Newborn foals are very susceptible to infections by opportunistic pathogens such as Rhodococcus equi. This susceptibility is thought to be due to the immaturity of their immune system, in particular their inability to produce interferon-gamma. This deficiency may result from an insufficiency in accessory signals. We therefore compared monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDC) from foals and from ...

Introduction Gastric ulcer disease has been recognized in foals and adult horses. It is a complex disease and lesions vary in anatomic distribution, severity and cause. In the neonatal foal (<30 days of age) gastric ulcers and mucosal desquamation have been documented in clinically normal foals [1-4]. Due to this finding many clinicians feel it is necessary to treat critically ill neonates prop...

Objectives The goal of this study was to quantify external and internal anatomical characteristics of the foal foot throughout the first year of age. Methods Digital radiographs and photographs were taken bimonthly of the forefeet of nine Arabian foals, beginning at about 2 weeks of age until 12 months of age. Sixty-eight linear and angular variables were measured using NIH (National Institutes...

Humoral immunity is a critical component of the immune system that is established during fetal life and expands upon exposure to pathogens. The extensive humoral immune response repertoire is generated in large part via immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain variable region diversity. The horse is a useful model to study the development of humoral diversity because the placenta does not transfer mater...

This study was motivated by the hypothesis that the incidence of retained placenta (RP) in Friesian horses is associated with inbreeding. The objectives were to 1) calculate the inbreeding rate in the total registered Friesian horse population; 2) study the association of the inbreeding coefficient of the foal and the mare with the incidence of RP; and 3) study the heritability of RP in Friesia...

Incidence and risk factors Septic arthritis is a common consequence of bacteremia and septicemia in foals. In one study, septicemia was the most common cause of death (30%) in foals under 7 days of age. In the same study, septic arthritis was identified as the cause of death in 12.5% of foals aged 8 to 31 days.1 Establishment of infection depends on several factors including host defense, virul...