The objective of this exercise was to develop a practicum-based pilot course to instruct undergraduate students interested in equine reproduction with specific emphasis on the pregnant mare, parturition and postnatal foal. The course was offered as a Special Topics in Animal Science, but open to students from across campus with an interest in the equine species. Forty three students enrolled (4...

To the Editor: Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is an acute, generalized, and usually fatal disease previously thought to be restricted to mammals of the order Artiodactyla, often members of the subfamilies Bovinae, Cervidae, and Suidae (1). Although animals of the order Perissodactyla, family Equidae, have previously been considered not susceptible to ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), we show that ...

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between race horse breed and the frequency of limb injuries through the time of training and racing. The study population consisted of 4042 Thoroughbred and 2553 Arabian horses raced at Warsaw race Track, from 2000 to 2008. Among these horses, 94 Thoroughbreds and 32 Arabians had different limb injuries. Based on the achieved results, it is possi...

History: Placental tissues submitted were from a 12-year-old, multiparous, Quarterhorse mare. The mare produced a live foal in 2006. The mare was pregnant in 2007 with a thickened placenta detected by ultrasound at 290 days of gestation. The animal was treated medically for placentitis and delivered a live foal naturally at 310 days of gestation. The placenta was submitted for laboratory analysis.

During the initial stages of training of young Thoroughbred horses, low intensity exercise is employed to increase aerobic capacity. High Resolution Respirometry (HRR) allows the determination of aerobic capacities in small samples of permeabilised muscle fibres. The aim of the study was to measure the mitochondrial function by HRR in Thoroughbred horses, to compare these values to Warmblood ho...

25 Susceptibility of foals to R. equi pneumonia is exclusive to the first few months of life. The 26 objective of this study was to investigate immediate immunologic response of foal and adult horse 27 antigen presenting cells (APCs) upon infection with R. equi. We measured the activation of antigen 28 presenting molecule MHC class II, co-stimulatory molecules CD40 and CD86, the cytokine IL-12 ...

Rhodococcus equi is a Gram-positive, facultative, intracellular bacterial pathogen and the most common cause of severe infectious pneumonia in foals of less than six months of age (Prescott 1991). The pathogen is ubiquitous in the environment, but becomes concentrated in breeding farm situations due to its ability to reproduce in the gastrointestinal tract of herbivores. A foal is suspected of ...