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.
Busoni V, Snaps F, Trenteseaux J, Dondelinger RF.The purpose of this study was to describe the normal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging characteristics of the palmar structures of the equine podotrochlear apparatus by means of retrospective evaluation of MR imaging studies of 16 cadaver limbs. The articular aspect of the distal sesamoid bone was not evaluated in this study. Equine digits were imaged with a human knee radiofrequency coil in a 1.5 T magnetic field, using spin echo (SE) T1-weighted, turbo spin echo proton density (TSE PD)-weighted with and without fat saturation (FS), and FS TSE T2-weighted sequences. The limbs were dissected aft...
Pease AP, Scrivani PV, Erb HN, Cook VL.Large-colon torsion is a common cause of colic in horses and has a worse prognosis and higher cost than other causes of surgical colic of the large colon. During large-colon torsion, the colon wall becomes thick due to vascular occlusion. Therefore, we hypothesized that detecting increased colon wall thickness during ultrasonography would be an accurate preoperative test for large-colon torsion. The sample population consisted of 42 horses that were admitted for surgical treatment of colic localized to the large colon. The diagnosis was confirmed at surgery or necropsy examination. Twelve (29%...
Kempson SA, Robb R.Twenty-three horses with persistent hoof horn defects were treated topically with a hoof disinfectant as part of a hoof care programme for a year. The active ingredients of the disinfectant were a poloaximer-iodine complex, ethylenediamine dihydriodide, isopropyl alcohol and propylene glycol. Hoof trimmings were taken at the start of the study and every six weeks, and examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. At the beginning of the study all the horn samples contained large numbers of bacteria, and samples from eight of the horses also had fungal hyphae intermingled with the ...
Tomlinson JE, Wilder BO, Young KM, Blikslager AT.To examine the effects of flunixin meglumine and etodolac treatment on recovery of ischemic-injured equine jejunal mucosa after 18 hours of reperfusion. Methods: 24 horses. Methods: Jejunum was exposed to 2 hours of ischemia during anesthesia. Horses received saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (12 mL, i.v., q 12 h), flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg, i.v., q 12 h), or etodolac (23 mg/kg, i.v., q 12 h). Tissue specimens were obtained from ischemic-injured and nonischemic jejunum immediately after ischemia and 18 hours after recovery from ischemia. Transepithelial electric resistance (TER) and transepithel...
Spier SJ, Leutenegger CM, Carroll SP, Loye JE, Pusterla JB, Carpenter TE, Mihalyi JE, Madigan JE.To develop and use a sensitive molecular assay for detecting the phospholipase D (PLD) exotoxin gene of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in an attempt to identify insect vectors that may be important in transmission of clinical disease in horses. Methods: 2,621 flies of various species. Methods: A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based fluorogenic 5' nuclease (TaqMan) system (ie, TaqMan PCR assay) was developed for the detection of the PLD gene in insects. Flies were collected monthly (May to November 2002) from 5 farms in northern California where C. pseudotuberculosis infection in...
Kramer J, Keegan KG, Kelmer G, Wilson DA.To evaluate pelvic movement over a large number of strides in sound horses and in horses with induced hind limb lameness by applying methods to the pelvis that have been described for evaluating vertical head movement in horses with induced forelimb lameness. Methods: 17 adult horses. Methods: Horses were filmed while trotting on a treadmill before and after induction of transient mild and moderate hind limb lamenesses. Vertical pelvic movement was measured by a signal decomposition method. The vertical pelvic signal was decomposed into a periodic component (A1) that occurred at half the strid...
Raudsepp T, Santani A, Wallner B, Kata SR, Ren C, Zhang HB, Womack JE, Skow LC, Chowdhary BP.We herein report a detailed physical map of the horse Y chromosome. The euchromatic region of the chromosome comprises approximately 15 megabases (Mb) of the total 45- to 50-Mb size and lies in the distal one-third of the long arm, where the pseudoautosomal region (PAR) is located terminally. The rest of the chromosome is predominantly heterochromatic. Because of the unusual organization of the chromosome (common to all mammalian Y chromosomes), a number of approaches were used to crossvalidate the results. Analysis of the 5,000-rad horse x hamster radiation hybrid panel produced a map spannin...
Chopineau M, Martinat N, Gibrat JF, Galet C, Lecompte F, Foulon-Gauze F, Pourchet C, Guillou F, Combarnous Y.To identify amino-acids in the alpha-subunit important for expression of heterospecific FSH activity of horse (e) LH/choriogonadotropin (CG) (eLH) and donkey (dk) LH/CG (dkLH) (FSH/LH ratio ten times higher for eLH than for dkLH); this FSH activity absolutely requires an equid (donkey or horse) alpha-subunit combined with an equid beta-LH subunit. Methods: Chimeric alpha-subunits possessing the first 63 amino-acids of the porcine (p) and the last 33 amino-acids of the donkey alpha-subunit (alphap-dk) and the inverse (alphadk-p) were constructed. Porcine-specific amino-acids were introduced by ...
Rothschild CM, Hines MT, Breuhaus B, Gay J, Sellon DC.Trimethoprim-sulfadiazine was administered to horses in a randomized, placebo controlled study to determine the effects of potentiated sulfonamides on thyroid function in normal horses. The treatment group included eight horses that received trimethoprim-sulfadiazine mixed with molasses orally at 30 mg/kg once daily for eight weeks. The control group included 8 horses that received an oral placebo (flour mixed with molasses) once daily for the same period. Thyroid function was evaluated prior to initiation of treatment and after 8 weeks of treatment. Serum concentrations of total and free trii...
Lehner AF, Hughes CG, Harkins JD, Nickerson C, Mollett B, Dirikolu L, Bosken J, Camargo F, Boyles J, Troppmann A, Karpiesiuk WW, Woods WE, Tobin T.We have investigated the detection, confirmation, and metabolism of the beta-adrenergic agonist ractopamine administered as Paylean to the horse. A Testing Components Corporation enzyme-linked imunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for ractopamine displayed linear response between 1.0 and 100 ng/mL with an I-50 of 10 ng/mL and an effective screening limit of detection of 50 ng/mL. The kit was readily able to detect ractopamine equivalents in unhydrolyzed urine up to 24 h following a 300-mg oral dose. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) confirmation comprised glucuronidase treatment, solid-pha...
Kankavi O, Roberts MS.Once considered unique to the lung, surfactant proteins have been clearly identified in the intestine and peritoneum and are suggested to exist in several other organs. In the lung, surfactant proteins assist in the formation of a monolayer of surface-active phospholipid at the liquid-air interface of the alveolar lining, reducing the surface tension at this surface. In contrast, surface-active phospholipid adsorbed to articular surfaces has been identified as the load-bearing boundary lubricant of the joint. This raises the question of whether surfactant proteins in synovial fluid (SF) are re...
Wijnberg ID, Ververs FF.Five adult horses with ventricular extra systoles (VES) and 2 with ventricular tachycardia (VT) refractory to treatment with rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, lidocaine, or procainamide were treated with phenytoin sodium p.o. q12h. The starting dosage of phenytoin was 20 or 22 mg/kg body weight (BW) q12h, and the maintenance dosage varied from 8 to 17 mg/kg BW q12h. The mean +/- standard deviation therapeutic blood concentration of total phenytoin was 8.8 +/- 2.1 mg/L, and the mean concentration of free phenytoin of 2.5 +/- 0.5 mg/L was relatively constant at a range of 24 to 29% of the total phe...
Ghaoui Rel-H, Thomson PC, Evans G, Maxwell WM.Membrane vesicles, separated by differential centrifugation from the seminal plasma, were detected in the sperm-rich ejaculate fractions of four boars and three stallions, and in the whole ejaculates of seven rams. The volume and percentage of vesicles, determined by a stereological technique, were higher in the sperm-rich than in the post-sperm-rich fractions of the boar and stallion ejaculates, and no vesicles were detected in the pre sperm-rich fractions. Vesicles were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For boar, stallion and ram semen...
Paulis M, Moralli D, Bensi M, De Carli L, Raimondi E.Tigger elements are human DNA transposons homologous to the pogo element of Drosophila melanogaster. They contain an open reading frame for a transposase very similar to the major mammalian centromere protein CENP-B. We found in the horse genome a DNA element ( Ecatig3) sharing 88% homology with human Tigger3. The presence of Tigger elements in the horse genome confirms previous data that date these elements before the divergence between Perissodactyla and Primates (80-90 Myr ago). Copy number evaluation indicates that the horse element is much more abundant than its human counterpart. Souther...
Chikuni K, Muroya S, Nakajima I.Nucleotide sequences which included the full coding region for three types of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms were determined from equine skeletal muscles. The deduced amino acid sequences were 1937, 1938, and 1935 residues for the MyHC-2a, -2x, and -slow, respectively. No MyHC-2b isoform was amplified from the equine muscle cDNA except for one pseudogene fragment. One nucleotide was inserted in the coding region of the equine pseudogene product, a minute amount of which was expressed in the skeletal muscle. The 596 bp sequence of the equine MyHC pseudogene was categorized into the MyHC-2b ...
Weese JS, Anderson ME, Lowe A, Penno R, da Costa TM, Button L, Goth KC.Probiotics have not been demonstrated to provide any beneficial health effects in horses, possibly because of improper selection of probiotic organisms. This study was designed to identify lactic acid bacteria of equine origin with predetermined beneficial properties which might make them useful as therapeutic probiotics. Objective: A small percentage of lactic acid bacteria that are native to the intestinal tract of horses possess properties that may be useful in the treatment and/or prevention of gastrointestinal disease in horses. Methods: Faecal samples were collected from healthy mature h...
Tunley BV, Henson FM.Thermographic imaging is an increasingly used diagnostic tool. When performing thermography, guidelines suggest that horses should be left for 10-20 mins to 'acclimatise' to the thermographic imaging environment, with no experimental data to substantiate this recommendation. In addition, little objective work has been published on the repeatability and reliability of the data obtained. Thermography has been widely used to identify areas of abnormal body surface temperature in horses with back pathology; however, no normal data is available on the thermographic 'map' of the thoracolumbar region...
Tessier C, Holcombe SJ, Derksen FJ, Berney C, Boruta D.Nasopharyngeal collapse has been observed in horses as a potential cause of exercise intolerance and upper respiratory noise. No treatment is currently available and affected horses are often retired from performance. Objective: To determine the effect of bilateral glossopharyngeal nerve block and stylopharyngeus muscle dysfunction on nasopharyngeal function and airway pressures in exercising horses. Methods: Endoscopic examinations were performed on horses at rest and while running on a treadmill at speeds corresponding to HRmax50, HRmax75 and HRmax, with upper airway pressures measured with ...
Engeli E, Haussler KK, Erb HN.Sacroiliac joint osteoarthritis has been recognised as a significant cause of poor performance in competition and racehorses. Reliable diagnostic tools are currently lacking. The diagnosis has been based typically on exclusion of other possible causes of poor performance, back pain and hindlimb lameness. Objective: To develop a safe, reliable and minimally invasive periarticular or intra-articular injection technique of potential use for diagnosis and therapy of sacroiliac joint disease in horses. Methods: Twenty-six horses were used to develop and assess a medial approach to the sacroiliac jo...
Shoemaker R, Bailey J, Janzen E, Wilson DG.Castration is one of the most common routine surgical procedures performed in the horse, from which a number of potential complications can arise. We undertook a prospective evaluation of short-term complications associated with castration of draught colts over a 3-year period (1998-2000). Objective: To compare castration complications in a large number of draught foals with previously published literature. Methods: Five hundred and sixty-eight draught colts, age 4 or 5 months, were castrated in field conditions. Foals were observed for complications for 24 h post operatively. Results: There w...
Brommer H, Rijkenhuizen AB, Brama PA, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.There are many noninvasive diagnostic methods used for evaluating chronic progressive joint disease, but each has severe limitations in the detection of early articular cartilage damage. Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of arthroscopy as a diagnostic method for the assessment of the severity of cartilage surface damage on the proximal articular margin of the equine first phalanx (P1). Objective: That arthroscopic assessment of the visible cartilage provides 1) a good indication of the integrity of the cartilage surface and 2) a good estimation of the status of the cartilage surface of the e...
Kasashima Y, Takahashi T, Smith RK, Goodship AE, Kuwano A, Ueno T, Hirano S.Overstrain injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory ligament (SI) are among the most common musculoskeletal injuries which contribute to the considerable wastage of racing Thoroughbreds. Many epidemiological studies have demonstrated the prevalence of and risk factors for tendon injury when racing but have not included those injuries sustained during training. However, since tendon injury during training is seen commonly in clinical practice, it is appropriate to determine the overall prevalence of tendon injury sustained during both training and racing. Objectiv...
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...
Deprez P, Vercruysse J.The results of the treatment with moxidectin or ivermectin of 20 horses with clinical cyathostominosis were studied during a 3-week observation period. Both treatments were effective in completely eliminating larvae from the faeces within 1 or 2 weeks, but no significant improvement in body weight or clinical parameters could be demonstrated over the observation period. The poor short time results of the treatment support the need for an adequate prevention of cyathostominosis in horses.
Otranto D, Colwell DD, Milillo P, Di Marco V, Paradies P, Napoli C, Giannetto S.Two species of Rhinoestrus (i.e. Rhinoestrus purpureus (Brauer) and Rhinoestrus usbekistanicus Gan) cause nasal myiasis in horses, donkeys and zebras. In the past 15 years myiasis caused by R. purpureus has been reported in Egypt and by R. usbekistanicus in Senegal and Niger, both in horses and in donkeys. With the aim to investigate the presence of this myiasis in autochthonous horses and donkeys from southern Italy and to study the seasonal trend of larval infection, 212 native horses were necropsied in two slaughterhouses in the Apulia region (site A) from January to November 2003, and 120 ...
Heninger NL, Staub C, Blanchard TL, Johnson L, Varner DD, Forrest DW.Apoptosis in testicular germ cells has been demonstrated in many mammalian species. However, little is known about the stallion (Equus caballus) and rates of apoptosis during spermatogenesis. Morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis reported in other species were used to confirm that the TdT-mediated dUTP Nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay is an acceptable method for identification and quantification of apoptotic germ cells in histological tissue sections from stallion testis. Seminiferous tubules from eight stallions with normal testis size and semen quality were evaluated according t...
Raeside JI, Christie HL, Renaud RL, Waelchli RO, Betteridge KJ.Because estradiol (E(2)) production by the early equine conceptus is considered crucial to the establishment of pregnancy, the amounts of E(2), estrone (E(1)), and their sulfates (E(2)S, E(1)S) were measured by RIA in yolk-sac fluid of 63 conceptuses collected by transcervical lavage over the period of 11-26 days after ovulation. Amounts increased significantly with age of conceptus, especially for E(1)S. Then, the metabolism of E(2), which may be highly relevant for its action, was examined in the conceptus and endometrium over the period when the conceptus ceases to migrate within the uterus...
Bello AC, Da Cunha AP, Leite RC, Oliveira PR, Ribeiro AC, Domingues LN, De Freitas CM, Bastianetto E, Dalla Rosa RC.This trial evaluated control practices of Anocentor nitens on equines, using spraying devices and application of acaricide paste formulation in the auricular pavilion and nasal diverticulum. The study was carried out from October 2003 to March of 2008 and the evaluations had been divided in the following stages: Phase 1--out/03 mar/04 and Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, correspondents to the month's periods until março/08. It was used score of 0 to 3 to classify infestation levels. From abr/04 to mar/06 was implanted a schedule of acaricide sprayings every seven days and divided in two se...
Ricard RM, Burton J, Chow-Lockerbie B, Wobeser B.Chlamydiae are reported to cause abortion in several species, however the association between Chlamydia sp. and equine abortions is poorly understood. A zoonotic transfer event of C. psittaci from aborted equine tissues in Australia has emphasized the need to better understand the prevalence of this pathogen in equine populations. The prevalence of chlamydia in equine abortions in North America has not been investigated thoroughly. We examined 99 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded placental samples submitted between 2009 and 2020 from equine abortions in Western Canada using chlamydia-specific ...
Wentink GH.The locomotor pattern of the hind limb of seven horses has been studied in intact animals and after transection of the following structures: the peroneus tertius tendon, the cranial tibial muscle, both cranial tibial muscle and peroneus tertius tendon, and the superficial digital flexor tendon. The investigation was carried out by high speed cinematography and electromyography. It is concluded that (1) the muscles and tendons over the cranial aspect of the tibia play an important role during the support phase; (2) the movements of the hind limb may be performed without the action of the crania...
Karns PA, Luther DG.In a survey of 13 Louisiana equine practices, it was determined that 366 of 3,316 horses developed adverse reactions following use of ivermectin, with 3 of the horses having more than 1 reaction. Almost all of the reactions were of minor to moderate concern; however, 1 death was reported. Three hundred and thirty-two (91% of all reactions) were reported as ventral midline pruritus or edema (10% of all doses). Fifteen (0.45%) were transient injection site swelling and/or stiffness. Eleven horses (0.33%) developed limb edema. Eyelid edema was reported in 4 horses (0.12%). Two horses (0.06%) had ...
Nash DM, Sheldon IM, Herath S, Lane EA.Mating-induced endometritis (MIE) is ubiquitous in the horse after natural mating and artificial insemination with frozen/thawed semen causing the most aggressive response. The majority of mares eliminate MIE 24-48 h after insemination. An endometrial explant culture was tested as a potential in vitro exemplar for sperm-induced MIE. Endometrial prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha)) secretion and expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8) were used as markers of inflammation. Endometrial explants were cultured from uteri collected from follicular phase mares. Explants were challenged with 1 or 10 x 10(...
Mendoza E, Bubis J, Pérez-Rojas Y, Montilla AJ, Spencer LM, Bustamante F, Martínez JC.Previously, we have identified a protein in Trypanosoma equiperdum that possesses homology with the regulatory (R) subunits of the mammalian cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). The recombinant T. equiperdum PKA R-like protein was expressed in bacteria and purified to homogeneity. Mice polyclonal antibodies were raised against the recombinant R-like protein to serologically evaluate its humoral immune response. High titers of specific sera antibodies were obtained against the parasite R-like protein by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and immunoblots revealed that this prote...
Scheeren VFC, Sancler-Silva YFR, El-Sheikh Ali H, Kastelic JP, Alvarenga MA, Papa FO.Seminal vesiculitis in stallions reduces fertility and is often underdiagnosed. The most common cause is infection of seminal vesicles by bacteria capable of forming biofilms and a propensity for tissue persistence, for example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Achieving a clinical cure is challenging because of a high rate of recurrence. Systemic antibiotic therapy does not reach adequate therapeutic concentrations within the seminal vesicles; one alternative is endoscopy-guided, local antibiotic infusion into the gland lumen, with or without concurrent systemic antibiotics. Current diagnostic and the...
Mageed M, Ionita C, Kissich C, Brehm W, Winter K, Ionita JC.To determine the influence of cryopreservation at two different temperatures on platelet concentration, growth factor (GF) levels and platelet activation parameters in equine ACP®; moreover, to determine if adding mechanical ACP® stimulation to freeze-thaw activation amplifies GF release from platelets. Methods: Firstly, blood from five horses was used to prepare ACP®. Platelet, platelet derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) concentrations as well as mean platelet volume (MPV) and mean platelet component (MPC) were determined in fresh and correspond...
Soulé C, Boulard C, Levieux D, Barnouin J, Plateau E.Three, four, and one horses were respectively infected with 100, 1,000, and 5,000 metacercariae of Fasciola hepatica. Six of them were reinfected 38 weeks later with 1,000 metacercariae each. Specific antibodies assayed by counter-electrophoresis, passive hemagglutination and ELISA tests appeared three to six weeks post-infection and peaked 10 to 17 weeks post-infection. Horses infected by 1,000 metacercariae and more showed 17.6% of positive samples by counter-electrophoresis, 49.2% by ELISA, and 75.6% by passive hemagglutination. Plasma glutamate dehydrogenase and gamma-glutamyltransferase l...
Lane MJ, Pucheu-Haston CM, Kearney MT, Woodward M.Appropriate allergen threshold concentrations (TCs) for intradermal testing (IDT) have not been established in horses for many pollen and mould allergens. Objective: To determine the TCs in non-allergic horses and describe the frequency of late phase reactions for 26 allergens, including trees, grasses, weeds and moulds in horses residing in the southern Unites States. Methods: Twenty four clinically normal horses in the southern United States. Methods: Threshold concentrations for different allergens were determined using IDT subjective measurements at 30 minutes. Delayed reactions were evalu...
Cuervo-Arango J, Beg MA, Ginther OJ.The objective was to determine differences in follicle and reproductive hormone characteristics in mares with ovulatory and flunixin meglumine (FM)-induced anovulatory cycles. Estrous mares were given 1500 IU hCG when the follicle was ≥ 32 mm (0 h). In Experiment 1, control mares (n = 7) were not treated further. The remaining mares (n = 11) were given 1.7 mg/kg FM i.v. twice daily, from 0 to 36 h after hCG treatment. Blood samples and ultrasonographic examinations were performed every 12 h. All control mares ovulated normally between 36 and 48 h. In contrast, eight of 11 FM mares did not ov...
Fonseca AO, Botton Sde A, Nogueira CE, Corrêa BF, Silveira Jde S, de Azevedo MI, Maroneze BP, Santurio JM, Pereira DI.Pythium insidiosum is an important pathogen of mammals' species, including humans. Equine is the main species affected by this oomycete. P. insidiosum requires an aquatic environment to develop its life cycle, and the susceptible hosts are contaminated when they contact the microorganism in swampy areas. The equine pythiosis is characterized by the formation of irregular masses within the cutaneous lesions, called kunkers, which easily detach from the lesion. From these structures, it is possible to isolate P. insidiosum in pure cultures. The present study aimed to reproduce in vitro the life ...
Lauper M, Gerber V, Ramseyer A, Burger D, Lüth A, Koch C, Dolf G.There is a lack of evidence regarding genetic parameters of health traits in Swiss Warmblood horses. Objective: To estimate heritabilities of equine sarcoid disease, horn quality of hooves, prognathism and increased filling of talocrural joints as a possible indicator for osteochondrosis in Swiss Warmblood horses examined at the field tests for 3-year-olds between 2005 and 2013. Methods: Retrospective analysis of breed society database. Methods: Swiss Warmblood horses were examined clinically by 13 veterinarians at field tests in Switzerland between 2005 and 2013. The presence of sarcoids, hor...
Dixon PM, Puidupin C, Borkent D, Liuti T, Reardon RJM. Computed tomographic (CT) imaging has shown some horses with sinonasal diseases to have changes in their sinus bony structures. Scintigraphic and clinical evidence of sinus osteitis have also been reported. However, no study has objectively examined for the presence and degree of osteitis in equine sinonasal disease. To assess for the presence and extent of osteitis of sinus-related bony structures by examination of CT images of horses with clinically and sinoscopically confirmed unilateral sinonasal disease. Retrospective examination of CT images of horses with confirmed, mainly chronic (&...
Sandersen CF, Detilleux J, de Moffarts B, Van Loon G, Amory H.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of combined atropine low-dose dobutamine stress test on left ventricular parameters in adult warmblood horses, to establish a potential protocol for pharmacological stress echocardiography. Seven healthy untrained warmblood horses aged 9 to 22 years were used. Heart rate (HR) and left ventricular B- and M-mode dimensions were recorded at baseline and during stress testing with 35 microg/kg atropine IV followed by incremental dobutamine infusion of 2 to 6 microg/kg/min. HR increased significantly (P < .05) during the pharmacological challen...
Hughes JP.Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) is a highly contagious venereal disease of horses caused by a fastidious, Gram-negative coccobacillus which grows best on chocolate agar under microaerophilic conditions (5-10% CO2). Clinically, the disease is characterized by a copious watery-to-mucopurulent, vaginal discharge two to ten days after breeding by an infected stallion (11, 13). Shortened estrous cycle lengths are common and may be the only indication of endometritis in some instances (7). Inapparent carriers of the disease in both the mare and stallion make control of the disease more difficult. O...
Mahmoud HY, Andoh K, Hattori S, Terada Y, Noguchi K, Shimoda H, Maeda K.In this study, we attempted to express twelve glycoproteins of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) in 293T cells and to characterize these using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and horse sera against EHV-1. Expression of glycoprotein B (gB), gC, gD, gG, gI and gp2 was recognized by immunoblot analysis using horse sera, but that of gE, gH, gK, gL, gM and gN was not. Four MAbs recognized gB, four recognized gC and one recognized gp2. Two MAbs against gB cross-reacted with EHV-4. Interestingly, coexpression of gE and gI and gM and gN enhanced their antigenicity. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis of gp2 show...
Martinez CR, Santangelo KS, Olver CS.Whole transferrin receptor (TfR) is present in reticulocyte exosomes. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is cleaved from whole TfR in human plasma, with the remnant cytoplasmic domain (cTfR) remaining membrane associated. In humans, sTfR is a biomarker that can detect iron deficiency in the presence of inflammatory disease. This condition is still a diagnostic dilemma in veterinary species. We aimed to (1) confirm the presence of exosomes and exosome-associated TfR in the serum of dogs, cats, and horses; and (2) to assess and compare the proportion of cTfR to total (cTfR + whole) in exoso...
Allen WR.Fertilized eggs reach the uterus of the mare by the sixth day after ovulation whereas unfertilized eggs remain lodged in the fallopian tubes for many months. However, embryo removal studies indicate that the fetal message for luteal maintenance in the pregnant mare is not transmitted until Days 14-16. The equine endometrial cups comprise a series of small, ulcer-like endometrial outgrowths which are present in the pregnant horn of the uterus between 40 and 150 days of gestation. Each cup consists of a discrete colony of large, gonadotropin-secreting, trophoblast cells derived from a specialize...
Harris P, Marlin D, Gray J.A similar and significant (P less than 0.001) increase in plasma thyroxine (T4) concentration was seen in seven clinically normal thoroughbred horses 2 h after the intravenous administration of either 2.5 iu or 5 iu of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) with a peak response around 4 h after administration. The intravenous administration of 0.2, 0.5 or 1 mg thyrotrophin releasing hormone (TRH) resulted in a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in T4 concentration in three groups of animals; six thoroughbreds in full work, five thoroughbreds at rest and four ponies at rest. The peak response w...
Perryman LE, McGuire TC.Combined immunodeficiency in horses is a genetic disorder in which there is a defect in the production of committed B and T lymphocytes. In this study, peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes from foals with combined immunodeficiency were examined for their capacity to stimulate and respond in one-way mixed lymphocyte cultures. Irradiated cells from combined immunodeficient foals were uniformly capable of stimulating cells from unrelated horses. However, none were able to respond to allogeneic stimulation. Examination of cells from known carrier horses revealed no difference in capacity to sti...
Barbosa JD, Lins AMC, Bomjardim HDA, Silveira NDSES, Barbosa CC, Beuttemmuller EA, Brito MF, Salvarani FM.An investigative and epidemiological study was carried out for equine herpesvirus type 1 (HVE-1) in 10 outbreaks of neurological disease from different farms in the state of Pará, Brazil. 25 horses were studied: six male and 19 females, aged between one and 13 years. A necropsy of six horses was performed, and the others recovered either with or without treatment (T1-vitamin B1 + dexamentasone; T2-vitamin B1 + flunixim meglumine). Animals that received treatment recovered after eight days. The main clinical signs observed were motor incoordination, progressive paresis, thoracic and/or pelvic ...
Foland JW, Trotter GW, Stashak TS, McIlwraith CW, Turner AS, Aanes WA.Fifty-five horses were presented to Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 1st of January 1980 and 31st of December 1989 for treatment of distal limb lacerations involving flexor tendons (n = 35) or extensor tendons (n = 20). Of the 35 flexor tendon lacerations, 11 horses were killed without treatment and 24 horses were treated. Twenty-two horses were included in determining outcome. Four (18 per cent) returned to their original level of use, nine (41 per cent) returned to limited riding, seven (32 per cent) returned to breeding or pasture soundness and two (9 per cent)...
Sanz MG, Viljoen A, Saulez MN, Olorunju S, Andrews FM.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a commercial feed supplement containing pectin-lecithin on squamous mucosa ulceration in horses exposed to an experimental ulceration model. Five mares were treated while five mares were controls for this crossover, blinded study. The mares were fed concentrates and hay and were stabled with a two-hour turn out per day for a period of four weeks. The pectin-lecithin complex was fed for the duration of the study on the treated group. At the end of a four-week period, all mares underwent a seven-day alternating feed deprivation (week 5). ...
Kang H, Lee GKC, Bienzle D, Arroyo LG, Sears W, Lillie BN, Beeler-Marfisi J.Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are the predominant innate immune cell in the distal respiratory tract. During inflammatory responses, AMs may be supplemented by blood monocytes, which differentiate into monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). Macrophages play important roles in a variety of common equine lower airway diseases, including severe equine asthma (SEA). In an experimental model, an inhaled mixture of Aspergillus fumigatus spores, lipopolysaccharide, and silica microspheres (FLS), induced SEA exacerbation in susceptible horses. However, whether equine AMs and MDMs have differing immunopheno...
Ross J, Palmer JE, Wilkins PA.To review management of pregnant mares with body wall defects and assess the effect of various management strategies on the outcome of mares and their foals. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 13 mares. Methods: Medical records of eligible mares were reviewed. Signalment, history, admitting complaint, clinical findings, parity, type of body wall defect, concurrent diagnoses, postpartum complications, outcome of fetus, outcome of mare, and type of clinical case management were recorded. Results: 8 mares received conservative management and 5 mares received interventional management. S...
Laverty S, Lavoie JP, Pascoe JR, Ducharme N.Clinical features, treatment and outcome of 15 horses with penetrating thoracic wounds are described. The most common cause of trauma was collision with an object (10 horses). Concurrent clinical findings included subcutaneous emphysema (12 horses), pneumothorax (12 horses), haemothorax (5 horses) and pneumomediastinum (6 horses). Axillary wounds were present in 5 horses. Foreign bodies were identified and removed from 2 horses. Wounds were sutured (6 horses) or packed (7 horses). Air was evacuated from the pleural cavities of 11 horses. Eleven horses (73%) were discharged from the hospital. A...
Daddy KK, Mwanza M, Oguttu JW, Ngoma L.Leptospirosis is one of the major emerging global economic and health problems affecting donkeys, thereby reducing their work output. Furthermore, the disease has public health importance because of its zoonotic nature. Despite the significant contribution donkeys make to the national economy, less attention is given to diseases that afflict donkeys and reduce their productivity and performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of Leptospira and identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of the disease among donkeys in the study area. Methods: A...
Naylor RJ, Piercy RJ.To produce a clonal equine myoblast cell line that retains the ability to divide for multiple passages and differentiate into multinucleated myotubes during specific conditions. Methods: Cultured primary equine skeletal muscle-derived cells from a healthy Thoroughbred. Methods: Cell cultures were transfected by electroporation with a plasmid (pNIT) that expresses the temperature-sensitive simian vacuolating virus 40 large T antigen (TAg), which can be controlled by a doxycycline-responsive promoter. Cells that stably integrated the TAg were selected and expanded to passage 25. For each passage...
Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.Muscle biopsy samples were collected from the middle gluteal muscle of seven horses undergoing a nine-month endurance training programme. Samples were collected before the programme began and again after three, six and nine months of training. A fifth sample was collected three months after training ceased. Serial muscle sections were reacted histochemically for myosin adenosine triphosphatase after either acid (pH 4.3 and 4.6) or alkaline (pH 10.3) pre-incubation, and muscle fibres identified as type I, IIA, IIB or IIC. The oxidative capacity of individual fibres was assessed, using the reduc...
