Journal of Equine Science最新文献

Dexamethasone is a common drug used in equine medicine, but when administered inappropriately, it can lead to serious health complications. There is a dearth of data on horse caregivers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding dexamethasone use in Nigeria. Understanding current dexamethasone usage patterns is necessary for developing educational interventions which will then improve equine welfare. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of horse caregivers regarding dexamethasone use in Ibadan, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst a total of 100 horse caregivers in Ibadan using a structured questionnaire. Face-to-face interviews were conducted so as to assess KAP regarding dexamethasone use. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were conducted with P≤0.05 considered significant. All respondents were male, and 66% of them were aged 20-39 years. Only 46% of them demonstrated satisfactory knowledge, with 76% of them wrongly identifying dexamethasone as a painkiller rather than a steroid (6%). Attitudes (caregivers' perceptions and willingness to follow veterinary guidance) and practices were satisfactory in 54% of respondents. Facility type significantly influenced attitudes (P=0.036), with commercial stable workers showing poorer attitudes (80% unsatisfactory). Age significantly affected practices (P=0.014), with teenagers demonstrating the worst practices (100% unsatisfactory). Frequency of veterinary consultation significantly affected both attitudes (P=0.025) and practices (P=0.007), with daily interaction showing the best outcomes. Knowledge gaps as well as inappropriate practices regarding dexamethasone use exist among horse caregivers in Ibadan, particularly concerning its classification, mechanism of action, and side effects. We recommend the implementation of educational programmes and encouragement of regular veterinary consultation amongst caregivers.

Colic, a major gastrointestinal disease in horses, has a high recurrence rate and can lead to surgery or fatal outcomes, highlighting the need for effective prevention measures. Disruption of the microbiome is a multifaceted problem and can occur from a variety of factors, such as high-concentrate diets, which can then potentially cause colic. However, individual variation in the incidence of colic can occur when under identical management practices. The aim of this study was to characterize the fecal bacterial composition of Japanese draft horses with and without a history of colic in the past two years under identical feeding conditions to determine if specific bacterial taxa are associated with either phenotype. A fecal bacterial community analysis was performed via sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. The fecal lactate concentration was measured using high-performance liquid chromatography. Our results show a significant decrease in microbial evenness in horses with a history of colic along with an increase in Streptococcus. The fecal lactate concentration was higher in the colic group compared with the non-colic group, which may be attributed to the higher abundance of Streptococcus. Horses without a history of colic were characterized by amplicon sequence variants belonging to bacteria associated with fiber degradation, including Rikenellaceae RC9, Kiritimatiellae, and Clostridium. Overall, our results align with previous studies on equine colic epidemiology and suggest that the bacterial microbiome composition, independent of diet, may be related to the recurrence of colic.

The Tibetan wild ass (Equus kiang) is primarily located on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Ladakh region of India. This species is recognised as the only odd-toed ungulate within the order Perissodactyla, family Equidae, and genus Equus. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), E. kiang is classified as a species of Least Concern; however, the subspecies Equus k. kiang, which inhabits the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh, is categorised as Data Deficient by the IUCN. To rigorously assess the validity of the Data Deficient classification of E. k. kiang, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken utilising search terms including "E. kiang", "Asiatic Wild Ass", "Tibetan Wild Ass", and "kiang" on platforms such as PubMed (NCBI) and Google Scholar. The results consistently demonstrated that the majority of the literature concentrates on the ecological and behavioural attributes of the kiang, while there is limited focus on genetic factors. Most genetic studies have prioritised the estimation of genetic diversity and the execution of phylogenetic analyses; however, none have sufficiently investigated the population structure. Notably, there is a significant paucity of research on the whole-genome sequencing of E. kiang, and to date, no nucleotide sequences from India have been submitted to GenBank. Consequently, it can be inferred that while E. kiang is designated as a species of Least Concern, its subspecies, E. k. kiang, remains Data Deficient. It is strongly recommended that future research employ molecular markers such as mitochondrial DNA D-loop markers, microsatellite (MSAT) markers, and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to evaluate the population structure of this resilient equid.

Computed tomography (CT) offers high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging, making it particularly valuable for assessing complex structures, such as the head, especially when conventional radiography and endoscopy are insufficient for a definitive diagnosis. Herein, we present two cases of equine cranial disorders resulting from congenital malformations. In case 1, which had a dentigerous cyst, CT images confirmed the location of the ectopic tooth within the skull and a detailed fistula tube. In case 2, which had temporohyoid osteoarthropathy, CT examination revealed that the stylohyoid bone was malformed, and the inner ear was presumed to be filled with soft tissue with calcification. The information obtained by CT was invaluable, as it allowed for accurate diagnosis and precise surgical planning.

This case report documents the first identified Brucella infection in a 6-year-old male Thoroughbred horse in Libya. The horse exhibited muscle and joint pain, inflammation over the shoulders with a pulpy texture (fistulous withers), stress, fatigue, and potential systemic infection. Its diagnosis was confirmed through serological testing, with agglutination titers of 1/80 for B. melitensis and 1/160 for B. abortus, and a blood culture revealing Gram-negative coccobacilli. After 3 weeks of combination therapy with rifampicin and doxycycline, the inflammation resolved, systemic signs disappeared, the horse's health improved significantly, with restored appetite and reduced levels of stress and fatigue. This novel finding underscores the potential spread of brucellosis across animal species, highlighting brucellosis' spread across animal species and its public health risks. It emphasizes the urgent need for a "One Health" approach, vaccination programs, enhanced diagnostic infrastructure, and international collaboration.

We investigated the changes in inbreeding levels in Japanese Thoroughbred horses over the past 46 years. Our results show a significant increase in inbreeding over the past 30 years, primarily due to the influence of two sires, Northern Dancer and Sunday Silence. Northern Dancer's bloodline spread gradually through descendants like Northern Taste, leading to a slower increase in the inbreeding coefficient. In contrast, Sunday Silence was directly imported and became a leading sire, causing a rapid increase in his blood proportion and inbreeding coefficient. Our findings suggest that monitoring the trajectories of successful sires and considering historical factors can help predict and control potential inbreeding depression in the future.

Including Internet of Things (IoT) technology in horse-rearing management can potentially mitigate problems such as human resource shortages and time limitations in performing daily behavior monitoring. In this study, a small and inexpensive activity meter used to monitor dogs and cats (PLUS CYCLE^®, JARMeC, Kanagawa, Japan) was used to monitor the daily behavior of horses. A study was performed to examine the suitability of the PLUS CYCLE^® device for monitoring horses and to determine whether it could estimate horse behavior. The device was equipped with an accelerometer and was used to monitor Kiso horses in horse stalls and pastures after installing the devices at specific locations on headcollars and girths. The amount of activity from the accelerometer showed differences among the horses' behavioral types (lying, standing, walking, and feeding) in the stall, suggesting that it functions in horses. In the pasture, the amount of activity was correlated with GPS movement speed. Then, we tried to establish restricted cubic spline regression models to predict the locomotion speed in the pasture based on the amount of activity, but the prediction accuracy was low. This study showed that PLUS CYCLE^® can be used to monitor horse activity amount during the daily management of individual horses. However, to achieve higher precision in monitoring detailed behaviors, additional investigation and data pertaining to the amount of activity for each horse during rearing in different environments are needed.

A two-year-old male Japanese draft horse (known as a "Ban'ei horse") excreted eight cestodes. Based on their morphological features, they were identified as Anoplocephala perfoliata. The partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences of the worms were nearly identical to A. perfoliata isolated from horses in Europe. The results of phylogenetic analyses of COI revealed that our samples and the European isolates formed the same clade, which was separate from Chinese and Australian isolates. Ban'ei horses were developed by crossbreeding draft horses imported from European countries in the 1900s. Our results suggest that A. perfoliata was transported to Hokkaido with horses from Europe. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. perfoliata infection in a Japanese draft horse.

We evaluated the clinical efficacy of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with propofol-ketamine-xylazine (PKX) with or without remifentanil for castration in horses. Twenty-four Thoroughbred horses were premedicated with intravenous (IV) xylazine (1.0 mg/kg) and midazolam (0.02 mg/kg) and anesthetized with IV ketamine (1.5 mg/kg) and propofol (1.0 mg/kg). Surgical anesthesia was maintained with constant infusion of propofol (3.0 mg/kg/hr)-ketamine (3.0 mg/kg/hr)-xylazine (1.0 mg/kg/hr) (group PKX: n=8), PKX combined with remifentanil (3.0 µg/kg/hr) (group PKXR3: n=8), or PKX combined with remifentanil (6.0 µg/kg/hr) (group PKXR6: n=8). During anesthesia, none of the horses showed any limb movements, but five, two, and two horses in the PKX, PKXR3, and PKXR6 groups, respectively, showed cremaster muscle contractions. One horse in the PKX group required doubling the PKX infusion rate to continue surgery. Adverse effects of remifentanil (trembling of the nose tip or tongue) were observed in one and three horses in the PKXR3 and PKXR6 groups, respectively. Heart rate and arterial blood pressure were well maintained in all groups. Ventilation was assisted in four, five, and six horses in the PKX, PKXR3, and PKXR6 groups, respectively. Recovery scores in the PKX group were fair in one horse, good in three horses, and excellent in four horses, whereas recovery in all horses in the PKXR3 and PKXR6 groups was judged to be excellent. TIVA with PKX combined with remifentanil 3.0 µg/kg/hr could provide more sufficient anesthetic depth than PKX with fewer clinically significant adverse effects than that with remifentanil 6.0 µg/kg/hr.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent condition in horses, leading to changes in trabecular bone structure and radiographic texture. Although fractal dimension (FD) and lacunarity have been applied to quantify these changes in humans, their application in horses remains nascent. This study evaluated the use of FD, bone area fraction (BA/TA), and lacunarity in quantifying trabecular bone differences in the proximal phalanx (P1) in 50 radiographic examinations of equine metacarpophalangeal joints with varying OA degrees. In the dorsopalmar view, regions of interest were defined in the trabecular bone of the proximal epiphysis, medial and lateral to the sagittal groove of P1. Lower BA/TA values were observed medially in horses with severe OA (P=0.003). No significant differences in FD and lacunarity were found across OA degrees (P>0.1). FD, BA/TA, and lacunarity were not effective in identifying radiographic texture changes in the P1 trabecular bone in horses with different metacarpophalangeal OA degrees.