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Polley, L. (1986). Strongylid parasites of horses: experimental ecology of the free-living stages on the Canadian prairie. Am J Vet Res, 47(8), 1686–1693.
Abstract: Each month for a 1-year period (October through September), equine fecal masses containing eggs of strongylid nematodes were placed outdoors on small grass plots in Saskatchewan, Canada. Thereafter, feces and grass from the plots were sampled after intervals of 1 week or longer, and the strongylid eggs and larvae recovered were counted. These observations were made over a 2-year period. Development of eggs to infective larvae occurred in all experiments, except those established in October, December, and January. Infective larvae from experiments set up in April through September survived that winter. During the summer, there was a gradual build up of infective larvae in the fecal masses, which reached a peak in August and September and then decreased into the winter. These results are discussed in the context of the control of strongylid parasites of horses on the Canadian prairie and in other areas of the world with a similar climate and similar horse management practices.
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Wilhelm, W. E., & Anderson, J. H. (1971). Vahlkampfia lobospinosa (Craig. 1912) Craig. 1913: rediscovery of a coprozoic ameba. J Parasitol, 57(6), 1378–1379.
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Stahlbaum, C. C., & Houpt, K. A. (1989). The role of the Flehmen response in the behavioral repertoire of the stallion. Physiol. Behav., 45(6), 1207–1214.
Abstract: The role of the Flehmen response in equine behavior was investigated under field and laboratory conditions. In Experiment 1, a field study made of five stallions on pasture with between three and eighteen mares each during the season indicated the following: 1) The Flehmen response was most frequently preceded by nasal, rather than oral, investigation of substances; 2) The stallions' rate of Flehmen varied with the estrous cycles of the mares; 3) The rate of Flehmen response did not show a variation with time of day; and 4) The Flehmen response was most frequently followed by marking behaviors rather than courtship behaviors. The results suggest that the Flehmen response is not an immediate component of sexual behavior, e.g., courtship of the stallion but may be involved in the overall monitoring of the mare's estrous cycle. Therefore the Flehmen response may contribute to the chemosensory priming of the stallion for reproduction. In Experiment 2 stallions were presented with urine or feces of mares in various stages of the reproductive cycle as well as with their own or other males' urine or feces. The occurrence of sniffing and Flehmen was used to determine the discriminatory ability of the stallions. Stallions can differentiate the sex of a horse on the basis of its feces alone, but cannot differentiate on the basis of urine. This ability may explain the function of fecal marking behavior of stallions.
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Malek, E. A. (1971). The life cycle of Gastrodiscus aegyptiacus (Cobbold, 1876) Looss, 1896 (Trematoda: Paramphistomatidae: Gastrodiscinae). J Parasitol, 57(5), 975–979.
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Milinovich, G. J., Trott, D. J., Burrell, P. C., van Eps, A. W., Thoefner, M. B., Blackall, L. L., et al. (2006). Changes in equine hindgut bacterial populations during oligofructose-induced laminitis. Environ Microbiol, 8(5), 885–898.
Abstract: In the horse, carbohydrate overload is thought to play an integral role in the onset of laminitis by drastically altering the profile of bacterial populations in the hindgut. The objectives of this study were to develop and validate microbial ecology methods to monitor changes in bacterial populations throughout the course of experimentally induced laminitis and to identify the predominant oligofructose-utilizing organisms. Laminitis was induced in five horses by administration of oligofructose. Faecal specimens were collected at 8 h intervals from 72 h before to 72 h after the administration of oligofructose. Hindgut microbiota able to utilize oligofructose were enumerated throughout the course of the experiment using habitat-simulating medium. Isolates were collected and representatives identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The majority of these isolates collected belonged to the genus Streptococcus, 91% of which were identified as being most closely related to Streptococcus infantarius ssp. coli. Furthermore, S. infantarius ssp. coli was the predominant oligofructose-utilizing organism isolated before the onset of lameness. Fluorescence in situ hybridization probes developed to specifically target the isolated Streptococcus spp. demonstrated marked population increases between 8 and 16 h post oligofructose administration. This was followed by a rapid population decline which corresponded with a sharp decline in faecal pH and subsequently lameness at 24-32 h post oligofructose administration. This research suggests that streptococci within the Streptococcus bovis/equinus complex may be involved in the series of events which precede the onset of laminitis in the horse.
Keywords: Animal Feed; Animals; Bacteria/classification/*isolation & purification; DNA, Bacterial/analysis; Disease Models, Animal; Feces/microbiology; Foot Diseases/etiology/microbiology/*veterinary; Horse Diseases/*etiology/metabolism/microbiology; Horses; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Intestines/*microbiology; Oligosaccharides/*administration & dosage/*metabolism; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Bacterial/analysis; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/analysis
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Traversa, D., Giangaspero, A., Iorio, R., Otranto, D., Paoletti, B., & Gasser, R. B. (2004). Semi-nested PCR for the specific detection of Habronema microstoma or Habronema muscae DNA in horse faeces. Parasitology, 129(Pt 6), 733–739.
Abstract: Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Spirurida: Habronematidae) are parasitic nematodes which infect the stomach and/or skin of equids. The accurate diagnosis of gastric habronemosis is central to studying its epidemiology, but data on its distribution and prevalence are lacking, mainly due to the limitations of clinical and coprological diagnosis in live horses. To overcome this constraint, a two-step, semi-nested PCR-based assay was validated (utilizing genetic markers in the nuclear ribosomal DNA) for the specific amplification of H. microstoma or H. muscae DNA from the faeces from horses (n = 46) whose gastrointestinal parasite status had been determined at autopsy and whose faeces were examined previously using a conventional parasitological approach. Of these horses examined at autopsy, some harboured adults of either H. microstoma (n= 19) or H. muscae (n =4), and others (n = 7) harboured both species. Most of them were also infected with other parasites, including strongylid nematodes (subfamilies Cyathostominae and Strongylinae), bots and/or cestodes; there was no evidence of metazoan parasites in 2 horses. Larvated spirurid eggs were detected in the faeces of 1 of the 30 horses (3.3 %) shown to be infected with Habronema at autopsy. For this set of 46 samples, the PCR assay achieved a diagnostic specificity of 100 % and a sensitivity of approximately 97 % (being able to specifically detect as little as approximately 0.02 fg of Habronema DNA). The specificity of the assay was also tested using a panel of control DNA samples representing horse, the gastric spirurid Draschia megastoma and 26 other species of parasites from the alimentary tract of the horse. H. microstoma, H. muscae and D. megastoma could be readily differentiated from one another based on the sizes of their specific amplicons in the PCR. The results of this study showed that the performance of the PCR for the diagnosis of gastric habronemosis was similar to that of autopsy but substantially better than the traditional coprological examination procedure used. The ability to specifically diagnose gastric habronemosis in equids should have important implications for investigating the epidemiology and ecology of H. microstoma and H. muscae.
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Nicol, C. J., Davidson, H. P. D., Harris, P. A., Waters, A. J., & Wilson, A. D. (2002). Study of crib-biting and gastric inflammation and ulceration in young horses. Vet. Rec., 151(22), 658–662.
Abstract: Nineteen young horses that had recently started to perform the stereotypy of crib-biting were compared with 16 non-stereotypic horses for 14 weeks. After initial observations of their behaviour and an endoscopic examination of the condition of their stomachs, the horses were randomly allocated to a control or an antacid diet At the start of the trial, the stomachs of the crib-biting foals were significantly more ulcerated and inflamed than the stomachs of the normal foals. In addition, the faecal pH of the crib-biting foals (6.05) was significantly lower than that of the normal foals (6.58). The antacid diet resulted in a significant improvement in the condition of the horses' stomachs. The crib-biting behaviour declined in most of the foals, regardless of their diet, but tended to decline to a greater extent in the foals on the antacid diet.
Keywords: Animal Husbandry/methods; Animals; Antacids/therapeutic use; *Behavior, Animal; Diet/veterinary; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal/veterinary; Feces/chemistry; Female; Gastritis/diet therapy/physiopathology/*veterinary; Horse Diseases/diet therapy/*physiopathology/psychology; Horses; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Male; Random Allocation; Stereotyped Behavior/*physiology; Stomach Ulcer/diet therapy/physiopathology/*veterinary; Treatment Outcome; Weaning
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Manning, G. S., & Ratanarat, C. (1970). Fasciolopsis buski (Lankester, 1857) in Thailand. Am J Trop Med Hyg, 19(4), 613–619.
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Animals; Buffaloes; Cattle; Child; Child, Preschool; *Disease Reservoirs; Dogs; Ecology; *Fasciolidae; Feces; Female; Health Surveys; Horses; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Middle Aged; *Plants, Edible; Sex Factors; *Snails; Swine; Thailand; Trematode Infections/*epidemiology
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Alexander, F. (1977). The effect of diuretics on the faecal excretion of water and electrolytes in horses. Br J Pharmacol, 60(4), 589–593.
Abstract: 1. The effect on plasma, urinary and faecal electrolytes of frusemide and hydrochlorthiazide was measured in ponies, mean weight 180 kg. 2. The rapid loss in urine of large quantities of sodium had only a small effect on plasma sodium concentration. 3. Faecal sodium excretion was increased substantially after the administration of frusemide. 4. Frusemide increased faecal potassium during the 48 h following administration and faecal water in the 24/48 h period. It also produced a hypopotassaemia. 5. Hydrochlorthiazide increased faecal chloride during the 24 h after administration. 6. Frusemide increased the intestinal transit time of both liquid (polyethylene glycol) and particulate (Cr2O3) markers.
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Schwarzenberger, F., Mostl, E., Bamberg, E., Pammer, J., & Schmehlik, O. (1991). Concentrations of progestagens and oestrogens in the faeces of pregnant Lipizzan, trotter and thoroughbred mares. J Reprod Fertil Suppl, 44, 489–499.
Abstract: Faecal samples were collected at weekly intervals from pregnant Lipizzan mares during Weeks 7-16 following mating and from Lipizzan, Trotter and Thoroughbred mares during the last 3 months of gestation. After parturition, samples were taken daily from the Thoroughbred mares for another 6 days. Non-pregnant mares served as controls. The concentrations of unconjugated oestrogens (Eg), 20 alpha-OH-progestagens (20 alpha-G) and 20 beta-OH-progestagens (20 beta-G) were measured by enzyme immunoassay. In the faeces of Lipizzan mares, immunoreactive progestagens were significantly (P less than 0.01) elevated above the levels in non-pregnant mares by Week 11, and Eg by Week 13 of pregnancy onwards. During the last 3 months of gestation, concentrations of Eg were significantly higher in Trotter mares than in Lipizzan and Thoroughbred mares. Concentrations of 20 alpha-G and 20 beta-G increased to maximal values in the last month of gestation. There was no significant difference among the 3 breeds with respect to 20 alpha-G but, during the 10 weeks before parturition, concentrations of 20 beta-G in the Lipizzan mares were significantly lower (P less than 0.05) than those in the Thoroughbred mares. They were also significantly lower than those of the Trotter mares during the last 4 weeks of gestation. After parturition, the concentrations of Eg and progestagens had declined to baseline values by Days 3 and 4 respectively. From these results we conclude that high concentrations of progestagens with 20 alpha- and 20 beta-hydroxyl groups are present in the faeces of pregnant mares, especially during the last month of gestation.
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