They are interested in knowing more about your
understanding and perception of equitation science and if/how it influences
you.
If you have 5 minutes spare, they would be very grateful if
you could complete their survey.
But people are not always able to interpret correctly the signs
of pain displayed by horses and donkeys. After all, having evolved as prey
animals, it is in their interest not to show signs of pain that might bring
them to the attention of a predator looking for its next meal.
Dr Thijs van Loon and colleagues at the faculty of
veterinary medicine of Utrecht University have been researching pain
recognition in horses. Their work resulted in the development of composite pain
scales that the researchers showed could be used to accurately measure pain in
horses as well as donkeys.
Such scales generally comprise several indicators, including
behavoural parameters (such as lying down, rolling and scratching),
physiological variables, (heart rate and respiratory rate), and facial
expressions, (positioning and movement of the ears, nostrils, eyelids, and mouth).
These signs are particularly useful for detecting pain or
discomfort in patients suffering from colic, facial or orthopaedic pain.
Assessment methods developed in the studies have now been
distilled into an App, the Equine Pain and Welfare App (EPWA), which provides a
reliable way to recognise pain and calculate a pain score.
The App guides the user through a two-minute pain assessment
based on facial expressions or a five-minute assessment of body language. Users
are advised to contact a veterinarian for horses scoring above five on a scale
of 0 to 18.
The scores can be stored on the App, allowing users to monitor
changes to a horse's welfare over time.
Other features of the App include a diary where you can keep
track of how much your horse eats, the amount of exercise he does and any
medication he has.
There is also a handy check of whether your horse is showing
signs compatible with PPID (Cushings disease).
The research team say that the current version of EPWA has
been downloaded thousands of times already and is helping owners to recognise
pain and discomfort in their horses and donkeys, thereby improving their health
and welfare.
They are now working to develop a version specifically aimed
at working donkeys in rural communities and developing countries. The Working
Equine Pain and Welfare App ('W-EPWA') will be provided free of charge in order
to encourage its widespread use and improve the health and welfare of horses
and donkeys worldwide.
EPWA is a joint initiative of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
at Utrecht University and Stichting de Paardenkamp. It is available (free) from
the usual app stores.
For more details, see:
Dr Barbara Padalino, associate professor at the University
of Bologna in Italy, is leading research into how horses are managed when
travelling by plane. The project aims to identify factors that affect the risk
of health or behaviour problems, and is funded by the Morris Animal Foundation.
Findings will be used to develop guidelines to optimise the
health and welfare for horses traveling by plane, and may result in revised protocols
for organisations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
In a statement issued by the Morris Animal Foundation, Dr
Padalino said: “Right now, IATA’s guidelines are largely based on the
experience of industry professionals with little scientific evidence or
validation. They focus on air safety and cargo requirements, with limited
provisions for the welfare needs of horses. We need to update flight
regulations using evidence collected in a scientific way.”
In this prospective study, researchers will work with horse
owners, air cargo operators, flight grooms and veterinarians to determine the
incidence of health and behavioural problems observed in overseas
air-transported horses. Dr. Padalino’s team will train the stakeholders on how
to fill out surveys with questions tailored to their respective roles. For
instance, veterinarians will be asked about horses’ body conditions, heart
rates and alertness, among other observations, before, during and after a
journey.
Data will be collected from departure to five days
post-arrival, which is when symptoms usually become apparent.
Dr. Padalino hopes to gather data on about 2,000 horses
flying on routes between Europe, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Hong
Kong, New Zealand and Australia. She hypothesizes that not only is air
transport a mental and physical stressor for horses, but that horses with
different temperaments or with less transport experience or training will have
a higher incidence of transport-related health problems.
“Researchers and air cargo service providers have rarely
had the opportunity to collaborate like this, which has left gaps in our
knowledge of the consequences of horses’ movements by air,” said Dr. Padalino.
“By working together, I believe we can develop evidence-based guidelines to
improve the lives of horses that are flown worldwide.”
Morris Animal Foundation, a leader in advancing animal
health, has awarded nearly $1 million in large animal health research grants,
supporting 14 projects. Other horse-related research supported this year
includes: a study of the variation of the gut microbiome as it relates to the
health and wellness in group of feral horses; an investigation into a novel
treatment for ocular surface squamous neoplasia; and a study into whether
genetic variants can help identify horses at high risk of developing
potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias.
“We were very impressed with the quality of proposals
received this year and we believe they have the potential to drive significant
improvements in the well-being of our equine companions,” said Dr. Janet
Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation Chief Scientific Officer. “We are very
proud to support these enterprising researchers in their endeavours.”
For more details, see:
https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/articles?animal_type=6&topic=All
Detomidine has proved to be a useful sedative for horses, facilitating routine tasks like farriery, dentistry and clipping, as well as more involved veterinary procedures. Although it can be administered by injection, the use of a gel formulation applied under the tongue and absorbed through the mucous membranes has become popular.
Some horses may resent application of the product to the mouth. Gel that is swallowed is less effective as it may be broken down by enzymes in the intestinal tract and metabolised in the liver before inducing sedation.
Reza Seddighi and colleagues at the University of Tennessee, have been evaluating the sedative effects of administering the gel onto the mucous membrane of the vagina.
Six healthy adult mares were included in a randomised, crossover study.
Each mare was studied on two occasions a week apart. On one occasion each mare received detomidine (10µg/kg) by intravenous injection and on the other by applying the gel intra-vaginally (40µg/kg – the manufacturer’s recommended dose for sub-lingual administration).
The research team monitored the effects – including degree of sedation, distance of muzzle from the floor, ataxia and heart rate. They also collected blood samples at regular intervals to assess the concentration of detomidine and its metabolites.
They found that sedation lasted longer and was deeper when the detomidine was administered intra-vaginally compared with intravenously.
They conclude that detomidine gel administered intravaginally is a viable method for detomidine gel delivery in mares. They add that further work needs to be done to determine whether changes related to the mare’s oestrus cycle might influence the absorption.
For more details, see:
Evaluation of the sedative effects and pharmacokinetics of detomidine gel administered intravaginally to horses.
Seddighi R, Knych HK, Cox SK, Sun X, Moorhead KA, Doherty TJ.
Vet Anaesth Analg. 2019 Jun 17. pii: S1467-2987(19)30161-8.
Tickets are now on sale for the Saddle Research Trust (SRT) 4th International Conference ‘Welfare and
Speakers include renowned researchers and long-time SRT
supporters, Prof. Hilary Clayton and Dr. Sue Dyson. There will also be some
exciting new faces including Dr. Felipe Bragança, who is at the forefront of
the new generation of quantitative gait analysis researchers and developers.
Delegates can attend in person or via Livestream, with
everyone benefiting not only from the latest research updates, but also the
interactive Q&As and polls throughout the course of the day.
SRT Director, Dr. Anne Bondi, said: “The SRT is committed to
research, education and dissemination of knowledge, and continues to deliver on
its aims throughout these challenging times. Whilst we look forward to
welcoming everybody to the conference in person, we are delighted to be
offering such a comprehensive livestream contingency package to all our
delegates worldwide.’’
For more information, and to buy your tickets, see:
The birth has been announced of the first successfully cloned Przewalski’s horse. Born at Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital, in Texas, the colt was produced using DNA preserved for 40 years in the “Frozen Zoo” at San Diego Zoo.
The Frozen Zoo® houses genetic material from thousands of
dead animals, safely stored in liquid nitrogen, in the hope that, one day, it
might be possible to use it to help save endangered species, or even reintroduce
extinct ones.
“A central tenet of the Frozen Zoo®, when it was established
by Dr. Kurt Benirschke, was that it would be used for purposes not possible at
the time.” explains Oliver Ryder, Ph.D., director of genetics at San Diego Zoo
Global.
“Now, the living cells in the Frozen Zoo are contributing to
reversing losses of genetic diversity and contributing to population
sustainability. The cells of hundreds of Przewalski’s horses reside in the
Frozen Zoo, and form the basis for new opportunities in applying scientific
research to preserve species into the future.”
By the end of the 1960s, the Przewalski horse, considered to
be the last truly wild horse, was extinct in the wild. Some individuals survived
in zoos, and an intensive breeding program managed to revive the species, allowing
horses to be reintroduced to their natural habitat in the 1990s.
Although there are now over 700 animals roaming the
Mongolian steppes, almost all are related to just 12 individuals. This loss of
genetic diversity is a cause for concern; maintaining genetic variation is likely
to be an important part of ensuring the species’ survival in the future.
The new foal, named Kurt after Dr Benirschke, represents the
first time this species has been cloned. He was cloned from a cell line stored
in the Frozen Zoo since 1980. That stallion was born in 1975 in the UK, was
transferred to the US in 1978 and lived until 1998.
More than just an individual horse, Kurt represents a major
milestone for Przewalski’s horse conservation, and it is hoped that in due
course he will increase the gene pool of the current population of Przewalski’s
horses.
Once he is older, the foal will be moved to the San Diego
Zoo Safari Park to be integrated into a breeding herd.
“This colt is expected to be one of the most genetically
important individuals of his species,” said Bob Wiese Ph.D., chief life
sciences officer at San Diego Zoo Global.
“We are hopeful that he will bring back genetic variation important for
the future of the Przewalski’s horse population.”
As he matures and successfully breeds, he can provide a
valuable infusion of genetic diversity for the Przewalski’s horse population.
The work was carried out by Texas-based ViaGen Equine (http://viagenpets.com/equine), in collaboration with San Diego Zoo Global (http://SanDiegoZooGlobal.org) and wildlife conservation organization Revive & Restore (https://reviverestore.org/projects/przewalskis-horse/)
“The work to save endangered species requires collaborative
and dedicated partners with aligned goals,” said Paul A. Baribault, president/CEO
of San Diego Zoo Global. “We share in this remarkable achievement because
we applied our multidisciplinary approach, working with the best scientific
minds and utilizing precious genetic material collected and stored in our
wildlife DNA bio bank.”
The scientists suggest this could provide an important model
for future conservation efforts.
