Ethmoid tumors in moose and roe deer

Ethmoid tumors are expansively-infiltratively growing tumors of carcinomatous or sarcomatous nature, deriving from the mucous membrane of the ethmoid bone. In Sweden, such tumors were found in 35 elks (Alces a. alces) and 4 roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) during the years 1947-1982, that means a frequency of about 1 and 0.1 per cent, respectively of the investigation material. However, in the free living elk and roe deer population, the frequency might be much lower. The tumors were malign, extensively melting the soft and hard tissues of the ethmoid region, breaking into the brain cavity, the forehead subcutaneous tissues, etc. Symptoms as suppurative or bloody discharge at the nose, external outline aberrations and disorders to be related to injuries of the central nervous system were observed. In the elk, ethmoid tumors were found only in female animals. In the beginning of this century, ethmoid tumors were found in a number of cattle and horses in Sweden and Norway. Multiple cases occurred in some herds indicating that the tumors were caused by an infectious agent. Since the year 1916, there seem to be no reports on the finding of ethmoid tumors in domestic animals in the Nordic countries. In 1960, however, such tumors were discovered in Indian cattle in Kerala in the south of India. Tumor tissue from the cattle was examined and a herpes-virus was found. Geographically, the distribution of the tumor cases in cattle and elk was very similar in Sweden indicating a possible mutual transmission. As the tumors obviously have disappeared from cattle but not from the elk, it seems likely that the elk might be the primary carrier of the ethmoid tumor. Ethmoid tumors have been observed for many years in Scandinavia but only rather recently they were discovered in India. It has been known for long that birds after contamination might be involved in the spread of virus diseases, provided the virus are reasonably resistant. In the actual case, the suspicion has mainly been directed at three bird species, viz. the blue throat (Luscinia svecica), the scarlet grosbeak (Erythrina erythrina) and the red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus). In spring and summer, these birds periodically reside in elk habitat where they might be contaminated. In the autumn, they may extend their migration to the southern parts of India.     

The relationship of subsequent racing performance to foreleg flight patterns during racing speed workouts of unraced 2-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses at auctions

Workouts of 980 unraced 2-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses at major U.S. auctions were videotaped using digital high-speed video equipment (ie, slow motion) and studied for signs of extraneous foreleg motion.^a Extraneous foreleg motion included, but was not limited to: 1) hyper rotation of the cannon bone on an axis parallel to the plane of the running surface (ie, moving in sagittal plane; hoof hitting an elbow in extreme cases) and perpendicular to the direction of the racetrack longitudinally; and 2) foreleg flight patterns not symmetrical and/or not parallel to the vector of the forward momentum of the horse's center of gravity (eg, winging, paddling, and/or wobbling at joints). Experienced Thorough bred racehorse industry videographers and gait analysis researchers were trained and used as film reviewers who rated foreleg motion on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating little or no extraneous motion, 3.5 indicating average extraneous motion (relative to the other unraced 2-year-olds at these auctions and to more than 20,000 similar horses at similar auctions over the past 10 years), and 5 indicating extreme extraneous motion (ie, at least 1 standard deviation or more from the mean). Because these were subjective ratings, only the more extreme rankings were used for comparison purposes in this study—that is, a minority (15.3%) of the overall study population.

A group of 73 horses with “good” foreleg motion had ratings from 1 to 3. A group of 77 horses with “bad” foreleg motion had ratings from 4 to 5. The subsequent North American racing performance of horses with good and bad foreleg motion was compared. Both groups had similar average velocity and similar distribution patterns of the velocities of the workouts, so the differences between the groups that are discussed in this study were not caused by different overall workout velocities.

Extraneous foreleg motion was shown to be related to subsequent racing earnings and the level of racing competition achieved. Horses with good foreleg motion (as defined herein) earned more and had greater stakes-level success than horses with bad foreleg motion. For example, the median earnings per start of horses with good foreleg motion was 83% higher than those of horses with bad foreleg motion, and horses with good foreleg motion were 58% more likely to win a top race (ie, one designated as a “graded” stakes) than horses with bad foreleg motion. However, the “good movers” raced less overall than the “bad movers.”

A secondary finding of this study is that although there is a widely held industry belief that horses with high action or bad foreleg motion are more suited to turf racing, horses with good foreleg motion were more likely than horses with bad foreleg motion to race at least once on turf, and, among horses to race on turf, horses with good foreleg motion were more likely than horses with bad foreleg motion to win and to finish “in the money” (ie, at least third).     

Serial plasma lactate concentrations in 68 puppies aged 4 to 80 days

Objective: To determine a reference range for venous blood lactate concentrations in healthy neonatal dogs. Design: A prospective cohort study. Setting: All work was conducted at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University. Animals: Clinically healthy dogs: 68 puppies and 30 adults. Measurements and main results: A blood sample was collected from each puppy into lithium heparin via jugular venipuncture at 4, 10, 16, 28, 70, and 80 days of age. A single venous sample was collected from each adult dog. Lactate concentration in each sample was measured immediately using an automated analyzer. Two hundred seventy‐seven blood samples were analyzed. Blood lactate concentrations of adult dogs were 1.80±0.84 mmol/L (mean±SD). Mean blood lactate concentrations of puppies were significantly higher at 4, 10, 16, and 28 days of age compared with those of adult dogs. The reference range for lactate concentration for puppies at 4 days of age was 1.07–6.59, and for the puppies from 10 to 28 days of age was 0.80–4.60. Conclusions: Assessment of perfusion can be challenging in neonates due to normal physiologic variation and small size. Measurement of lactate is rapid, minimally invasive, and has potential to be a useful marker of perfusion in neonatal dogs. However, lactate concentrations of neonatal dogs in this study were significantly higher than those of adult dogs. Reference ranges for venous lactate concentrations in adult dogs should not be used for puppies younger than 70 days of age.     

Injuries and blemishes in a semi-feral herd of ponies

With the goal of characterizing the type and degree of injuries and blemishes incurred by horses living under natural social conditions, all members of a semi-feral herd of ponies were inspected on 4 occasions over a period of 28 months. Two occasions were during breeding/foaling season and 2 during non–breeding/foaling season months. On each occasion, each animal was examined (N = 47-65) and all injuries or blemish marks were recorded. Based on the types and number of injuries or blemishes, an injury/blemish grade was assigned for each inspection, ranging from 1 for no blemishes to 6 for more than 1 open wound. Almost all injuries and blemishes recorded were extremely mild. Only 12 of the 213 inspections and 14 of the 858 total injuries and blemishes involved wounds affecting tissues other than hair and skin.Males had significantly greater mean injury/blemish grade than females (P < .0001). For all social categories and ages, the mean injury/blemish grade was significantly greater in the breeding/foaling season months than during the non–breeding/foaling season (P < .0001).All foals were blemish-free at the non–breeding/foaling season inspections (n = 24) and relatively blemish-free (9 of 14) at the breeding/foaling season inspections. The rump and the barrel areas were the most common site of injuries or blemishes, both as a percentage of the total injury count and as a percentage of inspections involving those areas. These findings are consistent with the seasonal and gender patterns of aggressive behavior seen in this herd. Compared with reports of truly feral horse populations, it appears that injuries are fewer and less severe in this semi-feral herd. In addition, there appear to be fewer leg injuries in this semi-feral herd than has been described for truly feral horse populations.     

The Effects of Nonstructural Carbohydrate Content and Feeding Rate on Glucose and Insulin Response to Meal Feeding in Equine

The following research encompassed two experiments and involved feeding horses two isocaloric diets (diet A and diet B), with an approximate 50% difference in nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) content. There were three main objectives: first, to test the hypothesis that feeding an approximately 50% lower NSC concentrate feed would cause a lower glucose and insulin response; second, to test the hypothesis that feeding meals equal in NSC content would create similar responses in glucose and insulin dynamics; and finally, to test the hypothesis that the time spent eating is correlated with glucose/insulin response. In experiment 1, in which diet A and diet B were fed at the same rate, the main finding was that feeding a meal lower in NSC resulted in a lower glucose and insulin response to the feed. In experiment 2, in which the effects of feeding diets A and B at a rate to provide 0.3 g/kg body weight (BW) NSC per meal were explored, the main finding was that, although glucose responses were similar, the meal containing more NSC/kg and fed at the lower rate resulted in a substantially lower insulin response. Consumption time also was found to be significantly different between treatments.In conclusion, a low NSC formulation and small meal size appear to be sensible recommendations for horses that may benefit from a low glucose and insulin response to feeding. In addition to NSC content, meal size, and nutrient:calorie ratio, nutrient requirements of the individual horse and the entire nutritional balance of the diet also should be addressed.     

Review of kinematic analysis in dogs

Objective gait analysis techniques aid investigators in the study of motion. Kinematic gait analysis techniques that objectively quantitate motion are valuable tools used to understand normal and abnormal motion in domestic animals. Recent advances in video technology have made the study of motion more readily accessible. Available systems can document gait in two or three dimensions (2D or 3D, respectively). Knowledge of fundamental gait analysis concepts is critical to generating meaningful data. The objective of this report is to review principles of kinematic data collection and analyses, with a focus on differences between 2D and 3D systems.