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.
Current methods of trapping are based on chasing the animals into a corralled area – often using helicopters.
Is there another way?
A less stressful, less expensive, and safer alternative? Sue McDonnell and Catherine Torcivia, of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine New Bolton Center, believe that there is.
They investigated whether it would be possible to get free-roaming
horses to follow a drone into a corral. They explain “This concept is based on
the natural instinctive behavioural tendency of horses to become alert to
intruders or novel objects and to respond as a herd according to the level of
sympathetic arousal evoked.”
They used a consumer-grade quadcopter drone to lead the university’s
herd of 123 semi-feral ponies into corrals. Reporting their work in the journal
Animals, they write: “The technique was successful on the first attempt as well
as for seven of nine additional attempts over a period of 4 weeks, repeatedly
to the same as well as to different destinations. The pace of following was
primarily a fast walk, with occasional slow trot. Family integrity was
maintained.”
The authors add that “In all cases, one or more stallions
were the first to alert to the approach of the drone as well as to initiate
following of the drone’s retreat. Those stallions vocalized in a characteristic
loud distant call back to the remainder of the herd, which then reflexively
coalesced and followed en masse.”
They found that to catch the horses’ interest, the drone was
most effective when flying at 2-6 metres above the ground and within 10m ahead
of the leading animals.
The authors conclude that their work shows preliminary proof
of the concept of repeated capture of horses by leading with aircraft rather
than chasing. They now plan to repeat the project on a herd of feral horses in
a much larger enclosure than that in which these ponies were living.
“If successfully demonstrated in more extensive rangeland
conditions, this method may eventually provide a lower-stress, more repeatable
option of capturing feral horses, with implications for improved animal and
human safety and welfare.”
For more details, see:
Preliminary
Proof of the Concept of Wild (Feral) Horses Following Light Aircraft into a
Trap.
McDonnell S,
Torcivia C.
Animals
(Basel). (2020) Jan 2;10(1). pii: E80.
A study from Japan Racing Association’s Equine Research Institute found that a continuous shower of tap water was the most effective method.
Five Thoroughbreds were included in the study, which was carried out under hot and humid conditions (maintained at 31.8 °C +/- 0.1°C with heaters and mist sprays)
The horses were exercised on a treadmill until the temperature measured in their pulmonary artery reached 42°C. They were then cooled down following one of five protocols and their pulmonary artery and rectal temperatures and blood lactate levels were monitored.
Cooling
protocols comprised:
Researchers repeated the experiment weekly until all horses had experienced each cooling method.
They found that showering with tap water was significantly more effective than any other cooling method.
A full report of the work is published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. The authors conclude: “The essential feature is not the water temperature or the use of scraping but that the horse is kept covered in water cooler than its body temperature over an extended period.”
For more details, see:
A Comparison of Five Cooling Methods in Hot and Humid Environments in Thoroughbred Horses
Yuji Takahashi
1, Hajime Ohmura 2, Kazutaka Mukai 1, Tomoki Shiose 3, Toshiyuki Takahashi
J Equine Vet
Sci (2020) 91:103130.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103130
Research from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has demonstrated that a chromosomal defect is responsible for a significant proportion of horse pregnancies that fail within the first two months of development.
These findings will pave the way for new diagnostic tests
for, what could be, one of the most common causes of pregnancy loss in mares.
Pregnancy loss is a notoriously difficult condition for
veterinary surgeons to manage. Up to 10% of
confirmed mare pregnancies end in the first two months, and in over 80% of those
cases the cause is unknown
In this study, researchers found that aneuploid pregnancies (in
which a copy of a whole chromosome is either duplicated or missing) are a key
cause of equine pregnancy loss.
The research team, led by Dr Mandi de Mestre, Reader in
Reproductive Immunology and Head of the Equine Pregnancy Laboratory at the RVC,
collaborated with seven different veterinary practices to gain access to
samples from across the UK and Ireland. They found that around 20% of the
pregnancies lost were aneuploid. Charlotte Shilton, RVC PhD student who
performed the analysis, applied three different genetic approaches to confirm
the results.
Work is now underway to identify the underlying cause of
these aneuploid pregnancies, with early data from this study suggesting it is
most commonly introduced via the egg or sperm. Until now, chromosomal defects
such as aneuploidy have only been reported as a rare condition in young horses
with developmental disorders.
This study explains why the condition is so rare in horses,
with most embryos and fetuses possessing this genetic change dying very early
in development, as also occurs in humans. The study highlights the need to
reconsider this genetic condition both in pregnancy loss but also for early
developmental disorders.
Dr de Mestre said: “Early pregnancy loss remains a very frustrating
condition for clinicians to treat as the underlying cause is unknown in around
80% of cases. These findings will allow researchers to develop new diagnostic
tests for pregnancy losses, which would offer hope to thousands of owners of
breeding mares that suffer this condition.
“A diagnostic test would allow them to make informed
decisions on treatment strategies and to advise on whether they should invest
in further attempts to breed their mare benefiting both horses and their
breeders alike in the future.
She added, ”I would like to thank both the Thoroughbred
Breeders Association and our collaborators at Texas A&M University and the
participating veterinary surgeons for their support on this project.
For more details, see:
Whole genome analysis reveals aneuploidies
in early pregnancy loss in the horse
Charlotte A. Shilton, Anne Kahler,
Brian W. Davis, James R. Crabtree, James Crowhurst, Andrew J. McGladdery, D.
Claire Wathes, Terje Raudsepp & Amanda M. de Mestre
Scientific Reports (2020) vol 10,
Article number: 13314
New research suggests that horse riding may have emerged earlier than generally thought.
Scientists have discovered new facts about the use of horses
in the Bronze Age. A team of scientists, from Khazakhstan, Russia and the US, showed
that people of the Andronova culture mastered horse riding several centuries
earlier than is commonly believed.
The researchers came to this conclusion when working with the
remains of two Late Bronze Age horses from Kurgan (burial mound) no 5 of the
Novoil’inovskiy 2 Cemetery, near the city of Lisakovsk in the Republic
of Kazakhstan.
They discovered that changes on the horses’ skulls that were
consistent with having been bridled. Remnants of bridles were found near the
horses, including cheekpieces that showed wear that could have been caused by
use with soft bits.
The scientists conclude that the bone pathologies and the wear
on the cheekpieces were most consistent with the horses being used for riding
or chariotry.
Igor Chechushkov, of the South Ural State University (SUSU) took
part in the laboratory and analytical part of the study. He analysed the
burials, and radiocarbon dating information from the horse bones and artifacts
removed from the site.
"We received radiocarbon dates that made it possible to
date the complex with an accuracy of several decades. A comparison of these
dates with the known ones allowed us to conclude that horsemanship, that is,
the use of horses in military affairs, began to be practiced much earlier than
many researchers had previously expected.”
It had been thought that horsemanship evolved around 900 BC.
But Chechushkov points out “Our materials suggest that armed horsemen who
fought on horseback could have appeared in the Eurasian steppes no later than
1600 BC.”
For more details, see:
Early evidence for horse utilization in the Eurasian steppes
and the case of the Novoil’inovskiy 2 Cemetery in Kazakhstan
Igor V.Chechushkov, Emma R.Usmanova, Pavel A.Kosintsev
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports Volume 32, August
2020, 102420
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102420
See also:
On the Earliest Use of Plate-Formed Cheekpieces and the
Emergence of Horse Riding (Based on Finds from the Novoilyinovskiy II Cemetery
in Northern Kazakhstan)
I.V. Chechushkov, A. A. Ovsyannikov, E. R. Usmanova
Archaeology, ethnology & anthropology of Eurasia (2020) Vol
48, No 2
Researchers have long pondered over the reason for zebra’s stripes.
Over the past decade, Professor Tim Caro at the
University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences has examined
and discredited many popular theories such as their use as camouflage from
predators, a cooling mechanism through the formation of convection currents and
a role in social interactions.
Stripes acting to confuse predators is another common
explanation, but it too is flawed when looking at the scientific data. Instead,
mounting evidence suggests that it is parasitic flies that are confounded by
the zebra’s distinctive patterning.
In a new paper published in the journal Proceedings of
the Royal Society B, the Bristol scientists have now provided significant depth
to this hypothesis by narrowing down the possible mechanism.
Previously, the same researchers had shown that
blood-sucking horseflies would approach horses in striped rugs as often as
plain rugs, but then fail to land or slow down when they got close.
It seems the stripes dazzled the flies, forcing them to collide with the skin or fly away
altogether. In their new study, the research team explored a potential
mechanism explaining how stripes could lead to this outcome: the “aperture
effect.”
Lead author Dr Martin How, also from Bristol’s School
of Biological Sciences, explains: “The aperture effect is a well-known optical
illusion that, in human vision, is also known as the barber-pole effect. Moving
stripes, such as those on the rotating barber-pole signs outside barbershops,
appear to move at right angles to the stripe, rather than in their true
direction, so the pole appears to move upwards, rather than around its axle.
“We set out to see if this illusion also takes place in the
eyes of biting flies as they come to land on striped hosts.
“As any fly approaches a landing surface, it will adjust its
speed according to how quickly the surface expands across its vision, enabling
a slowed and controlled landing.
“Stripes however could disrupt this ‘optic flow’ through the
aperture effect, leading the fly to believe the landing surface is further away
than reality. Thus, the fly fails to slow down or land successfully.”
This latest study assessed flies landing on horses wearing
striped, checked, or plain grey rugs. The researchers found that flies hardly
landed on checked or striped rugs at all.
The researchers explain that, since checked rugs provide
visual input free from the aperture effect, one would have expected flies to
land on them without difficulty. But they didn’t.
So, it is not only stripes that deter tabanid
horseflies, other patterns can be effective too. As the “aperture effect” would
not apply to the checked pattern, the researchers could discount it as the
mechanism behind fly confusion.
Professor Caro, the paper’s senior co-author, added: “Not
only do these exciting studies bring us closer to understanding one of the
world’s most iconic and photogenic species, they will be of great interest to
farmers attempting to reduce the damage caused by fly bites and even general
horse-wear companies.”
For more details, see:
Zebra stripes, tabanid biting flies and the aperture effect
Martin J. How, Dunia Gonzales, Alison Irwin and Tim Caro
Proceedings of the Royal Society B Volume 287 Issue 1933
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1521
Horse owners look forward to summertime equestrian activities to get them through the winter months.
In a bid to support fellow horse enthusiasts,
the Michigan State University Extension Equine Team has put together a Summer
Horse Care Series and is offering it FREE of charge during 2020. Participants
can earn a certificate for each of the following units:
For more details, see:
Four papers, published in the Equine Veterinary Journal and Equine Veterinary Education, reporting work supported by the Saddle Research Trust were among the top 10% most downloaded articles during 2018 and 2019.
Now the original research papers have been made available free of charge by the publishers Wiley, with generous support from World Horse Welfare.
Click below to read the articles:
The influence of rider:horse bodyweight ratio and rider‐horse‐saddle fit on equine gait and behaviour: A pilot study
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eve.13085
The effects of rider size and saddle fit for horse and rider on forces and pressure distribution under saddles: A pilot study
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eve.13102
Evaluating the suitability of an English saddle for a horse and rider combination
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/eve.13158
Horse and pony owners in the north east of Scotland are asked to help research into pasture-associated laminitis (PAL).
A researcher at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) is urging owners of native-breed ponies across the north east of Scotland to complete an online questionnaire about the way they manage their ponies.
It is hoped the research will help to establish suitable management strategies to reduce the occurrence of PAL. This would provide valuable information for vets and owners and could greatly improve the welfare of horses and ponies.
PhD student Ashley Ward has already gathered some responses. She comments: “Results from the survey so far have highlighted region-specific management practices that owners employ to manage their ponies. Such findings could inform laminitis management in the future.”
“Unsurprisingly, the Scottish weather also appears to have a strong influence over how we manage our ponies.”
The research is the result of collaboration between SRUC, WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute and Aberdeen University’s Rowett Institute. It is supported by the Roland Sutton Trust and World Horse Welfare.
Ashley is looking for the owners of Northern European native-breed ponies aged four years and over, with no previous diagnosis of PPID (equine Cushing’s disease), to take part in the study.
You can complete the online survey at:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ProjectPAL/
If you would like more information, please contact Ashley on email: projectPAL@sruc.ac.uk or telephone: 01224 711026.
