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.
Fretz PB, McIlwraith CW.Five young horses with fetlock varus deformities of 8 degrees or greater were treated by means of wedge osteotomy of the distal end of the 3rd metacarpal or metatarsal bone. Three patients were admitted to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and 2 to Colorado State University. Their selection as surgical patients was based on the following criteria: (1) an angular limb deformity of 8 degrees or greater, (2) patient older than 120 days, (3) no evidence of lameness, and (4) no evidence of degenerative joint disease. The surgery was successful in all cases.
Miller RI.Although 'phycomycosis' is a common disease of horses in northern Australia little is known about the causative fungi. In this paper the laboratory methods for diagnosis are described. These revealed 38 cases caused by Pythium sp. (Hyphomyces destruens), 6 cases caused by Basidiobolus haptosporus and 2 caused by Conidiobolus coronatus. Laboratory studies on the chemotatic behaviour of zoospores of Pythium sp. showed that they were strongly attracted to both animal hairs and plant tissue. Because of this behaviour a simple baiting method using human hair was used to trap the fungus from water s...
Pellegrini A, Zweifel HR, von Fellenberg R.The alpha-2-protease inhibitor, of 65,000 daltons molecular weight, described by several authors in horse plasma and also present as a contaminant in alpha-1-isoinhibitor isolates previously described by us (Pellegrini & von Fellenberg (1980) Biochim. biophys. Acta 616, 351-361) has now been isolated to purity and identified as antithrombin III. The inhibitor is composed of a single polypeptide chain as judged by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The inhibitor was effective only against trypsin and thrombin. Serological cross-reaction existed between the inhibitor and the antiserum t...
Rice DA.The time it takes audible sound waves to travel across a lobe of excised horse lung was measured. Sound speed, which is the slope in the relationship between transit time and distance across the lobe, was estimated by linear regression analysis. Sound-speed estimates for air-filled lungs varied between 25 and 70 m/s, depending on lung volume. These speeds are less than 5% of sound speed in tissue and less than 20% of sound speed in air. Filling the lung with helium or sulfur hexafluoride, whose free-field sound speeds are 970 and 140 m/s, respectively, changed sound speed +/- 10% relative to a...
Wertz PW, Colton SW, Downing DT.The acylglucosylceramides were isolated from the polar lipids of horse epidermis and examined to determine whether the component omega-hydroxyacids are straight chained as in the corresponding lipids from pig epidermis or branched as in horse sebum. The hydroxyacids from horse epidermis were found to be almost entirely straight chained compounds. The results indicate that sebaceous glands, although derived from epidermal cells, have evolved independent pathways of lipid metabolism.
Piotrowski G, Sullivan M, Colahan PT.Paired equine metacarpals were harvested, cleaned and sectioned transversely every 20 mm, and the bone geometry analyzed with a computer program. The cross-sectional area is largest in the middle third of the bone, and tapers off at either end. The principal axes are typically within 15 degrees of the anatomical axis, with the distal end rotated internally relative to the proximal end. At midshafts the bending stiffness in the antero-posterior plane is about 2/3 of the stiffness in the medio-lateral plane. The torsional stiffness is highest proximally. The equine third metacarpal appears to be...
Putt W, Whitehouse DB.This paper reports genetic variation at the prealbumin (Pr), postalbumin (Pa) and transferrin (Tf) loci in Equus przewalskii found using thin layer isoelectric focusing and an amphoteric separator. The method resolves all three loci plus serum esterase (Es) on a single gel, and typing of all four loci is readily achieved. In addition to the esterase alleles previously reported by Fisher & Scott (1979), five alleles were found at the Pr locus, three at the Pa locus and six at the Tf locus. Analysis of several mating types confirms inheritance is autosomal and codominant for all four loci.
Pollitt CC, Bell K.The isoelectric points and the molecular weights of the major components of the eight Thoroughbred protease inhibitor (Pi) types have been determined by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing and polyacrylamide gel pore gradient (ISO-DALT) electrophoresis respectively. The major Pi proteins focus in the range pH 3.74-4.43 and have molecular weights ranging from 55 000-72 000 daltons. Using the ISO-DALT method of electrophoresis, protein maps for the eight Thoroughbred Pi types have been presented for the first time. None of the homozygous Pi types are identical except for the types S1 and S2 ...
Pösö AR, Soveri T, Oksanen HE.Serum enzyme activities, albumin, protein, urea, cholesterol, triglyceride, free fatty acid, glucose and lactate concentrations as well as hematocrit values were measured in standardbred and Finnish-bred horses at rest and after (i) a short controlled exercise and (ii) a trotting competition. There were no breed differences in the enzyme activities at rest and the 2 breeds responded in the same manner to the exercise. Only after the race proper significant increases in the enzyme activities were found. The activities rose more in the standardbred horses than in the Finnish-bred horses. Urea an...
Main AR.The kinetic and structural relationships of eight electrophoretically pure mammalian serum and liver serine carboxylesterases (CE) and cholinesterases (ChE) have been studied. Eight CE's and ChE's, which were fully resolved but only partially purified, provided additional information. Five of the electrophoretically pure esterases were monomeric, and of these, four belonged to a new and widely distributed class. These four monomeric esterases hydrolyzed choline esters, but at widely differing rates. Thus two were termed monomeric butyrylcholinesterases, mBuChE I and II, and two were monomeric ...
Côté GP.The non-muscle tropomyosins (TMs), isolated from such tissues as platelets, brain and thyroid, are structurally very similar to the muscle TMs, being composed of two highly alpha-helical subunits wound around each other to form a rod-like molecule. The non-muscle TMs are shorter than the muscle TMs; sequence analysis demonstrates that each subunit of equine platelet TM consists of 247 amino acids, 37 fewer than for skeletal muscle TM. The major differences in sequence between platelet and skeletal muscle TM are found near the amino and carboxyl terminal ends of the proteins. Probably as the re...
Heizmann CW, Berchtold MW, Rowlerson AM.The physiological role of the Ca2+-binding protein parvalbumin in skeletal muscle has been investigated by measuring the parvalbumin content by HPLC in a variety of mammalian muscles, including man, and comparing the results with the respective muscle relaxation properties and fiber type compositions. The parvalbumin concentrations were highest in the skeletal muscles of the smallest animal investigated (mouse, gastrocnemius: 4.9 g/kg), which has the highest relaxation speed, and lowest in the larger animals (horse, deep gluteal muscle: less than or equal to 0.001 g/kg) and man (vastus, tricep...
Cloonan MJ, O'Neill BJ, Vale TG, Carter IW, Williams JE.The sera of 468 blood donors and 63 domestic animals, collected from the south coast of New South Wales, were tested for the presence of antibodies to Ross River virus. Antibodies were detected in 7% of human sera, 25% of cow sera and 65% of horse sera. Using the blood donors as 'human sentinels', seroconversions were demonstrated in two donors from the Nowra-Kiama region and from a patient in the same area; none of the three had been outside of the study area during the period of seroconversion or at the time of infection. Of the 15 seropositive horses, 6 (40%) had lived continuously since bi...
Stormont CJ.The membrane of RBC is literally peppered with a great variety of antigenic determinants (blood factors). Some are fixed genetically, ie, they occur on the RBC of all members of the species under study. Others segregate genetically, ie, they occur on the RBC of some but not all members of the species under study. It is these segregrating determinants that form the blood groups proper, the classic example being blood factors A and B of the ABO system of human blood groups. The number of blood group determinants varies considerably between species (eg, greater than 80 in domestic cattle to only ...
Houghton E, Teale P, Dumasia MC, Wellby JK.The negative ion chemical ionization mass spectra of the MO-TMS derivatives of the corticosteroids prednisolone, betamethasone and dexamethasone have been obtained using capillary column gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The spectra showed abundant diagnostic ions at m/z greater than 300 allowing for clear discrimination between the three steroid derivatives. A capillary column gas chromatographic mass spectrometric method using negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry has been developed to confirm the presence of the parent steroids in horse urine following the administration of...
Holden-Douilly L, Pourcelot P, Chateau H, Falala S, Crevier-Denoix N.This article describes a method that allows estimating, with the 2D version of the direct linear transformation (DLT), the actual 2D coordinates of a point when the latter is not strictly in the calibration plane. Markers placed in vertical line, above, below and in the centre of a horizontal calibration plane were filmed by a moving camera. Without correction, strong errors (up to 64.5%) were noticed for markers out of the calibration plane. After correction, calculated coordinates were consistent with actual values (error < 0.55%). The method was then applied to slip distance measuremen...
Slais K, Nielen MW, Brinkman UA, Frei RW.Amphetamine-type drugs with a wide polarity range have been screened in both human and horse urine using on-line pre-concentration on pre-columns packed with hydrophobic and cation-exchange sorbents in series and gradient microbore high-performance liquid chromatography. The underivatized amphetamines were identified by UV detection at 210 nm. The method has potential for the automated liquid chromatographic screening of amphetamines in urine, e.g., for doping control.
Butudom P, Axiak SM, Nielsen BD, Eberhart SW, Schott HC.Body mass (BM), water intake (WI), and plasma osmolality (P(osm)) and electrolyte concentrations were measured in six 2-year-old Arabian horses provided either 4 l, 8 l, or an unlimited amount of water (UW) for drinking during the initial 5 min of recovery from 45-km of treadmill exercise. After weighing, horses were placed in a stall and further WI between 20 and 60 min of recovery was measured. During exercise, horses lost 3.3+/-0.3%, 3.2+/-0.1%, and 3.3+/-0.2% (P>.05) of BM and P(osm) increased by 7.2+/-0.5, 7.9+/-0.8, and 7.7+/-0.5 mOsm/kg (P>.05) for 4 l, 8 l, and UW, respectively. ...
Wingfield Digby NJ, Simons MA, Stockman MJ.Various type of insurance policies covering the risks against mortality, economic slaughter and loss of use, breeding failures and payment of veterinary fees are discussed. The role of the veterinary surgeon in supplying certificates of health and in relation to claims, including those involving destruction on humane grounds, are considered.
Jollès J, Donda A, Amiguet P, Jollès P.Mare lactotransferrin has been purified and analyzed. Its molecular mass is 81 kDa. A 28 amino acid long N-terminal sequence was established and a first series of comparisons with other transferrins was performed.