Journal of Equine Veterinary Science最新文献

{"title":"Impact and future of horse association community service youth programs from the perspective of the community partner","authors":"M.C. Nicodemus ,&nbsp;R. Culwell ,&nbsp;D. Jousan ,&nbsp;L. Irvin ,&nbsp;T. Williams","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105438","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105438","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As mental health concerns for youth have grown, the need for alternative approaches to address these challenges has become paramount. While not a therapeutic intervention, volunteerism facilitates positive feelings within volunteers. Volunteers within the equine environment have the additional benefit of interacting with the horse. As such, youth can benefit from volunteering through community service programs offered through horse associations. These opportunities, however, require community partners, specifically equine professionals affiliated with these organizations willing to work with youth during community service activities within the equine environment. Thus, the objective of this study was to explore perspectives of community partners regarding the impact of community service youth activities offered through horse associations to determine future engagement and growth of these programs. Representatives from horse associations within the United States identified community partners affiliated with their association that offer youth community service opportunities within the equine environment. Participant recruitment was accomplished through the horse association state affiliates. Face-to-face interview survey methodology was utilized with community partners (n = 26) taking part in a semi-structured survey instrument with 14 open-ended questions. All community partners required youth to be 13+ years of age with the majority (54%, n = 14) working with at least 10 youth per year. All partners offered service opportunities at horse shows, although additional outlets included equine-assisted services (19%, n = 5), clinics (8%, n = 2), and trail rides (4%, n = 1). Partners identified finances (85%, n = 22) and time commitment (92%, n = 24) as negative aspects of these programs with increasing recruitment efforts (54%, n = 14) for funds and partners indicated as a resolution to these drawbacks. Half of the partners (50%, n = 13) suggested expanding youth involvement to reach underserved youth. Reasons for offering these opportunities included needing help with the event (81%, n = 21), expanding youth involvement within the association (73%, n = 19), and enjoyment in interacting with youth (54%, n = 14). Partners suggested using social media to reach a wider youth audience for increasing recruitment efforts (46%, n = 12) and hosting training opportunities to educate the youth before events (31%, n = 8). These results suggest community partners are invested in these youth programs offered through horse associations, permitting potential growth for horse associations to collaborate with these partners.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105438"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Equine welfare assessment skills certification course","authors":"R. Stewart,&nbsp;B. Wassel,&nbsp;A. Best,&nbsp;L. Ray,&nbsp;B. McGonagill,&nbsp;B. Jackson,&nbsp;P. Sapp,&nbsp;K. Duberstein","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105441","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105441","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animal agriculture faces increasing scrutiny regarding animal welfare, yet training resources for those handling neglect cases, emergencies, and livestock-related litigation are limited. Since 2015, the University of Florida's Livestock Education and Certification for Agricultural Law Enforcement and the University of Georgia's Livestock Welfare Assessment Skills programs have filled this need. In response to the demand for equine-specific training expressed in evaluations, the University of Georgia Extension piloted an Equine Welfare Assessment Skills Certification course in 2024. This 3-d program used classroom and hands-on training to educate professionals involved with equine welfare and rescue on best practices, culminating in a certification exam. The course hosted 35 participants from 7 states, with 12 ± 9.6 years of experience, representing veterinarians (3%), rescue owners or employees (42%), state agencies (25%), and others (28%). Attendees were asked to complete a post-retrospective evaluation including Likert-scale items to collect data regarding program impact, with 28 responses and statistical analysis completed in Excel. Participants indicated good (33%) or excellent (63%) overall satisfaction with the program on a 5-point scale, with higher values indicating stronger satisfaction (4.95 ± 0.56). Participants were most satisfied with the guest speakers (70% excellent; 4.63 ± 0.62) and the take-home materials (71% excellent; 4.61 ± 0.67). Participants reported greater levels of knowledge using a 6-point scale, where higher values indicate greater knowledge, after attending the course (5.29 ± 0.70) than before attending (4.29 ± 1.53). This difference was statistically significant using a paired <em>t</em>-test, t(28) = 0.00003, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05. After attending, participants indicated the program improved their ability to make informed decisions regarding equine welfare (96%), provided them a better understanding of equine welfare (78%), and increased confidence in making equine management decisions (78%). All attendees intended to use the information provided during the program in the future. Future topics requested include trailering, handling untrained horses, fire prevention and facility safety, euthanasia and burial, welfare regulation, volunteer management, and social media management. Participants said, “This was an innovative idea and well done for a first event” and “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to attend, all the presenters were so kind and passionate not only about equine welfare but also educating others.” Discussion is underway to evaluate hosting this program in other regions of the US and the frequency in which to offer this program in Georgia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105441"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Agreement between multiple objective and subjective equine lameness evaluators","authors":"J.L. McPeek,&nbsp;B.C. Menarim,&nbsp;B. Sponseller,&nbsp;A. Adams,&nbsp;M. McClendon,&nbsp;A.E. Page","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105451","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105451","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lameness evaluations, which tend to be subjective in manner, are a critical component of equine musculoskeletal health assessments. While typically sufficient for in-field diagnostics, scientific studies often require more precise and repeatable techniques. In recent years, several methods to assess equine gait asymmetries have become available. This study sought to evaluate the agreement between 2 veterinary evaluators, an AI-based smart phone application (Sleip), and 2 inertial sensor systems (Equinosis Q and Equisym). Eighteen research horses with naturally occurring lameness were jogged in hand on a straight 30-m asphalt path for 3 round trips. Data output from each observer or system was converted to a 0-to-3 scale based on recorded degree of asymmetry for each limb. Agreement in asymmetry scores were quantified via weighted Cohen's κ, and <em>P</em>-values were less than 0.05 unless noted. Objective evaluator agreement (κ = 0.70) was higher than subjective evaluator agreement (κ = 0.41) across all limbs. Objective systems had a higher agreement with hind limb asymmetries (κ = 0.61) when compared with the subjective evaluators (κ = 0.15, <em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). A similar pattern for forelimb asymmetries was present between objective (κ = 0.81) and subjective evaluators (κ = 0.67), although the difference in agreement was less pronounced. Pairwise weighted Cohen's κ scores are presented in Table 1. Individual agreement scores between the objective systems were generally higher and less variable than the veterinary evaluators. Data from this project suggest that objective systems are less apt to variability when detecting subtleties in hind limb asymmetries compared with straight-line veterinary examination. Further, the objective systems had consistently higher agreement. Limitations of this study included only jogging horses in a straight line as lunging and flexion tests would likely have affected the agreement between subjective and objective evaluators. This is some of the first work comparing the Equisym to other objective systems while also showing these systems have better asymmetry detection capabilities and agreement compared with veterinary examination when horses trot in a straight line.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105451"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physiology of vitamin E in maintenance and exercising horses as measured via blood and adipose tissue concentrations","authors":"M.E. Gordon,&nbsp;A.E. Brueggemann,&nbsp;R. Jacobs","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105426","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105426","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vitamin (Vit) E concentrations are often monitored in horses as a health-screening tool and to determine supplementation. There is an established reference range for serum values, and commercial feeds and supplements can provide additional Vit E to the diet in several forms. However, the physiology of Vit E in horses is poorly studied, especially considering it is a fat-soluble vitamin. This pilot study was designed to record Vit E levels in horses from both blood and adipose tissue before, during (blood only), and after a 6-week exercise program, and to test the hypothesis that these concentrations may differ based on Vit E dietary source and training. Horses at the Purina Animal Nutrition Center (n = 12, 9 Quarter Horses and 3 Thoroughbreds, mean BW 518 ± 15 kg) were split into 3 equal groups: control (CON), exercise (EX), and pasture (PAST). All horses received 1.8 kg of Purina® Strategy®/day (334.9 IU/kg Vit E DM). CON and EX received 2.0% BW grass hay daily (1.6 IU/kg Vit E DM), and were group-housed in dry lots. PAST received no hay and were grouped outside on pasture (5.1 IU/kg Vit E DM). Vit E intake exceeded NRC requirements for CON and PAST but was below NRC for EX due to study design, to ensure equal Vit E intake in dry lot groups. All horses had adequate Vit E intake and status before the trial. EX received a 6-week exercise program on an Equi-ciser, 3 d/week, progressing to 48 min/d of walking and trotting. Blood samples were obtained for 9 wk via jugular venipuncture for serum Vit E status. Tailhead adipose samples were obtained via aseptic biopsy technique under the use of local anesthetic and sedation, and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen, the weeks before and after the exercise training period. All samples were evaluated for total tocopherols via HPLC (MSU VDL, East Lansing, MI). Data were analyzed using GLIMMIX ANOVA with repeated measures (SAS 9.4), for differences due to treatment, time and interactions with significance set at <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05. There were no differences in serum Vit E levels between treatments or at any time points (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05, Vit E 8.6 ± 0.18 µg/mL, mean ± SEM). Adipose Vit E was not different between treatment groups (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05); however, levels significantly increased in all groups over time (<em>P</em> = 0.003, from 5.86 ± 1.09 to 18.16 ± 3.32 µg/mL, mean ± SEM). Overall, horses in this study had sufficient serum Vit E status throughout the trial, and an increase in Vit E concentrations in adipose tissue over time. Due to the small number of horses, this research should be repeated with a larger subset of horses with more adipose sampling times to get additional clarity on equine Vit E physiology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105426"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining equine anthelmintic efficacy using modified procedures","authors":"M. Smith ,&nbsp;N. Ripley ,&nbsp;M. Nielsen","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105482","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105482","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With increasing evidence of anthelmintic resistance in the luminal stages of equine cyathostomins, the need to examine efficacy against encysted stages has risen. Encysted burdens are traditionally evaluated using mucosal digestion, wherein a 5% subsample of intestinal mucosa is processed and digested for enumeration. In the standard protocol, a single 2% aliquot of this subsample is counted for early third stage (EL3) and late third stage/mucosal fourth stage (LL3/L4) larvae. The first study investigated precision of larval counts from both the current gold standard procedure and a modified protocol where all larvae from the 5% tissue subsample were counted. In spring 2024, 12 untreated juvenile horses naturally infected with cyathostomins were enrolled, and triplicate 5% mucosal samples were collected from the cecum, ventral colon, and dorsal colon. For each sample, the standard 2% aliquot was counted as well as the remaining 5% tissue aliquot. Mixed models were constructed for counts, measuring proportion of variation for each fixed effect. Coefficients of variation (CV) were calculated to evaluate precision. The mean CV for the subsample (2%) and total (100%) counts by stage were as follows: EL3 (subsample) 100.7%, (total) 59.0%; L3/L4 (subsample) 112.7%, (total) 82.2%; total larvae (subsample) 85.7%, (total) 23.7%. Precision difference by aliquot amount varied significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). All fixed effects—foal, larval stage, aliquot size (<em>P</em> &lt; 0 0.001), and organ (<em>P</em> = 0.003)—were statistically significant and contributed significant proportions of count variance; however, aliquot size (2% or 100%) provided the most (57.5%). These results suggest the standard mucosal digestion technique using the 2% count is nonrepresentative of overall larval burden and highly imprecise, warranting further investigation into how procedure can affect interpretation of data, particularly in the context of anthelmintic efficacy studies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105482"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differential gene expression in pre-race blood samples from racehorses with race-day fractures","authors":"A.M. Rauber-Ramos ,&nbsp;B.C. Menarim ,&nbsp;S.C. Loux ,&nbsp;A.E. Page","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105457","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMI) are a major concern in Thoroughbred horse racing, with identification of screening methods for horses at risk of injury being a top research priority. Postmortem exams have found the majority of these injuries to be associated with chronic accumulation of microdamage, which would theoretically produce localized and systemic changes detectable via biomarker analysis. Previous research using post-injury and post-race samples found increased messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of IGF1 and MMP2 and decreased expression of IL1RN in horses with CMI compared with controls. However, differences in mRNA expression immediately before injury, where there is no influence of exercise and/or the acute injury, have not been assessed. As such, to identify differentially expressed genes potentially associated with CMI, a total of 15,463 pre-race whole-blood samples were collected in Tempus Blood RNA Tubes over an 18-mo period. RNA sequencing of select samples was subsequently used to investigate transcriptional differences between 12 cases (fatal and nonfatal fractures) and 93 race-matched controls. Across all fractures, 31 genes were downregulated and 3 were upregulated. In phalanx and metacarpal fractures, there were 838 downregulated and 223 upregulated genes; in sesamoid fractures, there were 293 downregulated and 67 upregulated genes; and in hock and carpal fractures, there were 76 downregulated and 4 upregulated genes. CXCL1 and IL6 were downregulated in horses with long bone fractures, with these genes having been previously linked with adaptation to exercise. ANK2, a key regulator of bone mineralization that is increased during fracture healing, and SLIT3, a gene associated with production of fibrillar collagen, were downregulated in all fracture types and especially long bone fractures, consistent with a failure of proper bone remodeling before fracture. Integrative pathway analysis revealed a variety of pathway changes, including a downregulation of osteoclastic pathways in long bone and sesamoid fractures and of bone mineralization pathways in long bone fractures. These results continue to indicate that whole-blood mRNA samples may be useful in identifying racehorses with maladaptive bone remodeling responses, increasing their risk of fracture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105457"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relationships between muscle atrophy scores, body mass, and fat-free mass in mature horses","authors":"C. Carlson,&nbsp;A.C. Herbst,&nbsp;K. Malinowski,&nbsp;K.H. McKeever","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105478","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105478","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Various diseases, malnutrition, detraining, and aging can cause muscle atrophy in horses. Although even small reductions in muscle mass can adversely affect performance, larger losses can significantly impair a horse's welfare due to decreased strength. Thus, routine muscle mass monitoring is important to detect changes in muscle mass early when they are most treatable. The equine muscle atrophy scoring system (MASS) is a standardized muscle scoring system with good interrater reliability. However, the system is currently not fully validated, and relationships to other body composition measurements are not fully understood. The objectives of this study were therefore to assess the relationships between muscle atrophy scores (MAS), body mass (BM), and fat-free mass (FFM; a muscle mass indicator) at individual measurement time points (objective 1) and over time (objective 2). We hypothesized that MAS, BM, and FFM were significantly associated across measurement time points, and that changes in these parameters over time were also related. Linear mixed-effects models were used for data analysis. Nine Standardbreds (n = 4 geldings and n = 5 mares) aged between 13 and 21 years were used. The horses had Henneke body condition scores between 4.5 and 5.75, weighted 430 kg to 547 kg, were not in work, and received a diet consisting of ad libitum hay and pasture. The horses’ BMs and ultrasound-based FFMs were obtained, and the horses were scored for muscle atrophy (higher scores indicating more atrophy) by the same experienced rater. BM and MAS were recorded a total of 8 times over 10 wk, with a minimum of 7 d between data recordings. FFM was recorded 3 times, at the start, in the middle, at the end of the study, and on the same days on which the other parameters were recorded. There was no significant association between the horses’ neck and hind region MAS and their BM or FFM (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05), but the horses’ MAS of the back region were positively related to BM (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001) and FFM (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). BM and FFM were significantly correlated (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001). There was no significant association between the changes in MAS in any body region and the changes in the horses’ BMs or FFMs over time (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). The maximal changes in BM and FFM between 2 time points were 3.6% and 4.1%, respectively. This study suggests that the MASS is not sensitive enough to detect very small changes in BM or FFM over time. The findings of this study also suggest that ultrasound-based FFM may be biased by BM, and that BM, measured at a single time point, may not be a good marker for normal muscle mass, even within horses of similar body size, as higher MAS were not related to lower BM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105478"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of bisphosphonate administration on synovial metabolome of juvenile horses challenged with intra-articular lipopolysaccharide","authors":"J.M. George ,&nbsp;J.L. Leatherwood ,&nbsp;A.N. Bradbery ,&nbsp;C.E. Arnold ,&nbsp;K.G. Glass ,&nbsp;B.L. Paris ,&nbsp;M.B. Conrad ,&nbsp;R.E. Martinez ,&nbsp;A.S. Reiter ,&nbsp;C.R. Kerth ,&nbsp;T.H. Welsh Jr.","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105511","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105511","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of this study was to evaluate the synovial metabolome in juvenile exercising horses treated with the bisphosphonate clodronate disodium (OSPHOS®) following an intra-articular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Treatment groups consisted of 8 control horses that received saline injections (CON) and 8 horses that received clodronate disodium (CD; 1.8 mg/kg BW, IM) on d 0, 42, 84, and 126 of a 140-d study. Horses underwent a progressive exercise regimen that culminated with an intra-articular LPS challenge on d 126. Radial carpal joints of each horse were injected with 0.8 mL of either 0.5 ng LPS derived from <em>Escherichia coli</em> O55:B5 or sterile lactated Ringer's (LRS) solution as a contralateral control. Synovial fluid was collected before LPS injection (h 0) and 6, 12, 24, and 336 h post injection. Synovial fluid samples were extracted using 1:1 water:acetonitrile liquid-liquid extraction. Sample extracts were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (HPLC-qTOF) reverse-phase chromatography in positive ion mode. Significant (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) metabolites were compared with a list of standards by retention time, <em>m</em>/<em>z</em> ratios, and molecular features. Of the 83 significant (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05) compounds, 58 were annotated by Wiley and National Institute of Standards and Technology metabolite libraries. Of the annotated compounds there were 14 lipid and 12 amino acid metabolites, with the remainder of unknown origin. Total metabolites of the CD and LPS treatments were segregated by partial least squares discriminate analysis. The principal component analysis discriminant analysis segregated CD and CON samples along component 1, which accounted for 89.64% of the total variation where most metabolites were upregulated in CD compared with CON. Upregulated lipid metabolites included fatty acyls, fatty esters, prenols, and sphingolipids. There was a treatment × time × carpus interaction where 6 h after LPS injection, the relative metabolite abundance was greater in CD vs. CON in the LPS joint (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.05). These metabolites included creatine (<em>P</em> = 0.03), guanosine (<em>P</em> = 0.01), and 2 amino acid metabolites (<em>P</em> = 0.01; <em>P</em> = 0.04). These results indicate that inflammatory progression stimulated by intra-articular LPS increases amino acid and lipid metabolite abundance in the synovial metabolome. Further, CD had increased lipid and amino acid metabolism compared with CON in both the LPS and LRS injected joints. Further investigation of the equine synovial metabolome is warranted in view of this initial observation that bisphosphonate administration upregulated synovial metabolite abundance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105511"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the impact of ostarine on body composition in adult horses: A longitudinal study","authors":"A. Morocho ,&nbsp;A.C. Herbst ,&nbsp;S.H. White-Springer ,&nbsp;K. Malinowski ,&nbsp;K.H. McKeever","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105444","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105444","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The integrity of horse racing is under increasing scrutiny due to the misuse of performance-enhancing drugs that compromise fair competition and animal welfare. Among these substances, ostarine is one drug of concern. Ostarine selectively targets androgen receptors in skeletal muscle and bone and was found to enhance muscle mass in people. However, the effects of ostarine on equine physiology, and especially on muscle and fat mass, are currently poorly understood, highlighting a critical gap in research that must be addressed to inform doping regulations and safeguard the welfare of racehorses. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of ostarine on muscle and fat mass in horses. We hypothesized that ostarine treatment would result in a change in muscle and fat mass compared with a control group. Nine Standardbred horses (mean age ± SD = 17.2 ± 2.5 years) were used in this study and were either assigned to the treatment group (n = 4; receiving ostarine [62 mg in 1 mL of ethanol] intravenously) or the control group (n = 5; receiving 1 mL of ethanol as a vehicle control, intravenously). Horses received the treatment/control for 4 wk 4 times a week (on nonconsecutive days) and were monitored before the treatment/control (baseline), during the treatment period and after treatment for 4 wk. The ostarine treatment duration was based on a rodent study. Measurements included body mass, ultrasound-based fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) estimation, body condition scoring, and muscle atrophy scoring. A mixed-model ANOVA (fixed effects: group, data collection time point, and their interaction) was used to analyze differences between the groups. No significant differences between treatment and control groups were found for body mass (<em>P</em> = 0.60), FFM (<em>P</em> = 0.86), FM (<em>P</em> = 0.45), muscle atrophy scores of the horses’ hind region (<em>P</em> = 0.94), back region (<em>P</em> = 0.52), or neck region (<em>P</em> = 0.92), at any of the data collection time points. A significant group by time point interaction was found for body condition scores (<em>P</em> = 0.03); however, a post hoc Tukey test indicated no statistically significant differences between the groups at any of the sampling time points. This small study showed no significant effects of ostarine on selected muscle and fat mass indicators in adult horses, suggesting that ostarine may not affect muscle mass in idle adult horses. As this study was of small sample size it is possible that it did not have enough power to detect smaller differences between the treatment and control groups. Larger studies may explore longer durations of ostarine administration, or administration to exercising horses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105444"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effects of ostarine on clinical health parameters in adult horses","authors":"C. Nealon ,&nbsp;A.C. Herbst ,&nbsp;S.H. White-Springer ,&nbsp;K. Malinowski ,&nbsp;K.H. McKeever","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105445","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Selective androgen receptor modulators, such as ostarine (also called enobosarm), are androgen receptor ligands that initiate tissue-selective activation of androgenic signaling and have demonstrated potential in enhancing muscle mass and physical performance with minimal androgenic side effects in humans. Due to its anabolic effects, ostarine is used for illegal doping in horses, presenting a problem for ethical horse racing, and possibly also for horse safety and health. There are currently no studies that investigated the effects of ostarine on equine health. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate whether ostarine adversely effects the clinical health of horses. We hypothesized that ostarine would alter indicators of heart health, but no other clinical health parameters investigated in this study. A total of 9 idle adult horses (mean age ± SD = 17.2 ± 2.5 years) were enrolled, 4 of which received intravenous (IV) injections of 62 mg ostarine in 1 mL ethanol 4 times a week (on nonconsecutive days) for 4 weeks, while the remaining 5 horses received 1 mL of ethanol (IV) at the same times to serve as controls. The treatment duration was based on a rodent study. Clinical exams were performed by the same experienced person once before injections, weekly during the injection period, and at 2 weeks and 4 weeks postinjection. Data were analyzed descriptively and using a mixed model ANOVA with treatment group, exam day, and their interaction fitted as fixed effects. Ostarine-treated horses did not have significantly different respiratory rates (<em>P</em> = 0.76), rectal temperatures (<em>P</em> = 0.65), or heart rates (<em>P</em> = 0.37), compared with the control group at any of the recording time points. Abnormal heart sounds were only recorded once during the study in a control horse. No signs of depression or abnormal lung sounds were recorded in any of the horses throughout the study. Abdominal sounds were present, but abnormal abdominal sounds were not recorded in any of the horses during the study. These findings suggest that ostarine administration, at the dose, administration frequency and route used in this study, does not significantly alter the basic clinical health parameters investigated. While ostarine might thus be considered safe to use in idle adult horses under these conditions, there is still little understanding of its potential long-term effects, the effects on other clinical and nonclinical health parameters, as well as the effects in exercising horses. In addition, this study was of small sample size, and it is thus possible that it was not powerful enough to detect smaller, but meaningful, differences between the treatment and control groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105445"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}