Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
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.
In vitro mechanical properties of different equine hoof wall crack fixation techniques. Hoof wall cracks need mechanical stabilisation to allow healing. Common techniques are fixation with screws, wires and plates or bonding of a patch across the crack. An in vitro system to determine the shear properties of equine hoof crack repairs is described. The force and displacement at yield, stiffness and ultimate force were determined for 4 repair techniques based on an acrylic material, polyurethane patch attached with cyanoacrylate adhesive, steel plate attached with screws and a transverse metal bar cut into the hoof wall. The cyanoacrylate bonded patch repair had lower values for al...
Monitoring training success using a lactate-speed relationship. Monitoring training by measuring blood lactate content is a well-known procedure in sports physiology. Because of the difficulties in standardizing a test procedure in field studies, this method is fraught with considerable problems when applying it to race horses. The aim of the present study was to develop a test procedure which is able to give evidence about the training state of different race horses after nonidentical test-loads. Under almost identical environmental conditions, the level of blood lactate was determined in five trotters which were kept in training. Immediately after the si...
Management factors affecting the risk for vesicular stomatitis in livestock operations in the western United States. To identify management factors affecting the risk of animals developing vesicular stomatitis (VS). Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Horses, cattle, and sheep with suspected vesicular stomatitis on 395 premises in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Methods: Data were collected during the VS outbreak of 1997. Diagnosticians interviewed livestock owners and completed a supplemental questionnaire. Cases were defined as those premises that had a completed questionnaire and had > or = 1 animal positive for VS. Control premises were all premises investigated that had a completed questio...
Methadone screening of racehorses. The misuse of opiates in racehorses relates to their effect of increasing locomotor activity. Because methadone, a narcotic analgesic, has been suspected of use as a doping compound in the past, it was added to the list of banned drugs and should be considered in doping control. Because the literature fails to provide information on detection of methadone in blood or urine of horses, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to monitor this narcotic in equine body fluids. Combined with high-performance liquid chromatography, the immunoassay also served to confirm positives indicated b...
Quantitative real-time PCR for equine cytokine mRNA in nondecalcified bone tissue embedded in methyl methacrylate. Specific amplification and quantitation of nucleic acid sequences by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been extensively used for the detection of viral infection and gene expression. Although successful amplification of DNA and RNA sequences extracted from paraffin embedded tissue have been described, there are presently no reports available regarding RNA analysis from bone and calcified tissues embedded in hydrophobic acrylic resin. Here we describe a general method for quantitation of specific mRNA sequences extracted from undecalcified bone sections, fixed in paraformaldehyde, and emb...
Monensin poisoning in Brazilian horses. Three outbreaks of monensin poisoning caused 12 deaths in 16 horses. The illnesses were associated with the ingestion of the same batch of a commercial ration labeled for feeder calves which contained 180 +/- 20 ppm sodium monensin. The morbidity rate was 100% and lethality was 60%, 75%, and 100%. Clinical signs were tachycardia and cardiac arrythmia, groaning, incoordination, sudoresis, recumbency, and paddling movements with the limbs before death. Two horses had dark discolored urine (myoglobinuria). Serum levels of creatine phosphokinase activity were increased. Main necropsy findings were...
Secular sperm trends in stallions between 1981 and 1996. Several reports have suggested that human semen quality has declined throughout the world over the last few decades. Chemicals in the environment acting as endocrine disrupters have been implicated as a possible cause. If this is indeed the case, then similar effects may be observed in animals. We analyzed 1489 ejaculates collected from 390 Breton draught stallions between 1981 and 1996. Semen was collected from all the stallions at a single center, according to standardized semen collection protocols and laboratory methods. Semen volume decreased slightly but significantly and there was an in...
Clinical pharmacology of nervous system diseases. The well-developed defense barriers of the CNS and the expense of drug therapy limit the pharmacologic options for the treatment of neurologic diseases in horses. New approaches to controlling inflammation in the CNS are improving the outcomes of bacterial meningitis. The appropriate treatment of EPM remains controversial. More research is needed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs in the CNS of the horse. Behavioral pharmacology has become fashionable in human and small animal medicine, but it needs to be evaluated for the potential of unethical use in performance h...
Equine reproductive pharmacology. This article reviews therapies and strategies commonly used to treat diseases of the mare's genital tract and modulate the reproductive cycle of the mare. Many reproductive treatments are based on historical use and empirical evidence rather than well controlled clinical studies. This article attempts to present practical information in a summary form while highlighting the need for continued research documenting the efficacy and safety of reproductive therapies.
Formulary of common equine drugs. This article presents in easily accessible form a collection of drug names and dose rates for the drugs recommended or referred to by the authors of the individual articles in this issue. Although the formulary provides recommendations for drug use, the reader is cautioned that the responsibility for the choice of agent, formulation, dose, and dose interval lies with the clinician. The author also addresses regulations that govern the use of drugs in competition horses.
Pharmacologic considerations in the treatment of neonatal septicemia and its complications. This article focuses on the pharmacologic properties of drugs commonly used in the treatment of neonatal septicemia and its complications. Rational therapy demands an awareness of not only the pharmacology of individual drugs but also the interactions and anticipated fate of such drugs in the rapidly changing physiologic environment of the neonate. Further research in the area of equine neonatal pharmacology should greatly assist our understanding of the impact of the disease state on the unique physiology of the newborn and should allow us to better predict the ultimate fate of drugs commonly...
Equine cardiac disease. Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Cardiac disease is often life-threatening and challenging to treat. Prolonged therapy is indicated in many cases, which can lead to problems with treatment costs, owner compliance, and potential drug toxicity. Many therapies are empirical or based on data from other species because of a lack of well-designed prospective clinical trials in horses. This article reviews the clinical pharmacology and therapeutics of heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, myocardial disease, endocarditis, and pericardial disease.
Epizootic lymphangitis in horses: a review of the literature. Epizootic lymphangitis is a relatively common infectious disease of horses and other liquids in certain parts of the world. The infection rate varies according to the geographic area and the age of the animal. The disease is most commonly characterised by a cord-like appearance of the subcutaneous lymphatic and cutaneous pyogranulomas, the discharge from which contains spherical or pear-shaped bodies of the causal agent, Histoplasma farciminosum. Diagnosis can be made by the demonstration of typical organisms in stained smears, culture and tissue sections. Serological tests and a skin hypersen...
Sulfidoleukotriene generation from peripheral blood leukocytes of horses affected with insect bite dermal hypersensitivity. Sulfidoleukotrienes (sLT) generated in vitro after incubation of equine peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) with different inducing agents were determined in 18 healthy and 16 insect bite dermal hypersensitivity (IDH)-affected horses. PBL from these 32 horses were stimulated with Concanavalin A, Parascaris equorum, Culicoides nubeculosus and Simulium extracts, and with a six-Grass mix. The cells of all but four horses generated sLT after incubation with Concanavalin A; these four horses did also not produce sLT with the other inducing agents. Of the 28 remaining horses (12 affected with IDH and ...
The S2 gene of equine infectious anemia virus is a highly conserved determinant of viral replication and virulence properties in experimentally infected ponies. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is genetically one of the simplest lentiviruses in that the viral genome encodes only three accessory genes, tat, rev, and S2. Although serological analyses demonstrate the expression of the S2 protein in persistently infected horses, the role of this viral gene remains undefined. We recently reported that the S2 gene is not essential for EIAV replication in primary equine macrophages, as EIAV mutants lacking the S2 gene replicate to levels similar to those of the parental virus (F. Li, B. A. Puffer, and R. C. Montelaro, J. Virol. 72:8344-8348, 1998). We n...
[Use of the immunoenzyme test ELISA-NS3 to distinguish horses infected by African horsesickness virus from vaccinated horses]. A vaccination protocol involving three horses, with five repeated injections of inactivated serotype 4 African horse sickness virus, was undertaken to determine a possible threshold for the appearance of antibodies against the non-structural protein NS3. Using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, with the recombinant NS3 protein as an antigen, the authors detected a response to NS3 as of the second injection for the first horse and after four injections for the second horse. No response to NS3 was detected for the third horse. The results show that the inactivated vaccine is insuffic...
Analgesia. Critical to reducing patient morbidity as well as heightened ethical awareness, alleviation of pain in animals has become integral to medical case management and surgical procedures. Pharmacotherapy is directed at peripheral nociceptors, primary and secondary spinal neurons, and pain-processing areas in the CNS. Accordingly, three primary pharmacologic strategies have evolved: drugs that bind to and activate opioid receptors, drugs that bind to and activate alpha 2 receptors, and drugs that reduce de novo prostaglandin synthesis. In horses, the two predominant types of pain encountered are mus...
Functional characterization of equine dendritic cells propagated ex vivo using recombinant human GM-CSF and recombinant equine IL-4. Naive T cells can be activated both in vivo and in vitro by specialized antigen presenting cells, dendritic cells (DC), with potent antigen-specific, immunostimulatory activity. Indeed, DC can provide an extremely powerful and important immunological tool by which to potentiate the immune response for specific recognition of foreign antigens. Until recently, the direct isolation of DC from PBMC required laborious procedures with extremely poor yields (<0.1%). Methods have been developed for the human, lower primate, and murine model systems to propagate large numbers of DC from PBMC or bone...
Report of the International Equine Gene Mapping Workshop: male linkage map. The goal of the First International Equine Gene Mapping Workshop, held in 1995, was the construction of a low density, male linkage map for the horse. For this purpose, the International Horse Reference Family Panel (IHRFP) was established, consisting of 12 paternal half-sib families with 448 half-sib offspring provided by 10 laboratories. Blood samples were collected and DNA extracted in each laboratory and sent to the Lexington laboratory (KY, USA) for dispatch in aliquots to 14 typing laboratories. In total, 161 markers (144 microsatellites, seven blood groups and 10 proteins) were tested f...
Inhaled carbon monoxide concentration during halothane or isoflurane anesthesia in horses. The purpose of this study was to assess carbon monoxide (CO) exposure during equine anesthesia with either halothane (H) or isoflurane (I) delivered in a circle rebreathing system. Methods: Prospective clinical investigation. Methods: Fifty client-owned horses. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned for anesthetic maintenance with H (n = 26) or I (n = 24). Two large animal anesthetic machines were used and assigned to a single agent for 2-4 weeks at a time. Machines were disassembled and soda lime changed prior to switching anesthetic agents. Inhalant anesthetic concentration and CO concentrat...
The use of compound 48/80 as a positive control in equine intradermal allergy testing. The macroscopic and microscopic effects following the intradermal injection of the mast cell degranulator compound 48/80 were investigated in horses. It was found that a 1000 μg mL-1 solution of compound 48/80 could be used as an alternative to histamine as a positive control in equine intradermal allergy tests. An inflammatory cell infiltration was noted on histological examination, following compound 48/80 injection. This inflammatory cell pattern was similar to that noted for Type-I hypersensitivity.
Survey of veterinary extension in the United States. To assess veterinary extension in the United States as perceived by veterinary extension personnel. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: Extension veterinarians in the United States. Methods: 2 surveys were designed and mailed to extension veterinarians listed by the USDA and the American Association of Extension Veterinarians. Results: 34 states had > or = 1 extension veterinarian. The majority (> 60%) of extension veterinarians did not commit time to resident education and were not involved in research activities. Paradoxically, 23% of responding extension veterinarians did not re...
African horse sickness in Portugal: a successful eradication programme. African horse sickness (AHS) was diagnosed for the first time in southern Portugal in autumn 1989, following outbreaks in Spain. AHS virus presence was confirmed by virus isolation and serotyping. An eradication campaign with four sanitary zones was set up by Central Veterinary Services in close collaboration with private organizations. Vaccination began on 6 October. In February 1990, vaccination was extended to all Portuguese equines (170000 animals). There were 137 outbreaks on 104 farms: 206 of the equidae present died (16%) or were slaughtered (14%); 81.5% were horses, 10.7% were donkeys ...
Prevalence of antibodies to Neospora caninum in horses in North America. Serum samples from 296 horses slaughtered for food in the United States were tested for antibodies to Neospora caninum by the Neospora-agglutination test (NAT). Antibodies were found in 69 (23.3%) horses with titers of 1:40 (19 horses), 1:80 (19 horses), 1:100 (3 horses), 1:200 (7 horses), 1:400 (4 horses), and 1:800 (17 horses). This is the first serologic survey for N. caninum antibodies in horses.
Simplified technique for isolation, excystation, and culture of Sarcocystis species from opossums. Sarcocystis neurona is a protozoan parasite that causes a neurological disease in horses called equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. The route of transmission is speculated to be by fecal-oral transfer of sporocysts shed from opossums. Controversy exists regarding both the natural life cycle for this parasite as well as the species identity of opossum Sarcocystis. To provide stage-specific material for species comparison, 27 opossums from southern Michigan were screened for Sarcocystis spp. sporocysts. Seven opossums were positive for Sarcocystis sporocysts by fecal flotation. A simplified, eff...
Equine influenza in the United Kingdom in 1998. In 1998, equine influenza was diagnosed by serology and nucleoprotein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as the cause of acute respiratory disease in vaccinated and unvaccinated horses in the UK. The signs were generally milder in vaccinated horses and completely susceptible animals showed the most severe signs, including pyrexia, inappetence, coughing, mucopurulent nasal discharge and secondary bacterial pneumonia. In a detailed investigation of an outbreak among 52 vaccinated thoroughbreds in a flat racing yard, more than 60 per cent of the horses seroconverted on the evidence of paired serum...
Morphological study on pigmented cells in the horse testis. One of the most attractive characteristics of a horse testis is the change of the weight during development. As the testicular weight changes and the number of Leydig cells decreases, pigments appear in interstitial tissues. In the present study, the characteristics of the pigments found in the interstitial tissues were examined histochemically and ultrastructurally. Specific stainings indicated that the pigmented granules showed almost all of the histological and histochemical characteristics of ceroid or ceroid-like pigment. The cells showed positive reaction for acid phosphatase while the p...
Anatomic, radiographic and physiologic comparisons of the internal carotid and maxillary artery in the horse. The anatomy of the internal carotid and maxillary arteries was examined using angiography, subtraction angiography and arterial cast preparations in three horses. Subtraction angiography was superior to angiography in demonstrating the anatomy of the occipital, external ophthalmic, ethmoidal and palatine arteries. In three horses manipulation of the internal carotid and occipital arteries during angiography resulted in vasospasm which prevented filling of these vessels with contrast. Direct arterial blood pressure measurements of the maxillary artery impinging on the guttural pouches was measu...
Exercise affects the mechanical properties and histological appearance of equine articular cartilage. Dorsal carpal osteochondral injury is a major cause of reduced performance in horses undergoing high-intensity training. It was hypothesised that the mechanical behaviour and histology of cartilage are influenced by the intensity of exercise and by location within a joint. Relationships between histology and mechanical behaviour were identified in 2-year-old horses undergoing 19 weeks of high-intensity treadmill training or low-intensity exercise and then compared between groups. Dorsal and palmar test sites were identified on radial, intermediate, and third carpal articular surfaces after eut...
