Veterinary science and horses encompass the study and application of medical, surgical, and therapeutic practices to maintain and improve the health and welfare of equines. This field addresses a wide range of topics, including disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as nutrition, reproduction, and behavior. Research in veterinary science for horses often involves understanding the pathophysiology of equine-specific diseases, developing advanced diagnostic techniques, and improving treatment protocols. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into the latest advancements and methodologies in equine healthcare.
Pauvolid-Corrêa A, Campos Z, Juliano R, Velez J, Nogueira RM, Komar N.A recent study reported neutralizing antibodies to West Nile virus (WNV) in horses from four ranches of southern Pantanal. To extend that study, a serosurvey for WNV and 11 Brazilian flaviviruses was conducted with 760 equines, 238 sheep and 61 caimans from 17 local cattle ranches. Among the tested equines, 32 were collected from a ranch where a neurologic disorder outbreak had been recently reported. The sera were initially screened by using a blocking ELISA and then titrated by 90% plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT90) for 12 flaviviruses. Employing the criterion of 4-fold greater ti...
Rochais C, Henry S, Sankey C, Nassur F, Góracka-Bruzda A, Hausberger M.As visual attention is an intrinsic part of social relationships, and because relationships are built on a succession of interactions, their establishment involves learning and attention. The emotional, rewarding or punishing, content can modulate selective attention. In horses, the use of positive/negative reinforcement during training determines short and long-term human-horse relationships. In a recent study in horses, where either food or withers' grooming were used as a reward, it appeared that only the food-rewarded horses learned the task and show better relationship with humans. In the...
Ghosh S, Kobayashi N.Group A rotaviruses (RVA) are a major cause of viral diarrhea in the young of mammals and birds. RVA strains with certain genotype constellations or VP7-VP4 (G-P) genotype combinations are commonly found in a particular host species, whilst unusual or exotic RVAs have also been reported. In most cases, these exotic rotaviruses are derived from RVA strains common to other host species, possibly through interspecies transmission coupled with reassortment events, whilst a few other strains exhibit novel genotypes/genetic constellations rarely found in other RVAs. The epidemiology and evolutionary...
Hernlund E, Egenvall A, Peterson ML, Mahaffey CA, Roepstorff L.Increased knowledge of the influence of stride type on hoof impact accelerations for fore and hind limbs could lead to a more complete picture of hoof-ground interactions in equine athletes. Hoof accelerations were quantified for each hoof of five show jumping horses using two orthogonal single axis ± 250 g accelerometers. Accelerations were recorded when cantering horses jumped fences of varying types (upright and oxer) and heights (90-130 cm) on three different surface conditions. Strides were identified as normal canter strides, take-off strides and landing strides. Descriptive hoof impact...
Christensen JW, Beekmans M, van Dalum M, VanDierendonck M.The effects of hyperflexion on the welfare of dressage horses have been debated. This study aimed to investigate acute stress responses of dressage horses ridden in three different Head-and-Neck-positions (HNPs). Fifteen dressage horses were ridden by their usual rider in a standardised 10-min dressage programme in either the competition frame (CF), hyperflexion ("Low-Deep-and-Round"; LDR) or a looser frame (LF) in a balanced order on three separate test days. Heart rate (HR), heart rate variability parameters (HRV), behaviour and rein tension were recorded during the test. Salivary cortisol c...
McNabb L, Barr J, Crameri G, Juzva S, Riddell S, Colling A, Boyd V, Broder C, Wang LF, Lunt R.Hendra and Nipah viruses (HeV and NiV) are closely related zoonotic pathogens of the Paramyxoviridae family. Both viruses belong to the Henipavirus genus and cause fatal disease in animals and humans, though only HeV is endemic in Australia. In general and due to the acute nature of the disease, agent detection by PCR and virus isolation are the primary tools for diagnostic investigations. Assays for the detection of antibodies against HeV are fit more readily for the purpose of surveillance testing in disease epidemiology and to meet certification requirements in the international movement of...
Schade SM, Arnoczky SP, Bowker RM.To describe the intra-osseous microvasculature of the distal phalanx of the equine forelimb with regard to its potential clinical relevance. Methods: Eleven clinically normal equine forelimbs were used from six adult horses (range: 4 to 18 years old) euthanatized for reasons unrelated to lameness. In each limb the median artery was catheterized at the level of the carpus and India ink was injected under constant manual pressure. The limbs were frozen and 5 mm thick sections of the foot were cut in the sagittal, coronal, or transverse planes on a band saw. The sections were fixed in 10% formali...
Dougal K, de la Fuente G, Harris PA, Girdwood SE, Pinloche E, Geor RJ, Nielsen BD, Schott HC, Elzinga S, Newbold CJ.Faecal samples were collected from seventeen animals, each fed three different diets (high fibre, high fibre with a starch rich supplement and high fibre with an oil rich supplement). DNA was extracted and the V1-V2 regions of 16SrDNA were 454-pyrosequenced to investigate the faecal microbiome of the horse. The effect of age was also considered by comparing mature (8 horses aged 5-12) versus elderly horses (9 horses aged 19-28). A reduction in diversity was found in the elderly horse group. Significant differences between diets were found at an OTU level (52 OTUs at corrected Q<0.1). The ma...
Rubin JE, Pitout JD.Organisms in the family Enterobactericeae including, Escherichia coli, commonly cause community and hospital-associated infections in both humans and companion animals. The increasing prevalence of infections with organisms producing broad spectrum β-lactamses such as the ESBLs (particularly the CTX-M type), AmpC and carbapenemase enzymes are threatening the future of the β-lactam drugs. While a number of organisms within the Enterobacteriaceae producing these enzymes have been isolated from cats, dogs and horses, E. coli, including isolates indistinguishable from strains found in people, ha...
Sturgill TL, Giguère S, Berghaus LJ, Hurley DJ, Hondalus MK.Equine neonates have reduced humoral and cell-mediated immune responses compared to adult horses after administration of killed vaccines. As a basis for this study, we hypothesized that newborn foals can mount strong immune responses after vaccination with live Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Methods: Healthy 4-day-old foals (n=7), 4-month-old foals (n=7) and adult horses (n=6) were vaccinated once with live M. bovis BCG. Age-matched animals (n=5 per group) were used as unvaccinated controls. Relative vaccine-specific immunoglobulin concentrations and whole blood mRNA expression of IFN-γ, IL-4, and ...
Boye JK, Thomsen MH, Pfau T, Olsen E.This study aimed to create an evidence base for detection of stance-phase timings from motion capture in horses. The objective was to compare the accuracy (bias) and precision (SD) for five published algorithms for the detection of hoof-on and hoof-off using force plates as the reference standard. Six horses were walked and trotted over eight force plates surrounded by a synchronised 12-camera infrared motion capture system. The five algorithms (A-E) were based on: (A) horizontal velocity of the hoof; (B) Fetlock angle and horizontal hoof velocity; (C) horizontal displacement of the hoof relat...
de Seve CW, Griffin SL.In recent years, the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Management program costs have increased dramatically due to a rise in the number of animals removed from public lands coupled with significantly decreased adoption rates. To assist with development and implementation of effective, cost-containing management programs, a robust economic model to project the costs and optimize outcomes of various management scenarios was created. For example, preliminary demonstration model runs show that by gradually replacing "removal-only" programs with contraception-and-removal progra...
Promerová M, Andersson LS, Juras R, Penedo MC, Reissmann M, Tozaki T, Bellone R, Dunner S, HoÅ™Ãn P, Imsland F, Imsland P, Mikko S, Modrý D....For centuries, domestic horses have represented an important means of transport and served as working and companion animals. Although their role in transportation is less important today, many horse breeds are still subject to intense selection based on their pattern of locomotion. A striking example of such a selected trait is the ability of a horse to perform additional gaits other than the common walk, trot and gallop. Those could be four-beat ambling gaits, which are particularly smooth and comfortable for the rider, or pace, used mainly in racing. Gaited horse breeds occur around the glob...
Khurelbaatar N, Krueger WS, Heil GL, Darmaa B, Ulziimaa D, Tserennorov D, Baterdene A, Anderson BD, Gray GC.Avian (AIV) and equine influenza virus (EIV) have been repeatedly shown to circulate among Mongolia's migrating birds or domestic horses. In 2009, 439 Mongolian adults, many with occupational exposure to animals, were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of zoonotic influenza transmission. Sera were drawn upon enrollment and again at 12 and 24 months. Participants were contacted monthly for 24 months and queried regarding episodes of acute influenza-like illnesses (ILI). Cohort members confirmed to have acute influenza A infections, permitted respiratory swab collections which were studied w...
Naugle R, Grams K.The development of sophisticated delivery equipment, as well as safer and more effective drugs, has made remote delivery of animal drugs a standard and readily available tool for wildlife professionals, veterinarians, ranchers, and animal control officers. In the 1980s, researchers began treating a wide variety of wildlife with injectable porcine zona pellucida immunocontraceptive vaccines. Remote delivery of immunocontraceptives has been proven effective at the individual and population level for wild horses and urban deer. However, it took only a short time at each study site to understand t...
Vincze S, Stamm I, Kopp PA, Hermes J, Adlhoch C, Semmler T, Wieler LH, Lübke-Becker A, Walther B.Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is an important cause of wound infections in companion animals, and infections with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are of particular concern due to limited treatment options and their zoonotic potential. However, comparable epidemiological data on MRSA infections in dogs, cats and horses is scarce, also limiting the knowledge about possible links to MRSA isolates from human populations. To gain more knowledge about the occurrence and genotypic variation of MRSA among wound swabs of companion animal origin in Germany we performed a survey (2010-2012) including...
Fornal A, Radko A, Piestrzyńska-Kajtoch A.Short tandem repeat (STR) loci, i.e. microsatellites are a class of genetic markers commonly used for population studies and parentage control. This study determined the usefulness of microsatellite markers recommended by International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG) for identification and pedigree analysis in horses based on the example of Polish Hucul horse population (Equus caballus). The set of seventeen microsatellites loci was tested (AHT4, AHT5, ASB2, HMS2, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, HTG10, HTG4, HTG6, HTG7, VHL20, ASB17, ASB23, CA425, HMS1, LEX3) for 216 individuals. All samples were genotyp...
Wong JK, Wan TS.Doping(1) in sports is highly detrimental, not only to the athletes involved but to the sport itself as well as to the confidence of the spectators and other participants. To protect the integrity of any sport, there must be in place an effective doping control program. In human sports, a 'top-down' and generally unified approach is taken where the rules and regulations against doping for the majority of elite sport events held in any country are governed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). However, in horseracing, there is no single organisation regulating this form of equestrian sport; i...
Mack JK, Remler HP, Senckenberg E, Kienzle E.Two groups of Warmblood foals from the Bavarian federal stud participated in the study beginning from the age of approximately 6Â months. The foals were offered a late 1st cut of haylage, oats and foal starter feed. For 2Â months after weaning, group 'R' (15 foals) received an amount of oats to provide a total digestible energy supply meeting the recommendations of the German Society of Nutrition Physiology (GfE), whereas the other group 'A' (16 foals) was offered a higher amount of oats (surplus of approximately 1.3Â kg/animal/day). Concentrates were fed individually twice daily; total daily ...
Thomas KC, Hamilton NA, North KN, Houweling PJ.The sarcomeric α-actinins, encoded by the genes ACTN2 and ACTN3, are major structural components of the Z-line and have high sequence similarity. α-Actinin-2 is present in all skeletal muscle fibres, while α-actinin-3 has developed specialized expression in only type 2 (fast, glycolytic) fibres. A common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the human ACTN3 gene (R577X) has been found to influence muscle performance in elite athletes and the normal population. For this reason, equine ACTN3 (eACTN3) is considered to be a possible candidate that may influence horse performance. In this stud...
Meier HP.In 1828, the Society of Swiss Veterinarians (GST) raised a prize question in regard to the symptoms, etiology and prophylaxis of polyarthritis in the foal. The treatise of Matthias Anker on this subject was treated with distinction and published in 1830. His statements answered both the questions to the clinical aspects and referred also to epidemiological, pathological, economical and ethical issues as well as husbandry and relations with the breeders. The comprehensive article of Anker in a lucid language and obliging views still finds great interest today, as the septicemia is one of the bi...
Stefánsdóttir GJ, Ragnarsson S, Gunnarsson V, Jansson A.This study examined the response in terms of heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), haematocrit (Htc), rectal temperature (RT), and some plasma variables in Icelandic horses of different sexes and ages performing the riding assessment in a breed evaluation field test (BEFT). The study was conducted in Iceland on 266 horses (180 mares and 86 stallions, divided into four age groups; 4, 5, 6 and ≥7 years old). RT and RR were recorded and blood samples were taken before the warm-up and after the riding assessment. Horse HR, velocity and distance were recorded during the warm-up, the riding asse...
Wu H, Han D, Jiang Z, Zhao D, Liu M, Xu X, Liu X, Yang L, Ji X, Wang M, Zhang S.B cell activating factor (BAFF) and its receptors were regarded as elements of the immune system, regulating the fate of B cell. In recent years, these molecules were identified in a number of normal and pathological tissues, expanding their potential functions beyond the immune system. In this study, on the basis of molecular clone and prokaryotic expression of equine BAFF, we reported that equine adipose-derived stem cell (ASC) expressed BAFF and its receptors, which exhibited the increased expression during ASC adipogenic differentiation in vitro. Moreover, with the addition of recombinant ...
Nielsen MK, Reinemeyer CR, Donecker JM, Leathwick DM, Marchiondo AA, Kaplan RM.Anthelmintic resistance is becoming increasingly prevalent among equine nematode parasites. The first reports documenting resistance were published in the 1960s, just a short time after introduction of the first modern anthelmintics phenothiazine and thiabendazole. Several factors are known to influence development of resistance, but evidence specific to equine parasites is limited. Most current knowledge and applications have been extrapolated from research with trichostrongylid parasites of sheep. The number of cyathostomin species co-infecting horses adds to the complexity of investigating ...
Zhang Y, Long R, Warzecha CM, Coverdale JA, Latham EA, Hume ME, Callaway TR, O'Neil MR, Beier RC, Anderson RC, Nisbet DJ.The nitrotoxins 3-nitro-1-propionic acid (NPA) and 3-nitro-1-propanol (NPOH) are produced by a wide variety of leguminous plants, including over 150 different species and varieties of Astragalus potentially grazed by livestock. These toxins are known to be detoxified by at least one ruminal bacterium but detoxification by bacteria from other gut habitats is not known. In the present study, mixed populations of bovine ruminal and equine cecal microbes were enriched for NPA-metabolizing bacteria via consecutive 24-72 h culture in a basal minimal rumen fluid-based medium supplemented with 4.2 mM ...
Logan AA, Nielsen BD, Hiney KM, Robison CI, Manfredi JM, Buskirk DD, Popovich JM.Circular exercise is used in many equestrian disciplines and this study aimed to determine if circle diameter impacts juvenile animal forelimb bone and joint health. On day 0, 24 calves at 9 weeks of age were assigned the following exercise treatments: small circle (12 m clockwise), large circle (18-m clockwise), treadmill, or non-exercised control. Exercise was initiated at 1.1−1.5 m/s for 5 min/d and increased 5 min weekly until reaching 30 min/d. On day 49, synovial fluid was collected from multiple joints, cartilage was collected from the proximal surface of fused third and fourth metaca...
Turkan F, Harbi Calimli M, Akgun A, Gulbagca F, Sen F.Benzimidazoles are antiparasitic drugs having an extensive application field like agriculture, medicine, and especially in veterinary medicine. In this study, we report the effect of some benzimidazole drugs such as ricobendazole (RBZ), thiabendazole (TBZ), albendazole (ALBA) and oxfendazole (OFZ) on glutathione s-transferase (GST) enzyme activity. The kinetics studies, IC and Ki values of the tested drugs on GSTs enzyme activity were investigated. The obtained ranking of IC values were found to be approximately RBZ (53.31 μM, r 0.9778) < OFZ (57.75 μM, r 0.9630) < ALBA (63.00 μM, r 0...
Martins HM, Almeida IF, Camacho CR, Santos SM, Costa JM, Bernardo FM.Fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2 (FB2), and overall mycotoxins feed contamination may cause several effects on crops production and animal health. The contamination occurred predominantly in corn and corn-based foods and feeds. Objective: This survey intends to provide the occurrence of fumonisins in swine and equine mixed feeds in Portugal, making an overview from 2007 to 2010. Methods: A total of 363 samples were analyzed, 258 from swine feed and 105 from horse feed with HPLC method. The detection limit was 50 μg/kg for FB1 and 100 μg/kg for FB2. Results: The overall results were 13% of FB...
Park DH, Plapp BV.The E and S isoenzymes of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase differ by 10 amino acid residues, but only the S isoenzyme is active on 3 beta-hydroxysteroids. This functional difference was correlated to the differences in structures of the isoenzymes by characterizing a series of chimeric enzymes, which could represent intermediates in the evolution of catalytic activity. Deletion of Asp-115 from the E isoenzyme created the E/D115 delta enzyme that is active on steroids. The deletion alters the substrate binding pocket by moving Leu-116, which sterically hinders binding of steroids in the E isoe...
Elroy NN, Rogers J, Mafi GG, VanOverbeke DL, Hartson SD, Ramanathan R.Our objectives were to determine the non-enzymatic metmyoglobin reduction properties of bovine, porcine, and equine myoglobins and to characterize the effects of pre-incubation of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) with myoglobins on non-enzymatic metmyoglobin reduction in vitro. Purified bovine, porcine, and equine metmyoglobins (0.05 mM) were reduced at pH 5.6 and 7.4 in the presence or absence of HNE. Rates of metmyoglobin reduction were monitored by spectrophotometry, and myoglobin adducts were characterized by high-resolution mass-spectrometry. Results showed that the species origins of individual...
Hardefeldt LY, Crabb HK, Bailey KE, Gilkerson JR, Billman-Jacobe H, Browning GF.Appropriate dosing with antimicrobial agents is critical for effective treatment and to prevent the development of antimicrobial resistance. Methods: A review was undertaken of equine journal articles (Equine Veterinary Journal, Equine Veterinary Education, Australian Veterinary Journal, Australian Equine Veterinarian, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine and Journal of Equine Veterinary Science) between January 2015 and August 2018. Those with dosing regimens for procaine penicillin G, gentamicin or trimethoprim-sulfonamide in adult horses were examined and evaluated. Pharmacokinetics and ...
Park JW, Song KD, Kim NY, Choi JY, Hong SA, Oh JH, Kim SW, Lee JH, Park TS, Kim JK, Kim JG, Cho BW.Since athletic performance is a most importance trait in horses, most research focused on physiological and physical studies of horse athletic abilities. In contrast, the molecular analysis as well as the regulatory pathway studies remain insufficient for evaluation and prediction of horse athletic abilities. In our previous study, we identified receptor tyrosine kinase () gene which was expressed as alternative spliced isoforms in skeletal muscle during exercise. In the present study, we validated two alternative splicing transcripts (named as for long form and for short form) in equine s...
Hoshino M, Kawata Y, Goto Y.GroEL interacts with proteins in denatured states and promotes their efficient folding. To understand the conformational features required for the substrate, we studied the interactions of GroEL with various derivatives of horse cytochrome c including porphyrin-cytochrome c, apo-cytochrome c, and the three fragments containing the heme group, i.e. fragments 1-65, 1-38 and 11-21. Size-exclusion chromatography was performed, taking advantage of the heme absorption of the fluorescence label. Under low-salt conditions, significant binding to GroEL was observed for porphyrin-cytochrome c, apo-cytoc...
Dufour P, Courtois J, Seynaeve Y, Peeters S, Le Goff C, Cavalier E, Ponthier J.Steroid concentrations in serum are fluctuating during pregnancy of many mammal species. The current knowledge about endocrinology of gestation is mainly based on immunoassays. However, the lack of specificity of these assays hampers the reliability of the results. In the present work, we developed and validated a methodology associating liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) to simultaneously quantify, with high specificity and accuracy, estrone-3-sulfate (E3S), progesterone (PRO), estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) in serum of two different mammal species. The sample preparation ...
Geutjens CA, Clayton HM, Kaiser LJ.The objective was to use an electronic pressure mat to measure and compare forces and pressures of the saddle on a horse's back when riders mounted from the ground and with the aid of a mounting platform. Ten riders mounted a horse three times each from the ground and from a 35 cm high mounting platform in random order. Total force (summation of forces over all 256 sensors) was measured and compared at specific points on the force-time curve. Total force was usually highest as the rider's right leg was swinging upwards and was correlated with rider mass. When normalized to rider mass, total fo...
Alvinerie M, Houin G, Toutain PL.The binding of prednisolone to total plasma proteins of dogs, horses, cows, and sheep was characterized using equilibrium dialysis. Prednisolone was bound to a first protein with high affinity but low capacity (transcortin) and to a second protein according to a nonsaturable mechanism (albumin). Interspecies differences were observed, with cows and dogs exhibiting the lowest, and sheep and horses the highest specific binding capacities. The results are in good agreement with known pharmacokinetic properties of prednisolone in domestic species.
McKendree MG, Croney CC, Olynk Widmar NJ.To address escalating concerns about livestock animal care and welfare it is necessary to better understand the factors that may predispose people to develop such concerns. It has been hypothesized that experiences with, beliefs about, and emotional connections to animals may influence level of perceived obligation toward and therefore concern for animals. However, the extent to which people's classifications of animals and their status as pet owners may impact their views on food animal care and welfare practices remains unclear. An online survey of 798 U.S. households was therefore conducted...
Kordula T, Dubin A, Schooltink H, Koj A, Heinrich PC, Rose-John S.Horse blood leucocytes contain an elastase inhibitor (HLEI) belonging to the serpin family. Poly(A)+RNA isolated from these cells was used to construct a cDNA library in lambda gt10, which was first screened with a synthetic degenerate oligonucleotide probe corresponding to the amino acid sequence of the reactive centre of the inhibitor. Three clones were obtained covering the entire coding region of the protein. Sequencing of these clones showed identity with the amino acid sequence obtained from Edman degradation of the elastase inhibitor. The coding sequence of the HLEI cDNA was cloned into...
Hepperger C, Mayer A, Merz J, Vanderwall DK, Dietzel S.Whether chromosome sets inherited from father and mother occupy separate spaces in the cell nucleus is a question first asked over 110 years ago. Recently, the nuclear organization of the genome has come increasingly into focus as an important level of epigenetic regulation. In this context, it is indispensable to know whether or not parental genomes are spatially separated. Genome separation had been demonstrated for plant hybrids and for the early mammalian embryo. Conclusive studies for somatic mammalian cell nuclei are lacking because homologous chromosomes from the two parents cannot be d...
De Geest JP, Lauwers H, Simoens P, De Schaepdrijver L.The present investigation of 20 equine eyes shows that the iridocorneal angle of the horse is characterised by a very distinct pectinate ligament and a large ciliary cleft. The pectinate ligament consists of long and broad pigmented trabeculae which form a firm, flat and dense network that encircles the eye. On meridional sections, the ciliary cleft is visible as a wide triangular space comprising the trabecular meshwork which consists of two parts. The inner part is the larger and forms a three-dimensional network of large pigmented trabeculae with very wide intertrabecular spaces. The outer ...
Gupta SK.Mammalian zona pellucida (ZP) is composed of three to four glycoproteins, which plays an important role during fertilization. Mutations in the genes encoding zona proteins are reported in women with empty follicle syndrome, degenerated oocytes and those with an abnormal or no ZP further emphasizing their relevance during fertility. Immunization with either native or recombinant ZP glycoproteins/proteins leads to curtailment of fertility in various animal species. Observed infertility is frequently associated with ovarian pathology characterized by follicular atresia and degenerative changes in...
Burns TE, Clayton HM.The objectives were to compare the temporal characteristics of canter pirouette strides with collected canter strides in elite dressage horses, and to determine whether the stride kinematics of the canter pirouettes fulfilled the requirements specified in the Federation Equestre Internationale Rules for Dressage Events. Eleven horses were videotaped (60 fields/s) during the individual medal competition at the 1992 Olympic Games. Temporal variables were extracted from the videotapes using standard methods. Two strides were analysed on each of the left and right leads and these were pooled to gi...
Amat JP, Hendrikx P, Tapprest J, Leblond A, Dufour B.It is necessary to assess surveillance systems for infectious animal diseases to ensure they meet their objectives and provide high-quality health information. Each system is generally dedicated to one disease and often comprises various components. In many animal industries, several surveillance systems are implemented separately even if they are based on similar components. This lack of synergy may prevent optimal surveillance. The purpose of this study was to assess several surveillance systems within the same industry using the semi-quantitative OASIS method and to compare the results of t...
Amann B, Hirmer S, Hauck SM, Kremmer E, Ueffing M, Deeg CA.Colour vision in animals is an interesting, fascinating subject. In this study, we examined a wide variety of species for expression of S-opsin (blue sensitive) and M-/L-opsin (green-red sensitive) in retinal cones using two novel monoclonal antibodies specific for peptides from human opsins. Mouse, rat and hare did not express one of the investigated epitopes, but we could clearly prove existence of cones through peanut agglutinin labelling. Retinas of guinea pig, dog, wolf, marten, cat, roe deer, pig and horse were positive for S-opsin, but not for M-/L-opsin. Nevertheless all these species ...
Uzans AJ, Lucas Z, McLeod BA, Frasier TR.For small, isolated populations 2 common conservation concerns relate to genetic threats: inbreeding and negative consequences associated with loss of genetic diversity due to drift. Mitigating these threats often involves conservation actions that can be controversial, such as translocations or captive breeding programs. Although such actions have been successful in some situations, in others they have had undesirable outcomes. Here, we estimated the effective population size (N e ) of the Sable Island horses to assess the risk to this population of these genetic threats. We found surprising ...
Popescu S, Lazar EA, Borda C, Blaga Petrean A, Mitrănescu E.Despite an increase in awareness of their essential needs, many stallions continue to be kept in conditions limiting their social interactions and movement. To supplement the studies which highlight the effects of these practices on selected aspects of equine mental and physical wellbeing, we aimed to monitor a group of 32 adult intact stallions during their transition from tethered housing with limited outdoor access to free group housing through the lens of their overall welfare, perceived emotional status, and docility toward humans. Over three visits (before the management change, two week...
Gerritsmann H, Stalder GL, Kaczensky P, Buuveibaatar B, Payne J, Boldbaatar S, Walzer C.Research and conservation of wide-ranging wild equids in most cases necessitate capture and handling of individuals. For free-roaming Mongolian khulan ( Equus hemionus hemionus), also known as the khulan, capture involves a strenuous, high-speed chase, and physiologic responses have yet to be elucidated. We analyzed sequential arterial blood gas (ABG) samples as a proxy for respiratory and metabolic status of khulan during capture-related anesthesia. We recorded precise chase and induction times and monitored vital parameters and ABG from free-ranging khulan during anesthesia performed for GPS...
Kefena E, Rosenbom S, Beja-Pereira A, Kurtu MY, Han JL, Dessie T.We investigated the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of six morphologically distinct Ethiopian donkey populations using 12 equine microsatellite markers. The donkey populations were Abyssinian (AB), Afar (AF), Hararghe (HA), Ogaden (OG), Omo (OM) and Sinnar (SI). Blood samples were collected from 180 genetically unrelated donkeys (30 individuals per population). Population genetic diversity estimates showed that total number and mean number of observed alleles, average observed and expected heterozygosity were 94, 5.208 ± 0.0229, 0.555 ± 0.023 and 0.588 ± 0.022, respective...
Vervuert I, Coenen M, Bothe C.This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different corn processing techniques on the glycaemic and insulinaemic responses in horses. It was hypothesized that the changes in pre-caecal starch digestibility caused by various types of corn processing would alter the post-prandial glycaemic and/or insulinaemic response. Six horses were fed in random order: untreated, finely ground, steamed, micronized, steam-flaked and popped corn. The total corn intake was adjusted to 630 g starch/horse/day (1.2-1.5 g starch/kg BW/day). During a stabilization period of 10 days, horses also received 6 k...
Belogortseva N, Rubio M, Terrell W, Miksovská J.Photoacoustic calorimetry and transient absorption spectroscopy were used to study conformational dynamics associated with CO photodissociation from horse heart myoglobin (Mb) reconstituted with either Fe protoporphyrin IX dimethylester (FePPDME), Fe octaethylporphyrin (FeOEP), or with native Fe protoporphyrin IX (FePPIX). The volume and enthalpy changes associated with the Fe-CO bond dissociation and formation of a transient deoxyMb intermediate for the reconstituted Mbs were found to be similar to those determined for native Mb (DeltaV1 = -2.5+/-0.6 ml mol(-1) and DeltaH1 = 8.1+/-3.0 kcal mo...
Shotton HR, Lincoln J, McGorum BC.Acute equine grass sickness (EGS) is a fatal disease of horses that is thought to be due to ingestion of a neurotoxic agent causing extensive damage to autonomic neurons. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of EGS on neurons in two sympathetic ganglia, the paravertebral cranial cervical ganglion (CCG) and the prevertebral coeliac/cranial mesenteric ganglion (CG/CMG). Specimens from horses with EGS and controls were obtained post mortem and processed using single and double immunofluorescence labelling for PGP 9.5 and HuC/HuD (pan-neuronal markers), TUNEL and caspase 3 (markers for...
Reiffsteck A, Dehennin L, Scholler R.Estrone, 2-methoxyestrone and estradiol-17 beta have been definitely identified in seminal plasma of man, bull, boar and stallion by high resolution gas chromatography associated with selective monitoring of characteristic ions of suitable derivatives. Quantitative estimations were performed by isotope dilution with deuterated analogues and by monitoring molecular ions of trimethylsilyl ethers of labelled and unlabelled compounds. Concentrations of unconjugated and total estrogens are reported together with the statistical evaluation of accuracy and precision.
Usimaki A, Ciamillo SA, Barot D, Linardi RL, Engiles JB, Ortved KF.Autologous protein solution (APS) has been shown to decrease lameness in horses with osteoarthritis (OA). Synovitis is an early driver of OA, providing an opportunity to intervene in the progression of disease via intra-articular (IA) therapeutics. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a single IA APS injection in horses with interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced synovitis. We hypothesised that APS would decrease joint swelling and lameness, improve synovial fluid parameters and improve joint pathology scores in horses compared with untreated controls. Methods: Ra...
