Welfare Assessment and Husbandry Practices of Working Horses in Fiji.

Keywords: Fiji; working horse; welfare, intervention; husbandry; healthcare.

The efficacy of Ivermectin against strongyles in yearlings on Thoroughbred breeding farms in New Zealand.

Against a global background of increasing anthelmintic resistance in parasites and a domestic over-reliance on anthelmintics to control gastrointestinal parasites, little is currently known about the resistance status of equine parasites in New Zealand. The objective of the study was to investigate the efficacy of ivermectin in yearling Thoroughbreds. Data were collected from six stud farms from November 2014 to January 2015. Yearlings were selected based on not being treated with anthelmintics for a minimum of six weeks previously and on having a preliminary screening strongyle faecal egg count (FEC) of 25 eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces or greater. On Day 0, faeces were collected and yearlings were treated with ivermectin (a minimum of 200µg/kg). On Days 7, 14 and 21 faeces were again collected from the yearlings, with follow-up samples take on either Day 28, 35 or 42 depending on the stud farm. In total, six stud farms and 117 yearlings (median 23 yearlings; range 5 to 27 yearlings per stud) were eligible for the study. The mean FEC on Day 0 was 609.6 EPG (range 100 to 2000). The majority of horses (113/117) had zero egg counts 7-days after treatment. One and five horses had positive FEC 14 and 21days' post-treatment, respectively. The efficacy of ivermectin ranged from 99.8% to 100% on Day 7 to between 98.5% and 100% on Day 21. On one stud, the efficacy on day 14 was 94.4%. There was reduced efficacy (<90%) on three studs 28 to 42days' post-treatment suggesting shortened egg reappearance period (ERP). On one stud farm (n=7), egg counts remained zero up to 42days' post-treatment. The FECRT observed could be interpreted as consistent with the continued efficacy of ivermectin in the egg-laying adult stages. However, shortened ERP after ivermectin treatment is a concern and current practices for parasite control in horses in New Zealand are arguably not sustainable.

Questionnaire study on parasite control practices on Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding farms in New Zealand.

Against a global background of increasing anthelmintic resistance in parasites, little is known about the current parasite control strategies adopted within the equine industry in New Zealand. The aim of the study was to describe and compare the current parasite management and control practices used on Thoroughbred and Standardbred stud farms in New Zealand. An online questionnaire was used to collect data on the demographics of respondents, parasite control methods, grazing management, and use of faecal egg counts. Questions regarding parasite control strategy, how often horses were dewormed, number of treatments per year and stocking density were stratified by horse type: young stock (foals/weanlings/yearlings), wet mares (nursing a foal) or dry mares, and industry (Thoroughbred and Standardbred). Questions on grazing management were stratified by horse type and the breeding and non-breeding season. In total, 136 respondents completed the survey, of which most (66%; 90/136) were involved in the Thoroughbred breeding industry. Most (98%; 134/136) respondents used anthelmintic products to treat the horses on their property, and regardless of industry type most respondents were using interval drenching for young stock (86/129; 53%), dry mares (51/124; 41%) or wet mares (50/126; 40%). Of those respondents treating on regular interval, 55% (68/123), 42% (50/119) and 38% (46/122) were treating young stock, wet mares and dry mares every 6-8 weeks. The median number of treatments per year for young stock, dry mares and wet mares was 6 (IQR 4-8), 4 (IQR 3-6) and 4 (IQR 3-6), respectively; there was no difference in frequency of treatments by industry type. In the last 12 months respondents used a median of 2 (IQR 2-4) and 3 (IQR 2-4) different anthelmintic products to treat horses on Thoroughbred and Standardbred breeding farms, respectively. Of the respondents reporting the anthelmintic products used in the last 12 months, 95% used at least one product containing macrocyclic lactones. Overall, faecal egg counts were done by 20% (25/124) of respondents and over half of respondents in both industries were consulting their veterinarian for advice on worming products. This study identified a high reliance on anthelmintic products and limited on-farm control practices that would delay the development of anthelmintic resistance in equine parasites. Further research is now required to identify the level of resistance in the New Zealand equine parasite population.

Effect of a negative ion holographic bracelet on maximal aerobic performance.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of performance jewelry embedded with both a hologram and negative ions on maximal oxygen uptake (V[Combining Dot Above]O2max), V[Combining Dot Above]O2 at ventilatory threshold (V[Combining Dot Above]O2VT), or heart rate at ventilatory threshold (HRVT) measured through metabolic gas exchange. Eight males and 10 females (age = 26.5 ± 7.18 years) volunteered to participate in this study. Silicone bracelets with both hologram technology and negative ions were used as the "programmed" device. An identical silicone bracelet that did not contain the negative ion or hologram technology was used as the "nonprogrammed" device. A third condition in which the participants did not wear a band served as a control trial. The type of band worn during testing sessions was blinded from the participants and researchers. The order of testing was randomized. Subjects underwent 3 maximal graded exercise tests separated by 1 week. A repeated measure analysis of variance was used to test for mean differences across the 3 trials. The mean V[Combining Dot Above]O2max when wearing the programmed band (52.32 ± 4.79 ml·kg·min), when wearing the nonprogrammed band (51.47 ± 5.89), and without a band (53.32 ± 7.63 ml·kg·min) were found to be of no significant difference (p = 0.494). Assessment of the subjects HRVT under the 3 conditions (programmed, nonprogrammed, and no band) yielded no significant difference (p = 0.633). The HRVT of the above-mentioned 3 conditions were 136.06 ± 16.33, 135.00 ± 19.48, and 130.41 ± 24.39, respectively. The V[Combining Dot Above]O2VT for the programmed band (30.04 ± 6.91 ml·kg·min), nonprogrammed (30.77 ± 8.125 ml·kg·min), and no band (27.27 ± 8.66 ml·kg·min) were not significantly different (p = 0.221). The results of this study provide data that holographic and negative ion technology wristbands may have no effect on V[Combining Dot Above]O2max, V[Combining Dot Above]O2 at ventilatory threshold, or HRVT, and thus may have no positive effect on exercise endurance.