Hematological and Serum Biochemical Reference Values for the Posavina and Croatian Coldblood Horse Breeds

Abstract

In this study the hematological and biochemical parameters in the blood of indigenous Croatian working horse breeds were investigated. The Posavina and Croatian Coldblood horses are adapted to harsh environmental conditions and their blood parameters might differ from other horse breeds. The study was carried out on 100 mares and 12 stallions of ages from 2 to 19 years. Fifteen hematological and 19 biochemical parameters were analysed. Values of 22 parameters showed considerable overlapping with values obtained for other horse breeds, and substantial resemblance is evident with values reported for Pakistani working horses. Several reference values showed statistically significant effect of sex (Hb, ALB, CREA, TBIL and Ca where significantly higher in stallions; EOS, CK, ALP, UREA and Mg were significantly higher in mares). None of the parameters studied showed any differences associated with age. The adaptation of Posavina and Croatian Coldblood horses to the harsh environment of flooded pastures and the way of breeding might be reflected in their specific reference values. The obtained results enabled the establishment of hematological and biochemical reference values in the blood of Posavina and Croatian Coldblood horses that will in turn support clinical diagnosis and further research into horse physiology.

Hematological and biochemical reference intervals for adult Croatian Posavac horse

“…The 125 horses in our study compared well with the numbers used in the studies by LACERDA et al (2006), PAĐEN et al (2014) and SAMPLE et al (2015. PAĐEN et al (2014) only sampled 1% of a mixed population of cold bloods. These samples were collected in June and July of the 1999 and 2001, clearly later in the year than our samples.…”

“…In the first two tables descriptive statistics and RIs with 90% CI for their LL and UL are given. Results presented as mean ± SD (Kaneko et al, 2009) Hucul horses 2 (Cywinska et al, 2015) Croatian cooldblood breeds (Pađen et al, 2014) Pakistan Work Horse 2 (Pritchard et al, 2009) Adult Friesian Horse 2 (Sample et al, 2015) Croatian…”

“…The remaining RIs reported in our study agree best with the RIs reported by PAĐEN et al (2014), however the RIs for ALP, LDH and GGT differed substantially. PAĐEN et al (2014) explained the higher values of LDH as breed characteristics, partially due to exposure to high intensity exercise. In this respect, we think that LDH activity should be seen in combination with CK activities.…”

“…The RI for red blood cell counts in the present study is similar to that found by GRONDIN and DEWITT (2010) for mixed breeds. Data by PAĐEN et al (2014) however, they could not be compared directly. Nevertheless, the estimated LL for RBC appeared lower and the RI range was smaller than in our purebred population.…”

“…PAĐEN et al (2014) report a wider RI for eosinophils due to the higher UL than others. This trend towards eosinophilia was likely caused by continuous exposure to parasites due to an environmental challenge, according to the authors (PAĐEN et al, 2014). Since population based reference intervals rely on the proper selection of healthy reference individuals, the current study only included horses adequately treated against endoparasites.…”