Enteropathy associated with sand accumulation in the large colon of horses has been reported worldwide. Intestinal sand accumulations are commonly treated medically, but randomised controlled clinical trials on horses are scarce. This prospective study evaluated the efficacy of an enterally administered combination of psyllium and magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) for the removal of large colonic sand accumulations in horses without clinical signs of acute colic. The two groups comprised 20 untreated control horses and 20 horses treated with 1g/kg bodyweight (bwt) of psyllium and 1g/kg bwt of MgSO4 administered by nasogastric intubation once daily for 4 days. Both groups had no access to soil during the study period. The amounts of accumulated sand were evaluated radiographically before and after treatment. Significantly more treated horses cleared their sand accumulations than horses in the control group. This clearance was determined by observing the estimated quantity by area of sand remaining in the large colon (P<0.001) and by comparing the numbers of successfully treated horses (P=0.004) between the two groups after 4days of treatment. However, there were unexplained individual variations in the clearance of sand accumulation.

Equine fetal hair starts to grow at around 270 days of pregnancy, and hair collected at birth reflects hormones of the last third of pregnancy. The study aimed to evaluate cortisol (CORT) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations and their ratio in the trichological matrix of foals and mares in relation to their clinical parameters; the clinical condition of the neonate (study 1); the housing place at parturition (study 2). In study 1, 107 mare-foal pairs were divided into healthy (group H; n = 56) and sick (group S; n = 51) foals, whereas in study 2, group H was divided into hospital (n = 30) and breeding farm (n = 26) parturition. Steroids from hair were measured using a solid-phase microtiter radioimmunoassay. In study 1, hair CORT concentrations measured in foals did not differ between groups and did not appear to be influenced by clinical parameters. A correlation between foal and mare hair CORT concentrations (p = 0.019; r = 0.312, group H; p = 0.006; r = 0.349, group S) and between CORT and DHEA-S concentrations in foals (p = 0.018; r = 0.282, group H; p < 0.001; r = 0.44, group S) and mares (p = 0.006; r = 0.361, group H; p = 0.027; r = 0.271, group S) exists in both groups. Increased hair DHEA-S concentrations (p = 0.033) and decreased CORT/DHEA-S ratio (p < 0.001) appear to be potential biomarkers of chronic stress in the final third of pregnancy, as well as a potential sign of resilience and allostatic load in sick foals, and deserve further attention in the evaluation of prenatal hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in the equine species. In study 2, hormone concentrations in the hair of mares hospitalized for attended parturition did not differ from those that were foaled at the breeding farm. This result could be related to a too brief period of hospitalization to cause significant changes in steroid deposition in the mare’s hair.

Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by Babesia and Theileria species. Despite its presence in Europe, no laboratory testing is required for animal movement, even though some countries remain free of this disease. Differentiating between species and genotypes is crucial to determine the most effective treatment, as dosage, active compounds, and duration vary. However, diagnosis is often challenging due to genetic variability and the limited sensitivity of molecular methods. The aims of this study were to compare the performances of different molecular diagnostic tests to identify the most effective assay for piroplasm DNA detection and to genetically characterize the piroplasms identified in horses in Northern Italy from 2016 to 2022. Among 63 horses tested, 24 (38.1%) were positive in at least one of the tests used. Four horses tested positive for Babesia caballi with identical nucleotide sequences, while 22 horses tested positive for genetically different Theileria species, including Theileria equi, Theileria haneyi-like species, and Theileria sp. Africa. Two horses were coinfected by Babesia caballi and Theileria haneyi-like species. The best diagnostic approach to avoid false negative results was a combination of different assays. Further studies will be necessary to better assess the prevalence and genetic diversity of piroplasms involved in equine piroplasmosis.

Prompt pain management is crucial in horses; however, tools to assess pain are limited. This study aimed to develop and pilot a composite scale for pain estimation in foals. The “Foal Composite Pain Scale” (FCPS) was developed based on literature and authors’ expertise. The FCPS consisted of 11 facial expressions, 4 behavioural items, and 5 physical items. Thirty-five pain-free foals (Control Group) and 15 foals experiencing pain (Pain Group) were used. Foals were video-recorded at different time points: the Control Group only at inclusion (C), while the Pain Group at inclusion (T1), after an analgesic treatment (T2), and at recovery (T3). Physical items were also recorded at the same time points. Videos were scored twice by five trained observers, blinded to group and time points, to calculate inter- and intra-observer reliability of each scale item. Fleiss’ kappa values ranged from moderate to almost perfect for the majority of the items, while the intraclass correlation coefficient was excellent (ICC = 0.923). The consistency of FCPS was also excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.842). A cut-off ≥ 7 indicated the presence of pain. The Pain Group scores were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the Control Group and decreased over time (T1, T2 > T3; p = 0.001). Overall, FCPS seems clinically applicable to quantify pain and improve the judgment of the quality of life in foals, but it needs modifications based on these preliminary findings. Consequently, further studies on a larger sample size are needed to test the feasibility and validity of the refined FCPS.