Equus October 2015

Time to celebrate I’d like to see Deb Bennett, PhD, show us some research on Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. I am not a Thoroughbred owner, but I have read her Conformation Insights series and learned so much from her. I think others would be interested in her insight about this horse, his background, and what it is about him that enabled him to win. Heather West New Lebanon, Ohio Editor’s note: Look to our November issue for a Special Report on American Pharoah and his Triple Crown victory. Plans for this special section include an introduction by best-selling author Laura Hillenbrand, an analysis of American Pharoah’s conformation and pedigree by Deb Bennett, PhD, and essays by the Daily Racing Form executive columnist Jay Hovdey and racing journalist, author and historian…

EQUUS welcomes freelance submissions for practically any section of the magazine. We prefer to receive manuscripts via email; send to EQletters@aimmedia.com. We will also consider typed hard-copy manuscripts, but please note: If you would like your materials returned, you must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your submission. We do not review or accept simultaneous submissions. Here are a few guidelines for prospective contributors: • Back Page (600 to 800 words)—Essay that illustrates an aspect of equestrian life. • Case Report (1,000 to 2,500 words)— Equine practitioners and horse owners share their accounts of unusual or baffling cases of equine illness or injury. • Features generally run from 1,600 to 3,000 words. • Hands On (100 to 400 words)—Short items offering practical advice and useful reminders on everyday horse care…

New research from Oklahoma State University helps explain why horses with the hormonal disorder pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, also known as Cushing’s disease) can be more susceptible to infection. In a two-phase study, the researchers analyzed blood samples from 23 horses with PPID and 39 who were healthy. They specifically investigated the processes that immune cells called neutrophils use to neutralize infectious or inflammatory agents and help the body heal. “Neutrophils migrate to areas of infection or inflammation in a process called chemotaxis. To exit the blood vessels, neutrophils first stick onto the vessel walls, a process known as adhesion. Without adhesion and chemotaxis the neutrophils can’t get to the site of infection or inflammation,” explains Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD. “Once they arrive [at an area of inflammation] neutrophils…

A study from Poland suggests that a horse’s diet can affect how quickly he absorbs the medications he receives. Investigating reports of resistance to ivermectin among cyathostomes (small strongyles) in their region, researchers at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn tested the absorption rate of the drug in horses at different times of the year. For the first phase of the study, which was conducted in May, nine warmblood horses were given a standard dose of ivermectin and had their blood drawn at regular intervals for analysis of medication levels. Fecal samples were also collected before and periodically after the ivermectin treatment to determine its efficacy against parasites. The following November, the researchers repeated the same procedures with the same horses. The data showed that the speed of…

From pinned ears to a cocked hoof, the messages horses convey through body language are well known. Now work is underway in England to find out if they use their faces to communicate as well. Researchers at the University of Sussex have developed the Equine Facial Action Coding System (EquiFACS) to classify the facial expressions of horses. Formulated based on observations of 86 horses, of various ages and breeds, made using high-tech video, the EquiFACS is an adaptation of a system originally developed for humans and then modified for use in other animals including chimpanzees, dogs and cats. Through in-depth analysis of each horse’s facial musculature and characteristics during naturally occurring behaviors, the researchers documented 17 distinct and universal facial movements, such as a “mouth stretch” and “nostril lift,” that…

University of California– Davis researchers recently discovered the genetic mutation that causes a rare hoof disorder in Connemara ponies. In hoof wall separation disease (HWSD), the hoof wall splits along its weightbearing surface. HWSD is often confused with laminitis0 or white0 line disease, but it differs from those conditions in that the separation occurs within the hoof wall, rather than between the wall and coffin bone. Noting that horses with HWSD usually have two normal parents and begin showing signs by the time they are a year old, the California researchers suspected that the condition was autosomal recessive, which means it is expressed only in individuals who carry two copies of a mutated gene. In such disorders, unaffected “carrier” horses have only one copy of the faulty gene. If two…