Key Points  Temporomandibular joint motion asymmetries may indicate dental disease and be a cause of poor performance in sport horses.  Cervical osteoarthritis can be is a significant cause of pain and stiffness, without causing overt neurologic signs.  Saddle fit issues are an important component of assessing causes of back pain.  Rehabilitation of sacroiliac osteoarthritis is focused on p...

From a study of the epidemiology of an outbreak of trypanosomiasis (murrina) in the Commission corrals, it was found that mules and horses were equally susceptible to the disease; yet, when they were stabled together, mules developed the disease, but saddle horses never became infected. After an investigation of its nature and probable mode of transmission, t it was concluded that the infection...

Several species demonstrate obvious motor laterality (sidedness, handedness) in their motor function. Motor laterality in the horse affects locomotion and subsequently equine performance during training and may have inherent safety implications for equitation. Some of the most commonly used identification features in the horse are hair whorls (trichoglyphs), since their specific location and ch...

This study examined the effect of increasing BW ratio (BWR) between rider and horse, in the BWR range common for Icelandic horses (20% to 35%), on heart rate (HR), plasma lactate concentration (Lac), BWR at Lac 4 mmol/l (W4), breathing frequency (BF), rectal temperature (RT) and hematocrit (Hct) in Icelandic horses. In total, eight experienced school-horses were used in an incremental exercise ...

Declarations of matings (535,746) and 308,549 consecutive declarations of birth from 1989 to 1999 were analysed by logistic regression in order to determine the effects of year, breed and age of parents on numerical productivity (the number of foals declared per mated mare per year). For the years 1994 to 1999, the status of the mare, type of mating and month of first mating, were also availabl...

On 15 September 1849, the Scottish judge and author Henry Cockburn wrote the following in his journal: ‘This day, which was pleased to fair, was given to Pluscarden, nine miles off, and reached by a coach filled inside and out, and two saddle horses. We loitered about the ruin for some hours, and had a turf refection, and a good deal of calotyping, conducted by my friend Cosmo Innes, the Sherif...

Food intake is a key biological process in animals, as it determines the energy and nutrients available for the physiological and behavioural processes. In herbivores, the abundance, structure and quality of plant resources are known to influence intake strongly. In ruminants, as the forage quality declines, digestibility and total intake decline. Equids are believed to be adapted to consume hi...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of exercise on plasma tryptophan (TRP) and free serotonin (f5-HT), whole blood-5-HT (WB-5-HT) and f5-HT/WB-5-HT ratio in Italian Saddle horses. Six clinically healthy Italian Saddle horses were subjected to a 450 meters obstacles course. Blood samples were collected from each horse by jugular venipuncture using vacutainer tubes with K(3)-E...