Electrocardiograms (ECGs), and associated heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements, are essential in assessing equine cardiovascular health and fitness. Smart textiles have gained popularity, but limited validation work has been conducted. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare HR and HRV data obtained using a smart textile system (Myant) to the gold-standard telemetric device (Televet). Simultaneous ECGs were obtained using both systems in seven horses at rest and during a submaximal exercise test. Bland–Altman tests were used to assess agreement between the two devices. Strong to perfect correlations without significant differences between the two devices were observed for all metrics assessed. During exercise, mean biases of 0.31 bpm (95% limits of agreement: −1.99 to 2.61) for HR, 1.43 ms (−11.48 to 14.33) for standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDRR), and 0.04 (−2.30 to 2.38) for the HRV triangular index (TI) were observed. A very strong correlation was found between the two devices for HR (r = 0.9993, p < 0.0001) and for HRV parameters (SDRR r = 0.8765, p < 0.0001; TI r = 0.8712, p < 0.0001). This study demonstrates that a smart textile system is reliable for assessment of HR and HRV of horses at rest and during submaximal exercise.

Electrocardiography (ECG) is an essential tool in assessing equine health and fitness. However, standard ECG devices are expensive and rely on the use of adhesive electrodes, which may become detached and are associated with reduced ECG quality over time. Smart textile electrodes composed of stainless-steel fibers have previously been shown to be a suitable alternative in horses at rest and during exercise. The objective of this study was to compare ECG quality using a smart textile girth band knit with silver and carbon yarns to standard adhesive silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) electrodes. Simultaneous three-lead ECGs were recorded using a smart textile band and Ag/AgCl electrodes in 22 healthy, mixed-breed horses that were unrestrained in stalls. ECGs were compared using the following quality metrics: Kurtosis (k) value, Kurtosis signal quality index (kSQI), percentage of motion artifacts (%MA), peak signal amplitude, and heart rate (HR). Two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison tests was conducted to compare each metric. No significant differences were found in any of the assessed metrics between the smart textile band and Ag/AgCl electrodes, with the exception of peak amplitude. Kurtosis and kSQI values were excellent for both methods (textile mean k = 21.8 ± 6.1, median kSQI = 0.98 [0.92–1.0]; Ag/AgCl k = 21.2 ± 7.6, kSQI = 0.99 [0.97–1.0]) with <0.5% (<1 min) of the recording being corrupted by MAs for both. This study demonstrates that smart textiles are a practical and reliable alternative to the standard electrodes typically used in ECG monitoring of horses.

Summary: Reasons for performing study: Standardbred and Thoroughbred racehorses around the world are tested for performance enhancing substances. Among these are blood alkalising substances that raise plasma pH and total carbon dioxide (TCO ₂ ) concentration. However, many horses have an elevated TCO ₂ due to dietary, environmental and health concerns without having been administered an alkalising substance. Objectives: The purposes of this study were to determine the acid‐base profile of a cross section of Standardbred horses in racing/race training in Ontario and the main independent variables that contributed to acid‐base state. Materials and methods: On nonracing days, blood from 211 horses at rest, from 9 training facilities, was analysed within 30 min for plasma pH (7.406 ± 0.039; mean ± s.e.), PCO ₂ (50.0 ± 3.4 mmHg), from which [HCO ₃ ^‐ ] (31.2 ± 2.8 mmol/l) and [TCO ₂ ] (33.1 ± 2.9 mmol/l; range 25.66–42.9) were calculated. From these, a subset of 161 horses had full data sets for plasma protein and strong ion concentrations. These data were further analysed by facility and level of TCO ₂ . Data on nutrition, training, racing and medications were also collected. Results: There were significant differences amongst facilities with respect to plasma pH, TCO ₂ , strong ion difference ([SID]), PCO ₂ and total weak acid concentration ([A _tot ]). Horses having the highest TCO ₂ (37.0–42.9 mmol/l, n = 16) had significantly higher [SID] (52.9 ± 0.8 mEq/l) and PCO ₂ (52.5 ± 0.7 mmHg) and relatively low [A _tot ] (14.9 ± 0.7 mEq/l) compared to average TCO ₂ (32.1.0–34.9 mmol/l) horses (n = 75). In horses with the lowest TCO ₂ (n = 11) the greatest contributor was elevated [A _tot ] (21.0 ± 0.7 mEq/l) and unmeasured (acetate, citrate, proprionate, butyrate) weak acids (7.0 ± 0.2 mEq/l) while [SID] (49.6 ± 0.8 mEq/l) and PCO ₂ (47.8 ± 1.0 mmHg) were similar to average TCO ₂ horses. Thirty‐two horses had a TCO ₂ ranging from 35.0–36.9 mmol/l). Conclusions: There is a wide range of acid‐base state and factors contributing to acid‐base state amongst Standardbred race horses in Ontario. Dietary, environmental and handling practices and health concerns, that elevate plasma [SID], lower [A _tot ] and lower the concentration of unmeasured weak acids are the primary contributors to alkalosis and elevated TCO ₂ .

This study aimed to determine whether camelina oil is safe for use in canine diets, using canola oil and flax oil as controls, as they are similar and generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for canine diets. A total of thirty privately-owned adult dogs of various breeds (17 females; 13 males), with an average age of 7.2 ± 3.1 years (mean ± SD) and a body weight (BW) of 27.4 ± 14.0 kg were used. After a 4-week wash-in period using sunflower oil and kibble, the dogs were blocked by breed, age, and size and were randomly allocated to one of three treatment oils (camelina (CAM), flax (FLX), or canola (OLA)) at a level of 8.2 g oil/100 g total dietary intake. Body condition score (BCS), BW, food intake (FI), and hematological and select biochemical parameters were measured at various timepoints over a 16-week feeding period. All of the data were analyzed with ANOVA using the PROC GLIMMIX of SAS. No biologically significant differences were seen between the treatment groups in terms of BW, BCS, FI, and hematological and biochemical results. Statistically significant differences noted among some serum biochemical results were considered small and were due to normal biological variation. These results support the conclusion that camelina oil is safe for use in canine nutrition.

Background: Turmeric is commonly used as a dietary treatment for inflammation, but few studies have evaluated the direct effect of turmeric on cartilage. The purpose of this study was to characterize cartilage explants’ inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide in the presence of a simulated biological extract of turmeric.Methods: Turmeric was incubated in simulated gastric and intestinal fluid, followed by inclusion of liver microsomes and NADPH. The resulting extract (TUR_sim) was used to condition cartilage explants in the presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide. Explants were cultured for 96 h (h); the first 24 h in basal tissue culture media and the remaining 72 h in basal tissue culture media containing TUR_sim(0, 3, 9 or 15 μg/mL). Lipopolysaccharide (0 or 5 μg/mL) was added for the final 48 H. mediasamples were collected immediately prior to lipopolysaccharide exposure (0 h) and then at 24 and 48 h after, and analyzed for prostaglandin E₂(PGE₂), glycosaminoglycan (GAG), and nitric oxide (NO). Explants were stained with calcein-AM for an estimate of live cells. Data were analyzed using a 2-way repeated measures (GAG, PGE₂, NO) or 1-way ANOVA without repeated measures (viability). Significance accepted atp < 0.05.Results: TUR_simsignificantly reduced PGE_2,NO and GAG, and calcein fluorescence was reduced. Conclusions: These data contribute to the growing body of evidence for the utility of turmeric as an intervention for cartilage inflammation.