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.
Perryman LE, Torbeck RL.A 3-year prospective breeding trial was designed to verify the mode of inheritance of combined immunodeficiency (CID) in Arabian horses. Twenty-six mares that had previously produced foals with CID were mated to a stallion that had sired foals with CID. Of 53 foals obtained, 15 (28.3%) had CID. The ratio of female to male foals was 28:25, and the ratio of female CID to male CID foals was 8:7. The results of this trial confirmed a suggestion that CID in Arabian horses is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait.
Tinling SP, Cardinet GH, Blythe LL, Cohen M, Vonderfecht SL.The structure of sarcocysts in a horse is presented. Light microscopic examination revealed that the maximum cyst dimensions were 136 X 990 micrometers and the cyst walls were striated and 1 to 3 micrometers thick. Electron microscopic examination revealed that the "cyst wall" was formed by villuslike protrusions of the parasitophorous vacuole's primary wall. A unique feature was the presence and arrangement of microtubules within the parasitophorous vacuole. Thirty-four to 55 microtubules extended from the apical tips and sides of each villus and passed through the ground matrix to form junct...
Potgieter LN, Rouse BT, Webb-Martin TA.A modification of the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed which used staphylococcal protein A linked to horseradish peroxidase. Virus antibodies in equine, bovine, porcine, feline, canine, lagomorphic (rabbit), and human sera were detected, using the indirect ELISA in which the antiglobulin enzyme conjugate was replaced by protein A linked to horseradish peroxidase. Results of the ELISA were compared with the results of the serum-virus neutralization test. The application of the test in laboratories performing serologic assays with sera from diverse animal species ...
Merritt AM, Smith DA.The concentrations of acetate (C2), propionate (C3), isobutyrate (iC4), butyrate (nC4), isovalerate (iC5), and valerate (nC5) were measured in the feces of 16 clinically normal horses and 44 horses with chronic diarrhea of at least 1-month's duration. The diarrheal horses were categorized diagnostically as: (1) no discernible clinical abnormalities other than diarrhea and in some cases, weight loss (open); (2) clinical evidence of strongyle larval migrans; and (3) Salmonella organisms recovered from the feces. Osmolarity of the feces of 14 of the normal and 15 of the sick horses also was measu...
Plopper CG, Mariassy AT, Hill LH.Two morphologic characteristics have been used to define the nonciliated bronchiolar epithelial cell: abundant agranular endoplasmic reticulum (AER) and membrane-bound avoid granules. To assess the ultrastructural homogeneity of this cell type in the lungs of large domestic mammals used as experimental models in pulmonary research, we evaluated lungs of horse, steer, sheep, dog, and cat. Bronchioles of known anatomic location were examined by electron microscopy following fixation by airway infusion at standard pressure and processing by selective embedding techniques. Nonciliated bronchiolar ...
Rubin L, Oppegard C, Hindz HF.Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of varying the temporal distrbution of conditioning sessions on equine learning behavior. In the first experiment, 15 ponies were trained to clear a small hurdle in response to a buzzer in order to avoid a mild electric shock. Three treatments were used. One group received 10 learning trials daily, seven times a week; one group was trained in the same fashion two times a week and one group was trained once a week. The animals conditioned only once a week achieved a high level of performance in significantly fewer sessions than the ones conditi...
True RG, Lowe JE.Juglone, a toxic compound found in all parts of plants of the walnut tree family Jugans, was evaluated as the possible toxin involved in black walnut shaving-associated laminitis in the horse. Large amounts (up to 1 g) of this chemical administered per os inconsistently caused mild signs of laminitis in ponies. Topical application of juglone to the digits of horses caused local skin irritation but did not cause laminitis. Intravenous administration of juglone caused acute pulmonary edema in some individuals previously exposed to the compound per os or IV.
Houghton E, Dumasia MC.1. The metabolism of 19-nor[4-14C]testosterone in a thoroughbred horse has been studied and neutral urinary metabolites obtained after enzyme hydrolysis have been investigated by g.l.c.-mass spectrometry. 2. 3-Hydroxyestran-17-one, 17 alpha- and 17 beta-nortestosterone, estrane-3,17-diol (two isomers), 3,16-dihydroxyestran-17-one (two isomers), 3,17-dihydroxyestran-16-one (two isomers) and estrane-3,16,17-triol were identified in the neutral urinary extracts.
Gabel AA.Since horses ridden at a gallop have a high incidence of bone spavin, and harness horses (Standardbred pacers and trotters) have a different
syndrome, they will be discussed separately. Osteoarthritis (bone spavin) apparently is caused by impact and compression on the distal tarsal
bones, which occurs most forcefully at the gallop (canter). Shear stresses, which occur in the joint between these bones, are most severe at the trot
or pace, and probably cause the usual cunean-tarsitis problem in
Standardbreds. Obviously some of each force occurs at each gait.
Williams IF, Heaton A, McCullagh KG.The histological appearance of cells and tissues in the reparative scar tissue which forms in the equine superficial flexor tendon following partial rupture was compared to that of normal tendon. The repair fibroblasts were found to be larger and more basophilic than the tenocytes of normal tendon, to have large vesicular nuclei and to resemble the 'myofibroblasts' described in scar tissue elsewhere. The cell to matrix ratio in scarred zones of tendon was found to be increased and the concentration of collagen in these areas was less than in normal tendon. However, the scar tissue collagen was...
McGowan JJ, Allen GP, Barnett JM, Gentry GA.Infection of horse KyED cells with equine herpesvirus type 3 (EHV-3) resulted in a sevenfold increase in cytosol deoxythymidine kinase (dTK) activity. The EHV-3 dTK was purified from KyED cytosol dTK by affinity chromatography on deoxythymidine-Sepharose and characterized with respect to its electrophoretic mobility, molecular weight, substrate specificity, phosphate donor specificity, and immunological specificity. The purified EHV-3 dTK migrated in polyacrylamide gels with an Rf of 0.30 and sedimented in glycerol gradients with an S value of 5.13, corresponding to a molecular weight of 83,00...
Roberts MC, Kelly WR.Granulomatous enteritis was diagnosed in a 4-year-old Standarbred mare suffering from chronic weight loss, depression, dependent oedema but not diarrhoea. There was hypoproteinaemia (hypoalbuminaemia), lymphocytopaenia and neglibible carbohydrate absorption from the small intestine. Pathological changes in almost the entire small intestine included proprial infiltration resulting in partial villous atrophy, and granuloma formation beneath the muscularis which was most severe in the ileum. Slight infiltration occurred in the stomach and the colon. The cells were predominantly lymphocytes and hi...
Benson GJ, Hartsfield SM, Manning JP, Thurmon JC.Succinylcholine chloride administered to horses anesthetized with halothane in oxygen and mechanically ventilated, caused slight but statistically insignificant (P less than 0.01) increases in creatine phosphokinase, lactic dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase activity. The increases in these enzymes have been explained on the basis of muscle damage resulting from succinylcholine chloride induced muscle fasciculations and by hypoperfusion of tissues due to depression of the cardiovascular system caused by general anesthesia. These changes were not clinically apparent based upon the ab...
Waugh SL, Campbell KB, Klavano PA, Grant BD.A surgical thoracotomy and implantation of an electromagnetic flow probe around the ascending aorta and catheters in the left ventricular (LV) apex of the horse were evaluated. Sixteen operations were done: 4 horses were used for acute experiments, 4 horses died from surgical manipulation, and 8 horses were studied chronically for 18 to 57 days. The electromagnetic flow probe allowed continuous measurement of stroke volume and heart rate. The LV apical catheters, in conjunction with thermal dilution techniques and pressure-sensitive devices, allowed measurement and calculation of mean arterial...
Wilsher S, Ousey J, Allen WR.Abnormal cord attachment can be a manifestation of an inappropriate fixation position of the conceptus in the uterus, or it may result from disorientation of the conceptus post fixation. The potential for this resulting in fetal and neonatal compromise is reviewed in the light of previous reports and to which 3 cases within the authors' experience are added.
Boyle AG.Respiratory distress in the horse and foal is an emergency. Managing equine respiratory distress in the field starts with appropriate assessment of the patient to determine whether the breathing obstruction stems from the upper or lower respiratory tract or is nonrespiratory in origin. From a thorough, but efficient, physical examination to point-of-care ultrasound and endoscopy, the veterinarian has many tools in the field to help diagnose the patient.
Stover SM, Steffey EP, Dybdal NO, Franti CE.Five horses were anesthetized similarly by use of xylazine, guaifenesin, thiamylal sodium, and halothane in oxygen on 3 consecutive days, and minor surgical procedures were performed. For 1 to 10 days after the last anesthetic exposure, clinical, hematologic, and serum biochemical features were monitored, and after necropsy, histologic examination of major organ tissues was performed. Predominant hematologic changes from base-line values included leukocytosis (maximal at 27 hours, 10,500 +/- 1,750 cells/microliter), neutrophilia (maximal at 51 hours, 7,485 +/- 1,719 cells/microliter), and lymp...
Seren E, Tamanini C, Gaiani R, Bono G.Plasma concentrations of progesterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone were high in the 2nd and 3rd months of gestation, but 20 alpha-dihydroprogesterone increased from a level of 2 ng/ml, during the first 3 months, to 10-15 ng/ml during months 5-10, to reach 80-120 ng/ml during the last 30 days before foaling.
Harris DT, Camenisch TD, Jaso-Friedmann L, Evans DL.Natural killer (NK) cells are large granular lymphocytes that lyse a wide variety of transformed and virally-infected target cells without prior exposure to antigen, and without restriction by major histocompatibility complex antigens. Although NK cells have been identified in a variety of mammalian species, how NK cells recognize antigen and trigger lysis is unknown. Recently, monoclonal antibodies made against NK-like cells from teleost fish were shown to react with NK cells from humans and rats, and to inhibit their cytolytic activity. The role of this apparently evolutionarily conserved fu...
McKinnon AO, Belden JO.A surgical technique involving reconstruction of the caudal vaginal vault was used to correct vesicovaginal reflux in 32 of 34 mares. After surgery, 22 of 24 mares became pregnant, and embryos were harvested for transfer from 6 of the other 10 mares. It was concluded that the procedure was safe and efficacious.
Meyer PK.The article reviews German anatomical terms applied to longer limb bones and their joints of the horse. The listed terms have been used in German veterinary and special veterinary anatomical hand- and textbooks since 1774; etymological remarks are made on some unusual words.
Sugiyama F, Takahashi Y, Nomura M, Ebisuda Y, Mukai K, Yoshida T.We investigated the risk factors for epistaxis in Japanese flat races over a 20-year period. The veterinary records of horses identified as having epistaxis by endoscopy on the race day, and the official racing records of all flat races from April to September between 2001 and 2020, were reviewed. The racecourses (n = 10), surface type, surface condition, race class, race distance, race year, sex, age, two training centers, ambient temperature, and body weight on race days were assessed using multivariable logistic regression (p < 0.05). Of 475,709 race starts, 616 (1.30 cases per 1000 starts;...
Easley J.Equine dentistry has been practiced for almost 3000 years, making it one of the oldest areas of equine health care. Progress has been slow and mirrored changes seen in human medical care. Many horsemen practiced equine dentistry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most of what was known then concentrated on sharp enamel points and abnormal dental occlusal wear. This changed slowly in the late twentieth century as research in equine dentistry increased. Today, veterinarians performing equine dentistry focus on detailed oral examination and base treatment for proper diagno...
Morley M, Loeb J.As Malcolm Morley becomes BVA president for 2022/23, Josh Loeb chats to him about his love for horses and why the veterinary profession is actually a human-centred business.