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What’s With The White Hair? Multiple Reasons For Pigment Loss In Horse Hair

Color in horse hair is produced by melanocytes, pigment cells within hair follicles that transfer pigment into the hair cells themselves. Pigment transfer occurs only when the hair is actively growing, Dr. Linda Frank of the University of Tennessee explained to EQUUS magazine.

Permanent patches of white hairs in a darker, solid-colored horse's coat are often indicative of a traumatic or inflammatory injury, like too-tight bandages or nosebands, cuts, or pressure from ill-fitting tack. If the damage is severe enough, the hair follicle could be damaged and the hair might never grow back at all.

Melanocytes are more-easily injured than the hair shaft itself, however, so it's possible for the hair to grow back, but to be white and not its original color.

This is the premise behind freeze branding, which destroys melanocytes with extremely cold temperatures, causing the hair to grow back white.

There is no way to restore pigment to melanocytes in damaged hair, no matter their location or the length of time since the damage occurred; these white hairs and patches are permanent.

Brazilian Horse With Upper Airway Paralysis Aided By Permanent Tracheostomy

A 7-year-old mare was referred to the Federal Rural University of Brazil's Semi-arid Region because of shortness of breath and loud respiratory noises. The mare had had trouble breathing for 20 days prior to being sent to the clinic. She had been treated with clenbuterol, bromhexine hydrochloride and benzylpenicillin procaine-based treatments while on the farm, but had shown no improvement.

Upon arriving at the clinic, hospital staff reported that the mare had pale mucous membranes, a respiratory rate of 20 breaths per minute, and a heart rate of 68 beats per minute. Her appetite and intestinal sounds were normal.

Dr. Jéssica Monique dos Santos, the treating veterinarian, found that the horse was suffering from laryngeal hemiplegia – upper airway paralysis that decreases airflow to the lungs. Her condition was advanced and affected both sides of the throat.

Laryngeal hemiplegia can be caused by multiple factors, including the degeneration of the laryngeal nerve, a guttural pouch infection, or irritation in the region. However, the exact cause of the condition is often unknown; some research suggests the disease has a genetic component.

In an effort to alleviate the mare's respiratory distress, dos Santos and her team opted to give the mare a tracheostomy and a permanent metal cannula was placed in her neck. The mare was discharged 36 days after she was admitted to the hospital with no ill effects from the surgery.

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The tracheostomy area healed entirely, with no inflammation at the incision site. The mare's quality of life has returned to normal.

Read the study here.

Merck Animal Health Forms Research Fellowship With Gluck Equine Research

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA is pleased to announce a new partnership with the University of Kentucky's Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center. The two-year Merck Equine Research Fellowship will support research fellow Izabela De Assis Rocha, PhD candidate, in her study of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) and Sarcocystis neurona.

“The Gluck Equine Research Center is a preeminent leader in equine health and scientific advancement, and we are thrilled to bolster our relationship through this new research fellowship,” said Dr. Wendy Vaala, director of strategic development and innovation, companion animal and equine, Merck Animal Health. “EPM is a disease of particular interest and passion for our equine team, and Dr. Rocha's work is nothing short of outstanding. We look forward to following her research as she continues to unravel the mysteries surrounding EPM and its primary causative agent, S. neurona.”

Dr. Rocha says she has been fascinated by all topics related to the nervous systems of animals and humans since her earlier years in veterinary school.

“During my residency in equine medicine, I was able to appreciate how little we know about the neurologic diseases of horses compared with other disorders, such as colic and lameness,” Dr. Rocha says. “Moreover, I had a very challenging EPM case that led me to the conclusion that the answers we needed in equine neurology would mostly likely come from fundamental and translational research than from clinical practice alone.”

Initial funding of the Merck Equine Research Fellowship is $30,000 per year for a minimum of two years beginning in 2022. The fellowship ensures the continuation of equine research, which is vital to creating attractive learning opportunities to safeguard the future of equine health and research.

“I feel honored to be awarded this fellowship,” Dr. Rocha said. “I see it as a celebration of joint efforts between academia and industry to advance the field of equine medicine and the training of the future generation of scientists.”

The Gluck research fellowship underscores Merck Animal Health's continued unconditional commitment to the next generation of equine researchers and practitioners. Another example of Merck Animal Health's student support is the provision of $25,000 in scholarships for veterinary students intent on pursuing careers in equine medicine. Five outstanding students set to graduate in 2023 from veterinary schools across the country each received a $5,000 Merck Animal Health Scholarship awarded by The Foundation for the Horse in December 2021.

Study: Iron Imitator Helps Wounds Heal

It can be difficult to get equine leg wounds to heal, especially when located on a high-motion joint. Additionally, the closer to the ground the wound is, the easier it becomes for dirt, mud and fecal matter to invade the wound. Wounds to the lower leg often develop excess scar tissue and granulation, as well.

A study team led by Dr. Shauna Lawless from the Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences investigated the potential use of gallium as an antimicrobial for wounds. Gallium maltolate is a semi-metallic element similar to iron; it can kill microbes that require iron.

The study used six Texas A&M horses, creating five 1-inch by 1-inch wounds on the side of the cannon bone of both front legs. Wounds on five of the horses were infected and treated with a 0.5 percent gallium maltolate and one horse was used as a control, with only petroleum jelly used on the wounds. The wounds were rebandaged twice weekly and treatment began on Day 10; biopsies were taken weekly.

Infection and biofilm formation was encouraged by placing gauze saturated with S. aureus on the wound for 48 hours. The research team found that infected wounds treated with gallium between two and four weeks after the wounding incident healed faster and had less proud flesh than the uninfected wounds.

Read the study here.