Efficacy of omeprazole paste in the prevention of gastric ulcers in 2 years old Thoroughbreds.

Prevalence of equine gastric ulcer syndrome in 85 young Thoroughbreds was investigated. The presence of gastric ulcers was confirmed in 27.1% (23/85) of the horses by endoscopic examination.

Successful induction of lactation in a barren Thoroughbred mare: growth of a foal raised on induced lactation and the corresponding maternal hormone profiles.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that a barren parous Thoroughbred mare with lactation induced by hormonal treatment can be introduced to an orphan foal at the same farm and that the mare can become pregnant after the end of the hormonal treatment. An additional purpose was to investigate the changes in the plasma concentrations of prolactin, estradiol-17β, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone before, during, and after hormonal treatment. The difference in body weight between the adopted foal and the control foals, which were at the same farm and raised by their natural mothers, was 17 kg at 24 weeks old, when the foals were weaned.

Assessment for predicting parturition in mares based on prepartum temperature changes using a digital rectal thermometer and microchip transponder thermometry device.

The purpose of this study was to observe the changes in body temperature before parturition using a wireless temperature monitoring device (WTMD) and to evaluate the usefulness of body temperature measurements using a digital rectal thermometer (DRT) and a microchip transponder thermometry device (MTTD) for predicting parturition in mares. The body temperatures using a WTMD at 0 hr and -1 hr were significantly different from those at the same time on Days 1-5 (P<0.01).

Empirical Growth Curve Estimation Using Sigmoid Sub-functions that Adjust Seasonal Compensatory Growth for Male Body Weight of Thoroughbred Horses.

Thoroughbred horses are seasonal mating animals, raised in northern regions or countries. Foals born yearly in spring generally show a typical seasonal compensatory growth pattern, in which their growth rate declines in the first winter and increases in the next spring. In this study, a new empirical adjustment approach is proposed to adjust for this compensatory growth when growth curve equations are estimated, by using 1,633 male body weights of Thoroughbreds as an illustrating example.

Response of biochemical markers of bone metabolism to exercise intensity in thoroughbred horses.

We studied the response of biochemical markers of bone metabolism to exercise intensity in horses. Four horses were walked on a mechanical walker for one week (pre-exercise). Then they performed low-speed exercise on a high-speed treadmill in the first week and medium-speed exercise in the second week and high-speed exercise in the third week of training.

The effect of milk basic protein supplementation on bone metabolism during training of young thoroughbred racehorses.

Reasons For Performing Study: In laboratory animals, man and cell culture experiments, milk basic protein was reported to suppress bone resorption and promote bone formation. However, no studies in horses have previously examined the effect of milk basic protein.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of milk basic protein supplementation on bone metabolism in young Thoroughbred horses in training.

Effect of amino acid and glucose administration following exercise on the turnover of muscle protein in the hindlimb femoral region of thoroughbreds.

Reasons For Performing Study: In man, muscle protein synthesis is accelerated by administering amino acids (AA) and glucose (Glu), because increased availability of amino acids and increased insulin secretion, is known to have a protein anabolic effect. However, in the horse, the effect on muscle hypertrophy of such nutrition management following exercise is unknown.

Objectives: To determine the effect of AA and Glu administration following exercise on muscle protein turnover in horses.

Utilisation of the time constant calculated from heart rate recovery after exercise for evaluation of autonomic activity in horses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Heart rate (HR) recovery immediately after exercise is controlled by autonomic functions and the time constant (T) calculated from HR recovery is thought to be an index of parasympathetic activity in man.

Objectives: To investigate whether it is possible to evaluate autonomic function using the time constant in horses.

Methods: Five Thoroughbred horses were subjected to a standard exercise test.

Effect of exercise on iron metabolism in horses.

We investigated the effect of exercise on iron metabolism in horses. Four horses were walked on a mechanical walker for 1 wk (pre-exercise). They then performed moderate exercise on a high-speed treadmill in the first week of the exercise and relative high in the second week and high in the third week.

Risk factors for atrial fibrillation during racing in slow-finishing horses.

Objective: To determine prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) immediately after racing among racehorses that finished well behind the winners and examine potential risk factors for AF in these horses.

Design: Case-control study.

Animals: 39,302 racehorses representing 404,090 race starts in races sanctioned by the Japan Racing Association between 1988 and 1997.

Effects of initial handling and training on autonomic nervous function in young Thoroughbreds.

Objective: To determine the effects of initial handling and training on autonomic nervous functions in young Thoroughbreds.

Animals: 63 healthy Thoroughbreds.

Procedure: All horses were trained to be handled and initially ridden in September of the yearling year and then trained until the following April by conventional training regimens.

Physiological responses of young Thoroughbreds during their first year of race training.

Yearling horses are typically trained for more than a year before they begin racing; therefore, we questioned how relevant analyses of the initial responses to training are compared to physiological responses that occur over a year of training, and whether young horses with no history of training would respond the same as older horses that had been trained previously. We hypothesised that changes in O2 transport over the last months of a year of training would be different than at the beginning. We trained 5 yearling Thoroughbreds and evaluated metabolism, O2 transport and echocardiograms.