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.
Lagounova M, MacNicol JL, Weese JS, Pearson W.Synbiotics are often provided to horses receiving antibiotics to protect against microbiome disturbances, despite a lack of evidence for efficacy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a synbiotic product in horses receiving antibiotics. Sixteen actively racing Standardbred horses were randomly allocated (four-way crossover) to one of four groups: antibiotics (10 days; AB), synbiotics (28 days; PROBIOPlusTM; PBP), PBP + AB, or Control. The fecal microbiome was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing, and fecal dry matter (DM; %), pH, and scores (FS; 0-9) were measured. Data we...
Zaha C, Schuszler L, Dascalu R, Nistor P, Florea T, Rujescu C, Sicoe B, Igna C.The field of veterinary medicine lacks information on equine thermal hoof printing, and few data on the same subject are available in dogs. In human medicine, thermography is used to detect heat emitted by the foot when it comes in contact with a flat surface to detect the abnormalities of the foot balance. The hypothesis states that the thermal pattern of the hoof print in Warmblood horses is detectable and it does not vary among the four limbs in leisure and cross-country Warmblood horses in terms of mean temperature of the hoof print surface. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the a...
Manzoori S, Farahani AHK, Moradi MH, Kazemi-Bonchenari M.The assignment of an individual to the true population of origin using a low-panel of discriminant SNP markers is one of the most important applications of genomic data for practical use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of different Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) approaches consisting Deep Neural Networks (DNN), Garson and Olden methods for feature selection of informative SNP markers from high-throughput genotyping data, that would be able to trace the true breed of unknown samples. The total of 795 animals from 37 breeds, genotyped by using the Illumina SNP 50k Bead ch...
Triant DA, Walsh AT, Hartley GA, Petry B, Stegemiller MR, Nelson BM, McKendrick MM, Fuller EP, Cockett NE, Koltes JE, McKay SD, Green JA, Murdoch BM....Current genome sequencing technologies have made it possible to generate highly contiguous genome assemblies for non-model animal species. Despite advances in genome assembly methods, there is still room for improvement in the delineation of specific gene features in the genomes. Here we present genome visualization and annotation tools to support seven livestock species (bovine, chicken, goat, horse, pig, sheep, and water buffalo), available in a new resource called AgAnimalGenomes. In addition to supporting the manual refinement of gene models, these browsers provide visualization tracks for...
Pearson GB, Papa B, Mosaddegh A, Cooper H, Aprea M, Pigott J, Altier C, Cazer CL, Reesink HL.To investigate (1) variables associated with the likelihood of obtaining a positive culture, (2) commonly isolated microorganisms, and (3) antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolates from horses with presumptive synovial sepsis. Methods: Synovial fluid, synovium, and bone samples from equine cases with presumptive synovial sepsis submitted to the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center from 2000 to 2020 for microbial culture and antimicrobial sensitivity testing. Methods: Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to determine the effect of variables on the likelihood o...
Holguin-Rocha AF, Calle-Tobon A, Vásquez GM, Astete H, Fisher ML, Tobon-Castano A, Velez-Tobon G, Maldonado-Ruiz LP, Silver K, Park Y....Ticks are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites that transmit pathogens among various vertebrates, including humans. The microbial and viral communities of ticks, including pathogenic microorganisms, are known to be highly diverse. However, the factors driving this diversity are not well understood. The tropical horse tick, Dermacentor nitens, is distributed throughout the Americas and it is recognized as a natural vector of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, the causal agents of equine piroplasmosis. In this study, we characterized the bacterial and viral communities associated with partial...
Chen Q, Wang Z, Chen H.Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) can indirectly cause increased testosterone in animals, which leads to the improvement of the athletic ability of horses. For the protection of horses and the consideration of fair competition, AIs were listed as prohibited drugs by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). There were several disadvantages using traditional pretreatment methods before analyzing these drugs from biological samples. A rapid and green pretreatment method has been developed by utilizing the hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (D...
Bordin C, Raspa F, Harris P, Ellis AD, Roggero A, Palestrini C, Bergero D, Valle E.The application of hay feeding devices, such as the use of hay nets or slow feeders, can help with the management of weight in ponies; however, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding their effect on equine posture. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the effect of different feeding devices on the posture of ponies using morphometric analysis. Two different breed types, Shetland type (SH, n = 5) versus Welsh Cob type (WC, n = 4), were fed the same forage in four different ways: on the ground (G), using a fully filled haynet (HF), using a partially filled haynet (HL) and...
St George L, Spoormakers TJP, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ, Clayton HM, Richards J, Serra Bragança FM.The reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) has not been adequately demonstrated in the equine literature and is an essential consideration as a methodology for application in clinical gait analysis. This observational study investigated within-session, intra-subject (stride-to-stride) and inter-subject reliability, and between-session reliability of normalised sEMG activity profiles, from triceps brachii (triceps), latissimus dorsi (latissimus), longissimus dorsi (longissimus), biceps femoris (biceps), superficial gluteal (gluteal) and semitendinosus muscles in n = 8 clinically non-lam...
Bergmann R, Schroedl W, Müller U, Baums CG.Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is a major equine pathogen that causes pneumonia, abortion, and polyarthritis. It can also cause invasive infections in humans. SEZ expresses the M-like protein SzM, which recruits host proteins such as fibrinogen to the bacterial surface. Equine SEZ strain C2, which binds only comparably low amounts of human fibrinogen in comparison to human SEZ strain C33, was previously shown to proliferate in equine and human blood. As the expression of SzM_C2 was necessary for survival in blood, this study investigated the working hypothesis that SzM_C2 inhibi...
Pielok A, Kępska M, Steczkiewicz Z, Grobosz S, Bourebaba L, Marycz K.Medicinal signaling cells (MSC) exhibit distinct molecular signatures and biological abilities, depending on the type of tissue they originate from. Recently, we isolated and described a new population of stem cells residing in the coronary corium, equine hoof progenitor cells (HPCs), which could be a new promising cell pool for the treatment of laminitis. Therefore, this study aimed to compare native populations of HPCs to well-established adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in standard culture conditions and in a pro-inflammatory milieu to mimic a laminitis condition. ASCs and HPCs were either...
Bolz NM, Sánchez-Andrade JS, Torgerson PR, Bischofberger AS.The purpose of the study was to determine the diagnostic performance of computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) and 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting artificial cartilage lesions in equine femorotibial and femoropatellar joints. Methods: A total of 79 cartilage defects were created arthroscopically in 15 cadaver stifles from adult horses in eight different locations. In addition, 68 sites served as negative controls. MRI and CTA (80-160 mL iodinated contrast media at 87.5 mg/mL per joint) studies were obtained and evaluated by a radiologist unaware of the lesion distributi...
Roberts JH, Zhang J, David F, McLean A, Blumenshine K, Müller-Alander E, Halper J.Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD) negatively impacts connective tissues in horses, which often leads to progressive chronic pain and lameness. DSLD has been shown to be a systemic disorder that affects multiple body systems, including tendons, sclerae, and the aorta. Currently, the diagnosis is confirmed by post mortem histological examination of a tendon or suspensory ligament. Histology reveals inappropriate accumulations of proteoglycans in the tendons and other tissues in DSLD-affected horses. Unfortunately, there is no reliable method to diagnose DSLD in living horses. Rece...
Zahradnik E, Sander I, Lotz A, Liebers V, Thullner I, Tacke S, Raulf M.The study aimed to determine the allergen, endotoxin and β-(1,3)-glucan concentrations at various areas on a university campus of veterinary medicine. Methods: Dust samples were collected four times a year for three years using electrostatic dust collectors (EDC) at 25 different locations on a campus of veterinary medicine and in laboratories of inorganic chemistry as a control area representing animal-free environment. Major animal allergens from dog, cat, horse, cattle and mouse, domestic mite (DM) allergens, and β-(1,3)-glucan were measured using enzyme immunoassays and endotoxin using th...
Trsan J, Nottle BF, Pusterla N.This study was designed to determine the effect of PPG and/or flunixin meglumine on SAA response when used at clinical dosing regimens in healthy adult horses. Six healthy adult horses were enrolled in a crossover study design including one control and three treatment groups: no treatment (control); PPG alone (intramuscularly q12h for 72h); flunixin meglumine alone (intravenously q24h for 72h); and PPG (intramuscularly q12h for 72h) and flunixin meglumine (intravenously q24h for 72h). Whole blood was collected at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours post-initial drug administration to measure SAA u...
Gonzálvez M, Franco JJ, Barbero-Moyano J, Caballero-Gómez J, Ruano MJ, Martínez R, Cano-Terriza D, García-Bocanegra I.The largest epidemic of West Nile virus (WNV) reported ever in Spain in both humans and equines occurred in 2020, affecting 77 humans and 139 equine herds. Here, we aimed to monitor the outbreaks detected in equid herds in Andalusia (southern Spain), the Spanish region where 89.9% of the outbreaks were reported, and to evaluate the virus circulation and risk factor associated with WNV exposure in the affected herds. The first WNV case was detected in mid-July 2020, the number of outbreaks peaked in mid-August and the last one was confirmed on 26th October 2020. WNV lineage 1 was detected in 12...
Dallarosa P, Monteiro ER, Borenstein APS, Valle SF.Packed cell volume (PCV) is important for assessing a patient's health status. Some blood gas analyzers measure hematocrit, and the agreement with PCV varies among different analyzers. Objective: We aimed to determine the agreement between PCV measured by microcentrifugation and hematocrit measured by the Cobas b121 blood gas analyzer in dogs, cats, and horses. Methods: Whole blood samples for PCV and blood gas analysis were collected in lithium-heparin syringes and analyzed within 10 min of collection. Agreement and association between the PCV and Cobas b121 generated hematocrit were assess...
Reed RA, Krikorian AM, Reynolds RM, Holmes BT, Branning MM, Lemons MB, Barletta M, Quandt JE, Burns CC, Dantino SC, Sakai DM.Equine pain scoring may be affected by the residual effect of anesthetic drugs. Unassigned: To compare pain scores in the hours immediately following anesthetic recovery to baseline pre-anesthetic scores in equine patients undergoing surgical and non-surgical procedures. Unassigned: Clinical observational study. Unassigned: Fifty adult horses undergoing anesthesia for surgical or non-surgical procedures were enrolled. Horses underwent pain scoring using the Composite Pain Score (CPS) and Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP) prior to anesthesia (T0) and foll...
Costa LRR, Swiderski C, Palm C, Aleman M.To investigate if hepatitis A virus cell receptor 1/kidney injury molecule 1 (HAVCR1/KIM1) in urine is detectable concurrently with increases in serum creatinine concentrations in horses receiving a recommended dose of phenylbutazone (PBZ) for 7 days. Methods: Preliminary study. Methods: Ten clinically healthy horses with normal physical examination and laboratory work were randomly assigned to PBZ or placebo groups (5 each). The PBZ group received PBZ at 4.4 mg/kg mixed with corn syrup orally every 12 hours. The placebo group received corn syrup orally every 12 hours. Both groups were tre...
Crecan CM, Peștean CP.Objective gait analysis provides valuable information about the locomotion characteristics of sound and lame horses. Due to their high accuracy and sensitivity, inertial measurement units (IMUs) have gained popularity over objective measurement techniques such as force plates and optical motion capture (OMC) systems. IMUs are wearable sensors that measure acceleration forces and angular velocities, providing the possibility of a non-invasive and continuous monitoring of horse gait during walk, trot, or canter during field conditions. The present narrative review aimed to describe the inertial ...
Harman RM, Rajesh A, Van de Walle GR.Treatment of skin wounds is a high priority in veterinary medicine because healthy uncompromised skin is essential for the well-being of horses. Stem cells and other biologic therapies offer benefits by reducing the need for surgical procedures and conventional antibiotics. Evidence from in vitro studies and small in vivo trials supports the use of equine stem cells and biologics for the treatment of acute and chronic cutaneous wounds. Larger clinical trials are warranted to better evaluate the regenerative and immunological responses to these treatments. Additionally, delivery methods and t...
Castro-Mesa AF, Resende Faleiros R, Martínez-Aranzales JR.The transmural ultrasound allows for the definition of the normal appearance of the hoof tissues and internal structures. Determining such measurements and proportions could contribute to evaluations of the normal spatial distal phalanx-hoof relationship. The objective was to describe the hoof's dermis and epidermis measurements using the transmural technique, in comparison with DR and anatomical sections. Sixty-two healthy hooves without digital radiographic abnormalities, made up of 30 anatomical pieces (phase 1) and 32 alive horse hooves (phase 2), and 16 sagittal sections of the first ones...
Olstad K, Ekman S, Björnsdóttir S, Fjordbakk CT, Hansson K, Sigurdsson SF, Ley CJ.Recently, the central and third tarsal bones of 23 equine fetuses and foals were examined using micro-computed tomography. Radiological changes, including incomplete ossification and focal ossification defects interpreted as osteochondrosis, were detected in 16 of 23 cases. The geometry of the osteochondrosis defects suggested they were the result of vascular failure, but this requires histological confirmation. The study aim was to examine central and third tarsal bones from the 16 cases and to describe the tissues present, cartilage canals, and lesions, including suspected osteochondrosis le...
Pezzanite LM, Chow L, Dow SW, Goodrich LR, Gilbertie JM, Schnabel LV.Increasing antimicrobial resistance in veterinary practice has driven the investigation of novel therapeutic strategies including regenerative and biologic therapies to treat bacterial infection. Integration of biological approaches such as platelet lysate and mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy may represent adjunctive treatment strategies for bacterial infections that minimize systemic side effects and local tissue toxicity associated with traditional antibiotics and that are not subject to antibiotic resistance. In this review, we will discuss mechanisms by which biological therapies exe...
Esposito M, Astolfo A, Cipiccia S, Jones CM, Savvidis S, Ferrara JD, Endrizzi M, Dudhia J, Olivo A.Microscopic imaging of cartilage is a key tool for the study and development of treatments for osteoarthritis. When cellular and sub-cellular resolution is required, histology remains the gold standard approach, albeit limited by the lack of volumetric information as well as by processing artifacts. Cartilage imaging with the sub-cellular resolution has only been demonstrated in the synchrotron environment. Objective: To provide a proof-of-concept demonstration of the capability of a laboratory-based x-ray phase-contrast microscope to resolve sub-cellular features in a cartilage sample. Meth...
Vasoya D, Tzelos T, Benedictus L, Karagianni AE, Pirie S, Marr C, Oddsdóttir C, Fintl C, Connelley T.The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes play a key role in a number of biological processes, most notably in immunological responses. The MHCI and MHCII genes incorporate a complex set of highly polymorphic and polygenic series of genes, which, due to the technical limitations of previously available technologies, have only been partially characterized in non-model but economically important species such as the horse. The advent of high-throughput sequencing platforms has provided new opportunities to develop methods to generate high-resolution sequencing data on a large scale and app...
Ishige T, Kikuchi M, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Ohnuma A, Tozaki T, Hirosawa Y, Tanaka S, Nagata SI.We evaluated the utility of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for parentage testing in Breton (BR) and Percheron (PR) horses in Japan using the proposed International Society for Animal Genetics (P-ISAG) 147 SNP panel and 414 autosomal SNPs. Genomic DNA was extracted from 98 horses of two breeds, BR (n = 47) and PR (n = 51), and sequenced using next-generation sequencing. The average minor allele frequencies for the P-ISAG panel for BR and PR were 0.306 and 0.301, respectively. The combined probabilities of exclusion (PEs) given two parents and one offspring: exclude a relat...
de la Fuente A, Omyla K, Cooper C, Daels P, Meyers S, Dini P.Morphokinetic evaluation of embryo development has allowed the discovery of events occurring during blastulation. Here, we describe equine embryo pulsing, determined as continued expansion and contraction of both in vivo and in vitro produced blastocysts. Using time-lapse imaging, we demonstrated that pulsing starts during early blastocyst development of in vitro-produced embryos in horses. The median time for a complete contraction was 0.22h (0.08h-2h; min-max) where embryos reduced their sizes around 12.0% (median; 2.3%-27.0%) and the median time for an expansion was 3.3h (0.75-9.0h) where e...
de Souza RP, Mousquer MA, Müller V, Barbosa JCR, Leite FPL, Guedes RMC, Curcio BDR, Nogueira CEW.The aim of the present study was to carry out a serological survey to identify the seroprevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis in six Thoroughbred farms in the Southern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. During 2019 and 2020, blood samples from 686 Thoroughbred horses were obtained from six different breeding farms. Horses were divided into groups according to age: (1) broodmares (>5 years), (2) two-year-old foals, (3) yearlings, and (4) 0-6 months-old foals. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture of the external jugular vein. The detection of antibodies (IgG) against L. in...
Finno CJ, Estell KE, Katzman S, Winfield L, Rendahl A, Textor J, Bannasch DL, Puschner B.Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (NAD/EDM) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting genetically predisposed foals maintained on α-tocopherol (α-TP)-deficient diet. Objective: Intramuscular α-TP and selenium (Se) administration at 4 days of age would have no significant effect on serum or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) α-TP in healthy foals. Serum and CSF α-TP, but not Se, would be significantly decreased in NAD/EDM-affected foals during first year of life. Methods: Fourteen Quarter horse foals; 10 healthy foals supplemented with 0.02 mL/kg injectable α-TP ...
Weber JA, Freeman DA, Vanderwall DK, Woods GL.This study was conducted to identify embryonic products whose secretion was temporally associated with the oviductal transport period of the mare. Chemicals secreted by oviductal-transport-stage equine embryos were identified by incubating Day 6 or Day 7 early uterine embryos with 35S-methionine/cysteine, 3H-progesterone, or 3H-arachidonic acid for 24 h, and subsequently identifying radioactively labeled proteins (SDS-PAGE; n = 3 embryos), steroids (HPLC; n = 3 embryos), or prostaglandins (HPLC; n = 3 embryos) in the culture medium. Early uterine embryos secreted 116.1 +/- 45.5 pg of prostagla...
Cauchard S, Bermúdez-Humarán LG, Blugeon S, Laugier C, Langella P, Cauchard J.Rhodococcus equi causes severe pneumonia in foals and has recently gained attention as a significant opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised humans. However, no effective vaccine to prevent rhodococcosis is currently available. In this study, we have engineered the food-grade bacterium Lactococcus lactis to secrete the virulence-associated protein A from R. equi (LL-VapA). The immunogenic potential of LL-VapA strain was then evaluated after either intragastric or intranasal immunization in mice either alone or in combination with LL-Lep, a recombinant strain of L. lactis secreting biologic...
Naureen A, Saqib M, Muhammad G, Hussain MH, Asi MN.The Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) was evaluated for the diagnosis of equine glanders, and its diagnostic efficiency was compared with that of mallein and other serological tests, including indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT), complement fixation test (CFT), and modified counter immunoelectrophoresis test (mCIET). Sera from 70 naturally infected culture-positive, 96 potentially exposed cohorts, and 110 healthy equines were tested. All tests but mCIET showed 100% specificity when testing the sera from glanders-negative equines. The calculated sensitivities of RBT, IHAT, CFT, mCIET...
Smith KC, Mumford JA, Lakhani K.Four Welsh Mountain pony mares at 3 months of gestation and one mare at 5 months were inoculated intranasally with equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1: Ab4 isolate) at doses of 10(5) to 10(6.6) TCID50. All five mares became infected, but no cases of paresis or abortion occurred. On days 8, 9, 11, 12 (3-month-pregnant mares) and 13 (5-month-pregnant mare) after infection, a detailed examination of the pregnant uterus was made. Small numbers of vascular lesions with EHV-1 antigen expression in endothelial cells were present in the uteri of the early gestational mares; thrombi were rare and foci of thromb...
Proudman CJ, Edwards GB.A centrifugation/flotation technique for the identification of equine tapeworm eggs is described. It was validated by using faeces samples from 80 horses of known tapeworm status, and had a sensitivity of 61 per cent and a specificity of 98 per cent. The exclusion of false negative results in animals with less than 20 tapeworms increased the sensitivity to 92 per cent. No significant correlation was found between the number of eggs observed and the number of tapeworms present in the horses.
Nadler SA, Carreno RA, Adams BJ, Kinde H, Baldwin JG, Mundo-Ocampo M.Phylogenetic relationships among six isolates of Halicephalobus gingivalis (Stefanski, 1954), a species with pathogenic potential in horses and humans, were evaluated using DNA sequences from the nuclear large-subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rDNA) gene. Sequences from nematodes obtained from in vitro cultures (soil or clinical sources), or isolated from infected horse tissues, were compared. Gene sequences from a fatal equine clinical case from southern California and a free-living isolate recovered from southern California soil showed no fixed differences. Sequences from isolates representing two ...
Ahmed YA, Tatarczuch L, Pagel CN, Davies HM, Mirams M, Mackie EJ.Post-proliferative chondrocytes in growth cartilage are present in two forms, light and dark cells. These cells undergo hypertrophy and die by a mechanism that is morphologically distinct from apoptosis, but has not been characterized. The aims of the current study were to document the ultrastructural appearance of dying hypertrophic chondrocytes, and to establish a culture system in which the mechanism of their death can be examined. Methods: Growth cartilage from fetal and growing postnatal horses was examined by electron microscopy. Chondrocytes were isolated from epiphyseal cartilage from ...
Vandewege MW, Platt RN, Ray DA, Hoffmann FG.PIWI proteins and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are part of a cellular pathway that has evolved to protect genomes against the proliferation of transposable elements (TEs). PIWIs and piRNAs assemble into complexes that are involved in epigenetic and post-transcriptional repression of TEs. Most of our understanding of the mechanisms of piRNA-mediated TE silencing comes from fruit fly and mouse models. However, even in these well-studied animals it is unclear how piRNA responses relate to variable TE expression and whether the strength of the piRNA response affects TE content over time. Here, w...
Krueger K, Heinze J.Animals that live in stable social groups need to gather information on their own relative position in the group's social hierarchy, by either directly threatening or by challenging others, or indirectly and in a less perilous manner , by observing interactions among others. Indirect inference of dominance relationships has previously been reported from primates, rats, birds, and fish. Here, we show that domestic horses, Equus caballus, are similarly capable of social cognition. Taking advantage of a specific "following behavior" that horses show towards humans in a riding arena, we investigat...
Carmona JU, Ríos DL, López C, Álvarez ME, Pérez JE, Bohórquez ME.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparations are a common treatment in equine osteoarthritis (OA). However, there are controversies regarding the ideal concentration of platelets and leukocytes in these biological substances necessary to induce an adequate anti-inflammatory and anabolic response in articular cartilage. The aims were to study the influence of leukocyte- and platelet-rich gel (L-PRG) and pure platelet-rich gel (P-PRG) supernatants on the histological changes of cartilage, the degree of chondrocyte apoptosis, the production of hyaluronan (HA) and the gene expression of nuclear factor ...
Abraham G, Zizzadoro C, Kacza J, Ellenberger C, Abs V, Franke J, Schoon HA, Seeger J, Tesfaigzi Y, Ungemach FR.Horses develop recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) that resembles human bronchial asthma. Differentiated primary equine bronchial epithelial cells (EBEC) in culture that closely mimic the airway cells in vivo would be useful to investigate the contribution of bronchial epithelium in inflammation of airway diseases. However, because isolation and characterization of EBEC cultures has been limited, we modified and optimized techniques of generating and culturing EBECs from healthy horses to mimic in vivo conditions. Results: Large numbers of EBEC were obtained by trypsin digestion and successfull...
Näreaho A, Vainio K, Oksanen A.In order to assess the resistance situation against macrocyclic lactones in Parascaris equorum and against tetrahydropyrimidine derivatives in strongyles in Finnish trotter horses, 112 foals on 18 farms, mostly 1 year old, were examined for these parasites with a modified McMaster faecal flotation method. P. equorum positive foals (n=24) were given ivermectin orally at a dose of 200 μg/kg b.w., while strongyle positive but P. equorum negative foals (n=38) received pyrantel embonate orally at a dose of 19 mg/kg. Sixteen P. equorum infected foals, treated with ivermectin, also harboured strongy...
Gilroy R, Leng J, Ravi A, Adriaenssens EM, Oren A, Baker D, La Ragione RM, Proudman C, Pallen MJ.The horse plays crucial roles across the globe, including in horseracing, as a working and companion animal and as a food animal. The horse hindgut microbiome makes a key contribution in turning a high fibre diet into body mass and horsepower. However, despite its importance, the horse hindgut microbiome remains largely undefined. Here, we applied culture-independent shotgun metagenomics to thoroughbred equine faecal samples to deliver novel insights into this complex microbial community. We performed metagenomic sequencing on five equine faecal samples to construct 123 high- or medium-quality...
Schnabel CL, Babasyan S, Rollins A, Freer H, Wimer CL, Perkins GA, Raza F, Osterrieder N, Wagner B.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) outbreaks continue to occur despite widely used vaccination. Therefore, development of EHV-1 vaccines providing improved immunity and protection is ongoing. Here, an open reading frame 2 deletion mutant of the neuropathogenic EHV-1 strain Ab4 (Ab4ΔORF2) was tested as a vaccine candidate. Three groups of horses ( = 8 each) were infected intranasally with Ab4ΔORF2 or the parent Ab4 virus or were kept as noninfected controls. Horses infected with Ab4ΔORF2 had reduced fever and nasal virus shedding compared to those infected with Ab4 but mounted similar ada...
Curtis L, Burford JH, Thomas JS, Curran ML, Bayes TC, England GC, Freeman SL.The majority of research on the evaluation of horses with colic is focused on referral hospital populations. Early identification of critical cases is important to optimise outcome and welfare. The aim of this prospective study was to survey the primary evaluation of horses with clinical signs of abdominal pain by veterinary practitioners, and compare the initial presentation of critical and non-critical cases. Results: Data from 1016 primary evaluations of horses presenting with clinical signs of colic were submitted by 167 veterinary practitioners across the United Kingdom over a 13 month p...
Couëtil LL, Ward MP.To identify risk factors for recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) among horses examined at veterinary teaching hospitals in North America. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 1,444 horses with RAO and 1,444 control horses examined for other reasons. Methods: The Veterinary Medical Database was searched for records of horses in which RAO was diagnosed. A control group was identified by randomly selecting a horse with a diagnosis other than RAO that matched the institution and year of admission for each of the horses with RAO. Information obtained included hospital, admission year ...
Okely M, Anan R, Gad-Allah S, Samy AM.Ticks are important vectors of emerging health problems in humans and animals. We conducted several field surveillances to investigate the fauna of hard ticks on domestic animals in seven governorates of Egypt during 2018-2019. A total of 3265 individual tick specimens were collected and identified to the species level; the specimens belong to 11 species within three genera (Amblyomma, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus). Tick infestation was highest in dromedary camels (70%), followed by dogs (52.5%), cattle (50%), buffaloes (38%), and horses (12%). Ten species were collected from dromedary camels, ...
Hooper-McGrevy KE, Wilkie BN, Prescott JF.The purpose of this study was to determine whether foals immunized orally from 2 days of age with virulent Rhodococcus equi developed a protective pulmonary immune response and to characterise the antibody response of the immunized foals to the virulence-associated proteins (Vaps) of the bacterium. Two groups of foals were used. One (n=4) was given live R. equi ATCC 33701 orally at 2, 7, and 14 days of age. The second group comprised three non-immunized foals age-matched to the vaccinates. At 3 weeks of age, 1 week after the final immunization, both groups were challenged intrabronchially with...
Bonin SJ, Clayton HM, Lanovaz JL, Johnston T.Previous studies have suggested that temporomandibular joint (TMJ) kinematics depend on the type of food being masticated, but accurate measurements of TMJ motion in horses chewing different feeds have not been published. Objective: The temporomandibular joint has a larger range of motion when horses chew hay compared to pellets. Methods: An optical motion capture system was used to track skin markers on the skull and mandible of 7 horses as they chewed hay and pellets. A virtual marker was created on the midline between the mandibles at the level of the 4th premolar teeth to represent the ove...
Stock KF, Reents R.Technical advances and development in the market for genomic tools have facilitated access to whole-genome data across species. Building-up on the acquired knowledge of the genome sequences, large-scale genotyping has been optimized for broad use, so genotype information can be routinely used to predict genetic merit. Genomic selection (GS) refers to the use of aggregates of estimated marker effects as predictors which allow improved individual differentiation at young age. Realizable benefits of GS are influenced by several factors and vary in quantity and quality between species. General cha...
Clements JM, Pirie RS.Traditional methods of measuring airborne dust concentrations (ADC) in animal housing have included the collection of dust onto pre-weighed filters permitting the calculation of mean, not maximum, ADC. However real-time continuous particle monitors are advantageous in identifying short duration elevations in ADC which may be detrimental to equine respiratory health in the face of a relatively low mean ADC. These monitors have not previously been used to measure ADC in equine stables. Comparisons of a filter-based sampler and a real-time continuous particle monitor revealed no significant diffe...
Moodley A, Guardabassi L.A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate species distribution and clonality of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) isolated from the nasal cavity of 39 horses and 32 veterinary or caretaker staff, and from 76 environmental surfaces at three equine facilities in Denmark. MRCoNS obtained by selective isolation were characterised by 16S rDNA sequencing, PCR detection of mecA, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). MRCoNS were found in 32 (82%) horses, 20 (63%) humans and 50 (66%) environmental samples. The most common species was S. vitulinus (n=56)...
Galey FD, Holstege DM, Plumlee KH, Tor E, Johnson B, Anderson ML, Blanchard PC, Brown F.Since mid-1989, 37 cases of oleander poisoning in livestock have been diagnosed at the California Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory System. The most frequent source for oleander exposure was plant clippings. Sudden death was the most common presenting complaint. Other signs reported included diarrhea, pulmonary edema, tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmias, colic, and lethargy. In the past, a presumptive diagnosis of oleander poisoning could be based only on matching clinical signs with evidence of consumption of oleander. A new 2 dimensional Thin-layer chromatography analysis of ingesta for oleandri...
Williams MA, Harrison PM.Horse ferritin was fractionated both by starch-gel electrophoresis and by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. Monomer fractions contained up to 98% of monomer and oligomer fractions up to 76% of oligomers as determined by quantitative electron microscopy. Percentages obtained from electron micrographs correlated well with analytical starch-gel electrophoretograms and ultracentrifuge patterns. Amino acid analyses of monomer- and oligomer-enriched fractions showed no significant differences. Ferritin oligomers did not apparently dissociate on dilution for electron microscopy or on storage. Apoferr...
Mitchell KJ, Schwarzwald CC.Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis has been performed on ECG-derived data sets for more than 170 years but is currently undergoing a rapid evolution, thanks to the expansion of the human and veterinary medical technology sector. Traditional HRV analysis was initially performed to identify changes in vago-sympathetic balance, while the most recent focus has expanded to include the use of complex computer algorithms, neural networks and machine learning technology to identify cardiac arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation (AF). Some of these techniques have recently been translated for...
Banks KL, McGuire TC.Surface receptors on peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes from normal and immunodeficient horses have been studied. Sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) coated with IgG, IgM, and complement but not IgG(T), readily bound to normal equine monocytes and neutrophils. More than 4000 molecules of IgG were required to sensitize each SRBC for adherence to monocytes, and more than 12,000 molecules were required for adherence to neutrophils. Young horses with a severe combined immunodeficiency had an almost total absence of lymphocytes, but normal numbers of monocytes and neutrophils. The number of receptors...
Anastasi E, Giguère S, Berghaus LJ, Hondalus MK, Willingham-Lane JM, MacArthur I, Cohen ND, Roberts MC, Vazquez-Boland JA.The objective of this study was to identify the molecular mechanism of macrolide resistance in the actinomycete Rhodococcus equi, a major equine pathogen and zoonotic agent causing opportunistic infections in people. Methods: Macrolide-resistant (n = 62) and macrolide-susceptible (n = 62) clinical isolates of R. equi from foals in the USA were studied. WGS of 18 macrolide-resistant and 6 macrolide-susceptible R. equi was performed. Representative sequences of all known macrolide resistance genes identified to date were used to search the genome assemblies for putative homologues. PCR w...
Wålinder R, Riihimäki M, Bohlin S, Hogstedt C, Nordquist T, Raine A, Pringle J, Elfman L.To examine the effects of installing a mechanical ventilation system at a riding-school stable on indoor air quality and human and horse airways. Methods: The intervention was the installation of mechanical ventilation in a riding-school stable. Carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia, particles, horse allergen, microorganisms and endotoxins were measured in the stable. The stable-workers and riding-students completed a questionnaire and underwent the following tests: analysis of nasal lavage for inflammation biomarkers; levels of exhaled nitrogen oxide (NO); measurements of daily peak-expiratory flow (...
