Other Animal Sciences Commons^™

Vector-Borne Viral Diseases In Horses, Sunutcha Suntrarachun

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

Vector-borne viral diseases are major threats to equine health worldwide. These infections are transmitted by arthropod vectors such as mosquitoes, biting midges, and horseflies, resulting in clinical manifestations ranging from mild febrile illness to severe neurological, respiratory, circulatory, or hematologic disorders with high mortality rates. Major equine vector-borne viral diseases include African horse sickness (AHS), equine infectious anemia (EIA), equine encephalomyelitis (Eastern: EEE, Western: WEE, and Venezuelan: VEE), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis (JE). Each disease is caused by a distinct viral pathogen and transmitted by specific vectors that influence their epidemiology and geographic distribution. Transmission occurs through …

Managing Dietary Nonstructural Carbohydrates In Insulin Dysregulated Horses: Pasture, Long-Stem Forage, And Restrictive Grazing Strategies, Morgan J. Askins

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Insulin dysregulation (ID) is a complex endocrine disorder, impacting a large percentage of the equine population. ID is the defining characteristic of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Within the various classifications of EMS horses, the commonality is ID and their higher risk of laminitis. To mitigate insulin response and laminitis risk in ID horses, current management focuses on restricting pasture exposure and feeding low nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) rations. Minimal studies have evaluated how ID horses respond to pasture of various NSC, long-stem forages, and restrictive grazing strategies. Providing horse owners and managers with improved nutritional management recommendations for ID horses with …

Gene Expression In Relation To Bone Fractures In Throughbred Racehorses, Anna M. Rauber-Ramos

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Evidence that fractures in Thoroughbred racehorses are outcomes of chronic bone microdamage has led to extensive research into identifying horses at increased risk of fracture. This includes the use of biomarkers and messenger RNA (mRNA) as a measure of bone turnover. Previous research has found expression differences in horses with fractures compared to controls. Utilizing pre-race whole blood samples collected over an 18-month period from Thoroughbred racehorses in Southern California, RNA-sequencing was conducted on horses with bone fractures and race-matched controls to identify differences in gene expression. Focusing on third metacarpal (MC3) and proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fractures, differentially expressed …

Hay Inventory And Purchasing Calculator For Horse Owners, Robyn L. Stewart, Brooklyne M. Wassel

Journal of Extension

The Hay Inventory and Purchasing Calculator for Horse Owners is an Excel-based tool for estimating hay needs and expenses for horse owners. Challenges with hay quality and availability can result in higher than expected costs for horse owners as they attempt to purchase enough horse-quality hay to meet their needs. Estimating intake requirements and creating a budget for hay purchasing is key for the effective management and profitability of equine operations. This tool can be used regardless of geographic location and will benefit a diverse audience including Extension educators, equine business owners, and horse owners.

Impact Of Short-Distance Road Transportation On Horse Health, Erica Jacquay

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Horses are regularly transported across the United States; however, the reasons for travel, trip lengths, and management practices are not well characterized. While long distance transportation has been associated with increased incidences of health-related problems, the impact of short distance transportation on horse health is less understood. Notably, aged horses ( > 15 years) have an altered immune response following short-distance transportation, but this has yet to be compared to young horses. It is also unknown whether transportation stress would alter endocrine responses of horses with metabolic disorders, such as insulin dysregulation (ID) or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID).

The objectives …

Effects Of High-Speed Training On Messenger Rna Expression In Two-Year-Old Thoroughbred Racehorses, Mackenzie Grace Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Accumulating high-speed exercise has been identified as a significant risk factor for catastrophic injuries in racing Thoroughbreds. Injuries, regardless of severity, are a main cause of withdrawal from the racing industry, raising animal welfare concerns and resulting in significant economic losses. While most of the current literature focuses on catastrophic injuries incurred during racing rather than training, the present study aims to help fill this gap as well as discuss the associated risk factors. The evaluation of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression changes provides an efficient and straightforward approach to identifying horses at risk for catastrophic injury. While alternative injury risk …

Fragile Foal Syndrome: Its Past, Present, And Future, Alena Martin, Alena M. Martin

Honors College Theses

Though Fragile Foal Syndrome (FFS) has been around for some time, the public interest in FFS is recent. The hype spread rapidly from a public media announcement that a stallion at a prominent North American stud farm was a carrier (Brooks, 2021). As with most genetic mutations, FFS likely arose due to the increased inbreeding that results from human selection (Orlando & Librado, 2019). Fragile Foal Syndrome affects the enzyme responsible for developing the connective tissues. Two recent case studies highlighted the devastating effect of FFS on every part of the equine body (Metzger, et al., 2020; Grillos, 2021). So …

Effects Of Equine Assisted Activities And Therapies On Equine Stress And Welfare, Sarah Jean Reega

Honors Theses and Capstones

Equine assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) are becoming an increasingly popular approach for therapy, therapeutic recreation, and learning for a broad range of human clients and participants. In the EAAT field, most research has been human-centric, focusing primarily on benefits of EAATs for participants and clients. Relatively little research has been conducted on the effects of EAATs on equine stress and welfare for equines engaged in EAAT sessions.

The effects of equine assisted activities and therapies on equine stress and welfare were studied by way of exploring current EAAT professionals’ experiences and views related to equine stress and welfare in …

Towards Determination Of The Threonine Requirement Of Yearling Horses Fed Varying Dietary Compositions Using The Indicator Amino Acid Oxidation Method, Kelsey M. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

The amino acid requirements of growing horses are currently unknown, and studies suggest that threonine is a limiting amino acid in common horse diets. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the threonine requirement of growing horses fed two different forage to concentrate ratios using the indicator amino acid oxidation method. The study consisted of a high concentrate phase (HC; 60% concentrate and 40% forage) and a high forage phase (HF; 25% concentrate and 75% forage). Within each phase, 6 female yearling Thoroughbred horses were randomly assigned each of 6 dietary treatments in a 6 x 6 Latin …

Digestibility Of Two Complete Pelleted Diets By The Horse (Equus Caballus) As A Model Animal For Nondomestic Hindgut Fermenters, Emily M. Schwartz

Master's Theses

Estimating nutrient and energy requirements of exotic animals is a necessary component of nutrition management in zoos and other wildlife facilities. In the absence of species-specific data, domestic animal models are often referenced. Herbivorous hindgut fermenters, such as horses, zebra, and rhinoceros, rely on microbial fermentation in the cecum and colon to utilize dietary structural carbohydrates. The study objective was to measure the digestible energy of two (LOW, HIGH) complete pelleted diets by the horse as a model for nondomestic hindgut fermenters. Seven, individually housed, adult Quarter Horse (Equus caballus) geldings were assigned to one of two diets as 100% …

The Initial Phases Of A Consistent Pricing System That Reflects The Online Sale Value Of A Horse, Curran A. Prettyman

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

Horses are one of the most uniquely priced commodities. This document provides a solution to an industry-wide weakness of inconsistent pricing and confusion. In the following report, an evaluation of the industry flaw is presented, an econometric approach is described in full, and a solution is proposed using insight gained from a regression analysis. This report uses an econometric approach to determine the impact of hunter jumper horse qualities on internet sale prices. Data is compiled from bigeq.com for seventy-eight horses in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. A linear regression analysis for twelve variables establishes that …

Design, Construction And Cost Analysis Of Manufacturing Horse Bits, Erica L. Timmermans

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This report discusses the design, fabrication and cost analysis of two unique horse bits. On the market today, there are many different kinds of bits to serve a multitude of purposes. However, this project explored the option of having two different shanks types made of stainless steel in addition to three mouthpieces that are able to fit in both types of shanks.

The Effect Of Rider Level On Equine Mean Heart Rate At The Trot, Jacqueline Marinoff

Honors Theses and Capstones

The effect of riders at two different levels of riding ability on the mean heart rates (HR) of school horses at the trot was studied. Five horses were each paired with a beginner (n=4) and an intermediate (n=5) rider, and the mean HR generated by the two riders at the trot were compared for each horse. There was a significant (p

Detection Of Antibodies Against Parascaris Equorum Excretory-Secretory Antigens, Steffanie V. Burk

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Parascaris equorum is a nematode parasite that infects young horses, sometimes causing unthriftiness, respiratory signs, or intestinal impaction in severe cases. Infection can be diagnosed by detection of eggs in feces, but this is only possible after the worms are fully mature. The goal of this study was to develop an antibody-based test for prepatent diagnosis of P. equorum infection. To produce western blot (WB) antigen, P. equorum larvae were cultured for collection of excretory-secretory antigens (ESA). Sera from 18 pregnant broodmares, their subsequent foals, and a group of 12 older mares and geldings were analyzed. In order to check …

The Effect Of Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction On Protein Metabolism And Insulin Sensitivity In Aged Horses, Laurel M. Mastro

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) typically occurs in horses older than 15 years of age and is characterized by hair coat abnormalities, muscle atrophy and decreased insulin sensitivity. The first objective of this research was to compare the rate of whole body protein metabolism and relative abundance of key factors in the signaling pathways associated with muscle protein synthesis and protein breakdown in response to feeding in Control and PPID horses. No differences (P > 0.05) were seen between the PPID and Control groups in whole-body protein metabolism or post-prandial activation of the muscle signaling pathways regulating skeletal muscle protein …

Utah Alert: West Nile Virus, Clell V. Bagley Dvm

All Archived Publications

West Nile Virus (WNV) has killed thousands of crows and caused human and equine deaths in North America since it first appeared in New York City in 1999. It has been detected in 144 species of birds, 22 species of mosquitoes, as well as in horses, bats, cats, rabbits and other animals. Birds carry the virus and mosquitoes spread it to other birds, animals or humans. Animals, other than horses and birds, rarely show any illness from the infection.