Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a global tick-borne disease of equids caused by the intraerythrocytic apicomplexan parasites Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, and the more recently discovered Theileria haneyi. These parasites can be transmitted by several tick species, including Dermacentor, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus, but iatrogenic and vertical transmission are also common. Clinical signs of EP include poor performance, fever, icterus, abortions, among others, and peracute or acute forms of infection are associated with high mortality in non-endemic areas. EP is a reportable disease and represents an important barrier for the international trade of horses and other equids, causing disruption of international equine sports. Tick control measures, serological and molecular diagnostic methods, and parasiticidal drugs are currently used against EP, while vaccines remain unavailable. Since most acaricides used in equids are non-environmentally friendly and linked to drug resistances, this is considered as an unsustainable approach. Imidocarb dipropionate (ID) and buparvaquone (BPQ) are currently the main drugs used to control the disease. However, while ID has several side and toxic effects and recurrent failures of treatment have been reported, BPQ is less effective in the clearance of T. equi infection and not available in some countries. Thus, novel alternative and effective therapeutics are needed. While current trade regulations require testing equids for EP before exportation, the lack of standardized PCR tests and limitations of the currently recommended serological assays entail a risk of inaccurate diagnosis. Hereby, we propose a combination of standardized PCR-based techniques and improved serological tests to diminish the risks of exporting EP-infected animals making equid international trade safer. In addition, this review discusses, based on scientific evidence, several idiosyncrasies, pitfalls and myths associated with EP, and identifies weaknesses of current methods of control and gaps of research, as initial steps toward developing novel strategies leading to control this disease.

Summary: Reasons for performing study: Reference intervals for thyroid hormones (TH) concentrations have not been previously established for donkeys, leading to potential misdiagnosis of thyroid disease. Objectives: To determine the normal values of TH in healthy adult donkeys and compare them to TH values from healthy adult horses. Methods: Thirty‐eight healthy Andalusian donkeys and 19 healthy Andalusian horses from 2 different farms were used. Donkeys were divided into 3 age groups: 11 years and into 2 gender groups. Serum concentrations of fT3, tT3, rT3, fT4 and tT4 were quantified by radioimmunoassay. All blood samples were collected the same day in the morning. None of the animals had received any treatment for 30 days prior to sampling or had any history of disease. Both farms were in close proximity and under similar management. Differences between groups were determined using a one‐way ANOVA analysis followed by Fisher's LSD test. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Serum TH concentrations were higher in donkeys than in horses (P<0.01). Donkeys 5 years (P11 years) had lower serum fT3 and tT3 concentrations than younger donkeys’ groups (<5 and 5–10 years, P<0.05). TH concentrations were not different between genders (fT3: P = 0.06; tT3: P = 0.08; rT3: P = 0.15; fT4: P = 0.89; and tT4: P = 0.19). Conclusions: Thyroid hormone concentrations are different between healthy adult donkeys and horses. Potential relevance: Establishing species‐specific TH reference ranges is important when evaluating clinicopathologic data in equids in order to avoid the misdiagnosis of thyroid gland dysfunction. Further studies to elucidate the physiological mechanisms leading to these differences are warranted.