Aree Laikul

African horse sickness (AHS), a life-threatening disease caused by African horse sickness virus serotype 1 (AHSV-1), emerged in Thailand in February 2020 with 607 cases and a 93% fatality rate. The outbreak was mitigated by vector control and a live attenuated virus (LAV) vaccine. Information regarding viremia and immunity after infection and vaccination during outbreaks are essential for controlling disease transmission. This study evaluated these parameters in 15 infected naïve horses and 11 vaccinated horses during the 2020 outbreak. Whole blood was collected and subjected to RT real-time PCR to detect viremia up to 52 weeks post-infection. ASHV-specific antibodies were accessed by blocking ELISA until 37 weeks post-vaccination. In both groups, viremia appeared in the first week and lasted until week 5 in 25% of the horses. Moreover, seroconversion occurred at week 5 in 73.3% of infected horses and at week 3 in 90% of vaccinated horses. Antibodies persisted in both groups until the end of study, with more uniform levels in vaccinated animals. Chronological relations among clinical signs, viremia, and immunity were analyzed. These findings support the use of insect-proof housing for horses for at least 5 weeks after exposure or vaccination, and provide essential insights into AHSV epidemiology and control.

Background and Aim: Echocardiographic assessment in equines is typically performed on standing animals; however, no studies have evaluated left ventricular function in anesthetized mules using high-dose xylazine. Given the unique pharmacokinetics in mules and their higher anesthetic requirements, this study aimed to assess the effects of acepromazine-xylazine-diazepam-ketamine anesthesia, using the upper limit xylazine dose (1.6 mg/kg), on the left ventricular size and function in mules. Materials and Methods: Six healthy adult mules (18.83 ± 0.75 years; 263.83 ± 39.34 kg) were evaluated using standard two-dimensional and M-mode transthoracic echocardiography. Measurements were obtained before sedation (standing) and 13-min post-anesthetic induction (dorsal recumbency). Each mule received an intravenous injection of acepromazine (0.04 mg/kg), xylazine (1.6 mg/kg), diazepam (0.1 mg/kg), and ketamine (2.2 mg/kg). Key echocardiographic parameters included interventricular septum thickness (interventricular septum in diastole and interventricular septum in systole), left ventricular internal diameters (left ventricular internal diameter in diastole and left ventricular internal diameter in systole [LVIDs]), posterior wall thickness (left ventricular posterior wall in diastole and left ventricular posterior wall in systole), ejection fraction (EF), and fractional shortening (FS). Statistical comparisons were made using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests (p < 0.05). Results: Heart rate, EF, and FS significantly decreased post-anesthesia (p < 0.01), indicating reduced systolic function. Specifically, LVIDs increased from 4.60 ± 0.65 cm to 6.26 ± 0.48 cm (p < 0.01), while no significant changes were observed in diastolic parameters or respiratory rate. Anesthetic induction was smooth and graded as good to excellent in all cases. Conclusion: High-dose xylazine significantly suppressed systolic cardiac function in anesthetized mules without causing arrhythmias or bradyarrhythmia. The combination protocol was effective and provided safe anesthesia induction, with echocardiography proving feasible under dorsal recumbency. These findings support the cautious use of upper-limit xylazine dosing in mules and suggest echocardiographic monitoring as a valuable tool during anesthesia. Keywords: anesthesia, echocardiography, ejection fraction, fractional shortening, mule, ventricular function, xylazine.

External hoof characteristics, balance, and conformation have been extensively studied in horses; however, mules remain understudied in these aspects. This study evaluated the size, shape, and symmetry of untrimmed and unshod forelimb hooves, compared the symmetry between forelimb hooves and stratified external forelimb hoof measurements based on the body condition score of mules raised in the foothill plains of northern Thailand. The forelimb hooves of 38 mules were photographed and 33 parameters, including angular and linear measurements, were analyzed. A multivariate analysis was used to explore the influence of sex, age, and body condition scores (BCS) on angular, linear, and area parameters. Additionally, one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test was used to compare these parameters across different BCS groups. Despite the absence of shoeing and trimming, these mules exhibited optimal left–right forelimb hoof symmetry, with no significant (p < 0.05) differences in: outer wall length and inner wall length (OWL–IWL: Left 0.11 ± 0.66 cm; Right −0.12 ± 0.43 cm); sole length and sole width (SL^S–SW: Left 1.65 ± 0.76 cm; Right 1.46 ± 0.89 cm); dorsal hoof wall length and heel length (DHWL–HL: Left 4.00 ± 0.80 cm; Right 3.81 ± 0.72 cm); and frog length and frog width (FL–FW: Left 3.88 ± 1.13 cm; Right 3.82 ± 0.18 cm). However, significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed within each body condition score group for forelimb hoof measurements for DHWL, IWL, heel separation (HS), heel bulb distance (HBD), SW, FW, and FL, while sex and age had no significant differences across the study variables. These findings provide valuable insights into mule welfare and management, contributing to understanding of the interplay between overall health and hoof conformation in the study area.

External hoof characteristics, balance, and conformation have been extensively studied in horses; however, mules remain understudied in these aspects. This study evaluated the size, shape, and symmetry of untrimmed and unshod forelimb hooves, compared the symmetry between forelimb hooves and stratified external forelimb hoof measurements based on the body condition score of mules raised in the foothill plains of northern Thailand. The forelimb hooves of 38 mules were photographed and 33 parameters, including angular and linear measurements, were analyzed. Despite the absence of shoeing and trimming, these mules exhibited optimal left-right forelimb hoof symmetry, with no significant (p < 0.05) differences in: outer wall length and inner wall length (OWL - IWL); sole length and sole width (SLS - SW); dorsal hoof wall length and heel length (DHWL - HL); and frog length and frog width (FL - FW). However, significant (p < 0.05) differences were observed within each body condition score group for forelimb hoof measurements for DHWL, IWL, heel separation (HS), heel bulb distance (HBD), SW, FW, and FL. These findings provide valuable insights into mule welfare and management, contributing to understanding of the interplay between overall health and hoof conformation in the study area.

Background: One of the semen quality parameters use to determine fertility is the percentage of sperm that express normal morphology. Sperm head morphometry is also correlated with fertility. The objectives of this study were 1) to investigate the sperm morphology and normal sperm head morphometry of Thai native crossbred stallions, and 2) to compare our results with the characteristics of proven fertile sperm from purebred stallions.Methods: Semen samples were collected monthly from nine stallions, of which five were Thai native crossbred (T) and four were purebred of proven fertility (F: F1 was a Standard-bred; F2 was a Warm-blood; F3 and F4 were Thoroughbreds). All the animals were aged between 5 and 12 years. Sperm morphological examination was performed using formaldehyde-fixed samples under phase-contrast microscopy (1000×). Normal sperm head morphometry characteristics were measured by Computer-Assisted Semen Analysis (Hamilton Thorne, USA.) after applying the Harris' haematoxylin staining technique.Results: The percentages of morphologically normal and abnormal sperm varied among individual stallions in both the T and F groups. The mean percentage of morphologically normal sperm was not significantly different (P > 0.05) between T and F stallions (mean ± SE, 49.7 ± 1.3 and 48.1 ± 2.8, respectively). A comparison between the T and F sperm heads revealed that all the dimensional parameters were significantly different (P < 0.05). The coefficients of within-animal variation (CVs) ranged from 2.6 (shape factor 1) to 7.5 (elongation) and 2.9 (shape factor 1) to 8.1 (elongation) in T and F, respectively. In the case of the T group, those sperm head parameters that featured a low within-animal CV and a high between-animal CV were perimeter (2.9, 19.1), shape factor 1 (2.6, 25.8) and shape factor 3 (3.8, 32.0). In the case of the F group, only shape factor 1 (2.9, 26.1) featured such characteristics.Conclusion: We found variability in the percentage of morphologically normal and abnormal sperm, as well as in sperm head dimensions among Thai native crossbred stallions, and these results were similar to those of purebred stallions. Our findings demonstrate that the heads of the T sperm specimens were larger and rounder than that of the F sperm. Perimeter, shape factor 1 and shape factor 3 could be used as parameters for the identification of individual T stallions based on a sperm sample.