Table of contents for April 2017 in Equus

Colorful Appaloosas and flashy Paints enjoy a loyal following today, but new research suggests that over the millennia spotted horses have gained and fallen out of favor depending on larger currents in society. Researchers from academic institutions across Europe teamed up under the guidance of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany, to collect and test DNA from 201 ancient equine samples to determine the coat color phenotype of each horse. “Any tissue which contains DNA can be used for coat-color genotyping,” says Arne Ludwig, PhD. “We prefer teeth and femurs because DNA preservation is very good in them. Petrosal bones [found in the skull] are also known for their excellent DNA preservation.” The earliest samples in the study dated back to the Pleistocene era, before…

A foal admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit today is three times more likely to survive than one who was admitted in the 1980s, according to a new study from the University of Florida. Researchers examined the records of 1,065 foals treated in the university’s neonatal intensive care unit between 1982 and 2008, compiling data on the reason for admission, clinical details of each case and variables that could have affected the likelihood of survival. The most common reasons for admission to the clinic were diarrhea, neonatal encephalopathy (altered mental state or dysfunction of the brain), dysmaturity (including premature foals and foals that failed to fully develop in utero despite a normal gestation time), and sepsis/ SIRS (generalized infection). Nearly 50 percent of foals had more than one problem.…

On the road again Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway We’re the best of friends Insisting that the world keep turning our way.” —Willie Nelson, “On the Road Again” For an economical alternative, the Endurance twohorse bumper-pull with dressing room (contact a dealer for pricing), from Kingston Trailers, comes with a lower base price and fewer standard features so that buyers can select the upgrades they want without paying for unneeded extras. The body height of the trailer is seven feet, five inches, and each stall measures 88 by 40 inches. The aluminum outer wall is finished in baked white acrylic enamel. Call 781-585-4337 or visit www.kingstontrailers.com. The Featherlite model 9652 (suggested retail, starting at $19,795), from Featherlite Trailers, is a straight-load, two-horse bumper-pull with a…

THE DISEASE Laminitis—the inflammation of the soft tissue (sensitive laminae) within the hoof—can cause a horse excruciating pain. In severe cases, the sensitive laminae weaken to the point where they can’t support the coffin bone, which then sinks or rotates, pulling away from the interior of the hoof wall— a condition called “founder.” In these severe cases, this damage cannot be undone, and the horse may be left permanently unsound. In the worst cases, euthanasia may be the only humane option. There are two forms of laminitis: An acute episode occurs rapidly and may respond to appropriate, intensive treatment; the chronic form is a persistent, long-term condition that can be difficult to treat. To protect your horse from either type of this devastating disease, identify the factors that might put…

DIAGNOSIS How to recognize heaves Q: I have done some reading on heaves, and I am wondering if my horse has this respiratory condition. One fall, we had forest fires with smoke so severe that people were asked to stay indoors and wear respirators outside. That same fall I switched to a different hay supplier. My horse’s “loud” breathing started the following spring, when he was 20 and only when I galloped him. I thought he was out of shape at first but soon found that after a summer of climbing mountains, he sounded the same. He sounded like he was going to keel over, yet he had such energy under the hood, I could tell he was getting enough oxygen. Then the next winter I noticed him sounding wheezy…

The focus these days on the problem of unwanted horses has been a net positive, helping many horses find good homes and raising awareness about the toll of irresponsible breeding. But often lost in the discussion are the very real contributions that professional breeders make to the horse industry. I’ve met many horsepeople who, if they think about horse breeders at all, tend to assume that we just put a mare and stallion together, and 11 months later a healthy foal is born. Of course, the reality is that very often things happen. The list of what can go wrong —with the mares, the stallions, the pregnancies and the foals—is practically endless. And there are many costs. Most horsepeople, I find, have no idea how expensive it can be to…

New research may help allay concerns that pulling carriages through the streets of New York City places horses under stress. n recent years, animalrights activists have sought a ban on carriages in Manhattan, arguing that working in the urban setting is detrimental to the health and welfare of horses. To investigate stress levels associated with pulling carriages in America’s largest city, researchers at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, traveled east to assess the condition of a randomly selected group of 18 carriage horses over a threeday period during the summer of 2015. Thirteen of the horses were stabled in the city and worked each day. The other five, which served as controls, were pastured in Pennsylvania as part of a regular “furlough” period required for all horses in…

New research shows that the outlook is excellent for broodmares who undergo surgery to repair intestinal damage resulting from a cranial0 mesenteric rent—a tear in the membrane that envelops the intestines and anchors them to the abdominal wall. Mesenteric rents have many causes, including trauma or congenital malformations. In broodmares, they may be caused by foal movement during delivery. If a portion of intestine slips through a mesenteric rent, surgery may be needed to repair intestinal damage and close the tear. In a retrospective study of 38 broodmares who underwent this type of surgery, researchers at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Kentucky, found that 88 percent survived to be discharged from the clinic. Among the horses discharged, 97 percent were still alive at a one-year follow-up check. All of the longterm…

Your veterinarian asked you to collect a fecal sample from your horse. Sounds easy enough, right? It is, but you need to do a few things to ensure that you deliver a sample that is useful. Here are a few tips: • Collect one or two small balls of manure. If you collect less than that, the sample may dry out before it can be analyzed, killing parasite eggs before your veterinarian can detect them. If the sample is too large, it’s cumbersome for everyone. The fecal test itself requires only a gram of manure, so one or two balls is about right. • Write the horse’s name and the date on the ziplock bag you’ll be using to store the sample. This will keep it from getting mixed up with other…

When warm spring weather brings out the mosquitoes, you’ll need to take measures to protect your horse against a number of diseases these pests can carry. One of these is West Nile encephalitis, although people typically refer to the disease by the name of the virus that causes it: West Nile virus (WNV). First identified in North America in 1999, WNV spread across the continent within just a few years, and now it remains a persistent threat. Horses (and people) become infected with WNV when bitten by infected mosquitoes, which pick up the virus from wild birds. Horses are considered dead-end hosts, meaning that they cannot pass the disease on to others. Most horses who are infected with WNV show few, if any, signs of disease. Some might develop a…

In the autumn of 1813, biologist and artist John James Audubon journeyed on horseback from Hardinsburg, Kentucky, to Louisville, a trek of some 55 miles. Suddenly, he heard a rushing noise as of a mighty wind, and he reports, “the air was literally filled with [Passenger] Pigeons; the light of noon-day was obscured as by an eclipse; the dung fell in spots, not unlike melting flakes of snow…. I cannot describe to you the extreme beauty of their aerial evolutions.… Before sunset I reached Louisville…. The Pigeons were still passing in undiminished numbers and continued to do so for three days in succession.” Fifty years later in 1863, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant stood at an observation point overlooking the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and witnessed the same phenomenon: the migration…

Research from Iceland suggests that genetically altered feed may help control insect hypersensitivity in the country’s native horse breeds. Icelandic horses sent to other countries have a high incidence of “sweet itch,” an intense allergic reaction to the saliva of biting midges (Culicoides spp.). The breed is predisposed to this allergy because the insects responsible aren’t found in Iceland, so horses there have no opportunity to develop a normal immune response to their bites. To determine whether a specially modified feed might help manage or prevent Culicoides allergy in horses, researchers at the University of Iceland grew barley that had been genetically altered to produce a protein similar to one found in the saliva of the midges. Then they fed flour produced from that barley to four Icelandic horses. In…

Insulin resistance has long been linked to laminitis, a potentially devastating inflammatory condition of the hoof. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, enables the body’s cells to utilize sugar (glucose), their primary source of fuel. When resistance develops, however, cells stop responding to insulin and the resulting rise in the hormone’s levels in the blood can lead to laminitis. Now, research shows that even when the horse’s body reacts normally to hormone can nonetheless become part of cascade of events that leads to laminitis. These prompt a change discuss the relationship insulin and laminitis have implications for diagnosis and management horses. insulin, the horm less a findings may not only in the terms used to tionship between ins but will also ha the diagnosi of at-risk hor MEALS AND…

Our farm is on the market. I’ve accepted an offer. When your spouse passes away, when you keep your horses at home, when you know you can’t handle your three-acre farm alone, that’s what you do. You sell. It’s hard. I’m sitting on the barn porch this fine June evening, laptop resting on my thighs. The setting sun warms my side. The paddock lies before me, green grass cropped golf-course short. A bed of daylilies, their budded stems reaching for the sky, lies between the edge of the porch floor and the threeboard fence rimming the paddock. To my left, a wood thrush sings from the tree line on the far side of the property; a mourning dove calls from the apple trees to my right. Casco Bay, our 25-year-old…