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Study Shows Steaming Hay Helps Horses Banish Bad Bacteria

Steamed hay has proven beneficial for horses with respiratory disease and dental issues. Better nutritionally than soaked or dry hay, steaming preserves beneficial microorganisms, but banishes bacteria and allergens, reports The Horse.

A study, funded by Haygain Ltd. and spearheaded by Dr. Simon Daniels from the Royal Agricultural University, has shown that steaming hay with near-boiling water preserves its “haybiome,” a new term that encompasses the diverse good and bad bacteria found in hay. A healthy haybiome includes a variety of bacterial species, but the beneficial bacteria outweigh the disease-causing bacteria.

Haygain had no role in the design, data collection, or analysis of the study.

Researchers genetically sequenced samples of four types of ryegrass and meadow hay. Samples were either soaked for 12 hours in water at 61 degrees Fahrenheit or steamed for one hour in a commercial steamer that reached 203 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 10 minutes. The two other sequenced samples were left dry.

The scientists concluded that beneficial bacteria were present in the hay after both steaming and soaking, but the soaked hay didn't have the abundance of bacteria the steamed hay had. Soaked and dry hay contained bacteria that could cause dental and respiratory disease.

Additionally, a blue-green algae that is toxic was found in the dry hay that was sampled. Steaming eliminated the toxin completely, but soaking simply transferred the toxin to the water.

Bisphosphonate Use In Young Horses The Focus Of Texas A&M Study

Texas A&M researchers have created a study to evaluate off-label bisphosphonate use in horses. Originally meant to mitigate navicular pain in mature horses, off-label use of the drug in younger horses may promote bone degradation.

Though the number of equine fatalities from horse racing is decreasing, California, Kentucky, and New York have seen increased racing fatalities in 2018. Lead researcher Dr. Jessica Leatherwood says that a primary concern regarding these breakdowns is the off-label use of bisphosphonates; the study will assist in determining the effects of the drug on developing skeletons.

There is currently no scientific data exploring the effects of bisphosphonate use on young, exercising horses. The study, “Bisphosphonate Pharmacokinetics and Comprehensive Effects on Juvenile Cartilage, Bone Growth and Healing: Implications for Animal Welfare,” received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The particular bisphosphonate that will be studied is clodronate disodium, which is easy to administer and popular.

Racing commissions acknowledge the off-label use of bisphosphonates, but laboratories are unable to reliably test for the drug, limiting the ability to regulate off-label use.

Radiographs are often a key to racehorse sales, particularly in young horses where they expose skeletal health. Off-label use of bisphosphonates may mask potential flaws and cause microdamage accumulation, which could lead to breakdowns. The concern over bisphosphonate use isn't limited to racing; some sport horse disciplines are also limiting or restricting their use.

Horse and sheep models will be used in the study. As sheep are typically processed before they are two years old, they will offer insight into the potential changes in bone and biomechanical properties. The team hypothesizes that younger animals will clear the bisphosphonates more rapidly than older animals, that the drug alters bone in young, exercising horses, and that it will also have anti-inflammatory effects on the joint.

The findings could help shape new regulatory policies on bisphosphonate use in young horses.

A Stinky Situation: Horses Can Smell Human Fear

A study from Poland has shown that horses are able to smell human emotions – including fear.

Dr. Agnieszka Sabiniewicza and her research team collected body odor samples from 10 people who were either happy or fearful to see if the emotional states elicited different responses in horses exposed to them.

The researchers asked the people involved in the study to avoid smoking, smelly foods, exercise, and alcohol for multiple days. They also asked them to wash their clothes in a perfume-free detergent. The scientists then showed the people a cartoon or a horror video while they were wearing sterile pads in their armpits. The pads were collected and frozen to preserve their odor.

The team exposed 21 adult horses to the pads that the fearful or happy humans had worn; the horses were also exposed to pads that were not worn at all, which served as the control.

For the test, two people stood in different corners of the stall while each horse was shown the pads. One person was familiar to the horse and the other was unknown. Neither person interacted with the horse. A pole with four odor pads (either all fearful, all happy or all control) was shown to the horse.

The team found that the horses exposed to the fearful odor raised their heads more frequently and for longer periods of time. These horses also touched the familiar person in their stall more frequently and for longer than they did when exposed to the control or happiness odors.

The team concluded that human body odor alone can serve as an indicator of human emotion and can cause horses to behave differently.

Questionnaire May Help Arthritic Equines Get Help Earlier

Osteoarthritis can be a painful condition in horses but, unlike people, horses can't talk with their veterinarians about where and how much it hurts. Now, a newly funded study from Morris Animal Foundation is testing to see if a simple questionnaire can help horse owners recognize and monitor signs of chronic osteoarthritis (OA) pain in their horses – helping their equine charges get earlier, more effective treatment and improving their quality of life.

Dr. Janny de Grauw, from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and Diane Howard, PhD, MSc., Equine Science Master graduate from the University of Edinburgh, in the United Kingdom, are the recipients of the Donor-Inspired Study grant, funded by Dr. Wendy Koch, a veterinarian who has supported the Foundation for nearly 30 years. Dr. Koch has closely followed equine behavior and welfare research over the years and wanted to increase the amount of funding available for studies in these fields.

To effectively treat pain, caregivers and clinicians need a way of monitoring and quantifying the amount of discomfort felt. However, a survey of horse owners in the United Kingdom found that owners have limited ability to identify pain and disease in their horses, underlining the need for a simple way of helping people to recognize chronic pain in their equine companions.

“As veterinarians, we want to treat horses with painful and debilitating conditions like OA as effectively as possible,” said de Grauw. “How well we can manage their condition critically relies on recognition of subtle signs of (worsening) pain by owners and caregivers, who can then seek help.”

Under Dr. de Grauw's supervision, Howard developed the 15-item questionnaire based on changes in horse behavior through interviews with owners of horses diagnosed with osteoarthritis. The questions cover posture, facial expressions, movement and behavior.

She will validate the questionnaire by having 60 owners of horses with chronic OA pain and 20 owners of horses without OA complete it. The owners with OA horses will complete the questionnaire twice in two days while their horse's pain does not fluctuate, to evaluate how robust and reproducible the scoring instrument is.

The research team hopes the easy-to-use questionnaire will help horse owners recognize when their animals are in pain and contact a veterinarian for appropriate treatment. The instrument also may help owners monitor treatment effectiveness and pain progression over time, and guide owners and veterinarians in making quality-of-life decisions.

“Many horses may deal with pain that is not recognized, particularly in its early stages,” said Dr. Janet Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation Chief Scientific Officer. “Giving their caregivers effective tools for detection, monitoring and decision-making has the potential for significant animal welfare impact.”

Osteoarthritis is a major cause of chronic pain in horses but is an underrecognized and undertreated condition. Though often associated with advanced age, it can also occur in young horses. In addition to being painful, OA can severely curtail a horse's athletic career, and impact the bond between horse and owner if the condition limits a horse's ability to be ridden.

The Foundation's Donor-Inspired Study program allows individual donors and foundations to directly support research topics for which they have a passion and there is a pressing need. Applications for this grant were reviewed and rated, based on impact and scientific rigor, by a scientific advisory board, made up of equine behavior and welfare experts.

Morris Animal Foundation is one of the largest nonprofit organizations worldwide that funds health studies benefiting cats, dogs, horses, llamas, alpacas and wildlife. The Foundation currently is funding 150 studies encompassing a broad spectrum of species and diseases.