Hematological and biochemical reference values for the Brazilian Pony breed

Abstract

The aim of this study was to characterize the hematological profile of the equine Brazilian Pony breed herds in northern of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Blood samples were separated in categories: adult stallions, pregnant mares and non-pregnant mares. The red blood cells (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hgb), main corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), white blood cells (WBC) and differential count of basophils (Baso), eosinophils (Eos), band cells (Bands), segmented neutrophils (Neut), lymphocytes (Lym), monocytes (Mono), and platelets (Plat) were evaluated. The biochemical parameters of urea (Urea), alanine aminotransferase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), and creatinine (Creatinine) were measured in pregnant and non-pregnant mares. Analysis of variance was carried out with difference of hematological parameters between males and females. Also, analysis of variance was used to verify the effect of pregnancy on biochemical parameters. There was effect of sex on RBC, hemoglobin, VCM and MHCH, but PVC and MHC were not affected by sex. Higher means were observed in females. There was an effect of sex on WBC, eosinophils and neutrophils. There was effect of pregnancy on AST, but no effect on urea, GGT and Creatinine. According to the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the analysis of the blood count and the biochemical of the Brazilian Pony reveals specificities compared to other equine breeds. Thus, these results could be used as biomarkers for the evaluation of the Brazilian Pony breed in Rio de Janeiro.