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.
Rossier Y, Sweeney CR, Heyer G, Hamir AN.A 7-year-old Thoroughbred mare was examined because of persistent bilateral epistaxis and respiratory distress. Evidence of bilateral pleural effusion was found during physical examination, and a large amount of serosanguineous fluid was drained from the right side of the thorax. Cytologic examination and bacteriologic culture of the transtracheal aspirate and pleural fluid did not yield evidence of sepsis. A coagulation profile was unremarkable. Radiographic and echographic changes were seen in the lung parenchyma. Pleuroscopy, with the horse standing, revealed numerous dark nodules on the pl...
McKiernan BC, Koritz GD, Scott JS, Berney C, Robinson NE.Six ponies with recurrent obstructive lung disease were studied during two separate 60 min periods while receiving constant equal volume infusions of either aminophylline or sterile water. Dynamic lung compliance, pulmonary resistance, respiratory rate, tidal volume, blood gas tensions and heart rate were measured. Plasma samples were obtained for determination of theophylline concentrations before, and at 10 min intervals during, the infusion period. Excitability was assessed subjectively at these same time periods. The plasma theophylline concentrations in ponies were well predicted by a pre...
Stewart GA, Fulton LJ, McKellar CD.Atrial fibrillation is described in a champion pacer which earlier had been named Australian Harness Horse of the Year as a 3-year-old in 1986-87. Prior to conversion atrial fibrillation had been present for at least 6 weeks, during which the horse had not raced. Successful treatment was achieved with two 10g doses of quinidine sulphate per oesophageal tube, after slow digitalisation with intravenous digoxin over 4d. Four hours after commencement of quinidine therapy the arrhythmia had regressed to atrial flutter and converted to sinus rhythm 10 min later. Considering his age, standard of raci...
Lees MJ, Bowen CV, Fretz PB, Leach DH.Areas of skin vascularized by large axial vessels potentially suitable for microvascular anastomosis were investigated in 10 horse cadavers. Eleven such areas were dissected, and the skin over the flank region vascularized by the deep circumflex iliac artery was most suitable. The anatomy of this area was further defined, using angiography and latex injection studies on 10 cadavers.
Wilson DG, Trent AM, Crawford WH.A surgical approach to the ramus of the mandible was developed. Subperiosteal elevation of the masseter muscle from the ramus allowed reduction and plate fixation of ramus fractures in a bull and a horse. Results of follow-up examinations, 2 years after surgery, showed excellent functional and cosmetic results.
Darien BJ, Brown CM, Walker RD, Williams MA, Derksen FJ.Transtracheal aspirate (TTA) aerobic microbiology culture results from 30 ponies were compared to protected catheter brush (PCB) culture results obtained from the same ponies. The PCB procedure resulted in significantly fewer (P less than 0.05) isolates than those obtained by the TTA procedure and the PCB procedure resulted in significantly more samples with no bacteria growth than the TTA procedure. To address the possibility that the volume of tracheobronchial secretion obtained by PCB was insufficient as a microbiological sample, a sterile, double-sheathed, protected aspiration catheter (PA...
Fogarty U.The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) technique described produced no detectable gross or histopathological lesions. Airway fluid accumulation was observed for up to 4 h post lavage. There was good qualitative correlation between BAL cytopathological and diffuse pulmonary pathological changes. The technique provided an accurate assessment of the presence and extent of exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage.
Dickson LR, Badcoe LM, Burbidge H, Kannegieter NJ.Forty-eight hours after general anaesthesia was induced by glycerol guaiacolate and thiopentone sodium in 10 horses, the jugular veins were dissected out at post-mortem and examined visually and histologically. All veins showed a marked thrombophlebitis involving the media and intima at the site of injection. The influence of catheter composition, catheter placement and chemical composition on the occurrence of the thrombophlebitis is discussed. It is concluded that the thrombophlebitis was chemically induced.
Palmer JE, Benson CE, Whitlock RH.Fourteen ponies and 3 horses were inoculated with Ehrlichia risticii 2 to 20 months after a similar initial inoculation. Although all 17 had clinical signs of equine ehrlichial colitis after the first inoculation, 16 of 17 remained clinically normal following the second inoculation. The remaining pony had a transient fever and developed signs of depression. Before the initial inoculation, none of the animals had a detectable antibody titer to E risticii. All animals developed titers after the initial infection; however, a significant change of titer did not develop after reinoculation in most ...
Tulleners E, Mann P, Raker CW.Epiglottic augmentation with injectable bovine collagen or an autogenous or allogenous auricular cartilage graft was performed in 12 horses with endoscopically and radiographically normal epiglottises. The grafting procedures were easy to perform and did not cause apparent discomfort. Cartilage graft extrusion or resorption may have occurred, but was not seen by endoscopy and lateral laryngeal radiography. Only collagen implants remained evident endoscopically, as smooth round submucosal bulges ventral to the epiglottic cartilage. Two horses with collagen implants, and all horses with cartilag...
Goetz TE, Manohar M.The heart rate (HR) induced by maximal beta-adrenergic activation, which was elicited by infusion of isoproterenol, was studied in 8 healthy horses before (control) and after hyperthermia was induced by IV administration of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP). Isoproterenol was administered IV at 1.0 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 for 3 minutes, and the HR was determined during the final 30 seconds of the infusion. As the rectal temperature increased (P less than 0.001) from 38.2 +/- 0.1 C (mean +/- SEM; normothermic control) to 40.1 +/- 0.1 C at 60 minutes after DNP administration, the isoproterenol-induced HR al...
von Fellenberg RL, Jordan JC, Ludwig B, Rehm WF.Aditoprim, a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent acting as a reversible dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, was intravenously injected into four 12 to 24-year old horses at a dosage of 5 mg/kg b. w. Blood samples were collected over a 48-hour period after drug injection, and the separated plasma samples were assayed for aditoprim by high performance liquid chromatography. The body temperature, heart rate, respiration rate, and behaviour were recorded during the experiment. The bilirubin and urea concentrations were also determined in several plasma samples, and liver function tests were carried ...
Hamada M, Oyamada T, Yoshikawa H, Yoshikawa T, Itakura C.The histopathological development of equine cutaneous papillomas was studied in 78 warts naturally occurring in 50 one to 3-year-old Thoroughbred or Arab horses and in 54 warts experimentally induced in three 2-year-old Thoroughbreds. Lesions in the natural cases were categorized into three phases, growth, development and regression. Main lesions of the growing phase were marked hyperplasia of the basal cells and mild to moderate acanthosis, hyper- and parakeratosis with a few intranuclear inclusion bodies (IIB) which were positive with anti-bovine papillomavirus serum. In the developing phase...
Manohar M.Regional distribution of diaphragmatic blood flow (Q; 15-microns-diam radionuclide-labeled microspheres) was studied in normal (n = 7) and laryngeal hemiplegic (LH; n = 7) ponies to determine whether the added stress of inspiratory resistive breathing during maximal exercise may cause 1) redistribution of diaphragmatic Q and 2) crural diaphragmatic Q to exceed that in maximally exercising normal ponies. LH-induced augmentation of already high exertional work of breathing resulted in diminished locomotor exercise capacity so that maximal exercise in LH ponies occurred at 25 km/h compared with 3...
Ginther OJ.Prolonged luteal activity is one of the most formidable terminology challenges in mare reproductive biology. Prolonged luteal activity can be a result of persistence of an individual corpus luteum or the sequential development of luteal glands, each of which may have a normal life span. Luteal tissue can originate from an unovulated follicle or from an ovulation occurring during either follicular or luteal dominance. These complexities, together with ambiguous and inconsistent terminology, have resulted in confusion regarding those conditions which can be grouped broadly under the term prolong...
Russell LD, Ren HP, Sinha Hikim I, Schulze W, Sinha Hikim AP.Morphometric studies were performed on 12 mammalian species (degu, dog, guinea pig, hamster, human, monkey, mouse, opossum, rabbit, rat, stallion, and woodchuck) to determine volume density percentage (Vv%), volume (V), and numerical density (Nv) of seminiferous tubule components, especially those related to the Sertoli cell, and to make species comparisons. For most species, measurements were taken both from stages where elongate spermatids were deeply embedded within the Sertoli cell and from stages near sperm release where elongate spermatids were in shallow crypts within the Sertoli cell. ...
Whitehair KJ, Watney GC, Leith DE, Debowes RM.The clinical usefulness of two pulse oximeters was evaluated at two probe sites in nine anesthetized horses. The hemoglobin saturation determined by the pulse oximeters (SaOx) was compared with the hemoglobin saturation calculated from the measured arterial oxygen tension (SaO2). The mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated from the differences in saturation measurements, over the saturation range of 80% to 100%, for each oximeter used at the tongue probe site and for one oximeter used at the ear. The oximeter results tended to underestimate the SaO2 with mean differences of -3.7% on t...
Brumbaugh GW, Davis LE, Thurmon JC, Savage DC.Opsonized Rhodococcus equi activated the respiratory burst of resident alveolar macrophages (AM) from adult horses in a logarithmic-linear, mass-related manner. The effect of R equi was not significantly different from that of equal masses of opsonized zymosan A. Therefore, R equi does not appear to attenuate the respiratory burst of equine AM. The stimulatory effect of R equi was not reflected by increased production of superoxide anion (O2-), but increased activity of the hexose monophosphate shunt was observed. These results suggest a similarity between the respiratory burst of AM from hors...
Araújo AC, Salvadori MC, Velletri ME, Camargo MM.The possibility of false negative results from TLC when a diuretic is administered concomitantly with flunixin was studied. Samples were subjected to solvent extraction from acidic aqueous solutions; duplicate samples were also subjected to alkaline hydrolysis at pH 12.5. The internal standard was flufenamic acid. The quantification of flunixin was performed by HPLC and the results confirmed by GC/MS. The data show that furosemide influences the urinary concentration of flunixin.
Ballagi-Pordány A, Klingeborn B, Flensburg J, Belák S.Primers and probes were selected from the gene encoding glycoprotein 13 (gp 13) of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1). The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was run on infected and noninfected cultured cells and on 63 specimens from 29 aborted equine fetuses. The results were evaluated by electrophoresis and dot-blot hybridization using an oligonucleotide probe labeled with biotin. In the infected samples electrophoresis showed a PCR product of about 280 base pairs. The dot-blot hybridization confirmed that this product contained EHV-1 DNA sequences. PCR took 4 h and hybridization another 14 h; the re...
Tulamo RM, Saari H, Konttinen YT.Concentration of hyaluronate (HA) in equine serum was determined by a recently developed specific radioassay. The mean +/- SD HA concentration in equine serum was 288 +/- 145 micrograms/L, was age dependent, and varied widely between horses (range, 190 to 760 micrograms/L). Light or moderate exercise increased serum HA concentration from baseline values by 1.5- to 3-fold. In all horses, serum HA concentration returned to or below the original resting values 1 and 2 hours after exercise.
Ehrhardt EE, Lowe JE.The reliability of abdominal auscultation was investigated via an observer variation study. Clinicians listened to a variety of minute-long equine gut sound recordings. They evaluated the amount of gut sounds as 'absent', 'decreased', 'normal', or 'increased'. They subsequently evaluated the same recordings replayed in a different order. Intra- and inter-observer agreement was measured by the statistic kappa. There was significant intra-observer (kappa 0.57) agreement, but less agreement between observers (kappa 0.37). The best agreement was on the classification of sound tracks as 'absent' (i...
Monzón CM, Mancebo OA, Roux JP.In a total of 165 blood samples from horses in the Province of Formosa (Argentina), the diagnosis for equine trypanosomiasis (T. evansi) was made using Giemsa-stained smears (GSS), wet blood films (WBF), Strout's concentration method (SCM), haematocrit centrifuge technique (HCT), buffy coat method (BCM) and mouse inoculation of blood (MBI). Trypanosoma evansi was demonstrated in 52 samples. Mouse inoculation gave a sensitivity of 88.2%; HCT 71.1%; BCM 63.4%; WBF 53.8%; SCM 46.1% and GSS 45.6%. No single method alone was totally effective. The haematocrit centrifuge technique, mouse inoculation...
Bain FT, Merritt AM.To investigate the possibility that a disorder of potassium balance may have a role in the development of equine rhabdomyolysis, the potassium concentration within erythrocytes (RBC [K+]) and plasma (P [K+]) was measured in 3 groups of horses: group 1, eight 2-year-old fillies that had postexercise muscle soreness within 48 hours of sample collection; group 2, ten 2-year-old fillies subjected to identical management and training conditions (as fillies of group 1) and that did not have signs of myopathy; and group 3, 32 yearlings of both sexes on the farm of origin of groups 1 and 2 that were p...
Jönsson L, Madsen P, Mark T.Genetic evaluations of sport performance typically consider competition records of ranking points in each competition, accumulated lifetime points or annual earnings. Repeated observations have the advantage of allowing for adjustment of effects associated with each competition such as rider experience, judge and competing horses, but also demands more computer capacity than single-trait records, which could prohibit multiple-trait evaluations. The aim of the study was to compare CPU times, estimated breeding values (EBVs), reliabilities and model prediction abilities when modelling repeated c...
Lotstra RJ, van den Broek J, Power T, Marr CM, Wijnberg ID.Atrial fibrillation is a common equine arrhythmia. Quinidine alone, or with digoxin are common treatments. Studies on outcome in Warmblood populations in which duration of the AF is often unknown are limited. Objective: To identify the factors that are associated with the success of full treatment cardioversion with oral medication, and establish whether there are differences in these factors between institutions. Methods: Retrospective case series using patient records of Equine University Clinic of Utrecht University and Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket. Methods: Forty-nine horses treate...
van 't Klooster AT, Hallebeek JM, Beynen AC.The diet of horses should cover the energy and nutrient requirements of these animals. The desired composition of the ration depends on its digestion in the equine gastrointestinal tract. Nutritional problems or diseases caused by incorrect composition of the ration or by incorrect feeding should be prevented. The digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the different parts of the gastrointestinal tract is described. In addition, the recently introduced net energy and digestible protein evaluation systems for feeds, and the energy and protein requirements of horses are presented.
Craig AF, Packer GC, Guthrie AJ, Venter EH.A prospective study was undertaken during 2013 and 2014, to determine the prevalence of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) in Culicoides midges and the incidence of infection caused by the virus in 28 resident horses on two equine establishments on the East Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Field caught Culicoides midges together with whole blood samples from participating horses were collected every two weeks at each establishment. Culicoides midges and blood samples were tested for the presence of AHSV RNA by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Nine i...
Wagner AE, Bennett DG.Eighteen clinically normal horses were used to study the characteristics of normal thoracic fluid. Thoracic fluid was obtained from each horse and was found to be similar to equine abdominal fluid. Total leukocytes averaged 3994/ul, total protein 1.8 g/dl, and specific gravity 1.015. Analysis of thoracic fluid from 16 horses with clinical signs of thoracic disease showed abnormalities in every case. Thoracic fluid analysis alone determined a specific diagnosis in 50% of the cases.
Francis JM, Perry EB.Horse treat packaging may be composed of materials including plastic and paper which protect the product from the environment to improve shelf life. Objectives of this research were to 1) assess the impact of packaging on shelf life of horse treats and 2) evaluate the impact of packaging on horse preferences. Three packaging treatments (control, poly, and paper) were examined at five time points over a 12 month period. Treatments were analyzed for moisture, water activity, mold, yeast, pH, and volatile organic acids. Horse preference testing evaluated first treatment sniffed, consumed, and fin...
Roser JF, Lofstedt RM.Blood and urine samples collected from 12 mares at frequent intervals from 25 to 210 d of pregnancy were analyzed for equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG). Blood and urine samples were collected daily through two consecutive ovulatory periods from five cyclic mares for comparative purposes. Separate radioimmunoassays (RIA) were developed to detect eCG in the urine and plasma. A simple and quick commercial dipstick enzyme-linked immunospecific assay (ELISA), developed for eCG in the blood, was also utilized in this study to detect eCG in the urine. In the 12 pregnant mares, eCG concentrations in...
Aboul-Enein HY, Van Overbeke A, Vander Weken G, Baeyens W, Oda H, Deprez P, De Kruif A.Racemic ketoprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to treat musculoskeletal and colic conditions in horses. The enantioselective chiral inversion of ketoprofen administered to horses has been studied by use of cellulose tris(4-methylbenzoate), also known as Chiralcel OJ-R, as chiral stationary phase; acetonitrile - 0.02 M perchlorate buffer (pH 2.0)-methanol, 60:15:25 (v/v/v) was used as mobile phase. Before chromatography, to effect adequate chiral interaction with the chiral stationary phase ketoprofen was derivatized with 9-aminophenanthrene, under acid conditions, after soli...
Hobbs SJ, Mather J, Rolph C, Richards J.Radial strain in normal hooves has been found to vary with strain gauge location, limb posture and sample limb but reported magnitudes were considered to be low. More accurate measurement of radial strain may enhance the understanding of hoof function. Objective: To explore in vitro radial hoof strain in relation other kinetic and kinematic variables that may be related. Methods: Five normal forelimbs were removed at the proximal articular surface of the third metacarpal bone (McIII). The limbs were loaded using a modified Instron test machine. Six calibrated infrared cameras captured movement...
Pimenta EL, Teixeira Neto FJ, Sá PA, Pignaton W, Garofalo NA.Bradycardia may be implicated as a cause of cardiovascular instability during anaesthesia. Objective: Hyoscine would induce positive chronotropism of shorter duration than atropine, without adversely impairing intestinal motility in detomidine sedated horses. Methods: Ten minutes after detomidine (0.02 mg/kg bwt, i.v.), physiological saline (control), atropine (0.02 mg/kg bwt) or hyoscine (0.2 mg/kg bwt) were randomly administered i.v. to 6 horses, allowing one week intervals between treatments. Investigators blinded to the treatments monitored cardiopulmonary data and intestinal auscultation ...
Remzi M, Buchsteiner R, Djavan B, Hittmair A, Seitz C, Klingler C, Marberger M.Actinomycosis of the urogenital tract is rare and predominantly an infectious disease of horses, cattle, swine, and humans. This case report describes isolated actinomycosis of the hydrocele wall presenting as an inflamed right-sighted hydrocele.
Garel JM, Martin-Rosset W, Barlet JP.Plasma calcium and calcitonin levels were measured periodically during the two last months of pregnancy and at the time of parturition in 9 pregnant mares and their foals. In pregnant animals, there was an increase in plasma calcitonin levels in the days before parturition, which was not due to any change in plasma calcium. This result indicates that in the mare, as in the cow, in the days before parturition CT secretion escapes from its control by plasma calcium. In 0-day and 7-day-old foals plasma calcium levels were significantly higher than in their mothers, but plasma calcitonin levels we...
van der Mey GJ, Bos H.The study of the literature on a preliminary performance test for saddle horses (stallions) is concerned with European countries. Interest is found to be increasing in the various countries. Performance of the test in the Netherlands (since 1966) is described and the various criteria of evaluation are discussed in detail. The intensity of selection based on this test is referred to. In 1974, it was 78 per cent in the Netherlands. Part of studies on the relationship between some results of testing are reviewed. The traction test shows a very low coefficient of correlation with the other parts o...
Sarasola P, Horspool LJ, McKellar QA.The effect of urine pH on plasma disposition of ampicillin sodium was evaluated. A single dose of 10 mg/kg of body weight was administered IV to Thoroughbreds with alkaline (pH greater than 8.0) or acidic (pH less than 4.5) urine. Urine alkalinity was achieved and maintained by oral administration of up to 400 mg of sodium bicarbonate/kg/d, and acidity was achieved and maintained by oral administration of up to 400 mg of ammonium chloride/kg/d. Ampicillin sodium was measured in the plasma of horses by use of an agar diffusion microbiological assay with Bacillus subtilis as the test organism. T...
Dejardin LM, Arnoczky SP, Cloud GL.During impact, equine hooves undergo viscoelastic deformations which may result in potentially harmful strains. Previous hoof strain studies using strain gauges have been inconclusive due to arbitrary gauge placement. Photoelastic stress analysis (PSA) is a full-field technique which visually displays strains over entire loaded surfaces. This in vitro study identifies normal hoof strain patterns using PSA. Custom-made photoelastic plastic sheets were applied to the hoof surface. The hooves were axially loaded (225 kg) under level and varus/valgus conditions. Strain patterns were video-recorded...
Ekfalck A, Rodriguez H, Obel N.LAMINITIS after abdominal surgery is a well known
complication that may occur after the horse has recovered from
colic (McIlwraith and Turner 1987). We had the opportunity to
examine a horse with post-surgical laminitis with a peracute
course whose early death made it possible to gain material from
the acute stage for histopathological investigations. We consider
that our observations may be of some value for colleagues
interested in the pathogenesis of laminitis.
Yamaguchi T, Endo Y, Nambo Y, Sato F, Sasaki N, Yamada K.Equine bone scintigraphy is usually performed with horses in standing position under sedation. However, swaying motion often leads to poor-quality images. To examine the usefulness of motion correction (MC) processing, equine bone scintigrams were evaluated using Scheffé's method of paired comparisons. A significant difference in evaluation scores was detected by analysis of variance (F test, P<0.01). According to all observers, Yardstick analysis scores were higher for images use of MC processing than for those no use of MC processing, for all parts. Overall scores of 5 observers were as ...
Marland A, Sarkar P, Leavitt R, Lee-Ruff E, Ramnauth J.A method for the extraction of oxaprozin from equine urine and serum and its quantitation by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection is presented. Confirmation of oxaprozin in postadministration extracts was accomplished by gas chromatographic- mass spectrometric analysis of methylated extracts or liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry daughter ion mass spectra of underivatized extracts. Daypro, a formulation of oxaprozin, was administered orally at a dose of 4.8 g to four standardbred mares. Urine and serum samples were collected to 120 h postadministration. ...
Eizema K, van der Wal DE, van den Burg MM, Dingboom EG, Everts ME.An optimal developed musculoskeletal system is vital for the performance of the horse. Previously, we showed that in the m. gluteus medius from adult untrained horses, identical mRNA and protein expression patterns were found in the majority of fibres. However, co-expression of IIa and IId/x myosin heavy chain (MyHC) was substantially more common at the protein than at the mRNA level, suggesting a transcriptionally controlled fine-tuning of these 2 genes. Objective: To analyse the MyHC transcripts and proteins (including the cardiac alpha isoform) in the same muscle during post natal developme...