BACKGROUND Different methodologies for electrocardiographic acquisition in horses have been used since the first ECG recordings in equines were reported early in the last century. This study aimed to determine the best ECG electrodes positioning method and the most reliable calculation of mean cardiac axis (MEA) in equines. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated the electrocardiographic profile o...

OBJECTIVE This study was performed to reveal the molecular structure and expression patterns of horse glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC) and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM) genes whose products form glutamate cysteine ligase, which were identified as differentially expressed genes in the previous study. METHODS We performed bioinformatics analyses, and gene e...

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection among Thoroughbreds residing on a farm on which the virus was known to be endemic. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. ANIMALS 10 nonpregnant mares, 8 stallions, 16 weanlings, 11 racehorses, and 30 pregnant mares and their foals born during the 2006 foaling season. PROCEDURES Blood and nasopharygeal swab samples w...

Variants of the MSTN gene encoding myostatin are associated with muscle hypertrophy phenotypes in a range of mammalian species, most notably cattle, dogs, mice, and humans. Using a sample of registered Thoroughbred horses (n = 148), we have identified a novel MSTN sequence polymorphism that is strongly associated (g.66493737C>T, P = 4.85x10(-8)) with best race distance among elite racehorses (n...

The success of a Thoroughbred racehorse is determined by a multitude of factors, many of which are impossible to evaluate. Thoroughbreds are commonly selected for racing ability by pedigree and conformation analysis. There have been few studies associating growth and body size with racing performance (Pagan, 1998a; Cain, 2006; Smith et al., 2006). The genetic make-up, or genotype, contributes t...