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For centuries humans have been fascinated by the natural beauty of horses in motion and their different gaits. Gait classification (GC) is commonly performed through visual assessment and reliable, automated methods for real-time objective GC in horses are warranted. In this study, we used a full body network of wireless, high sampling-rate sensors combined with machine learning to fully automatically classify gait. Using data from 120 horses of four different domestic breeds, equipped with seven motion sensors, we included 7576 strides from eight different gaits. GC was trained using several machine-learning approaches, both from feature-extracted data and from raw sensor data. Our best GC model achieved 97% accuracy. Our technique facilitated accurate, GC that enables in-depth biomechanical studies and allows for highly accurate phenotyping of gait for genetic research and breeding. Our approach lends itself for potential use in other quadrupedal species without the need for developing gait/animal specific algorithms.

Neonatal foals respond poorly to conventional vaccines. These vaccines typically target T-helper (Th) cell dependent B-cell activation. However, Th2-cell immunity is impaired in foals during the first three months of life. In contrast, neonatal basophils are potent interleukin-4 (IL-4) producers. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel vaccine triggering the natural capacity of neonatal basophils to secrete IL-4 and to evaluate if vaccination resulted in B-cell activation and antibody production against EHV-1 glycoprotein C (gC). Neonatal vaccination was performed by oral biotinylated IgE (IgE-bio) treatment at birth followed by intramuscular injection of a single dose of streptavidin-conjugated gC/IL-4 fusion protein (Sav-gC/IL-4) for crosslinking of receptor-bound IgE-bio (group 1). Neonates in group 2 received the intramuscular Sav-gC/IL-4 vaccine only. Group 3 remained non-vaccinated at birth. After vaccination, gC antibody production was not detectable. The ability of the vaccine to induce protection was evaluated by an EHV-1 challenge infection after weaning at 7 months of age. Groups 1 and 2 responded to EHV-1 infection with an earlier onset and overall significantly increased anti-gC serum antibody responses compared to control group 3. In addition, group 1 weanlings had a decreased initial fever peak after infection indicating partial protection from EHV-1 infection. This suggested that the neonatal vaccination induced a memory B-cell response at birth that was recalled at weanling age after EHV-1 challenge. In conclusion, early stimulation of neonatal immunity via the innate arm of the immune system can induce partial protection and increased antibody responses against EHV-1., Competing Interests: BW and GP submitted a patent application entitled ‘Stimulation of Neonatal Immunity’. The other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The competing interest statement does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Background: Oral lesions related to the use of the bit and bridle are reported to be common findings in horses worldwide and represent an important animal welfare issue. In order to provide an overview of bit-related lesions in Icelandic competition horses, a field examination of the rostral part of the oral cavity was performed in 424 competition horses coming to the two major national horse events in Iceland in 2012. Records from repeated examination of 77 horses prior to the finals were used to assess potential risk factors., Results: Mild lesions were recorded in 152 horses (36%) prior to the preliminary rounds. They were most often located in the commissures of the lips and the adjacent buccal mucosa (n=111). Severe lesions were found in 32 (8%) horses. For 77 horses examined prior to the finals, the frequency of findings in the area of the mandibular interdental space (bars of the mandible) had increased from 8% to 31% (P<0.0001). These findings were most often (16/24) regarded as severe. The presence of lesions on the bars was strongly associated to the use of curb bits with a port (OR=75, P=0.009)., Conclusions: Bit-related lesions were found to be a general problem in Icelandic competition horses. The type of bits used influenced both the location and the severity of the lesions. The use of curb bits with a port was found to be a decisive risk factor for lesions on the bars of the mandible, most of which were regarded as severe. The results also raised questions about the head and neck carriage demanded for the competition horses.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-at-onset of bone spavin (BS) in horses was defined as a double-censored survival variable. A small material of binary responses to a radiographic examination of the distal tarsus in 439 Icelandic horses sired by 17 stallions was analysed. In order to test different models larger simulated data were generated according to an exponential proportional hazard model and subject to censoring. The resulting survivor functions were similar. The bias in survivor functions caused by double censoring in the material was reduced by use of the self-consistency (S-C) algorithm. Using a binary threshold model and the Weibull regression model, an analysis of age-at-onset of spavin resulted in severe underestimation of sire variance components in the simulated data. Survival analysis with model led to less biased estimates. Application of this method on the real data resulted in an effective heritability estimate of h2=0.33, which can be compared with an estimate of h2=0.1 based on an analysis of radiographic signs (RS) using the binary threshold model. These results indicate that the age-at-onset of RS, which reflect the predisposition of BS, is a trait with medium-high heritability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]