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.
Kramer KJ, Kagan IA, Lawrence LM, Goff BM, Smith SR.An excess of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSCs) can present a risk for horses prone to pasture-associated laminitis or some other metabolic conditions. Determining WSC concentrations in commonly grazed cool-season grasses, at different times of day and under different fertilization treatments, can help optimize grazing times and management strategies. The goals of this study were to develop a near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) calibration curve for WSC and to apply it to four cool-season grass species. Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, orchardgrass, and perennial ryegrass (10 cultiva...
The Journal of heredityApril 4, 2020
Volume 111, Issue 3 287-293 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esaa009
Magdesian KG, Tanaka J, Bellone RR.Splashed white is a coat color pattern in horses characterized by extensive white patterning on the legs, belly, and face often accompanied by blue eyes and deafness. Three mutations in microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and two mutations in Paired Box 3 (PAX3) have been identified that explain splashed white patterns (SW1-SW5). An American Paint Horse stallion with a splashed white phenotype and blue eyes, whose parents were not white patterned, was negative for the 5 known splashed white variants and other known white spotting alleles. This novel splashed white phenotype (...
Lhermie G, La Ragione RM, Weese JS, Olsen JE, Christensen JP, Guardabassi L.Among the measures taken to preserve the clinical efficacy of highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HP-CIAs), the WHO has recommended avoiding their use in food-producing animals. Little is known regarding the indications for which different antimicrobial classes are used in animals, even in countries where data on antimicrobial use are available. To outline, in a narrative review, the diseases for which HP-CIAs are used in veterinary medicine, highlighting incongruences with international guidelines and disease conditions where effective alternatives to HP-CIAs are missing. Sc...
Yongfeng Y, Xiaobo S, Nan X, Jingwen Z, Wenqiang L.To monitor the occurrence of equine influenza in large-scale donkey farms in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, serological investigation and sequence analysis of HA/M protein gene of equine influenza virus (EIV) were carried out. Samples (n = 65) of the lung and nasal swab were collected in six different large-scale donkey farms and detected with RT-PCR for HA and M protein gene. The homology and evolution of HA and M genes were analysed with known sequences. Antibody titres of serum samples (n = 120, unvaccinated) level was determined by the HI test. The average seropositive rate was 32....
Day P, Collins L, Horan K, Weller R, Pfau T.Tungsten road nails are commonly used by farriers to increase grip between the hoof and the ground surface. There is limited evidence relating the use of road nails to the fundamental mechanics of movement. Grip is important for efficient deceleration on landing and subsequent propulsion, but this must be balanced against an amount of slip to divide the landing force into horizontal as well as vertical subcomponents. Here, we conducted an intervention study to quantify the effect of lateral heel road nail placement on weight bearing and propulsion in 10 horses trotting on tarmac. Wireless iner...
Jaworska J, Jaworski Z, McDonnell SM, Górecka-Bruzda A.Infanticide, related to a stallion's aggression toward a foal sired by another stallion, and feticide related to a new stallion's aggression and/or pheromonal influence (the Bruce effect) inducing loss of a fetus sired by another stallion, a female's counteraction to infanticide, have been proposed for domestic horses (Equus caballus) in human-managed conditions. The aim of the present study was, in conditions close to natural, to investigate the influence of the natural succession of a harem stallion on the mares' subsequent reproductive performance. In a population of semi-feral Konik polski...
Gurgul A, Jasielczuk I, Semik-Gurgul E, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Szmatoła T, Polak G, Bugno-Poniewierska M.The current role of the horse as a companion animal resulted in a decrease of interest in breeding and usage of draft horses. This meant that the population of cold-blooded horses in Poland has been dramatically reduced during the last decades. To avoid impoverishment of the gene pool of the local horse population, a conservation program was established which involves draft horses and other local horse breeds. The draft horses bred in Poland can be subdivided in a few horse types of which the most widespread and consolidated are Sztumski and Sokólski horses. These two subpopulations are pheno...
de Lagarde M, Fairbrother JM, Arsenault J.Although antimicrobial resistance is an increasing threat in equine medicine, molecular and epidemiological data remain limited in North America. We assessed the prevalence of, and risk factors for, shedding multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and/or AmpC β-lactamase-producing in healthy horses in Quebec, Canada. We collected fecal samples in 225 healthy adult horses from 32 premises. A questionnaire on facility management and horse medical history was completed for each horse. Indicator (without enrichment) and specific (following enrichment with ceftriaxone)...
Edwards JE, Schennink A, Burden F, Long S, van Doorn DA, Pellikaan WF, Dijkstra J, Saccenti E, Smidt H.Compared to horses and ponies, donkeys have increased degradation of dietary fiber. The longer total mean retention time of feed in the donkey gut has been proposed to be the basis of this, because of the increased time available for feed to be acted upon by enzymes and the gut microbiota. However, differences in terms of microbial concentrations and/or community composition in the hindgut may also underpin the increased degradation of fiber in donkeys. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess if differences existed between the fecal microbiota of pony, donkey and hybrids derived from them (...
Szemplinski KL, Thompson A, Cherry N, Guay K, Smith WB, Brady J, Jones T.The objective of this study was to determine if transportation and exercise stress in horses affect the microflora populations in the equine hindgut. Four horses were subjected to three transport periods (0, 3, and 6 hours) with a 7-d rest period between each transport. Horses were fed 0.91 kg/day of Purina Impact All Stages 12% and had ad libitum access to Cynodon dactylon (Coastal Bermudagrass) hay. Fecal samples were collected before (0 hours) and after (48 hours) transport. In addition, three horses underwent a different standardized exercise test with a 7-d rest period between each ex...
Tang L, Li Y, Srivathsan A, Gao Y, Li K, Hu D, Zhang D.Captivity maybe the only choice for survival of many endangered vertebrates, and understanding its broad effects is important for animal management and conservation, including breeding endangered species for subsequent release. Extreme environmental changes during captivity may influence survival ability in the wild. Captivity decreases gut bacterial diversity in a wide range of animals. However, most studies directly compare animals living in captivity with those in the wild, and there is a lack of understanding of effects of gradient shift in lifestyle during species reintroduction based on ...
Mok CH, Urschel KL.Evaluating amino acid requirements, specifically threonine requirements, in horses will enable better feed formulation and result in economic production, improved animal health, and reduced environmental pollution. However, the current knowledge of protein and amino acid requirements in horses is still limited. Because horses have a unique digestive system and consume a variety of feed ingredients, their protein digestibility may be affected than other species by different feed composition, and thus amino acid requirements are susceptible to vary between situations. Therefore, a careful evalua...
Trösch M, Pellon S, Cuzol F, Parias C, Nowak R, Calandreau L, Lansade L.Animals can indirectly gather meaningful information about other individuals by eavesdropping on their third-party interactions. In particular, eavesdropping can be used to indirectly attribute a negative or positive valence to an individual and to adjust one's future behavior towards that individual. Few studies have focused on this ability in nonhuman animals, especially in nonprimate species. Here, we investigated this ability for the first time in domestic horses (Equus caballus) by projecting videos of positive and negative interactions between an unknown human experimenter (a "positive" ...
Su S, Zhao Y, Liu Z, Liu G, Du M, Wu J, Bai D, Li B, Bou G, Zhang X, Dugarjaviin M.The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the health and metabolism of the host. Next-generation sequencing technology has enabled the characterization of the gut microbiota of several animal species. We analyzed the intestinal microbiota in six different parts of the gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of five Mongolian horses by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 hypervariable region. All horses were kept in the natural habitat of the Inner Mongolia grassland. Significant differences were observed among the microbiota compositions of the distinct GIT regions. In addition, while the mic...
Nakamura M, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Nakamura K, Rajabi-Toustani R, Ohba Y, Matsubara T, Takasu M.The Kiso horse is native to Japan and is on the verge of extinction. Here, we used microsatellites to characterize changes in their genetic diversity over time. We divided a population of Kiso horses that genotyped during 2007-2017 into three groups based on birth year: Group 1, 1980-1998 (70 horses); Group 2, 1999-2007 (61 horses); and Group 3, 2008-2017 (42 horses). We genotyped 31 microsatellites to calculate average number of alleles, observed heterozygosity, and expected heterozygosity. All indicators decreased across age groups. The results indicate that Kiso horses have been experiencin...
Morrison PK, Newbold CJ, Jones E, Worgan HJ, Grove-White DH, Dugdale AH, Barfoot C, Harris PA, Argo CM.Obesity is an important equine welfare issue. Whilst dietary restriction is the most effective weight-loss tool, individual animals range in their weight-loss propensity. Gastrointestinal-derived bacteria play a fundamental role in host-health and have been associated with obesity and weight-loss in other species. This study evaluated the faecal microbiome (next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA genes) of 15 obese Welsh Mountain pony mares, in the same 11-week period across 2 years (n = 8 Year 1; n = 7 Year 2). Following a 4-week acclimation period (pre-diet phase) during which t...
Lim QL, Tan YL, Ng WL, Yong CSY, Ismail A, Rovie-Ryan JJ, Rosli N, Annavi G.A molecular sexing method by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of a portion of the sex-determining region Y (SRY) and the zinc finger (ZF) gene, as well as six equine Y-chromosome-specific microsatellite markers, were tested in the Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus). While the microsatellite markers did not yield any male-specific amplicons for sex-typing, the SRY/ZF marker system produced reliable molecular sexing results by accurately sex-typing 31 reference Malayan tapirs, using whole blood, dried blood spot (DBS), or tissue samples as materials for DNA extraction. The marker syste...
Aune A, Fenner K, Wilson B, Cameron E, McLean A, McGreevy P.Horse trainers and riders may have preconceived ideas of horse temperament based solely on the sex of the horse. A study (n = 1233) of horse enthusiasts (75% of whom had more than 8 years of riding experience) revealed that riders prefer geldings over mares and stallions. While these data may reflect different sex preferences in horses used for sport, they may also reduce the chances of some horses reaching their performance potential. Further, an unfounded sex prejudice is likely to contribute to unconscious bias when perceiving unwanted behaviours, simplistically attributing them to demograp...
Weinert JR, Werner J, Williams CA.Field studies characterizing equine grazing activity primarily rely on observational protocols, limiting the quantity and accuracy of collected data. The objectives of this study were to validate an automated chew sensor technology, the EquiWatch System (EWS), for detecting grazing behaviors and to demonstrate potential applications of the EWS in equine grazing research. Eight mature standardbred mares were used in this study. EquiWatch System validation was completed in two phases: grazing time was evaluated in experiment 1 and chew counts in experiment 2. The correlation between visual obser...
Lönker NS, Fechner K, Wahed AAE.One Health (OH) is a crucial concept, where the interference between humans, animals and the environment matters. This review article focusses on the role of horses in maintaining the health of humans and the environment. Horses' impact on environmental health includes their influence on soil and the biodiversity of animal and plant species. Nevertheless, the effect of horses is not usually linear and several factors like plant-animal coevolutionary history, climate and animal density play significant roles. The long history of the relationship between horses and humans is shaped by the servic...
Lewis N, Hinrichs K, Leese HJ, McG Argo C, Brison DR, Sturmey R.Horses are one of the few species, beside humans, in which assisted reproductive technology has important clinical applications. Furthermore, the horse can serve as a valuable model for the study of comparative reproductive biology. Here we present the first comprehensive characterisation of energy metabolism and mitochondrial efficiency in equine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) during in vitro maturation (IVM), as determined using a combination of non-invasive consumption and release assays and mitochondrial function analysis. These data reveal notable species-specific differences in the rate...
Hausberger M, Lerch N, Guilbaud E, Stomp M, Grandgeorge M, Henry S, Lesimple C.Although the question of animal welfare has been an important source of concern in the scientific community for several decades, many aspects are still under debate. On-farm assessments have to be rapid, acceptable to farmers and safe for both the assessors and animals. They are thus very demanding, with multiple decisions to make, such as the choice of appropriate indicators, sampling methods and scoring. Research has moved from resource-based to animal-based criteria, which reflects the subjective welfare state of an animal rather than relying upon external indices. In the present review, we...
Waller BM, Julle-Daniere E, Micheletta J.Darwin observed that form, and in his view, meaning, of facial behaviour (observable changes in the appearance of the face, often termed facial 'expression') is similar between a wide range of species and concluded that this must be due to a shared ancestral origin. Yet, as with all social behaviours, exactly how to define similarity and determine homology is debated. Facial behaviour is linked to specific facial muscle movements, so one important factor in determining homology is the anatomical basis of facial behaviours that appear similar in both appearance and social function. The Facial A...
Bai H, Lu H, Wang L, Wang S, Zeng W, Zhang T.Ningqiang pony is one of the five pony breeds in China and is listed as a rare species. It is, therefore, meaningful to conduct stature research on this breed for its efficient reproduction, utilization and protection. This study is based on four SNP variants of adjacent LCORL/NCAPG, HMGA2, ZFAT and LASP1 genes, which have been found to be associated with horse height, and then, the 4 SNP loci in 22 Ningqiang ponies were analyzed. The results showed that there were genetic variations at the four loci in Ningqiang pony, there was a SNP on LCORL/NCAPG, HMGA2 and ZFAT gene all including T allele ...
Wilk I, Wnuk-Pawlak E, Janczarek I, Kaczmarek B, Dybczyńska M, Przetacznik M.It was assumed that a horse with its rider body weight found in the upper limit may negatively impact the horse's welfare. The objective of this paper was to analyze the differences in body temperature and selected heart rate parameters in horses in response to physical exercise accompanied by various rider's body weight loads. The study was carried out on 12 leisure, 10-15-year-old warmblood geldings. The horses were ridden by two equally qualified riders whose body weights were about 20% and 10% of the average body weight (BW) of the animals (about 470 kg). Each rider rode each of the 12 hor...
Sack A, Oladunni FS, Gonchigoo B, Chambers TM, Gray GC. Worldwide, horses play critical roles in recreation, food production, transportation, and as working animals. Horses' roles differ by geographical region and the socioeconomic status of the people, but despite modern advances in transportation, which have in some ways altered humans contact with horses, potential risks for equine zoonotic pathogen transmission to humans occur globally. While previous reports have focused upon individual or groups of equine pathogens, to our knowledge, a systematic review of equine zoonoses has never been performed. Using PRISMA's systematic review guidelines...
de Jesús Tello-Pasos A, González-Pech PG, Blanco-Molina JM.The aim of this observational study was to describe the characteristics of circuits performed by horses used in carriage tourism in a tropical city and discuss their implications as a challenge for animal welfare. The tourism circuit of 33 Criollo horses (400 ± 50 kg) was followed by using the GPS from August 31 to December 2nd, 2018, in the rainfall summer season. The environmental temperature, humidity, and accumulated rainfall were obtained from a local meteorological station. The distance and number of trips, the number of people transported, and the time taken for working and resting ac...
Powell CD, Dhanoa MS, Garber A, Murray JMD, López S, Ellis JL, France J.Two models are proposed to describe atypical biphasic gas production profiles obtained from in vitro digestibility studies. The models are extensions of the standard Mitscherlich equation, comprising either two Mitscherlich terms or one Mitscherlich and one linear term. Two models that describe typical monophasic gas production curves, the standard Mitscherlich and the France model [a generalised Mitscherlich (root-) equation], were assessed for comparison. Models were fitted to 25 gas production profiles resulting from incubating feedstuffs with faecal from equines. Seventeen profiles displa...
Grissom MJ, Temple-Wong MM, Adams MS, Tom M, Schumacher BL, McIlwraith CW, Goodrich LR, Chu CR, Sah RL.Following various types of naturally-occurring traumatic injury to an articular joint, the lubricating ability of synovial fluid is impaired, with a correlated alteration in the concentration and/or structure of lubricant molecules, hyaluronan and proteoglycan-4. However, the effect of arthroscopic cartilage repair surgery on synovial fluid lubricant function and composition is unknown. Objective: Arthroscopic treatment of full-thickness chondral defects in horses with (1) platelet-enriched fibrin or (2) platelet-enriched fibrin+mesenchymal stem cells leads to equine synovial fluid with impair...
Tozaki T, Sato F, Ishimaru M, Kikuchi M, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Nagata SI.Ligand-dependent nuclear receptor compressor-like (LCORL) encodes a transcription factor, and its polymorphisms are associated with measures of skeletal frame size and adult height in several species. Recently, the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) BIEC2-808543 located upstream of LCORL was identified as a genetic diagnostic marker associated with withers height in Thoroughbreds. In this study, 322 Thoroughbreds-in-training were genotyped for BIEC2-808543 to evaluate the association between genotype and body composition traits, including body weight, withers height, the ratio of body weight...
Morozova-Roche LA.Calcium-binding equine lysozyme (EL) combines the structural and folding properties of c-type lysozymes and alpha-lactalbumins, connecting these two most studied subfamilies. The structural insight into its native and partially folded states is particularly illuminating in revealing the general principles of protein folding, amyloid formation and its inhibition. Among lysozymes EL forms one of the most stable molten globules and shows the most uncooperative refolding kinetics. Its partially-folded states serve as precursors for calcium-dependent self-assembly into ring-shaped and linear amyloi...
Csizmár N, Mihók S, Jávor A, Kusza S.The Hungarian draft is a horse breed with a recent mixed ancestry created in the 1920s by crossing local mares with draught horses imported from France and Belgium. The interest in its conservation and characterization has increased over the last few years. The aim of this work is to contribute to the characterization of the endangered Hungarian heavy draft horse populations in order to obtain useful information to implement conservation strategies for these genetic stocks. Methods: To genetically characterize the breed and to set up the basis for a conservation program, in the present study a...
Pereira GR, Lorenzo PL, Carneiro GF, Ball BA, Gonçalves PB, Pegoraro LM, Bilodeau-Goeseels S, Kastelic JP, Casey PJ, Liu IK.The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that equine growth hormone (eGH), in combination with insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I), influences positively in vitro nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of equine oocytes. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were recovered from follicles that were < 25 mm in diameter, characterized by morphology and were allocated randomly as follow: (a) control (no additives); (b) 400 ng/ml eGH; (c) 200 ng/ml IGF-I; (d) eGH + IGF-I; and (e) eGH + IGF-I + 400 ng/ml anti-IGF-I antibody. Oocytes were matured for 30 h at 38.5°C in air with 5% CO2 and then stained wi...
Calvete JJ, Mann K, Schäfer W, Sanz L, Reinert M, Nessau S, Raida M, Töpfer-Petersen E.We report the complete amino acid sequence of HSP-1, a major protein isolated from stallion seminal plasma or acid extracts of ejaculated spermatozoa. The protein consists of 121 amino acids organized in two types of homologous repeats arranged in the pattern AA'BB'. Each of the 13-15-residue A-type repeats contains two O-linked oligosaccharide chains. The B-type repeats span 44-47 amino acids each, are not glycosylated, and have the consensus pattern of the gelatin-binding fibronectin type-II module. This domain also occurs in the major bovine seminal plasma heparin-binding proteins PDC-109 (...
Cappelli K, Felicetti M, Capomaccio S, Pieramati C, Silvestrelli M, Verini-Supplizi A.The stress response is a critical factor in the training of equine athletes; it is important for performance and for protection of the animal against physio-pathological disorders.In this study, the molecular mechanisms involved in the response to acute and strenuous exercise were investigated using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Results: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect modifications in transcription levels of the genes for matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and interleukin 8 (IL-8), which were derived from previous genome-wide expression analysis. Signific...
Leleu C, Bariller F, Cotrel C, Barrey E.Locomotion analysis is increasingly used to assess the gait of horses in the selection and training of equine athletes. We have developed a specific locomotor test for fast trotting harnessed horses that uses an accelerometric device. We describe here the reproducibility of the locomotor test and the validation of its use to analyse trotters on the racetrack. We measured the performance of eight horses under the same conditions three times in a single week. We then tested the influence of five tracks on the variables measured using eight different trotters every two days. The horses trotted at...
Hara A, Taketomi T.Equine renal glycopshingolipids were composed of galactocerebroside, glucocerbroside, ceramide dihexoside, ceramide trihexoside, sulfatide, globoside I, Forssman globoside, and hematoside. Free ceramide and sphingomyelin were also found in equine kidney. Their long chain bases consisted of sphingosine, dihydrosphingosine, C18-phytosphingosine, and C20-phytosphingosine, whereas the fatty acids were separated into two groups: nonhydroxy and hydroxy fatty acids. Ceramide monohexoside was separated into five spots by TLC on borax-impregnated plates. The major component of ceramide monohexoside was...
Glöckner WM, Newman RA, Dahr W, Uhlenbruck G.Phenol extraction of horse, sheep, cow, pig and human erythrocyte membranes and human milk fat globule membranes gave glycoprotein fractions, all of which were shown by gas chromatography to contain the reduced disaccharide beta-D-galactosyl (1-3)-N-acetyl-D-galactosaminital after treatment with alkaline borohydride. Cow and pig erythrocyte membrane glycoproteins were found however to contain much lower amounts than the erythrocyte membrane glycoproteins of the other species tested. After gel filtration, a tetrasaccharide was isolated from horse and sheep glycoproteins containing the disacchar...
de Oliveira Filho EF, Carneiro IO, Ribas JRL, Fischer C, Marklewitz M, Junglen S, Netto EM, Franke CR, Drexler JF.An orthobunyavirus termed Fort Sherman virus (FSV) was isolated in 1985 from a febrile US soldier in Panama, yet potential animal reservoirs remained unknown. We investigated sera from 192 clinically healthy peri-domestic animals sampled in northeastern Brazil during 2014-2018 by broadly reactive RT-PCR for orthobunyavirus RNA, including 50 cattle, 57 sheep, 35 goats and 50 horses. One horse sampled in 2018 was positive (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.01-3.2) at 6.2 × 103 viral RNA copies/mL. Genomic comparisons following virus isolation in Vero cells and deep sequencing revealed high identity of translat...
Croser EL, Marsh GA.The Henipavirus genus represents a group of paramyxoviruses that are some of the deadliest of known human and veterinary pathogens. Hendra and Nipah viruses are zoonotic pathogens that can cause respiratory and encephalitic illness in humans with mortality rates that exceed 70%. Over the past several years, we have seen an increase in the number of cases and an altered clinical presentation of Hendra virus in naturally infected horses. Recent increase in the number of cases has also been reported with human Nipah virus infections in Bangladesh. These factors, along with the recent discovery of...
Defilippo F, Dottori M, Lelli D, Chiari M, Cereda D, Farioli M, Chianese R, Cerioli MP, Faccin F, Canziani S, Trogu T, Sozzi E, Moreno A, Lavazza A....In Italy, the West Nile Virus surveillance plan considers a multidisciplinary approach to identify the presence of the virus in the environment (entomological, ornithological, and equine surveillance) and to determine the risk of infections through potentially infected donors (blood and organ donors). The costs associated with the surveillance program for the Lombardy Region between 2014 and 2018 were estimated. The costs of the program were compared with a scenario in which the program was not implemented, requiring individual blood donation nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) to detect th...
Heath TJ.To describe the location, type, support from and effects of their first position for the veterinary graduates of 2005, and to make comparisons with graduates of 1950-2000. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to veterinarians who had graduated from an Australian university in 2005, and data were analysed with SAS System 8 for Windows. Results: One-sixth of the graduates left for overseas, and 55% (Murdoch) to 85% (Melbourne) of the remainder found their first veterinary position in the state where they were trained. More were in small animal (48%) and less in mixed practice (48%) than in previous...
Cai C, Zhao M, Yao F, Zhu R, Cai H, Shao S, Li XZ, Zhou T.Deoxynivalenol, a mycotoxin that may present in almost all cereal products, can cause huge economic losses in the agriculture industry and seriously endanger food safety and human health. Microbial detoxifications using microbial consortia may provide a safe and effective strategy for DON mitigation. In order to study the interactions involving DON degradation and change in microbial flora, four samples from different natural niches, including a chicken stable (expJ), a sheep stable (expY), a wheat field (expT) and a horse stable (expM) were collected and reacted with purified DON. After being...
Marshall ID, Brown BK, Keith K, Gard GP, Thibos E.There was extensive and exuberant breeding of waterbirds before and during an epidemic of arboviral encephalitis in the Murray Valley of south eastern Australia in 1974. As estimated by haemagglutination inhibition tests on 432 bird sera collected between 4th and 13th February, 1974, infection with Murray Valley encephalitis virus, Kunjin virus and possibly other flaviviruses was concentrated in species of the Order Ciconiiformes (55% positive) and Pelecaniformes (41%), compared with only 5% in Anseriformes. Although Sindbis virus infections were also highest in these 2 Orders (56% and 46%, re...
Demoruelle K, Guo B, Kao S, McDonald HM, Nikic DB, Holman SC, Wilson WW.The Haas - Drenth - Wilson (HDW) (Haas et al., 1999) theoretical model was used to correlate osmotic second virial coefficient (B) values with solubility (S) values for equine serum albumin (ESA) and ovalbumin for corresponding solution conditions. The best fit from the theoretical model was compared to experimental S versus B data. B values were experimentally measured using static light scattering. Solubilities of ESA were estimated using a sitting drop method. When the experimental data for S versus B were plotted, an excellent fit for ESA was obtained according to the HDW model. The result...
McCoy AM, Beeson SK, Rubin CJ, Andersson L, Caputo P, Lykkjen S, Moore A, Piercy RJ, Mickelson JR, McCue ME.Several horse breeds have been specifically selected for the ability to exhibit alternative patterns of locomotion, or gaits. A premature stop codon in the gene DMRT3 is permissive for "gaitedness" across breeds. However, this mutation is nearly fixed in both American Standardbred trotters and pacers, which perform a diagonal and lateral gait, respectively, during harness racing. This suggests that modifying alleles must influence the preferred gait at racing speeds in these populations. A genome-wide association analysis for the ability to pace was performed in 542 Standardbred horses (n = 17...
Domino M, Romaszewski M, Jasiński T, Maśko M.Infrared thermography (IRT) is a valuable diagnostic tool in equine veterinary medicine; however, little is known about its application to donkeys. This study aims to find patterns in thermal images of donkeys and horses and determine if these patterns share similarities. The study is carried out on 18 donkeys and 16 horses. All equids undergo thermal imaging with an infrared camera and measurement of the skin thickness and hair coat length. On the class maps of each thermal image, fifteen regions of interest (ROIs) are annotated and then combined into 10 groups of ROIs (GORs). The existence o...
Ruet A, Biau S, Arnould C, Galloux P, Destrez A, Pycik E, Boichot L, Lansade L.This study investigated the relationships between four behavioral and postural indicators of a compromised welfare state in loose boxes (stereotypies, aggressive behaviors toward humans, withdrawn posture reflecting unresponsiveness to the environment, and alert posture indicating hypervigilance) and the way horses perceived riding. This perception was inferred using a survey completed by the usual riding instructor and during a standardized riding session (assessment of behaviors and postures, qualitative behavior assessment (QBA) and characterization of the horses' locomotion using an inerti...
Bullido R, Doménech N, Alvarez B, Alonso F, Babín M, Ezquerra A, Ortuño E, Domínguez J.A set of five monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against porcine major histocompatibility complex (MHC), or swine leukocyte antigens (SLA), class II molecules has been characterized. These mAbs appear to recognize monomorphic determinants on SLA-DR (2F4, 1F12 and 2E9/13) and SLA-DQ (BL2H5 and BL4H2) molecules, as assessed by flow cytometry and immunoprecipitation. By Western blot, the 2F4, 1F12, BL2H5 and BL4H2 epitopes were located on the beta-chains of these molecules. mAbs 2F4 and 1F12 crossreact with leucocytes of dog, cattle, horse and human; mAbs 2E9/13, BL2H5 and BL4H2 bind leucocytes of cattl...
Gan Z, Wiestner T, Weishaupt MA, Waldern NM, David Remy C.This paper presents a simplistic passive dynamic model that is able to create realistic quadrupedal walking, tölting, and trotting motions. The model is inspired by the bipedal spring loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model and consists of a distributed mass on four massless legs. Each of the legs is either in ground contact, retracted for swing, or is ready for touch down with a predefined angle of attack. Different gaits, that is, periodic motions differing in interlimb coordination patterns, are generated by choosing different initial model states. Contact patterns and ground reaction forces...
Nielsen MK, Branan MA, Wiedenheft AM, Digianantonio R, Scare JA, Bellaw JL, Garber LP, Kopral CA, Phillippi-Taylor AM, Traub-Dargatz JL.Equine strongyle parasites are ubiquitous in grazing equids across the world. Anthelmintic resistance is widely developed in cyathostomin populations, but very few surveys have evaluated anthelmintic efficacy in equine populations in the United States, and most of these are over 15 years old. The present study was carried out as part of the National Animal Health Monitoring Systems (NAHMS) Equine 2015-2016 study. The aims were to investigate anthelmintic treatment efficacy by means of the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and identify parameters associated with decreased efficacy. Data we...
Kooistra LH, Ginther OJ.The effects of photoperiod on reproductive activity and hair changes in pony mares were studied in 2 experiments. In experiment I, the effect of a fixed daily photoperiod on the onset of the breeding season was studied in 36 mares from Nov 13, 1973, to June 13, 1974. The 4 treatment groups were as follows: daily photoperiod equivalent to the normal day length (control group); constant light 24 hours a day with no dark (L24:D0 group); 16-hour daily photoperiod with 8 hours of dark (L16:D8 group); and 9-hour daily photoperiod with 15 hours of dark (L9:D15 group). The intervals from beginning of ...
Arai T, Inoue A, Uematsu Y, Sako T, Kimura N.The activities of the enzymes involved in the malate-aspartate shuttle and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the pattern of the isoenzymes of LDH were determined in plasma and peripheral leukocytes of lactating Holstein cows and thoroughbred riding horses as representative herbivorous animals. In the horse plasma, LDH activities were significantly lower and AST activities were significantly higher than those in the cow plasma. The specific activities of cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (MDH), LDH and AST in the horse leukocytes were higher than those in the cows. The cytosolic ratio of MDH/LDH act...
Morel AP, Webster A, Zitelli LC, Umeno K, Souza UA, Prusch F, Anicet M, Marsicano G, Bandarra P, Trainini G, Stocker J, Giani D, Fortes FB, Goenaga S....West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus that can affect birds, horses, and humans, and is the only zoonotic Flavivirus that has been identified in six continents. In Brazil, until 2010, there was no evidence of WNV circulation. Recently, the virus was isolated from a horse with encephalitis, and the first human cases were registered in Brazil. Despite that, there is still no information on the enzootic cycle of this virus in birds or wildlife. This study aimed to investigate whether there is evidence of WNV circulation among wild birds from Southern Brazil. For this, we used free-...
De Sordi N, Bombardi C, Chiocchetti R, Clavenzani P, Trerè C, Canova M, Grandis A.The objective of the present study was to verify if polyurethane foam is a suitable material to make accurate casts of vessels and viscera, and to develop a method based on its use for anatomical studies. This new technique has been tested primarily on the lungs of different animals, but also on the renal, intestinal and equine digital vessels. It consisted of three steps: specimen preparation, injection of the foam and corrosion of the cast. All structures injected with foam were properly filled. The bronchial tree and the vessels could be observed up to their finer branches. The method is in...
Qi T, Ai J, Sun Y, Ma H, Kang M, You X, Li J.Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular protozoan parasite which is widely prevalent in humans and animals worldwide. The diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and distinguishing acute or chronic infections have utmost importance for humans and animals. The SAG1, GRA7, and BAG1 proteins were used in the present study to develop the serological rSAG1-ELISA, rGRA7-ELISA and rBAG1-ELISA methods for the testing of specific IgG and IgM antibodies and differentiating acute or chronic toxoplasmosis in 3733 animals, including Tibetan sheep, yaks, pigs, cows, cattle, horses, ch...
Matherne ME, Cockerill K, Zhou Y, Bellamkonda M, Hu DL.The swinging of a mammal's tail has long been thought to deter biting insects, which, in cows, can drain up to 0.3 liters of blood per day. How effective is a mammal's tail at repelling insects? In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we filmed horses, zebras, elephants, giraffes and dogs swinging their tails. The tail swings at triple the frequency of a gravity-driven pendulum, and requires 27 times more power input. Tails can also be used like a whip to directly strike at insects. This whip-like effect requires substantial torques from the base of the tail on the order of 10-1...
Fonseca-Rodríguez O, Pinheiro Júnior JW, Mota RA.In Brazil, glanders remains a serious problem, with the obligatory sacrifice of disease-positive animals without compensation. Each year, glanders cases are reported in several regions of the country, causing severe economic losses and trade restrictions. The present study describes and discusses the occurrence of glanders foci in Brazil during a 12-year period from 2005 to 2016. The highest frequency of reported affected holdings during the study period was in the northeast region. Moreover, during this period, the disease incidence in Brazil showed an overall increasing tendency. The number ...
