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.
Bohanon TC, Gabel AA.A heat-vulcanized silicone implant was used for cosmetic repair of a facial deformity in a horse. The deformity had resulted from fracture of the frontal bone into the frontal sinus 6 months earlier. Normal facial contour was restored by suturing the sculpted implant to the periosteum over the defect. Results 1 year after surgery were excellent.
Teifke JP, Weiss E.Unfixed and formalin-fixed frozen sections and paraffin-sections of histopathologically confirmed sarcoids of 20 horses were studied in the PCR. The used set of primers was located in the E5 open reading frame fitting both to bovine papillomavirus 1 (BPV-1) and BPV-2. Independent of the quality of the used tissues BPV-DNA was detected in all 20 sarcoids. By cleaving with restriction endonuclease Bst XI it was shown that the DNA-sequences amplified by PCR were identical with that of BPV-1. The results support the general view that BPV play an important role in equine sarcoids.
Stitz L, Richt JA, Rott R.An overview of the pathogenesis of Borna disease (BD) in rats as a model for the naturally occurring infection in horses and sheep is presented. Our findings revealed a virus infection in which a virus-specific T cell-mediated immune response leads to disease. The immune cells capable of mediating this immunopathological reaction were defined as helper/inducer T cells. In all, the described observations indicate that CD4+ T cells and macrophages trigger a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction and cause BD together with other cells of the immune system.
Posnett ES, Ambrosio RE.A genomic library of Babesia caballi DNA was constructed in the plasmid vector pUC13. The specificity of the clones for B. caballi was established by the lack of hybridization to Babesia equi, Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina and equine DNA. Two probes, pBC11 and pBC191, were isolated that could detect 0.25 ng and 0.125 ng of B. caballi DNA, corresponding to a parasitaemia of 0.12% and 0.06% respectively. pBC191 could detect B. caballi parasites in the blood of an experimentally infected horse as well as in naturally infected horses.
Van den Berg JS.Clinically normal horses (n = 8) with ages ranging from 5 to 8 years, were starved for 12 h and their plasma ammonia concentrations were measured. The mean fasting plasma ammonia concentration was 17.8 +/- 3.8 mumol l-1. After dosing ammonium chloride at a dose rate of 0.02 g kg-1, there was a significant increase in plasma ammonia concentration, with a maximum rise after 20 min (P less than 0.05). To investigate the influence of temperature on plasma ammonia concentrations of stored samples, 8 plasma samples were stored at -20 degrees C and 4 degrees C respectively. The plasma ammonia concent...
Lange L, Marett S, Maree C, Gerdes T.Suspected molluscum contagiosum was diagnosed in 3 horses in the Chingola district of Zambia. The horses were found to be suffering from a slow progressive skin disease with lesions on the chest, shoulders, inner and lateral aspects of the fore- and hindlimbs, the face, fetlocks, pasterns and on the lateral surfaces of the body. The lesions varied from 4 to 20mm in diameter, were hairless but covered by soft keratin projections which, when removed, left a raw elevated base tightly adherent to the epidermis. These lesions bled profusely when the animals were groomed. Older lesions were well cir...
Joris L, Quinton PM.Basic components of unstimulated electrolyte transport across equine tracheal mucosa were characterized. After the tissue was mounted in Ussing chambers, both current and tissue resistance gradually increased for approximately 60 min before reaching stable values. Thereafter, under open-circuit conditions, the tissue had a resistance of 250 +/- 14 omega.cm2, generated a transepithelial potential difference of -34 +/- 1.7 (SE) mV (referenced to the serosal side) and an equivalent short-circuit current (Ieqsc) of -149 +/- 10.2 microA/cm2. Even though 10(-5) M amiloride reduced the current by app...
Roger T, Cabanie P.The histologic study on six horses of the ileo-caecal and caeco-colic junctions confirms their sphincteral structure. It appears that the activity of the muscular fibres, identified in the ileo-caecal and caeco-colic plica, modulates the curvature of the junctions and thus, blocks, as sphincters, the reflux of contents from the caecum into the ileum and from the colon into the caecum. But on the other hand, the pelvic flexure does not possess any microscopic organization to stop the reflux of contents from the dorsal colon into the ventral colon.
Forrer R, Gautschi K, Lutz H.It was the goal of this paper to establish total selenium reference values for Switzerland in different animal species and in humans. To this purpose, a flameless atomic absorption method with deuterium background compensation utilizing a graphite furnace atomization system with a pyrolytic platform inside and palladium solution as matrix modifier was developed for the measurement of selenium in serum. The method was characterized by rapid performability, small sample requirement, acceptable detection limit (0.04 mumol/L) and precision and a linear range of measurement up to 4 mumol/L. The met...
Craig AM, Blythe LL, Rowe KE, Lassen ED, Walker LL.An oral vitamin E absorption test used in human beings was modified for use in horses. The most appropriate techniques with which to measure gastrointestinal tract absorption of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) in horses were developed. Vitamin E was administered orally, and serum values of alpha-tocopherol were measured by use of high-performance liquid chromatography at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 hours after vitamin E administration. Variables included comparison of 2 dosages (45 and 90 IU/kg of body weight), routes of administration, and absorption dynamics of 3 preparations of dl-alpha-tocopherol....
Ross PF, Rice LG, Plattner RD, Osweiler GD, Wilson TM, Owens DL, Nelson HA, Richard JL.Ninety-eight samples of feeds associated with 44 cases of equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) and 83 samples of feed associated with 42 cases of a porcine pulmonary edema syndrome (PPE) were analyzed for fumonisin B1 (FB1). For comparison purposes, 51 feed samples not associated with PPE or ELEM were also analyzed. Feed associated with ELEM contained FB1 ranging from less than 1 microgram/g to 126 micrograms/g with 75% of the cases having at least 1 sample above 10 micrograms/g. Feeds associated with PPE ranged from less than 1 microgram/g to 330 micrograms/g with 71% of the cases having at le...
Stewart RH, Reed SM, Weisbrode SE.We compared the frequency and severity of osteochondrosis lesions in young Thoroughbred horses with cervical stenotic myelopathy (CSM) vs that in clinically normal Thoroughbreds of the same age. All lesions of the cervical vertebrae and appendicular skeleton were classified histologically as osteochondrosis or nonosteochondrosis and were measured for severity. Minimal sagittal diameter was significantly smaller in horses with CSM from C2 through C6; no difference was detected at C7. Severity of cervical vertebral osteochondrosis was greater in the horses with CSM, however frequency was not dif...
Delbeke FT, Debackere M, Vynckier L.A high-performance liquid chromatographic method to measure urinary indomethacin levels is described. In 0.5 ml urine, 1 micrograms/ml of indomethacin could be detected. Alkaline hydrolysis of urine resulted in the decomposition of indomethacin. When two suppositories of Indocid corresponding to 200 mg indomethacin were administered rectally to four horses the drug was rapidly absorbed and remained detectable in urine from 1 to 12 h. The excretion rate peaked after 2-3 h while the maximal concentration ranged from 18.5 to 80.6 micrograms/ml. Only 8 to 16% of the indomethacin dose was eliminate...
den Boon JA, Snijder EJ, Chirnside ED, de Vries AA, Horzinek MC, Spaan WJ.The nucleotide sequence of the genome of equine arteritis virus (EAV) was determined from a set of overlapping cDNA clones and was found to contain eight open reading frames (ORFs). ORFs 2 through 7 are expressed from six 3'-coterminal subgenomic mRNAs, which are transcribed from the 3'-terminal quarter of the viral genome. A number of these ORFs are predicted to encode structural EAV proteins. The organization and expression of the 3' part of the EAV genome are remarkably similar to those of coronaviruses and toroviruses. The 5'-terminal three-quarters of the genome contain the putative EAV p...
Blythe LL, Craig AM, Lassen ED, Rowe KE, Appell LH.Plasma alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) values were monitored serially in 9 foals sired by a stallion with equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM) and in 5 age-matched control foals (sired by a clinically normal stallion) raised in the same environment for the first year of life. Clinical evaluation determined that 8 of the 9 foals sired by the stallion with EDM had neurologic deficits consistent with the disease on one or more occasions during the study period, whereas control foals had normal gait. From 6 weeks to 10 months of age, plasma alpha-tocopherol values in foals with signs of EDM ...
Guthrie AJ, Killeen VM, Mülders MS, Grosskopf JF.The ratio of the cardiopulmonary blood volume to stroke volume is called the cardiopulmonary flow index (CPFI). The CPFI can be determined indirectly from the simultaneous recording of a radiocardiogram and an electrocardiogram. The CPFI and cardiac output were measured simultaneously in horses (n = 10) that were diagnosed as having cardiac disease. The diseased subjects were probably all exposed to feed contaminated with the ionophore, salinomycin, and all showed clinical signs indicative of chronic toxic myocarditis. The results obtained from these subjects were compared with those from cont...
Guillemette JG, Matsushima-Hibiya Y, Atkinson T, Smith M.A gene for expression of horse heart myoglobin in Escherichia coli has been constructed in one step from long synthetic oligonucleotides. The synthetic gene contains an efficient translation initiation signal and used codons that are commonly found in E. coli. Unique restriction sites are placed throughout the gene. It has been inserted in a phagemid vector and is expressed from the lac promoter in E. coli at high efficiency, the soluble heme protein representing approximately 10% of soluble protein. Two versions of horse heart myoglobin were produced with aspartic acid or asparagine at residu...
Sharp DC, Grubaugh WR, Weithenauer J, Davis SD, Wilcox CJ.These experiments tested the hypothesis that administration of steroid hormones to ovariectomized (OVX) mares during the vernal transition to the breeding season would influence LH and FSH secretion. Circulating gonadotropin concentrations, response to exogenous GnRH, and pituitary gonadotropin content were monitored. Experiments 1 and 2 were conducted, beginning 10 March, and 3 February, respectively, utilizing a total of 30 long-term OVX pony mares. In experiment 1, mares were administered vehicle (n = 5) or estradiol-17 beta (E2, n = 5, 5 mg/3 ml sesame oil), twice daily for 16 days. Blood ...
Grosenbaugh DA, Hood DM, Amoss MS, Williams JD.Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors were detected in plasma membrane preparations of equine hoof wall laminar tissue at concentrations comparable to that of equine liver. Scatchard analysis of the equilibrium binding data suggested the presence of two classes of EGF binding sites in most of the controls (plasma membranes from clinically normal horses); a high-affinity class and a more numerous low-affinity class. The dissociation constant of the low-affinity class of EGF-specific receptors (KD = 1 x 10(-9)M) is in reasonable agreement with other values established for the EGF receptor. The...
Schönherr W.Francis CLATER presumably was born in 1754 near Nottingham. He became farrier after years of apprenticeships at Newark and Retford. In 1783 the first edition of his book "Every man his own farrier" was published. Within 50 years at least 30 editions were printed. This book was translated by PRETOT into French (1822), by S. von TENNECKER (1823) and by LENTIN (1834) into German and by TURNE (1838) into Russian language. Contents of some editions are compared and valued.
Dorman DC, Haschek WM.Toxicosis attributable to propylene glycol (1,2-propanediol) was suspected in an 8-year-old 450- to 500-kg male Quarter Horse. Clinical signs of toxicosis developed within 15 minutes of the accidental iatrogenic oral administration of 3.8 L of propylene glycol. Clinical signs of toxicosis included salivation, sweating, ataxia, and signs of pain. Additionally, at 24 hours after propylene glycol ingestion, the horse became increasingly atactic, had an abnormal breath odor, developed rapid shallow breathing, and was cyanotic. The horse died of apparent respiratory arrest 28 hours after the propyl...
Pickar JG, Spier SJ, Snyder JR, Carlsen RC.A recently described disorder in certain registered Quarter horses bears many clinical similarities to the muscle disease identified as hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) in humans. Pathological changes in membrane permeability or Na(+)-K+ pump activity have been proposed to produce the muscle depolarization and inexcitability that characterize the condition in humans. Biopsies of external intercostal muscle from normal and affected horses were used to determine whether alterations in either permeability and/or pump activity could be linked to the pathology in horses. Affected horse muscle ...
Ullrich E, Selbitz HJ, Schieck R, Friedrich U, Schulz J.Clinical, bacteriological and serological examinations on a 6 years old pony mare were performed. Cytological alterations in the genital tract were also recorded. A cellular reaction was seen after infection with T. equigenitalis. This reaction is an evidence for infection but it is not specific for this organism. Cytological studies should be performed on mares especially in cases of latent infections to complete bacteriological examination and to prevent false positive or negative results.
Reeves MJ, Trotter GW, Kainer RA.The anatomical and functional communications of the synovial sacs of the equine stifle joint were evaluated in 50 stifle joints of 25 horses. Femoropatellar joint (FPJ) sacs were injected with 50 ml of gelatin-based dye and horses were then walked for 50 m. Horses were subsequently killed, the stifle joints dissected and the location of the dye recorded. Twenty-three horses (46 joints) had clinically normal stifle joints and in this group, anatomical communications of the stifle joints were bilaterally symmetrical in each horse. In 15 of these 23 horses (65 per cent), direct anatomical communi...
Glover ID, Henry GM, Townsend NB, Coles GC.The Stomacher is very widely used in food and medical research for extracting tissues. To determine whether nematode larvae were disrupted by the Stomacher, L3 larvae of Haemonchus contortus were homogenised for up to 40 min at full power but no larval disruption occurred. Therefore, tissue from the mucosa and submucosa of the caecum of horses collected from a licenced abattoir was treated to determine whether inhibited cyathostomin larvae could be extracted. The optimum time on full power for a 10-g sample was 20 min, and in three out of five caecal samples from different horses, significantl...
Courtot D, Mouthon G, Roux L, Jeanin E.The practise of repeated doping of the sport horse led us to examine its effects on the health of the animal, and particularly on muscular activity. The main doping agent used at present (acepromazine) has already been studied (COURTOT et al., 1974). In this paper, we study the secondary effects of diazepam, a derivative of the benzodiazepine series, which is being used more and more frequently on horses. In treated animals as compared to controls, we observe: -- a slight respiratory depression related solely to effort, -- an increase in seric creatine phosphokinase rate with no apparent relat...
Trommershausen-Smith A, Suzuki Y.A family study of an index case in the Arabian breed of horses demonstrated the presence of a new allele in the prealbumin (Pr) system of electrophoretically determined markers in horse serum which, when homozygous, results in the absence of any recognizable zones in the Pr region. The symbol PrO is proposed for this allele which has an estimated frequency in Arabian horses of 0.09.