Haematology: Haematological and blood biochemical characteristics of Dutch warmblood foals managed under three different rearing conditions from birth to 5 months of age

Abstract

SUMMARY Reference values for haematological and blood biochemical variables may vary per breed and are influenced by age and, to a certain extent, by rearing conditions. To investigate the influence of age and rearing conditions, these variables were measured in Dutch Warmblood foals from birth to 5 months of age. The foals were divided into three groups with different exercise regimens:14 foals got boxrest with no exercise; 14 foals were kept in comparable boxes, but received daily exercise; and 15 foals were maintained on pasture with free exercise.Blood samples were collected each month and 36 haematological and biochemical variables were measured. The influence of age and rearing conditions was statistically evaluated. Significant age effects were found for all variables with the exception of band-shaped leucocytes, eosinophilic leucocytes, basophilic leucocytes, monocytes, platelets, pCO2, and sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, creatinine and creatine phosphokinase levels. Rearing conditions appeared to influence the haemoglobin, packed cell volume, pH, base excess, bicarbonate, chloride, urea, and alkaline phosphatase values. Most age-related differences can be explained by growth and differentiation-related processes that are specific for young animals. Differences due to the different rearing conditions can partly be explained by the higher metabolism and greater maturation of tissues in foals maintained on pasture with free exercise. Some other differences were minor and were probably of no clinical relevance. The conclusion is that haematological and blood biochemical variables in the Dutch Warmblood foal mainly depend on age, thus warranting the use of specific age-related reference values for foals of this breed.

Serum total proteins and related electrophoretic fractions in growing foals

“…Essentially, it is known that antibodies produced by the foal's own immune system are detectable at 10-14 days of age (Knottenbelt et al, 2004). Moreover, the gradual increase of albumin, mainly produced in the liver, is probably related with the development of this organ (Koterba et al, 1990;Brommer et al, 2001). This confirms that animals' organ functions are in a development phase during the early neonatal period and a wide range of physiological values in different systems compensate for immaturity (Knottenbelt et al, 2004;Piccione et al, 2006Piccione et al, , 2009Zumbo et al, 2010).…”

“…Moreover, significantly higher levels of γ -globulins were found in days 12 and 30 with respect to day 1. According to other authors (Brommer et al, 2001;Axon and Palmer, 2008;Curcio and Nogueira, 2012;Piccione et al, 2013a, b), this finding demonstrated that serum total proteins and their fractions are involved in typical physiological and metabolic adjustments to early postnatal development and growth as adaptive response to various environmental factors after birth, including nutrition. The levels of these parameters are closely related to newborn ingestion of colostrum within the first hours of life (Axon and Palmer, 2008;Curcio and Nogueira, 2012).…”

Plasma Vasopressin Concentrations in Healthy Foals from Birth to 3 Months of Age

“…Before accurate comparisons of plasma AVP concentrations can be made between healthy and ill foals, investigation of age‐related changes in AVP concentrations in healthy foals is a prudent initial objective because of the dynamic and rapidly changing nature of the growing foal. Indeed, various clinicopathologic parameters have demonstrated notable differences as the foal ages 9–12 . The purpose of the study presented here was to determine if age‐related differences in plasma AVP concentrations occur in healthy foals from birth to 3 months of age.…”

Age-Related Developmental Clotting Profile and Platelet Aggregation in Foals Over the First Month of Life

“…Some aspects of foals' physiology during postnatal period including endocrine [4], metabolism [11], biochemical [11,12], and hematological [12,13] profiles were investigated. Few studies dealt with modification of clotting profile in healthy newborn foals [6,10,14], whereas, to our knowledge, no research on platelet functional activity in equine species are reported during the early postpartum period.…”