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Horses (Equus caballus) are animals of the equidae family which also includes donkeys (Equus asinus), mules, and zebra (Equus zebra). There are an estimated 110 million equines in the developing world (Ali and Yagoob 2015) and about 59 million horses in the world (FAO 2011). In Nigeria, the horse population is estimated to be 200,000 (FAO 2021). Indigenous horses have been used by institutional and private owners in Nigeria for several purposes such as for pleasure riding, polo games, ceremonies, crowd control, entertainment and research and very common in Northern and North Central Nigeria (Useh et al 2005;Bukar et al 2007;Ehizibolo et al 2011). Despite the important role of horses in day to day activities, there is a dearth of information on parasitic infection of horses in Jos North (Ehizibolo et al 2012;Mayaki 2017).Equines are animals of strength and might but the effects of GIPs can greatly limit their activities. Apparently healthy horses can harbour over half a million helminth parasites which may include trematodes, cestodes and nematodes (Martins et al 2009). These parasites are a major threat to the health and well-being of horses. The effects of these parasites are greatly evident in young and malnourished horses (Belay et al 2016). Class Nematoda is known to contains the most pathogenic helminths of livestock and companion animals, among the three classes of helminths (Nematoda, cestoda and trematoda) and hence affects livestock production worldwide (Oshadu et al 2021). Infected horse may show signs of weakness, emaciation, restlessness, unthriftiness, diarrhoea, anaemia, dull-rough hair coat, potbelly, decreased stamina or lethargy, coughing, colic, tail rubbing and sometimes intestinal obstruction or perforation (Stoltenow and Purdy 2003; Hiney and Giedt 2017). The socioeconomic impact of helminth infections is determined by a combination of factors majorly due to susceptibility of the Abstract There are several socio-economic constraints facing horses in Jos, Nigeria among which gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs) play important role in negatively impacting the health, productivity and well-being of horses and these greatly limits the efficiency and work potential of affected horses. The objectives of this study are to estimate the impact of GIP infection in Horses around Jos metropolis and to advise stakeholders appropriately. Faecal samples were collected from 108 horses comprising of 25 male horses and 83 female horses over a period of six months from February to July 2021 covering three months in the dry season and three months in the rainy season. The samples were analyzed for GIPs using standard flotation, sedimentation and McMaster faecal egg counting techniques. The overall prevalence of GIPs in this study was 82.41% out of which 51.85% were positive for single infection and 30.56% were positive for mixed infection. The GIPs found in this study were Strongylus spp., Strongyloides westeri, Trichonema spp., Eimeria leukarti, Anoplocephala spp., Fasciola gigantica, Parascaris equorum, Gastrodis...

Equine influenza (EI) is a fast-spreading respiratory disease of equids caused by equine influenza A virus (EIV), often resulting in high morbidity and a huge economic impact on the equine industry globally. In this cross-sectional study to determine the seroprevalence of EI and its associated risk factors, sera from 830 horses bled on a single occasion in Northwest Nigeria between October 2019 and January 2020 were screened for antibodies to A/equine/Richmond/1/2007 (H3N8) using the single radial haemolysis (SRH) assay. Antibodies were detected in 71.3% (592/830, 95% CI: 68–74%) of horses (SRH area ≥ 0.5 mm2). Although there were statistically significant univariable associations between seropositivity and age, sex, breed, purpose and coat colour, only age remained significant when included with each of the other variables in bivariable analyses. There was a clear trend for increasing odds of seropositivity with increasing age: OR 1.6, 95% CI: 1.05–2.40 (p = 0.03) for 5–14-year-olds and OR 8.13, 95% CI: 2.75–24.1 (p < 0.001) for ≥15-year-olds compared to horses <5 years old. The mean SRH value was 78.2 mm2 (median = 88 mm2, interquartile range = 0–121 mm2) with only 9% of the horses having an SRH value > 150 mm2, considered sufficient to protect against clinical disease and virus shedding. Comparative screening of a subset of the horses (n = 118) with a 2019 H3N8 virus (A/equine/Worcestershire/2019) revealed a significantly greater seropositivity (p = 0.0001) than A/equine/Richmond/1/2007 consistent with exposure of the population during a widespread outbreak of EI in the region in 2019. In conclusion, there was an insufficient level of protection against EI in the region and introduction of a vaccination programme with vaccines containing recently circulating virus is recommended to mitigate against further outbreaks of EI in Nigeria.