Intense selection for elite racing performance in the Thoroughbred horse (Equus caballus) has resulted in a number of adaptive physiological phenotypes relevant to exercise; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for these characteristics are not well understood. Adaptive changes in mRNA expression in equine skeletal muscle were investigated by real-time qRT-PCR for a panel of...

The oxidant and antioxidant equilibrium is known to play an important role in equine medicine and equine exercise physiology. There are abundant findings in this field; however, not many studies have been conducted for reference ranges of oxidative stress biomarkers in horses. This study was conducted to determine the reference values of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and biological antio...

Hypoxic training is effective for improving athletic performance in humans. It increases maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O2max) more than normoxic training in untrained horses. However, the effects of hypoxic training on well-trained horses are unclear. We measured the effects of hypoxic training on V̇O2max of 5 well-trained horses in which V̇O2max had not increased over 3 consecutive weeks of supra...

Equine influenza virus is a leading cause of respiratory disease in the horses. The disease is the OIE listed disease of equines, ponies, mules and donkeys and spreads very fast. The sporadic outbreaks of the disease have occurred all over the country. Many cases have been reported in Delhi, Meerut, Saharanpur, Jaipur, Hisar, Calcutta, Ahmedabad. Nearly all the horses at Matheran (Hill station)...

Thoroughbred jump racing sits in the spotlight of contemporary welfare and ethical debates about horse racing. In Australia, jump racing comprises hurdle and steeplechase races and has ceased in all but two states, Victoria and South Australia. This paper documents the size, geography, composition, and dynamics of Australian jump racing for the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons with a focus on debat...

Medical records of equine after-hours admissions from 1998 to 2007 are reviewed. Data extracted from the medical records included signalment, reason for admission, pre-admission treatment, clinical presentation, procedures performed, final diagnoses, complications occurring in hospital, length of stay and outcome. Eight hundred and twenty after-hours admissions were available of which 75% were ...

A stochastic model of equine influenza (EI) is constructed to assess the risk of an outbreak in a Thoroughbred population at a typical flat race training yard. The model is parameterised using data from equine challenge experiments conducted by the Animal Health Trust (relating to the latent and infectious period of animals) and also published data on previous epidemics (to estimate the transmi...

We propose an approach of estimating individual growth curves based on the birthday information of Japanese Thoroughbred horses, with considerations of the seasonal compensatory growth that is a typical characteristic of seasonal breeding animals. The compensatory growth patterns appear during only the winter and spring seasons in the life of growing horses, and the meeting point between winter...