CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
 EQUINERESEARCH.NET  |  CURRENT FUNDED RESEARCH  | PREVIOUS FUNDED RESEARCH

"It's only research until it saves the life of one of your horses…"

During the 1960 American Quarter Horse Association Convention in Amarillo, Texas, a presentation was made to the members that described several diseases that were a serious threat to the horse industry. The tone of the message expressed a grave need to fund research - research that would benefit all horses.

And so it began, AQHA's Research Committee was formed and a $20,000 budget was established. That first year, Texas A & M was given the lion's share of a $10,000 grant to study equine parasites, which ultimately lead to today's medications that control parasites in horses.

However, since then, more than 200 projects have been funded allowing researchers to better understand ailments to treat and cure our horses. Additionally, AQHA was instrumental in helping establish Morris Animal Foundation's Equine Division. During the 1960s, MAF was involved only in small animal research but today funds some 15 projects each year and has awarded more than $3.2 million in equine research funds.

"The research funds AQHA has provided to investigators over the past 20 years have been either partially or, in some cases, fully responsible for notable discoveries that have significantly improved the health and welfare of all horses," says Dr. Nat Messer, Associate Professor of Equine Medicine and Surgery with University of Missouri at Columbia.

Since 1960, and thanks in large part to its generous members, AQHA has contributed more than $7.8 million in research grants to colleges and universities.

Among the notable discoveries or advancements achieved through AQHA research funding are:

•The role of progesterone in equine pregnancy
•Discovery of the cause of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), development of a specific DNA test for HYPP and recommendations for management of horses afflicted with HYPP
•Studies of musculoskeletal injuries in racehorses
•The effects of strenuous exercise on navicular bones of young horses
•Anatomical and functional consequences of tail alterations
•Validated the diagnosis of equine infectious anemia (EIA)
•Established the feasibility of using DNA markers for routine parentage verification
•Use of cloned gene products in diagnosis and vaccination of "Potomac Horse Fever"
•Development of a model to study uterine infections
•Development of a diet to manage tying up
•Pulmonary and respiratory studies
•Immunizations of horses
•Advancements in controlling and treating laminitis

Additionally, the American Quarter Horse Foundation currently is seeking funds to establish university studies that will make advances in equine trauma-related injuries, stallion reproduction issues and anhydrosis (inability to perspire).

EQUINERESEARCH.NET

The American Quarter Horse Foundation, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Morris Animal Foundation and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation have provided a searchable database of currently funded equine research projects. All four organizations raise private funds to be directed toward the best and most relevant research projects aimed at enhancing the safety, health, and soundness of horses of various breeds.  (Please note that this database includes only the recent and current research funded by the organizations shown, and does not constitute an attempt to list all current equine research from other sources.)

Visit EQUINERESEARCH.NET

CURRENT FUNDED RESEARCH

The following is a synopsis of the projects approved by the Equine Research Committee for 2007/2008.  The distribution of approved funds will be determined based upon a successful research site visit by the Equine Research Committee.

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW PROJECT - "Evolution of Kisspeptin and its Role in the Hypothalmic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis in the Mare"
Principal investigator(s):  Colin M. Clay, Jason E. Bruemmer and Patrick M. McCue
Amount:  $34,278
    
KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW PROJECT - "Development of a Minimally Invasive Surgical Approach to Arthrodesis of the Osteoarthritic Equine Proximal Interphalangeal Joint"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  James D. Lillich, Warren L. Beard, David Anderson, Laura Armburst and Michelle Delco
Amount:  $19,442
    
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
RENEWAL PROJECT - "Tissue Perfusion of Equine Foot in Navicular Syndrome, Using Doppler Ultrasound"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Robert Bowker
Amount:  $22,330
    
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW PROJECT - "Regional Differences in Tensile Strength and Biochemical Composition of Tissues from Horses with Hyperelastosis Cutis (aka Hereditary Regional Dermal Asthenia)" 
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Cyprianna Swiderski, Ann Rashmir, Peter Ryan, Jim Cooley and Marzia Pasquali
Amount:  $29,340
    
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW PROJECT - "The Effects of a Steroid and Local Anesthetic Alone, and in Combination, as an Effective Intra-Articular Medication in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lamenes in the Horse"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Alicia L. Bertone
Amount:  $26,212.49
    
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
NEW PROJECT - "Investigating Equine Areritis Virus Transmission Risks with Embryo Transfer in Vaccinated and Non-Vaccinated Embryo Donor Mares"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Reed Holyoak, Peter Timoney, Udeni Balasuriya, and Charles Broaddus
Amount:  $106,589

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
NEW PROJECT - "In Vitro Efficacy of an Ophthalmic Drug Combinaion for Equine Keratitis"                  Prinicpal investigator(s):  Dennis Brooks and Nicole Scotty
Amount:  $6,700
     
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
NEW PROJECT - "Correlation between Circulating Endotoxin and Inflammatory Activation after a Standardized Exercise Test"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  David J. Hurley, Douglas C. Donovan and Patrick T. Colahan
Amount:  $58,296
     
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
NEW PROJECT - "The Use of Tendon Derived Progenitor Cells to Promote Tendon Healing in Horses" 
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Allison Stewart, Matthew Stewart, Christopher Byron, Amy Wagoner Johnson and Kristin O'Dell
Amount:  $47,736
     
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
RENEWAL PROJECT - "Development of Real-Time PCR-Based Diagnostic Assays for Detection of Virus Infections in Horses"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Udeni B.R. Balasuriya, Peter J. Timoney, George P. Allen and Thomas Chambers
Amount:  $24,407

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
NEW PROJECT - "Diffusion of Triamcinoloe Acetonide from the Equine Distal Interphalangeal Joint into the Navicular Bursa"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Erin D. Malone and Mary Boyce
Amount:  $14,725

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
RENEWAL PROJECT - "Genetic analysis of Glycogen Storage Disorders in Quarter Horses"
Prinicpal investigator(s):  Stephanie Valberg and Jim Mickelson
Amount:  $55,620

PREVIOUS FUNDED RESEARCH

View past research projects by year or by school.

For information on obtaining the results of any AQHA-funded research, please contact Gary Carpenter at (806) 378-5000 or gcarpenter@aqha.org