Journal of Equine Veterinary Science最新文献

{"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":"Feeding a standard commercial concentrate does not impact metabolic responses to an oral sugar test in yearlings","authors":"J.R. Isgrigg ,&nbsp;A.N. DiSilvestro ,&nbsp;L.T. Wesolowski ,&nbsp;B.D. Williams ,&nbsp;A.N. Boone ,&nbsp;B.L. Dickerson ,&nbsp;S.H. White-Springer ,&nbsp;E. Macon","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105495","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105495","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cereal grain-based concentrates in modern equine diets have elevated dietary starch. Meals providing starch &gt;1.1 g/kg BW increase metabolic responses in healthy, adult horses; however, there is limited data in young horses. It was hypothesized that yearlings on a commercial starch concentrate (CS) would exhibit higher responses to an oral sugar test (OST) than those on a low starch/high fiber (HF) concentrate. Quarter Horses (14 ± 1 mo, 363 ± 30 kg) were acclimated to a HF concentrate (9.9 g/kg BW per day, 8.5% starch, 36.6% NDF DM) and coastal Bermudagrass hay (15 g/kg BW per day, 2.4% starch, 64.4% NDF DM) in individual loafing runs for 21 d. Following the 21-d backgrounding, blood samples (D0) were collected and, after stratifying by BW, sex, and age, yearlings were randomly assigned to one of 2 isocaloric diets meeting nutritional requirements: HF (7 fillies, 8 geldings) or CS (28.7% starch, 24.7% NDF DM; 8 fillies, 7 geldings), plus grass hay split into 2 feedings. After 24 d on dietary treatments, an OST (0.15 mL/kg BW) was administered, and insulin and glucose levels were measured at rest (D24) and 60 min post-OST (T60). Insulin and glucose were quantified via RIA and ELISA, respectively, by the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center laboratory. Data were analyzed on Graph Pad using a Welch ANOVA with Dunnett's post hoc comparisons. Significance was placed at <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05 and data are presented as means ± SD [95% CI]. There were no differences in resting insulin (T0; HF 17.1 ± 4.3 µIU/mL [14.5, 19.7], CS 19.2 ± 4.7 µIU/mL [16.5, 21.9]) or glucose (HF 102.2 ± 10.2 mg/dL, CS 102.5 ± 10.8 mg/dL) between groups after 24 d of feeding (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.2). Glucose concentrations increased following the OST for both HF and CS (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.03), but there was no difference between treatments (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.9). Neither HF (T60 17.9 ± 2.7 µIU/mL, [16.3, 19.5]) nor CS (17.6 ± 3.6 µIU/mL [15.5, 19.7]) insulin concentrations increased post-OST (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.9). Surprisingly, insulin concentrations in HF horses were greater at D24 than D0 (11.2 ± 1.9 µIU/mL [10.1, 12.3], <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), whereas D24 was not different from D0 in CS horses (15.3 ± 2.1 µIU/mL [14.1, 16.6], <em>P</em> &gt; 0.1). These results were unexpected as the CS (1.4 g/kg BW starch per meal) exceeded the previously established threshold (&gt;1.1 g/kg BW) yet failed to provoke a metabolic response to the OST. The previous threshold was developed from data from mature horses, and young horses (&lt;5 yr old) may have a higher starch tolerance than mature horses. Future research should focus on establishing appropriate starch thresholds for young horses to optimize nutritional management practices and help prevent the development of metabolic disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105495"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948160","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":"Determining the effect of ostarine on senior horse clinical health","authors":"N. Elhadad,&nbsp;A.C. Herbst,&nbsp;K.H. McKeever,&nbsp;K. Malinowski","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105448","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105448","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Population estimates suggest that every sixth senior horse is affected by low muscle mass. Currently, there are no approved drugs that target muscle atrophy in horses. Ostarine is a selective androgen receptor modulator that has been found to promote muscle hypertrophy in humans. Ostarine could be a candidate drug for muscle atrophy treatment in horses; however, it is currently unclear whether ostarine is safe to use. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether ostarine adversely affects senior horse health. We hypothesized that ostarine would alter indicators of cardiac health, but no other clinical health parameters examined in this study. Four geldings (mean age ± SD = 24.3 ± 1.9 years) received 30 mg ostarine in 1 mL of 100% ethanol intravenously (IV) while the control group (n = 4 geldings, mean age ± SD = 22.8 ± 1.6 years) received 1 mL of 100% ethanol IV. There were 4 weeks of daily injections. Clinical data were recorded by the same experienced person 3 times before the injection phase, weekly during the injection phase, and weekly post injections for 3 weeks. Data were analyzed descriptively and using a mixed model ANOVA with treatment group, day, and their interaction used as fixed effects. There was no significant main effect of group on heart rate (<em>P</em> = 0.47), nor a significant day by group interaction effect (<em>P</em> = 0.47). For respiratory rate, there was no significant main effect of group (<em>P</em> = 0.13), but a significant group by day interaction effect (<em>P</em> = 0.001). A post hoc Tukey test showed that the control group had a significantly higher respiratory rate than the treatment group 2 weeks after the last injection (<em>P</em> = 0.02). For rectal temperature, there was no significant main effect of group (<em>P</em> = 0.71), nor a group by day interaction effect (<em>P</em> = 0.91). None of the horses exhibited signs of depression on any day. One horse in the control group presented repeatedly with abnormal heart sounds during the control, and the post control administration phases. There were no abnormal lung auscultations, nor abnormal gut sounds in any horse on any day, but normal gut sounds were present in all horses on all days. Based on these results, it can be concluded that ostarine does not seem to alter senior horse health overall, except for possibly reducing resting respiratory rate; although environmental factors could have contributed to the differences observed between the groups. Only a limited number of health parameters were investigated, and it is possible that this study was underpowered to detect smaller differences between the groups. Larger studies using a different drug dose, administration duration, and frequency may yield different results.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105448"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947808","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":"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":"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":"Mutations in the androgen receptor gene and other sex development key genes are associated with equine disorders of sex development","authors":"H.C. Anderson,&nbsp;S.C. Stroupe,&nbsp;R. Juras,&nbsp;B.W. Davis,&nbsp;T. Raudsepp","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105488","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105488","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Disorders of sex development (DSDs) occur when there is disagreement of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex. Although many cases of DSDs are reported in horses, the genomic basis of equine DSDs is not well understood, and most of the causative genes remain unidentified. The androgen receptor (<em>AR</em>) gene is composed of 8 exons and encodes for the AR protein, which plays a critical role in male sexual development by regulating gene expression in response to androgen signaling. Loss-of-function mutations in the <em>AR</em> gene are associated with several diseases, including androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) in which 64,XY individuals are female-presenting. More than 1,000 <em>AR</em> gene variants in humans contribute to AIS, whereas few <em>AR</em> gene variants are described in horses. In this work, we aim to advance the understanding of DSDs in horses by exploring the genomic basis of these conditions and identifying key sex development genes involved, focusing on <em>AR</em> and other critical genes involved in sexual differentiation. To achieve this, a comprehensive investigation was initiated into the genomics of 88 equine DSD cases, all determined to be chromosomally normal by karyotype analysis. These cases were categorized into 3 clinical phenotypes: 64,XX X-monosomy-like females, 64,XX intersex, and 64,XY <em>SRY</em>-pos female-like. The genomic analysis was conducted using short-read data-based variant VCF files of all DSD cases and ∼200 control horses. We developed and employed a pipeline in-house to investigate a set of 80 candidate genes, filtering for mutations of high to moderate effect and for homozygosity for alternate alleles with &lt;1% frequency. Missense, nonsense, frameshift, or indel mutations were found in 15 sex development key genes in 25 DSD cases. Notably, 7 novel mutations were found in the <em>AR</em> gene in 7 of the 19 (37%) 64,XY <em>SRY</em>-pos female-like horses. These mutations, located in exons 1, 3, 4, and 7, represent 4 out of the 8 exons in the <em>AR</em> gene, and affect all major functional domains of the AR protein. The structural impacts of these mutations on protein folding are still under investigation. In addition, a hypothesis-free, genome-wide analysis is underway to identify additional potential variants that may contribute to these equine DSD cases, which were not captured in the initial candidate gene selection. This work provides insights that could lead to improved diagnostic methods for these conditions in equine medicine and help identify infertile animals, ultimately informing more effective breeding strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105488"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947799","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":"Relationship between hair cortisol concentrations and equine personality assessment","authors":"S.M. Rivers,&nbsp;G.A. Robertson,&nbsp;T. Powell,&nbsp;C.A. Porr","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105461","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105461","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding a horse's personality may allow for improved management of the animal. The equine personality assessment (EPT) includes 4 main personality factors: anxiety, trainability, affability, and gate entrance. This tool uses a 1 to 9 scale. For 6 questions, 1 indicates a horse presenting the opposite of a trait (e.g., calm), 5 is neutral, and 9 indicates a trait is fully present (e.g., nervous). The other 13 questions determine the frequency of a trait's presence, with 1 indicating rarely and 9 indicating often. Many personality assessments characterize horse stress. Cortisol concentration, a quantitative measure of stress, is deposited throughout an equine body and is detectable in almost all tissues. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) allows a long-term assessment of average cortisol. As personality is an ongoing characteristic, analyzing HCC provides a comparison between the 2 tools. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential relationships between EPT results and HCC. It was hypothesized that the personality trait of anxiety would directly correlate to HCC and that personality factors of trainability and affability would be inversely related. Seven workers at the university's Equine Center responded to a modified EPT, which analyzed 32 university horses for 3 personality factors: anxiety, trainability, and affability. Workers evaluated horses with which they had had 2 or more interactions lasting at least 5 min. Interactions ranged from general handling to riding but needed to be one-on-one. Based on this, not every student evaluated every horse. Equine tail hair (1.0 g) was collected in the 2024 Spring and Fall semesters. Samples were split into 0.5 g subsamples and extracted based on previously published methods. Analysis was performed using SAS's General Linear Model and Mixed Model, evaluating the effect of personality traits on HCC. Mean worker assessment scores for anxiety, trainability, and affability scores were 4.49 ± 0.91, 6.19 ± 1.20, and 6.13 ± 1.00, respectively. Log-transformed overall mean HCC was 2.71 ± 0.21 pg/mg. There were no significant differences between personality traits and HCC (<em>P</em> ≥ 0.50). These findings suggest that HCC is not associated with personality traits using the EPT. This study only evaluated one of many equine personality assessment tools, and results should not be extrapolated to other instruments as this may not accurately represent potential personality assessments-HCC relationships.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105461"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948212","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}