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.
Gabriel A, Jolly S, Detilleux J, Dessy-Doize C, Collin B, Reginster JY.Navicular bones from the 4 limbs of 95 horses, classified in 9 categories, were studied. The anatomical bases were established for the morphometry of the navicular bone and its variations according to the category of horse, after corrections were made for front or rear limb, sex, weight, size and age. In ponies, navicular bone measurements were smallest for light ponies and regularly increased with body size, but in horses, navicular bone dimensions were smallest for the athletic halfbred, intermediate for draft horse, thoroughbreds and sedentary halfbreds and largest for heavy halfbreds. The ...
Bleyaert HF, Madison JB.To describe a method for internal fixation of supraglenoid tubercle fractures in conjunction with complete tenotomy of the biceps brachii tendon. Methods: Three horses, ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years and weighing from 300 to 400 kg. Methods: Fractures were repaired by open reduction-internal fixation using bone screws placed in lag fashion and complete tenotomy of the biceps brachii tendon. Results: All three horses were sound for their intended use with a good cosmetic result 6 months after surgery. Conclusions: Complete transection of the biceps brachii tendon facilitates supragleno...
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...
Thomason JJ.Objectives were to examine the deformation of the healthy equine front hoof during locomotion, by recording strains on its outer surface, and to test whether its mechanical behaviour is significantly altered under different locomotory conditions and variation in hoof shape. Strains were recorded in vivo from 5 rosette gauges around the circumference of the right forehooves of 12 horses. The magnitudes and orientations of principal strains at the midstep were compared statistically for different conditions of shoeing (shod vs. unshod), gait (walk vs. trot), substrate (treadmill vs. ground), and...
Newlyn HA, Collins SN, Cope BC, Hopegood L, Latham RJ, Reilly JD.A finite element model of donkey hoof wall was constructed from measurements taken directly from the hoof capsule of the left forefoot. The model was created with a 2 mm mesh and consisted of 11,608 nodes. A linear elastic analysis was conducted assuming isotropic material properties in response to a 375 newton (N) load, to simulate static loading. The load was applied to the wall via 400 laminae in order to simulate the way in which the pedal bone is suspended within the donkey hoof capsule. Displacement, stress concentration, principal strain, and force distribution across the hoof wall were...
Lanovaz JL, Clayton HM, Watson LG.This study was designed to test the impact characteristics of the equine digit in vitro with the objective of providing a better understanding of the role of the digital structures in the attenuation of impact shock. Uni-axial accelerometers were mounted on cadaver digits on the distolateral hoof wall, the proximolateral hoof wall, the dorsal surface of the second phalanx, and the mid-lateral first phalanx. The hoof-mounted accelerometers were aligned with the hoof tubules while the bone-mounted accelerometers were oriented along the longitudinal axis of the bone. Each digit was mounted in a t...
Kasapi MA, Gosline JM.Possible functions of equine hoof wall tubules were investigated in this study. Hydration tests were conducted on blocks of hoof wall tissue in order to test the hypothesis that hollow tubules facilitate the conduction of water vapour distally. Although water loss or gain was inhibited through the outer wall surface, the increase in surface area provided by medullary spaces was ineffective in facilitating hydration through the face with exposed tubule ends. Rather, hollow tubules appear to allow for a higher dehydration rate through their exposed ends. Analysis of medullary space indicates tha...
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...
Wilson JA, Kronfeld DS, Gay LS, Williams JH, Wilson TM, Lindinger MI.Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) responses to repeated sprints and to physical conditioning were studied in 10 Quarter Horses. Exercise tests (four repeated sprints on a treadmill) were conducted before and after 12 wk of sprint conditioning. Muscle samples from the middle gluteal muscle were taken before and after each exercise test, and SR vesicles were isolated. Calcium uptake was determined spectrophotometrically using antipyrylazo III, and Ca2+-ATPase activity was determined using an enzyme-linked optical assay. Conditioning increased calcium uptake rate and Ca2+-ATPase activity by 14 and 38%,...
Ninfali P, Aluigi G.The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) was measured both in whole (ORAC-T) and deproteinized (ORAC-AS) plasma samples of human, pig, cow, rabbit, dog, cat, sheep, horse, dolphin, turkey, guinea-hen and chicken. In the 12 species, ORAC-T data, expressed as micromoles of peroxyl radicals trapped by 11 of sample, were found scattered between 8,600 and 23,000 micromol/l. The species with the highest ORAC-T values were cat among mammals and chicken among avies. ORAC-AS values ranged between 600 and 2000 micromol/l, with the highest values found in dolphin and sheep among mammals, while chick...
Gallagher PC, Lear TL, Coogle LD, Bailey E.BLAST searches of 61 equine microsatellite sequences revealed two related families of retroposons. The first family included seven markers, all of which showed significant homology to the Equine Repetitive Element-1 (ERE-1) Short Interspersed Nucleotide Element (SINE) sequence. Length of homology ranged from 76 to 171 bases with identities to the ERE-1 consensus sequence ranging from 71% to 83%. The second family referred to as Equine Repetitive Element-2 (ERE-2) has a consensus sequence that showed homology to ERE-1 over approximately 60 bases. These 60 bases comprised subunit I. Sequence com...
Oakenfull EA, Ryder OA.Variation in the control region and the 12S rRNA gene of all surviving mitochondrial lineages of Przewalski's horse was investigated. Variation is low despite the present day population being descended from 13 individuals probably representing animals from three different regions of its range. Phylogenetic comparison of these sequences, with sequences for the domestic horse, does not resolve the ancestral status of either horse.
Pearson RA, Vall E.Use of animal power generally enables farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to increase agricultural production and improve the quality of life. Effective use of working animals depends on an understanding of the capabilities of the animals for work, their husbandry requirements and the factors which can influence their performance. These issues are reviewed in this paper in the context of the use of animal power in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. The type of animal used for work determines power available to the farmer. The performance of donkeys, horses and cattle have been compared in work tests...
The Journal of nutritionDecember 30, 1998
Volume 128, Issue 12 Suppl 2704S-2707S doi: 10.1093/jn/128.12.2704S
Pagan JD, Harris P, Brewster-Barnes T, Duren SE, Jackson SG.Most digestibility studies in horses have been conducted with idle horses confined to metabolism stalls. The values obtained from such studies are used for all classes of horses, including the performance horse. It has not been clearly established whether exercise affects digestibility. Olsson and Ruudvere (1955), summarizing a number of earlier studies, suggested that digestion may be affected in horses by work or exercise in such a way that it is improved by light exercise and inhibited by heavy work.
Orton et al. (1985) reported reduced retention time of a particulate marker in yearling ...
al-Afaleq AI, Abu Elzein EM, Hassanein MM.The present epidemiological status of African horse sickness in Saudi Arabia, as shown by seroconversion, virus isolation and clinical observation of sentinel horses is described. No African horse sickness virus activity was detected throughout the duration of the study (from November 1992 to March 1995). These findings support previous reports that African horse sickness is not endemic in Saudi Arabia.
Rocha T.This paper presents a review of Leptospira infection in farm animals in Portugal which is based mainly on serological results obtained in the National Veterinary Research Laboratory between January 1987 and December 1993. Serum samples were tested by the microscopic agglutination test, at a minimum dilution of 1:100. Positive titres were obtained in 15.3% of the 9,543 bovine samples examined. Sejroe, Pomona, Hebdomadis, Tarassovi and Icterohaemorrhagiae were the principal serogroups which reacted in the tests. A total of 3,195 pigs were tested, of which 20.2% showed positive reactions. The mai...
Vanin AF, Serezhenkov VA, Mikoyan VD, Genkin MV.The parameters of EPR signal from dinitrosyl-iron complexes (DNIC) with bovine serum albumin (BSA), horse hemoglobin (Hb), and apometallothionein (apo-Mt) of horse kidney incorporating one (BSA, Hb) or two thiol-containing ligands (apo-Mt) were compared. The EPR signal from DNIC-BSA was characterized by the rhombic symmetry of g tensor at room temperature of signal recording (ambient temperature) or at 77K in the solution frozen in the presence of glycerol. In freezing of the solution in the absence of glycerin, under the exposure of DNIC-BSA to negatively charged sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) ...
Oakenfull EA, Clegg JB.Sequences of the alpha1, alpha2 and theta globin genes from six equid species have been determined to investigate relationships within the genus Equus. Analyses using standard phylogenetic methods, or an approach designed to account for the effects of gene conversion between the alpha genes, gave broadly similar results and show that the horses diverged from the zebra/ass ancestor approximately 2.4 million years ago and that the zebra and ass species arose in a rapid radiation approximately 0.9 million years ago. These results from the alpha genes are corroborated by theta gene data and are in...
Morales JL, Manchado M, Vivo J, Galisteo AM, Agüera E, Miró F.Normal speed videography was used to determine the angular parameters of 28 Spanish Thoroughbreds at trot. Horses were divided into 3 groups: Group UT, comprising 9 animals (provided by the VII National Stud, Cordoba, Spain) which had undergone no specific training programme and which were hand led at the trot; Group T, formed by 19 horses considered to be highly bred and trained, and which were also hand led; and Group RT, comprising the same horses as the latter group but this time trotted by a rider. Each animal was filmed 6 times from the right-hand side, using a Hi8 (25 Hz) video camera. ...
Birch HL, Bailey AJ, Goodship AE.Injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon are common in horses required to gallop and jump at speed. Partial rupture of this tendon usually occurs in the central core of the midmetacarpal region and may be preceded by localised degenerative changes. Post mortem examination of apparently normal equine flexor tendons has revealed an abnormal macroscopic appearance in the central core, characterised by a reddish discolouration. We have previously shown that there is also physical damage to the collagen fibres. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that the abnormal appearance is a...
Balasuriya UB, Evermann JF, Hedges JF, McKeirnan AJ, Mitten JQ, Beyer JC, McCollum WH, Timoney PJ, MacLachlan NJ.A virus isolated from an aborted equine fetus was determined to be antigenically distinct from several other strains of equine arteritis virus (EAV) by use of a neutralization assay with a large panel of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The virus was readily neutralized by polyclonal equine anti-EAV serum. Comparative nucleotide and amino acid sequence analyses indicated that the virus (WA97) isolated from the aborted fetus was virtually identical to a virus (S1971) isolated from imported semen used to inseminate another mare on the farm. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the WA97/S1971 ...
Farkas R, Hall MJ.Veterinarians in Hungary were asked to complete a questionnaire on traumatic myiasis; of the 664 veterinarians contacted, 247 replied (37.2 per cent) and of these 209 (84.6 per cent) reported myiasis to be a problem among the livestock they treated. Infestation levels of > 10 per cent of animals were reported in sheep, cattle and horses. The myiasis season lasted from March to November with most cases reported in July and August. Significantly more respondents reported that fly larvae were present deep in wounds rather than superficially, consistent with infestations due to the obligate parasi...
Poonacha KB, Gregory CR, Vickers ML.The primary lesions of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus infection in the horse are limited to the brain and spinal cord. Intestinal lesions in addition to the changes in the central nervous system were found in a 6-month-old male Tennessee Walking Horse. One week prior to death, this colt was vaccinated for EEE virus, western equine encephalomyelitis virus, influenza virus, equine rhinopneumonitis virus, and tetanus. The clinical signs consisted of ataxia and rear-end weakness, with a body temperature of 102.8 F. Gross lesions consisted of yellowish discoloration, swelling, edema, ...
Jaggard G.The major problems of racing in the United States at the present time are caused by too much racing. This has led to too few horses and small fields. Consequently many owners and trainers are trying to enter their horses too frequently and to race them when they are not really fit to run. The desire to race horses as frequently as possible has led to constant pressure from horsemen through their organizations for so called "permissive medication". Started in the state of Colorado approximately ten years ago this has grown until finally there are only a few states, notably New York and New Jers...
Greening L, Allen S, McBride S.Sleep disturbance is observed across species, resulting in neurocognitive dysfunction and poor impulse control/regulation of negative emotion. Understanding animal sleep disturbance is thus important to understand how environmental factors influence animal sleep and day-to-day welfare. Self-reporting tools for sleep disturbance are commonly used in human research to determine sleep quality, that cannot be transferred to non-verbal animal species research. Human research has, however, successfully used frequency of awakenings to create an objective measurement of sleep quality. The aim of this ...
Taverne MA.For the past few years, two-dimensional diagnostic ultrasound methods have become available to veterinary medicine. In particular, linear-array real-time ultrasound would appear to be a very suitable diagnostic tool in the examination of the female genital organs of domestic mammals. The principles of this technique and the equipment available are described, and particular attention is paid to the method by which a diagnosis of pregnancy may be established in various animal species. In dogs and goats shaving will have to be done before the sound-transmitting/receiving transducer can be placed ...
Zeyner A, Kirbach H, Fürll M.Feeding a high-fat diet may have potential advantages by maintaining pH homeostasis during intense exercise; conversely, effects including elevated PCV and increased plasma concentration of total protein may indicate effects detrimental to performance by reducing perfusion of tissues and organs. Six horses were used to determine the effects of an replacement of starch (diet '0.00') with 0.33, 0.67, 1.00 and 1.33 g soybean oil/kg bwt/day (diets '033', '0.67', '1.00' and '1.33') on venous and renal acid-base status and fractional clearance (FC) of electrolytes in a postprandial state but prior t...
Ren WX, Zhang XX, Long CY, Zhao Q, Cheng T, Ma JG, Xu P, Hou G, Ni HB.Horse meat and milk are an important source of nutrition for many Chinese. Previous studies have shown a fairly high prevalence of infection in horses. However, there is no data concerning the molecular characterization of in horses in China. The present study tested 231 cervical lymph node samples of horses from northern China (97 from Jilin, 54 from Liaoning, and 80 from Xinjiang) for the presence of the B1 gene by seminested PCR. The B1-positive samples were genotyped at nine nuclear loci, that is, SAG1, alternative SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, c22-8, GRA6, c29-2, PK1, and an apicoplast locus, usin...
Padilla AW, Tobback C, Foote RH.A method for preparing stored unfrozen stallion spermatozoa for the zona-free hamster oocyte penetration test (HOPT) and a subsequent comparison of fresh and stored sperm by the HOPT were evaluated. In Experiment 1, sperm from 4 stallion ejaculates, cooled to 4 degrees C and stored for 24 h, were treated with 60, 90 and 120 microM of dilauroylphosphatidyl-choline (PC12) liposomes to initiate the acrosome reaction. The percentage of motile and acrosome-reacted (AR) sperm were recorded after 8, 15 and 30 min of incubation at 39 degrees C, by automated image analysis. Liposome concentration did n...
Zhang XY, Robinson NE, Zhu FX.We tested the hypothesis that increasing intracellular levels of adenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) increases acetylcholine (ACh) release from airway parasympathetic nerves. Muscle strips from equine trachea were preincubated for 60 min with 10(-7)M atropine, 10(-6)M neostigmine, and 10(-5) M guanethidine. The ACh release was evoked by electrical field stimulation (EFS, 20 V, 0.5 ms, 0.5 Hz) and measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Agents known to increase cAMP, i.e., forskolin (10(-6) - 10(-4) M), 8-bromoadenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosp...
Asseged BD, Habtemariam T, Tameru B, Nganwa D.Deriving horse oocytes in the USA is hampered by the lack of abattoirs processing horse carcasses which could provide abundant quantities of ovaries from slaughtered mares. Therefore, several cloning industries in the USA are attempting to import cloned horse embryos from Canada. Like any agricultural commodity, cloned embryos pose a risk of introduction of exotic animal diseases into the importing country. Under such circumstances, risk assessment could provide an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted means for evaluating the risk. This quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was in...
Malik CE, Wong DM, Dembek KA, Wilson KE.To determine the accuracy of 2 interstitial glucose-monitoring systems (GMSs) for use in horses compared with a point-of-care (POC) glucometer and standard laboratory enzymatic chemistry method (CHEM). Methods: 8 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: One of each GMS device (Dexcom G6 and Freestyle Libre 14-day) was placed on each horse, and blood glucose concentration was measured via POC and CHEM at 33 time points and compared with simultaneous GMS readings. An oral glucose absorption test (OGAT) was performed on day 2, and glucose concentrations were measured and compared. Results: Glucos...
Siciliano PD, Wood CH.Fourteen 2-yr-old Quarter Horses and Quarter Horse x Thoroughbreds were randomly assigned to either a control (CTRL) diet or a diet supplemented with 6.4% soybean oil (SBO). The amounts of both diets that were fed met current NRC nutrient requirements and were isoenergetic with similar nutrient:energy ratios. Venous blood samples (20 mL) were taken at d 0, 30, 60, and 90 of the experiment and analyzed for serum alpha-tocopherol, serum cholesterol, and serum triglyceride. The sum of serum cholesterol and serum triglyceride values was used as an estimate of serum total lipid. The ratio of serum ...
Miyashita Y, Nakajima S, Imada H.Panel-touch behavior of 3 geldings was successfully established by a response-termination type of autoshaping procedure. An omission or negative contingency introduced after the training of an animal, however, decreased the response rate to a near-zero level.
Villar E, Calvo P, Cabezas JA.1. Peripheral blood serum alpha-L-fucosidases have been studied from various mammalian species: Sus scropha var domestica L. (pig), Capra hircus L. (goat), Bos taurus L. (bull, races Morucha and Charolais), Equus caballus L. (horse) and Equus asinus L. (donkey). 2. Fluorimetric and spectrophotometric procedures were used for determination of alpha-L-fucosidases. 3. alpha-L-Fucosidases were more active towards fluorescent substrates than towards chromogenic substrates. 4. pH optima values of the enzymes are: (A) 5.5 for sera from all above-mentioned species when fluorescent substrates were empl...
Bleyaert HF, Madison JB, Bailey JE, Johnson CM.Six ponies divided into two groups of three were used in a double crossover study design. Group 1 ponies had a small intestinal resection and anastomosis performed using a biofragmentable anastomosis ring (BAR); group 2 ponies had a hand-sewn small intestinal resection and anastomosis using a Gambee suture pattern. Approximately 30 days later, all ponies had a second celiotomy and anastomosed segments were removed. Group 1 ponies had a hand-sewn anastomosis performed and group 2 had a BAR. The anastomotic sites were collected at necropsy approximately 30 days later. Anastomosed intestinal segm...
Barsoum IS, Botros BA, Morcos MB.In a serologic survey on equine leptospirosis in Egypt, the following incidences of leptospiral serosensitivity were found: 1. Hospitalised horses 65/113 (57.5 %). 2. Hospitalised donkeys 90/125 (72.0 %). 3. Apparently healthy horses 21/72 (29.1 %). Sera of these animals were mostly reacting to serotypes butembo, pomona, icterohemorragiae, and grippotyphosa. Equine in Egypt are close animals to humans and may constitute a potential source of leptospiral infection. From the clinical point of view, it is very possible that ocular, hoof lesions and icterus in equines would be expected with leptos...
Longland AC, Barfoot C, Harris PA.Obesity can negatively impact upon equine welfare and bodyweight (BW) of pastured equines is often difficult to manage. Objective: To compare the effects of three restricted grazing regimens on changes in pony BW and morphometric measurements. Methods: Randomised study. Methods: Twelve mature ponies were individually grazed in 10m wide, rectangular, electric fenced paddocks. The dry matter (DM) herbage yield of each paddock was determined, and paddock length adjusted on Day 1 to provide 1.5% of individual pony BW as herbage DM daily, for 28 days. There were four ponies per treatment. Treatmen...
Chevalier H, Posner LP, Ludders JW, French TW, Erb HN, Gleed RD.To determine accuracy and precision of a point-of-care hemoglobinometer for measuring hemoglobin concentration and estimating PCV in horses. Methods: Prospective trial. Methods: 55 horses. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 43 horses examined at a veterinary teaching hospital. Hemoglobin concentration was measured with the hemoglobinometer and by means of the standard cyanmethemoglobin method; PCV was measured by centrifugation. Blood samples were also obtained from 12 healthy horses, and PCV of aliquots of these samples was altered to approximately 5 to 80% by removing or adding plasma...
Sätter JK, McGawley K, Connysson M, Staunton CA.To identify how riding rein direction (left and right) and rider asymmetry affect tölt performance in Icelandic horses. Two horses were ridden in tölt by four riders on both left and right reins. Riders wore pressure insoles that measured the total absolute force (FAbs) and absolute force difference (FDiff) in their left and right feet in the stirrups. A 3D motion-analysis system recorded the degrees of side-to-side movement in the pelvis (RollP) and in the thoracolumbar region (RollT). Lateral advanced placement (LAP) and duty factor (DF) were calculated to determine tölt performance. One-...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Dusemund B, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A....Following a request from the European Commission, EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of DBVPG 48 SF (BioCell®) as a zootechnical feed additive for horses, pigs and ruminants. The product, manufactured in three formulations (microsphere, micropellet and powder), is intended for use in complete feed at a minimum inclusion level of 3 × 10 CFU/kg complete feed for horses, 4 × 10 CFU/kg complete feed for dairy cows and minor dairy species, 4 × 10 CFU/kg complete feed for calves, cattle for fattening, minor growing and fattening ruminants...
Mikami T, Tsuchihashi K, Kashiwagi M, Yachida Y, Daino T, Hashi K, Akino T, Gasa S.A sulfatide, O-fatty-acylated 3-sulfogalactosylceramide at C6-O on galactoside, was isolated from equine brain and the chemical structure was characterized by proton NMR and MS. The O-acylation site of the acylated sulfatide was determined by the down-field shift of protons attached to a carbon having an O-acyl group in the NMR spectrum and by analysis of a partially methylated derivative before and after acetalization of the intact sulfatide using GC-MS. The O-acyl chain length was determined by GLC, revealing that it exclusively had palmitoyl and stearoyl residues as the major fatty acids. T...
Guimarães T, Lopes G, Ferreira P, Leal I, Rocha A.Cryopreservation of epididymal spermatozoa is a useful tool to preserve genetic material of valuable stallions after emergency castration or unexpected death. For that, testicles and epididymides are generally sent refrigerated to the laboratory. Collection of epididymal spermatozoa is a simple procedure that reduces the volume of the material to be shipped, and may improve the quality of the chilled epididymal sperm cells. In the present study we compared the characteristics of frozen/thawed epididymal spermatozoa after refrigeration of the epididymis or after direct refrigeration of the exte...
Bugno-Poniewierska M, Kij-Mitka B, Podstawski Z, Długosz B, Lasek O, Mrowiec P, Tischner M.The use of frozen semen lowers the risk of disease transmission, eliminates geographical limitations and supports the implementation of genetic resource protection programs. However, due to the very rare use of frozen semen from Hutsul stallions, their genetic material is not secured in sperm banks, and very little information is available about their semen, including its suitability for cryopreservation, and sperm survival rates after thawing. The aim of this study was to analyse basic parameters such as sperm motility, vitality and morphology in diluted-stored and post-thawed Hutsul semen, u...
Kähn W, Fraunholz J, Kaspar B, Pyczak T.Ultrasonography allows early and reliable pregnancy detection in several domestic animals. Transrectal sonography can be recommended in horses and cattle, transrectal or transcutaneous procedures in sheep, goats and pigs while transcutaneous ultrasound scanning is appropriate in dogs and cats. Three periods of time can be distinguished in the diagnosis of early pregnancy by ultrasound: the earliest phase, where signs of pregnancy can be found in some cases, but accuracy of diagnosis is very low; the succeeding period, where reliable diagnosis is possible, but results are often difficult to ach...
Zakari FO, Ayo JO, Rekwot PI, Kawu MU.The present experiment was performed with the aim of investigating the effect of season on behavioral activities of donkeys during the rainy and harmattan seasons in the Northern Guinea zone of Nigeria. Sixteen apparently healthy donkeys were used as subjects and divided into four groups based on age. During each season, behavioral activities of each donkey were evaluated for three weeks using the focal animal sampling technique. The dry-bulb temperature (DBT), relative humidity (RH), and temperature-humidity index (THI) were obtained three times each day during the experimental period using s...
Niwa H, Higuchi T, Fujii S, Kinoshita Y, Uchida-Fujii E, Sueyoshi M, Nukada T, Ueno T.Equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) is an equine infectious disease that can lead to severe weight loss and hyperplasia of the intestinal mucosa due to infection with Lawsonia intracellularis. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of EPE in a major Thoroughbred breeding area: Hidaka district, Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 252 symptomatic horses that we tested, 192 EPE cases (76.2%), including 8 fatal cases, were confirmed from April 2015 to March 2020 by etiological and/or serological investigation. Most of the EPE cases were observed in foals (88.5%), with fewer cases in yearlings (7.3%)...
Rathnam P, Fujiki Y, Landefeld TD, Saxena BB.Six hundred milligrams of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), containing 110 NIH-FSH-S1 units/mg, was isolated from 9 kg of equine pituitary glands. The equine FSH was dissociated into alpha- and beta-subunits. A tentative amino acid sequence of the alpha-subunit was determined. The alpha-subunit contained 82 amino acids. The equine FSH-alpha is shorter by 10 to 14 amino acids at the NH2 terminus and has several substitutions at several positions as compared with human FSH-alpha and bovine thyroid-stimulating hormone-alpha. At the intraspecies level, the alpha-subunits of human FSH, human lute...
Klein R, Oláh J, Mihók S, Posta J.The Mezőhegyes Stud was founded in 1784 where three different horse breeds were developed: the Furioso-North Star, the Gidran, and the Nonius. These breeds were based on the same mare population, but each breed had different utilization purposes. Our aim was to analyze the pedigree information of these three indigenous breeds. The genealogical information was traced back from the actual breeding population back to the founder animals, and the final database contained more than 47,000 horses. The reference populations were defined as the registered breeding animals in 2019. The complete genera...
Podstawski P, Ropka-Molik K, Semik-Gurgul E, Samiec M, Skrzyszowska M, Podstawski Z, Szmatoła T, Witkowski M, Pawlina-Tyszko K.An important component of tissues is the extracellular matrix (ECM), which not only forms a tissue scaffold, but also provides the environment for numerous biochemical reactions. Its composition is strictly regulated, and any irregularities can result in the development of many diseases, including cancer. Sarcoid is the most common skin cancer in equids. Its formation results from the presence of the genetic material of the bovine papillomavirus (BPV). In addition, it is assumed that sarcoid-dependent oncogenic transformation arises from a disturbed wound healing process, which may be due to t...
Miró F, Santos R, Garrido-Castro JL, Galisteo AM, Medina-Carnicer R.The handled trot of three Lusitano Purebred stallions was analyzed by using 2D and 3D kinematical analysis methods. Using the same capture and analysis system, 2D and 3D data of some linear (stride length, maximal height of the hoof trajectories) and angular (angular range of motion, inclination of bone segments) variables were obtained. A paired Student T-test was performed in order to detect statistically significant differences between data resulting from the two methodologies With respect to the angular variables, there were significant differences in scapula inclination, shoulder angle, c...
Semanchik PL, Wesolowski LT, Ryan PJ, White-Springer SH, Fluckey JD.Skeletal muscle is a highly dynamic organ that is essential for locomotion as well as endocrine regulation in all populations of horses. However, despite the importance of adequate muscle development and maintenance, the mechanisms underlying protein anabolism in horses on different diets, exercise programs, and at different life stages remain obscure. Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key component of the protein synthesis pathway and is regulated by biological factors such as insulin and amino acid availability. Providing a diet ample in vital amino acids, such as leucine and gluta...
Belotta AF, Mayer MN, Waldner CL, Robinson K, Sidhu N, Carmalt J, Bell CD, Koehncke NK.The objective of this study was to report observed radiation safety practices among equine workers using portable X-ray units at 3 veterinary practices in Canada. Practice 1 was comprised of equine field service workers from an academic institution, whereas Practices 2 and 3 were comprised of workers from private equine referral practices. Out of 2969 exposure-worker observations, protective aprons were worn for > 99% (2968/2969), thyroid shields for 87% (2584/2969), and eyeglasses for 10% (310/2969). The cassette was held by hand for 97% (1078/1114) of observations, and the X-ray unit was ...
