My name is Dr. Shana Gillette and I am a faculty member in the Clinical Sciences Department of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University. I am the principal investigator on a study of equine infectious disease issues. Dr. Josie Traub-Dargatz, CSU Professor of equine medicine, is the co-principal investigator. As part of the study, we are conducting an online survey on infectious diseases of concern to the equine industry.
We hope you will be willing to alert your members to the importance of our online survey. It is important that we receive broad participation from all members of the equine industry for a fair representation of concerns regarding equine infectious disease issues.
We hope you and your association members can take a few minutes to fill out our online survey. It is available at the following link:
https://academictrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9sP6LHag1t5xthW&SVID=Prod
Completion of this survey is voluntary. People who decide to participate may withdraw consent and stop participation at any time without penalty. The survey will not ask for a name or email address, to ensure that all answers remain anonymous. Colorado State University will securely collect and store the data. The collected data will then be validated and analyzed and results will be published on the website for the Animal Population Health Institute at: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/APHI
While there are no direct benefits to be gained to individuals who participate in this survey, we hope the equine industry will gain more knowledge on the primary equine diseases of concern. There are no known risks to participation.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Shana Gillette at (970) 297-5117 (shana.gillette@colostate.edu). If you have any questions about your rights as a volunteer in this research, contact Janell Barker, Human Research Administrator, at 970-491-1655.
Sincerely,
Dr. Shana Gillette, Assistant Professor
Dr. Josie Traub-Dargatz, Professor
Thought this might be of interest:
To help horse owners feed their horses cost effectively and with confidence, Michigan State University (MSU) Extension is offering a free, live webcast Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. EST.
Aimed at garnering horse owners the most bang for their horse-feeding buck, the webinar “Nutritional Supplements for Horses” will feature Carey Williams, Rutgers University equine Extension specialist. She’ll discuss types of supplements, when supplements might be beneficial and how to determin if your horse needs a supplement. For more information or to register, go to noncredit.msu.edu.
My Horse University is a national online horse management program for horse enthusiasts. Based at MSU and founded by the MSU Department of Animal Science, MSU Extension and MSU Global, this program offers equine education courses and resources that can be tailored to achieve horse-management goals.
From a news release generated by the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, published in Science magazine and available in full at ScienceDaily.com
An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the domestic horse Equus caballus, revealing a genome structure with remarkable similarities to humans and more than one million genetic differences across a variety of horse breeds. In addition to shedding light on a key part of the mammalian branch of the evolutionary tree, the work also provides a critical starting point for mapping disease genes in horses.
“Horses and humans suffer from similar illnesses, so identifying the genetic culprits in horses promises to deepen our knowledge of disease in both organisms,” said senior author Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, scientific director of vertebrate genome biology at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and a professor of comparative genomics at Uppsala University in Sweden. “The horse genome sequence is a key enabling resource toward this goal.”
In addition to sequencing the genome of a Thoroughbred horse, the researchers also examined DNA from a variety of other horse breeds, including the American quarter horse, Andalusian, Arabian, Belgian draft horse, Hanoverian, Hakkaido, Icelandic horse, Norwegian fjord horse, and Standardbred breeds. The team surveyed the extent of genetic variation both within and across breeds to create a catalog of more than one million single-letter genetic differences (called “single nucleotide polymorphisms” or SNPs).
In a first proof-of-principle of the power of trait mapping in horses, the researchers harnessed the SNP catalog to localize the candidate mutation in the Leopard Complex or “Appaloosa spotting,” in which horses’ coats are mottled with striking patches of white, either with or without colored spots. Horses carrying this trait often suffer from a form of night blindness, a disorder that also afflicts humans. The researchers narrowed the list of genetic suspects in horses to 42 associated SNPs, including two candidate mutations residing near a gene involved in pigmentation.
“This demonstrates the utility of the horse for disease gene mapping,” said Wade. “By making these resources freely available to the scientific community, we hope that many new results will flow from them in the coming years.”
CFIA has announced the introduction of import restrictions on horses and equine semen originating from the USA as a result of the current US outbreak of Contagious Equine Metritis. Horses and other equidae (asses, mules and zebras) will not require an import permit, but will require additional declarations on the health papers certifying that they have not been on a premises where Taylorella equigenitalis has been isolated during the 60 days immediately preceding exportation to Canada or a premises currently under quarantine or investigation for CEM; and that any female(s) in the shipment have not been bred naturally to, or inseminated with, semen from a stallion positive for CEM, or a stallion resident upon a positive premises or under quarantine or investigation for CEM. Additionally, the animals must not show any signs of CEM on the day of inspection.
Semen has different restrictions based upon the date of collection. Semen collected prior to December 15th 2008 does not require an import permit, but will require a U.S. Health Certificate that declares the date of collection, the identity of the donor stallion and the identity of the collection premises. Semen collected after December 15th 2008 will require an import permit (obtained from CFIA), and a U.S. Health Certificate with the declaration that the donor stallion(s) have not been on a premises where Taylorella equigenitalis has been isolated during the 60 days immediately preceding collection of the semen for export to Canada or a premises currently under quarantine or investigation for CEM; and that the semen was processed using an extender that contains antibiotics effective against /Taylorella equigenitalis/ . Semen presented for importation into Canada must be in individual receptacles or straws, each marked with the collection date, identity of the donor and the semen collection premises.
Embryos will require an import permit (obtained from CFIA), and a U.S. Health Certificate with the declaration that the donor mare(s) have not been on a premises where Taylorella equigenitalis has been isolated during the 60 days immediately preceding the collection of the embryo(s) for export to Canada or a premises currently under quarantine or investigation for CEM and have not been bred naturally or inseminated with semen from a stallion positive for CEM, or a stallion resident upon a positive premises or under quarantine or investigation for CEM; and that the flushing medium that was used to collect the embryo(s) contains antibiotics effective against Taylorella equigenitalis. Embryos presented for importation into Canada must be in sterile straws or pipettes, each marked with the collection date, identity of the donor and the embryo collection premises.
Import Permit applications can be obtained from the CFIA web site at
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/ heasan/import/ permit_covere.shtml
A single import permit costs Cdn$35, multiple use Cdn$60. Border inspection for semen will cost Cdn$35; horses (single) Cdn$25. Inland inspection of semen will cost Cdn$32 for 1-49 units, Cdn$51 for 50-499 units, incrementally increasing for more units. Canadian horses that enter the US and will be returning will now be given an extra page by the endorsing CFIA Vet. to go with the Canadian Export Health certificate, that must be presented to an accredited vet in the USA for completion, and must be be endorsed by a USDA vet before returning to Canada. Canada Border Services Agency will be looking for this document before allowing re-entry.
Additionally, semen and embryos will be subject to inspection upon importation, and consequently there will be restrictions in some cases as to point of entry to Canada. The
restrictions placed on entry of horses is implemented immediately, while the restrictions on semen and embryos will be implemented approximately January 26th 2009.
As it is not unlikely that there will be some initial confusion with these new requirements, we recommend that Canadian importers and/or US exporters in the near future contact CFIA and/or USDA-Aphis for confirmation of requirements prior to attempting border crossing.
By Drovers news source (1/21/2009)
Distillers’ grains have become a staple in some bovine diets, but a Kansas State University researcher is not recommending that they be used in horse rations.
“People have asked ‘can I feed dried or wet distillers’ grains with solubles to my horses?’” said Teresa Slough, equine nutrition specialist with K-State Research and Extension.
Given the information researchers have so far, Slough said she would not recommend feeding DDGS to horses. There has been little research done in feeding DDGS, a byproduct of the ethanol production process, to horses, she said. So far, the studies that have been done examined feeding DDGS for only a short period of time.
“There is no information available so far on the long-term effects of feeding DDGS to working horses, mares or foals,” she said.
The upside of feeding DDGS to horses is that they will eat it and, in fact, they like it, said Slough, who is an assistant professor in K-State´s Department of Animal Sciences and Industry. In addition, it is sometimes a less expensive source of protein.
But Slough warns that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. “Horses are very susceptible to fumonisin poisoning from moldy corn. Fermentation during ethanol production doesn’t destroy the mold; rather it is concentrated.
“Feeding DDGS contaminated with fumonisin just once could cause death,” she said.
Another disadvantage, the researcher said, is that DDGS has a high phosphorous content.
“Unless the other feedstuffs in the horse’s diet are very high in calcium, the potential exists to create a diet inversed in its Ca:P ratio and negatively affect bone development,” Slough added. “This is of particular concern with broodmares and foals.”
DDGS has a high sulfur content, which also makes it problematic for horses. “Sulfur toxicity in horses, although rare, can result in colic, jaundiced mucous membranes, labored breathing, cyanosis and convulsions, followed by death,” she said. “The bottom line is, feeding DDGS to horses is not recommended unless it’s been tested for fumonisin and contains less than five parts per million, and then it should only comprise a small percentage of the total diet.”
by Dave Russell, Brownfield Network
As the number of horses testing positive for contagious equine metritis (CEM) nationally continues to grow, comes word from the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) that CEM is not a “fix-it-yourself” disease.
BOAH has been receiving questions from horse owners who would like to treat their mares on their own without oversight or guidance from regulatory officials. BOAH equine director Dr. Tim Bartlett is discouraging that from happening saying it could negatively impact the nationwide eradication of the disease, which is why he recommends horse owners contact BOAH with questions and concerns.
“If not done properly, there’s always a risk that an individual animal may not be completely cured,” said Dr. Bartlett. “The USDA has a very specific testing and treatment protocol that must be met to ensure CEM is eradicated.”
Treatment has begun on all three stallions traced to Indiana, under the supervision of BOAH.
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