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.
Minetti AE, ArdigO LP, Reinach E, Saibene F.Three-dimensional motion capture and metabolic assessment were performed on four standardbred horses while walking, trotting and galloping on a motorized treadmill at different speeds. The mechanical work was partitioned into the internal work (W(INT)), due to the speed changes of body segments with respect to the body centre of mass, and the external work (W(EXT)), due to the position and speed changes of the body centre of mass with respect to the environment. The estimated total mechanical work (W(TOT)=W(INT)+W(EXT)) increased with speed, while metabolic work (C) remained rather constant. A...
Sterk S, Herbold H, Blokland M, van Rossum H, van Ginkel L, Stephany R.For a number of species it is known that nortestosterone, either the alpha- or beta-epimer, can be of endogenous origin. For goats and mares similar results have not yet been published. As a follow-up on the experiments with cattle, a large number of urine samples per animal were collected from pregnant goats, sheep and mares. These samples were analysed for the presence of alpha- and beta-nortestosterone and alpha-estradiol using GC-MS. The results show that in the goats and mares studied alpha-nortestosterone is present during pregnancy. In this study no alpha-nortestosterone could be demons...
Frazier K, Hullinger G, Hines M, Liggett A, Sangster L.A 10-y retrospective study of aldicarb intoxication in domestic animals from 1988 to 1998 is provided from animals submitted to the University of Georgia Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory. Within the period examined, 162 separate cases were confirmed and 18 additional cases were suspected based on bioassay but could not be confirmed. Some cases involving as many as 15 affected animals. Dogs were most often involved, but cats, horses, cattle and goats were also poisoned. Most intoxications appeared intentional or malicious. "Baits" including frankfurters, ham or ground beef w...
Hedrick PW, Parker KM, Miller EL, Miller PS.The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a fundamental part of the vertebrate immune system, and the high variability in many MHC genes is thought to play an essential role in recognition of parasites. The Przewalski's horse is extinct in the wild and all the living individuals descend from 13 founders, most of whom were captured around the turn of the century. One of the primary genetic concerns in endangered species is whether they have ample adaptive variation to respond to novel selective factors. In examining 14 Przewalski's horses that are broadly representative of the living animal...
Sasaki M, Endo H, Yamagiwa D, Yamamoto M, Arishima K, Hayashi Y.The skeletal feature was observed in Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) and the domestic horse (E. caballus). As results of the observations, remarkable differences were found in the scapula. The caudal border of the scapula in Przewalski's horse is curved in the caudal direction more than that of the domestic horse. Moreover, in the domestic horse, the sharp caudal border is formed by the shift of the outer muscular line (Linea muscularis) to the border. In Przewalski's horse, however, the caudal border is rounded because the outer muscular line does not shift to the border but lies besid...
Julliand V, de Vaux A, Millet L, Fonty G.Detection and quantification of cellulolytic bacteria with oligonucleotide probes showed that Ruminococcus flavefaciens was the predominant species in the pony and donkey cecum. Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus albus were present at low levels. Four isolates, morphologically resembling R. flavefaciens, differed from ruminal strains by their carbohydrate utilization and their end products of cellobiose fermentation.
Dejardin LM, Arnoczky SP, Cloud GL.During impact, equine hooves undergo viscoelastic deformations which may result in potentially harmful strains. Previous hoof strain studies using strain gauges have been inconclusive due to arbitrary gauge placement. Photoelastic stress analysis (PSA) is a full-field technique which visually displays strains over entire loaded surfaces. This in vitro study identifies normal hoof strain patterns using PSA. Custom-made photoelastic plastic sheets were applied to the hoof surface. The hooves were axially loaded (225 kg) under level and varus/valgus conditions. Strain patterns were video-recorded...
Muylle S, Simoens P, Verbeeck R, Ysebaert MT, Lauwers H.The microhardness of enamel, primary dentine and secondary dentine was determined in the incisor teeth of 39 horses of three different breeds, trotter horses, Belgian draft horses and Arab horses. Using a microhardness tester fitted with a Knoop diamond indenter, the overall Knoop Hardness Number was determined for each tissue, and the influence of breed and age on the hardness were evaluated. Enamel and secondary dentine were significantly harder in Arab horses than in trotters and Belgian draft horses, but there were no significant differences between draft horses and trotter horses in the h...
Erickson HH, Bernard SL, Glenny RW, Fedde MR, Polissar NL, Basaraba RJ, Walther SM, Gaughan EM, McMurphy R, Hlastala MP.We determined the spatial distribution of pulmonary blood flow (PBF) with 15-micron fluorescent-labeled microspheres during rest and exercise in five Thoroughbred horses before and 4 h after furosemide administration (0.5 mg/kg iv). The primary finding of this study was that PBF redistribution occurred from rest to exercise, both with and without furosemide. However, there was less blood flow to the dorsal portion of the lung during exercise postfurosemide compared with prefurosemide. Furosemide did alter the resting perfusion distribution by increasing the flow to the ventral regions of the l...
Timney B, Keil K.Although horses have laterally-placed eyes, there is substantial binocular overlap, allowing for the possibility that these animals have stereopsis. In the first experiment of the present study we measured local stereopsis by obtaining monocular and binocular depth thresholds for renal depth stimuli. On all measures, the horses' binocular performance was superior to their monocular. When depth thresholds were obtained, binocular thresholds were several times superior to those obtained monocularly, suggesting that the animals could use stereoscopic information when it was available. The binocul...
Chopineau M, Martinat N, Pourchet C, Stewart F, Combarnous Y, Guillou F.Although donkey luteinizing hormone exhibits a very high degree of amino acid sequence identity with horse LH, its FSH activity in non-equine species is tenfold lower. The coding regions of the common zebra (Equus burchelli) glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit and LH beta-subunit transcripts were cloned by reverse transcription-PCR from pituitary gland RNA to investigate more precisely the structure-function relationships of this gonadotrophin family. Zebra LH was then expressed in COS-7 cells and its LH and FSH activities were assessed in a rat Leydig cell bioassay (for LH) and in a cell line ...
Paddleford RR, Harvey RC.The alpha 2 agonists can produce reliable dose-dependent sedation and analgesia in most species. Nevertheless, they can also produce significant physiological adverse side effects depending on dose, rate, route of administration, and the concurrent use of other CNS depressants. For this reason, it may be best to use a low dose of an alpha 2 agonist as a preanesthetic agent. The alpha 2 agonists are best suited for young, healthy, exercise-tolerant patients. The combining of low doses of alpha 2, opioid, and benzodiazepine agonists results in a synergistic CNS depressant response while minimizi...
Rungsipipat A, Tateyama S, Yamaguchi R, Uchida K, Miyoshi N.An immunohistochemical study of various visceral organs of normal adult dogs, cats, pigs, horses, cows, and chickens (five of each species) and of 185 spontaneous canine tumours was carried out using paraffin wax sections and a commercially available antibody to the human c- yes oncogene product. Among the adult normal tissues of six animal species, epithelial cells of the proximal and distal renal tubules, the myocardium, hepatocytes, cerebellar Purkinje cells and adrenal cortical cells were positive for c- yes product. Among the foetal tissues of dogs and chickens, a positive reaction was ob...
Tomasic M, Nann LE.To examine temporal patterns of rectal, nasal, groin, and skin temperatures measured in adult horses undergoing general anesthesia and to determine accuracy and precision of temperatures at these sites, compared with core temperature. Methods: 5 healthy adult horses. Methods: Induction, maintenance of, and recovery from general anesthesia were performed in an air-conditioned surgical suite. Room temperature and relative humidity were approximately 21 C and 40%, respectively. Anesthesia was maintained for 2.5 hours, and body temperatures were measured and recorded every 5 minutes. Mean values w...
Ranner W, Schill W, Gerhards H.The radiological examination of the thoracolumbar spine of a horse with a potential back problem is most important in order to come to a diagnosis and the imaging method of choice. The use of parallel grid-cassettes, appropriate films, rare earth screens and aluminium filters requires radiographic equipment with an output of 60-120 kV and 25-90 mAs. By use of this technique in the standing horse it is possible to obtain radiographs of the summits of the dorsal spinal processes of the thoracolumbar spine from the first thoracic (T1) to approximately the third of fourth lumbar vertebrae (L3/4). ...
Epe C, Woidtke S, Pape M, Heise M, Kraemer F, Kohlmetz C, Schnieder T.Two groups of 10 first-year grazing cattle were either left untreated as controls (group 1) or treated with eprinomectin as a pour-on application at turnout and eight weeks later (group 2). The control group developed a mild infection with gastrointestinal nematodes and lungworms during the season, whereas the treated animals remained healthy. The interval between the treatments allowed the establishment of adult worms, but the egg counts remained negligible. The total number of eggs shed by the treated cattle during the grazing season was significantly smaller than by the controls.
Raudsepp T, Chowdhary BP.A pilot study comparing horse and donkey karyotypes on a molecular basis was initiated using the chromosomal microdissection approach. All equine meta- and submetacentric chromosomes, viz. ECA1 to ECA13 and the X and Y chromosomes, were microdissected. The DNA was PCR amplified, non-radioactively labelled and used as probes on equine metaphase chromosomes to confirm their origin. Once tested, the paints were used as probes on donkey metaphase chromosomes to detect homologous chromosomal segments between the two species. The results not only detected conservation of whole chromosome and/or arm ...
Ronéus N, Essén-Gustavsson B, Lindholm A, Persson S.Blood samples from the jugular vein and muscle biopsies (gluteus medius) in 25 Standardbred trotters were obtained 5-10 min after racing. The biopsies were analysed for fibre type composition and enzymatic profile and blood samples for plasma lactate and ammonia concentrations. Muscle characteristics, plasma lactate and ammonia concentrations after racing were compared with each horse's individual performance index (IPI). The IPI is calculated annually from the individual horse's racing performance (% placing 1, 2 or 3, total annual earnings, average earning per start, and best racing record),...
Freitas ML, Viana JHM, Dode MAN, Maggiotto SR, Pivato I, Braga TRC, Lim AIPG, de Oliveira RA.The effects of seasonality on the reproduction of stallions vary based on the latitude. Although previous studies have shown the influence of seasonality in raw semen quality in south-eastern Brazil, data regarding the influence of seasonality in cooled and frozen stored semen in Brazil is limited. Therefore, in this study, we have analysed if seasonality influences the hormone production (i.e., cortisol and testosterone), spermatogenesis, and quality of fresh, cooled, and frozen semen of stallions in central Brazil, and established the season most suitable for semen cryopreservation in a lati...
Tezuka A, Takasu M, Tozaki T, Nagano AJ.Taishu horses are a native Japanese breed, of which only 41 individuals remained on Tsushima Island in 2018. Their genetic diversity is considered lower than that of other Japanese native horse breeds; thus, it needs to be investigated for sustainable conservation of this breed. Historical records revealed that several Taishu individuals were released areas off-Tsushima Island in mid-1980s. At present, Taishu horses living outside of Tsushima Island, hereafter referred to as Non-Tsushima Taishus (NTTs), are tagged. However, the genetic structure of the NTT individuals remains unclear, and such...
Kropich-Grant JN, Wiley KE, Manyweathers J, Thompson KR, Brookes VJ.Hendra virus disease (HeVD) is an emerging zoonosis in Australia, resulting from the transmission of Hendra virus (HeV) to horses from Pteropus bats. Vaccine uptake for horses is low despite the high case fatality rate of HeVD in both horses and people. We reviewed evidence-based communication interventions to promote and improve HeV vaccine uptake for horses by horse owners and conducted a preliminary evaluation of potential drivers for HeV vaccine uptake using the Behavioural and Social Drivers of Vaccination (BeSD) framework developed by the World Health Organization. Six records were eligi...
Ghezelsoflou H, Hamidi P, Gharahveysi S.The Iranian Turkoman horse is considered one of the major categories of Iranian native horses. The aim of this research was to study the genetic and nongenetic factors affecting body conformation traits in Iranian Turkoman horses. For this, measurements were performed on body conformation traits of 121 horses. To study the effect of nongenetic factors, the Lsmeans procedure was used. Variance components and heritability were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood method (REML) and AI-REML convergence algorithm. The standard deviation was estimated to be 7.04 cm for croup depth and 2.08 cm ...
Muylle S, Simoens P, Lauwers H.The distribution of intratubular (peritubular) dentine was studied by scanning electron microscopy in 12 equine incisor teeth. High levels of intratubular dentine were found in the peripheral regions of the dentine. In these areas, a marked asymmetry occurred, as intratubular dentine was predominantly deposited onto the side of the dentinal tubular walls nearest to the dentino-enamel junction. The quantity and asymmetry of intratubular dentine were reduced towards the centre of the tooth. The significance of these variations in the amount and distribution of intratubular dentine between the di...
Walker AM, Martin A, Pfau T, Sparkes EL, Wilson AM, Witte TH.Race jockey training is demanding and technical. Increased horse care costs and demands on time have led to greater availability and use of racehorse simulators during training. Little is known about the accuracy of the simulated movement and therefore how effective they are for developing the desired technique. We quantified and compared sacral rotation and displacement vectors for a racehorse simulator and a real galloping horse. A single inertial measurement unit was placed on the sacrum of six horses (horse) during a training gallop along an all-weather seven furlong gallop and on the high...
Dixon JB, Savage M, Wattret A, Taylor P, Ross G, Carter SD, Kelly DF, Haywood S, Phythian C, Macintyre AR, Bell SC, Knottenbelt DC, Green JR.A condition resembling acquired immunodeficiency with anemia has been described in British Fell pony foals. The pathogenesis is unknown. The present study involved 322 foals of which 164 were of Fell breed and 12 were affected. Discriminant and multiple regression analyses were used to test the results of all clinical pathology parameters from these foals for statistical association with (1) breed origin and (2) presence of disease. Only hematocrit associated significantly with presence of disease. However, significant associations were found with Fell breed origin, including serum albumin con...
Laakkonen UM, Leinonen A, Savonen L.A gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) screening procedure for 23 acidic drugs in equine urine is described. With the GC-MS method fifteen anti-inflammatory drugs, five barbiturates and three methyl xanthines can be detected with good sensitivity and selectivity. The method consists of alkaline hydrolysis, extraction with organic solvent using salting-out, clean-up extraction, methylation and screening with GC-MS in selected-ion monitoring mode. The limit of detection is 10 micrograms 1(-1) or lower, for most drugs.
Johnson KL, Hespel AM, Price JM, de Swarte M.Radiology can be a challenging subject for students and finding new techniques that help improve their understanding could have positive effects in their clinical practice. The purpose of this prospective experimental study was to implement the use of color-coded, three-dimensional-printed, handheld equine carpus models into a radiographic anatomy course and evaluate the impact objectively and subjectively using quizzes and student response surveys. A first-year veterinary class was randomly divided into two similarly sized groups (groups A and B) for an equine normal radiographic anatomy labo...
Bowling AT.The genetic make-up of Great Basin wild (feral) horses was investigated by blood typing studies. Blood samples of 975 feral horses from seven trap sites in Nevada and Oregon were tested by serological and electrophoretic techniques for genetic markers at 19 polymorphic loci. The average number of variants for the seven feral populations [72.1 +/- 3.2 (SEM), range 62-85] was not significantly different from that of 16 domestic breeds (75.0 +/- 11.5, range 58-105). The expected average frequency of heterozygotes per locus (average heterozygosity) for the feral populations (0.402 +/- 0.009, range...
Dawson FL, Durrant DS.Seventy-three samples of serum, from 69 horses and one zebra, were subjected to the Rose Bengal Plate, serum tube agglutination, complement fixation, and anti-equine globulin (Coombs') tests for brucellosis. Fifty-one of the samples, from 48 horses, were submitted by practising veterinary surgeons; of these, 22 samples were associated with clinical conditions which might have been due to brucellosis. Fourteen samples were from healthy horses known to have been in contact with infected cattle, and six were from horses which were known not to have been exposed to brucellosis. More reactions at a...
Lilly ML, Gonçalves Arruda A, Proudfoot KL, Herron ME.To survey first-year veterinary students' knowledge of companion animal (dog, cat, and horse) behavior and popular-culture (ie, pop-culture) behavior myths related to animal body language, motivations, and learning prior to participation in an introductory animal behavior course; evaluate potential associations between sources of prior behavior knowledge and knowledge on the preclass survey; and determine whether postclass scores on the same survey were predictive of final examination score for the behavior class. Methods: 156 first-year veterinary students. Methods: Students were invited to p...
Ott EA, Asquith RL.Thirty-three Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse yearlings were used in two experiments (18 in Exp. 1 and 15 in Exp. 2) to determine the influence of trace mineral (TM) supplementation on growth and bone mineral content in young growing horses from 340 to 452 d of age. In each experiment the yearlings were assigned at random within breed and sex outcome groups to one of three treatments. Horses were fed assigned concentrates individually to appetite for two 1.5-h feeding periods, daily and group-fed Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) hay in drylot paddocks at a rate of 1.0 kg/100 kg BW daily. ...
Stewart F, Goode JA, Allen WR.A heterologous radioimmunoassay was developed and validated for the measurement of horse GH in plasma. It utilized recombinant-derived bovine GH as the radiolabelled ligand, a guinea-pig anti-porcine GH serum as first antibody and pituitary-derived horse GH as standard. Cross-reactivities were high with all of the pituitary and recombinant-derived GH preparations tested (49-140%) and very low (< 0.3%) with horse FSH, LH and prolactin. A synthetic analogue of GH-releasing factor(1-29) stimulated the expected pattern of GH release in foals. Plasma GH concentrations in foals were low at birth (< ...
Rebecca PH, Linda P.Although the number of small-scale farms is increasing in North America and Europe, few studies have been conducted to better understand environmental management in this sector. We investigate this issue by examining environmental management on horse farms from both the perspective of the "expert" extension educator and horse farm operator. We conducted a Delphi survey and follow-up interviews with extension educators in Indiana and Kentucky. We also conducted interviews and farm assessments with 15 horse farm operators in the two states. Our results suggest a disconnection between the percept...
Mouguelar H, Díaz T, Borghi D, Quinteros R, Bonino F, Apichela SA, Aguilar JJ.The objectives of this work were to describe some morphometric characteristics and to establish quantitative parameters of different regions of the equine oviductal mucosa from the isthmus, ampullary-isthmic junction (AIJ), and ampulla. Twenty-one mixed-bred mares were used for this study. Mares were selected in the following reproductive phases: anestrus, estrus, and diestrus. The left oviducts were examined with light microscopy, and rights ones were studied through the intraoviductal molds. The isthmus showed the smallest luminal area, mucosal area, epithelial perimeter, and luminal diamete...
Hernández-Avilés C, Ramírez-Agámez L, Love CC, Friedrich M, Pearson M, Kelley DE, Beckham AMN, Teague SR, LaCaze KA, Brinsko SP, Varner DD.Under in vitro conditions, stallion sperm might preferentially use energy substrates that primarily undergo mitochondrial metabolism. The present study sought to determine the effects of glucose, pyruvate, lactate, or their combinations on the quality of stallion sperm subjected to cooled storage at different temperatures, when using a skim milk-based semen extender. In Experiment 1, no substrate (Control), glucose (40 mM; Glu-40), pyruvate (2 mM, 19.8 mM; Pyr-2, Pyr-19), lactate (2 mM, 19.8 mM; Lac-2, Lac-19, respectively), or their combinations (G/P/L-2 or G/P/L-19, respectively) were ...
An J, Tseveen K, Oyungerel B, Kong HS.Mongolian horses are one of the oldest horse breeds, and are very important livestock in Mongolia as they are used in various fields such as transportation, food (milk, meat), and horse racing. In addition, research and preservation on pure Mongolian breeds are being promoted under the implementation of the new Genetics of Livestock Resources' act in Mongolia. However, despite the implementation of this act, genetic research on Mongolian horses using microsatellites (MS) has not progressed enough. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the genetic polymorphism of five breeds (Gobi shan...
Wilson SJ, Ward MP.Hendra virus (HeV), a potentially fatal zoonotic disease spread by flying foxes, to date has always infected humans via a spillover event from equine HeV infection. In a theoretical case study, we compared the impacts of two different HeV prevention strategies - vaccination and flying fox roost removal - using a recently developed framework that considers different stakeholder group perspectives. The perspectives of the four selected stakeholder groups regarding intangibles were inferred from public discussions and coverage in the media. For all stakeholder groups, the option to vaccinate hors...
Rice L, Ott EA, Beede DK, Wilcox CJ, Johnson EL, Lieb S, Borum P.Oral tolerance tests were performed on 13 neonatal foals to determine their ability to digest disaccharides on d 1, 3 and 5 postpartum. Foals were assigned randomly to treatments consisting of 20% (wt/vol) solutions of either maltose, lactose, or sucrose, dosed at 1 g/kg of BW, or glucose, dosed at .5 g/kg of BW. After a 2-h fast, an initial blood sample was collected via jugular catheter. Foals were administered the appropriate solution orally, and blood was collected every 15 min for 1 h and then every 30 min for 3 h. Plasma glucose increased after dosing with lactose or glucose but not with...
Summerley HL, Thomason JJ, Bignell WW.A rider modifies the weight distribution and dynamic balance of the horse. But what effect does a rider have on the mechanical behaviour of the hoof during each stance phase? Does riding style have any effect on this behaviour? We attempted to answer these questions using strains recorded from 5 rosette strain gauges glued to the surface of the front hooves of 4 Warmblood horses. Comparisons were made between strains with and without a rider, and when the rider was sitting, rising at a trot, or in a forward seated position. The change in strains from trot to lead or nonlead at a canter, and th...
Matlina ESh, Bobylev IF, Skorupski K, Pukhova GS.The content of adrenaline, noradrenaline, ACTH, cortisol and insulin in the blood and excretion of catecholamines with urine were studied in horses after physical and emotional exposures. The highest degree of the sympathoadrenal system (SAS) and hypophysioadrenal system (HAS) activation followed by the insulin content decrease was observed after training. The known emotional exposure (the noise of hyppodrome) astivated both parts of SAS and HAS. The unknown emotional experience (electronic music) produced a strong adrenal medullar reaction. Analysis of the correlations showed that the initial...
