The effect of physiotherapy intervention to the pelvic region of experienced riders on seated postural stability and the symmetry of pressure distribution to the saddle: A preliminary study

It is commonplace for trainers and judges to comment that riders are “crooked” or “collapsed in the hip.” This asymmetrical posture will likely have a significant effect on stability/balance and may subsequently have a detrimental effect on performance. Although the effects of asymmetry on athlete performance has received much attention on human-only sports, there has been little scientific research investigating the influence of these factors in equestrianism, despite anecdotal acknowledgment that “a good seat” and core stability has strong influence on the horse and that crookedness may contribute to high incidences of back pain in both the rider and horse. Asymmetry among athletes has been shown to lessen after physiotherapy intervention (PI).This study examined whether the effect of PI to a group of experienced riders improved seated postural stability (determined as the root mean square [RMS] of the center of pressure signal in the medial–lateral directions) collected for more than 30 seconds and medial–lateral symmetry in force distribution when sat astride a saddle for 10 seconds. Riders were divided into 2 groups either receiving PI to the pelvic region or no intervention. After intervention, the PI group showed a significant reduction in RMS, and initial asymmetry in distribution of pressure was reduced.Preliminary findings suggest that improvements in rider asymmetry and stability can be attenuated through manipulation of the pelvic region. Further work to ascertain the benefits that targeted physiotherapy and training regimes can have on effective horse–rider communication, performance, and behavioral, anatomical, and physiological indicators of welfare in both horse and rider are justified.     

Estimation of Milk Production in Lactating Sows by Determination of Deuterated Water Turnover in Three Piglets per Litter

The milk intake in piglets from four lactating sows was measured in three 48 h periods, starting on days 3, 10 and 17 of lactation, using the deuterium oxide (D 2 O) dilution technique. The milk intake was estimated from the water turnover in the piglets corrected for the production of metabolic water. The water turnover was estimated from the water dilution space and the fractional turnover of body water, determined by the rate of D 2 O dilution. To determine the magnitude of isotopic recycling, a randomly selected piglet in each litter was not enriched with D 2 O. Milk production of the four lactating sows was also measured by the weigh-suckle-weigh (WSW) method on days 4, 11 and 18 of lactation. The average daily milk production determined by the D 2 O dilution technique (9.91 - 0.69 kg) was higher ( P <0.05) than that determined by the uncorrected WSW method (8.65 - 0.81 kg). Different procedures for selecting piglets were evaluated to obtain the best possible estimation of total milk production from three piglets in each litter. The total milk production of a sow based on three piglets in the litter was obtained from a quadratic model of the relationship between milk intake and daily gain. When the daily gain of all piglets were known the Pearson correlation between milk production determined for the whole litter ( n -1) and only three median piglets was 0.98.     

Therapeutic effects of systemic or intramammary antimicrobial treatment of bovine subclinical mastitis during lactation

The short- and long-term treatment efficacy of administrating penicillin for bovine subclinical mastitis during lactation when using intramuscular (IM; 9.5 mg [15,000 IU]/kg bodyweight of benzyl penicillin potassium) injections twice daily for 5 days, or intramammary (IMM; 0.3g [300,000 IU] penethamate hydroiodide) administration once daily for 5 days was compared with a control group receiving no treatment. One hundred and twenty-six cows met the inclusion criteria, which were lack of clinical symptoms, no recent treatment with antimicrobials, and findings of penicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, or Streptococcus uberis in combination with an inflammatory reaction. At follow-up 42-58 days after treatment, the proportion of cows negative for the original infection was significantly higher in IM and IMM groups compared to controls, but the difference between antimicrobial treatment groups was not significant. The udder quarter milk somatic cell count (SCC) was significantly lower at follow-up in IM and IMM groups than in controls, but milk production did not differ between treatments. The culling rate during the 10-month period following treatment was significantly higher in the group treated with IMM penicillin than in the other two groups, but the risk of new mastitis treatments within 10 months did not differ between the three groups. The cure rate was significantly affected by lactation number (lower in older cows), breed (lower in the Swedish Holstein breed), pathogen (lower for S. aureus), and pre-treatment SCC (higher for above average SCC). In conclusion, beneficial long-term effects of antimicrobial treatment during lactation of subclinical mastitis caused by S. aureus, Str. dysgalactiae or Str. uberis were not found in the present study.     

Risk factors for strap-related lesions in working donkeys at the World Heritage Site of Petra in Jordan

A risk analysis was undertaken in an attempt to improve improvised rump straps on donkeys carrying tourists at the World Heritage Site at Petra, Jordan. Tail-base lesions were identified in 63 of the 86 donkeys. Observations and questionnaires were used to collect data relating to the straps, donkey health and human attitudes. The worse lesions were associated with padded rather than unpadded straps, if tightly fitted. Padding could be a cause of, or a response to lesions, but results suggest that it did not effectively aid healing. Significantly worse lesions occurred with unclean than with clean straps and, contrary to many recommendations, cotton straps were associated with worse lesions than were synthetic straps. Since this was an exploratory study, findings should be considered to generate (not to test) hypotheses and any resulting interventions will require monitoring. Further possible risks are discussed, referring to medical and veterinary literature and applied expertise in working equines.