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.
Acosta-Jamett G, Cleaveland S, Cunningham AA, Bronsvoort BM, Craig PS.Cyst echinococcosis (CE) is one of the most important zoonosis in Chile, where studies have focussed mainly in moist southern regions. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of cystic echinococcosis (CE) in livestock and humans in the semiarid Coquimbo region in north-central Chile. A review of all surgical cases of CE in humans reported in the Elqui, Limarí and Choapa provinces in Coquimbo region for the period comprising 1995-2006 was obtained. In addition, a retrospective study of CE covering condemnation records from slaughterhouses of these provinces from the same pe...
Robinson E, Carmalt JL.To report inguinal herniation of the ascending colon in a Standardbred colt. Methods: Case report. Methods: A 6-month-old Standardbred colt. Methods: The colt underwent surgical exploration of the hernia with large colon resection and anastomosis. Results: A successful large colon resection and anastomosis was completed, however, the colt was euthanatized at the end of surgery upon owner request. Conclusions: Although uncommon, indirect inguinal herniation of the ascending colon can occur in young horses.
Houghton E, Maynard S.This chapter reviews drug and medication control in equestrian sports and addresses the rules of racing, the technological advances that have been made in drug detection and the importance of metabolism studies in the development of effective drug surveillance programmes. Typical approaches to screening and confirmatory analysis are discussed, as are the quality processes that underpin these procedures. The chapter also addresses four specific topics relevant to equestrian sports: substances controlled by threshold values, the approach adopted recently by European racing authorities to control...
Smith AJ, Felstead CW, Lawson JS, Weller R.Radiography is the most commonly applied imaging modality in equine practice and forms an essential part of the diagnostic work-up of lame horses. Radiographic signs of musculoskeletal pathology are frequently localized at sites of soft tissue attachment, which are often not clearly visible on radiographs. Different lesions carry different prognoses and require a variety of treatments, and a good knowledge of the position of the synovial structures in the distal limb of the horse is essential for practitioners in the interpretation of radiographs. This study describes a new technique for creat...
Frisbie DD, Lu Y, Kawcak CE, DiCarlo EF, Binette F, McIlwraith CW.Current autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) techniques require 2 surgical procedures: 1 for cell harvest and 1 for reimplantation of cultured cells. A 1-step procedure is more desirable. Objective: A 1-step surgical procedure using autologous cartilage fragments on a polydioxanone scaffold, or CAIS (cartilage autograft implantation system), in a clinically relevant defect (15-mm diameter) within equine femoral trochlea was compared with a 2-step ACI technique as well as with empty defects and defects with polydioxanone foam scaffolds alone. Methods: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: ...
Severa L, Máchal L, Svábová L, Mamica O.This study quantified and evaluated the variability of sperm head shape for 10 different stallions. Sperm head shape characteristics including sperm head length to width ratio, position of the center of gravity, curvature, and degree of roundness were assessed and analysed from images using elliptic Fourier descriptors and inverse Fourier transformation. The first four principal components accounted for 88.46-92.33% of the total variance and provided a good summary of the overall data. In the case of the ejaculate with defective sperm heads the components accounted for 97.35-98.21% of variatio...
Castagnetti C, Pirrone A, Mariella J, Mari G.The use of blood lactate concentration as an indicator of prognosis and disease severity has become a common practice in equine medicine, especially with the validation of handheld analyzers. However, few authors described lactate concentration in critically ill foals, and there are no published studies about the use of handheld analyzers in neonatal foals. In this study, for the first time in the equine neonate, we validated the Lactate Scout analyzer, both in healthy and in critically ill foals. The study also describes the normal range for blood lactate in 26 healthy neonatal foals during t...
Jelinski MD, Campbell JR.The objective of this study was to determine the number of hours veterinarians in western Canada work per week, how they apportion their time by species, and clinics' hiring intentions for new veterinary associates. Of 1099 clinics contacted, 706 (64%) responded to the survey, representing 80% (1774/2227) of private practitioners in western Canada. Practitioners devoted 73% of their time to small animals (SA), 11% to beef practice, and 9% to horses. Sixty-four percent of clinics and 66% of practitioners were devoted exclusively to companion animal (SA and horses) practice; only 4% of clinics a...
Magnus RP.The take-home message in marketing your equine practice is simple: understand your position in the target market and the buying behavior of your current and prospective customers. Time well spent on analysis and evaluation of options can maximize customer value in the services and products you offer. This allows you to capture profit and to attain your personal and professional goals as an equine practitioner.
Clark AR.Current economic trends in equine practice are trends of weakness. Most practices, after a decade of double-digit growth, have migrated to survival mode within a few months. Understanding that all regions and disciplines are affected differently, using the Porter five forces model, we can identify changes that must be made in our business models first to survive and then to position ourselves to prosper when the recession ends. If we are to avoid long-term damage to our practices, we must use cost control and work efficiency in addition to price concessions.
Swanson TD.Ethics is a valuable standard for the structure of equine practice. It relies on sound moral character, beginning with the leaders in the practice. The leadership in each practice regularly needs to review its role in promoting ethical standards. This is not new information but deserves to be revisited with emphasis at this particular time in our society. Nothing less than commitment to grass root stability offers any hope to reverse those actions.
Blach EL.This article explores customer service in equine veterinary medicine. It begins with a discussion about the differences between customers and clients in veterinary medicine. An overview of the nature of the veterinary-client-patient relationship and its effects on the veterinarian's services sheds light on how to evaluate your customer service. The author reviews a study performed in 2007 that evaluated 24 attributes of customer service and their importance to clients of equine veterinarians in their decision to select a specific veterinarian or hospital. The article concludes with an overview...
Garrett KS.The transition from veterinary school to equine practice can be challenging. This article provides suggestions and advice for new graduates in areas that include internships, associate positions, financial considerations, balancing personal and professional responsibilities, mentorship, continuing education, and professionalism.
Jackman BR, McCafferty OE.This article discusses mergers and acquisitions involving equine veterinary practices. Combining practices can be professionally and economically advantageous but requires a great deal of thought, planning, and implementation. If due diligence is performed and true business teamwork is undertaken, the benefits can be enormous and rewarding.
Lacroix G, Lacroix C.This article discusses equine associate employment agreements from the employer's perspective. It should also be of interest to prospective equine associates. The substantive issues and questions are the same, and neither employers nor employees are likely to get far unless they "walk a mile in the other's moccasins".
Moagabo KT, Monyame KB, Baipoledi EK, Letshwenyo M, Mapitse N, Hyera JM.A longitudinal study of animal and human rabies covering 18 years from 1989 to 2006 was retrospectively conducted in order to highlight the epidemiological features and trends of the disease in Botswana. Over the 18-year period, a total of 4 306 brain specimens collected from various species of animals including human beings with clinical signs consistent with rabies were submitted to the National Veterinary Laboratory in Gaborone for confirmatory diagnosis. Of the samples submitted, 2419 cases were found to be positive for lyssavirus antigen; this presents an overall prevalence rate of 56.18 ...
Bergero D, Préfontaine C, Miraglia N, Peiretti PG.The digestibility of horse feeds and rations can be determined using different techniques such as calculations based on the chemical composition, in vivo or in vitro methods. The marker methods overcome difficulties like discomfort for the animals and longer experimental times encountered using the ingesta/egesta method. In field conditions, a natural indigestible marker like acid-insoluble ash (AIA), with no changes in the normal ration, could be a very useful tool for digestibility trials. A group of six standardbred horses was used in a set of seven apparent digestibility trials. The diets ...
Schmidt A, Biau S, Möstl E, Becker-Birck M, Morillon B, Aurich J, Faure JM, Aurich C.It is widely accepted that transport is stressful for horses, but only a few studies are available involving horses that are transported regularly and are accustomed to transport. We determined salivary cortisol immunoreactivity (IR), fecal cortisol metabolites, beat-to-beat (RR) interval, and heart rate variability (HRV) in transport-experienced horses (N=7) in response to a 2-d outbound road transport over 1370 km and 2-d return transport 8 d later. Salivary cortisol IR was low until 60 min before transport but had increased (P<0.05) 30 min before loading. Transport caused a further marked i...
Woodward AD, Holcombe SJ, Steibel JP, Staniar WB, Colvin C, Trottier NL.To test the hypothesis that AA transporter transcripts are present in the large intestine and similarly expressed along the intestinal tract, mRNA abundance of candidate AA transporter genes solute carrier (SLC) family 7, member 9 (SLC7A9), SLC7A1, SLC7A8, and SLC43A1 encoding for b(0,+)-type AA transporter (b(0,+)AT), cationic AA transporter-1 (CAT-1), L-type AA transporter-2 (LAT-2), and L-type AA transporter-3 (LAT-3), respectively, was determined in small and large intestinal segments of the horse. Mucosa was collected from the equine small (jejunum and ileum) and large intestine (cecum, l...
Lindner AE.The objective of the study was to examine the validity of v(4) [velocity run under the defined conditions inducing 4 mmol/L of blood lactate concentration ([LA])] and v(200) (velocity run under the defined conditions inducing a heart rate of 200 beats/min) to differentiate performance level among Standardbred racehorses. For this purpose, 19 Standardbred trotting racehorses with differing racing time records in 2 training yards were submitted to a standardized exercise test to determine their v(4) and v(200) (6 horses of one yard only). The test consisted of 4 or more consecutive intervals dep...
Hagos A, Abebe G, Büscher P, Goddeeris BM, Claes F.This study was conducted from August 2005 to January 2007 to determine prevalence and distribution of dourine in horses and to investigate the occurrence of clinical and carrier cases in donkeys and mules in the Arsi-Bale highlands. Study methodology was based on questionnaire, serological, clinical and parasitological survey. The questionnaire indicated that dourine is a major health problem of equines in the Arsi-Bale highlands. Though dourine is commonly observed throughout the year, it has a seasonal character and occurs mostly during the breeding season from June to late September. Serolo...
de Cocq P, Duncker AM, Clayton HM, Bobbert MF, Muller M, van Leeuwen JL.In equestrian sports, it is generally assumed that rising and sitting trot load the horse's back differently. The objective of this study was to quantify the load on the horse's back in these riding techniques. Kinematic data of 13 riders were collected in rising and sitting trot. The time-history of the position of the rider's centre of mass (CoM) was calculated, and differentiated twice to obtain the acceleration of the CoM. The reaction force between the rider and the horse's back was calculated from the acceleration. Forces were divided by the body weight of the rider to obtain dimensionle...
Ragnarsson S, Lindberg JE.Eight mature Icelandic geldings were used in an experiment arranged as a change-over design to evaluate the effect of feeding level on the digestibility of a high-energy haylage-only diet. The horses were fed a low feeding level 10.7 g dry matter (DM)/kg body weight (BW) (maintenance) and a high feeding level 18.1 g DM/kg BW (1.5 × maintenance) during two 23 days experimental periods. Total collection of faeces was performed for 6 days at the end of each period to determine the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD). The CTTAD for DM, organic matter, neutral detergent fibre...
Rieder S.Colour phenotypes may have played a major role during early domestication events and initial selection among domestic animal species. As coat colours mostly follow a relatively simple mode of Mendelian inheritance, they have been among the first traits to be systematically analysed at the molecular level. As a result of the number of genetic tools developed during the past decade, horse coat colour tests have been designed and are now commercially available for some of the basic phenotypes. These tests enable breeders to verify segregation within particular pedigrees, to select specific colour...
Kakoi H, Tozaki T, Nagata S, Gawahara H, Kijima-Suda I.In order to develop a genotyping method that can be used in the registration procedure for Thoroughbreds, we developed a method for simultaneously genotyping multiple coat colour genes on the basis of single nucleotide polymorphism typing by using the SNaPshot(TM) technique. This method enabled precise and reasonable detection of causal mutations; it was effective for genotyping of MC1R, ASIP, and SLC45A2 at the Extension (E), Agouti (A), Cream dilution (C) loci, and the possibility of identification of rare variants of MC1R, EDNRB and KIT at the E, Overo (O) and Sabino 1 (SB1) loci, respectiv...
Smit LA, Wouters IM, Heederik D, Douwes J.Endotoxins are cell-wall components of Gram-negative bacteria that are commonly present in plants and plant products and in faecal matter. This review presents an overview of endotoxin exposure levels, associated health effects, and relevance regarding veterinary practice. Exposure to airborne endotoxin is especially high in the agricultural sector and among veterinarians, and in particular among those working with horses or farm animals. Inhalation of endotoxins may cause acute airway inflammation and respiratory symptoms that can lead to (non-allergic) asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonar...
Dougherty DM, Lewis P.Using horses, we investigated the control of operant behavior by a tactile stimulus (the training stimulus) and the generalization of behavior to six other similar test stimuli. In a stall, the experimenters mounted a response panel in the doorway. Located on this panel were a response lever and a grain dispenser. The experimenters secured a tactile-stimulus belt to the horse's back. The stimulus belt was constructed by mounting seven solenoids along a piece of burlap in a manner that allowed each to provide the delivery of a tactile stimulus, a repetitive light tapping, at different locations...
Moustafa MA, Boero MJ, Baker GJ.A technique for satisfactory arthroscopic examination of the lateral and medial femorotibial joints of the horse is described. The entry portal is made between the middle and medial patellar ligaments with the horse on its back and the stifle flexed. This position allows easy access to view the intercondylar eminence of the tibia. From this reference point, examination of all but the most caudal and medial structures of the joints are possible by manipulating the sleeve and telescope and maintaining joint distention. In a series of 20 examinations, iatrogenic trauma was recognized only once.
Terachi T, Inoue Y, Ashihara N, Kobayashi M, Ando K, Matsui T.The effect of several vitamin K homologs on plasma vitamin K concentration was determined to assess their potential as a vitamin K supplement for adult horses. Sixteen Thoroughbred horses consisting of 8 mares and 8 geldings, aged 8.4 ± 3.6 yr and weighing 520.8 ± 36.1 kg, were allocated to 4 groups (n = 4). Each group was given phylloquinone, menaquinone-4, or menadione at 58 µmol/d, or no vitamin K supplement for 7 d. Plasma samples were collected before feeding, and 2, 4, and 8 h after feeding on d 7, and plasma concentrations of phylloquinone and menaquinone-4 were determined. Plasma ph...
Albertsdóttir E, Arnason T, Eriksson S, Sigurdsson A, Fikse WF.The genetic evaluation of Icelandic horses is currently based on results from breeding field tests of riding ability and conformation. The effect of integrating competition traits and/or test status into the genetic evaluation was studied concerning estimation bias, predictive ability, accuracy, correlations between breeding values and ranking of sires. Breeding field test data included 19 954 records from horses assessed in 11 countries during 1994-2008. Competition data included 44 160 records from 7687 horses competing in Iceland and Sweden in 1998-2008. Test status was defined as attendanc...
Lelong M, Castelain MC, Bras C, Drain JP, Léonard JC, Robberecht MN, Libessart Y, Thelliez P, Miersman R.Over the past 11 years, signs of allergy were observed in 56 children and adolescents in contact with horses. The cases consisted of 35 boys and 21 girls, 35 of them were under 10 years of age. The main clinical signs were ocular symptoms (36), asthma (30) and rhinopharyngitis (24). All the children had very positive cutaneous prick tests and specific IgE (class 3 and 4: 62%) and were polysensitized. In several children, the first manifestation occurred at the time of the first known contact with a horse or pony. No further contact was usually the only therapeutic solution. In disabled childre...
Almasloukh KB.The purpose of this paper is to explore what is known about equine-assisted activities and therapies based on Roy's adaptation model. Quality of life for vulnerable populations who engage with equine-assisted activities and therapies is considered the main concept here. This state-of-the-art review was conducted from four databases ranging from January 2019 to February 2020. Limited studies examined the effect of equine-assisted activities and therapies on cancer survivors, although preliminary data were promising. The rural context was not extensively examined. Thus, equine-assisted activitie...
Schott HC, Bayly WM, Reed SM, Brobst DF.Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus was diagnosed in two full sibling Thoroughbred colts. Each colt had a history of excessive urination. Extreme polydipsia (greater than 80 L per day) was documented in both colts. Inability to concentrate urine in response to water deprivation, infusion of hypertonic saline, or exogenous vasopressin administration indicated insensitivity of the collecting duct epithelial cells to vasopressin. A diagnosis of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus was further supported by a normal increase in plasma vasopressin concentration after water deprivation in the one colt in which ...
Hayashi S, Tanaka T, Moriishi K, Hirayama K, Yamada A, Hotta K.Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV) is recently identified as a closely related homologue of hepatitis C virus. The previous studies showed a high prevalence of NPHV infection among Japanese domestic horses originated from abroad. The historical distribution of NPHV among horses in Japan, therefore, is still unknown. In this study, seroepidemiological study of NPHV was conducted using 335 sera from five breeds of Japanese native horses. These horses are maintained as the pedigree and are reared apart from other horse breeds. The detection of antibodies against NPHV were conducted by western blot an...
Gill J, Rastawicka M.In 8 stallions and 6 mares of pure Arabian horses the diurnal changes in the number and certain parameters of red and white blood cells were studied. All of them showed distinct diurnal changes but they did not fulfill the conditions of circadian rhythm according to Halberg. It was found that most of peaks occurred during the dark phase of 24 hr period except the percentage of eosinophils, erythrocyte diameters and cell rate sedimentation. The majority of indices studied showed the higher mean diurnal levels in the mares than in the stallions.
Askarov A, Kuznetsova A, Gusmanov R, Askarova A, Kovshov V.There is a lack of reliable data in agribusiness regarding the economic efficiency of horse breeding, and this limits its further development. The purpose of this study was to create rational parameters for the development of productive horse breeding as an effective agricultural business, in particular, in relation to farms. Methods: The methods of investigation used were induction and deduction, as well as analytical, statistical, and economic-mathematical analysis. We also used the dynamics of time series, CVP analysis, direct costing, and microeconomic analysis. Data were taken from the Ru...
Drăgănescu N, Iftimovici R, Girjabu E, Iacobescu V, Buşila A, Cvaşniuc D, Tudor G, Mănăstireanu M, Lăpuşneanu .The paper reports on serological results obtained by HAI tests against several alphaviruses - eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), western equine encephalitis (WEE), Chikungunya, Midlebourg, Semliki Forest, Sindbis, and Ilheus viruses - carried out in humans and some domestic animals in a region with an intensive circulation of migratory birds. It was possible to detect in human antibodies to EEE, WEE, and Sindbis viruses, but in very low proportions (1.8%, 0.4%, and 0.6%, respectively). Serological results obtained in animals were practically negative: antibodies to EEE virus were found only in...
Khrabrova LA, Blohina NV, Bazaron BZ, Khamiruev TN.The Zabaikalskaya horse is an indigenous breed of horses from Siberia with diverse use. It is characterized by endurance and good adaptability to year-round herd maintenance in the harsh conditions of the Baikal steppes. To determine the genetic characteristics of the maternal lineage of the Zabaikalskaya horse breed based on mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms, we collected hair samples from 31 horses belonging to breeding farms in the Trans-Baikal Territory. Analysis of the 530 bp sequence of the mtDNA D-loop was performed using the maximum composite likelihood (MCL) model in combination with bo...
Simoens P, Muylle S, Lauwers H.Orbital and intrabulbar arteries were studied in 20 equine eyes by means of latex injections and methylmethacrylate casts. The orbital branches of the external ophthalmic artery arise far caudal to the posterior pole of the eyeball and present a variable topographic arrangement. The intrabulbar arteries are supplied by ciliary and choroidoretinal arteries. Dependent on their entrance into the eyeball, the ciliary arteries are subdivided into a posterior and an anterior group. The posterior ciliary arteries perforate the sclera post equatorially and consist of 4 major vessels that penetrate in ...
van Rensburg IB, Jardine JE, Carstens JH, van der Walt ML.Specimens from the ileum, colon and rectum were aseptically collected from 50 consecutive horse carcases submitted for necropsy to the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria. These were bacteriologically examined for the presence of Salmonella. Seventeen of these were positive for Salmonella at one or more sites. Serotyping of the isolates revealed a dominance of Salmonella Hayindogo in these horses.
Pirie RS, Mayhew IG, Clarke CJ, Tremaine WH.Intraoperative brain ultrasonography is commonly used clinically
in human and canine neonates (Johnson and Rumack 1980;
Babock and Han 1981; Cappe and Lam 1985; Hudson et al. 1990,
1991) and a single report exists of its use to assist in defining
hydrocephalus in an equine neonate (Foreman et al. 1983). This
technique has also been reported to be clinically useful in human
adults (Rubenstein et al. 1984) and ultrasound-guided brain biopsy
has also been described in mature dogs (Thomas et al. 1993).
%ours of the central nervous system in the horse are
extremely rare, with the exception...
Tuemmers C, Quezada G, Morales R, Serri M.In the Araucanía Region there are no studies on the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in horses. Serological samples from 100 draft horses from Mapuche communities of four communes in the region were analyzed using the microMAT technique. The seroprevalence was 35% for at least one serovar of Leptospira spp. being the most frequent serovars canicola (22%), grippotyphosa (21%), hardjo (13%) and pomona (10%). It was evident that the equine populations studied are exposed to infection by Leptospira spp. and reveal a potential risk of transmission to their owners.