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.
Sargison N, Chambers A, Chaudhry U, Costa Júnior L, Doyle SR, Ehimiyein A, Evans M, Jennings A, Kelly R, Sargison F, Sinclair M, Zahid O.Understanding the composition of gastrointestinal nematode communities may help to mitigate or exploit parasite adaptations within their host. We have used nemabiome deep amplicon sequencing of internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) ribosomal DNA to describe the temporal and host species composition of gastrointestinal nematode communities following sampling of six Scottish ponies across 57 months. In the absence of parasite control, each horse showed seasonal trends of increases and decreases in faecal egg counts, consistent with the epidemiology of equine strongylid parasites, however, the c...
Cosso G, Carcangiu V, Luridiana S, Fiori S, Columbano N, Masala G, Careddu GM, Sanna Passino E, Mura MC.The goal of this study was to contribute to the general knowledge of the Sarcidano Horse, both by the identification of the genetic basis of the coat color and by updating the exact locations of the genotyping sites, based on the current EquCab3.0 genome assembly version. One-hundred Sarcidano Horses, living in semi-feral condition, have been captured to perform health and biometric checks. From that total number, 70 individual samples of whole blood were used for DNA extraction, aimed to characterize the genetic basis of the coat color. By genotyping and sequencing analyses of the Exon 1 and...
Rutberg AT, Turner JW, Herman K.To be effective and publicly acceptable, management of free-roaming horses and burros in the United States and elsewhere needs a consistent ethical framing of the animals and the land they occupy. In the U.S., the two laws that largely govern wild horse and burro management, the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act and the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act ("FLPMA"), rest on conflicting foundations, the former based on an ethic of care and the latter on largely utilitarian principles. These conflicts specifically fuel debates over the selection of appropriate fertility control ...
Nolte W, Alkhoder H, Wobbe M, Stock KF, Kalm E, Vosgerau S, Krattenmacher N, Thaller G, Tetens J, Kühn C.In horses, parentage control is currently performed based on an internationally standardized panel of 17 microsatellite (MS) markers comprising 12 mandatory and five optional markers. Unlike MS, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles support a wider portfolio of genomic applications, including parentage control. A transition to SNP-based parentage control is favorable, but requires additional efforts for ensuring generation-overlapping availability of marker genotypes of the same type. To avoid double genotyping of either parents or offspring for changing to SNP technology and enable ef...
Santos MM, Benvenuto GV, Ramos GV, Titotto AC, Adão MDS, de Lacerda LCC, Lisbôa JAN, Lacerda-Neto JC.During exercise, equines can suffer severe water and electrolyte imbalances depending on the intensity and duration. In this sense, conditioning aims to promote adaptations to the organism in order to maintain cardiovascular and thermoregulatory stability during exertion. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of conditioning guided by lactate minimum speed (LMS) test on the blood osmolality of horses. We hypothesized that after conditioning the blood osmolality would vary less during exercise and that LMS could be used in equine conditioning program. Ten Arabian horses were evaluated before ...
Luthersson N, Ýr Þorgrímsdóttir Ú, Harris PA, Parkins T, Bennet ED.To investigate equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) in Icelandic horses moving from pasture into training. 81 horses (median age, 3 years; interquartile range, 1 year) from 10 farms representing 4 different Icelandic regions. Initial gastroscopy was undertaken within 2 weeks of moving from pasture into a training establishment. A total of 71 horses underwent endoscopic examination again 8 weeks later. Various management and behavioral factors were assessed through face-to-face questionnaires with the owners or trainers. Multivariable logistic regre...
Radovic L, Remer V, Krcal C, Rigler D, Brem G, Rayane A, Driss K, Benamar M, Machmoum M, Piro M, Krischke D, Butler-Wemken IV, Wallner B.In horses, demographic patterns are complex due to historical migrations and eventful breeding histories. Particularly puzzling is the ancestry of the North African horse, a founding horse breed, shaped by numerous influences throughout history. A genetic marker particularly suitable to investigate the paternal demographic history of populations is the non-recombining male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY). Using a recently established horse MSY haplotype (HT) topology and KASP™ genotyping, we illustrate MSY HT spectra of 119 Barb and Arab-Barb males, collected from the Maghreb regio...
Open life sciencesSeptember 26, 2022
Volume 17, Issue 1 1269-1281 doi: 10.1515/biol-2022-0487
Pan J, Purev C, Zhao H, Zhang Z, Wang F, Wendoule N, Qi G, Liu Y, Zhou H.The Mongolian horses have excellent endurance and stress resistance to adapt to the cold and harsh plateau conditions. Intraspecific genetic diversity is mainly embodied in various genetic advantages of different branches of the Mongolian horse. Since people pay progressive attention to the athletic performance of horse, we expect to guide the exercise-oriented breeding of horses through genomics research. We obtained the clean data of 630,535,376,400 bp through the entire genome second-generation sequencing for the whole blood of four Abaga horses and ten Wushen horses. Based on the data an...
Guo R, Zhang S, Chen J, Shen W, Zhang G, Wang J, Zhang F, Pan Q, Xie T, Ai D, Dong J, Suo J, Sun Y, Liu S.Donkeys' gut microbe is critical for their health and adaptation to the environment. Little research has been conducted on the donkey gut microbiome compared with other domestic animals. The Tibetan Plateau is an extreme environment. In this study, 6 Qinghai donkeys (QH) from the Tibetan Plateau and 6 Dezhou donkeys (DZ) were investigated, and the contents of 4 parts-stomach, small intestine, cecum, and rectum-were collected. 16S rRNA sequencing and metagenomic sequencing were used to analyze the composition and diversity of gut microbial communities in donkeys. The results showed that the flo...
Suminda GGD, Bhandari S, Won Y, Goutam U, Kanth Pulicherla K, Son YO, Ghosh M.Increasing globalization, agricultural intensification, urbanization, and climatic changes have resulted in a significant recent increase in emerging infectious zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are becoming more common, so innovative, effective, and integrative research is required to better understand their transmission, ecological implications, and dynamics at wildlife-human interfaces. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) methodologies have enormous potential for unraveling these contingencies and improving our understanding, but they are only now beginning to be realized in livestock resea...
Morley M, Loeb J.As Malcolm Morley becomes BVA president for 2022/23, Josh Loeb chats to him about his love for horses and why the veterinary profession is actually a human-centred business.
Quirino M, Jakop U, Mellagi APG, Bortolozzo FP, Jung M, Schulze M.For a more practically applicable analysis of different sperm characteristics, this study aimed to develop a 5-color flow cytometry (FC) panel to concurrently analyze four sperm parameters in liquid boar and stallion semen, using also a DNA-marker for selecting sperm cell events. From each of thirty extended boar semen doses and twelve stallion semen doses, six aliquots were taken. For evaluating mitochondrial activity (A), degree of lipid disorder of plasma membrane (B), integrity of plasma membrane (C), acrosomal status (D) and marking DNA (E), five aliquots were individually stained with Rh...
Songsri J, Mala W, Wisessombat S, Siritham K, Cheha S, Noisa N, Wongtawan T, Klangbud WK. O157:H7 is enterohemorrhagic , which produces verocytotoxin or Shiga toxin. It is a well-known cause of severe diseases in humans worldwide. Cattle and other ruminants are the main reservoirs of this organism. Sports animals, such as fighting bulls, riding horses, and fighting cocks, are economic animals in Southern Thailand. This study aimed to identify O157:H7 from the rectal swabs of these sports animals and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolated bacteria. Unassigned: The rectal swabs were collected from 34 fighting bulls, 32 riding horses, and 31 fighting cocks. ...
O'Reilly GC, Holman DB, Muscat K, Muscatello G, Parra MC, Meale SJ, Chaves AV.A foal undergoes considerable growth and development from birth to weaning, progressing from a milk-based diet to complete herbivory. The symbiotic relationships between bacteria, archaea and fungi substantiate this energy demand by colonising the hindgut and remaining flexible throughout the diet transitions. A total of 70 faecal samples were collected from 14 mares and their foals across five studs in NSW as they aged from 0 to 5 months old. DNA was extracted from faecal samples and underwent amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene V4 hypervariable region of archaea and bacteria, a...
Arango-Sabogal JC, Mouncey R, de Mestre AM, Verheyen K.Thoroughbred breeders aim to have foals born early in the season, but scientific evidence on the advantages for race performance is scarce and contradictory. Unassigned: The association between date of birth and purchase price as foal/yearling, with race performance by the end of the second and third years of life of Thoroughbreds racing in flat races in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland (IRE) was assessed using negative binomial and zero-inflated negative binomial models on the entire 2014-2015 UK/IRE foal crops ( = 28,282). Unassigned: In total, 6666 and 9456 horses raced in UK/IRE flat r...
Cao X, Qiu X, Shi N, Ha Z, Zhang H, Xie Y, Wang P, Zhu X, Zhao W, Zhao G, Jin N, Lu H.Getah virus (GETV) is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the genus of the family . Natural infections of GETV have been identified in a variety of vertebrate species, with pathogenicity mainly in swine, horses, bovines, and foxes. The increasing spectrum of infection and the characteristic causing abortions in pregnant animals pose a serious threat to public health and the livestock economy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a method that can be used for epidemiological investigation in multiple animals. In this study, a real-time reverse tr...
The measure of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is becoming an emerging approach to monitor mid-/long-term stress in animals, so it is more and more important to develop accurate and reliable methods. In the light of this, the aim of the present study was to compare mane HCCs of 47 horses with different managements, by means of an immunoassay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). After the washing step, the ground hair was extracted with methanol. The extract was evaporated and redissolved in two different aqueous solutions, depend...
Bartolomé E, Perdomo-González DI, Ripollés-Lobo M, Valera M.Horses have been valued for their diversity of coat color since prehistoric times. In particular, the pleiotropic effect that coat color genes have on behavior determines the way the horse perceives and reacts to its environment. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of coat color on basal reactivity assessed with infrared thermography as eye temperature at rest (ETR), determine their relation with the results obtained by these horses in Show Jumping competitions and to estimate the genetic parameters for this variable to test its suitability for genetic selection. A Gene...
Pomorska-Zniszczyńska A, Szczepanik M, Adamczyk N, Tarach M.Videodermoscopy is a method that enables the examination of many parameters of the skin and its structures. The aim of this study was to assess specific dermoscopic parameters in purebred Arabian horses during the summer. The study involved 21 clinically healthy purebred Arabian horses (18 mares and three stallions) that had not been used for breeding and were 1 to 25 years old. The videoderoscopic evaluation was performed on seven selected areas of the body: forehead, mane, neck, chest, flank, rump, and tail. The tests were carried out with Vidix and Olympus cellSens specialised software. Vid...
Munday JS, Knight CG, Luff JA.Papillomaviruses (PVs) are well recognized to cause pre-neoplastic and neoplastic diseases in humans. Similarly, there is increasing evidence that PVs play a significant role in the development of pre-neoplastic and neoplastic diseases of the haired skin of dogs and cats, and the mucosa of horses. As the mechanisms by which PVs cause neoplasia are well studied in humans, it is valuable to compare the PV-induced neoplasms of humans with similar PV-associated neoplasms in the companion animal species. In the second part of this comparative review, the pre-neoplastic and neoplastic diseases thoug...
Ojima Y, Torii S, Maeda Y, Matsuura A.Heat stress is serious problem for livestock. While riding horses and racehorses spend the majority of their days in stalls, there are few reports on effective methods for reducing stall heat stress. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an ice horse blanket in hot and humid environments. Twenty healthy horses were measured first without the blanket (C) and then measured with the blanket (IB), or vice versa, in a cross-over trial. The blanket was designed to keep cooling the front back, the rear back, and the loin. Skin surface temperature, respiratory rate, rectal ...
Behnke T, Street P, Davies S, Ouyang JQ, Sedinger JS.Non-native ungulate grazing has negatively impacted native species across the globe, leading to massive loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite their pervasiveness, interactions between non-native grazers and native species are not fully understood. We often observe declines in demography or survival of these native species, but lack understanding about the mechanisms underlying these declines. Physiological stress represents one mechanism of (mal)adaptation, but data are sparse. We investigated glucocorticoid levels in a native avian herbivore exposed to different intensities of ...
Munday JS, Knight CG, Luff JA.Papillomaviruses (PVs) cause disease in humans, dogs, cats, and horses. While there are some differences, many aspects of the pathogenesis, presentation, and treatment of these diseases are similar between the four species. In this review, the PV-induced diseases of humans are compared to the similar diseases that develop in the companion animal species. By comparing with the human diseases, it is possible to make assumptions about some of the less common and less well-studied diseases in the veterinary species. In the first part of this review, the PV lifecycle is discussed along with the cla...
Sangal V, Goodfellow M, Jones AL, Sutcliffe IC.Opinion 106 of the Judicial Commission has clarified the nomenclature of the taxon variously named , ' and . As a consequence, we present here the genus name and that of its nomenclatural type species, comb. nov., for valid publication and propose the reclassification of four rhodococcal species as novel combinations in the genus, namely Guo et al. 2015 comb. nov., Kämpfer . 2014 comb. nov., Li . 2015 comb. nov. and Lee . 2019 comb. nov. In addition, we note that a clinical isolate, strain 86-07 (=W8901), likely represents an additional species within the genus . Nearly a century after ...
Rowland M, Hudson N, Connor M, Dwyer C, Coombs T.Travellers and Gypsies are recognised ethnic groups in the UK and Ireland. Horse ownership is an important cultural tradition, however, practices associated with poor welfare are often perceived to be linked to these horse owning communities. Despite this, empirical studies on the welfare status of Traveller and Gypsy owned horses are lacking. To determine the welfare status of Traveller and Gypsy owned horses, 104 horses were assessed using a bespoke horse welfare protocol. This protocol assessed animal, resource and management-based measures. In addition, Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QB...
Kau S, Motter KS, Moser VJ, Kunz JR, Pellachin M, Hartl B.Incisor malocclusions are common in horses. As yet, an evidence-based understanding of incisor occlusal surface angle dynamics and normocclusal range is missing. Orthodontic measuring devices could help unravel this information objectively but imply measurement validation. We evaluated intra- and interexaminer variability of repeated sagittal and transversal incisor occlusal surface angle measures using a commercial orthodontic gauge device (). Five examiners (two experienced, three inexperienced) measured six cadaver heads on 2 consecutive days in a blinded block-randomization design, resulti...
Bao W, Yu J, He Y, Liu M, Yang X.The intestinal flora has a variety of physiological functions involved in the regulation of host metabolism, immunity and endocrinology, and plays an important role in maintaining the health of the host. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the intestinal bacterial diversity and their gene functions in three equine species of the genus Shetland Pony (SP), Mongolian Wild Ass (MA), and Plain Zebra (PZ) in captivity in two wildlife parks in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The results showed that only the SP intestinal bacterial abundance index (Chao1) w...
Perdomo-González DI, García de Paredes RLA, Valera M, Bartolomé E, Gómez MD.The studbook of Pura Raza Menorquina horses only permits the use of black-coated animals with a small quantity of white marks as breeding stock. Its breeding program uses linear morpho-functional traits as selection criteria. Our aim was to estimate the genetic parameters of linear morpho-functional traits, and reveal relationship of quality of black coat color (QB) and percentage of white marks (WM) with the other morphological and functional linear traits in this breed. A total of 46 linear traits were scored by four appraisers using seven classes, with a total of 772 records from 333 animal...
Brosnahan MM, Paradis MR.To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics, management practices, and owner perception of a population of geriatric horses, and to compare these data with findings in a group of younger horses. Methods: Original study. Methods: 218 horses. Methods: Data were collected via a survey tool from owners of 165 horses that were > or = 20 years of age and 53 horses that were < 20 years of age. Results: Compared with young horses, the geriatric group included a significantly greater number of ponies; geriatric horses were also more likely to have a history of colic, dental disease, ...
Fortier LA, Nixon AJ, Lust G.To assess the effects of supraphysiologic concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on morphologic and phenotypic responses of chondrocytes. Methods: Articular cartilage obtained from 2 young horses. Methods: Chondrocytes were suspended in fibrin cultures and supplemented with 25, 12.5, or 0 mg of IGF-1/ml of fibrin. Chondrocyte morphology and phenotypic expression were assessed histologically, using H&E and Alcian blue stains, immunoreaction to collagen type I and II, and in situ hybridization. Proteoglycan content, synthesis, and monomer size were analyzed. The DNA content w...
Fazio E, Medica P, Cravana C, Aveni F, Ferlazzo A.In order to evaluate the effects of short transportation on β-endorphin, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol changes, 12 healthy stallions of Equidae (Equus asinus and Equus caballus) were studied before and after transportation of 50 km. Blood samples were collected 1 week before transportation in basal conditions, immediately before loading and after transportation and unloading, on their arrival at the breeding station. Compared to basal and before values, donkeys showed an increase in circulating ACTH (P < 0.001) and cortisol (P < 0.0005) levels after transportation and ...
Aranguren-Méndez J, Jordana J, Gomez M.Genetic diversity at 13 equine microsatellite loci was compared in five endangered Spanish donkey breeds: Andaluza, Catalana, Mallorquina, Encartaciones and Zamorano-Leonesa. All of the equine microsatellites used in this study were amplified and were polymorphic in the domestic donkey breeds with the exception of HMS1, which was monomorphic, and ASB2, which failed to amplify. Allele number, frequency distributions and mean heterozygosities were very similar among the Spanish donkey breeds. The unbiased expected heterozygosity (H(E)) over all the populations varied between 0.637 and 0.684 in t...
Gramm M, Marksteiner R.Using a dataset of 274 male Thoroughbred racehorses in the United States, we study the effect of age on racing performance. Beyer speed figures, which are uniform measures of racing performance across distance and racing surface, are utilized in this study. A system of equations is estimated to determine quadratic improvement and decline in racing performance. We find that a typical horse's peak racing age is 4.45 years. The rate of improvement from age 2 to 4 1/2 is greater than the rate of decline after age 4 1/2. A typical horse will improve by 10 (horse) lengths in sprints (less than 1 mil...
Tyler CM, Golland LC, Evans DL, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.Thirteen standard-bred horses were trained intensively for 34 weeks and detrained for 6 weeks to study skeletal muscle adaptations to prolonged training, overtraining and detraining. Training included endurance (phase 1, 7 weeks), high-intensity (phase 2, 9 weeks) and overload training (OLT) (phase 3, 18 weeks). During phase 3, horses were divided into two groups, OLT and control (C), with OLT horses performing greater intensities and durations of exercise than C horses. Overtraining was evident in OLT horses after week 31 and was defined as a significant reduction in treadmill run time in res...
Science (New York, N.Y.)April 16, 1965
Volume 148, Issue 3668 382-383 doi: 10.1126/science.148.3668.382
BENIRSCHKE K, MALOUF N, LOW RJ, HECK H.The chromosome number of the domestic horse is 2n = 64; different races have the same complement. The chromosomes of two Przewalski's horses (at Catskill Game Farm, New York), presumably ancestral wild horses from Mongolia, are identical: 2n = 66, with more acrocentric and fewer metacentric elements than the chromosomes of the domestic horse. This apparent difference in karyotype may help resolve the questions of "purity" in the relatively few remaining Przewalski's horses. Moreover, these findings are of interest in relation to the apparent fertility of hybrids between these species.
Sung SE, Hwang M, Kim AY, Lee EM, Lee EJ, Hwang SK, Kim SY, Kim HK, Jeong KS.Mesenchymal stem cells could potentially be used in the clinical treatment of muscle disorders and muscle regeneration. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) can be easily isolated from adipose tissue, as opposed to stem cells of other tissues. We believe that cell therapy using ADSCs could be applied to muscle disorders in horses and other species. We sought to improve the myogenic differentiation potential of equine ADSCs (eqADSCs) using a MyoD lentiviral vector. MyoD lentiviruses were transduced into eqADSCs and selected using puromycin. Cells were cultured in differentiation media containing ...
Sykes BW, Kathawala K, Song Y, Garg S, Page SW, Underwood C, Mills PC.Pilot investigations have suggested that a novel, long-acting, injectable i.m. formulation of omeprazole (LA-OMEP) can induce acid suppression for up to 7 days following a single injection. Objective: To investigate the pharmacodynamics and assess the clinical efficacy of the LA-OMEP formulation. Methods: Part A comprised a pharmacodynamic study. Part B consisted of a pilot clinical trial. Methods: Part A enrolled six adult Thoroughbred horses with percutaneous gastrotomy tubes. Intragastric pH was measured for continuous 23-h periods (08.00-07.00 h) for eight consecutive days (days 0-7). A si...
Arrazola A, Merkies K.Equine-assisted activities (EAA) for human well-being and health rely on human-horse interactions for therapeutic effect. At-risk participants with mental and emotional difficulties can show poor social skills and functioning relationships, potentially leading to unsuccessful human-horse interaction in EAA. This study addresses the effect of the attachment style (AS) of at-risk adolescents on horse physiology and behaviour during an equine-facilitated learning (EFL) program. Thirty-three adolescents participated in a 10-week EFL program with nine therapy horses (the same therapy horse per adol...
Smith R, Furtado T, Brigden C, Pinchbeck G, Perkins E.Human assessment of equine wellbeing is fundamental to ensuring the optimal care of domestic horses. However, terminology associated with wellbeing is still not fully defined and there are currently no validated quality of life (QoL) assessment tools. Furthermore, little is known about what equine wellbeing or QoL means to horse owners, or how their beliefs impact on the management decisions they make for their horse. This study sought to establish how UK leisure horse owners use wellbeing-related terminology by exploring their accounts within a focus group setting. Four online focus group dis...
Ivester KM, Smith K, Moore GE, Zimmerman NJ, Couëtilt LL.Exposure of horses to airborne particulates during stable confinement has been linked with airway inflammation in these animals. Understanding that link requires accurate measures of exposures and greater understanding of the sources of variability in these exposures. Objective: Area and breathing zone particulate concentrations were measured over time in order to determine the relative variability introduced by daily, monthly or between horse variations. Additionally, the relationship between area and breathing zone respirable particulate concentrations was examined. Methods: The study was co...
Celeste CJ, Deschene K, Riley CB, Theoret CL.Wound repair in horse limbs is often complicated by the development of exuberant granulation tissue (EGT) and excessive scarring while body wounds tend to repair uneventfully. EGT resembles the human keloid. While the events leading to keloid formation are not fully elucidated, tissue hypoxia has been proposed as a major contributing factor. The objective of this study was to investigate tissue oxygen saturation in healing full-thickness wounds created on the horse limb and body, using near-infrared spectroscopy. Spectroscopic reflectance data were collected from both anatomic sites at specifi...
Meny P, Menéndez C, Ashfield N, Quintero J, Rios C, Iglesias T, Schelotto F, Varela G.Leptospirosis is important in Uruguay due to the economic loss caused by the diseases of production animals, mainly bovines, and also due to frequent human infection. We decided to study anti-Leptospira antibodies in the sera of dairy workers, rice laborers, veterinarians, suburban slum dwellers and garbage recyclers. Our aims were to estimate the seroprevalence of infection by Leptospira spp. in these people at risk, the relative importance of the known risk factors associated with infection, and the impact of human infections in each setting. Groups at risk were identified and 35 visits to t...
Bampidis V, Azimonti G, Bastos ML, Christensen H, Durjava M, Kouba M, López-Alonso M, López Puente S, Marcon F, Mayo B, Pechová A, Petkova M....Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of an essential oil from the leaves of L. (laurel leaf oil), when used as a sensory additive for all animal species. The additive contains up to 4% methyleugenol. The use of the additive at 2 mg/kg complete feed in dogs and cats was considered of low concern. For other long-living and reproductive animals, the use of the additive at 10 mg/kg was considered of concern. For short-living animal...
Gharekhani J, Yakhchali M, Berahmat R.Knowledge on neosporosis and associated risk factors in different species of animals are so important for designing the control programs and reduce the economic losses globally. This literature review targeted for evaluating the infection rate of in animals in Iran. Until April 2020, all of published documents in the main English and Persian-language databases were searched. A total number of 110 documents (English = 85 and Persian = 25) were extracted. Most of reports were sero-epidemiological studies using ELISA in Iranian cattle population. The range of infection was 3.8-76.2% in ...
Mazzola SM, Colombani C, Pizzamiglio G, Cannas S, Palestrini C, Costa ED, Gazzonis AL, Bionda A, Crepaldi P.The satisfaction of leisure horses' behavioral needs has begun to be considered a priority, linked to the awareness that horses kept in single boxes may be deprived of social contact and the possibility to perform natural behaviors. Several factors may influence horses' quality of life also in the paddock, and there are very few data on the effects of those variables on leisure horses' chronic stress, measurable in terms of activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. Therefore, managerial choices faced by owners and stables managers are only based on experience, common sense,...
Guy PS, Snow DH.1. Percutaneous needle biopsies were obtained from six limb muscles in six horses before and during a training programme of 10 or 15 weeks designed to involve both aerobic and anaerobic work. In a subsequent detraining period, biopsies were also taken after 5 and 10 weeks. 2. Samples were analysed biochemically for enzyme activity of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), aldolase (ALD), citrate synthase (CS), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and for glycogen content. Fibre typing was carried out histochemically before and 10 weeks after c...
Frischknecht M, Flury C, Leeb T, Rieder S, Neuditschko M.Shetland ponies were selected for numerous traits including small stature, strength, hardiness and longevity. Despite the different selection criteria, Shetland ponies are well known for their small stature. We performed a selection signature analysis including genome-wide SNPs of 75 Shetland ponies and 76 large-sized horses. Based upon this dataset, we identified a selection signature on equine chromosome (ECA) 1 between 103.8 Mb and 108.5 Mb. A total of 33 annotated genes are located within this interval including the IGF1R gene at 104.2 Mb and the ADAMTS17 gene at 105.4 Mb. These two ge...
Bussiman FO, Perez BC, Ventura RV, Peixoto MGCD, Curi RA, Balieiro JCC.Genetic improvement, without control of inbreeding, can go to loss of genetic variability, reducing the potential for genetic gains in the domestic populations. The aim of this study was to analyze the population structure and the inbreeding depression in Campolina horses. Phenotype information from 43 465 individuals was analyzed, data provided by the Campolina Breeders Association. A pedigree file containing 107 951 horses was used to connected the phenotyped individuals. The inbreeding coefficient was performed by use of the diagonal of the relationship matrix and the genealogical parameter...
Greco-Otto P, Bond S, Sides R, Kwong GPS, Bayly W, Léguillette R.Despite the use of water treadmills (WT) in conditioning horses, the intensity of WT exercise has not been well documented. The workload on a WT is a function of water height and treadmill speed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of these factors on workload during WT exercise. Fifteen client-owned Quarter Horses were used in a randomized, controlled study. Three belt speeds and three water heights (mid cannon, carpus and stifle), along with the control condition (dry treadmill, all three speeds), were tested. Measured outcomes were oxygen consumption (V̇O2), v...
Sumbria D, Das Singla L, Sharma A.A cross-sectional study was conducted in Submountain undulating, Undulating plain, Western and Western plain agro-climatic zones of Punjab province, India, to determine the prevalence, agreement between diagnostic tests and associated related risk factors of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infection in equids (horses, donkey, mules). An overall prevalence of 14.14 and 0.0% of T. equi and B. caballi was recorded by multiplex polymerase chain reaction targeting 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) for both the parasites and 75 and 1.11% by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a representative...
Barrey E, Galloux P, Valette JP, Auvinet B, Wolter R.The purpose of this study was to compare the velocity-dependent changes in stride length and stride frequency of horses performing the same incremental exercise test first on a track with a rider and then on a treadmill with a 0 and 3.5% slope successively. Seven French saddle horses undertook the exercise test which consisted of 5 stages of increasing speed for 3 min each with 1 min rest between each stage (1.6, 4.2, 8.3, 9.2 and 10 m/s). The horses were recorded by use of a video camera, and the tapes were analysed with regard to gait parameters. At 1.6, 8.3, 9.2 and 10 m/s, stride frequenci...
Schaefer E, Harms C, Viner M, Barnum S, Pusterla N.Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is a recently reported enteric disease of adult horses. Natural infection by ECoV has been reported in adult horses worldwide, whereas experimental infection has only been reported in juvenile horses. An experimental infection model is needed to study the clinical presentation, laboratory abnormalities, and pathophysiological changes associated with ECoV. Objective: To investigate the clinical, hematologic, molecular, and serological features of adult horses experimentally infected with ECoV. Methods: Eight adult horses. Methods: Four horses were intragastrically infe...
Weishaupt MA, Wiestner T, von Peinen K, Waldern N, Roepstorff L, van Weeren R, Meyer H, Johnston C.Little is known in quantitative terms about the influence of different head-neck positions (HNPs) on the loading pattern of the locomotor apparatus. Therefore it is difficult to predict whether a specific riding technique is beneficial for the horse or if it may increase the risk for injury. Objective: To improve the understanding of forelimb-hindlimb balance and its underlying temporal changes in relation to different head and neck positions. Methods: Vertical ground reaction force and time parameters of each limb were measured in 7 high level dressage horses while being ridden at walk and tr...
Elelu N.Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) caused by the bacteria Borrelia, is poorly documented in veterinary medicine. Given the widespread presence of the soft tick vectors - Ornithodoros and the recently discovered hard tick vectors, as well as their close association with animal hosts, it is highly likely that infection occurs, but is rarely reported to be of veterinary importance. Sporadic reports of canine infection, some being fatal through to probable cause of abortion in horses have been published. Some of these pathogens exist in regions where there are limited diagnostic facilities, hence, ...
Wickler SJ, Hoyt DF, Cogger EA, Hirschbein MH.Preferred speed is the behavioral tendency of animals to utilize a relatively narrow set of speeds near the middle of a much broader range that they are capable of using within a particular gait. Possible explanations for this behavior include minimizing musculoskeletal stresses and maximizing energetic economy. If preferred speed is determined by energetic economy (cost of transport, C(T)), then shifts in preferred speed should produce shifts in C(T). To test this hypothesis, preferred speeds were measured in trotting horses on the level and on an incline. The preferred trotting speed decreas...
Payne RC, Sukanto IP, Djauhari D, Partoutomo S, Wilson AJ, Jones TW, Boid R, Luckins AG.Cattle, buffaloes and horses in several areas of Indonesia were examined for evidence of infection with Trypanosoma evansi by the microhaematocrit centrifugation technique (MHCT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies to T. evansi. Evidence of infection was found in animals at each sampling site although differences were seen in prevalence rates between sites. Prevalence rates in buffalo were usually higher than in cattle in the same area while in horses they were much lower than in cattle or buffalo. An age-dependent prevalence rate was seen in buffalo an...
Bártová E, Sedlák K, Syrová M, Literák I.During January 2007, blood samples were collected from 552 healthy horses from nine different regions of the Czech Republic. Sera were tested for serum antibodies to Neospora caninum by a competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed by an indirect fluorescent antibody test. The same samples were tested for serum antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii by a latex agglutination test. In total, 131 of 552 (24%) horses reacted positively for Neospora antibodies in competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; seven of them had > or =50% of inhibition. Samples wer...
Talluri TR, Mal G, Ravi SK.To investigate various biochemical components of seminal plasma in Marwari stallions and Poitou Jacks and to find out their correlation with that of the seminal characteristics. Methods: In this study, semen was collected from six Marwari stallions and six Poitou jacks aged from 4 to 6 years and with known fertility status. The semen collection from the stallions were collected during the breeding season, i.e., between the months of April and June. From the collected semen ejaculates, we estimated the values of some biochemical components, viz., total protein content, total lipid content, and ...