Warmblood horses are a group of middle-weight horse breeds known for their versatility and performance in equestrian sports such as dressage, show jumping, and eventing. They are characterized by a combination of athleticism, temperament, and conformation, which make them suitable for competitive disciplines. Breeds within this group include the Hanoverian, Dutch Warmblood, and Holsteiner, among others. The breeding and selection processes for Warmbloods focus on traits such as movement, trainability, and soundness. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the genetics, breeding practices, performance traits, and health considerations specific to Warmblood horses.
Escribano BM, Castejón FM, Vivo R, Agüera S, Agüera EI, Rubio MD.The aim of the present paper was: (1) to find out if there were any differences in the nonspecific immunological pattern of peripheral blood neutrophil between two breeds of horses (AA and SA); (2) to evaluate the effects of an exercise in the aerobic-anaerobic threshold. This has been observed in a group of 11 untrained horses (6 SA and 5 AA) of 2.5 years old. No statistically significant differences were found in the different stages of immune response between the rest and immediately after physical exercise to two breeds. However, the chemotaxis was significant higher at rest in the AA than...
Stock KF, Hamann H, Distl O.Factors associated with the prevalence of osseous fragments (OF) in fetlock and hock joints were investigated in a population of young Hanoverian Warmblood horses selected for sale at auction from 1991 to 1998. The study was based on results of a standardized radiological examination of 3127 horses. The prevalences of OF in the two joints were significantly dependent on the date, type and quality of the auction, the region of origin and on the anticipated suitability of the horses for dressage and/or show-jumping. The probability of finding OF increased with wither-height. Furthermore, there w...
Weishaupt MA, Wiestner T, Hogg HP, Jordan P, Auer JA.The objective of this study was to establish representative treadmill ground reaction force (GRF) and interlimb co-ordination time data of clinically sound horses at the trot. It was anticipated that these normative standards would provide a reference data base against which lame horses could be compared. GRF-time histories were collected from 30 Warmblood riding horses with easy, wide natural gaits. Data were recorded of all four limbs simultaneously by the use of an instrumented treadmill. A total of 912 stride cycles per limb were analysed for force, time and spatial parameters and were ave...
White KS, Fuji RN, Valentine BA, Bildfell RJ.Abstract Congenital cutaneous papillomas were identified in five foals. Age at diagnosis ranged from 305 days' gestation to 2 days of age. Breeds were thoroughbred (2), standard-bred (1), warmblood (1) and paint (1). Two were female, one was male and the gender of two cases was not specified. Masses were pedunculated with a roughened, wart-like (verrucous) or a smoother, cauliflower-like surface. Masses occurred as single lesions on the forelimb, lip and face, or as multiple lesions on the trunk. Histological features included relatively uniform epidermal papillary hyperplasia with variable me...
Santamaría S, Bobbert ME, Back W, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.To quantify variation in the jumping technique within and among young horses with little jumping experience, establish relationships between kinetic and kinematic variables, and identify a limited set of variables characteristic for detecting differences in jumping performance among horses. Methods: Fifteen 4-year-old Dutch Warmblood horses. Methods: The horses were raised under standardized conditions and trained in accordance with a fixed protocol for a short period. Subsequently, horses were analyzed kinematically during free jumping over a fence with a height of 1.05 m. Results: Within-hor...
Santamaría S, Bobbert ME, Back W, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.To determine whether differences in jumping technique among horses are consistent at various ages. Methods: 12 Dutch Warmblood horses. Methods: Kinematics were recorded during free jumps of horses when they were 6 months old (ie, no jumping experience) and 4 years old (ie, the horses had started their training period to become show jumpers). Mean +/- SD height of the horses was 1.40 +/- 0.04 m at 6 months of age and 1.70 +/- 0.05 m at 4 years of age. Results: Strong correlations were found between values from 6-month-old foals and 4-year-old horses for variables such as peak vertical accelerat...
Gehlen H, Bubeck K, Stadler P.In 12 healthy warmblood horses and 10 horses with mitral valve insufficiencies (MVI) of various degrees heart rate and pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PWP) was measured at rest and during standardised exercise on a high speed treadmill. There was a significant increase in PWP with each change in speed of the treadmill (p < 0.01). The PWP of horses with mild mitral valve regurgitation under working conditions was not significantly different compared to the healthy horses. The horses with moderate mitral valve regurgitation showed a significant higher pulmonary artery wedge pressure at rest and...
Aberle KS, Hamann H, Drögemüller C, Distl O.We compared the genetic diversity and distance among six German draught horse breeds to wild (Przewalski's Horse), primitive (Icelandic Horse, Sorraia Horse, Exmoor Pony) or riding horse breeds (Hanoverian Warmblood, Arabian) by means of genotypic information from 30 microsatellite loci. The draught horse breeds included the South German Coldblood, Rhenish German Draught Horse, Mecklenburg Coldblood, Saxon Thuringa Coldblood, Black Forest Horse and Schleswig Draught Horse. Despite large differences in population sizes, the average observed heterozygosity (H(o)) differed little among the heavy ...
Nixon AJ, Fortier LA, Goodrich LR, Ducharme NG.Debridement of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) cartilage lesions results in fibrocartilage and imperfect hyaline repair tissue, and forms a permanent irregularity to the subchondral bone plate. Objective: To evaluate the clinical, radiographic and outcome effects of OCD cartilage flap reattachment for select lesions as an alternative to OCD debridement. Objective: Separated cartilage flaps resulting from OCD lesions may be re-incorporated into the hyaline cartilage surface by reattachment rather than debridement and removal. Methods: Resorbable polydioxanone pins were used to reattach OCD flap...
Weiss S, Janett F, Burger D, Hässig M, Thun R.The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of various centrifugation methods on sperm loss and quality of frozen-thawed semen. From at a total of 8 Warmblood stallions of the National Stud Farm in Avenches, 3 ejaculates each were collected and seminal plasma was removed using 3 different centrifugation regimes. In method I (reference method) centrifugation occurred by a speed of 600 x g during 10 minutes. In method II 1000 x g was used during 2 minutes while in method III centrifugation was performed by 2000 x g during 2 minutes. After centrifugation 90%, of the supernatant ...
Hevesi A, Stanek Ch, Garamvolgyi R, Petrasi Z, Bogner P, Repa I.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was tested for evaluation of the soft tissue structures of the equine digit in 16 limbs, derived from three adult warmblood horses and two newborn warmblood foals. The following measuring sequences were used in sagittal, transversal and coronal planes: spin echo, gradient echo, inversion recovery. The images were made with a 1.5 Tesla Siemens scanner in a CP-Helmholtz circular coil. To compare the visualization of the same tissue structures in adult and in newborn cases the limbs were imaged with the routinely used MRI sequences that are used for mature tissues...
Blazyczek I, Hamann H, Deegen E, Distl O, Ohnesorge B.Between 1994 and 2001, guttural pouch tympany was diagnosed in 51 foals; there were approximately three times as many fillies as colts, of Arabian, different German warmblood breeds and Western horse breeds. There were significantly more Arabian and paint horse foals than expected in comparison with the breed distribution of the foals hospitalised at the Clinic for Horses. The foals' breed and sex did not influence the age of onset, the type and severity of the clinical signs or the recurrence rate. A surgical laser technique was used on 50 of the foals; in 35 cases only one surgical treatment...
Anastasiou A, Skioldebrand E, Ekman S, Hall LD.The distal row of carpal bones (C2, C3, and C4) from eight left intercarpal joints--four from Standardbred Trotters and four from Swedish Warmblood horses--were used to assess the potential of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to detect cartilage and bone lesions. The joints used in the study were classified by macroscopic and radiographic examinations as having normal, mild, moderate, or severe articular cartilage lesions and bone sclerosis. Those classifications correlated well with the appearance of the MR images. Bone sclerosis in the MR images was observed as regions of decreased signal int...
Rijnen KE, van der Kolk JH.To acquire reference range values indicative of glucose metabolism by use of the hyperglycemic clamp technique in healthy horses and evaluate the usefulness of the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique in healthy horses and ponies. Methods: Dutch Warmblood horses and 4 Shetland ponies. Methods: The hyperglycemic clamp technique was used for quantification of the sensitivity of beta cells to exogenous glucose infusion in horses. The euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique was used to determine the sensitivity and responsiveness of tissues to exogenous insulin in horses and ponies. Res...
de Blaauw JA, Rijkenhuizen AB, van Nieuwstadt RA, Grinwis GC, Back W.Two grey mares, a 12-year-old Arabian and a 13-year-old Lippizaner cross, were referred for chronic pelvic limb lameness and abduction of the limb during the non supporting phase of the stride. The clinical examination revealed melanomas under the tail and on the perineum, and oedema of the proximal lame limb. A mass in the pelvic area was detected on rectal palpation. Laparoscopy was performed and the provisional diagnosis of malignant melanoma was made. Histological examination of the biopsy taken under laparoscopic control from the mass in the pelvis confirmed the diagnosis of malignant mel...
van Buiten A, Westers P, Colenbrander B.The "effect" of stallion, mare and management-related factors on the odds of pregnancy per cycle in the horse were identified and quantified from the breeding records of Dutch Warmblood (n=4491), Friesian (n=1467) and Shetland-pony mares (n=3267) mated either naturally or by artificial insemination to one of the 88 stallions between 1992 and 1996. A mare was considered to be pregnant when she did not return to oestrous within 28 days of the last insemination. For Dutch Warmblood horses, the percentage of mares that did not return for service within 28 days (NR28) varied between studfarms and r...
de Behr V, Daron D, Gabriel A, Remy B, Dufrasne I, Serteyn D, Istasse L.An inquiry was carried out to assess the concentrations of plasma metabolites related to bone remodelling in 21 saddle horses of Warmblood breed aged 4-26 years, five draught horses of Ardennes breed aged 4-10 years, and 10 Ardennes foals aged 9-11 months. They were fed according to normal feeding practice in Belgium. The changes in some bone remodelling plasma metabolite concentrations were studied when an unbalanced diet was offered and later corrected for four Warmblood horses. Bone formation was evaluated by bone alkaline phosphatase (BALP), total alkaline phosphatase (TALP) and osteocalci...
Sieme H, Schäfer T, Stout TA, Klug E, Waberski D.This study investigated the effects of different artificial insemination (AI) regimes on the pregnancy rate in mares inseminated with either cooled or frozen-thawed semen. In essence, the influence of three different factors on fertility was examined; namely the number of inseminations per oestrus, the time interval between inseminations within an oestrus, and the proximity of insemination to ovulation. In the first experiment, 401 warmblood mares were inseminated one to three times in an oestrus with either cooled (500 x 10(6) progressively motile spermatozoa, stored at +5 degrees C for 2-4 h...
Gehlen H, Bubeck K, Stadler P.In 12 healthy warmblood horses (six trained and six untrained) the pulmonary wedge pressure and heart frequency was measured at rest and during a standardised exercise test on a treadmill. The mean pulmonary wedge pressure at rest was 14.53 +/- 2.36 mmHg. There was no significant difference in pulmonary wedge pressure either at rest or during exercise between trained and untrained horses. During walking (1.8 m/s) the mean pulmonary wedge pressure was 19.62 +/- 4.03 mmHg, during trotting (4 und 5 m/s) it was between 22.38 +/- 3.92 mmHg and 25.28 +/- 3.7 mmHg. During canter (6 m/s) and gallop (8...
Blazyczek I, Hamann H, Ohnesorge B, Deegen E, Distl O.The objective of the present study was to analyse the importance of the influences of sex, inbreeding coefficient, proportion of genes of the original breeds and the additive genetic contribution to the occurrence of guttural pouch tympany in foals belonging to German Warmblood breeds. Foals affected by guttural pouch tympany were ascertained in the Clinic of Horses, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. This data set comprised 22 German Warmblood foals with guttural pouch tympany, which were patients of the Clinic for Horses between 1994 and 2001. Information on the pedigrees and all availa...
van Hoogmoed LM, Snyder JR, Thomas HL, Harmon FA.Prepurchase examinations of horses are used increasingly as a means of evaluating future soundness. Data is lacking in the literature of the radiographic findings and results of the lameness examination of comprehensive prepurchase examinations. Objective: To summarise the clinical and radiographic findings of prepurchase examinations and determine if radiographic findings correlated with the lameness examination and sale outcome. Methods: Records of 510 cases were reviewed, radiographs evaluated and grades assigned the navicular bone, distal phalanx, and tarsus. Follow-up information on the h...
Henninger W, Frame EM, Willmann M, Simhofer H, Malleczek D, Kneissl SM, Mayrhofer E.Sinusitis is a common disorder in horses and may result from trauma, dental diseases, or space-occupying lesions. Radiography can only provide a limited amount of information. Computed tomography (CT) has been documented as an alternative imaging method. Eighteen horses (mostly Warmblood) with signs of chronic sinusitis were examined preoperatively with CT to assist in diagnosis of the underlying cause. There was a group of common CT features in horses with dental disease and sinusitis. The first molar was the most frequently affected maxillary cheek tooth. Hypoattenuation of the cementum, des...
Janett F, Thun R, Niederer K, Burger D, Hässig M.The objective of this study was to investigate seasonal changes in stallion semen quality and to determine the best time for semen cryopreservation. Experiments were performed using 10 Warmblood stallions from the National Stud Farm in Avenches (Switzerland). Ejaculates were collected and frozen every other week during 1 year from January to December 1999. Volume, concentration, and motility, and the number of morphologically normal sperm and sperm with major defects (abnormal heads, acrosome defects, nuclear vacuoles, proximal droplets, abnormal midpieces) were evaluated. For all frozen-thawe...
Wilderjans H, Boussauw B, Madder K, Simon O.Inflammation of the digital flexor tendon sheaths is a chronic and nebulous condition often unresponsive to medical and surgical treatment. Objective: To evaluate the incidence of longitudinal tears (LT) as the underlying cause of chronic tenosynovitis and annular ligament constriction syndrome (ALCS) in warmblood horses. Methods: The records of 25 horses with chronic tenosynovitis and ALCS in which tenoscopical inspection of the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) was performed between 1999-2000 were reviewed. Of 25 horses, 17 were diagnosed with an LT in the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT)...
Dyson S, Murray R.There has been no large study of horses with suspected sacroiliac (SI) joint region pain in which the clinical diagnosis has been supported by either abnormal radiopharmaceutical activity in the SI joint region or by periarticular infiltration of local anaesthetic solution. Objective: To describe the clinical features of horses with SI joint region pain, to document the age, breed, sex, discipline, size and conformation of affected horses and to compare these with the author's (SD) normal case population and to document the results of infiltration of local anaesthetic solution around the SI jo...
Herholz CP, Gerber V, Tschudi P, Straub R, Imhof A, Busato A.To investigate whether volumetric capnography indices could be used to differentiate between horses without recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and horses with RAO that were in clinical remission or that had clinically apparent RAO. Methods: 70 adult Swiss Warmblood horses (20 used for pleasure riding and 50 used for dressage or show jumping). Methods: Horses were allocated to 4 groups on the basis of history, clinical signs, results of endoscopy, and cytologic findings (group 1, 21 healthy horses; group 2, 22 horses with RAO that were in remission; group 3, 16 horses with mild RAO; group 4, 11...
Visser EK, Van Reenen CG, Rundgren M, Zetterqvist M, Morgan K, Blokhuis HJ.Behavioural tests as well as observers' ratings have been used to study horses' temperament. However, the relationship between the ratings and the responses in behavioural tests has not yet been studied in detail. Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine this relationship between ratings and responses. Methods: Eighteen mature Swedish Warmblood horses were subjected to 2 behavioural tests, one relating to novelty (novel object test) and one to handling (handling test). Subsequently, 16 of these horses were ridden by 16 equally experienced students, having no former experience wit...
Bachmann I, Audigé L, Staﾬher M.Studies on the prevalence of behavioural disorders in horses and on associated risk factors have revealed inconsistent results. There are many studies on the neuropharmacological, surgical or mechanical therapy of stereotypies, but little is known about their causation. Objective: To explore risk factors associated with the occurrence of behavioural disorders in horses. Methods: A sample of horse owners, selected randomly and representative for Switzerland, was contacted in a postal survey. Answers were provided for 622 stables (response rate 35.2%). Individual data of 2,341 horses were examin...
McGowan CM, Menzies-Gow NJ, McDiarmid AM, Patterson-Kane JC.This paper describes four cases of equine polysaccharide storage myopathy which were confirmed by histological examination of muscle biopsy specimens. The horses were of mixed breeding, with warmblood and thoroughbred dominating. They all had recurrent episodes of rhabdomyolysis, indicated by clinical signs and increased plasma levels of muscle enzymes. They were managed conservatively and have continued athletic careers despite their disease.
Courtney CH.Few studies investigating the seasonal transmission of equine cyathostomes have been done in warm climates. Two Australian studies used experimentally-infected plots to determine hatching, development and survival of free living stages of equine cyathostomes. Four studies in the southern United States used pasture larval counts, and in some instances tracer animals, to determine seasonal availability of infective cyathostome larvae on naturally-infected pastures. With the exception of the dry Australian tropics, a general pattern of peak transmission of cyathostomes during the cooler seasons o...
Hatzipanagiotou A, Rieland E, Enbergs H.It was the aim of this project to investigate the changes of the lysozyme activity in the milk of mares during the lactation period. Further on the influence of race, date of conception and foaling, age and number of lactations on the lysozyme activities in milk was analysed. Milk samples were collected from 44 mares (trotters, warmblood, quarter horses) from eight farms between the 1st and 90th day p. p. The activity of the lysozyme was measured by a turbidometric method. Summarizing the following results are obtained: Lysozyme activities in mare milk of the 1st and 3rd day p. p. were higher ...
Vernemmen I, Vera L, Van Steenkiste G, Deserranno B, Muylle S, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Arrhythmias are common in horses, but catheter-based minimally invasive electrophysiological studies and therapeutic interventions have been poorly explored in equine medicine, partly due to the lack of detailed anatomical knowledge of the equine heart. Objective: To describe the dimensions and anatomical features of some electrophysiologically important landmarks of the right atrium in detail and assess their correlation with bodyweight and aortic diameter. Methods: Ex vivo cadaveric study. Methods: Twenty-one hearts of Warmblood horses, subjected to euthanasia for noncardiovascular reasons, ...
Schaaf KL, Kannegieter NJ, Lovell DK.A Warmblood horse presented with a purulent nasal discharge that had failed to respond to antibiotic therapy. Radiography and endoscopy confirmed a large number of chondroid masses (over 200) in the left guttural pouch. Despite the large number of chondroids present, there was no external swelling evident. The masses were surgically removed via a hyovertebrotomy approach that provided excellent exposure, and no postoperative complications were encountered. Long term follow-up (3 years) confirmed a successful outcome.
Rowe Á, Flanagan S, Barry G, Katz LM, Lane EA, Duggan V.Warmblood Fragile Foal Syndrome (WFFS) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation in the procollagen-lysine, 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 1 (PLOD1) gene. Homozygosity for the mutation results in defective collagen synthesis which clinically manifests as the birth of non viable or still born foals with abnormally fragile skin. While the mutation has been identified in non Warmblood breeds including the Thoroughbred, to date all homozygous clinically affected cases reported in the scientific literature are Warmblood foals. The objective of this study was to investigate the carrier f...
Daniel JA, Groux R, Wilson JA, Krawczel PD, Lee AR, Whitlock BK.To examine the impact of trimming and re-shoeing on behavior, light horse geldings (3-21 year-old Quarter Horse, Dutch Warmblood, or Thoroughbred) were fitted with three-axis accelerometers (IceTag, Ice Robotics, Edinburgh, Scotland) on the left rear limb. Boots were placed under the accelerometer, and both were removed daily for approximately 1 hour while horses were stalled for morning feeding to examine the horses' limb. After a two-day adaptation period and five days of activity tracking, horses were treated by having shoes removed, feet trimmed, and new shoes fitted (re-shod; n = 3) or ...
Kol'vek F, Krešáková L, Vdoviaková K, Medvecký Ľ, Žert Z.After the medial femoral condyle (MFC), the phalanges are the second most common site for osseous cyst-like lesions (OCLLs). Conservative treatment of phalangeal cysts on the convex surface of proximal phalanx presents a technical problem with access to the stoma of the cyst. Surgical therapy options usually aim to avoid cyst enlargement through drilling or screw placement or to encourage lesion filling with osteoconductive material. This paper describes a case of treatment of the OCLL in a yearling Czech warmblood filly with surgical arthrodesis, together with the packing of the OCLL with cal...
van Zadelhoff C, Ehrle A, Merle R, Jahn W, Lischer C.Impinging processi spinosi in the equine thoracic spine are a common cause of poor performance in the horse. A modified semiquantitative scintigraphic image analysis has been proposed for the evaluation of equine processi spinosi. This technique showed a high inter- and intraobserver agreement when compared to subjective and semiquantitative image analysis. The aim of this retrospective, method comparison study was to evaluate the agreement of the modified semiquantitative scintigraphic image assessment with previous methods of interpretation and to compare these scintigraphic evaluation techn...
Vervuert I, Winkelsett S, Christmann L, Bruns E, Hoppen HO, Distl O, Hertsch B, Coenen M.To determine whether plasma concentrations of bone turnover markers in growing Hanoverian foals are influenced by age, housing conditions, or osteochondrosis. Methods: 165 healthy foals and 119 foals with osteochondrosis. Methods: Foals were allocated according to birth date and housing management into groups of early-born (born before March 31, 2001; n = 154 foals, 88 of which were healthy and 66 of which had osteochondrosis) and late-born (born after March 31, 2001; 130 foals, 77 of which were healthy and 53 of which had osteochondrosis) foals. Plasma osteocalcin and carboxyterminal propepti...
de Graaf-Roelfsema E, Tharasanit T, van Dam KG, Keizer HA, van Breda E, Wijnberg ID, Stout TA, van der Kolk JH.To determine the effects of short-term IV administration of hydrocortisone or equine growth hormone (eGH) or long-term IM administration of eGH to horses on tissue sensitivity to exogenous insulin. Methods: 5 Standardbreds and 4 Dutch Warmblood horses. Methods: The euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp technique was used to examine sensitivity of peripheral tissues to exogenous insulin 24 hours after administration of a single dose of hydrocortisone (0.06 mg/kg), eGH (20 microg/kg), or saline (0.9% NaCl) solution and after long-term administration (11 to 15 days) of eGH to horses. The amounts of m...
Janicka W, Wilk I, Próchniak T, Janczarek I.Virtual fencing is an innovative alternative to conventional fences. Different systems have been studied, including electric-impulse-free systems. We tested the potential of self-applied acoustic stimulus in deterring the horses from further movement. Thirty warmblood horses were individually introduced to a designated corridor leading toward a food reward (variant F) or a familiar horse (variant S). As the subject reached a distance of 30, 15 or 5 m from a finish line, an acute alarming sound was played. Generally, a sudden and unknown sound was perceived by horses as a threat causing an incr...
Slenter IJM, Hermans H, Ensink JM, Willems DS, Veraa S, Grinwis GCM, Boevé MH.To describe ultrasonography as a diagnostic method of in vivo Descemet's membrane detachment (DMD) in horses. Methods: Seven horses (three Icelandic horses, two Dutch Warmblood horses, one Appaloosa, and one Welsh Pony), presenting with moderate-to-severe focal or diffuse corneal edema, in whom DMD was suspected on ultrasonographic examination and confirmed with histopathology, were studied. Methods: A retrospective analysis of case records of horses with suspected DMD was performed. Results: Median age at presentation was 14 years (range 11-24). Clinical signs in eyes with DMD were unilatera...
Spallek A, Recknagel S, Breuer J, Koeller G, Schusser GF.The use of laxatives is crucial in the treatment of horses with large colon impaction. To reach the impacted mass, the laxative must leave the stomach and pass through the small intestine. The aim of this study was to determine whether the most frequently used saline and lubricant laxatives influence gastric emptying. Six fasted normal adult Warmblood horses were used in a randomized study design with five laxative trials (1.8% sodium sulfate [1.8% Na2SO4], 4.2% magnesium sulfate [4.2% MgSO4], mineral oil [MOil], 25% sodium sulfate [25% Na2SO4], 25% magnesium sulfate [25% MgSO4]) and two trial...
Byström A, Hardeman AM, Engell MT, Swagemakers JH, Koene MHW, Serra-Bragança FM, Rhodin M, Hernlund E.In horses, hip hike asymmetry, i.e. left-right difference in hip upwards movement during hind limb protraction in trot, is a crucial lameness sign. Vertical hip movements are complex, influenced by both pelvic roll and pelvic vertical motion. Veterinarians find it challenging to identify low-grade lameness, and knowledge of normal variation is a prerequisite for discerning abnormalities. This study, which included 100 clinically sound Warmblood horses, aimed to describe normal variation in pelvic roll stride patterns. Data were collected during straight-line trot in hand using optical motion c...
Dufourni A, Buschmann E, Vernemmen I, Van Steenkiste G, van Loon G, Decloedt A.Echocardiographic measurements are important prognostic indicators but might be influenced by heart rate and blood pressure. This is particularly important when comparing repeated examinations. Objective: To determine the effect of physiological stress at mildly increased heart rates and pharmacological challenge using IV administration of N-butylscopolammonium bromide and metamizol sodium on heart rate, blood pressure, and echocardiographic measurements. Methods: Twenty healthy Warmblood horses. Methods: Randomized crossover study. Horses were examined echocardiographically by 2-dimensional, ...
Gmel A, Ricard A, Gerber V, Neuditschko M.The breeding history of the Einsiedler horse is closely connected with the Benedictine cloister Einsiedeln. In the mid-nineteenth century, it was decided to use European Warmblood stallions for cross-breeding and to abandon the selection of stallions. Since that time, it has only been possible to trace back the origin of Einsiedler horses using maternal ancestry information. Here, we collected high-density genotype data for European Warmblood horses (Selle Français, Swiss Warmblood and Einsiedler) and Franches-Montagnes horses, the last native Swiss horse breed, to unravel the current populat...
Sielhorst J, Koether K, Volkmann N, Blanco M, Vicioso R, Baade S, Kemper N, de Mestre AM, Sieme H.Little is known about the incidence and outcome of high-risk pregnancies in equine practice and clinical studies on spontaneous occurring placentitis cases and treatments are missing. Therefore, the aims of this retrospective field study were to (1) describe the incidence and severity of ultrasonographic assessed placental abnormalities (UPA) in 4,192 pregnancies on a large commercial warmblood stud farm in 2017 - 2019 and (2) characterize these UPA cases and their pregnancy outcome. UPA severity (Placental abnormality score (PSc) 1-3; low to high), nine treatment regimens (TM1-9) used in UPA ...
Faulkner JE, Joostens Z, Broeckx BJG, Hauspie S, Mariën T, Vanderperren K.Sagittal groove disease of the proximal phalanx in equine athletes is commonly considered a bone stress injury. Repetitive hyperextension of the fetlock under high load is thought to contribute to its development. Concurrent changes are often reported in the dorsal sagittal ridge of the third metacarpus/metatarsus (MC3/MT3). Objective: To describe the spectrum of associated osseous abnormalities that are present in the fetlock in a large group of horses diagnosed with sagittal groove disease on low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional. Methods: MRI im...
Muko R, Ojima Y, Matsuda H, Toishi Y, Oikawa MA, Shin T, Sato H, Tanaka A.Previously, we demonstrated unique insertion/deletion polymorphisms of equine histidine-rich glycoprotein with five genotypes composed of 45-bp or 90-bp deletions in the histidine-rich region of in Thoroughbred horses. Although leukocytes are typically used to collect DNA for genotyping, blood sampling from animals is sometimes difficult and invasive. Moreover, the method for extracting DNA from blood leukocytes involves complicated steps and must be performed soon after blood sampling for sensitive gene analysis. In the present study, we performed genotyping using DNA, isolated from oral m...
Kehlbeck A, Blanco M, Venner M, Freise F, Gunreben B, Sieme H.Fragile foal syndrome (FFS) or warmblood FFS Type 1 (WFFS) is a recessive, autosomal, hereditary, genetic defect causing late abortions, stillbirths and non-viable foals. Whether early pregnancy losses occur is unknown. Objective: To investigate how WFFS affects pregnancies and whether early pregnancy losses occur in WFFS matings and if there is a difference in pregnancy success between matings where both parents were allele carriers and those where only mare or stallion were WFFS carriers. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Breeding records from a Warmblood stud farm were evaluated...
Pilger F, Kroschel L, Aurich J, Nagel C, Hoffmann G, Hartmann U, Aurich C.Warmblood sires traditionally have been presented for stallion licencing at 2 years of age, but the age at which horses are mentally fit for training is a point of controversy. We have therefore investigated the stress response of young stallions to pretraining for licencing. Salivary cortisol concentration, heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) were determined repeatedly over 12 weeks. Stallions were 24 and 30 months old and either housed in groups or individual boxes (Group 24, n = 9; Box 24, n = 10; Box 30, n = 10). Pretraining included free movement in an indoor arena, train...
Nazari-Ghadikolaei A, Fikse WF, Viklund ÅG, Mikko S, Eriksson S.Swedish Warmblood horses (SWB) are bred for show jumping and/or dressage with young horse test scores as indicator traits. This study aimed to investigate possible candidate genes and regions of importance for evaluated and linearly scored young horse test traits. A single-step genome-wide association study (ssGWAS) was done using the BLUPF90 suite of programs for factors scores from factor analysis of traits assessed at young horse tests together with height at withers. The ssGWAS included 20,814 SWB with factors scores for four factors for evaluated traits. A total of 6436 of these horses al...
Helbig H, Berghaus LJ, Venner M, Berghaus R, Hart KA.Adequate vitamin availability is vital for cellular and immune function and for normal growth. Available data on age-related changes in serum concentrations of vitamins in foals are limited. In addition, associations between circulating vitamin concentrations and the development of bronchopneumonia in foals are not described. Objective: (1) To quantify circulating concentrations of vitamins C, D and E from birth to weaning in foals; (2) to determine associations between vitamin concentrations and the development of bronchopneumonia during this period. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods...
Cuervo-Arango J, Sala-Ayala L, Márquez-Moya A, Martínez-Boví R.The objective of this study was to determine the effect of two aspiration pressures (75 vs. 150 mmHg), the follicle flushing method (injection pump controlled by a foot pedal vs. a plastic syringe) and the twisting of the OPU needle on oocyte recovery and in vitro embryo production. OPU data from a total of 104 warmblood sport mares belonging to a commercial OPU-ICSI program were collected as part of a prospective study split into three experiments. Each mare was used only once for OPU. In Experiment 1, the mares' follicles were aspirated using either a high aspiration pressure (flow rate of 1...
Szabó L, Pollard D, Nagy A.There are no published reference ranges on computed tomographic (CT) hoof wall and sole measurements. Objective: To establish reference ranges for CT measurements of the hoof wall and sole in non-lame horses, and to investigate associations between measurements and signalment, laterality, and medial or lateral sides. Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Methods: Soft tissue reconstructions of fan-beam CT studies of 110 front feet of 56 non-lame horses (30 Thoroughbred racehorses, 26 Warmblood showjumpers), performed in non- to semi-weightbearing positions, were analysed. Hoof wall th...
Käfer-Karrer MJ, de Preux M, Van der Vekens E, Mattei LI, Kuhlmann J, Klopfenstein Bregger MD, Easley JT, Koch C.To describe the repair of a fractured cranial articular process (AP) of the sixth cervical vertebra (C6) with cortex screws placed in lag fashion using computer-assisted surgery. Methods: A 12-year-old Swiss Warmblood gelding. Methods: Case report. Methods: The gelding was presented with neck pain and ataxia after a fall. A fracture of the right cranial AP of C6 was identified on radiographs. The fracture was repaired by internal fixation with two 4.5 mm cortex screws of 58 and 48 mm length placed in lag fashion using computer-assisted surgery. Results: During general anesthesia, it was su...
Geiger T, Lindenhahn L, Delarocque J, Geburek F.Data about efficacy of different training modalities during rehabilitation of horses with back pain is scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of water treadmill training, lunging and dry treadmill training in horses with back pain. Methods: Eighteen warmblood riding horses referred with confirmed clinical signs of back pain including abnormal responses to passive mobilisation were randomized into three groups to participate in a 6-week water treadmill training, lunging or dry treadmill program under otherwise identical conditions. Two clinicians, one blinded to the program, pe...
Boado A, Pollard D, Lopez-Sanroman FJ, Dyson S.There is limited information regarding orthopaedic injuries in dressage horses. This study assessed the prevalence of injuries in a mixed referral and first opinion population of 272 horses training and competing in dressage, 238 of which were followed up one to five years after injury. Warmblood (55.8%) and Iberian (38.6%) breeds predominated. The median age was 8 years (interquartile range [IQR] 5,11; range 1,21). Horses were examined due to lameness (85.3%) or poor performance (14.7%). The median lameness grade was 2/5 (IQR 2,4; range 0,4). Forelimb lameness was more prevalent than hindlimb...
