Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec;13(12):1696-1707.
doi: 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i12.18. Epub 2023 Dec 31.

Hematological reference values of horses in Western Libya and their relationship to breed, age, and management

Osama K Sawesi  1 , Abdulkareem K Elbaz  2   3 , Abdusalam S Mahmoud  4   3 , Enass M Duro  5 , Abdulnassar A Alteab  1 , Khaled K Milad  1   6 , Emad M Bennuor  1
Affiliations

Hematological reference values of horses in Western Libya and their relationship to breed, age, and management

Osama K Sawesi et al. Open Vet J. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Hematological evaluation is an important step for health assessment in equine medicine. Besides biochemical tests, that evaluation could be pivotal for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment monitoring. In Libya, the horse population has drastically increased in the last years, and hitherto, no report addressed the reference hematological values for the existing equine breeds.

Aim: This study aimed to establish the reference for hematological indices of traditional equestrian and stud-farm equine breeds in Western Libya in regard to some variables such as individual characteristics, management system, and rearing purpose.

Methods: Blood samples of 167 horses of Arabian, Thoroughbred, and local breeds were collected from an area covering a large part of Western Libya and complete blood counts of the samples were performed using a hematological auto-analyzer. The collected data were statistically analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science software.

Results: Hematological reference indices were generated for the aforementioned equine breeds in Western Libya. The equine hematological profile was variable according to some individual and management factors. In addition, the significant effects of those factors were usually restricted to erythrocyte- and platelets (PLTs)-related indices. In terms of breed influence, Thoroughbreds had significantly lower erythrocyte counts of red blood cells (RBCs) compared to local horses (p = 0.04), and Arabian horses showed significantly higher PLT counts compared to Thoroughbreds and local horses; p = 0.00 and p = 0.03, respectively. Moreover, significantly lower values of hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), mean cell volume (MCV), and PLT counts were noticed in young horses vis-à-vis significantly higher values of HCT, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and red cell distribution width in females. In regard to exercise, racing horses varied significantly from nonracing horses in monocyte percentage (p = 0.04), RBC (p = 0.00), HGB (p = 0.00), HCT (p = 0.00), MCV (p = 0.00), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) (p = 0.00). Diet supplementation also influenced the equine erythrocyte-related indices, as horses offered supplemented diet had significantly higher RBC (p = 0.00), HGB (p = 0.00), HCT (p = 0.00), MCV (p = 0.00), and MCH (p = 0.00), comparing to those served nonsupplemented diet.

Conclusion: This study provided the first reference values of the equine hematological profile in Western Libya. In addition, the age, breed, exercise, and diet supplementation had variable impacts on hematological equine indices.

Keywords: Age; Breed; Hematological reference; Horse; Libya.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Abdalmula A.M, Buker A.O, Benashour F.M, Shmela M.E, Abograra I.M, Alnagar F.A. Blood profile in normal one humped dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) camel breeds in Libya. Part 1: determination of biochemical and haematological blood profile. Int. J. Res. Med. Basic. Sci. 2018;4(8):1–19.
    1. Abdalmula A, Shmela M, Alnagar F, Buker A, Benashour F, Abograra I. Blood profile in normal one humped dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) camels in Libya. Part 4: effect of age variation on biochemical and haematological blood profile. Alq. J. Med. Appl. Sci. 2023;6(1):219–224.
    1. Abushhiwa M.H, Elmeshreghi T.N, Alrtib A.M, Bennour E.M, Oheida A.H. First phalanx exostosis in traditional equestrian horses in Western Libya. Open. Vet. J. 2022;12:69–74. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abushhiwa M.H, Sawesi O, Milad K.A, Shalgum A.A, Alrtib A.M. Successful anatomical access for surgical removing of the distal fracture of splint bones in Thoroughbred horses (Case study) Al-Mukhtar. J. Sci. 2019;34:84–90.
    1. Adamu L, Noraniza M.A, Rasedee A, Bashir A. Effect of age and performance on physical, hematological, and biochemical parameters in endurance horses. J. Equine. Vet. Sci. 2013;33:415–420.

LinkOut - more resources