• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.355-364
• /
• 2009

This research was conducted to investigate the group and individual behavioral patterns of thoroughbred mares which are important for raising race-horses, in paddoks (pregnant) and pastures (nursing). In a group of nursing mare, eating 62%, standing resting 31%, drinking 3%, lying resting 1%, walking 1% and nursing 2% were observed, although no running was observed. Average time spent on individual behavior of mares (3 heads) was eating 295 min (55%), standing resting 193 min (36%), walking 18 min, drinking 18 min (3%), nursing 13 min (2%), lying resting 6 min (1%). Average 11 times of grooming, 2 times of urinating, and 1 time of feces were observed for mare in pasture. 48% of standing resting, 44% of eating, 2% of lying resting, 4% of walking, and 2% of drinking were revealed for pregnant mares in paddock. Average individual behavioral pattern of pregnant mares (3 heads) was 52% of eating, 40% of standing, 6% of walking, and 2% of drinking. Average 15 times of grooming, 1 time of urinating, 3 times of feces, 1 time of fighting, and 2 times of rolling were observed for pregnant mares in paddock. For moving patterns, pregnant mares were inclined to concentrate on where the nearby paddok is close to.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.231-237
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia (E.) coli isolates isolated from vaginal mucosa and clitorial fossa of 105 Thoroughbred mares suspicious of the genital disease in Korea during the period from March 2006 to July 2007. Ninety six E. coli isolates were identified as standard biochemical properties and using BIOLOG system. Fifty three isolates (55.2%) could be classified into a total of 21 O serotypes and forty three isolates (44.8%) were non-typeable with 51 O antisera used in this study. The verotoxin 1 (VT 1) and verotoxin 2 genes were analyzed by multiplex PCR. Among them, one isolate was detected VT 1 gene (130 bp). Most of isolates showed a high susceptibility in ciprofloxacin (100%), enrofloxacin (100%), norfloxacin (100%), cefoxitin (96.9%), gentamicin (96.9%), sulphamethoxazole (96.9%), nitrofurantoin (94.8%), amikacin (93.8%), nalidixic acid (92.7%) and tetracycline (90.6%). These results may provide the basic information to establish strategies for the treatment and prevention of reproductive disease in Thoroughbred mares in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.201-208
• /
• 2011

Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) is a pathogen of a variety of infections in horse. We studied biochemical and molecular characteristics of S. zooepidemicus isolated from the genital tract of Thoroughbred mares in Korea. Seventy-nine isolates were identified as S. zooepidemicus by biochemical and PCR method from 374 horses. The biochemical characteristics of S. zooepidemicus isolates were positive reaction of lactose and sorbitol. However, S. zooepidemicus isoltes were negative reaction of inulin, mannitol, raffinose, trehalose, aesculin hydrolysis, growth in 6.5% NaCl and variable reaction of maltose. Epidemiological investigations of S. zooepidemicus isolates were performed by fragment analysis of SzP (S. zooepidemicus protective protein) gene, CNE (collagen binding protein) gene and ISR (16s rRNA intergenic spacer region) gene using ABI Prism $3,130{\times}1$ Genetic Analyzer System. All isolates were shown single amplification size of 906 bp in CNE gene, but SzP and ISR gene were shown variable patterns of fragment size. The characteristics of S. zooepidemicus investigated in this study will be very useful for the prevention of infection and the studies of epidemiologic characteristics of S. zooepidemicus, causing the severe economic losses due to reproductive failures.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.51 no.1
• /
• pp.55-58
• /
• 2011

Two 4-day-old Thoroughbred foals with acute clinical signs of depression, elevated pulse and respiratory rates, anemia, and jaundice were referred to the equine hospital of Korea Racing Authority. The foals were seemingly normal at birth, but showed clinical signs such as abnormal behavior, jaundice and anemia suddenly after ingestion of the mare's colostrum, followed by death at 4 days after birth. According to the results of the hematology, serum chemistry analysis, jaundice foal agglutination test, and blood groups test, the foals were diagnosed as neonatal isoerythrolysis (NI) caused by the mare's antibodies. These results suggested that the pregnant mares have a potential for NI.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.286-289
• /
• 2009

Perineal laceration commonly occurs due to dilation of the birth canal at the time of foaling in primiparous mares. A 7-year-old Thoroughbred mare was presented with faecal contamination of the external genitalia. She was having history of constant straining three days after the mare's first foaling. Physical examination revealed the tearing extended from the deep part of vagina through muscles of the perineal body involved rectal floor and anal sphincter. Tentative diagnosed was third-degree perineal laceration therefore one-stage surgical procedure and a modified surgical procedure at three-week intervals was performed. During postoperative care for 3 weeks, soft faces was a key factor in success. After 3 weeks, the patient was recovered to normal condition completely.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.64 no.6
• /
• pp.1237-1244
• /
• 2022

Horse breeders suffer massive economic losses due to dystocia, abortion, and stillbirths. In Thoroughbred mares, breeders often miss the foaling process because approximately 86% of the foaling events occur from 19:00 to 7:00; consequently, breeders cannot assist mares experiencing dystocia. To solve this problem, various foaling alarm systems have been developed. However, there is a need to develop a new system to overcome the shortcomings of the existing devices and improve their accuracy. To this end, the present study aimed to (1) develop a novel foaling alarm system and (2) compare its accuracy with that of the existing Foalert^TM system. Specifically, eighteen Thoroughbred mares (11.9 ± 4.0 years old) were included. An accelerometer was used to analyze specific foaling behaviors. Behavioral data were transmitted to a data server every second. Depending on the acceleration value, behaviors were automatically classified by the server as categorized behaviors 1 (behaviors without change in body rotation), 2 (behaviors with sudden change in body rotation, such as rolling over), and 3 (behaviors with long-term change in body rotation, such as lying down laterally). The system was designed to alarm when the duration of categorized behaviors 2 and 3 was 12.9% and that of categorized behavior 3 was 1% during 10 min. The system measured the duration of each categorized behavior every 10 min and transmitted an alarm to the breeders when foaling was detected. To confirm its accuracy, the foaling detection time of the novel system was compared with that of Foalert^TM. The novel foaling alarm system and Foalert^TM alarmed foaling onset respectively 32.6 ± 17.9 and 8.6 ± 1.0 min prior to foal discharge, and the foaling detection rate of both systems was 94.4%. Therefore, the novel foaling alarm system equipped with an accelerometer can precisely detect and alert foaling onset.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.199-203
• /
• 2021

A 4-year-old Thoroughbred mare was brought to the Korea Racing Authority Equine Hospital with heightened sensitivity to touch of the hindquarter, reluctance to step forward, frequent urination even during training, clitoral winking, tail swinging, tail lifting, and training difficulties due to being in constant heat. The trainer claimed that she was in heat and exhibited reduced performance. Physical and lameness examinations revealed no abnormality. Rectal palpation and transrectal ultrasonography revealed normal reproductive organs and estrus. As she exhibited typical estrous behavior without any other physical conditions, the mare was considered to express undesirable estrous behavior. An intrauterine glass ball was inserted into the mare on ovulation day. However, the estrous behaviors were reduced unsatisfactorily. Additionally, 1 mL of peanut oil was administered on the 10th day after the intrauterine device insertion. The mare returned to training and expressed no undesirable estrous behavior over 30 days after the peanut oil treatment. However, further follow-ups were not conduct as the mare was retired to a farm after a limb injury occurred during training. This is the first report of undesirable estrous behavior in a Thoroughbred mare under the rules of racing in Korea. It is recommended that equine clinicians in Korea consider peanut oil as a therapeutic agent to control mares' estrous behavior-related problems.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.245-247
• /
• 2019

Taylorella equigenitalis (T. equigenitalis), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) are sexually transmittable bacteria known to cause venereal diseases (VD) in horses. T. equigenitalis causes contagious equine metritis (CEM), which is a considerable concern for equine breeding industry. K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa may cause endometritis and infertility in susceptible mares. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of these bacteria among breeding Thoroughbreds in South Korea. External genital swabs were collected from 178 breeding Thoroughbreds, including 11 stallions and 167 mares. The samples were tested using a commercial multiplex real-time PCR kit. T. equigenitalis, P. aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae were present in 5.6%, 7.3%, and 5.6% of tested Thoroughbreds, respectively. The results highlight the need for regular testing of South Korean Thoroughbreds, particularly those used for breeding, for these bacteria. The regular pre-breeding test for these bacteria will prevent health complications for the horse and financial losses for the owner as a result of VD.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.161-166
• /
• 2008

The techniques for the collection, cooling and freezing of semen and artificial insemination of horses are not fully understood in Korea. We investigated the percentages of total motile (TM) and progressively motile (PM) sperms after the collection, cooling and freezing of stallion semen. The average volume of semen was 167 ml in Thoroughbred and 68 ml in Arab. The average numbers of spermatozoa in Thoroughbred and Arab were $104\times10^6/ml$ and $86\times10^6/ml$ respectively. The average percentages of TM and PM were 82.3% and 88.6% in Thoroughbred, and 61.4% and 82.6% in Arab, respectively. The average percentage of TM at 4 hr after cooling at $5^{\circ}C$ was significantly lower than that at 0 hr ($30.0\pm4.1%\;vs.\;78.0\pm2.5%,\;p<0.05$), but the percentage of PM was similar between 66.5 and 73.2% at 0, 1, and 4hr. The average percentage of frozen-thawed Thoroughbred semen frozen in MFR5 extender was 56.2%, which was significantly higher than that of the semen frozen in LE extender (average 32.9%, p<0.05). The percentage of TM in Arab was similar for semen frozen in MFR5 extender and LE extender (18.2% and 21.2%, respectively), but the percentage of PM was significantly higher in sperm frozen in MFR5 extender than in sperm frozen in LE extender (69.0% vs. 36.4%, p<0.05). Four mares were artificially inseminated by Thoroughbred frozen-thawed semen and one of them fertilized at 11 day after artificial insemination. In this study, the collection, cooling and freezing of equine semen were possible under domestic conditions.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.99-105
• /
• 2021

In horse management, the alarm system with sensors in the foaling period enables the breeder can appropriately prepare the time of the parturition. It is important to prevent losses by unpredictable parturition because there are several high risks such as dystocia and the death of foals and mares during foaling. However, unlike analysis in the alarm system that detects specific motions has been widely performed, analysis of classification following specific behavior patterns or number needs to be more organized. Thus, the objective of this study is to classify signs of the specific behaviors of the mares for the prediction of pre-foaling behaviors. Five Thoroughbred mares (9-20 yrs) were randomly selected for observation of the pre-foaling behaviors. The behaviors were monitored for 90 min that was divided into three different periods as 1) from -90 to -60 min, 2) from -60 to -30 min, 3) from -30 min to the time for the discharge of the amniotic fluid, respectively. The behaviors were divided into two different categories as state and frequent behaviors and each specific behavioral pattern for classification was individually described. In the state behaviors, the number of mares in the standing of the foaling group (3.17 ± 0.18^b) at period 3 was significantly higher than the control group (1.67 ± 0.46^a). In contrast, the number of the mares in the eating of the foaling group (1.17 ± 0.34^b) at period 3 was significantly lower than the control group (3.33 ± 0.46^a). In the frequent behaviors, the weaving of the foaling group was significantly higher than the control group, and looking at the belly of the foaling group was significantly lower than the control group. In period 2, defecation, weaving, and lowering the head of the foaling group were significantly higher than the control group, respectively. In period 3, sitting down and standing up, pawing, weaving, and lowering the head in the foaling group were also significantly higher than the control group. In conclusion, the behavior is significantly different in foaling periods, and the prediction of foaling may be feasible by the detection of the pre-foaling behaviors in the mares.