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.
Pritchard J, Upjohn M, Hirson T.Brooke is a non-government organisation with working equine welfare programmes across Africa, Asia and Latin America. In 2014, staff from ten country programmes were asked to identify 'no-win' situations (subsequently reframed as 'hard-wins')-where improving equine welfare is proving difficult, expensive and/or marginal-in order to inform strategic decisions on how to approach, manage and mitigate for such situations. The Delphi-type consultation process had three phases. Round 1 posed five questions in the form of a workshop, survey and semi-structured interviews. Round 2 re-presented key the...
Negro S, Bartolomé E, Molina A, Solé M, Gómez MD, Valera M.The stress level is suggested to have a negative effect on horses during equestrian competitions, specifically in trotter racing. The main objectives of this study were to measure stress levels in Spanish Trotter Horse races with a reliable non-invasive method, and determining the threshold level of stress that leads to the best performance results and also shows when the stress perceived by the horse becomes distress. One hundred and thirty individuals were evaluated, measuring their performance (based on racing time per kilometre (TPK)) and their stress (based on eye temperature, assessed wi...
Souza CRS, Farnsworth KD, Ragle CA.The objective of this study was to assess and compare the bursting pressure and mode of failure of a 2-strand continuous crossing suture pattern and a simple continuous suture pattern for closure of the equine linea alba. No difference in bursting strength or mode of failure was found between the 2 suture patterns. Comparaison de la force d’éclatement des incisions des sutures simples continues et des sutures croisées continues à deux fils pour la fermeture de la linea alba des équidés. Cette étude avait pour objectif d’évaluer et de comparer la pression d’éclatement et le mode d...
Spiesz EM, Thorpe CT, Thurner PJ, Screen HRC.Structure-function relationships in tendons are directly influenced by the arrangement of collagen fibres. However, the details of such arrangements in functionally distinct tendons remain obscure. This study demonstrates the use of quantitative polarised light microscopy (qPLM) to identify structural differences in two major tendon compartments at the mesoscale: fascicles and interfascicular matrix (IFM). It contrasts functionally distinct positional and energy storing tendons, and considers changes with age. Of particular note, the technique facilitates the analysis of crimp parameters, in w...
Głażewska I, Gralak B, Naczk AM, Prusak B.Polish Arabian horses are one of the most important populations of this breed in the world. Their post-war history can be divided into two periods, with the dominant role of state studs until 1989, and the increasing significance of private breeding in the next years. The goal of the study was to evaluate genetic diversity and structure of the population under a new breeding policy. The analyses of breeding and microsatellite data from 1996 to 2012 provide a coherent picture of the population with constant flow of horses only in one direction from state to private studs. An increase in the num...
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...
Macedo S, Bliebernicht M, Carvalheira J, Costa A, Ribeiro F, Rocha A.Glycerol-based extenders are widely utilized for freezing equine semen, but media combining methylformamide may better preserve sperm motility and mitochondrial function. Semen is cryopreserved utilizing either a Styrofoam box filled with liquid nitrogen or an automatic freezer. The objective of this experiment was to compare the post-thaw characteristics of the same ejaculates cryopreserved in a Styrofoam box or in an automatic freezer, utilizing a glycerol-based extender (Gent) and an extender that combines methylformamide and glycerol (BotuCrio ). For that, one ejaculate from 30 stallions c...
Walther B, Klein KS, Barton AK, Semmler T, Huber C, Wolf SA, Tedin K, Merle R, Mitrach F, Guenther S, Lübke-Becker A, Gehlen H.Pathogens frequently associated with multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes, including extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from horses admitted to horse clinics, pose a risk for animal patients and personnel in horse clinics. To estimate current rates of colonization, a total of 341 equine patients were screened for carriage of zoonotic indicator pathogens at hospital admission. Horses showing clinical signs associated with colic (n = 233) or open wounds (n = 108) were selected for microbiological examination of nost...
Bartolomé E, Menéndez-Buxadera A, Molina A, Valera M.To obtain a sport horse that excels in the highest levels of competition, breeders must take into account certain genetic and environmental factors that could influence the sport horse's performance, such as the rider-horse interaction (RHI). The main aim of this study was to describe this interaction in a genetic model by modelling it in relation to the horse's age. A total of 31,129 sport results from Spanish Sport Horses were used from a total of 1,101 animals evaluated, and these were grouped in three age levels and had been ridden by 606 different riders. Only riders who had ridden more t...
Del Prete C, Tafuri S, Ciani F, Pasolini MP, Ciotola F, Albarella S, Carotenuto D, Peretti V, Cocchia N.Stallion semen is damaged by oxidative stress during cooling and transport. Semen processing and extenders have been tested to improve the fertilizing capacity of semen and to preserve semen during transport. Dietary supplementation with natural antioxidants has been proposed to prevent oxidative damages. In this study, for the first time, the effect of dietary supplementation with Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on the characteristics of fresh and chilled stallion semen was evaluated. Maca is a traditional Andean crop used as a nutraceutical for the fertility-enhancing properties that are linked with...
Viklund Å, Eriksson S.A linear profiling protocol was introduced in 2013 at tests for 3-year-old Swedish Warmblood horses. In this protocol, traits are subjectively described on a nine-point linear scale from one biological extreme to the other. This complements the traditional scoring where horses are evaluated in relation to the breeding objective. This study aimed to investigate the suitability of the linear information for genetic evaluation. Data on 22 conformation traits, 17 movement traits, 14 jumping traits and one temperament trait from 3,410 horses tested between 2013 and 2016 were analysed using an anima...
Putnová L, Štohl R, Vrtková I.We propose the first comprehensive in-depth study monitoring horses in the Czech Republic. We scanned 9,289 animals from 44 populations for 17 equine STRs. Other equids analysed involved Equus przewalskii and Equus asinus. The total of 228 different alleles were detected, with the mean number of 13.4 per locus. The highest allelic richness (AR) was found in the Welsh Part Bred (6.01), followed by the Camargue (5.93) and Czech Sport Pony (5.91), whereas the Friesian exhibited the lowest AR (3.06). Interpopulation differences explained approximately nine per cent of the total genetic diversity. ...
Lempereur L, Sohier C, Smeets F, Maréchal F, Berkvens D, Madder M, Francis F, Losson B.The dispersion potential of mechanical vectors is an important factor in the dissemination of pathogens. A mark-release-recapture experiment was implemented using two groups (unfed and partially fed) of the Tabanidae (Diptera) (Haematopota spp.) and biting Muscidae (Diptera) (Stomoxys calcitrans) most frequently collected in Belgium in order to evaluate their dispersion potential. In total, 2104 specimens of Haematopota spp. were collected directly from horses and 5396 S. calcitrans were collected in a cattle farm using hand-nets. Some of these insects were partially fed in vitro and all were ...
Martin G, Yanez-Arenas C, Plowright RK, Chen C, Roberts B, Skerratt LF.Understanding environmental factors driving spatiotemporal patterns of disease can improve risk mitigation strategies. Hendra virus (HeV), discovered in Australia in 1994, spills over from bats (Pteropus sp.) to horses and thence to humans. Below latitude - 22°, almost all spillover events to horses occur during winter, and above this latitude spillover is aseasonal. We generated a statistical model of environmental drivers of HeV spillover per month. The model reproduced the spatiotemporal pattern of spillover risk between 1994 and 2015. The model was generated with an ensemble of methods f...
Pöschke A, Krähling B, Failing K, Staszyk C.The equine periodontal ligament (PDL) is a fibrous connective tissue that covers the intra-alveolar parts of the tooth and anchors it to the alveolar bone-it, therefore, provides a similar function to a tendinous structure. While several studies have considered the formation and structure of tendons, there is insufficient information particularly on the molecular composition of the PDL. Especially for the equine PDL, there is limited knowledge concerning the expression of genes commonly regarded as typical for tendon tissue. In this study, the gene expression of, e.g., (, and fibrocartilage m...
Catecholamines are among the most frequently investigated parameters for studying sympathoadrenal activity in response to stress conditions. Objective: To evaluate basal plasma concentrations of catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine) in healthy donkeys. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Catecholamine concentrations from 440 Martina Franca donkeys were determined: 269 females and 171 entire males, aged from 4 months to 24 years. Animals were subdivided into four age categories: under 12 months old (64 males and 54 females), from 13 to 36 months (56 males and 75 females),...
Hanot P, Herrel A, Guintard C, Cornette R.The relationships between the different component parts of organisms, such as the sharing of common development or function, produce a coordinated variation between the different traits. This morphological integration contributes to drive or constrain morphological variation and thus impacts phenotypic diversification. Artificial selection is known to contribute significantly to phenotypic diversification of domestic species. However, little attention has been paid to its potential impact on integration patterns. This study explores the patterns of integration in the limb bones of different ho...
Czycholl I, Büttner K, Klingbeil P, Krieter J.To enhance feasibility, the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) assessment protocol for horses consists of two levels: the first is a visual inspection of a sample of horses performed from a distance, the second a close-up inspection of all horses. The aim was to analyse whether information would be lost if only the first level were performed. In this study, 112 first and 112 second level assessments carried out on a subsequent day by one observer were compared by calculating the Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient (RS), Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC), Smallest Detectable Changes (...
Warzecha CM, Coverdale JA, Janecka JE, Leatherwood JL, Pinchak WE, Wickersham TA, McCann JC.The objective of this study was to determine bacterial community profiles of the equine cecum in response to abrupt inclusion of varying levels of dietary starch. Seven cecally cannulated Quarter Horse geldings (497 to 580 kg) were used in a crossover design with two 28-d periods and a 28-d washout between each. Horses were randomly assigned to dietary treatments consisting of a commercial concentrate offered as fed at either 0.6 (low starch [LS]) or 1.2% BW (high starch [HS]) daily that was divided into 2 meals at 12-h intervals. Prior to the start of each period, horses were allowed ad libit...
Schneberger D, Sethi RS, Singh B.Endothelium plays an important role in maintaining the vascular barrier and physiological homeostasis. Endothelium also is fundamental to the initiation and regulation of inflammation. Endothelium demonstrates phenotypic and functional heterogeneity not only among various organs but also within an organ. One of the striking examples would be the pulmonary endothelium that participates in creating blood-air barrier. Endothelium in large pulmonary blood vessels is distinct in structure and function from that lining of the pulmonary capillaries. This chapter focuses on the comparative aspects of ...
Guillaume D, Moussu C, de Geoffroy F, Chesneau D, Keller M.Stallions show decreased sexual responses and activities during short days in winter. To evaluate the importance of sexual olfactory communication in horses, we tested whether sexual responses could be stimulated through various sexual olfactory stimulations in winter. To this end, we presented stallions with various olfactory stimulations (urine from mares at different stages of the reproductive cycle, urine from stallions or geldings, or chemically defined synthetic odorant) during the non-breeding season and measured their behavioral responses through (1) a test of olfactory investigation (...
Smith AV, Wilson C, McComb K, Proops L.In the original publication, data availability text was incorrectly published. The correct text should read as below.
DuBois C, Hambly-Odame H, Haley DB, Merkies K.As part of a larger Delphi survey project, equine professionals ( = 14) were presented with twelve short scenarios in which a horse's welfare could be compromised. They were asked to rank each scenario (with 0 indicating no welfare concerns and 5 indicating a situation where immediate intervention was necessary), provide justification for their ranking, and give examples of what might have been the motivation behind the scenario. The wide range within vignette scores demonstrated the diversity of opinion even among a relatively small group of equine professionals. Qualitative analysis of respo...
Gershwin LJ.There are many autoimmune diseases that are recognized in domestic animals. The descriptions of diseases provide examples of the magnitude of immune targets and the variable nature of autoimmune diseases. Other autoimmune diseases that are recognized in dogs, cats, and horses include immune-mediated thrombocytopenia, VKH (Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada) ocular disease (dogs), and Evans syndrome (which includes both immune-mediated anemia and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia).
Onoda T, Yamamoto R, Sawamura K, Inoue Y, Matsui A, Miyake T, Hirai N.Thoroughbred horses are seasonal mating animals, raised in northern regions or countries. Foals born yearly in spring generally show a typical seasonal compensatory growth pattern, in which their growth rate declines in the first winter and increases in the next spring. In this study, a new empirical adjustment approach is proposed to adjust for this compensatory growth when growth curve equations are estimated, by using 1,633 male body weights of Thoroughbreds as an illustrating example. Based on general Richards growth curve equation, a new growth curve equation was developed and fit to the ...
Vissani MA, Damiani AM, Barrandeguy ME.Equine coital exanthema (ECE) is a highly contagious, venereally-transmitted mucocutaneous disease, characterized by the formation of papules, vesicles, pustules and ulcers on the external genital organs of mares and stallions, and caused by (EHV-3). The infection is endemic worldwide and the virus is transmitted mainly through direct contact during sexual intercourse and by contaminated instruments during reproductive maneuvers in breeding facilities. The disease does not result in systemic illness, infertility or abortion, yet it does have a negative impact on the equine industry as it forc...
Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O, Malin K, Dąbrowska I, Grzędzicka J, Ostaszewski P, Carter C.Domestic horses routinely participate in vigorous and various athletic activities. This enables the horse to serve as a model for studying athletic physiology and immunology in other species, including humans. For instance, as a model of physical efforts, such as endurance rides (long-distance running/aerobic exercise) and races (anaerobic exercise), the horse can be useful in evaluating post-exercise response. Currently, there has been significant interest in finding biomarkers, which characterize the advancement of training and adaptation to physical exercise in the horse. The parallels in c...
Chiavaccini L, Gupta A, Chiavaccini G.Facial expressions are essential for communication and emotional expression across species. Despite the improvements brought by tools like the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) in pain recognition in horses, their reliance on human identification of characteristic traits presents drawbacks such as subjectivity, training requirements, costs, and potential bias. Despite these challenges, the development of facial expression pain scales for animals has been making strides. To address these limitations, Automated Pain Recognition (APR) powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a promising advancement...
Lauer BH, Baker BE.Casein was isolated from the milks of the following species: cow, horse, pig, reindeer, caribou, moose, harp seal, musk-ox, polar bear, dall sheep, and fin whale. The caseins were subjected to acid hydrolysis, the resultant amino acids were converted to their n-butyl-N-trifluoroacetyl esters, and the amino acid composition of the caseins was determined by gas chromatographic analysis of these esters. Notable among the results was the close similarity, with respect to amino acid composition, of reindeer and caribou caseins. The results of the amino acid analyses of the other caseins are present...
Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Bruce M, Byrne D, Riley TV.Clostridioides difficile poses an ongoing threat as a cause of gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. Traditionally considered a human healthcare-related disease, increases in community-associated C. difficile infection (CDI) and growing evidence of inter-species transmission suggest a wider perspective is required for CDI control. In horses, C. difficile is a major cause of diarrhoea and life-threatening colitis. This study aimed to better understand the epidemiology of CDI in Australian horses and provide insights into the relationships between horse, human and environmental strains...
Triant DA, Walsh AT, Hartley GA, Petry B, Stegemiller MR, Nelson BM, McKendrick MM, Fuller EP, Cockett NE, Koltes JE, McKay SD, Green JA, Murdoch BM....Current genome sequencing technologies have made it possible to generate highly contiguous genome assemblies for non-model animal species. Despite advances in genome assembly methods, there is still room for improvement in the delineation of specific gene features in the genomes. Here we present genome visualization and annotation tools to support seven livestock species (bovine, chicken, goat, horse, pig, sheep, and water buffalo), available in a new resource called AgAnimalGenomes. In addition to supporting the manual refinement of gene models, these browsers provide visualization tracks for...
Joachim A, Cavalleri JV, Berger S.Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) and equine piroplasmosis (EP) are triggered by tick-borne pathogens - the intracellular bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum and the intracellular protozoa Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. These pathogens attack cells in the blood stream and cause similar clinical symptoms and changes in laboratory values. Although the treatment principles are naturally different, similarities in prophylaxis exists due to the transmission route. Tick transmitted pathogens can play a greater role in equine medicine in the future due to various factors, such as the tenden...
Hierweger MM, Remy-Wohlfender F, Franzen J, Koch MC, Blau D, Schoster A, Nicholson P, Gerber V, Gurtner C, Fouché N, Unger L, Seuberlich T.Coronaviruses are causing severe respiratory and enteric diseases in humans and animals. Here, we report an outbreak of equine coronavirus disease in adult horses, detected by a voluntary syndromic surveillance scheme for equine diseases in Switzerland. This scheme allowed a rapid concerted action to diagnose and contain the disease.
Ducharme NG, Hackett RP, Fubini SL, Erb HN.Twenty Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses underwent endoscopic evaluation of arytenoid cartilage movement twice within 1 week. Each time, a flexible endoscope was passed without sedation through the right nostril and the left nostril, and through the right nostril 5 minutes after administration of xylazine hydrochloride (0.55 mg/kg or 1.1 mg/kg intravenously). Laryngeal cartilage movement was videorecorded. All videotaped images were reviewed by three veterinarians and subjectively placed in one of four grades. The intraobserver agreement rate varied from 52.6% for examination under sedation...
Thompson KN.This study was conducted to determine normal rates of growth of different skeletal segments in the thoroughbred horse. Growth of body weight and eight skeletal segments (wither height, hip height, body length, knee to pastern length, hock to pastern length, shoulder to pastern length, width of chest, depth of girth) were monitored in 106 horses (60 colts, 46 fillies) during the period from 14 to 588 d of age. Body weight gains were slightly higher (30 to 40 kg) than previously reported values. Growth in wither height and hip height were similar to previous reports. During the period measured i...
Florence L, McDonnell SM.Despite growing interest in application natural models of hoof-maintenance in domestic horses, little data is available to describe natural conformation and proposed mechanisms of self-maintenance. Objective: Quantitatively describe hoof growth and wear during a period of 'self-trimming' within a herd of semi-feral ponies. Methods: Hoof length, growth and wear were measured for a sample of 40 animals during a period of 'self-trimming' from June through September, 2005. Results: For front hooves, mean toe lengths in July, August and September were significantly less than in June. For the hind, ...
Lansade L, Marchand AR, Coutureau E, Ballé C, Polli F, Calandreau L.The relationship between personality and learning abilities has become a growing field of interest. Studies have mainly focused on the relationship with performance, such as the speed of acquisition. In this study, we hypothesised that personality could in part also be related to a certain predisposition of an individual to switch more easily from a goal-directed process to a habit process during learning. To identify these processes, we conducted a contingency degradation protocol. This study investigated 1/ whether in general horses are able to adjust their response according to the continge...
Roland E, Stover SM, Hull ML, Dorsch K.To define a 3-dimensional (3-D) coordinate system with clear definitions of origins and axes relative to hoof anatomic features and determine whether solar surfaces of Thoroughbred racehorse hooves have geometric asymmetry in the mediolateral and dorsopalmar directions. Methods: Left forelimb hooves from 20 Thoroughbred racehorse cadavers. Methods: A right-handed 3-D coordinate axes system centered on the collateral sulci was defined for the left front hoof. Orthogonal distances of anatomic features from the dorsopalmar axis and the plane coincident with the ground were measured and compared b...
Hii C, Dhand NK, Toribio JLML, Taylor MR, Wiethoelter A, Schembri N, Sawford K, Kung N, Moloney B, Wright T, Field H, Schemann K.Hendra virus (HeV) is an emerging bat-borne virus endemic in Australia that can be transmitted from horses to humans and has a high fatality rate for horses and people. Controversy surrounding HeV risk mitigation measures have strained the veterinarian-horse owner relationship. This study aimed to characterise the veterinarian-horse owner relationship in general and also in the context of HeV by analysing data derived from the 'Horse Owners and Hendra Virus: A Longitudinal Study to Evaluate Risk' (HHALTER) study. Australian horse owners were recruited via emails, social media and word-of-mouth...
Viry S, De Graaf JB, Frances JP, Berton E, Laurent M, Nicol C.The relationship between the biomechanical horse–rider interaction and endurance race performance requires further investigation. Objective: To characterise, both quantitatively and qualitatively, elite and advanced horse–rider dyads on the basis of the biomechanical horse–rider interaction during endurance races. Methods: Five elite and 5 advanced horse–rider dyads were recorded during CEI*/CEI** endurance races using 2 synchronised triaxial accelerometers each placed close to horse and rider centres of mass. Methods: For each horse–rider dyad, analyses focused on the vertical displ...
Novotna A, Birovas A, Vostra-Vydrova H, Vesela Z, Vostry L.The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of a one-day performance test together with the linear type traits of 3-year-old warmblood horses. The study of genetic parameters was based on 5958 tested horses in the period 1998-2021. A total of 22 traits of linear description, three quantitatively measured traits, and one summary mark from the performance test were tested. The model equation included the fixed effect of gender and combination effects of classifier-year of evaluation-place. A single-trait animal model was used for the estimation of heritability and genetic varian...
McCarthy RN, Jeffcott LB, Funder JW, Fullerton M, Clarke IJ.A controlled period of submaximal exercise on a treadmill was used as a standardised stress test in 6 young horses to monitor the effects of training. Circulating plasma concentrations of immunoreactive beta-endorphin (IR beta-EP) were measured before, during and after the exercise period. The stress test was conducted on 3 occasions during an intensive training program lasting 14 weeks. In week 3 a marked increase in plasma IR beta-EP (P = 0.003) was demonstrated as a result of training, but by the last exercise test performed in week 9 no significant increase in plasma IR beta-EP concentrati...
Nazari F, Seyedabadi HR, Noshary A, Emamjomeh-Kashan N, Banabazi MH.The genetic diversity and genomic regions being under putative natural selection in Kurdish horse population were studied. The samples from 72 horses were genotyped by using GGP Equine 70K SNP arrays. The Ne Slope (NeS) analyses revealed that a sharp decline in Ne has probably occurred around four generations ago, and high frequency of ROH with 2-4 Mbp in length suggested that the inbreeding has probably occurred around 20 generations ago. The effective population size (Ne) was 104 horses up to three generations ago and the average inbreeding (FROH) was 0.047(± 0.045). Using de-correlated com...
Bentz BG, Ealey KA, Morrow J, Claypool PL, Saliki JT.A sampling of equids from the state of Oklahoma produced an estimate of seroprevalence of antibody to Sarcocystis neurona to be about 89.2%. This figure represents the highest currently reported regional seroprevalence of antibody to this organism. Regional differences in seroprevalence were found in the western quadrants of the state relative to the eastern quadrants of the state, with a significantly higher seroprevalence in the eastern regions. Thoroughbreds were found to exhibit a statistically significant lower seroprevalence as a breed group when compared with other breeds sampled.
Joyce JR, Martin JE, Storts RW, Skow L.The clinical, gross and microscopic ophthalmic lesions of iridial hypoplasia, limbic dermoids and cataracts in a Quarterhorse stallion and a group of its offspring are described. It is proposed that the lesions in the stallion were the result of an independent mutation and that the defects were transmitted to its offspring by an autosomal dominant gene.
