A survey on the use of rugs in Australian horses

The practice of horse rugging has important implications for horse welfare and performance, but in Australia, rugging practices have not been properly documented. The objective of this study was to obtain an understanding of Australian horse rugging practices. An online survey reviewed the management of 2659 Australian horses over 12 months. Of the reported horses a total of 84.8% were rugged, although most owners (69.5%) indicated that they were unsure whether horses needed to be rugged at all. Rugging was felt by 59.8% of owners to be a requirement for horses in competition. Riding and competition were significantly associated with the use of rugs. Nearly all respondents (89.0%) felt that ‘over-rugging’ was a concern. However, 4.8% of owners would use up to 4 rugs at any one time on their horse and 21.4% of horses were still rugged in temperatures above 20°C in Australia. Many Australian horse owners (42.8%) also believe that horses feel cold if they are not rugged. Anthropomorphism when it comes to rugging horses cannot be justified as the horse has a much wider thermoneutral zone (TNZ) than humans. Australian climate, owner opinions, equestrian discipline and whether a horse is used for riding influence Australian horse rugging practices. However, current practices are based on limited available research and are not necessarily to the benefit of the horse. The major limitation was that the survey likely attracted respondents who are interested in the topic creating a self-selection bias.     

Tonometry in three herbivorous wildlife species

Tonometry was performed to estimate intraocular pressure (IOP) in 12 Nubian ibexes ( Capra ibex nubiana ), 10 Grant zebras ( Equus burchelli  ) and five Arabian oryxes ( Oryx leucoryx ), using both applanation (Tono-Pen) and/or indentation (Schiotz) tonometers. Animals were anesthetized with a mixture of etorphine hydrochloride and acepromazine maleate. Mean (± SD) IOP in the ibex was 17.95 ± 4.78 mmHg (24 eyes, indentation tonometry). In the zebra, indentation tonometry (20 eyes) yielded a mean IOP of 25.30 ± 3.06 mmHg, and applanation tonometry (six eyes) yielded a mean IOP of 29.47 ± 3.43 mmHg. In the oryx, indentation tonometry (five eyes) yielded a mean IOP of 22.68 ± 8.15 mmHg, and applanation tonometry (10 eyes) yielded a mean IOP of 11.76 ± 3.43 mmHg. There were no significant effects of gender, age, weight, side or reading number on the IOP measured in any of the three species. No significant differences were found between the IOP of the three species, nor between the readings of the two instruments, although some of the P -values were close to the significance level.     

Ecology Habits of Equus hemionus and Gazella subgutturosa in Kalamaili Ungulate Reserve in Autumn

IntroductionKalamailiUngulateReserVe(88"30,-90o001E,44o46,-46o00'N),beingfoundedin1982andcovering17,000km',issituatedinsoutheasternDzungariaBasininXinjiang.Wildass(Equushemionus)andGoitredgazelle(GazedssUbgutturosa)arerankedrespectivelyasclass1and11proteCtedanimalsinChina11].ThereservebelongstoinlandlowhillydesertwitheXtremehotsumm\erandcoldwinter.Thevegetationfeaturepresentsscarcecoverage,dwarfplantsandlowbiomes.DominantplantsareHaIOXyIOnammodondfon,ReaumUfissoogaFI'Ca,Art6miSiBsp…     

Ecology habits ofEquus hemionus andGazella subgutturosa in Kalamaili Ungulate Reserve in autumn

The food habits of Wild ass (Equus hemionus) and Goitred gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) in kalamaili Ungulate Reserve in autumn was described, based on the investigation conducted in 1992. Wild ass was much concentrated around water sources, and had more food resource than Goitred gezelle. The quagmires in the reserve were critical conditions as food and water bases for both species. In terms of present survey, it was estimated that 680 Wild ass and 8840 Goitred gazelle lived in this reserve. (Responsible Editor: Zhu Hong)     

Habitat use and spatial dynamics of takhi introduced to Hustai National Park, Mongolia

The successful introduction of captive bred takhi or Przewalski’s horse, Equus ferus przewalskii, into Mongolia in the 1990s is a good example of the benefits of ex situ conservation and one of the few examples of the recovery of an animal after it became extinct in the wild. This is also particularly interesting because virtually nothing was known about how takhi lived before they died out, and the introductions have enabled us to study how they have settled, and their ecology and behaviour within their former natural range. In this paper, we describe the movement, home range size and shape, and habitat use of takhi at one of the release areas, the 570 km² Hustai National Park in Mongolia. Harem home ranges varied between 129 and 2399 ha, with 80% core areas of between 61 and 1196 ha. There was no relationship between range size and harem size, or length of time since release. Initially, harems stayed near their release enclosures, but over time they established home ranges further away. There was little overlap between home ranges of different harems, but neither was there evidence of exclusive range use. The more nutritious vegetation at lower elevations was preferentially selected. Thus the present situation looks good, but, as the population continues to grow, we anticipate that there will be potential problems related to intraspecific competition for water and vegetation resources, and the potential for hybridisation with domestic horses belonging to the local people. We consider the time it may take for takhi to reach carrying capacity within Hustai National Park and emphasise that continual monitoring of the population is essential because interventional management is likely to be required in the future.     

重引入普氏野马、蒙古野驴和鹅喉羚的秋季营养生态位

2009年秋季在新疆卡拉麦里山自然保护区乔木西拜,系统采集了重引入普氏野马（Equus przewalskii）、蒙古野驴（E.hemionus）和鹅喉羚（Gazella subgutturosa）的新鲜粪便,运用粪便显微分析法研究三者的秋季食性及其食物生态位。结果显示：普氏野马、鹅喉羚和蒙古野驴采食的植物种类基本相似...     

藏野驴与家驴血清同工酶的比较研究

采用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳对藏野驴与家驴４种血清同工酶进行比较研究。结果发现，除ＬＤＨ同工酶以外，藏野驴与家驴的酯酶、淀粉酶和碱性磷酸酶酶谱都有颇大的差异。     

混合性尘肺的免疫组织化学研究和血清抗体分析

 本研究通过CIEP试验在血清中查到特异性循环抗体、免疫荧光和免疫过氧化物酶(IF和IP)染色检出肺组织存在多量IgG和S.T.孢子残留物以及ANAE染色结果表明:在S.T.的致病过程中存在Ⅲ和Ⅳ型变态反应。试验结果还暗示:无机尘有可能做为免疫佐剂而促进有机尘致病机理中的Ⅲ型变态反应。     

Variation in TBX3 Gene Region in Dun Coat Color Polish Konik Horses

The Polish Konik is a primitive breed of horse, most likely descended directly from the wild extinct forest equus so-called Tarpan (Equus ferus ferus). The studbook of this breed is closed, and only individuals with blue dun in color with a well-developed black middorsal stripe and other primitive markings are entered. The aim of the presented study was the investigation of genetic background of dun phenotype in Polish Konik horses. A total of 93 Polish Koniks were investigated toward single nucleotide polymorphisms in a region of TBX3 gene by Sanger sequencing method. Obtained results confirmed that all investigated horses carry dun dilution genotype. Two new variants were identified which have not been previously described [WT/WT-G/G-A/G; WT/del-G/del-G/G]. Furthermore, our results showed in population of Polish Koniks occurrence of the rare genotype recently found in Estonian-native horses.     

XX/XY Blood Lymphocyte Chimerism in Heterosexual Dizygotic Twins from an American Bashkir Curly Horse. Case Report

Cytogenetic analysis and microsatellite genotyping were conducted on a pair of phenotypically normal dizygotic heterosexual equine twins of the American Bashkir Curly breed. The animals had a mixture of 64,XX and 64,XY cells in blood lymphocytes, with their own cells being predominant. Therefore, the 64,XX cells comprised 81% of the lymphocyte population in the female twin and 64,XY comprised 79% in the male twin. Blood chimerism was confirmed by genotyping 30 microsatellite markers. Of these, 15 microsatellites showed the presence of three alleles and all four parental alleles in the blood lymphocytes for both animals. No chimerism was detected in the genomic deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from hair follicles. These results are in agreement with earlier observations that vascular anastomoses can infrequently occur during equine multiple pregnancies resulting in blood lymphocyte chimerism without significant effect on the phenotype.