Miniature Horse Research Articles

Diseases and Surgery of the Small Colon

Diseases of the small colon are numerous and they can affect horses of any age. Diseases can be simple obstructions, nonstrangulating obstructions, strangulating obstructions, and congenital defects. American Miniature Horses appear prone to luminal obstruction with impacted intestinal contents, and some ischemic diseases are more common in postpartum mares. Enterotomy and enterectomy have a high success rate in the small colon, provided the affected portion can be exteriorized. The beginning and terminal portions of the small colon can be involved in many diseases and are not readily accessible from standard abdominal approaches. The prognosis is generally more favorable than has been proposed.

Conceptual perspective and lexical choice in acquisition

Adult speakers choose among perspectives when they talk, with different words picking out different perspectives (e.g., the dog, our pet, that animal). The many-perspectives account of lexical acquisition proposes that children learn to take alternative perspectives along with the words they acquire, and, therefore, from the first, readily apply multiple terms to the same objects or events. And adults offer children pragmatic directions about the meanings of new words and hence about new perspectives. In contrast, the one-perspective account proposes that children are able, at first, to use only one term to talk about an object or event. Evidence for the many-perspectives account comes from a range of sources: children spontaneously use more than one term for the same object ( horse and chair for a toy horse); they construct novel words to mark alternate perspectives ( Dalmatian-dog vs. dog); they shift perspective when asked (from cat to animal, or sailor to bear for anthropomorphic characters); and they readily learn new terms for talking about already-labelled kinds. Children sometimes fail to learn new words or fail to relate them to words already known, but only in situations that lack adequate pragmatic directions.

On-the-farm incidence and nature of equine dystocias

The characteristics of parturition and dystocia were recorded on standardized forms by foaling attendants on 8 farms for 517 spontaneous parturitions. Dystocias were classified from examination of the forms into those with malposition (involving the fetal body), malposture (involving fetal extremities), and normal position and posture in which traction was considered essential. Dystocias occurred in 58 of 517 (11.2%) parturitions and involved normal fetal position and posture (31.0%), malposition of body (22.6%), and malposture of extremities (41.4%). Other recorded frequencies were for emergence of an intact chorioallantois at the labia (2.0%), hiplock (1.2%), posterior presentation (0%), uterine torsion (0%), deformed fetal limbs *8.4%), stillbirth (1.2%), death of foal within 24 hours (1.2%), life-threatening injury to the mare (1.5%), and retained placenta (13.5%). The frequencies of a prolonged or excessive Stage 1 culminates in rupture of chorioallantois, (11.5%), deformed foal limbs (24.0%), relatively large foal (26.8%), and retained placenta (22.0%) were greater (P<0.05) for mares with dystocia than for mares without dystocia (2.6, 6.7, 7.9 and 10.5%, respectively). Ten of 14 (72%) dystocias with normal position and posture were attributable to a relatively large foal or weak maternal contractions. All of 16 malpositions of the body involved a tendency toward the dorso-pubic position (upside-down) and 31% were accompanied by malpostures of the extremities. Observations suggested that alternate standing and lying by the mare played a role in preventing and aiding in the self-correction of malpositions. Most (55%) of 24 malpostures involved retention of a front foot. The primary indicators of a problem were the absence of any fetal parts or membranes at the labia for a prolonged time after rupture of the chorioallantois (28% of dystocias) or the emergence of only one foot (34%). The interval from foal delivery to placental discharge was shorter (P<0.01) for Miniature Horses (17±3 min; n=17) than for the larger breeds (54±2 min; n=395). In 3 of 19 (16%) miniatures, the placenta and foal were delivered simultaneously. It was judged necessary to rupture manually an intact amnion in 2 of 5 miniatures on one farm.

Effect of treatment with a monoclonal antibody against equine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on clinical, hematologic, and circulating TNF responses of Miniature Horses given endotoxin

SUMMARY Tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf) is an important mediator of endotoxin-induced pathologic changes. To help define the role of tnf in equids with endotoxemia, the effects of pretreatment with a murine monoclonal antibody (mab) against equine tnf were evaluated in Miniature Horses given endotoxin. Five horses were given tnf mab at a dosage of 1.86 mg/kg of body weight, iv, and 5 were given control mab. Five minutes later, lipopolysaccharide (lps; Escherichia coli O55:B5), 0.25 µg/kg, was given to all horses by bolus iv infusion. Clinical signs of disease were monitored at intervals up to 24 hours after lps infusion, and blood was taken for determination of hematologic and clinical responses of horses given wbc count, pcv, plasma total protein concentration, plasma tnf activity, and serum mab concentration. Reduction of plasma tnf activity in anti-tnf-treated horses was highly significant (P &lt; 0.001), compared with that in control horses. Horses given tnf mab had significantly improved clinical abnormality score (P &lt; 0.010), lower heart rate (P &lt; 0.001), and higher wbc count (P &lt; 0.001), compared with horses given control mab. Rectal temperature, respiratory rate, pcv, and plasma total protein concentration were not significantly different between groups. Serum mab concentration peaked at 68 µg/ml 30 minutes after the end of antibody infusion in both groups. Neutralization of lps-induced tnf activity reduced the hematologic and clinical responses of horses given lps iv.

Electrolyte Balance in Exercising Horses Fed a Control and a Fat-Supplemented Diet

Summary Eight mature Thoroughbred horses were used in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square experiment to verify the results of a previous study conducted in this laboratory which estimated dietary electrolyte requirements for exercising Miniature Horses, and to evaluate the effect of feeding fat on electrolyte balance. The rations contained concentrations of electrolytes as suggested from the previous study. Horses were exercised at two work loads that increased digestible energy requirements to approximately 145% and 180% of maintenance, and were fed a control diet and a fat-supplemented diet. Each period of the Latin square was 3 weeks. Mineral balance trials were conducted during the last 4 days of each period. During the balance trials, horses were housed in metabolism crates, except while exercising, for total urine and fecal collections. Sweat loss was quantified and sweat samples were collected. Feed, water, fecal, urine, and sweat samples were used to determine electrolyte balances in exercising horses supplemented according to predicted needs. Sweat losses in horses in this study averaged 11.9 g/kg BW at the lowest work load and 15.6 g/kg BW at the highest work load. There were no significant differences in composition of sweat due to work load or diet. Furthermore, there was no effect on electrolyte balance due to diet. Horses were in near electrolyte balance when fed the concentrations of sodium, potassium and chloride as predicted from a previous study conducted in this laboratory. Thus, to maintain exercising horses in electrolyte balance, diets should contain (per Mcal of DE) approximately 1.3 g sodium, 3.1 g chloride and 4.5 g potassium.

Hyperlipidemia, hyperlipemia, and hepatic lipidosis in American Miniature Horses: 23 cases (1990–1994)

Summary The medical records of 23 American Miniature Horses with hyperlipidemia, hyperlipemia, or hepatic lipidosis were reviewed. The most common clinical signs were anorexia and lethargy. The mean duration of clinical signs was 2.4 days. A primary disease was identified in 19 cases. Enterocolitis was the most common primary disease (n = 10). Intentional feed restriction, as part of treatment for colic, resulted in hyperlipemia in 2 horses and hyperlipidemia in 1. Four horses had primary hyperlipemia, 3 of which had signs of hepatoencephalopathy secondary to hepatic lipidosis. Dextrose, heparin, and insulin were the most common treatments. The overall survival was 61% (14/23). All horses with peak serum triglyceride concentrations &gt; 1,200 mg/dl died or were euthanatized, whereas all but 1 with peak serum triglyceride concentrations &lt; 1,200 mg/dl survived. These findings suggest that when American Miniature Horses, like other ponies and donkeys, are in a negative energy balance, they can rapidly develop hyperlipidemia or hyperlipemia. Early detection and treatment may improve survival.

Copper balance in Miniature Horses fed varying amounts of zinc

Copper balance was examined in Miniature Horse geldings fed diets containing 12 ppm copper and either 73, 170, 400 or 580 ppm zinc in a 4×4 Latin square experiment. Horses were fed each diet for 14 days and were maintained in wood metabolism stalls during the last four days of each treatment period for total collections of feces and urine. Copper absorption ranged from 42.2% to 50.7% of intake, and copper retention as a percentage of copper absorption ranged from 89% to 94% across diet treatments. There was no alteration in copper absorption with increasing intake of zinc.

Mineral balance in resting and exercised miniature horses

Summary Four mature Miniature Horse geldings were used in astudy to measure mineral losses from exercising horses. Mineral balance trials were conducted at rest and following workbouts after a four-week conditioning period. During the second mineral balance trial, the extent of mineral loss in the sweat of the exercising horses was quantified. Minerals lost in the sweat amounted to 1.8 g sodium, 3.9 g chloride, 5.9 g potassium, 8.5 mg calcium, and 10.7 mg phosphorus per Mcal DE consumed for work above maintenance. Dietary concentrations of calcium and phosphorus were adequate to meet the needs of the exercising horses, but a need for sodium, potassium and chloride supplementation of the diet was indicated. In this study, dietary requirements for Na, K and Cl during exercise were increased over basal dietary supply by threefold, seven-fold, and sixfold, respectively.

Hyperlipemia in 9 miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

The medical records from 9 consecutive miniature horses (n = 5) and miniature donkeys (n = 4) with hyperlipemia (serum triglyceride concentration > 500 mg/dL) were reviewed. In all cases, hyperlipemia was a secondary complication of a primary systemic disease including septicemia, colitis, parasitism, esophageal obstruction, gastric impaction and rupture, fecalith, and pituitary adenoma. Therapy consisted of specific treatment for the primary disease, supportive care, and nutritional support. The mean time for resolution of hyperlipemia in cases requiring nutritional support (n = 6) was 7 days, and the duration of nutritional support in surviving patients was 11.7 days. Seven of 9 patients survived. The primary disease resulted in death in 2 patients. Enteral feeding with commercially prepared low residue diets and treatment of the primary disease was successful in reversing hyperlipemia in 5 of 6 surviving patients that required nutritional support. Parenteral administration of a glucose-based (non-lipid) solution was successful in resolving hyperlipemia in 1 patient.

Two Poems

Two Poems Albert Mobilio The Geographics: Step Five Antennae lie buried beneath the floor because the reception is better that way. The airwaves brought us crumbs & pocket change but nothing worth diving in for. We learned whoever pounds the rock makes fire, and whoever plows the flame grows their own flaw. Instinct rode us down, looted our conversation, kept us in our seats. That’s why we cannot listen to these unwrapped winds and murmurs. It’s dark now. It was dark when we started out. The moon is a crooked tooth buried in the sky’s smoke stained roof. Over time you changed my system and now I feel like something northern has happened to us. They’ve left me some taste of mental health. Up in the old hat factory a miniature horse circles a track. Final exams are held between laps; that’s when they test our spoiled grey faces for muscular decisions. We learn how to hold our ass in place, to shake nickels into dimes. A routine physical disclosed how I had been screwed up by savage cooking, the kind done with pencils and safety pins. I titled her the same way she authored me — with bitten facts dealt like marked cards. She raked back her hair so she could bend to her task, and that’s when I felt left out. The forecast called for black ice and dark coughs. An army of starlings broke ranks when some dust blew down from the hills. She was waving from the porch but I stayed clean in a rented van. The paper that cut me was white bond. The fair and chiseled marble remains visible in the way she conjugates her nerves like Henry James. Behind the gas tanks, underneath the carnival tent, or any place where temperature accumulates, a gorgeous pinch of cypress leaves can be hidden. I am summoned by their scent. Out there in the blood thick mist, a cicada drones. Or is it the arrival of my gift of mourning tongues? The Geographics: Step Six Where does the world leave its dying heat? On the Lido, in the stone and stucco courtyards? Does it create mechanic pressures among the city’s darkened swirls? One day the gifts we bought will remind us of arriving in an early morning rain, of that balcony, and of an argument we had behind its beveled glass doors. If we had acted like we belonged, no one would have asked us for our tickets. Some call it a station but he knows it’s a terminal. The train falters in another state, so he swallows and waits until the new pills are proved upon his pulse. He believes his watch is about to burst. The platform is crowded with petals, the tracks hum with a distant approach, and welding sparks lift a small awning of yellow light above two workmen in the tunnel’s gloom. He saw this and knew he had become the ticket-of-leave apostle. I unwrapped a new thesaurus and looked up a synonym for the word desicate but I ended up feeling sad because every word was chained to another. The toxin bled through the old school halls; neon stained snow fell forever in the streets outside. Meeting in rooms. Look at my sofa, listen to my lamp. I live here in an ice-age marriage to my open floor. No one prepares you for this. You get booklets, brochures, and hints from other tourists, but nothing helps. When I turned the dial to the left, there was a rumba; when I turned right, it was cha-cha-cha, but your purple-heart treason has worn my footwork down to a walk. Covered in smoke, buried beneath a painted cowboy-sky, the sun roars through your hair. You once lived a magazine life, then you entered the pedestrian crosswalk that stilled you. Come to me, speak through my microphone scars and soon we will be such lovers I will be able to hear you tanning on the roof. You will smuggle my complaint across your border and we will finally begin to burn where it counts. Copyright © 1994

Familial occurrence of narcolepsy in Miniature Horses

In an investigation of 2 closely related Miniature Horses with a history of excessive sleepiness, depression and episodes of collapse, a diagnosis of narcolepsy was made on the basis of neurological examination and pharmacological testing. Further investigations included electroencephalographic examination (EEG), and analysis of protein content, cell count and monoamine metabolite concentrations of lumbosacral cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). There were no abnormalities noted in the EEGs, and no consistent changes in CSF neurotransmitter metabolites in the narcoleptic horses when compared with 3 normal, unrelated Miniature Horses and 2 related, clinically unaffected animals. The breeding background of the 2 affected horses was investigated and a limited survey of Miniature Horse breeders in North America was conducted. These investigations have shown that narcolepsy is a rare but distinct syndrome in the Miniature Horse, and that the cases described here appear to represent a familial occurrence of the disease.

Use of a bovine hemoglobin preparation in the treatment of cyclic ovarian hemorrhage in a miniature horse

Use of a bovine hemoglobin preparation in the treatment of cyclic ovarian hemorrhage in a miniature horse

Blood buffering in sedentary miniature horses after administration of sodium bicarbonate in single doses of varying amounts

SUMMARY Blood acid-base and electrolyte status was studied in four sedentary Miniature Horses treated with 200, 300, 400 and 500 mg of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) per kg of body weight (BW). Arterial blood was collected before treatment with NaHC0 3 and each hour for 5 h after treatment. All treatments resulted in an increase in blood pH, bicarbonate (HCO 3 − ) concentration and base excess (BE) by 1 h post-dosage, which continued through the 5th hour (P 3 /kg BW resulted in less elevated blood HCO 3 − concentrations (P 3 , plasma Na + concentrations increased among all treatments but declined to initial values by 3 h post-treatment. The 200 mg NaHCO 3 /kg BW dosage resulted in the smallest increases in plasma Na + concentrations (P + and Ca ++ concentrations were lower (P .05) among treatments. All NaHCO 3 dosages increased blood buffering capacity as indicated by increased blood pH, HCO 3 − concentration and BE. Maximum blood pH, HCO − 3 concentration and BE was reached using a dosage of 300 mg NaHCO 3 /kg BW. Also, all treatments altered the plasma electrolyte concentrations.

Lateral patellar luxation in miniature horses.

Bilateral luxation of the patella in four Miniature Horses was corrected by a lateral release incision and medial imbrication of the parapatellar fascia to the tendon of the sartorius muscle. Before surgery, the four horses had a grade 3 to 4 lateral patellar luxation bilaterally and had difficulty walking. Trochlear ridge hypoplasia was evident on radiographs in each horse. Follow-up information varied from 11 months to 4 years after surgery. Three horses had no patellar luxation or lameness. The other horse had a normal right stifle, but patellar luxation (grade 3) had recurred on the left.

Muscle glycogen in exercised miniature horses at various body conditions and fed a control or fat-supplemented diet

Muscle glycogen in exercised miniature horses at various body conditions and fed a control or fat-supplemented diet

Surgical treatment of colic in American miniature horses: 15 cases (1980-1987)

Summary A study of 15 American miniature horses (amh) that underwent surgical treatment for colic was performed. Information obtained from the medical records included signalment, clinical signs, type and location of gastrointestinal lesion, and postoperative complications. All 15 amh had intraluminal obstructions, attributable to feed impactions (11 horses), enteroliths (2), and sand (2). The most common location of obstruction was the small colon, which was involved in 9 of the 15 cases. All 15 amh survived and were discharged from the hospital. Six of the 15 amh underwent subsequent surgical treatment for abdominal disorders. Elapsed time between the first and second operations ranged from 1 month to 5 years. Intestinal adhesions were observed in all amh that were surgically treated twice. Thus, despite the fact that most of the amh had a simple intraluminal obstruction, 40% (n = 6) developed adhesions that required or complicated a second surgery. Of the 15 amh, 87% (n = 13) survived at least 12 months after the initial exploratory celiotomy. These findings suggest that most surgical abdominal conditions in amh can be corrected; however, precautions should be taken to avoid or minimize adhesion formation.

Abnormal conditions of the equine descending (small) colon: 102 cases (1979-1989)

Summary The signalment, clinical and laboratory findings of surgical conditions, treatment, and outcome of 102 cases of descending colon disease in horses were reviewed. Abnormal conditions were categorized as enteroliths, impactions, strangulating lipomas, fecaliths, foreign body obstruction, volvulus, nephrosplenic entrapment, and other conditions. Eleven breed categories of horses were seen during this period. Arabians, ponies, and American miniature horses were more predisposed to descending colon disease than other breeds (P &lt; 0.05). Female horses and animals &gt;15 years old were more likely to be affected with descending colon disease, whereas horses &lt;5 years old were less likely to be affected (P &lt; 0.05). More specifically, Arabians, Quarter Horses, and Thoroughbreds &gt;10 years old were breeds that were overrepresented when compared with the hospital population (P &lt; 0.05). Enteroliths were most commonly seen in horses between 5 and 10 years old (P &lt; 0.05) and were not seen in horses &lt;2 years old. Enteroliths had a tendency to develop more commonly in Arabians and in female horses. Impactions affected horses &gt;15 years old (P &lt; 0.05) and had a greater tendency to affect ponies and American miniature horses. Female horses were more commonly affected by impaction than were males. Strangulating lipomas were commonly seen in horses &gt;15 years old (P &lt; 0.05) and more specifically female Quarter Horses (P &lt; 0.05). Fecaliths tended to be a disease of horses &lt;1 year old or &gt;15years old and affected males more commonly than females. Ponies, American miniature horses, mixed-breed horses, and mustangs were the breeds most commonly affected. Surgical conditions were categorized as vascular (16%) or nonvascular (84%) conditions. Vascular conditions included strangulating lipomas (6%) and other conditions (10%). Nonvascular conditions included enteroliths (40%), impactions (25%), fecaliths (13%), and other conditions (6%). Horses with vascular lesions were older than horses with nonvascular conditions (P &lt; 0.05). Peritoneal fluid values were high for all surgical conditions of the descending colon. Nucleated cell count and total protein concentration in peritoneal fluid retrieved from horses with vascular lesions were higher than in horses with nonvascular lesions (P &lt; 0.01). Palpation per rectum revealed abnormal findings more commonly in horses with vascular compromise (P &lt; 0.05). Of those horses taken to surgery, 91% were recovered from anesthesia and discharged; 90% of horses, for which the condition was monitored to at least 6 months after surgery, were alive. All horses that were medically treated were alive at least 6 months after discharge.

Use of a human enteral feeding preparation for treatment of hyperlipemia and nutritional support during healing of an esophageal laceration in a miniature horse

Use of a human enteral feeding preparation for treatment of hyperlipemia and nutritional support during healing of an esophageal laceration in a miniature horse

Catalogus van schilderijen van Jan Claesz

Catalogus van schilderijen van Jan Claesz

Clinical biochemical and hematologic values of the american miniature horse: reference values

Sixteen clinical biochemical determinations and 13 hematologic measurements were performed on 49 healthy American Miniature Horses of mixed age and both sexes. Serum triiodothyronine and thyroxine values were also determined. Serum biochemical test results from American Miniature Horses compared favorably with values for full-sized horses, whereas differences in hematologic test results were noticed between American Miniature Horses and full-sized horses.