Equine research highlights of 2013
Research into equine health, breeding, as well as deportment this yr revealed many novel innovations as well as advances for horses.
Here are 10 of the highlights.
Horses inwards pain: Experts position facial indicators
A squad of experts inwards Europe developed a novel standardized scale of facial expressions called the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) to assist Equus caballus managers discern pain.
Using 46 stallions of diverse breeds, researchers followed 3 groups during the castration procedure to assess hurting levels.
The facial actions chosen to position hurting included: stiffly backward ears, orbital tightening, tension inwards a higher house the eye, strained chewing muscles, oral cavity strained as well as pronounced chin, strained nostrils, as well as flattening of the profile.
Long-term stabling is no life for a horse, says professor
A Danish researcher has cautioned against excessive stabling of horses, which he says fails to run into many of their physical as well as mental needs.
While peachy emphasis is seat on preparation as well as riding, the character of “the other 23 hours a day” is of equal importance, Professor January Ladewig of Copenhagen University suggests.
Ladewig said domestication had non removed the basic social, physiological as well as psychological needs of the horse, as well as approximately administration as well as living weather condition failed to run into those needs.
Some Equus caballus owners also sentiment that turnout was unnecessary, believing that horses got all the exercise they needed from existence ridden.
New diagnostic protocols for equine Cushings disease
Also known every bit equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), Cushing’s affliction affects the pituitary gland as well as is mutual inwards older horses.
Diagnosis is past times i of 2 tests, either relating to pituitary gland secretions or cortisol production. But researchers from the Equine Endocrinology Group are instead recommending a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test.
Limiting dietary roughage may bound equine fertility
Ensuring that mares convey access to roughage throughout the hateful solar daytime as well as nighttime has beneficial effects on reproductive performance.
Horses convey evolved every bit “trickle feeders” as well as are adapted to eating trivial as well as often. Modern administration methods ofttimes interfere with this natural feeding routine, as well as convey been implicated inwards causing welfare problems as well as wellness issues such every bit gastric ulcers as well as colic.
Evidence has emerged to propose that restricting the availability of nutrient to only component of the hateful solar daytime tin also last detrimental to breeding performance.
The study centered on 2 groups of mares who were fed the same amount of roughage, but at unlike times.
“Data Dave” spills the beans on rein tension used past times riders
A British study looked at perceived as well as actual rein tension used past times riders, as well as industrial plant life that professional person riders, men, as well as riders aged 18-30 had a to a greater extent than realistic sentiment of their overall actual rein tension.
Between the disciplines, showjumpers showed the greatest discrepancy, with leisure riders coming in second. Dressage riders showed the to the lowest degree discrepancy betwixt perceived rein tension as well as actual rein tension.
Surprising to researchers was how commonly manus authorization occurred inwards riders, with approximately riders reportedly explaining the discrepancies existence due to prior injuries having an impact on their powerfulness to last consistent inwards the contact on the reins.
Horses demo powerfulness for social learning
Horses got i upwards on scientists, who convey evidently ever assumed horses were incapable of “social learning” – that is, learning from a demonstrator horse, because they convey ever failed to acquire the tasks presented.
Not so, says a German linguistic communication researcher, who showed that it is, indeed, possible to exercise an older Equus caballus to learn a younger Equus caballus novel tricks.
Social learning is unremarkably considered to last a sign of higher intelligence, as well as hence horses were seat depression on the “intelligence” scale.
However, perchance that was because of the chore presented, as well as non because of horses’ powerfulness to learn.
Scientists propose argue for horses existence prone to gut upsets
British researchers have found that the horse’s hind gut had gist bacteria made upwards of many low-abundance varieties of bacteria. They said this powerfulness explicate why the equine hind gut was as well as so vulnerable to alter when challenged past times the likes of dietary change.
This could Pb to an alteration inwards fermentation patterns as well as ultimately spark metabolic disorders such every bit laminitis as well as colic.
Evidence suggested that the equine gut microbial community may non last every bit stable every bit that industrial plant life inwards the human gut, they said.
The researchers said they had shown for the offset fourth dimension that a gist bacterial community existed inwards all regions of the large intestine of salubrious horses on a fibre based, grass diet.
Laminitis studies shed low-cal on equine management
Laminitis query inwards diverse areas continued throughout the year, including four projects which shed novel low-cal on equine administration practices for owners trying to grapple with the affliction inwards their horses.
The 4 split upwards studies, 2 of which were funded past times The Laminitis Trust, convey shed novel low-cal on:
- The role that grass fructan may convey inwards the evolution of laminitis.
- The of import influence of H2O temperature when soaking hay to trim the water-soluble saccharide (WSC) content.
- A possible link betwixt recurrent laminitis as well as reduced anti-inflammatory capacity.
- The potential anti-inflammatory benefits of exercise.
Read to a greater extent than nigh other advances inwards the study of laminitis.
Genetic link industrial plant life inwards superficial digital flexor tendon injuries
Research inwards Britain compared the genotype of horses with as well as without superficial digital flexor tendinitis inwards a case-control study.
Genetic cloth for the study was derived from mane hair, or peripheral blood cells, collected from 270 horses with a history of superficial digital flexor tendon strains, as well as 270 unaffected command samples, chosen at random from with the other horses at yards with affected cases.
The study’s findings propose that sequence variants inwards TNC as well as COL5A1 genes are associated with these tendon strains inwards racehorses.
In the futurity it may last possible to exercise genetic markers to position horses at gamble of tendinopathy affecting the superficial digital flexor tendon.
Treatment breakthrough for infertile mares
Two Danish researchers nation that the most mutual elbow grease of a mare’s reduced fertility is a chronic infection inwards the mucosal membrane of the uterus caused past times the bacteria Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus.
But approximately mares testing negative for streptococci were industrial plant life to convey a dormant infection. University of Copenhagen Professor Anders Miki Bojesen as well as embryologist Morten Rønn Petersen developed a production to activate the dormant bacteria.
“Once you lot wake the bacteria you lot tin diagnose the infection as well as process the horses with regular antibiotics,” Bojesen says.
“Streptococci are unremarkably non resistant to antibiotics, but during dormancy the metabolism is as well as so depression that antibiotics are rendered useless. Bactivate is made upwards of signalling components that rouse the bacteria as well as Pb them to rapidly start dividing as well as multiplying similar normal as well as treatable streptococci.”
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