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.
Jastrzębska E, Wilk I.The aim of the study was to determine the effect of selected rider-related factors (riders' age and experience, type of preparatory activities, test variant) on the behaviour of recreational horses being prepared for use. Six adult, hot-blooded recreational horses were handled by two female riders that the horses knew and by another two that the horses did not know (two of them were aged 12 and two aged 30). The horses were assessed by a behaviourist for their behaviour during the pre-training activities (entering the box, grooming, cleaning the hooves, bridling, saddling up, taking a horse to...
Cieslak J, Wodas L, Borowska A, Pawlak P, Czyzak-Runowska G, Wojtowski J, Puppel K, Kuczynska B, Mackowski M.Genes encoding casein proteins are important candidates for milk composition traits in mammals. In the case of the domestic horse, our knowledge of casein genes is limited mainly to coding sequence variants. This study involved screening for polymorphism in 5'-flanking regions of four genes encoding equine caseins (CSN1S1, CSN1S2, CSN2, and CSN3) and making a preliminary assessment of their effect on the gene expression (on the mRNA and protein levels) and milk composition traits in selected horse breeds. Altogether, 23 polymorphisms (21 described previously SNPs and two novel InDels) were fou...
Myers K, Mohammed F, Rickard JW, Meyer DE, Spaulding AD.This paper presents the results of an investigation to determine perceptions, awareness, and knowledge of the unwanted horse population in Illinois from the viewpoint of horse owners, non-horse owners, and equine industry stakeholders. A questionnaire included items that pertained to knowledge of current legislation, equine background, current methods of controlling the unwanted horse population, and methods that respondents believe would reduce the unwanted horse population in Illinois. Results indicated that 58% of horse owners viewed horses as companion animals. Respondents perceived financ...
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...
DeBoer ML, Martinson KL, Kuhle KJ, Sheaffer CC, Hathaway MR.The impact of forage species on plasma amino acid (AA) concentrations of grazing horses (Equus caballus L.) is unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the impact of different forage species on plasma AA concentrations and protein synthesis. Research was conducted in July in St. Paul, MN, USA. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), mixed perennial cool-season grasses (CSGs), and teff (Eragrostis tef [Zucc.] Trotter) pastures were grazed by six horses randomly assigned to one of three forage types in a replicated Latin-square design. Horses had access to pasture each day. Jugular venous b...
Tessier L, Côté O, Bienzle D.Severe equine asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lung in horses similar to low-Th2 late-onset asthma in humans. This study aimed to determine the utility of RNA-Seq to call gene sequence variants, and to identify sequence variants of potential relevance to the pathogenesis of asthma. Methods: RNA-Seq data were generated from endobronchial biopsies collected from six asthmatic and seven non-asthmatic horses before and after challenge (26 samples total). Sequences were aligned to the equine genome with Spliced Transcripts Alignment to Reference software. Read preparation for sequenc...
Andrysikova R, Pot S, Rüegg S, Markova J, Horackova E, Kolos F, Voelter K, Spiess B.To screen a closed herd of the Old Kladruber Horses (OKH) for the prevalence of ocular disorders and report normal ocular variations. Methods: Two hundred and sixty-one horses, 122 Old Kladruber Gray Horses, and 139 Old Kladruber Black Horses owned by the National Stud Farm Kladruby nad Labem, Czech Republic, were included in the study with signalment and pedigree information recorded. Methods: Bilateral ocular examination of manually restrained horses was performed in a darkened environment by a single examiner (RA), using a portable slit-lamp biomicroscope, direct ophthalmoscope, and monocul...
Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Lukasik K, Skarzynski DJ, Okuda K.Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 not only regulates cell growth, development, and tissue remodeling, but it also participates in the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis. In the equine endometrium, the concentration of TGF-β1 is correlated with endometrosis (equine endometrial fibrosis). In other tissues, TGF-β1 induces differentiation of many cell types into myofibroblasts. These cells are characterized by α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and an ability to deposit excessive amounts of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The aim of the study was to determine whether TGF-β1 plays...
Latham CM, Wagner AL, Urschel KL.The objective of this study was to examine markers of whole-body and muscle protein metabolism in aged horses fed a diet typical for North American aged horses, supplemented with amino acids. In a replicated Latin square design, six aged horses (20 ± 1.1 years) were studied while receiving each of three isocaloric, isonitrogenous diets, a control treatment concentrate (CON; 100 mg/kg BW day lysine, 84 mg kg day threonine, 51 mg kg day methionine), LYS/THR (134 mg kg BW day lysine, 110 mg kg BW day threonine, 52 mg kg BW day methionine) and LYS/THR/MET (132 mg kg BW da...
Max MC, Bizarro-Silva C, Búfalo I, González SM, Lindquist AG, Gomes RG, Barreiros TRR, Lisboa LA, Morotti F, Seneda MM.Folliculogenesis is a process of development and maturation of the ovarian follicles, being essential for the maintenance of fertility. In in vivo conditions, 99.9% of the follicles of an ovary do not ovulate and undergo atresia. In order to minimize this loss and to clarify the existing mechanisms, a technique was developed that allows for the in vitro follicular development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentrations on the in vitro culturing of equine preantral follicles. Ovaries (n = 10) were collected from a local ...
Li XY, Chen YO, Wang QK, Li K, Pape T, Zhang D.Species of Gasterophilus are obligate parasites of equids and may induce severe, even lethal myiasis. However, identification of the third instar Gasterophilus larva at the species level is still problematic predominantly due to a shortage of diagnostic morphological features and incomplete molecular libraries. Testing the suitability of three different molecular markers showed that the traditional 650 bp barcode region near the 5' terminus of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) served as a better tool for species-level identification than a 663 bp region near the 3' terminus of COI and a...
Stewart HL, Southwood LL, Indugu N, Vecchiarelli B, Engiles JB, Pitta D.The faecal microbiota is emerging as potentially important in intestinal disease. More research is needed to characterise the faecal microbiota from horses with colic. Objective: To compare the relative abundance of bacterial populations comprising the faecal microbiota in horses presenting for colic compared with an elective surgical procedure. Methods: Prospective observational clinical study. Methods: Admission faecal samples were collected from horses presenting for colic and elective surgical procedures. Faecal samples were extracted for genomic DNA, PCR- amplified, sequenced and analysed...
Kasper DT, Gandy RF.The 2016 Equibase data set of American Quarter Horse starts in North America was analyzed, with the purpose of ranking the sires of the racehorses. A speed z-score derived from the race times and distances was used as a racing performance measure. Mixed effects models were used on various subsets of the data based on race distance and sire offspring number. The sire categorical variable was considered as a random effect. Various statistical criteria were used to optimize the model. The constructed models were then varied in terms of the random and fixed effects included, and the conditional mo...
Piccione G, Giudice E, Giannetto C, Mortola JP.Heart rate (FH) accelerates in inspiration and decelerates in expiration, a phenomenon known as Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA). Although the presence of RSA has been documented in many species, how its magnitude compares among species is unknown. We asked whether the magnitude of RSA in a large mammal, the horse, differed from that of previously measured humans. From electrocardiogram and pneumography, the peaks and troughs of FH were identified breath-by-breath in four horses (Italian Saddlebred geldings) during resting wakefulness. RSA was computed as the peak-trough FH difference, in pe...
De-Simone SG, Nascimento HJ, Prado IC, Aguiar AS, Melgarejo AR, Pina JLS, Ferreira PF, Provance DW.The availability of purified antibodies is a prerequisite for many applications and the appropriate choice(s) for antibody-purification is crucial. Numerous methods have been developed for the purification of antibodies from different sources with affinity chromatography-based methods being the most extensively utilized. These methods are based on high specificity, easy reversibility and biological interactions between two molecules (e.g., between receptor and ligand or antibody and antigen). However, no simple techniques have yet been described to characterize and purify subclasses of immunog...
Amilon KR, Cortes-Araya Y, Moore B, Lee S, Lillico S, Breton A, Esteves CL, Donadeu FX.Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have revolutionized human biomedicine through their use in disease modeling and therapy. In comparison, little progress has been made toward the application of iPSCs in veterinary species. In that regard, skeletal myocytes from iPSCs would have great potential for understanding muscle function and disease in the equine athlete. In this study, we generated skeletal myotubes by transducing equine iPSC-derived mesenchymal derivatives with an inducible lentiviral vector coding for the human sequence of the myogenic factor, MyoD. Myosin heavy chain-positive my...
Stomp M, Leroux M, Cellier M, Henry S, Hausberger M, Lemasson A.While the vocal coding of human and animal internal states has been widely studied, the possible acoustic expression of "positive" emotions remains poorly known. Recent studies suggest that snorts (non-vocal sounds produced by the air expiration through the nostrils) appear to be reliable indicators of positive internal states in several ungulate species. Here, we hypothesised in horses that the acoustic structure of the snort could vary with the subjects' current emotional state. Indeed, a preliminary sound analysis of snorts let us suggest structure variations related to the presence of puls...
Bourély C, Fortané N, Calavas D, Leblond A, Gay É.For public health reasons, increasing attention has focused on more rational use of antimicrobials in farm animals. Guidance concerning the prescription of antibiotics and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (antibiograms in this case) are beneficial tools to help control the development of antimicrobial resistance. Nevertheless, even though there are already several qualitative studies analysing the determinants of antimicrobial prescription and use in veterinary medicine, little is known about decision-making concerning the use of antibiograms. The aim of this study was to provide a better ...
Cozzi MC, Strillacci MG, Valiati P, Rogliano E, Bagnato A, Longeri M.The Akhal-Teke horse (AKH) is native of the modern Turkmenistan area. It was introduced in Italy from 1991 to 2000 mainly as an endurance horse. This paper characterizes the genetic variability of the whole Italian AKH horse population and evaluates their inbreeding level by analyzing microsatellite markers and mitochondrial D-Loop sequences. Methods: Seventeen microsatellite marker loci were genotyped on 95 DNA samples from almost all the AKH horses bred in Italy in the last 20 years. Standard genetic variability measures (Ho, He, FIS) were compared against the same variables published on oth...
Went HA, Scare JA, Steuer AE, Nielsen MK.Recommendations for control of equine strongylid parasites are based on regular determination of fecal egg counts to identify high strongylid shedders and to evaluate treatment efficacy. The McMaster technique has long been used as the standard egg counting technique in equine veterinary practice in most parts of the world, but recent work has found the Mini-FLOTAC technique to perform with significantly better accuracy and precision. The Mini-FLOTAC system comes with a homogenizing device, termed the Fill-FLOTAC, and it has been hypothesized that this device might have a significant impact on...
Schork IG, de Azevedo CS, Young RJ.An animal's welfare depends on an individual's capacity to adapt to the environment in which it lives. This adaptation is directly associated with the quality of the environment and to the possibility of expressing natural behaviours. Horses kept in stables often display a range of abnormal behaviours related to lack of control over their environment, which can lead to behavioural and health problems. An individual's personality also plays an important role in its susceptibility and resilience to the development of diseases and abnormal behaviour; thus, an evaluation of horses' personalities c...
Schaafstra FJWC, van Doorn DA, Schonewille JT, van den Boom R, Verschuur M, Blok MC, Hendriks WH.In equines, Cr2O3 is widely accepted as an indigestible marker, but there are health concerns regarding the carcinogenic properties of Cr2O3. Recently, TiO2 has been suggested to be an alternative digestibility marker in equines. However, a comparison between Cr2O3 and TiO2 has not been made in equines. Six Welsh pony geldings (initial BW: 254±3 kg; 7 years of age) fed chopped alfalfa hay were used to evaluate the use of TiO2 (Ti) and Cr2O3 (Cr) as markers for calculating apparent digestibility and to investigate the effect of frequency of marker administration on the measurement of digestibi...
Lee W, Ko BJ, Sim YE, Suh S, Yoon D, Kim S.Urine was most commonly used biological sample in drug test. To create a false-negative test result, some drug abusers were reported to submit animal urine instead of their own. So, the purpose of this study was to compare and differentiate human from animal urine (Rat 370, Pig 12, Horse 10, Cat 8, Dog 13, Cow 10, Monkey 10) samples through the uses of quantitative 1H-NMR and to find biomarkers that can be used for the discrimination of human urine from animal urine. The 1H-NMR spectroscopy was employed and metabolomic analysis with multivariate statistics was carried out. Human urine samples ...
Schein FB, Maia MO, Witter R, Marcili A, Camargo LM, Dutra V, Nakazato L, Candido SL, Almeida EM, Oliveira ACS, Pacheco RC.We evaluated the distribution of piroplasmids in equids from the Mato Grosso state in Midwestern Brazil using molecular methods and the interspecific genetic diversity. For this, 1,624 blood samples of equids from 973 farms were examined by PCR, using primer pairs that amplify a fragment of the genes rap-1 and ema-1 of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, respectively. For molecular characterization and phylogenetic studies, 13 and 60 sequences of the rap-1 and ema-1 genes, respectively, were used to build a dendogram using maximum parsimony. B. caballi and T. equi were detected in 4.11% and 28...
Smith AV, Proops L, Grounds K, Wathan J, Scott SK, McComb K.The ability to discriminate between emotion in vocal signals is highly adaptive in social species. It may also be adaptive for domestic species to distinguish such signals in humans. Here we present a playback study investigating whether horses spontaneously respond in a functionally relevant way towards positive and negative emotion in human nonverbal vocalisations. We presented horses with positively- and negatively-valenced human vocalisations (laughter and growling, respectively) in the absence of all other emotional cues. Horses were found to adopt a freeze posture for significantly longe...
Janczarek I, Stachurska A, Wilk I, Krakowski L, Przetacznik M, Zastrzeżyńska M, Kuna-Broniowska I.Touching the skin by gentle stroking is frequently used to reward horses. The objective of the study was to examine emotional excitability and behaviour of horses in response to stroking different regions of their bodies. The study included 15 adult warmbloods and 15 adult ponies, nine geldings and six mares within each type of horse. First, a novel-object test was conducted. For five successive days, one of five regions of the horse's body was stroked on each side for 5 min. Heart rate and heart rate variability were monitored at rest, during the test and stroking. Simultaneously, horse beha...
Kakoi H, Tozaki T, Nagata S, Gawahara H, Kijima-Suda I.In order to develop a genotyping method that can be used in the registration procedure for Thoroughbreds, we developed a method for simultaneously genotyping multiple coat colour genes on the basis of single nucleotide polymorphism typing by using the SNaPshot(TM) technique. This method enabled precise and reasonable detection of causal mutations; it was effective for genotyping of MC1R, ASIP, and SLC45A2 at the Extension (E), Agouti (A), Cream dilution (C) loci, and the possibility of identification of rare variants of MC1R, EDNRB and KIT at the E, Overo (O) and Sabino 1 (SB1) loci, respectiv...
Riley RT, Showker JL, Owens DL, Ross PF.Fumonisin B(1), B(2), and B(3) are inhibitors of ceramide synthase, a key enzyme in the pathway for de novo sphingolipid biosynthesis. Corn, naturally contaminated with either predominantly fumonisin B(1) or pure fumonisin B(1), has been shown to cause equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM). It has been hypothesized that fumonisin-induced disruption of sphingolipid metabolism is an early event in the development of ELEM. Recently, it was shown that Fusarium proliferatum corn culture diets containing predominantly fumonisin B(2), but not diets which were predominantly fumonisin B(3), at 75 ppm (0....
Ross D, Marcot JD, Betteridge KJ, Nascone-Yoder N, Bailey CS, Sears KE.Tetrapod limb development has been studied extensively for decades, yet the strength and role of developmental constraints in this process remains unresolved. Mammals exhibit a particularly wide array of limb morphologies associated with various locomotion modes and behaviors, providing a useful system for identifying periods of developmental constraint and conserved developmental mechanisms or morphologies. In this study, landmark-based geometric morphometrics are used to investigate levels and patterns of morphological diversity (disparity) among the developing forelimbs of four mammals with...
Gastal GDA, Aguiar FLN, Alves BG, Alves KA, de Tarso SGS, Ishak GM, Cavinder CA, Feugang JM, Gastal EL.Ovarian tissue cryopreservation allows the preservation of the female fertility potential for an undetermined period. The objectives of this study were to compare the efficiency of cryoprotective agents (CPAs; dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO; ethylene glycol, EG; and propylene glycol, PROH) using slow-freezing and vitrification methods, and evaluate the viability of cryopreserved equine ovarian tissue after 7 days of culture. Fresh and cryopreserved ovarian fragments were evaluated for preantral follicle morphology, stromal cell density, EGFR, Ki-67, Bax, and Bcl-2 protein expression, and DNA fragmen...
Crotch-Harvey L, Thomas LA, Worgan HJ, Douglas JL, Gilby DE, McEwan NR.Anthelmintics are used as anti-worming agents. Although known to affect their target organisms, nothing has been published regarding their effect on other digestive tract organisms or on metabolites produced by them. The current work investigated effects of fenbendazole, a benzimidazole anthelmintic, on bacteria and ciliates in the equine digestive tract and on and their major metabolites. Animals receiving anthelmintic treatment had high faecal egg counts relative to controls. Analysis was performed over two weeks, with temporal differences detected in bacterial populations but with no other ...
Meyer W, Schoennagel B, Kacza J, Busche R, Hornickel IN, Hewicker-Trautwein M, Schnapper A.We studied the esophageal epithelium for keratinization characteristics from samples of domesticated mammals of three nutrition groups (herbivores: horse, cattle, sheep; omnivores: pig, dog, rat; carnivores: cat) using histochemistry (keratins, disulfides), sulfur measurements, and cryo-SEM. Keratins were found in all esophageal layers of all species, except for the equine Stratum corneum. The positive reaction staining of Pan-keratin was remarkable, but decreased in intensity toward the outer layers, whereas in the pig and cat, staining was confined to the corneal layer. The herbivores reveal...
Krebs JW, Rupprecht CE, Childs JE.During 1999, 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico reported 7,067 cases of rabies in nonhuman animals to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a decrease of 11.2% from 7,961 cases in nonhuman animals and 1 case in a human being reported in 1998. More than 91% (6,466 cases) were in wild animals, whereas 8.5% (601 cases) were in domestic species (compared with 92.4% in wild animals and 7.6% in domestic species in 1998). No cases of rabies were reported in human beings in 1999. Decreases were evident in all major species groups, with the exception of cattle, sheep/goats, ...
Abdullah HHAM, Elbayoumy MK, Allam AM, Ashry HM, Abdel-Shafy S.Vector-borne bacterial diseases (VBBD) are a diverse group of tropical and subtropical zoonotic diseases. This study investigated the possibility of domestic animals to carry certain vector-borne bacterial microorganisms (VBBMs), as well as the presence of these targeted DNAs in their ectoparasites in different localities of Egypt using molecular analyses. For this study, 234 animal hosts (112 cattle, 38 sheep, 28 goats, 26 buffaloes, 22 donkeys, and 8 horses) in addition to 115 ectoparasites (95 ticks and 20 lice) were investigated for the molecular detection of Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp....
de Camp NV, Ladwig-Wiegard M, Geitner CIE, Bergeler J, Thöne-Reineke C.As has been hypothesized more than 20 years ago, data derived from Electroencephalography (EEG) measurements can be used to distinguish between behavioral states associated with animal welfare. In our current study we found a high degree of correlation between the modulation index of phase related amplitude changes in the EEG of horses ( = 6 measurements with three different horses, mare and gelding) and their facial expression, measured by the use of the horse grimace scale. Furthermore, the pattern of phase amplitude coupling (PAC) was significantly different between a rest condition and a s...
Mayhew IG, Washbourne JR.Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) waveforms were recorded as a means of objectively evaluating auditory and brainstem function in horses. BAEP recordings were readily and repeatably recorded from horses, under minimal restraint, using signal averaging equipment. Clearly identified BAEP waveforms were obtained with compression clicks of 30-100 dB (HHL) at 10 Hz applied in the external auditory meatus of one ear and masking white noise (10 dB lower) in the other ear. Vertex positive (upwards) waveforms I through V were obtained with an active, subdermal electrode over the ipsilateral an...
Science (New York, N.Y.)November 5, 1976
Volume 194, Issue 4265 626-627 doi: 10.1126/science.790567
Radinsky L.Previous interpretations of early horse brains were based on an incorrectly identified fossil endocast, now believed to be from a condylarth. Newly prepared endocasts of Hyracotherium, the oldest horse and one of the earliest perissodactyls, reveal a relatively larger brain, with a more expanded neocortex, than existed in the condylarth ancestors of perissodactyls. Fifty million years ago, horse brains had suprasylvian, ectolateral, and lateral sulci, but the frontal lobe was undeveloped.
Nowicki ST, Minning-Wenz D, Johnston KH, Lottenberg R.Streptokinases are proteins with plasminogen activator activity produced by certain hemolytic streptococci. We previously identified equine streptococcal isolates which produced streptokinases (ESKs) that bound both human and equine plasminogen but only readily activated equine plasminogen (14). This property was exploited to purify a representative ESK produced by Streptococcus equisimilis strain 87-542-W. Affinity chromatography with human plasminogen resulted in the isolation of a M(r) approximately 49,000 molecule with two isoforms. This ESK was subsequently compared to well characterized ...
Snow DH, Baxter P, Rose RJ.An investigation into fibre composition and glycogen depletion pattern within the middle gluteal of 16 horses participating in an 80 km endurance ride was carried out. Although the proportion of slow twitch high oxidative (ST) fibres in the horses varied between 7 and 38 per cent, it was found that the horses with the highest proportion of these fibres usually had the best performance records. The cross-sectional area of the fast twitch low oxidative (FT) fibres was greatest, with the ST and fast twitch high oxidative (FTH) being similar in size. Most marked histological evidence of glycogen d...
M'ghirbi Y, Mousson L, Moutailler S, Lecollinet S, Amaral R, Beck C, Aounallah H, Amara M, Chabchoub A, Rhim A, Failloux AB, Bouattour A.Mosquito-borne diseases have a significant impact on humans and animals and this impact is exacerbated by environmental changes. However, in Tunisia, surveillance of the West Nile virus (WNV) is based solely on the surveillance of human neuroinvasive infections and no study has reported mosquito-borne viruses (MBVs), nor has there been any thorough serological investigation of anti-MBV antibodies in horses. This study therefore sought to investigate the presence of MBVs in Tunisia. Among tested mosquito pools, infections by WNV, Usutu virus (USUV), and Sindbis virus (SINV) were identified in ....
Janczarek I, Stachurska A, Kędzierski W, Pawlak EW, Wilk I, Zyglewska K, Paszkowska A, Ryżak M, Wiśniewska A.The current predation threat of domestic horses is generally low, and horses do not know predators' frightening cues. We studied whether horses still recognise predation threats. The aim of the study was to analyse the emotional response of purebred Arabian horses (Arabian) and Polish Konik horses (Konik) to an Arabian panther (Panthera pardus nimr) (panther) growl and a grey wolf (Canis lupus) (wolf) howl. Panther vocalisation was known to Arabian ancestors, whereas ancestors of Konik knew wolf vocalisation. The response to the howls of golden jackals (Canis aureus) (jackal), which did not pr...
Park T, Yoon J, Kim A, Unno T, Yun Y.(1) Background: The large intestine of horses is an anaerobic fermentative chamber filled with fibrolytic bacteria that play essential roles in digesting and absorbing nutrients for energy production. Although Jeju horses are a prominent local breed in Korea, few studies have investigated the gut microbiota of Jeju horses; (2) Methods: This study performed sequencing of V3 and V4 hypervariable regions of the partial 16S rRNA genes obtained from horse fecal samples and compared the gut microbiota between Jeju and Thoroughbred horses. Thirty and 24 fecal samples were obtained from Jeju and Thoro...
Shen Z, Zhang MZ, Stich RW, Mitchell WJ, Zhang S.Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp., and Lyme disease associated Borrelia spp. are the most common tick-borne pathogens reported to infect human beings worldwide and other animals, such as dogs and horses. In the present study, we developed a broad-coverage SYBR Green QPCR panel consisting of four individual assays for the detection and partial differentiation of the aforementioned pathogens. All assays were optimized to the same thermocycling condition and had a detection limit of 10 copies per reaction. The assays remained sensitive when used to test canine and equine blood DNA s...
Selmi R, Dhibi M, Ben Said M, Ben Yahia H, Abdelaali H, Ameur H, Baccouche S, Gritli A, Mhadhbi M.Livestock constitute habitual hosts and carriers for several infectious pathogens which may represent a serious public health concern affecting the readiness of military forces and lead to wide economic losses. The present report aimed to investigate the prevalence of some haemopathogens infecting military livestock, particularly, dromedaries, sheep and horses using Giemsa-stained blood smears. A total of 300 animals (100 from each species) were selected, clinically examined and sampled. Trypanosoma spp. (22.0%), Anaplasma spp. (17.0%) and Babesia spp. (1.0%) were identified in camels' blood. ...
Orton RK, Hume ID, Leng RA.Rates of passage of fluid and particulate digesta markers and apparent digestibility estimated by three methods were compared in yearling horses fed high (14 per cent) or low (8 per cent) crude protein diets with one of two levels of exercise (0 or 12 km trotting per day at 12 km/h). Mean retention times (MRT) of the fluid marker (51Cr-EDTA) were shorter than those of the particulate marker (ruthenium-phenanthroline). There were no significant effects of dietary protein level on passage of either marker or on apparent digestibility of dry matter. Exercise increased voluntary feed intake and ap...
Horín P, Matiasovic J.More than two nucleotide sequences of the second exon of the ELA-DQB region retrieved from a single animal and two different sequences isolated from horses homozygous in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region by descent indicated the existence of at least two ELA-DQB loci at the genomic level. New alleles detected by polymerase chain reaction single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and defined by nucleotide sequencing of the second exon of the DQB gene(s) were described. Based on the level of nucleotide sharing, at least two groups of alleles were shown to exist. The newly de...
Frontiers in geneticsJanuary 23, 2023
Volume 14 1099896 doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1099896
Capomaccio S, Ablondi M, Colombi D, Sartori C, Giontella A, Cappelli K, Mancin E, Asti V, Mantovani R, Sabbioni A, Silvestrelli M. The Italian peninsula is in the center of the Mediterranean area, and historically it has been a hub for numerous human populations, cultures, and also animal species that enriched the hosted biodiversity. Horses are no exception to this phenomenon, with the peculiarity that the gene pool has been impacted by warfare and subsequent "colonization". In this study, using a comprehensive dataset for almost the entire Italian equine population, in addition to the most influential cosmopolitan breeds, we describe the current status of the modern Italian gene pool. The Italian dataset comprised 1,3...
Hammerschmitt ME, Henker LC, Lichtler J, da Costa FVA, Soares RM, Llano HAB, Pavarini SP.Sarcocystis neurona is the main agent associated with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Apart from horses, S. neurona has been occasionally described causing neurologic disease in several other terrestrial animals as well as mortality in marine mammals. Herein, we describe the clinical, pathological, and molecular findings of a fatal case of S. neurona-associated meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat. The causing agent was analyzed by multilocus genotyping, confirming the presence of S. neurona DNA in the tissue samples of the affected animal. Significant molecular differences were fou...
Rey AI, Segura J, Arandilla E, López-Bote CJ.This study tested the effect of micellized vitamin E (D-α-tocopherol; 1,400 IU/d) administered 12 and 1 h orally before training for 1 d (ST-VitE) or 8 d (LT-VitE) compared with an unsupplemented control (CONTROL) on plasma α-tocopherol, thiobarbithuric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), total glutathione (GSHt), and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) in 10 race horses. Different sampling times [immediately before training (BEF) and after intense training (END) or 8 h after recovery (+8h)] were investigated. Plasma α-tocopherol concentration was greater in the ST-VitE group than t...
Hampson BA, de Laat MA, Mills PC, Pollitt CC.To better understand the morphology of, and the effect of different travel patterns and varying substrate environments on, the feral horse foot to better manage the feet of domestic horses. Methods: The left forefeet of 20 adult feral horses from each of five geographically separated populations in Australia (n = 100) were investigated. Populations were selected on the basis of substrate hardness under foot and the amount of travel typical for the population. Feet were radiographed and photographed and 40 morphometric measurements of each foot were obtained. Results: Of the 40 parameters, 37 d...
Uldahl M, Christensen JW, Clayton HM.Riders need core stability to follow and guide the horse's movements and avoid giving unintended or conflicting signals. This study evaluated the rider's performance of exercises on a gymnastic ball with on-horse performance and indicators of stress in the horse. Twenty experienced riders were scored performing three exercises on a gymnastic ball and for quality and harmony when riding based on evaluation of video recordings in which conflict behaviours were evident. The horse's heart rate and number of conflict behaviors during the riding test and cortisol levels after completion of the test ...
Jensen RB, Austbø D, Bach Knudsen KE, Tauson AH.A total of four diets with different carbohydrate composition were investigated in a 4×4 Latin square design experiment with four Norwegian Coldblooded trotter horses. The objective of the present study was to increase the fermentable fibre content and reduce the starch intake of the total ration obtained by partly substituting mature hay and barley with sugar beet pulp (SBP), a soluble fibre source. The diets investigated were hay only (HAY), hay (85% of dry matter intake (DMI)) and molassed SBP (15% of DMI) (SBP), hay (68% of DMI) and barley (32% of DMI) (BAR), and hay (68% of DMI), barley ...
Witkowski L, Rzewuska M, Takai S, Chrobak-Chmiel D, Kizerwetter-Świda M, Feret M, Gawryś M, Witkowski M, Kita J.Rhodococcus equi is one of the most significant bacterial pathogens affecting foals up to 6 months of age worldwide. Rhodococcosis is present in Poland however information about molecular characterization of R. equi isolates is scarce. This study describes molecular characterization of Rhodococcus equi infection on 13 horse breeding farms in Poland between 2001 and 2012. Samples were collected by tracheobronchial aspiration from pneumonic foals or during necropsy. The R. equi isolates were genotyped by plasmid profiling and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Results: Totally, 58 R. equi isolat...
Dworschack R, Tarr G, Plapp BV.A single amino group in horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase was modified with methyl(14C)acetimidate by a differential labeling procedure. Lysine residues outside the active site were modified with ethyl acetimidate while a lysine residue in the active site was protected by the formation of an enzyme-NAD+-pyrazole complex. After the protecting reagents were removed, the enzyme was treated with methyl(14C)acetimidate. Enzyme activity was enhanced 13-fold as 1.1 (14C)acetimidyl group was incorporated per active site. A labeled peptide was isolated from a tryptic-chymotryptic digest of the modified...
Hayashi T, Matsuo T, Hitomi Y, Okawa K, Suzuki A, Shiro Y, Iizuka T, Hisaeda Y, Ogoshi H.Horse heart myoglobin was reconstituted with mesohemin derivatives methylated at the 6- or 7-position to evaluate the role of the heme-6-propionate or heme-7-propionate side chain in the protein. The association and dissociation of the O(2) binding for the deoxymyoglobin with 6-methyl-7-propionate mesoheme are clearly accelerated. Furthermore, the myoglobin with 6-methyl-7-propionate mesoheme shows fast autoxidation from oxymyoglobin to metmyoglobin compared to the myoglobin with 6-propionate-7-methyl heme and the reference protein. These results indicate the 6-propionate plays an important ph...
Carneiro G, Lorenzo P, Pimentel C, Pegoraro L, Bertolini M, Ball B, Anderson G, Liu I.The effects of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and its interaction with gonadotropins, estradiol, and fetal calf serum (FCS) on in vitro maturation (IVM) of equine oocytes were investigated in this study. We also examined the role of IGF-I in the presence or absence of gonadotropins, estradiol, and FCS in parthenogenic cleavage after oocyte activation with calcium ionophore combined with 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP), using cleavage rate as a measure of cytoplasmic maturation. Only equine cumulus-oocyte complexes with compact cumulus and homogenous ooplasm (n = 817) were used. In experim...
