animals in Japan. The persistent metabolites of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) which have been detected in the tissues of both humans and wildlife, and human contamination by PFCs suggest differences in the exposure patterns to these compounds. However, studies focused on identifying human exposure pathways to PFCs are scarce. To provide a preliminary assessment of PFCs in farm animals such as chicken, cattle, pigs, goats and horses, blood and liver samples were collected from various regions in Japan. Additionally, dog sera samples representing pet animals were also employed for analysis. Perfluorooctane sulf...
Dietary energy source affects glucose kinetics in trained Arabian geldings at rest and during endurance exercise. Advances in modeling and tracer techniques provide new perspective into glucose utilization and potential consequences to health or exercise performance. This study used stable isotope and compartmental modeling to evaluate how adaptation to a feed high in sugar and starch (SS) compared with a feed high in fat and fiber (FF) affects glucose kinetics at rest and during exercise in horses. Six trained Arabians adapted to each feed underwent similar tests at rest and while running approximately 4 m/s on a treadmill. For both tests, horses received 100 micromol/kg body weight [6,6-(2)H]glucose thr...
Polysaccharide storage myopathy in Cob Normand draft horses. Gluteus medius muscle was sampled from 53 Cob Normand horses for histologic evaluation. Twenty horses (38%) exhibited amylase-resistant material in myocytes consistent with polysaccharide storage myopathy. Diameter of affected type II fibers was increased (67.7 +/- 21.4 microm) compared with normal ones (57.3 +/- 19.7 microm). Two groups were distinguished by quantitative study. The first group (n = 14; 26%) was characterized by a low percentage of fibers (m = 0.98%) containing aggregates occurring singly or in perifascicular clusters without myopathic changes. The second group (n = 6; 11%) wa...
Equine ANXA2 and MMP1 expression analyses in an experimental model of normal and pathological wound repair. Wounds on horse limbs can develop exuberant granulation tissue which resembles the human keloid. Clues gained from the study of over-scarring in horses might help control fibro-proliferative disorders. Objective: The aim of the present study was to clone full-length equine ANXA2 cDNA then to study spatio-temporal expression of ANXA2 and MMP1 mRNA and protein, potential contributors to remodeling, during repair of body (normal) and limb (fibro-proliferative) wounds in an established horse wound model. Methods: Cloning of ANXA2 was achieved by screening size-selected cDNA libraries. Expression w...
Apoptotic-like changes in equine spermatozoa separated by density-gradient centrifugation or after cryopreservation. The objective was to evaluate apoptotic markers in ejaculated equine spermatozoa after separation by density-gradient centrifugation and after cryopreservation. Subpopulations of percoll-separated equine spermatozoa differed (P<0.05) in the percentage of live, caspase-activated spermatozoa (2.9+/-0.7% vs 14.2+/-6.4%; mean+/-S.E.M.), low mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP; 6.8+/-1.1 vs 23.8+/-3.7), altered plasma membrane permeability (1.3+/-0.2 vs 3.0+/-0.5), DNA fragmentation (2.0+/-1.3 vs 14.3+/-3.6), total motility (81.8+/-3.3 vs 35.1+/-5.4), and progressive motility (66.3+/-4.3 vs 24...
Donkey dental anatomy. Part 2: Histological and scanning electron microscopic examinations. Ten normal cheek teeth (CT) were extracted at post mortem from donkeys that died or were euthanased for humane reasons. Decalcified histology was performed on three sections (sub-occlusal, mid-tooth and pre-apical) of each tooth, and undecalcified histology undertaken on sub-occlusal sections of the same teeth. The normal histological anatomy of primary, regular and irregular secondary dentine was found to be similar to that of the horse, with no tertiary dentine present. Undecalcified histology demonstrated the normal enamel histology, including the presence of enamel spindles. Scanning elect...
Evaluation of dietary and management risk factors for enterolithiasis among horses in California. Enteroliths are intestinal calculi that result in intestinal obstruction and colic in horses. Equine enterolithiasis occurs worldwide, but the disease is particularly prevalent in some geographic locations, including California. The objectives of this study were to evaluate dietary and environmental risk factors for the disease. This was accomplished through a case-control study by comparing horses with colic from enterolithiasis presenting to the University of California, Davis VMTH, to horses with colic of other causes. Data were collected on 61 horses with enterolithiasis and 75 controls vi...
Equine recurrent uveitis–a spontaneous horse model of uveitis. Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an autoimmune disease that occurs with a high prevalence (10%) in horses. ERU represents the only reliable spontaneous model for human autoimmune uveitis. We already identified and characterized novel autoantigens (malate dehydrogenase, recoverin, CRALBP) by analyzing the autoantibody-binding pattern of horses affected by spontaneous recurrent uveitis (ERU) to the retinal proteome. CRALBP also seems to be relevant to human autoimmune uveitis. Proteomic screening of vitreous and retinal samples from ERU diseased cases in comparison to healthy controls has led t...
Potential of enterococci isolated from horses. Faecal samples of 122 horses (from farms in Slovakia) were examined to select enterococci to study their probiotic potential for their further use as additives. Each gram of faeces contained 1.0-5.0 cfu (log 10) of enterococci. Of the 43 isolates, 25 (58.1%) were identified as Enterococcus faecium, 3 strains were (6.9%) Enterococcus mundtii and one strain was identified as E. faecalis. Fourteen isolates were not characterized further. A significant proportion of the isolates were resistant to kanamycin, vancomycin and gentamicin. Low urease activity of enterococci dominated. The values of lact...
Donkey dental anatomy. Part 1: Gross and computed axial tomography examinations. Post-mortem examination of 19 donkey skulls showed that donkeys have a greater degree of anisognathia (27% width difference between upper and lower jaws) compared to horses (23%). Teeth (n=108) were collected from 14 skulls and examined grossly and by computed axial tomography (CAT). A greater degree of peripheral enamel infolding was found in mandibular cheek teeth (CT) compared to maxillary CT (P<0.001). A significant increase in peripheral cementum from the apical region to the clinical crown was demonstrated in all CT (P16 years) than in the younger (<15 years) donkeys studied. Based...
A subset of equine sarcoids harbours BPV-1 DNA in a complex with L1 major capsid protein. Bovine papillomavirus type 1 or 2 (BPV-1, BPV-2) are accepted causal factors in equine sarcoid pathogenesis. Whereas viral genomes are consistently found and expressed within lesions, intact virions have never been detected, thus permissiveness of sarcoids for BPV-1 replication remains unclear. To reassess this issue, an immunocapture PCR (IC/PCR) was established using L1-specific antibodies to capture L1-DNA complexes followed by amplification of the viral genome. Following validation of the assay, 13 sarcoid-bearing horses were evaluated by IC/PCR. Samples were derived from 21 tumours, 4 per...
Collaborative study for the establishment of a candidate equine influenza subtype 2 American-like strain A/EQ/South Africa/4/03 – horse antiserum biological reference preparation. In 2004, the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) Expert Surveillance Panel on equine influenza recommended that the American lineage component (H3N8) of equine influenza vaccines (A/eq/Newmarket/1/93-like) be updated to an A/eq/South Africa/4/03-like virus. As a consequence the common European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) - OIE reference for equine influenza subtype 2 American-like antiserum had to be complemented by an antiserum raised in horses against an A/eq/South Africa/4/03 strain. An international collaborative study run by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM) ...
Proline-glutamic acid-proline-lysine repetition peptide as an antigen for the serological diagnosis of strangles. The reactivity of the proline-glutamic acid-proline-lysine (PEPK) repetition peptide antigen in 3176 serum samples was investigated to evaluate its utility as an antigen for the serological diagnosis of strangles. The reactivity of the sera of horses infected with Streptococcus equi subspecies equi was high when the peptide had several PEPK repetitions. However, as the number of PEPK repetitions increased, the reactivity of the antigen with the sera of horses infected with Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus also increased. In horses infected experimentally with S equi, the reactivity ...
Direct injection LC/ESI-MS horse urine analysis for the quantification and identification of threshold substances for doping control. I. Determination of hydrocortisone. Two simple and rapid LC/MS methods with direct injection analysis were developed and validated for the quantification and identification of hydrocortisone in equine urine using the same sample preparation but different mass spectrometric systems: ion trap mass spectrometry (IT-MS) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The main advantage of the proposed methodology is the minimal sample preparation procedure, as particle-free diluted urine samples were directly injected into both LC/MS systems. Desonide was used as internal standard (IS). The linear range was 0.25-2.5 microg ml(-1) for...
Biomechanical evaluation of equine masticatory action: position and curvature of equine cheek teeth and age-related changes. The equine cheek tooth battery is part of a very dynamic system. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the curvature and position of the teeth are also involved in such dynamical processes. The alveolar crest was labelled with a radiodense marker (48 cadaver heads, 15 skulls) and laterolateral radiographs were taken. Then a geometrical method was elaborated to determine a cheek tooth's curvature and its position by means of specific angles. This method respects the remarkable changes of the equine dentition throughout life by considering two items: (1) the alveolar crest was taken a...
Lactobacillus equigenerosi sp. nov., a coccoid species isolated from faeces of thoroughbred racehorses. Two strains of lactic acid bacteria were isolated from faeces of two actively racing thoroughbred horses. The isolates formed a subcluster in the Lactobacillus reuteri phylogenetic group, closely related to Lactobacillus fermentum, L. gastricus, L. ingluviei and L. mucosae, by phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Levels of DNA-DNA relatedness revealed that the isolates belonged to the same taxon and were genetically separated from their phylogenetic relatives. Biochemical and physiological characteristics also distinguished the isolates from their phylogenetic relatives. The...
An equine chromosome 3 inversion is associated with the tobiano spotting pattern in German horse breeds. The tobiano white-spotting pattern is one of several known depigmentation phenotypes in horses and is desired by many horse breeders and owners. The tobiano spotting phenotype is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Horses that are heterozygous or homozygous for the tobiano allele (To) are phenotypically indistinguishable. A SNP associated with To had previously been identified in intron 13 of the equine KIT gene and was used for an indirect gene test. The test was useful in several horse breeds. However, genotyping this sequence variant in the Lewitzer horse breed revealed that 14% of ho...
Pathological, entomological, avian and meteorological investigation of a West Nile virus epidemic in a horse farm. Pathological, entomological and avian investigations were conducted during the summer of 2002, in a horse farm that had four cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in horses. All the four horses had encephalitis and WNV infection was confirmed by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization procedure. Forty-seven per cent of house sparrows that resided on the farm were tested positive for WNV infection. Mosquitoes (98%Culex pipiens) collected by trapping at the farm, during this period were positive for WNV. The meteorological data for year 2002 were compared to previous 16 years. The precipitation and ...
Trephination of the equine rostral maxillary sinus: efficacy and safety of two trephine sites. To examine 2 rostral maxillary sinus (RMS) trephine sites for safety and efficacy using skulls of horses of varying age. Methods: Descriptive study. Methods: Cadaveric equine skulls (n=40). Methods: Two RMS trephination sites (rostral, caudal) were made in each skull. Radiographic projections using markers at each site were used to determine if sites were within the RMS and directly overlying a cheek tooth. Sinusotomy in 14 skulls was used to determine correlation between radiographic and anatomic location of trephine sites, and of the rostrolateral aspect of the maxillary septum. Age-related ...
In vitro biomechanical comparison of locking compression plate fixation and limited-contact dynamic compression plate fixation of osteotomized equine third metacarpal bones. To compare monotonic biomechanical properties and fatigue life of a broad locking compression plate (LCP) fixation with a broad limited contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP) fixation to repair osteotomized equine third metacarpal (MC3) bones. Methods: In vitro biomechanical testing of paired cadaveric equine MC3 with a mid-diaphyseal osteotomy, stabilized by 1 of 2 methods for fracture fixation. Methods: Cadaveric adult equine MC3 bones (n=12 pairs). Methods: MC3 were divided into 3 groups (4 pairs each) for: (1) 4-point bending single cycle to failure testing; (2) 4-point bending cyclic ...
An in vitro biomechanical comparison of a 5.5 mm limited-contact dynamic compression plate fixation with a 4.5 mm limited-contact dynamic compression plate fixation of osteotomized equine third metacarpal bones. To compare monotonic biomechanical properties and fatigue life of a 5.5 mm broad limited-contact dynamic compression plate (5.5-LC-DCP) fixation with a 4.5 mm broad LC-DCP (4.5-LC-DCP) fixation to repair osteotomized equine third metacarpal (MC3) bones. Methods: In vitro biomechanical testing of paired cadaveric equine MC3 with a mid-diaphyseal osteotomy, stabilized by 1 of 2 methods for fracture fixation. Methods: Adult equine cadaveric MC3 bones (n=18 pair). Methods: MC3 were divided into 3 test groups (6 pairs each) for: (1) 4-point bending single cycle to failure testing; (2) 4-point bendi...
