• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.424-435
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• 2020

Objective: The study was conducted to investigate variations in the immunophysiological responses to exercise-induced stress in Jeju and Thoroughbred horses. Methods: Blood samples were collected from the jugular veins of adult Jeju (n = 5) and Thoroughbred (n = 5) horses before and after 30 min of exercise. The hematological, biochemical, and immunological profiles of the blood samples were analyzed. Blood smears were stained and observed under a microscope. The concentration of cell-free (cf) DNA in the plasma was determined using real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and polymorphonuclear cells were separated using Polymorphprep, and the expression of various stress-related and chemokine receptor genes was measured using reverse transcriptase (RT) and real-time PCR. Results: After exercise, Jeju and Thoroughbred horses displayed stress responses with significantly increased rectal temperatures, cortisol levels, and muscle catabolism-associated metabolites. Red blood cell indices were significantly higher in Thoroughbred horses than in Jeju horses after exercise. In addition, exercise-induced stress triggered the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and reduced platelet counts in Jeju horses but not in Thoroughbred horses. Heat shock protein 72 and heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) member 6 expression is rapidly modulated in response to exercise-induced stress in the PBMCs of Jeju horses. The expression of CXC chemokine receptor 4 in PBMCs was higher in Thoroughbred horses than in Jeju horses after exercise. Conclusion: In summary, the different immunophysiological responses of Jeju and Thoroughbred horses explain the differences in the physiological and anatomical properties of the two breeds. The physiology of Thoroughbred horses makes them suitable for racing as they are less sensitive to exercise-induced stress compared to that of Jeju horses. This study provides a basis for investigating the link between exercise-induced stresses and the physiological alteration of horses. Hence, our findings show that some of assessed parameters could be used to determine the endurance performance of horses.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.76-81
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• 2021

Halla horse is crossbreed between Jeju and Thoroughbred horses and is used for riding, racing and meat production. Thus, molecular genetic studies are needed to establish and preserve the industrially valuable Halla horses. This study aimed to analyses the genetic diversity and population structure through 12 microsatellite (MS) markers for Halla and putatively related 3 breeds (Jeju, Mongolian and Thoroughbred horses). On average, the number of alleles, observed heterozygosity (H_obs), expected heterozygosity (H_exp), and polymorphic information content (PIC) among all horses were 10, 0.767, 0.799, and 0.771, respectively. Neighbor-joining tree and STRUCTURE analysis showed that Halla horses were between Thoroughbred and Jeju horses, tend to more influenced by Thoroughbred horses. Therefore, these results could be considered for use as the basic genetic breed relationships resource among the horse breeds (Jeju, Mongolian, and Thoroughbred horses) related to the origins of the Halla horse.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.600-608
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• 2024

Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the usability single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for parentage testing of horse breeds in Korea. Methods: The genotypes of 93 horse samples (38 Thoroughbred horses, 17 Jeju horses, 20 Quarter horses, and 18 American miniature horses) were determined using 15 microsatellite (Ms) markers (AHT4, AHT5, ASB2, ASB17, ASB23, CA425, HMS1, HMS2, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, HTG4, HTG10, LEX3, and VHL20) and 101 SNP markers. Results: Paternity tests were performed using 15 Ms markers and 101 SNP markers in Thoroughbred horses and Quarter horses. AHT5, ASB2, ASB17, ASB23, CA425, HMS7, HTG10, and LEX3 did not follow Mendelian inheritance in Thoroughbred horses, whereas in Quarter horses, only AHT4, ASB2, and HMS2 showed Mendelian inheritance, consequently, paternity was not established. Meanwhile, 31 markers, including MNEc_2_2_2_98568918_BIEC2_502451, in Thoroughbred horses, and 30 markers, including MNEc_2_30_7430735_BIEC2_816793, in Quarter horses did not conform with Mendelian inheritance and therefore, could not be used for establishing parentage. Conclusion: The possibility of replacing Ms markers with SNP markers for paternity testing in horses was confirmed. However, further research using more samples is necessary.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1345-1352
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• 2016

The hindgut of horses is an anaerobic fermentative chamber for a complex and dynamic microbial population, which plays a critical role in health and energy requirements. Research on the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses has not been reported until now as far as we know. Mongolian horse is a major local breed in China. We performed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes V4 hypervariable regions from gut fecal material to characterize the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses and compare them to the microbiota in Thoroughbred horses. Fourteen Mongolian and 19 Thoroughbred horses were used in the study. A total of 593,678 sequence reads were obtained from 33 samples analyzed, which were found to belong to 16 phyla and 75 genera. The bacterial community compositions were similar for the two breeds. Firmicutes (56% in Mongolian horses and 53% in Thoroughbred horses) and Bacteroidetes (33% and 32% respectively) were the most abundant and predominant phyla followed by Spirochaete, Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria, and Fibrobacteres. Of these 16 phyla, five (Synergistetes, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, TM7, and Chloroflexi) were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two breeds. At the genus level, Treponema was the most abundant genus (43% in Mongolian horses vs 29% in Thoroughbred horses), followed by Ruminococcus, Roseburia, Pseudobutyrivibrio, and Anaeroplasma, which were detected in higher distribution proportion in Mongolian horses than in Thoroughbred horses. In contrast, Oscillibacter, Fibrobacter, Methanocorpusculum, and Succinivibrio levels were lower in Mongolian horses. Among 75 genera, 30 genera were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two breeds. We found that the environment was one of very important factors that influenced horse gut microbiota. These findings provide novel information about the gut microbiota of Mongolian horses and a foundation for future investigations of gut bacterial factors that may influence the development and progression of gastrointestinal disease in horses.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.153-157
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• 2004

Bacteria isolated from nasal cavity of 50 Thoroughbred horses with respiratory tract infection were examined. There were isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa(33.5%), Escherichia coli(10.2%), Pseudomonas spp(7.6%), Klebsiella oxytoca(5.9%), Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemious(6.2%), Klebsiella pneumoniae(3.4%), Acinetobacter spp(5.5%) and coagulase negative staphylococcus(2.1%). The majority of isolates were highly susceptible to amikacin, amoxicillin, aztreonam, cefotaxime, cefepime, cefotetan, ceftazidime, cefuroxime, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, imipenem, tetracyclin and vancomycin. These results can provide basic information for the treatments of respiratory tract infections in Thoroughbred horses.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.278-281
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• 2014

The object of this study was to determine rate of ability restoration after arthroscopic surgeries in Thoroughbred racehorses. The racehorses that under arthroscopic surgery due to be injured his limbs were studied during exercise or training at Busan Race Park from 2005 to 2010. Rate of arthroscopic surgical treatments was 1.4% (63/4642). The results of arthroscopic surgery for the removal of osteochondral fragments from 70 limbs in 63 horses are reported. Number of patients under arthroscopic surgery were 63 and 58 horses were recovered from the surgeries and 5 horses were in training or resting at the time of publication. Only 52 of 58 horses had previous race experiences before the surgeries. Success horses of returned to the same level of performance were 31 horses (59.6%) and failed horses were 21 horses (40.4%). Average resting periods in success and failed horses were 7 months and 8.8 months, respectively. Resting periods in success horses were shorter than failed horses.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.297-301
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• 2011

The racehorses that under arthroscopic surgery due to be injured his limbs were studied during exercise or training at Busan Race Park from 2005 to 2010. Rate of arthroscopic surgical treatments was 1.4% (63/4,642). Affected bones were radius, radial carpal bone, third carpal bone, proximal phalanx, third metacarpal bone, femur, tibia, proximal sesamoid bone and intermediate carpal bone. The lesions were fracture, chip fracture, slap fracture, osteochonrosis, and osteochondrotitis dissencans. Number of patients under arthroscopic surgery were 63. Success horses of returned to racetrack or tried to return to racetrack were 58, and 5 horses were in training or resting at the time of publication. Success horses of returned to their previous use in the patients were 49 horses (84.4%) and no returned to the racetrack were 9 horses (15.6%) in 58 horses.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.209-216
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• 2011

This study carried out to investigate the pathogenic Streptococcus spp. isolated from respiratory tract of Thoroughbred in Jeju province. The specimens were collected from nasal mucosa using a culture swab from 113 Thoroughbred horses. Suspected colonies were selected onto blood and MacConkey agar plate, and identified by standard biochemical properties using Vitek 2 system and PCR method. In this study, we isolated S. equi (n=6), S. zooepidemicus (n=31), S. equisimilis (n=5), S. dysgalactiae (n=2), S. agalctiae (n=1), non identified ${\beta}$-hemolytic Streptococcus spp. (n=1) from Thoroughbred horses. In antimicrobial susceptibility test, it showed a high sensibility in the most of antimicrobial except for neomycin, streptomycin, spectinomycin, erythromycin and clindamycin. These results will provide the basic information to establish control measures for the treatment and prevention of respiratory disease by pathogenic Streptococcus spp. in Thoroughbred horses in Korea.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2004

To investigate genetic features and the allele distribution of transferrin gene in three Cheju horse groups (group I, 137 horses of Jeju institute; group II, 107 horses of farms; group III, 89 racing horses) and three foreign breeds(l03 Thoroughbred, 10 Mongolian and 5 American Quarter horses), transferrin gene exons 13, 15, and 16 were analyzed by SSCP. The allele frequencies of transferrin gene of these groups and breeds were used to calculate genetic distances and to test population differentiations. The Fst values were 0.067 between Cheju horse groups I and II, 0.070 between Cheju horse groups I and group III, 0.091 between Cheju horse group I and Mongolian breed, and 0.189 between Cheju horse group I and Thoroughbred breed. Cheju horse group I showed significant population differentiation from other two Cheju horse groups and three foreign breeds while Cheju horse group III showed significant population differentiation only from Cheju horse group I and Thoroughbred breed(p <0.05). Results indicate that three Cheju horse groups showed population differentiation between each other, suggesting genetic heterogeneity of Cheju horses.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.1460-1465
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• 2021

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the diversity of donkey populations by comparing with the diversity of Thoroughbred and Jeju Halla horses; identified breeding backgrounds can contribute to management and conservation of donkeys in South Korea. Methods: A total of 100 horse (50 Thoroughbreds and 50 Jeju Halla horses) and 79 donkeys samples were genotyped with 15 microsatellite markers (AHT4, AHT5, ASB2, ASB17, ASB23, CA425, HMS1, HMS2, HMS3, HMS6, HMS7, HTG4, HTG10, LEX3, and VHL20), to identify genetic diversity and relationships among horses and donkeys. Results: The observed number of alleles per locus ranged from 1 (ASB17, HMS1) to 14 (AHT5), with a mean value of 4.87, 8.00, and 5.87 in Thoroughbreds, Jeju Halla horses, and donkeys, respectively. Of the 15 markers, AHT4, AHT5, ASB23, CA425, HMS2, HMS3, HTG4, HTG10, and LEX3 loci had relatively high polymorphism information content (PIC) values (PIC>0.5) in these three populations. Mean levels of genetic variation were H_E = 0.6721 and H_O = 0.6600 in Thoroughbreds, H_E = 0.7898 and H_O = 0.7100 in Jeju Halla horses, and H_E = 0.5635 and H_O = 0.4861 in donkeys. Of the 15 loci in donkeys, three loci had negative inbreeding coefficients (FIS), with a moderate mean FIS (0.138). The FIS estimate for the HTG4 marker was highest (0.531) and HMS6 marker was lowest (-0.001). The total probability of exclusion value of 15 microsatellite loci was 0.9996 in donkeys. Conclusion: Genetic cluster analysis showed that the genetic relationship among 79 donkeys was generally consistent with pedigree records. Among the three breeds, donkeys and Thoroughbred horses formed clearly different groups, but the group of Jeju Halla horses overlapped with that of Thoroughbred horses, suggesting that the loci would be suitable for donkey parentage testing. Therefore, the results of this study are a valid tool for genetic study and conservation of donkeys.