The treatment of saturated horse beds before they arrive at their final destination is necessary to avoid the risk of animal and environmental contamination. For this purpose, the composting process has great functionality due its to low cost, effectiveness, and operational ease. However, because of the nature of the materials used, this process can be long, and it is necessary to improve it to optimize composting cycles. This work aimed to isolate and identify fungi present in the compost piles of saturated equine bedding made with shavings and rice straw, identifying those with the greatest potential for cellulase production. Using specific cellulolytic media containing shavings or rice straw, seven strains were isolated. The total cellulase enzymatic activity of the isolates from the beds made with shavings was lower than that obtained from rice straw beds. Four strains showed high enzymatic potential for use in the shavings substrate (MA -6 2 f1, MA -6 2 f2, MA -7 9, and MA -7 10) and three for the rice straw substrate (PA -7 5, PA -7 7, and PA -7 10). The isolate PA -7 5 reached 0.376 IU mL⁻¹, the best index among all the isolates. These isolates were identified as belonging to the Aspergillus fumigatus species.

Some studies revealed that thermography is a noninvasive diagnostic technic that can detect body heat emission through infrared radiation and determine the superficial body temperature of the animal (^{Stewart et al., 2005}). Physical exercise produces net heat since only 20 to 25% of the energy used by the muscle is converted to mechanical energy (^{Hyyppa and Poso, 2004}). During exercise, metabolic heat production increases with increasing exercise intensity (^{Mckeever, 2004}). To understand exercise and the influence of exertion on thermographic images of clinically normal horses requires using thermography appropriately (^{Simon et al., 2006}). In this context, the present study used thermography to evaluate whether the superficial temperature of upper fore and hindlimbs of Mangalarga horses increased as a result of heat production during a four-beat gait exercise at 15km.h^-1 for 20 minutes.

Background:To report the feasibility of pre-scrotal castration technique in boars and document the great post-surgical evolution, thirty clinically healthy and sexually intact boars were used in a short case series.Results: No wound exsudate or infection was recorded. Mild scrotal edema was reported in 12 (40%) boars, that resolved within 3 days after stall confinement finished. On the long-term follow-up (4-12 months’ post-surgery), all owners stated to be satisfied with the procedure, with minor post-surgical aftercare required.Conclusion: Castration of boars using the pre-scrotal approach is a simple and safe procedure, reducing postoperative complications, and, thereby, providing better welfare, making the postoperative management of the boars, easier for handlers or owners.Methods: Thirty boars were considered fit for pre-scrotal castration technique if the testis and scrotum were macroscopically normal and no perceptible adherences within the scrotum noticed. Dissociative anesthesia protocol and local anesthesia by intratesticular and pre-scrotal infiltrative lidocaine injection was performed. An 8-10 cm skin incision was made cranially to the hemiscrotum, and subcutaneous tissue was bluntly dissected reaching thetunica dartos, fascia, and vaginal tunica. A transfixion ligature was placed on the fibrous-muscle portion of the spermatic cord. Mesorchium was bluntly dissected to separate the spermatic cord from the surrounding fascia, and a double transfixation ligature was placed around the spermatic cord, that was sharply transected. The procedure was repeated on the contralateral testis using the same skin incision.