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.
Ungri AM, Dos Santos Sabatke BF, Rossi IV, das Neves GB, Marques J, Ribeiro BG, Borges GK, Moreira RS, Ramírez MI, Miletti LC.Trypanosoma evansi is a unicellular protozoan responsible for causing a disease known as "surra," which is found in different regions of the world and primarily affects horses and camels. Few information is known about virulence factors released from the parasite within the animals. The organism can secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), which transport a variety of molecules, including proteins. Before being considered exclusively as a means for eliminating unwanted substances, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as key players in intercellular communication, facilitating interactions be...
Bielińska K, Butkiewicz AF, Ziemak H, Zdun M.Due to the growing interest among veterinarians and the increasing market demands, the development of equine cardiology is necessary. Currently, veterinary medicine for companion animals needs to catch up to human medicine-equine medicine included. A common condition in older horses is aortic valve regurgitation resulting from fibrosis, while its more severe form occurs in younger horses or develops due to a bacterial infection. Mitral valve regurgitation, especially dangerous due to the possibility of sudden death, has a better prognosis if the horse has valve prolapse. Tricuspid valve regurg...
Papouskova A, Drabkova Z, Brajerova M, Krutova M, Cizek A, Tkadlec J.We performed a retrospective analysis of MRSA isolates collected at the university equine clinic including clinical isolates from 2008 to 2021 and screening environmental, equine and personnel isolates from 2016. Screening and clinical samples were cultured on Brilliance MRSA 2 and Columbia agar (Oxoid), respectively, with enrichment for environmental samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed by disc diffusion. All the isolates were characterized by spa typing. Eighteen selected isolates were subjected to WGS with subsequent wgMLST clonal analysis. Among 75 MRSA isolates, five spa typ...
Dwyer J, Roshier AL, Campbell M, Hill B, Freeman SL.Weaning represents one of the most stressful events in the life of a horse, and may have long-term impacts on behaviour. There are a range of approaches used to wean foals from mares, including abrupt and progressive separation methods. There is currently a lack of consensus on how stress and impact are measured. Objective: To conduct a scoping review to identify and chart measures of weaning-related stress on the mare and foal. Methods: Scoping review. Methods: The scoping review was conducted using the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews. Systematic searches were conducted in three scientif...
Kafka UCM, Beukes P, Slabbert JP, Carstens A.The main aim of this pilot study was to determine how the energy spectrum of scatter radiation emitted from horses after injection of the radiopharmaceutical Technetium-methyl diphosphonate (Tc-MDP), changed behind lead shielding of varying thicknesses (0.25 mm, 0.35 mm, and 0.5 mm Pb thickness), and if beam hardening occurred. The effect lead shielding has on the emitted gamma radiation energy spectrum has not been documented. In particular, the presence of beam hardening effects behind lead shielding was investigated, to determine whether or not it could discourage the use of lead shields du...
Bedogni G, Michelena LV, Seremeta K, Okulik N, Salomon C.Fenbendazole is an antiparasitic drug widely used in veterinary medicine to treat parasitic infections caused in animals like cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs. Recently, it has been repositioned as a potential alternative for cancer treatment. However, it is a highly hydrophobic molecule (0.9 ug/mL), which can compromise its dissolution rate and absorption. Thus, this work aimed to apply a nanotechnological approach to improve drug solubility and dissolution performance. Fenbendazole nanoparticles stabilized by different poloxamers were obtained by lyophilization without cryoprotectants. The be...
MacKechnie-Guire R, Williams JM, Fisher D, Nankervis K.The horse owner and the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) are responsible for safeguarding horse welfare by ensuring the equipment being used is correctly fitted. The aim of this study was to investigate how saddle fit is assessed, managed, and acted upon by equestrian professionals. Participants ( = 483) completed an online questionnaire, which was split into three major sections: (1) participant demographics; (2) saddle fit for the horse; and (3) saddle fit for the rider. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, and univariable and multivariable analyses were performed ( < 0.05). Inductive con...
Bogossian PM, Pereira JS, da Silva NF, Hilgert AR, Seidel SRT, Fülber J, Belli CB, Fernandes WR.Exercise intensity is prone to be self-regulated in horses exercising freely. The main drivers include social, feeding and escape behaviors, as well as the operant conditioning. We hypothesized that self-regulated exercise intensity may increase due to the presence of another horse exercising ahead. Seven horses were assigned to a 2x2 crossover trial following treadmill familiarization. Video images of a trotting horse were displayed on the wall in front of the experimental unit (Visual), which was positioned in the treadmill. Physiological and behavioral markers were further compared with a c...
Anandu S, Tanuj GN, Vijayasarathi MK, Manjusha KM, Samanta S, Bandyopadhyay S, Sankar M.Ocular setariasis is an ectopic infection caused by a parasite under the genus Setaria. Adult worms belong to the Setariidae family and typically reside in the peritoneal cavity of ungulates. However, immature forms of these species may aberrantly migrate to the eyes of cattle, buffalo, goats, horses and several other hosts, leading to corneal opacity and blindness. Here, we have distinguished the Setaria digitata collected from both equine and buffalo hosts based on the morphology, molecular profiling of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1), cytochrome c oxidase subunit 3 (Cox3...
Terpeluk ER, Schäfer J, Finkler-Schade C, Rauch E, Rohn K, Schuberth HJ.The quality of equine colostrum is typically defined by refractometry or the concentration of maternal antibodies. However, the activity of other equine colostral bioactive molecules has not yet been investigated. This study analyzed whether the administration of a fermentation product (SCFP) influences the biological activity of mare colostrum and whether the biological activity of colostrum has a lasting immunomodulating effect for foals. A total of fourteen pregnant mares received 20 g/day of a SCFP for a period of twelve weeks prior to the calculated date of birth (SCFP-group). Twelve pre...
Medeiros BB, Barcelos KMC, Andrade MO, Cristina da Paz Carvalho M, Miranda VR, de Oliveira Maia K, Reinhardt S, Patterson Rosa L.The genetic diversity of Breton horses in Brazil is a critical concern, mainly due to the small population size and low number of births per year. Given that the inbreeding was overlooked by breeders for multiple generations, we estimated the genetic diversity of this population utilizing pedigree-based measures of population diversity. A total of 1394 six-generation pedigrees representing the full population of registered Breton horses in Brazil defined a total population (TP, = 2679), with horses born between 2000 and 2022, reproductively active and alive, as reported by the breed assoc...
Majadi M, Barkó A, Varga-Tóth A, Maukenovna ZS, Batirkhanovna DZ, Dilora S, Lukacs M, Kaszab T, Mednyánszky Z, Kovacs Z.Milk powders are becoming a major attraction for many industrial applications due to their nutritional and functional properties. Different types of powdered milk, each with their own distinct chemical compositions, can have different functionalities. Consequently, the development of rapid monitoring methods is becoming an urgent task to explore and expand their applicability. Lately, there is growing emphasis on the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a rapid technique for the quality assessment of dairy products. In the present work, we explored the potential of NIRS coupled wi...
Guyo M, Tareke M, Tonamo A, Bediye D, Defar G.This study was conducted to evaluate morphometric traits of horse ecotypes reared in four districts of the Bale highlands, southeastern Ethiopia. Twenty-seven morphometric traits were measured from 500 horses (294 males and 206 females) of both sexes. Data were analyzed using SAS 2012. This study revealed that certain traits, such as head length, loin length, bi-ischial width, and sternum height of horses were similar. However, significant differences ( < 0.0001, < 0.01, < 0.05) were observed in other traits across the districts. All traits were affected by age ( < 0.05) except rump width an...
Tahir AM, Guo L, Ward RK, Yu X, Rideout A, Hore M, Wang ZJ.Laryngeal hemiplegia (LH) is a major upper respiratory tract (URT) complication in racehorses. Endoscopy imaging of horse throat is a gold standard for URT assessment. However, current manual assessment faces several challenges, stemming from the poor quality of endoscopy videos and subjectivity of manual grading. To overcome such limitations, we propose an explainable machine learning (ML)-based solution for efficient URT assessment. Specifically, a cascaded YOLOv8 architecture is utilized to segment the key semantic regions and landmarks per frame. Several spatiotemporal features are then ex...
Braid HR.In veterinary education, simulators are models or devices that can imitate a real patient or scenario and allow students to practice skills without the need for live patients. Castration is a common surgical procedure in all species, and the standing, open technique is frequently performed in horses. Although a simulator has been developed for equine closed castration, a simulator for standing castration in the horse has not yet been described. This two-part study focused on the design, creation, and evaluation of a simulator for teaching standing castration in the horse. A low-technology simu...
Di Salvo A, Chiaradia E, Sforna M, Della Rocca G.Since the discovery of the endocannabinoid system and due to the empirical evidence of the therapeutic effects on several illnesses both in humans and animals that follow the administration of exogenous cannabinoids (i.e., phytocannabinoids), numerous studies have been conducted. These investigations aimed to identify the expression and distribution of cannabinoid receptors in healthy and pathologic organs and tissues of different animal species and to define the interactions of phytocannabinoids with these receptors. In the last decade, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and tolerability of many Cann...
Al Mheiri FG, Joseph M, Joseph S, Alqassim M, Kinne J, Wernery U.This article describes the development of the pathogenic dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum (HCF), which is the causative agent of Equine epizootic lymphangitis (EEL), from the mycelial form in the soil to the yeast form in the horse. In this study, the stages and morphology of HCF were identified through histopathological analysis and culture with various samples collected in Ethiopia from 15 horses showing clinical signs of EEL. In equids, especially cart horses in Ethiopia, poor-quality harnesses cause cutaneous wounds, which often attract flies facilitating the trans...
Elane GL, Blikslager AT, Mair TS.The COVID-19 pandemic represented a significant source of anxiety and stress for equine veterinarians and clients, with the potential for measurable effects on caseload and owner economics. Unassigned: To compare the number of horses presenting for emergency colic evaluation and treatment, as well as costs at two equine referral hospitals. Unassigned: Retrospective cohort. Unassigned: Medical records of horses admitted to North Carolina State University (NCSU) and Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic (BEVC) were compared. Total equine accessions, number of horses referred for colic, and patient age w...
Nankervis K, Tranquille C, Tacey J, Deckers I, MacKechnie-Guire R, Walker V, Hopkins E, Newton R, Murray R.Repeated exposure to water treadmill (WT) exercise could elicit kinematic responses reflecting adaptation to WT exercise. The study's aim was to compare the responses of a group of sport horses to a standardised WT exercise test (WTSET) carried out at three time points, week 0 (n = 48), week 20 (n = 38), and week 40 (n = 29), throughout a normal training programme incorporating WT exercise. Horses were recruited from the existing client populations of two commercial water treadmill venues for the purpose of this longitudinal, observational study. Limb, back, poll, wither, and pelvic kinematics...
Malalana F.Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancerous cells through the use of cytotoxic drugs. Whilst the use of systemic (intravenous) chemotherapy in equine practice is generally limited to the management of lymphoma, cytotoxic drugs are commonly used in the treatment of accessible skin tumors, either by topical application in the form of ointments or injected intralesionally. These drugs should be employed with caution due to the risk of serious adverse effects. In addition, extreme caution should be followed when preparing, handling, administering, and disposing them, due to their carcinogenic, muta...
Pudert T, Fries GF, Lotz H, Röcken M, Cruz AM.To assess the use of a newly developed aiming compression device (ACD) for screw insertion in non-fractured navicular bones (NB) in cadavers. Methods: Cadaveric study. Methods: A total of 10 cadaveric front limbs of adult horses. Methods: Placement of a 3.5 mm cortical screw in non-fractured NB under radiographic guidance was performed in 10 cadaver limbs in a standing position. An ACD was used to stabilize the NB and to guide the drilling process. Preparation and surgical time as well as the number of radiographic images were noted. A postoperative scoring system was used to assess screw pl...
Graham-Thiers PM, Bowen LK.Twelve horses weighing 570 ± 35 kg were split into two groups (standard protein, STD, and balanced protein, BAL) to evaluate the effect of balanced vs. unbalanced protein on muscle mass. Groups were fed grass hay and a 12% CP feed (one formulated for balanced protein). Horses were out of work for 14 wk prior and participated in 1 to 2 h of light-to-moderate exercise 5 d/wk for 12 wk. A 4-d total urine and feces collection period was conducted at the start and end of the study. Urine and feces samples were analyzed for nitrogen (N) to calculate N balance. Muscle mass status was evalua...
Mendoza FJ, Pérez-Écija A, Kappmeyer LS, Suarez CE, Bastos RG.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a global tick-borne disease of equids caused by the intraerythrocytic apicomplexan parasites and , and the more recently discovered . These parasites can be transmitted by several tick species, including , , and , but iatrogenic and vertical transmission are also common. Clinical signs of EP include poor performance, fever, icterus, abortions, among others, and peracute or acute forms of infection are associated with high mortality in non-endemic areas. EP is a reportable disease and represents an important barrier for the international trade of horses and other e...
Hackett ES, McOnie RC, Buote NJ, Fubini SL.Equine minimally invasive surgical techniques are frequently utilized in the treatment of a variety of conditions. Standing sedated endoscopic surgery is commonly selected in horses, requiring specialized facilities, anesthetic protocols, and surgeon and assistant expertise. This review examines current methods and potential strategies in equine soft tissue surgery, in which there is an emphasis on laparoscopic urogenital and gastrointestinal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Thoracoscopy is less frequently reported in horses and may be underutilized. Optimizing procedures and outcomes in...
Werner LC, de Oliveira GM, Daros RR, Costa ED, Michelotto PV.The use of grimace scales enables the clinical identification of changes in the facial expressions of animals caused by pain. The Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) is one such tool, comprising a pain coding system based on facial expressions and assessing six Facial Action Units (FAUs). Each FAU is accompanied by descriptions and anatomical details to assist the evaluator. However, the morphological descriptions for certain FAUs in the HGS are not sufficiently detailed, potentially hindering accurate interpretation. This study is an analytical investigation aimed at enhancing the morphoanatomical deta...
Stevanović J, Glavinić U, Ristanić M, Erjavec V, Denk B, Dolašević S, Stanimirović Z.This review aims to present current knowledge on the effects of honey bee products on animals based on in vivo studies, focusing on their application in clinical veterinary practice. Honey's best-proven effectiveness is in treating wounds, including those infected with antibiotic-resistant microorganisms, as evidenced in horses, cats, dogs, mice, and rats. Propolis manifested a healing effect in numerous inflammatory and painful conditions in mice, rats, dogs, and pigs and also helped in oncological cases in mice and rats. Bee venom is best known for its effectiveness in treating neuropathy an...
de Souza AF, Pereira CAM, Fürst A, Kümmerle JM, De Zoppa ALDV.The implantation of unicortical cortex screws in the proximal hole of locking compression plates (LCP) has been recommended for proximal interphalangeal (PIP) arthrodesis in horses to prevent fractures resulting from stress risers in the proximal phalanx (P1). However, this cortex screw fixation technique may limit efficient dorsal compression of the PIP joint by the plate, potentially affecting the stability of the construct. In this study, we aimed to measure stress and strain in P1 and the plate using an ex vivo model of PIP arthrodesis in horses. We employed various implantation methods an...
Ventura MCDS, Neves JMM, Pinheiro RDS, Santos MVC, de Lemos ERS, Horta MAP.Rabies, a zoonotic viral disease, poses a significant threat due to its adaptability to diverse environments. Herbivore rabies, predominantly affecting cattle, horses, and goats in Brazil, remains a concern, results in substantial losses in the livestock industry, and poses risks to public health. Rabies virus transmission, primarily through hematophagous bats in Latin America, underscores the need for effective strategies, and vaccination plays a crucial role in controlling herbivorous rabies, with systematic vaccination beingly the primary method. Efforts to control rabies in herbivores incl...
Woodrow JS, Palmisano M, Kulp J, Hopster K.Complications from general anesthesia, including pneumonia and decreased wound healing, are influenced by changes in immune cell function secondary to sedatives and anesthetics. It was hypothesized that immune cell function would be depressed in the early postanesthetic period. The objective was to investigate airway immune cell function before and after a general anesthetic episode in an equine in vivo model using ex vivo cell stimulations with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for assessment of immune function. Methods: Prospective experimental study. Methods: Six healthy, adult, institution-owned ...
Upjohn MM, Pfeiffer DU, Verheyen KL.There are an estimated 112 million Equidae (horses, donkeys, mules) in the developing world, providing essential resources for their owners' livelihoods and well-being. The impoverished situation of their owners and the often harsh conditions in which they work mean that the animals' welfare is a cause for concern. A number of equine non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operate within working equid communities providing veterinary care, education and training programmes aimed at improving equine welfare. However, there is little published information available that describes monitoring and ev...
Robert C, Valette JP, Pourcelot P, Audigié F, Denoix JM.A thorough knowledge of the horse's back and limb movements at different speeds is important in the design of training programmes and the prevention of speed-related injuries. The objective of this study was to investigate changes in muscle activity and kinematics of the trot with increased speed. To evaluate these effects, 4 Saddlehorses were recorded while trotting on a horizontal treadmill at speeds ranging from 3.5-6.0 m/s. The 3-D trajectories of skin markers on the left side of the horse and the dorsal midline of the trunk were established. Electrical activity was obtained simultaneously...
Yuen KY, Fraser NS, Henning J, Halpin K, Gibson JS, Betzien L, Stewart AJ.Hendra virus (HeV) continues to pose a serious public health concern as spillover events occur sporadically. Terminally ill horses can exhibit a range of clinical signs including frothy nasal discharge, ataxia or forebrain signs. Early signs, if detected, can include depression, inappetence, colic or mild respiratory signs. All unvaccinated ill horses in areas where flying foxes exist, may potentially be infected with HeV, posing a significant risk to the veterinary community. Equivac® HeV vaccine has been fully registered in Australia since 2015 (and under an Australian Pesticides and Veteri...
Teglas M, Matern E, Lein S, Foley P, Mahan SM, Foley J.Blood samples and ticks were collected from 48 cattle and 74 horses from seven sites in the Peten region of Guatemala. Data on body condition, mucous membrane capillary refill time and tick infestation levels were recorded for each animal in the study. Horses had significantly higher levels of tick infestation than cattle, as well as poorer body condition scores. Seroprevalence of Babesia spp. was 95.8% for B. bovis in cattle, 89.6% for B. bigemina in cattle, and 92.7% for B. equi in horses. Seroprevalence of Anaplasma marginale in cattle was 87.5%, similar to reports in animals from other reg...
Adams RJ, Kim SS, Mollenkopf DF, Mathys DA, Schuenemann GM, Daniels JB, Wittum TE.Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria represent an important concern impacting both veterinary medicine and public health. The rising prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), AmpC beta-lactamase, carbapenemase (CRE) and fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae continually decreases the efficiency of clinically important antibiotics. Moreover, the potential for zoonotic transmission of antibiotic-resistant enteric bacteria increases the risk to public health. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of specific antibiotic-resistant bacteria on human contact surfaces in various ...
Hajji MA, Wilson TA, Lai-Fook SJ.The continuum solution for the deformation of an elastic half space covered by a membrane is used to interpret measurements of the indentation of lung lobes under a column of fluid. The shear modulus mu of the underlying parenchyma is found to be approximately 0.7 times transpulmonary pressure, independent of species size. The tension in the pleural membrane T increases rapidly with increasing membrane area. For dog lungs, the value of T is 10(3) to 10(4) dyn/cm. For the larger species tested, pigs and horses, T is larger. The continuum solution shows that a concentrated force applied to the p...
Promerová M, Andersson LS, Juras R, Penedo MC, Reissmann M, Tozaki T, Bellone R, Dunner S, Hořín 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...
Agabou A, Ouchenane Z, Ngba Essebe C, Khemissi S, Chehboub MTE, Chehboub IB, Sotto A, Dunyach-Remy C, Lavigne JP.The spread of toxinogenic Staphylococcus aureus is a public health problem in Africa. The objectives of the study were to investigate the rate of S. aureus nasal carriage and molecular characteristics of these strains in livestock and humans in three Algerian provinces. Nasal samples were collected from camels, horses, cattle, sheep and monkeys, as well as humans in contact with them. S. aureus isolates were genotyped using DNA microarray. The rate of S. aureus nasal carriage varied between species: camels (53%), humans and monkeys (50%), sheep (44.2%), horses (15.2%) and cattle (15%). Nine me...
Cañon J, Checa ML, Carleos C, Vega-Pla JL, Vallejo M, Dunner S.Partition of the genetic variability, genetic structure and relationships among seven Spanish Celtic horse breeds were studied using PCR amplification of 13 microsatellites on 481 random individuals. In addition, 60 thoroughbred horses were included. The average observed heterozygosity and the mean number of alleles were higher for the Atlantic horse breeds than for the Balearic Islands breeds. Only eight percentage of the total genetic variability could be attributed to differences among breeds (mean FST approximately 0.08; P < 0.01). Atlantic breeds clearly form a separate cluster from th...
Bizarria Dos Santos W, Pimenta Schettini G, Fonseca MG, Pereira GL, Loyola Chardulo LA, Rodrigues Machado Neto O, Baldassini WA, Nunes de Oliveira H....With the availability of high-density SNP panels and the establishment of approaches for characterizing homozygosity and heterozygosity sites, it is possible to access fine-scale information regarding genomes, providing more than just comparisons of different inbreeding coefficients. This is the first study that seeks to access such information for the Mangalarga Marchador (MM) horse breed on a genomic scale. To this end, we aimed to assess inbreeding levels using different coefficients, as well as to characterize homozygous and heterozygous runs in the population. Using Axiom ® Equine Genoty...
Cooper JJ, McDonald L, Mills DS.Stabled horses commonly perform stereotypic patterns of weaving, where the horse shifts its weight from side to side often swinging its head. Ten warm-blood types, of which five were known to reliably weave, were housed in similar 12x12 ft wooden loose boxes in a single stable block surrounding a courtyard. Each horse was exposed to each of five stable designs. These were: the conventional front top-half of the door open only with a view of the stable courtyard (F); front half-door open and a similar half-door open at the back of the stable with a view to the surrounding fields (FB); back open...
Yin H, Lu W, Luo J.The importance of babesiosis in livestock in China is discussed and mainly focused on bovine and equine babesiosis. Babesiosis is still one of the most important diseases affecting livestock and has caused great economic loss. Nine species of Babesia have been recognized in livestock: B. bigemina, B. bovis, B. major, B. motasi, B. ovis, B. perroncitoi, B. trautmanni, B. equi (Theileria equi), B. caballi. The distribution of Babesia follows the distribution of the tick vectors. The main vectors of bovine babesiosis are the one-host tick Boophilus microplus and the three-host ticks Rhipicephalus...
Henderson AJ.This article posits that stereotypical behavior patterns and the overall psychological well being of today's performance horse could be substantially enhanced with care that acknowledges the relationship between domesticated horses and their forerunners. Feral horses typically roam in stable, social groups over large grazing territories, spending 16-20 hr per day foraging on mid- to poor-quality roughage. In contrast, today's elite show horses live in relatively small stalls, eat a limited-but rich-diet at specific feedings, and typically live in social isolation. Although the horse has been d...
McGreevy PD, Oddie C, Burton FL, McLean AN.This article examines the recently completed equid ethogram and shows how analogues of social interactions between horses may occur in various human-horse interactions. It discusses how some specific horse-horse interactions have a corresponding horse-human interaction - some of which may be directly beneficial for the horse while others may be unusual or even abnormal. It also shows how correspondent behaviours sometimes become inappropriate because of their duration, consistency or context. One analogue is unlikely to hold true for all horse-human contexts, so when applying any model from ho...
Frisbie DD, Bowman SM, Colhoun HA, DiCarlo EF, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW.To evaluate a technique of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) similar to the other techniques using cell-seeded resorbable collagen membranes in large articular defects. Methods: Autologous cartilage was harvested arthroscopically from the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur in fifteen 3-year-old horses. After culture and expansion of chondrocytes the newly created ACI construct (autologous chondrocytes cultured expanded, seeded on a collagen membrane, porcine small intestine submucosa) was implanted into 15mm defects on the medial trochlear ridge of the femur in the opposite femoropat...
Reilly GC, Currey JD.During locomotion, the anterior cortex of the equine radius is loaded predominantly in tension, the posterior predominantly in compression. The anterior cortex is relatively strong in tension, the posterior in compression. We investigated the pattern of failure of specimens from the two cortices using laser scanning confocal microscopy. All specimens were loaded in four-point bending to increasingly higher loads. We quantified the amount of diffuse microcracking on the tensile side of these specimens by observing the amount of light emitted under laser illumination. The amount of light emitted...
Billich C, Sauder C, Frank R, Herzog S, Bechter K, Takahashi K, Peters H, Staeheli P, Schwemmle M.The recent observation that Borna disease virus (BDV)-reactive antibodies from psychiatric patients exhibit only low avidity for BDV antigen called into question their diagnostic value and raised the possibility that antigenically related microorganisms or self antigens caused the production of these antibodies. We further characterized the specificity of these antibodies. Methods: We established a peptide array-based screening test that allows the identification of antibodies directed against linear epitopes of the two major BDV proteins, the nucleoprotein (N) and the phosphoprotein (P). Resu...
Mangombi JB, Roqueplo C, Sambou M, Dahmani M, Mediannikov O, Comtet L, Davoust B.Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne disease that can be contracted by direct contact with viremic animals or humans. In West Africa, recurrent CCHF outbreaks have been constantly observed in Mauritania and Senegal. Moreover, acquisition and epidemiology of the infection in humans are correlated with the occurrence and the seroprevalence of the virus in livestock. The main objective of this study is to provide updated information on the local spread of CCHF in animals in the northern region of Senegal. Out of a total of 283 animal sera collected, CCHF-specific antibodies were...
Rotavirus species A (RVA) is a pathogen mainly affecting children under five years old and young animals. The infection produces acute diarrhea in its hosts and, in intensively reared livestock animals, can cause severe economic losses. In this study, we analyzed all RVA genomic constellations described in animal hosts. This review included animal RVA strains in humans. We compiled detection methods, hosts, genotypes and complete genomes. RVA was described in 86 animal species, with 52% (45/86) described by serology, microscopy or the hybridization method; however, strain sequences were not de...
Gizaw Y, Megersa M, Fayera T.Dourine is a venereal transmitted trypanosomosis causing a major health problem threatening equines worldwide. The origin and identification of Trypanosoma equiperdum within the subgenus Trypanozoon is still a subject of debate. Unlike other trypanosomal infections, dourine is transmitted almost exclusively by coitus. Diagnosis of dourine has continued to be a challenge, due to limited knowledge about the parasite and host-parasite interaction following infection. The pathological lesions caused by the diseases are poorly described and are observed mainly in the reproductive organs, in the ner...
Busscher JF, van Duijkeren E, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.Two hundred healthy horses housed at 23 different farms and one clinic and 42 persons in close contact with these horses were screened for the presence of methicillin resistant staphylococci. Samples were taken from the nose and the pastern of the horses and from the nose and throat of the humans and incubated in selective media. Isolates were identified by standard techniques and their susceptibilities were tested using an agar diffusion method. Methicillin-resistant strains were tested for the presence of the mecA gene by PCR. In 45 horses (22.5%) and 15 humans (35.7%) mecA positive staphylo...
Rørvang MV, Nielsen BL, McLean AN.Vision, hearing, olfaction, taste, and touch comprise the sensory modalities of most vertebrates. With these senses, the animal receives information about its environment. How this information is organized, interpreted, and experienced is known as perception. The study of the sensory abilities of animals and their implications for behavior is central not only to ethology but also to animal welfare. Sensory ability, perception, and behavior are closely linked. Horses and humans share the five most common sensory modalities, however, their ranges and capacities differ, so that horses are unlikel...
Reinemeyer CR, Smith SA, Gabel AA, Herd RP.Fifty-five adult horses were necropsied over a 15-month period, and their worm burdens counted and speciated. Twenty-one species of Cyathostominae were recovered. Ten species: Cyathostomum catinatum, Cylicocyclus nassatus, Cylicostephanus longibursatus, Cyathostomum coronatum, Cylicostephanus goldi, C. calicatus, C. minutus, Cylicocyclus leptostomus, C. insigne and Cyathostomum pateratum, comprised 98.9% of the total cyathostome burdens. These same 10 species also demonstrated high prevalences in 4 previous surveys. Eight of these 10 species have been shown to be resistant to benzimidazole ant...
Whitworth DJ, Ovchinnikov DA, Sun J, Fortuna PR, Wolvetang EJ.In this study we have reprogrammed dermal fibroblasts from an adult female horse into equine induced pluripotent stem cells (equiPSCs). These equiPSCs are dependent only on leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), placing them in striking contrast to previously derived equiPSCs that have been shown to be co-dependent on both LIF and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). These equiPSCs have a normal karyotype and have been maintained beyond 60 passages. They possess alkaline phosphatase activity and express eqNANOG, eqOCT4, and eqTERT mRNA. Immunocytochemistry confirmed that they produce NANOG, REX1,...
Starke SD, Witte TH, May SA, Pfau T.Gait analysis using small sensor units is becoming increasingly popular in the clinical context. In order to segment continuous movement from a defined point of the stride cycle, knowledge about footfall timings is essential. We evaluated the accuracy and precision of foot contact timings of a defined limb determined using an inertial sensor mounted on the pelvis of ten horses during walk and trot at different speeds and in different directions. Foot contact was estimated from vertical velocity events occurring before maximum sensor roll towards the contralateral limb. Foot contact timings mat...
Krueger K, Farmer K, Heinze J.Social learning is said to meet the demands of complex environments in which individuals compete over resources and cooperate to share resources. Horses (Equus caballus) were thought to lack social learning skills because they feed on homogenously distributed resources with few reasons for conflict. However, the horse's social environment is complex, which raises the possibility that its capacity for social transfer of feeding behaviour has been underestimated. We conducted a social learning experiment using 30 socially kept horses of different ages. Five horses, one from each group, were chos...
Olaleye OD, Tomori O, Schmitz H.Between 1986 and 1989, 2,255 sera collected from six domestic animal species in Nigeria were tested for antibodies to Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus. In addition, a longitudinal study was carried out from July 1987 to December 1988, using ten sentinel flocks on four farms at Ibadan and Ile-Ife, to determine the activity of RVF virus (RVFV). All samples were tested for haemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies and positive sera were further screened, using the plaque reduction neutralisation test. Of 2,255 samples, 259 (11.5%) had haemagglutination-inhibiting and neutralising antibodies, as follow...
Munsters CC, Visser KE, van den Broek J, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.A good horse-rider 'match' is important in the context of equine welfare. To quantify the influence of repetition and horse-rider matching on the stress of horses encountering challenging objects, 16 Warmblood horses were ridden in a test-setting on three occasions. On each occasion the horse was ridden by a different rider and was challenged by three objects (A-C). Heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV) of horse and rider, and behaviour score (BS) of the horse were obtained for each object and as a total for each test. The horse-rider interaction was evaluated with each combination and...
Weaver SC, Powers AM, Brault AC, Barrett AD.Recent studies using molecular genetic approaches have made important contributions to our understanding of the epidemiology of veterinary arboviral encephalitides. Viruses utilizing avian enzootic hosts, such as Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) and North American Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), evolve as relatively few, highly conserved genotypes that extend over wide geographic regions; viruses utilizing mammalian hosts with more limited dispersal evolve within multiple genotypes, each geographically restricted. Similar findings have been reported for Australian alphaviruse...
Hodgson DR, McCutcheon LJ, Byrd SK, Brown WS, Bayly WM, Brengelmann GL, Gollnick PD.Horses were exercised at 40, 65, and 90% of their maximum O2 uptake (VO2max) until moderately fatigued (approximately 38, 15, and 9 min, respectively) to assess heat loss through different routes. Approximately 4,232, 3,195, and 2,333 kcal of heat were generated in response to exercise at these intensities. Of this, approximately 7, 16, and 20% remained as stored heat 30 min postexercise. Respiratory heat loss, estimated from the temperature difference between blood in the pulmonary and carotid arteries and the cardiac output, was estimated to be 30, 19, and 23% of the heat produced during exe...
