Horses’ behavior can provide valuable insight into their subjective state and is thus a good indicator of welfare. However, its complexity requires objective, quantifiable, and unambiguous evidence-based assessment criteria. As healthy, stress-free horses exhibit a highly repetitive daily routine, temporal quantification of their behavioral activities (time budget analysis) can assist in equine welfare assessment. Therefore, the present systematic review aimed to provide an up-to-date analysis of equine time budget studies. A review of the literature yielded 12 papers that fulfilled the inclusion criteria: assessment of equine time budgets for eating, resting and movement for a minimum of 24 continuous hours. A total of 144 horses (1–27 years old), 59 semi-feral and 85 domesticated horses, are included in this review. The 24 h time budgets for foraging or eating (10–6.6%), resting (8.1–66%), lying (2.7–27.3%), and locomotion (0.015–19.1%) showed large variance between studies, which can largely be attributed to differences in age and environmental conditions. Management interventions in domesticated horses (ad libitum access to food, increased space, decreased population density) resulted in time budgets similar to their (semi-)feral conspecifics, emphasizing the importance of environmental conditions and the ability of time budgets to assist in monitoring horses’ welfare.

BackgroundA sudden decline of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) population in one of the best hunting districts for small game species in northern Germany, the German North-Sea island Pellworm, in the years 2007/08 following marked habitat changes led to the implementation of a thorough health assessment program of the population. 110 animals were collected during the normal hunting season in the years 2010 and 2011. A post-mortem examination and histopathological investigation was performed on all animals. Additionally, routine bacteriology of the small intestine and parasitology were carried out. Sera of hares were tested for European Brown Hare Syndrome (EBHS) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and for Treponema sp. by indirect immunofluorescent test. Additional testing was performed when deemed necessary.ResultsThe most striking result was a shift in the intestinal bacterial flora towards Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae with a predominance of either Escherichia coli, or Aeromonas sp., or a high-grade double-infection with these two pathogens with subsequent catarrhal enteritis. Additionally, a marked coccidiosis, and varying infestations with the nematode Trichostrongylus retortaeformis were found. The sero-prevalence for EBHS was 78.1%, and for Treponema 43.9%.ConclusionsThe shift and decrease in diversity of the intestinal flora was the main and most consistent result found. In the authors’ opinion the change of the habitat combined with other stressors increased the animals’ sensitivity to ubiquitous bacterial species and parasites which usually would not have such fatal effects.

Housing and management conditions strongly influence the health, welfare and behaviour of horses. Consequently, objective and quantifiable comparisons between domestic environments and their influence on different equine demographics are needed to establish evidence-based criteria to assess and optimize horse welfare. Therefore, the present study aimed to measure and compare the time budgets (=percentage of time spent on specific activities) of horses with chronic orthopaedic disease and geriatric (≥20 years) horses living in different husbandry systems using an automated tracking device. Horses spent 42% (range 38.3–44.8%) of their day eating, 39% (range 36.87–44.9%) resting, and 19% (range 17–20.4%) in movement, demonstrating that geriatric horses and horses suffering from chronic orthopaedic disease can exhibit behaviour time budgets equivalent to healthy controls. Time budget analysis revealed significant differences between farms, turn-out conditions and time of day, and could identify potential areas for improvement. Horses living in open-air group housing on a paddock had a more uniform temporal distribution of feeding and movement activities with less pronounced peaks compared to horses living in more restricted husbandry systems.

Equine Quality of Life (QoL) is an important concern in decision making in veterinary medicine and is especially relevant for chronically ill or geriatric horses towards the end of their lives. To our knowledge, there is no currently available QoL assessment tool for chronically ill or geriatric horses that assesses equine QoL defined as the horse’s evaluation of their life. However, tools exist to assess equine welfare in different contexts. Hence, the aims of this study were to analyse how equine welfare, QoL, well-being and happiness assessment tools label, define and operationalise the concepts and to discuss the tools’ suitability to assess equine QoL in the context of end-of-life decisions for chronically ill or geriatric horses. Fourteen articles were found through a systematic literature search, describing ten equine welfare assessment tools and one approach to integrating equine QoL in veterinary practice that suggests QoL assessment parameters. We discuss that some welfare assessment tools have the potential to support the development of a QoL assessment tool informing decisions towards the end of horses’ lives if they are adjusted to focus on the horses' experiences, to provide an integration into an overall QoL grade and are tailored to chronically ill or geriatric horses.

Recumbency is a prerequisite for horses achieving rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and completing a full sleep cycle. An inability to lie down due to environmental insecurities or pain results in REM sleep deficiency, which can cause substantial impairment of welfare and health. Therefore, the present study used wearable automated sensor technology on 83 horses housed in an animal sanctuary to measure and compare the recumbency, locomotion, and standing time budgets of geriatric horses with and without chronic lameness to younger adult sound and lame horses. Recumbency times ranged from 0 to 319 min per day with an overall mean of 67.4 (±61.9) minutes; the time budget for locomotion was 19.1% (±11.2% s.d.) and for standing 75.6% (±13.1 s.d.). Interestingly, neither age nor lameness due to chronic orthopedic disease had a significant influence on recumbency times in this study. Eight horses showed symptoms of REM deficit. These horses had significantly shorter lying times (7.99 ± 11.4 min) and smaller locomotion time budgets than the other horses enrolled in this study (73.8 ± 61.8 min), indicating a general compromise of well-being. Thus, wearable sensor technology can be used to identify horses with low recumbency times at risk for REM sleep deficiency and to assess and monitor equine welfare objectively.

This report describes the successful treatment of a chronic diaphragmatic hernia in a 2.5-year-old crossbred gelding. The tear remained unidentified until colic signs and dyspnoea appeared. In this case, an unconventional surgical approach was used. Based on the clinical findings, diaphragmatic herniation with non-strangulating large intestinal involvement was diagnosed. From the ventral midline approach, a diaphragmatic tear with a diameter of 20 cm in the left ventral area was found together with a fractured 10th rib. Repositioning of the large colon was unsuccessful through the ventral midline approach, therefore lateral thoracotomy via rib resection was performed without closing the ventral midline incision. The simultaneous laparotomy with thoracotomy can be a useful approach in the treatment of diaphragmatic hernias when the tear is located ventrally. Advantages of the described surgical technique were easier reposition of the herniated intestine and good access to close the diaphragmatic tear, and disadvantage was the longer surgical time.How to cite this article: Izing S, Kelemen Z, Bohák Z, Tóth P, Bodó G. Successful repair of diaphragmatic hernia with simultaneously performed thoracotomy and median laparotomy in a horse. Vet Rec Case Rep. 2021;e69.

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A szerzők ebben a tanulmányban irodalmi áttekintést követően öt, idült gyomormegterheléssel és gyomortágulattal diagnosztizált ló kórlefolyását mutatják be, amelyeket az üllői Lógyógyászati Tanszék és Klinikán kezeltek 2019 és 2021 között. A lovak változatos tüneteket mutattak: enyhe vagy hevesebb kólikás nyugtalanságot, idült testtömegvesztést, étvágytalanságot, regurgitációt, hasmenést. A diagnózisra a kórelőzmény, a fizikális vizsgálat és a kiegészítő diagnosztikai vizsgálatok alapján következtettek. Míg rectalis vizsgálattal két esetben volt tapintható a megnagyobbodott, tartalommal teli gyomor, addig ultrahangvizsgálat során minden lóban diagnosztizálható volt a gyomor megnagyobbodása. Gasztroszkópos vizsgálattal három egyedben sikerült megerősíteni a diagnózist. A leírt öt esetből hosszabb távon két ló maradt életben, de egy éven belül ezek is végleges elaltatásra kerültek.