Journal of Equine Veterinary Science最新文献

{"title":"Evaluating clinical assessment parameters of xylazine efficacy using objective pharmacokinetic measures","authors":"E.K. Bacon ,&nbsp;C.G. Donnelly ,&nbsp;C.J. Finno ,&nbsp;B. Haase ,&nbsp;H.K. Knych ,&nbsp;B.D. Velie","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105463","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105463","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Clinical evaluations of sedative efficacy typically utilize scoring systems based on subjective observations in stimulated and nonstimulated horses. Studies in other species have identified links between subjectively evaluated sedation and pharmacokinetic measures of α-2 agonist drugs, yet little investigation has been conducted in horses to explore the clinical presentation of metabolic variation. This study aims to evaluate the degree to which subjective clinical sedative evaluations reflect pharmacokinetic measurements of drug metabolism. Xylazine hydrochloride, an α-2 agonist, was administered to 36 horses of varying breed and age at a dosage rate of 0.5 mg/kg body weight. Subjective clinical parameters were scored at 5, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min post xylazine administration by a single expert and included responsiveness to sound, touch, and visual stimuli, as well as observed degree of ataxia. Blood was collected at each time interval to determine serum plasma concentrations of xylazine (XC) and 4-OH-xylazine (OHXC). Correlation coefficients were calculated between each combination of subjective and objective measures using Spearman's and Kendall's rank correlations, with <em>P</em>-values calculated to assess the significance of associations. Observed degree of ataxia recorded the strongest correlation coefficient, showing a moderate positive correlation with both OHXC and XC (r = 0.63 and r = 0.58, respectively). While individual responses to stimuli measures were all significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) associated with both OHXC and XC, the strength of correlation for each was classified as negligible, ranging from r = −0.158 to −0.247. When accounting for all subjective clinical parameters assessed including ataxia, significant correlations (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) with both XC and OHXC (r = −0.448 and r = −0.423, respectively) were greater than that seen when combining stimuli-based parameters. While degree of ataxia more strongly correlated with pharmacokinetic parameters, it is typically assessed in the undisturbed horse and may not best reflect the clinical efficacy. However, diminishing responsiveness to sound stimuli at later time intervals and the negligible correlation of stimuli parameters indicate they may inadvertently be assessing temperamental attributes of the horse and, in the case of repeated measures, the rate of desensitization. This study shows limited correlation between commonly used clinical stimuli-based assessment parameters in isolation in reflecting xylazine serum plasma concentrations, and presents multiple factors to be considered when evaluating equine xylazine sedation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105463"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948214","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":"Sample storage method and collection time effects on horse hair cortisol concentrations","authors":"G.A. Robertson,&nbsp;S.M. Rivers,&nbsp;T. Powell,&nbsp;C.A. Porr","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105477","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105477","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Serum cortisol concentration is the gold standard for evaluating stress in horses. However, it can be affected by circadian rhythms, environmental factors, and other excitatory events. Hair cortisol is less subject to these variables and is less invasive to collect, but there is a lack of published information on hair cortisol concentrations in horses. The objectives of this study were to examine (1) the impact of sample storage (room temperature vs. frozen) and (2) the effect of collection date (spring vs. fall), on cortisol concentration in equine hair. It was hypothesized that frozen samples would yield higher concentrations than room samples, and that the samples taken in the spring would yield higher concentrations than those in the fall. Tail hair samples (1 g) were collected from 32 university-owned horses in the spring and fall semesters of 2024. Each horse's samples were split, with 0.5 g maintained at room temperature (20 to 22°C) and 0.5 g being frozen (−28.89°C). Spring samples were stored for 8 mo before analysis, and fall samples were stored for 2 mo. Samples were analyzed based on previously published methods. Log-transformed hair cortisol concentrations were analyzed using a general linear model and mixed model in SAS to assess the effects of storage condition (frozen vs. room temperature) and sample date (spring vs. fall). Significance was declared at <em>P</em> &gt; 0.05. Both factors significantly influenced hair cortisol concentrations, with frozen samples showing higher concentrations than room samples (<em>P</em> = 0.03) and fall samples exhibiting higher concentrations than spring samples (<em>P</em> = 0.03; Table 1). These findings highlight the importance of accounting for storage conditions and seasonal variation in cortisol analyses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105477"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947969","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":"Age-related effects on fecal particle size and composition","authors":"C. Whitehouse,&nbsp;L.M. Lawrence","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105509","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105509","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is limited information about the fiber digesting capacity in the gastrointestinal tract of young foals. A greater understanding of how the foal's fiber digesting capacity develops over time may lead to better feeding practices. Fecal particle size (FPS) is considered a proxy of digesta particle size in horses and previous work suggested FPS of yearlings is similar to adults. This 2-phase study aimed to extend prior work by examining FPS and fecal composition of foals at 1 and 4 mo of age. We first hypothesized that FPS of foals would differ from their dams at 1 mo but not at 4 mo. A single free-catch sample was collected from 6 Thoroughbred mares and their nursing foals when foals were 1 and 4 mo of age. Mare and foal pairs had shared access to pasture, alfalfa hay, and a commercial concentrate feed. The FPS distribution (FPSD) was determined by wet sieving. Mean FPS was calculated from the weighted average of dry matter (DM) retained on the sieves with manual measurement of maximal particle size. The FPSD was calculated as DM retained on sieves as a percentage of total DM retained. For FPSD comparisons, sieves were grouped into large (4–2 mm), medium (1–0.5 mm), and small (0.25–0.063 mm) particle sizes. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED in SAS with repeated measures and Tukey comparisons, with significance set at <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05. At 1 mo of age, foals had smaller mean FPS, a smaller percentage of large particles and a greater percentage of small particles than mares (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). At 4 mo, foals had smaller mean FPS than mares (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) but the percentage of large and small particles were similar to mares, suggesting progressive changes in ingestive or digestive function from 1 to 4 mo of age. Phase 2 investigated the chemical composition of different fecal particle fractions. Particles were grouped into large-medium (LMP) and small (SP) based on their physical appearance and limited DM retained on some sieves. We hypothesized that acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) of LMP and SP would differ between mares and foals. Compared with SP, LMP had greater NDF, ADF, and C:N ratio for mares and foals (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). Fecal NDF content increased with foal age in LMP and SP (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) but there were no differences between foals and mares. At 1 mo, foals had a lower C:N ratio in LMP compared with mares (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and by 4 mo of age, foals had similar C:N ratio in LMP and SP as mares. Differences in composition may be due to changes in diet, fiber digestibility, or microbial biomass. Further studies on changes in FPS with age may contribute to our understanding of fiber digesting capacity in growing horses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105509"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948090","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":"An investigation into the prevalence of groin and pelvis area pain in male equestrian riders","authors":"J. Tan,&nbsp;L. Cameron,&nbsp;V. Lewis","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105428","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105428","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Horse riding is recognized as one of the most hazardous sports, surpassing skiing, motor racing, and rugby in injury risk. While acute injuries such as fractures, contusions, and concussions often result from falls, chronic issues like back pain are also prevalent. Despite substantial research focusing on female riders, limited attention has been given to pain and injury in male equestrian athletes. This study investigates the prevalence of pain in the groin, pelvis, and buttock areas among male horse riders and evaluates the impact of saddle design and other factors on these discomforts. A predominantly quantitative approach was employed, utilizing a survey of 384 over 18 years old, male riders who completed a questionnaire comprising 20 open and closed questions. Fifty-seven percent of participants reported to have experienced pain or injury in the groin, penis, or pelvic area during riding. The findings reveal a prevalence of testicular pain (36.3%) and nerve-related pain/issues (20.5%), with fewer reports of prostate pain/issues (5.3%). Notably, 43% of riders reported needing to temporarily stop riding due to pain. Saddle design emerged as a critical factor influencing pain risk; riders using deep-seat saddles were 1.6 times more likely to experience pain than those using flat-seat saddles across disciplines (OR: 1.56 95% CI: 1.12–2.17). For dressage, deep-seat saddles were associated with significantly higher pain prevalence, while for jumping, deep-seat saddles presented a 38.9% pain probability compared with 31.6% for flat-seat saddles (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 0.98–1.91). The study further revealed that rider skill level had no significant correlation with pain frequency (<em>P</em> = 0.555). Factors exacerbating pain included underwear choice (43.7%) and the sitting trot (32.5%). These findings highlight the need for improved riding-specific underwear, development of ergonomic saddle designs, and targeted interventions to address male-specific health concerns in equestrian sports. Future research should prioritize male rider health and comfort to mitigate pain and improve performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105428"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143947747","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":"Analysis of equine-specific undergraduate courses and competitive team opportunities across American colleges and universities","authors":"E.A. Greene ,&nbsp;L.M. Luck ,&nbsp;T. Williams ,&nbsp;K.D. Bump ,&nbsp;R.K. Splan","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105440","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105440","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Equine education plays a vital role in shaping the next generation of professionals in a thriving and dynamic industry. However, opportunities for undergraduates seeking equine-specific academic or athletic experiences may differ widely from institution to institution. This study analyzed the availability of equine-specific courses and competitive teams offered at colleges and universities across the United States. A dataset containing information on institution type, equine-specific course offerings, and equine competitive team opportunities was compiled from publicly available Internet resources, including the Equine Education Network, collegiate equestrian organizations, institution course catalogs, and the US Department of Education. Data were summarized via descriptive statistics and the number of equine-specific courses and team opportunities were compared across institution types using nonparametric tests. A total of 555 schools (220 public 4-year, 218 private 4-year, 116 public 2-year, and 1 private 2-year) were found to offer 3,113 equine-specific courses and 912 equine-related team opportunities. Among schools that offered equine-specific courses (n = 255, or 46.0%), the most common course categories were equine science and/or management (30.3% of all courses), riding and/or driving (21.6%), and training and/or instruction (15.5%). Four-year private institutions offered a greater median number of equestrian (i.e., riding, driving, and/or training) classes than 4-year public institutions (<em>P</em> = 0.04), with 2-year schools offering an intermediate median number of courses that was not significantly different from that of other institution types (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.2). No differences were found between institution types in the median number of total (<em>P</em> = 0.40) or nonequestrian courses (e.g., equine science, management, business; <em>P</em> = 0.28) offered. Among schools that offered equine-specific team opportunities (n = 509, or 91.7%), the most prevalent intercollegiate teams offered were hunt and/or stock seat (77.6% of schools), followed by rodeo (26.3%), dressage (13.8%), polo (7.3%), eventing (5.5%), horse judging (5.5%), stock horse (5.3%), colt-starting (1.2%), and mule packing (1.0%) teams. As expected, there were regional variations in the availability of equine offerings, with the highest concentrations in states with greater equine populations. These findings contribute to a better understanding of equine educational resources nationwide and can be used to inform strategic planning for student recruitment, engagement, and workforce preparation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105440"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948332","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":"Insulinemic responses to long-stem forage hay in horses with insulin dysregulation (ID)","authors":"M. Askins ,&nbsp;P. Harris ,&nbsp;M. McClendon ,&nbsp;A. Adams","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Maintaining healthy postprandial responses in insulin dysregulation (ID) horses is key to preventing hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis. This study investigated meal feeding preserved forage (hay) with different nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) content on the insulin responses in ID versus non-insulin dysregulated (NID) horses basally fed low-NSC hay plus a balancer. Ten horses were categorized as ID (n = 5; 593 ± 95.3kgs) or NID (n = 5; 607.6 ± 68.4 kg). The randomized 5-wk crossover study comprised 2 treatments per week. Six diets were fed once per horse: a positive control (oat groats [OG]; 546 g NSC/kg as-fed); a negative control (low-NSC pellet [LNSC]; 75 g NSC/kg as-fed); and 4 forages: orchardgrass hay (OH; 64 g NSC/kg as-fed); alfalfa hay (AH; 67 g NSC/kg as-fed); timothy hay 1 (TH1; 90 g NSC/kg as-fed); and timothy hay 2 (TH2; 163 g/kg as-fed). Control and forage diets were fed at 1.0 g and 2.0 g/kg BW per meal, respectively, after an overnight fast on a drylot with ad libitum water. This resulted in meal NSC intakes (g/kg BW) of 0.07 for LNSC, 0.13 for OH, 0.135 for AH, 0.18 for TH1, 0.33 for TH2, and for 0.55 OG. Blood samples were collected before feeding and after consumption of the meal at 0 (meal completion), 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 min. Blood samples were analyzed for insulin by automated immunoassay analyzer (Tosoh). A 2-way ANOVA was performed using GraphPad Prism. Data were log-transformed to achieve normality. Statistical significance was considered at <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05, and data are presented as the mean ± SEM. All meals were consumed in 10 ± 1 min for controls and 45 ± 2 min for forages. Peak and delta insulin for ID horses were greater (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) for all dietary treatments compared with NID. The ID and NID horses’ peak insulin were higher for OG (ID: 725.3 ± 169.6 μIU/mL; NID: 31.2 ± 7.9 μIU/mL) compared with all other feedstuffs (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). In addition, TH1 and TH2 peak insulin for ID horses was higher than LNSC (109.0 ± 18.2; 134.0 ± 34.7; 45.9 ± 5.0 μIU/mL respectively, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Delta insulin was also higher for OG than all other feedstuffs for both ID (693.2 ± 170.6 μIU/mL) and NID (25.5 ± 7.1 μIU/mL; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). For the NID delta insulin was also higher for TH2 (7.1 ± 2.3 μIU/mL) than OH (3.6 ± 3.0 μIU/mL; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). For the ID horses the delta insulin for the LNSC (14.8 ± 3.6 μIU/mL) was significantly lower than AH (45.0 ± 6.9 μIU/mL), TH1 (80.5 ± 17.0 μIU/mL), and TH2 (99.7 ± 29.9 μIU/mL), but not OH (38.3 ± 8.1 μIU/mL). Insulin responses to hay were individually variable. Despite AH and TH1 having NSCs of ≤9% on an as-fed basis (∼10% DM) there was an augmented insulin response compared with the LNSC. Results suggest that feeding a forage &gt;0.13 g NSC/kg BW per meal may produce an augmented insulin response in ID horses. Further work is needed to investigate feeding larger amounts of long-stem forages on insulin responses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105497"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948468","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":"Reprint of: Sequencing and assembling the genome of Przewalski's horse in the classroom","authors":"Christopher Faulk","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105406","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105406","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sequencing a genome by students has now become practical as we demonstrated with our recent publication of the Przewalski's horse (<em>Equus ferus przewalskii</em>) genome. In this review, I describe my experience teaching genome assembly in the classroom. In my course, students sequenced, assembled, and published a high-quality genome for Przewalski's horse using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing with only $4000 of materials. Along with the genome, we assembled the mitochondrial genome, sequence variants, predicted gene annotations, and DNA methylation levels. Our genome statistics far exceeded the previous Przewalski's horse assembly and is on par the domestic horse genome, EquCab3.0. Methods were streamlined, simplified, and conveyed in markdown for complete recording and use in the classroom. All students were authors on the resulting manuscript. By bringing genome assembly into the classroom, we provide both new reference genomes and new genomics expertise to the scientific community at the same time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105406"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948509","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":"Understanding horse domestication and horse health care in the ancient world","authors":"William Timothy Treal Taylor","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105419","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105419","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many of the most important equine health problems – and their solutions – relate to the role of horses as a domestic animal, especially in riding and other kinds of transport. Recently, new discoveries from the archaeological sciences have rewritten our understanding of early horse domestication, suggesting that the first ancestors of domestic horses emerged in the Black Sea Steppes of western Eurasia at the turn of the second millennium BCE. This new chronology places horse domestication within a wider trajectory of early animal transport, including cattle and donkey, across western Asia and northern Africa beginning in the fourth millennium BCE. Archaeological data suggest that some health problems including musculoskeletal issues linked with transport, dental challenges, and disease emerged alongside horse transport, and that some of these issues solicited early veterinary care. Collaboration between archaeozoology and equine science has the potential to reveal much more about early human-horse dynamics, but doing so requires overcoming important obstacles, including contrasting methodology and incentives for those working in each discipline.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105419"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948510","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":"Behavioral and physiological responses of horses at the Costa Rican National Horse Parade: Developing welfare indicators for real-time assessment","authors":"B.M. Rodríguez-Segura ,&nbsp;S. Chaves-Araya ,&nbsp;J.M. Estrada-McDermott ,&nbsp;A. Saborío-Montero ,&nbsp;C.L. Wickens ,&nbsp;A.M. Arias-Esquivel","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105466","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105466","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Costa Rican National Horse Parade is an annual cultural equestrian event involving approximately 2,000 horses. To address growing welfare concerns, this study evaluated behavioral and physiological indicators of stress in participating horses. Behavioral data were collected using an ethogram at 3 observation stations (start, middle, and end) along the 3.5-km route. During the 6.5-h event, 24 trained observers conducted one-minute evaluations of randomly selected horses (n = 557). Stress-related behaviors, including ear position, neck hyperflexion, and head tossing, were recorded, along with rider behaviors (e.g., excessive whip use and aggressive riding). Eye wrinkle depth (EWD; none, soft, deep) and eye white visibility (EWV; visible, nonvisible) were assessed in 346 horses using photographs. Physiological indicators were measured in 10 horses (5–15 years old) from the same facility, including body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), and cortisol levels (blood and fecal). Blood cortisol (BC) levels were measured on farm at rest and 5 min post-exercise, 21 d pre-event, and immediately post-event. Fecal cortisol (FC) samples were collected at rest (21 d pre-event) and 16 h post-event. A chi-squared test was used to assess differences in behavioral stress indicators and observation stations (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and also to evaluate EWD and EWV across stations (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). BC data were not normally distributed (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), leading to the use of a Kruskal-Wallis test. FC concentrations were analyzed using a paired <em>t</em>-test. Statistical analyses were conducted using Jamovi (v2.3.28) and RStudio (v4.2.3). Significant differences (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) were found among observation stations. Stress-related behaviors increased at the end station, coinciding with heightened aggressive rider behavior and excessive whip use. EDW and EWV assessments showed that deep EWD (44.23%) and EWV (40.38%) peaked at the middle station. Physiological assessments showed a 6 kg decrease in BW and a 0.02-point reduction in BCS, though these changes were not statistically significant (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). Differences in BC levels (rest: 13.27 ng/mL, post-exercise: 20.19 ng/mL, post-event: 40.71 ng/mL; <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) were found, with post hoc Mann-Whitney U tests confirming significance for all comparisons (<em>P</em> ≤ 0.011). FC concentrations doubled post-event (mean rest: 11.10 ng/mL, post-event: 27.09 ng/mL, <em>P</em> = 0.0008). These findings indicate increased physiological and behavioral distress, highlighting the need for improved welfare protocols during the event.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105466"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948010","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":"Investigation into the association between endometriosis and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID)","authors":"I. Hamner,&nbsp;J. Howard,&nbsp;R.A. Crook,&nbsp;G. Unger,&nbsp;S.J. Coleman,&nbsp;P.M. McCue,&nbsp;C.E. Fedorka","doi":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105504","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jevs.2025.105504","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is an endocrine disorder associated with elevated adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). Animals suffering from this disease have been found to have elevated systemic inflammation. It is unknown if this inflammation is noted within the reproductive tract, or if this inflammation is associated with fibrosis. Fibrosis of the endometrium, deemed endometriosis, is often noted in aged mares and is associated with subfertility. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate endometriosis of the PPID mare. We hypothesize that elevated ACTH and its associated chronic inflammation will coincide with an increase in endometrial fibrosis. To evaluate this, 11 mares were screened for PPID in late summer using a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test. In brief, ACTH concentrations were measured before and 1 h after stimulation with 1.0 mg TRH. Of these, 7 mares were found to be PPID positive (n = 7; ACTH &gt;110 pg/mL), and 4 were found to be PPID negative (n = 4; ACTH &lt;30 pg/mL). When mares were in diestrus (presence of a corpus luteum; uterine tone; P4 &gt;4 ng/mL), 2 endometrial biopsies were then collected. One biopsy was processed for qPCR analysis of select inflammatory cytokines and the other was paraffin embedded for histology. Statistics were performed on SAS 9.4, and data were assessed for normality and equal variances utilizing a Bartlett's and Shapiro–Wilk test. Next, the impact of PPID on expression of transcripts associated with fibrosis (MMP1, MMP2, MMP9, TIMP-2, and TNF) were evaluated using an unequal variances <em>t</em>-test. Correlation between ACTH and expression of fibrosis markers was assessed using a Pearson correlation. Significance was set at <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05. PPID was not found to affect the expression of any transcript evaluated, and this included MMP2 (<em>P</em> = 0.56), MMP9 (<em>P</em> = 0.91), TIMP-2 (<em>P</em> = 0.19), and TNF (<em>P</em> = 0.35). There was also no significant correlation between levels of ACTH and expression of fibrotic markers, including MMP2 (<em>P</em> = 0.61; R² = 0.04), MMP9 (<em>P</em> = 0.66; R² = 0.03), TIMP-2 (<em>P</em> = 0.97; R² &lt; 0.01), or TNF (<em>P</em> = 0.53; R² = 0.05). Additionally, there was no significant difference when assessing fibrosis based on histology, as fibrosis was noted in 4 of 7 PPID animals and 2 of 4 control animals (<em>P</em> = 0.82). In conclusion, PPID does not appear to have a correlation with endometriosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15798,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Equine Veterinary Science","volume":"148 ","pages":"Article 105504"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948015","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}