• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-26
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• 2012

This study was conducted on 85 non-racing pleasure horses raised in Busan race park of Korea Racing Authority to investigate the prevalence of stereotypic behavioral problems in horses. the observation had been continued from March to October of 2010, and the study animals included warm-bloods, Jeju ponies and donkeys. Although there was no temperament problem detected, a wide range of well-known stable vices were observed in 15 horses. The most frequently observed stereotype was cribbing (8.2%), and it was followed by weaving (1.2%), biting (1.2%), eating too fast (1.2%), pawing (1.2%) and scraping the teeth on something (1.2%) with the equal prevalence rate. These behavioral disorders were only detected in warm-bloods, while those were absent in Jeju ponies and donkeys. In addition, primary behavioral disorders were more dominant than mimicking behaviors.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.309-315
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• 2018

Objective: This study aimed to test the expression patterns of ERBB receptor feedback inhibitor 1 (ERRFI1) before and after exercise and the association of non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) of horse ERRFI1 with racing traits in Thoroughbreds. Methods: We performed bioinformatics and gene expression analyses for horse ERRFI1. Transcription factor (TF) binding sites in the 5'-regulatory region of this gene were identified through a tool for prediction of TF-binding site (PROMO). A general linear model was used to detect the association between the nsSNP (LOC42830758 A to G) and race performance. Results: Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that expression level of ERRFI1 after exercise was 1.6 times higher than that before exercise. Ten transcription factors were predicted from the ERRFI1 regulatory region. A novel nsSNP (LOC42830758 A to G) was found in ERRFI1, which was associated with three racing traits including average prize money, average racing index, and 3-year-old starts percentile ranking. Conclusion: Our analysis will be helpful as a basis for studying genes and SNPs that affect race performance in racehorses.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.351-354
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• 2009

Diaphragmatic hernias, whether congenital or acquired (traumatic), are rarely observed in the horse. Acquired diaphragmatic hernias typically occur secondary to trauma or an increase in intraabdominal pressure due to falling, heavy exercise, or parturition. Diaphragmatic herniorrhaphy is difficult to perform in adult horses and the horses with symptomatic diaphragmatic hernias usually die. A 10- year old, 340 kg, Jeju horse (crossbred) broodmare with sudden onset of gait disorder and a moderate emaciation was examined. Findings on physical examination included conjunctivitis, dehydration, shallow breathing, dyspnea, weaken heart beat, lack of auscultatable sounds from the gastrointestinal tract, and anorexia. Rectal temperature was $38.4^{\circ}C$ and respiratory rates were moderately increased. There were slight signs of acute colic. The broodmare died one day after non-specific treatment of fluids, nutriment, antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The cause of death was strangulation of the small intestine through a diaphragmatic hernia. The rent was about 2 cm in diameter and located in the central right part of diaphragm. Around 60 cm of small intestine was protruded into thoracic cavity through the rent. The cause of the hernia could not be ascertained. The broodmare had been pastured with many other horses, and the groom had not noticed any aggressive behavior among them. It was, however, speculated that trauma by stallion's attack may have been the cause of the diaphragmatic hernia, because the new horse may be the object of behaviors ranging from mild threats to seriously aggressive kicking, squealing, rearing, and biting.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1680-1685
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• 2015

Since ancient days, domestic horses have been closely associated with human civilization. Today, horse racing is an important industry. Various genes involved in energy production and muscle contraction are differentially regulated during a race. Among them, creatine kinase (CK) is well known for its regulation of energy preservation in animal cells. CK is an iso-enzyme, encoded by different genes and expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, brain and leucocytes. We confirmed that the expression of CK-M significantly increased in the blood after a 30 minute exercise period, while no considerable change was observed in skeletal muscle. Analysis of various tissues showed an ubiquitous expression of the CK-M gene in the horse; CK-M mRNA expression was predominant in the skeletal muscle and the cardiac muscle compared to other tissues. An evolutionary study by synonymous and non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism ratio of CK-M gene revealed a positive selection that was conserved in the horse. More studies are warranted in order to develop the expression of CK-M gene as a biomarker in blood of thoroughbred horses.