2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Based on the data from this population of horses, delayed hair coat shedding and weight loss were significant predictors of PPID status. The prevalence of PPID was also significantly greater when certain clusters of clinical signs were present. Long term studies need to be conducted to further evaluate the occurrence and progression of clinical signs in horses with PPID and other endocrine diseases. The purpose of this study was to provide an objective evaluation of the wellbeing of a population of working horses. This study investigated wellbeing parameters in a population of working New York City carriage horses. Samples were collected over the course of a 3 day period (August 3-5, 2014). The parameters measured included fecal cortisol, salivary cortisol, and infrared thermography (IRT) of the medial canthus. The parameters used in this study have all been utilized in previous investigations to quantify stress levels in horses in a variety of settings. Collection Day 1, 2 and 3 involved 11, 7 and 8 horses, respectively. Collection days included four collection time points. At time point 1 (TP1), subjects were at rest in their stalls prior to work or the arrival of employees (06:00-08:00am EST). TP2 occurred as harnessed subjects were being hitched to carriages and prepared for work. TP3 occurred immediately after being placed in their stall at conclusion of work day. TP4 occurred 1 hour after horses were returned to their stall. Fecal cortisol samples were collected at TP1 and are used to evaluate chronic glucocorticoid levels. Salivary cortisol and IRT were collected at all four time points and reflect a more acute state of wellbeing. Preliminary evaluation of the salivary cortisol show differences among the time points (v 2 3 = 8.7; P = 0.03) with TP3 (0.96 AE 0.06 ng/mL) being greater (t 25 = 2.5; P = 0.02) than TP4 (0.77 AE 0.07 ng/mL); however, all other time point comparisons were not different (P > 0.05). For the IRT, student t-test indicated that measures between the left and right eye did not differ within time assessments (T = 141.5-144.5 12,12 ; U = 63.5-66.5; P = 0.644-0.773); therefore measures between left and right eye were averaged for comparisons of eye changes among the sampling time points. A One Way Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance revealed no difference (F = 0.114; P 0.952) among time points (TP1-4) eye measures. A similar trend was not evident between the cortisol and IRT data sets. The salivary cortisol variation among TP3 and 4 is a reflection of increased metabolic activity driven by exercise rather than stress. Stress as the driving factor behind salivary cortisol increase would have resulted in a similar increase in IRT which was not observed. Evidence collected thus far indicate no significant perturbation in the state of wellbeing of this population of working horses. Colic is common in horses. Accurate and timely interpretation of clinical and laboratory data at admission are important to determine the need for surgery and the probability of survival. Many studies have evaluated clinical and laboratory findings as indicators for surgery and survival, but few studies were as comprehensive as published by Reeves et al in 1989 and 1990. 1,2 The model was based on a retrospective evaluation of medical records from horses presenting to referral institutions. The model was validated using a subpopulation of horses taken from the medical records, but was never validated in a prospective population of horse