Obesity is a state of abnormal or excessive fat accumulation. Obesity in horses increases the risk of developing a variety of health issues such as: insulin dysregulation (ID), reduced athleticism, colic, abnormal reproductive performance, laminitis, endotoxaemia, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipaemia, impaired thermoregulation, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, and osteochondrosis. Obesity is a significant health and welfare issue in horses that may go unreported or unnoticed due to a caregiver’s (owner) neglect. Weight gain occurs when a horse’s energy consumption exceeds his or her physical energy needs. Obesity is best assessed via necropsy or upon in vivo assessment with deuterium oxide administration, although this is not feasible in a clinical environment. In practice, obesity is assessed by: body condition scoring, cresty neck scoring, ultrasono graphic assessment, morphometric measurements, or biochemical indicators in the blood. Dietary and exercise programs are the primary means of controlling equine obesity. Pharmacologic assistance (levothyroxine sodium and metformin hydrochloride), being a secondary approach, may be effective in some cases. Management involves a long-term plan that requires the horse’s caregiver’s effort and discipline, as well as the support and supervision of their veterinarian. This paper outlines the assessment, health consequences, and management of equine obesity.

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Ruminant welfare post-surgery could be improved by employing a procedural technique that causes minimal surgical stress. A total of twenty-four (n = 24) Kano Brown goats (KBGs) aged 1–2 years, weighing an average of 15.52 kg, were recruited for the study. Rumen skin clamp fixation (RSCF) and a stay suture rumenotomy (SSR) in lateral recumbency while standing restraint rumenotomy was aided by a locally fabricated mobile small ruminant surgical chute (MSRSC) were performed in groups A, B, and D, respectively, as control group C had no surgery. Six goats were allocated to each group such that each group had 3 males and females that were positive for rumen foreign body impaction (RFBI), except goats in group C that were free of RFBI. Pre- and post-rumenotomy values of vital parameters did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). The group A serum IL-6 concentrations at 72 hours post-rumenotomy (61.21 ± 44.52 ng/L) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those in group D (15.24 ± 3.09 ng/L) among the female KBGs. The concentrations of IL-6 at week 1 post-rumenotomy in group A were significantly higher (65.05 ± 31.11 ng/L) than in groups B (15.86 ± 0.29), D (18.75 ± 5.81) and C (14.86 ± 0.79 ng/L). The lack of significant changes in the mean values of rectal temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate implies that the standing rumenotomy utilizing the MSRSC did not vary in surgical stress severity from the conventional approaches; RSCF and SSR, done in lateral recumbency. The IL-6 in group D was lower when compared to the values in group A females at 72 hours and at week 1 for the male KBGs, suggesting profound surgical stress among females and males in groups A and B over group D. Standing restraints cause less surgical stress than lateral recumbency restraints, making it a better procedural approach for rumenotomy in goats.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between ultrasonographic kidney volume and modified body mass index through evaluating the kidney architectural appearance, variations between right and left kidney dimensions and correlation between ultrasonographic kidney volumes and modified body mass index in clinically healthy Nigerian indigenous dogs. The ultrasonography was performed to obtain the kidney dimensions in centimeter for the length (bipolar length), width and height of the kidney for both right and left kidneys to compute for the kidney volume in centimeter cube using the formula for the volume of an ellipsoid (L X W X H X 0.523), while the modified body mass index for dogs was obtained by taking the body weight in kilogram of each dog against the squared length of the trunk. The serum creatinine and urea parameters are within normal limits in dogs used for this study. This research revealed normal kidney architecture with hyperechoic renal capsules, hypoechoic renal cortex, anechoic medullary pyramids and hyperechoic renal pelvis. Left kidneys are significantly larger than the right kidneys and there was a weak positive correlation between right (r 2 = 0.21) and left (r 2 = 0.18) kidney volumes with modified body mass index in clinically healthy in Nigerian indigenous dogs. In conclusion, the left kidney appeared larger than the right kidney and there is a positive but weak relationship between ultrasonographic kidney volume and modified body mass index in healthy Nigerian indigenous dogs.

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