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Pinchbeck, G. L., Clegg, P. D., Proudman, C. J., Morgan, K. L., & French, N. P. (2004). A prospective cohort study to investigate risk factors for horse falls in UK hurdle and steeplechase racing. Equine Vet J, 36(7), 595–601.
Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Equine fatalities during racing continue to be a major welfare concern and falls at fences are responsible for a proportion of all equine fatalities recorded on racecourses. OBJECTIVES: To identify and quantify risk factors for horse falls in National Hunt (NH) racing and to report the frequency of falling and falling-associated fatalities. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 2879 horse starts in hurdle and steeplechase races on 6 UK racecourses. Any horse that suffered a fall at a steeplechase or hurdle fence during the race was defined as a case. Data were obtained by interview and observations in the parade ring and from commercial databases. Multivariable logistic regression models, allowing for clustering at the level of the track, were used to identify the relationship between variables and the risk of falling. RESULTS: There were 124 falling cases (32 in hurdling and 92 in steeplechasing) identified. The injury risk of fallers was 8.9% and fatality risk 6.5%. Duration of journey to the racecourse, behaviour in the parade ring and weather at the time of the race were associated with falling in both hurdle and steeplechase racing. Age, amount of rainfall and going were also associated with falling in steeplechase racing. CONCLUSIONS: Falls at fences are significant contributors to equine fatalities during NH racing. Potentially modifiable risk factors identified were the condition of track surfaces and journey time to the racecourse. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: It is hoped that information from this study may be used in future interventions to improve horse and jockey safety in racing. The study has also identified areas requiring further research, such as equine behaviour and its effect on racing performance, and the effect of light conditions on jumping ability.
Keywords: *Accidental Falls/mortality/statistics & numerical data; Age Factors; Animal Welfare; Animals; Athletic Injuries/epidemiology/etiology/mortality/*veterinary; Cohort Studies; Great Britain; Horses/*injuries; Logistic Models; Odds Ratio; Prospective Studies; Questionnaires; Rain; Risk Factors; Safety; Sports
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Parkin, T. D. H., Clegg, P. D., French, N. P., Proudman, C. J., Riggs, C. M., Singer, E. R., et al. (2004). Horse-level risk factors for fatal distal limb fracture in racing Thoroughbreds in the UK. Equine Vet J, 36(6), 513–519.
Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Fractures below the level of the radius or tibia (distal limb fractures) are the most common cause of equine fatality on UK racecourses; however, little is known about their epidemiology or aetiology. Identification of risk factors could enable intervention strategies to be designed to reduce the number of fatalities. OBJECTIVES: To identify horse-level risk factors for fatal distal limb fracture in Thoroughbreds on UK racecourses. METHODS: A case-control study design was used. Fractures in case horses were confirmed by post mortem examination and 3 matched uninjured controls were selected from the race in which the case horse was running. One hundred and nine cases were included and information was collected about previous racing history, horse characteristics and training schedules. Conditional logistic regression was used to identify the relationship between a number of independent variables and the likelihood of fracture. RESULTS: Horses doing no gallop work during training and those in their first year of racing were at significantly increased risk of fracture on the racecourse. Case horses were also more likely to have trained on a sand gallop, i.e. a gallop described by trainers as being primarily composed of sand. CONCLUSIONS: Modifications to training schedules, specifically within the first year of racing, may have a large impact on the risk of fatal distal limb fracture on the racecourse. Horses should do some gallop work in training and our results suggest that the minimum distance galloped should be between 805-2012 m (4-10 furlongs)/week. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: The information from this study can be used to alter training schedules in an attempt to reduce the incidence of fatal distal limb fracture in Thoroughbred racehorses. Training should include some gallop work, and further studies, recording the exact level of work, will help to identify an optimum range of training speeds and distances which will reduce the liklihood of catastrophic fracture on the racecourse.
Keywords: Animals; Athletic Injuries/epidemiology/mortality/*veterinary; Case-Control Studies; Female; Fractures, Bone/epidemiology/mortality/*veterinary; Great Britain/epidemiology; Horses/*injuries; Logistic Models; Male; Physical Conditioning, Animal/*adverse effects/mortality; Questionnaires; Radius Fractures/epidemiology/mortality/veterinary; Risk Factors; Survival Analysis; Tibial Fractures/epidemiology/mortality/veterinary
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Hedberg, Y., Dalin, A. - M., Ohagen, P., Holm, K. R., & Kindahl, H. (2005). Effect of oestrous-cycle stage on the response of mares in a novel object test and isolation test. Reprod Domest Anim, 40(5), 480–488.
Abstract: In various species, sex, hormonal treatments and oestrous-cycle stage have been shown to affect the animal's response in behavioural tests. Few such studies have been performed in the horse. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether oestrous-cycle stage affects mares' response to a novel object test and isolation test and, in part, to study whether mares, assumed to suffer from oestrous-related behavioural problems, respond differently in these tests when compared with controls. Twelve mares were tested twice, in oestrus and dioestrus, in a crossover design. Seven behavioural and two heart rate variables were measured for the novel object test and two heart rate variables for the isolation test. Oestrous-cycle stage and whether a mare was classified as a 'problem' mare did not affect the mare's response. However, test order, i.e. the cycle stage a mare was tested in first, affected its reaction. This effect could partly be explained by significant differences between test occasions 1 and 2 in three behavioural variables and one heart rate variable (p < 0.05) in the novel object test. The mares explored the novel object more and had a higher mean heart rate in the first test. Exploring the novel object more could largely be attributed to those mares tested in dioestrus first, perhaps indicating that the mares in oestrus were less receptive to the novel object. The reason for the differences between test occasions could be an effect of learning or habituation.
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Klein, E. D., Bhatt, R. S., & Zentall, T. R. (2005). Contrast and the justification of effort. Psychon Bull Rev, 12(2), 335–339.
Abstract: When humans are asked to evaluate rewards or outcomes that follow unpleasant (e.g., high-effort) events, they often assign higher value to that reward. This phenomenon has been referred to as cognitive dissonance or justification of effort. There is now evidence that a similar phenomenon can be found in nonhuman animals. When demonstrated in animals, however, it has been attributed to contrast between the unpleasant high effort and the conditioned stimulus for food. In the present experiment, we asked whether an analogous effect could be found in humans under conditions similar to those found in animals. Adult humans were trained to discriminate between shapes that followed a high-effort versus a low-effort response. In test, participants were found to prefer shapes that followed the high-effort response in training. These results suggest the possibility that contrast effects of the sort extensively studied in animals may play a role in cognitive dissonance and other related phenomena in humans.
Keywords: Awareness; *Cognition; *Discrimination (Psychology); Female; Humans; Male; Questionnaires; *Visual Perception
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Madigan, J. E., & Bell, S. A. (2001). Owner survey of headshaking in horses. J Am Vet Med Assoc, 219(3), 334–337.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine signalment, history, clinical signs, duration, seasonality, and response to various treatments reported by owners for headshaking in horses. DESIGN: Owner survey. ANIMALS: 109 horses with headshaking. PROCEDURE: Owners of affected horses completed a survey questionnaire. RESULTS: 78 affected horses were geldings, 29 were mares, and 2 were stallions. Mean age of onset was 9 years. Headshaking in 64 horses had a seasonal component, and for most horses, headshaking began in spring and ceased in late summer or fall. The most common clinical signs were shaking the head in a vertical plane, acting like an insect was flying up the nostril, snorting excessively, rubbing the muzzle on objects, having an anxious expression while headshaking, worsening of clinical signs with exposure to sunlight, and improvement of clinical signs at night. Treatment with antihistamines, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, antimicrobials, fly control, chiropractic, and acupuncture had limited success. Sixty-one horses had been treated with cyproheptadine; 43 had moderate to substantial improvement. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Headshaking may have many causes. A large subset of horses have similar clinical signs including shaking the head in a vertical plane, acting as if an insect were flying up the nostrils, and rubbing the muzzle on objects. Seasonality and worsening of clinical signs with exposure to light are also common features of this syndrome. Geldings and Thoroughbreds appear to be overrepresented. Cyproheptadine treatment was beneficial in more than two thirds of treated horses.
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Jonsson, H., & Egenvall, A. (2006). Prevalence of gastric ulceration in Swedish Standardbreds in race training. Equine Vet J, 38(3), 209–213.
Abstract: REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: There is little information about the prevalence of gastric ulcers in Standardbred trotters and potential correlations between ulcers and various traits, e.g. age, sex, performance, temperament and feeding regimens, need further elucidation. OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of ulcers in the gastric squamous mucosa of Swedish Standardbreds was estimated and the associations between ulcer score and age, sex, performance, temperament and feeding regimens were determined. METHODS: Eighty Swedish Standardbreds in active race training, trained by 9 different trainers, underwent gastroscopy. Information on age, gender, status of training, performance over the last 4 months compared with the trainer's expectations before that period, behaviour, eating habits, feed type, bedding type, time spent outdoors per day and medical treatment during the last month was collected. Gastroscopy was performed and lesions in the squamous gastric mucosa were scored from 0 to 4 (0 = no lesions; 4 = > 5 lesions with haemorrhage, > 10 lesions with no haemorrhage, or a large area of diffuse loss of surface epithelium). RESULTS: Twenty-four (30%) of the horses had no lesions in the squamous mucosa, 22 (27.5%) had a score of 1; 21 (26.2%) score 2; 9 (11.2%) score 3; and 4 (5%) score 4. Horses that were in preparatory training and those that had raced during the last month were significantly more affected than horses that were fit for racing but had not raced during the last month, using a logistic regression model with trainer incorporated as a random effect. CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed a high prevalence of ulcers in the gastric squamous mucosa of Standardbreds in race training. Of the studied parameters only status of training showed a significant association with gastric ulcers of the squamous mucosa. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: Gastric ulceration is a common disease and diagnosis should be made by endoscopic examination of the gastric mucosa, since parameters such as age, gender, performance, behaviour, eating habits provide only weak clues as to which horses might be affected. Further studies are needed to determine the aetiology of the syndrome and to find ways to reduce, if possible, the frequency of gastric ulcers.
Keywords: Age Factors; Animal Feed; Animals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Gastric Mucosa/pathology; Gastroscopy/methods/veterinary; Horse Diseases/*epidemiology/etiology/pathology; Horses; Male; Physical Conditioning, Animal/*adverse effects; Prevalence; Questionnaires; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Sports; Stomach Ulcer/epidemiology/etiology/pathology/*veterinary; Sweden/epidemiology
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Nelson, D. M., Gardner, I. A., Chiles, R. F., Balasuriya, U. B., Eldridge, B. F., Scott, T. W., et al. (2004). Prevalence of antibodies against Saint Louis encephalitis and Jamestown Canyon viruses in California horses. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis, 27(3), 209–215.
Abstract: Jamestown Canyon (JC) and Saint Louis encephalitis (SLE) viruses are mosquito-transmitted viruses that have long been present in California. The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of these two viruses in horses prior to the introduction of West Nile (WN) virus. Approximately 15% of serum samples collected in 1998 from 425 horses on 44 equine operations horses throughout California had serum antibodies to JC virus, whereas antibodies were not detected to SLE virus. The results indicate that horses in California were commonly infected prior to 1998 with mosquito-transmitted Bunyaviruses that are identical or closely related to JC virus, but not with SLE virus. The different seroprevalence of SLE and JC viruses in horses likely reflects the unique ecology of each virus, and it is predicted that WN virus will have a wider distribution in California than closely related SLE virus.
Keywords: Animals; Antibodies, Viral/*blood; California/epidemiology; Encephalitis Virus, California/*immunology/isolation & purification; Encephalitis Virus, St. Louis/*immunology/isolation & purification; Encephalitis, St. Louis/epidemiology/immunology/*veterinary/virology; Female; Horse Diseases/epidemiology/immunology/*virology; Horses; Logistic Models; Male; Neutralization Tests/veterinary; Polyomavirus Infections/epidemiology/immunology/*veterinary/virology; Questionnaires; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Tumor Virus Infections/epidemiology/immunology/*veterinary/virology
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Virga, V., & Houpt, K. A. (2001). Prevalence of placentophagia in horses. Equine Vet J, 33(2), 208–210.
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Ionita, J. C., Poncet, P. A., Doherr, M. G., & Steiger, A. (2006). [Evaluation of the quality of husbandry of Franches-Montagnes horses in their breeding farms]. Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd, 148(4), 191–197.
Abstract: The quality of husbandry of Franches-Montagnes horses (FM) in Switzerland is evaluated on the basis of an investigation carried out in 2002 by the Swiss FM breeding federation. Questionnaires were sent to 3500 of its members and the results include data from 968 breeding enterprises, housing a total of 3965 FM: 46.1% were breeding mares (61.0% with foal at foot), 26.5% young stock, 1.3% stallions and 26.0% non breeding stock (74.6% of which were pleasure horses and 25.4% working horses). 57.6% of the FM were housed in individual boxes with or without permanent outdoor access, 25.4% were hold in groups with or without permanent outdoor access, the remaining 17.0% were kept in standing stalls. 95.0% of the FM had at least visual contact with other equines and 99.2% had sufficient light in their stable. 88.1% were stabled on long stalk straw, while only 4.3% were bedded on other materials other than straw. The average time spent at pasture per horse and per week ranged from 96.5 +/- 51.6 hours in summer to 27.2 +/- 26.7 hours in winter. On average, a FM is used for 8.3 +/- 6.5 hours per week. Horses with an paddock at their disposal spend an average of 39.8 +/- 45.9 hours there per week.
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Poncet, P. A., Ionita, J. C., Doherr, M. G., & Steiger, A. (2006). [The influence of the socio-economic structure of the breeding farms of Franches-Montagnes horses on the conditions of husbandry]. Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd, 148(4), 183–189.
Abstract: The socio-economic structure of the breeding farms of Franches-Montagnes horses (FM) in Switzerland is evaluated on the basis of an investigation carried out in 2002 by the Swiss FM breeding federation. Questionnaires were sent to 3500 of its members and the results include data from 968 breeding enterprises, housing a total of 3965 FM. The quality of the husbandry of FM varies according to factors such as the altitude and the geographical situation of the farms and studs. Socio-economic parameters, such as the role of FM in the business, their use (breeding, driving, riding) and the age and level of professional education of the owners may also have an effect on standards of husbandry. The results show that the owners for whom FM represent a source of income more frequently keep their horses in standing stalls, but give them more time to exercise at liberty than the horses belonging to amateur breeders. Younger and better educated breeders are more likely to house their animals in groups.
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