This study analyzed the effect of time of trot on hematology and blood chemistry values of the Jeju Pony crossbreed horses that are commonly used for riding (14.1±1.4 years old, Gelding). A total of 28 parameters including vital signs as well as stress hormones such as cortisol and lactic acid levels were examined as the time of the trot exercise progressed. Vital signs such as heart rate (38.0→81.0 times/min) and respiratory rate (11.7→35.7 times/min) increased significantly within 30 minutes of exercise. However, difference in the body temperature was not observed before and after exercise. The hematology including white blood cell count (8.03→9.52×103 cells/μL), red blood cell count (5.94×103→7.23–7.32×103 cells/μL), hemoglobin levels (11.82→14.65–14.78 g/dL), and hematocrit levels (25.04→30.27%) significantly increased 30 minutes after the start of the exercise (p<0.05). The blood chemistry value of albumin (3.25→3.47 g/dL) (p<0.05) only showed a significant increase after the exercise. However, the other blood chemistry levels such as, Na+, K+, Ca2+, total CO2, creatine kinase, glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, aspartate transaminase, total bilirubin, gamma–glutamyl transpeptidase, and total plasma protein did not change. Also, cortisol and lactic acid levels did not show significant difference. The middle-aged Jeju pony crossbreed horses were not stressed by the 30-minute exercise; therefore, it can be concluded that there is no problem regarding the safety of both the rider and the animal.

This study was to investigate the effect of the horse grazing intensity on the vegetation of the S. quelpaertensis, and the physiological changes of the horse. This experiment was conducted at the community of the S. quelpaertensis (altitude of 550m) with the grazing intensity of 1.0AU(500kg), 1.5AU(750kg) and 2.0AU(1,000kg) at 30m × 30m for one week, and then the growth characteristics of the S. quelpaertensis, the changes of the vegetation, the damages on trees and the changes in the physiological characteristics of the horses was investigated and compared before and after the horse grazing. As the results, the 2.0AU grazing land showed that the culm number had the inverse correlation (r=-0.902, P〈0.01) to the other lands and the species diversity index of lower-level vegetation showed the correlation (r=0.773, P〈0.01) as increasing the grazing intensity.

The conformational characteristics and performance of the horse breed should be evaluated to establish the breeding goals for a riding horse breed. Halla horses are cross-bred from Thoroughbred horses and Jeju ponies. Halla horses have been bred for speed as racing horses in Jeju Island in South Korea. However, some horses have also been used for riding purposes. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of Halla horses for riding purposes, which can be used as a guideline to define the breeding goals of Halla horses. Therefore, we evaluated the athletic performance of Halla horses by analyzing 3-year records of dressage (from S-3 Class to F Class) and show-jumping competitions (from S-2 Class to G Class) held in South Korea. We also examined the conformational characteristics of 15 Halla horses and compared them with those of 15 Thoroughbred and 15 Warmblood horses. In the results of dressage competitions over 3 years, Halla horses were awarded in D Class dressage only. In contrast, in the show-jumping competition, Halla horses were awarded in the D, E, F, and G classes. Overall, most body parts measured were smaller than those of Thoroughbred and Warmblood horses. When the rate of body parts per the average height of each breed was compared, Halla horses showed a higher rate of head length, head perimeter, and lumbar back length and croup length. In contrast, Halla horses had a shorter neck length. Based on the results of horse competition and conformation analysis, it is concluded that Halla horses are suitable for youth show-jumping competitions and have the potential to be representative riding horses in South Korea.

This study was conducted to analyze the diversity census of fecal microbiome in horses using meta-analysis of equine 16S rRNA gene sequences that are available in the Ribosomal Database Project (RDP; Release 11, Update 5). The search terms used were “horse feces (or faeces)” and “equine feces (or faeces)”. A total of 842 sequences of equine feces origin were retrieved from the RDP database, where 744 sequences were assigned to 10 phyla placed within Domain Bacteria. Firmicutes (n = 391) and Bacteroidetes (n = 203) were the first and the second dominant phyla, respectively, followed by Verrucomicrobia (n = 58), Proteobacteria (n = 30) and Fibrobacteres (n = 24). Clostridia (n = 319) was the first dominant class placed within Bacteroidetes while Bacteroidia (n = 174) was the second dominant class placed within Bacteroidetes. The remaining 98 sequences were assigned to phylum Euryarchaeota placed within Domain Archaea, where 74 sequences were assigned to class Methanomicrobia. The current results will improve understanding of the diversity of fecal microbiome in horses and may be used to further analyze equine fecal microbiome in future studies.

본 실험은 제주산마의 개별 사양과 군집 사양이 생산성, 생리적 특성 그리고 말고기 등심근 부위의 특성에 미치는 영향에 대하여 알아보았다. 시험축은 44개월 이상의 제주산마 16두를 공시하였으며, 처리구는 개별 사양 8두, 군집 사양 8두로 나누어 실험을 진행하였다. 농후사료는 체중의 2.5%를 1일 4회에 나누어 급여하였으며 조사료와 물은 무제한 급여하였다. 총 농후사료 섭취량은 개별 사양은 1,358.49kg 군집 사양은 1,309.34kg이었다. 농후사료 일일 평균 섭취량은 개별 사양, 군집 사양에서 각각 16.56kg, 15.96kg으로 유의적인 차이는 없었다(p>0.05). 총 증체량은 개별 사양 시 66.00kg이었고 군집 사양 시 53.37kg이었으며, 일일 증체량은 개별 사양과 군집 사양에서 각각 0.79kg 0.64kg이었다. 개별 사양이 군집 사양보다 총 증체량과 일일 증체량에서 높은 수치를 나타냈지만 유의적인 차이는 나타나지 않았다(p>0.05). 말의 생리적 이상을 확인할 수 있는 지표인 직장온도는 개별 사양이 군집 사양보다 높은 수치를 나타냈지만 처리구간 유의적인 차이도 나타나지 않았다(p>0.05). 장내 pH는 개별 사양과 군집 사양 처리구 모두에서 정상 범위보다 낮은 경향을 나타냈으며 12주차에는 군집 사양에서 개별 사양보다 유의적으로 낮은 수치를 나타냈지만(p<0.05), 산통 증상은 나타나지 않았다. 등심근 내 일반 성분에서 단백질과 조회분은 처리구별로 차이가 나타나지 않았으나(p>0.05) 지방 함량은 개별 사양에서 7.83%, 군집 사양에서 5.65%를 나타내어 개별 사양 시 등심근 내 지방 함량이 유의적으로 높게 나타났다(p<0.05). 이를 통해 개별 사양이 군집 사양보다 비육 효과가 우수함을 확인할 수 있었다. 그 외 등심근의 관능 특성과 육색 특성은 처리에 따른 차이를 보이지 않았다. 말의 개별 사양 시 산통 지표로 알려진 장내 pH 수치가 군집 사양보다 정상 수치에 가깝고 등심근 내 지방 함량도 개별 사양이 우수하게 나타나 제주산마 비육시 개별 사양 형태로 농후사료 2.5%의 급여하는 것이 제주산마의 비육 방법으로 활용될 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

본 연구는 농후사료의 급여 횟수에 따른 제주산마의 체중변화 및 산통에 미치는 효과를 구명하기 위하여 수행되었다. 공시축으로 36개월 내외의 제주산마를 공시하였으며, 농후사료를 체중의 2.5%로 2회, 3회, 4회로 급여한 후 체중 변화 및 생리적 변화와 혈액 특성을 조사하였다. 총 증체량은 농후사료 일일 2회 급여구에서 55.80kg, 3회 급여구에서 54.40kg, 4회 급여구에서 63.00kg을 나타내 유의적인 차이는 없었다(p>0.05). 일당 증체량은 농후사료 일일 2회, 3회, 4회 급여구에서 각각 0.69kg, 0.67kg, 0.78kg을 나타내어 일일 2, 3회 급여구보다 4회 급여구에서 일일 증체량이 높은 경향을 나타냈으나 유의적인 차이는 없었다(p>0.05). 모든 처리구에서 직장온도는 정상 범위보다 높은 경향을 보였고, 분 pH는 정상 범 위보다 낮았으나 12주차에 모든 처리구에서 6.0보다 높아지는 경향을 보였다. 모든 처리구에서 높은 직장 온도와 낮은 분 pH를 보였지만 산통 증상은 나타나지 않았는데 이는 품종에 따른 차이에 의한 것으로 사료된다. 산통 지표로 알려진 피브리노겐과 질병 발생의 지표로 알려진 백혈구는 정상 범위 내에 있었고 시험 기간 동안 유의적인 차이를 나타내지 않았다(p>0.05). 결론적으로 제주산마에게 일반적인 농후사료 급여량보다 높은 양인 체중의 2.5%의 농후사료를 급여할 경우, 여러 번에 나누어 주는 것이 산통 발생 방지 및 소화에 도움이 될 것으로 가정했으나 급여 횟수에 따른 증체량, 혈액, 생리적 특성의 차이는 나타나지는 않았다. 결론적으로 제주산마에게 체중의 2.5% 농후사료를 12주간 2회, 3회, 4회 급여하는 것에 따른 생산성 및 산통 발생에 차이가 없어 노동력의 투입을 감안했을 때 2회로 나누어 주는 것이 유리할 것으로 사료된다.

As a transcription factor, the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) induces the expression of specific genes by interacting with their promoters. C/EBP can trigger to express other genes, because it can open chromatin structure after binding to DNA, then lead to another transcription factors. In this study, we investigated the features and post-exercise expression patterns of two genes in the C/EBP family, C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ. The basic region leucine zipper motif (bZIP) is a crucial region of C/EBP, and analysis of synonymous and non-synonymous substitution ratios revealed that bZIP regions were well conserved in mammalian species. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR data showed that C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ expression increased significantly in the muscle after exercise, but did not do so in the blood. We therefore propose that exercise-induced increased expression of C/EBPβ and C/EBPδ may stimulate gene expression in physiological pathways in muscle cells.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of pentoxifylline levels on sperm motility, survival rate, sperm membrane integrity of frozen semen and fresh-extended equine semen in Jeju cross-bred horses. As a result of sperm characteristic comparison depending on pentoxifylline levles at 30 minutes post-thaw, the progressive motilities were 53.25±2.87 (4mM pentoxifylline) and 50.28±2.14 (8mM pentoxifylline) and significantly higher compared to the control group(40.09±5.15) and other treatment group (16mM pentoxifylline, 41.27± 2.82). The progressive fast motility were 22.44±1.62 (4mM pentoxifylline,) and 22.74±3.07 (8mM pentoxifylline) and significantly higher compared to the control group (13.47±1.48) and other treatment group (16mM pentoxifylline, 14.66±3.68) (p<0.05). As a result of sperm characteristic comparison depending on pentoxifylline levles at 30 minutes post-thaw were 68.96±1.64 (4mM pentoxifylline) and 67.90±6.72 (8mM pentoxifylline) and significantly higher compared to the control group (53.48±4.84) and other treatment group (16mM pentoxifylline, 58.14±2.65) (p<0.05). In conclusion, these results suggest that treatment groups with 4mM and 8mM pentoxifylline were higher compare to equine seperm mobility and the control group and treatment groups with more than 16mM pentoxifylline has a negative effect on sperm characteristics. After thawing, the total motility in post-thawed equine sperm has increased by 10 percent for 1 hour. these results suggest that pentoxifylline contributes to the improvement of the equine sperm motility and characteristics in post-thawed semen.

The aim of the study was to set up assessment indicators for early elimination of horses that are not trainable or low efficient for training by comparing difference of behavioral response and heart rate on stimulation of desensitization training in horses. The animals used in this study were 8 untrained cross-bred horses (Thoroughbred and Jeju-horse) in Jeju island. Changes of heart rates and behavioral response of each horses were compared before and after desensitization training using a plastic bag on its tip. The result showed that the horses with their severe behavioral response were also high in heart rate during early stage of desensitization training, and the increased heart rates were recovered back to the base level according to the process of the training. The horses that quickly recovered in heart rate also showed same tendency in behavioral response. The horses that their recovery in heart rate and behavioral response in early stage of the desensitization training were late, showed insufficient results of the additional desensitization training. We conclude that assessment of heart rate and behavioral response in the early stage of desensitization training could be used as indicators to predict the effectiveness of desensitization or other kinds of training in horses.

This study was conducted to investigate the ovarian cycle changes of the mare according to the season. Twenty four Jeju crossbred horses(Thoroughbred x Jeju horse) raised in Subtropical Livestock Research Institute, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA were used to identify follicles and corpus luteum with ultrasonography once a week(May 2016~June 2017). Blood samples of experimental horses were collected twice a week for analysis of P4 hormone levels. The mares were considered to have resumed ovarian cyclicity on the day of ovulation if they followed by regular ovarian cycles. Only 13 cases(61.9%) of the total 21cases showed normal ovarian cycle, and 8 cases (38.1%) showed delayed ovarian cycle. Three cases(16.7%) in October, 5 cases(27.8%) in November and 5 cases(27.8%) in December(27.8%) ceased the heat and the remaining 5 cases(27.8%) showed that the estrus was maintained in winter. Horses that stopped estrus ceased the heat until March of next year, and 27.8% were continued the heat during non-breeding season. Eleven cases(61.1%) of 18 cases in April and 2 cases(11.1%) of 18 cases in May returned the estrus.

Embryo transfer (ET) could be a relevant tool for genetic improvement programs in horses similar to those already underway in other species and produce multiple foals from the same mare in one breeding season. However, there have been no reports describing equine embryo transfer performed in Korea. In the present study, we performed an equine embryo collection and transfer procedure for the first time. We examined the embryo collection and pregnancy, size of embryo during the incubation period after collection, and progesterone (P4) and estradiol-17ß (E2) concentrations in mare’s serum at embryo collection and transfer. A total of 16 donors responded to estrus synchronization; estrus was induced in 12 donors and 4 recipients, and artificial insemination was successful in 10 donors and six blastocysts were collected from donors. Of these blastocysts, we monitored the size of blastocysts for 3 day during incubation and transferred 2 blastocysts to a recipient, with 1 successful pregnancy and foal achieved. The dimensions of equine embryo at day 7 to day 9 were 409 μm, 814 μm and 1,200 μm. The serum P4 and E2 concentrations were 7.91±0.37 ng/μL and 45.45±12.65 ng/μL in the donor mare, and 16.06±3.27 ng/μL and 49.13±10.09 ng/μL in the recipient mare.

본 연구는 농후사료의 급여수준을 달리하여 제주산마 에게 급여하는 경우에 체중 변화, 장내 미생물 조성 및 혈액성상의 변화에 미치는 효과를 구명하기 위하여 수행 되었다. 공시축으로 24-36개월의 제주산마(제주마×더러브 렛) 14두를 공시하였으며, 농후사료의 급여수준을 체중의 1.5%(5두), 2%(4두)와 2.5%(5두)로 급여하여 봄과 겨울 증 체율 및 혈액 특성과 생리적 변화를 조사하였다. 봄에 총 증체량은 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% 급여한 처리구에서 12.6kg, 21.5kg, 29.0kg, 겨울에 총 증체량은 21.6kg, 28.0kg, 42.6kg을 나타냈고, 일당 증체량은 봄에는 0.23kg, 0.39kg, 0.54kg, 겨울에는 0.40kg, 0.52kg, 0.79kg을 나타내어 체중의 2.5%를 섭취한 구에서 높은 경향을 나타내었다. 내독 소는 농후사료 과다 섭취에 의해 그람음성균의 세포벽에 서 방출되는 물질로 봄에 시행한 시험에서 3주차 때 농 후사료를 체중의 2%와 2.5%를 급여한 처리구에서 유의 적으로 낮은 결과를 나타내었으나(p<0.05) 이후에는 점차 모든 처리구에서 수치가 비슷해져 적응하는 경향을 보여 모든 처리구가 농후사료 급여에 적응하는 경향을 보였다. 봄에 실시한 실험에서 8주차에 분 pH는 농후사료를 체 중의 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% 급여한 처리구에서 각각 6.2, 5.8, 5.7로 나타나 농후사료를 체중의 2%와 2.5%를 급여한 처 리구에서 유의적으로 낮은 결과를 나타내었다(p<0.05). 직장온도는 겨울에 실시한 실험에서 8주차에 농후사료를 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%. 급여구에서 각각 37.8℃, 37.9℃, 38.4℃ 를 나타내어 농후사료 2.5% 급여구에서 직장온도가 유의 적으로 높은 수치를 나타내었다(p<0.05). 분내 미생물에 서는 셀룰로오스와 탄수화물(구조 탄수화물) 분해에 관여 하는 미생물로 알려진 Fibrobacter가 체중의 1.5% 급여했 을 경우 총 미생물군에서 2.49%를 차지하였고, 2%와 2.5% 급여구에서는 각각 1.42%와 1.09%를 차지하여 농후 사료 급여량이 증가할수록 유의적으로 감소하는 경향을 보였다. 결론적으로 농후사료 2.5%의 급여가 비육마 사육 방법으로 활용할 수 있을 것으로 사료된다.

Embryo transfer (ET) has been applied to many species, which also useful tools for genetic improvement in horses. ET enables to produce a multiple foals from one donor mare in the same breeding season. However, there have been no reports describing equine embryo transfer performed in Korea. In the present study, we performed an equine embryo collection and transfer procedure for the first time. We examined the embryo collection and pregnancy, size of embryo during the incubation period after collection, and progesterone (P4) and estradiol-17ß (E2) concentrations in mare’s serum at embryo collection and transfer. A total of 16 donors responded to estrus synchronization; estrus was induced in 12 donors and 4 recipients, and artificial insemination was successful in 10 donors and six blastocysts were collected from donors. Of these blastocysts, we monitored the size of blastocysts for 3 day during incubation and transferred 2 blastocysts to a recipient, with 1 successful pregnancy and foal achieved. The dimensions of equine embryo at day 7 to day 9 were 409 μm, 814 μm and 1,200 μm. The serum P4 and E2 concentrations were 7.91±0.37 ng/μL and 45.45±12.65 ng/μL in the donor mare, and 16.06±3.27 ng/μL and 49.13±10.09 ng/μL in the recipient mare.

This study was conducted to analyze the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the equine chromosomes (ECA) 3 for the body conformations of 12 month of age in Jeju crossbred (Jeju horses × Thoroughbred). A total of 199 Jeju crossbred horse samples were obtained from the National Institute of Subtropical Livestock Research Institute for this study. To correctly estimate the body conformations, we measured thirteen elements relevant to the body conformation such as body weight, wither height, body length for all the 199 horses at 12 month of age. Furthermore, all the horses were genotyped using four SNPs including the BIEC2-808466, BIEC2-808543, BIEC2-808967, BIEC2-809370, of which genomic coordinates range approximately from 105.1Mbp to 110 Mbp in the ECA3. For the phenotypic data sets, the average body weight was 193.7 ± 24.5㎏ and the height was 124.5 ± 4.0㎝. As for the genotypic data, the miner allele frequencies of the SNPs were shown to be varied from 0.01 to 0.291. Using the phenotypic and genotypic data sets, analysis of covariance was performed to find any association between those SNP genotypes and body conformations, using year of birth, month of birth, sex, and parity as the covariance components. The result showed that alternative genotypes in the BIEC2-808967 and BIEC2-809370 SNPs were significantly associated with the body length (P<0.05) and the wither height (P<0.05) respectively in the Jeju crossbred horses. Therefore, it is estimated that there are significant associations in the body conformation of 12 month of age of Jeju crossbred for those two SNPs used in this study.

Viral respiratory infections are common in horses, notably equine herpesvirus infection and equine influenza, which primarily initiate secondary bacterial respiratory infections such as strangles caused by Streptococcus equi equi. A decline in the production of stallions has been associated with these respiratory diseases leading to adverse financial implications. This study investigated the antibody responses against respiratory diseases in horses from Jeju Island a year after vaccination. A low level of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) (11.36%) antibodies was detected from stallions, however a high level of EHV-4 (95.84%) antibodies was detected from horses without vaccination against this infection suggesting that EHV-4 is ubiquitous in this horse population. In case of equine influenza, ranch stallions showed low positive rate (12.06%) whereas stallions from Subtropical Livestock Research Institute displayed higher positive rate (81.32%). Antibody responses against equine influenza and strangles revealed positive rates of 26.32% and 55.12%, respectively. These findings may draw attention towards the importance of developing an improved disease prevention and/or immunization program that will effectively control respiratory diseases in horses.

Respiratory diseases among horses cause economic losses in foals and productivity decreases in horses being raised and in adult horses. In South Korea, fundamental studies of horses’ respiratory diseases and those related to disease occurrence are insufficient. Therefore, the aim if the current study was to use diverse hematological indicators, obtained through hematological tests and measurment of blood antibody level in horses suffering form respiratory diseases, to monitor disease occurrence and prognosis evaluation. Investigations of infection states by horses’ bacterial respiratory diseases, susceptible drugs, and resisted drugs according to pathogens showed differences between farms. Among the β-lactam-based antibiotics, cephalosporin-based antibiotics showed some efficacy against Streptococcus spp. To review age-based changes in erythrocytometer hemograms in hematological tests of riding horses, red blood cell (RBC) tended to gradually decrease with increasing age this tendency was statistically significant. In addition, leukocytometer hemograms analyzed by age showed that total white blood cell counts tended to decrease with increasing age. These results of drug susceptibility tests and hematological tests, which have not been presented thus far, will be useful as standardized data in future breeding management and disease tests of Jeju riding horses.