Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The meeting was called to order by Annette McCoy on behalf of herself and the other co-coordinators (Mike Mienaltowski, Elaine Norton). Angelica Van Goor, National Program Leader for S1094, could not attend, but her contact information was provided and the update that she sent in advance of the meeting was reviewed. This update will be made available to S1094 members. The S1094 multistate project objectives were reviewed, as was the procedure for joining S1094 via Appendix E in NIMSS or by directly contacting Cindy Morley (cmorley@uark.edu). Meeting participants were encouraged to recruit their colleagues for multistate membership. We are particularly interested in engaging members of the equine industry and extension officers. Station reports were presented by all participants. Activities completed in the past year were reviewed. The results of our equine owner stakeholder survey were presented by Mike Mienaltowski (see more details below). Upcoming events relevant to the participants were announced, with a call for volunteers for 1) development of a stakeholder needs assessment aimed at the scientific community, and 2) development of a workshop for the 2025 Equine Science Society meeting. The group voted for the next S1094 Annual Meeting to be held in conjunction with Plant & Animal Genome (PAG) 33 meeting, January 9-14, 2026 in San Diego, CA. A call for contributors to the multistate project newsletter was made, and the floor was opened for other announcements. The meeting was then adjourned.

Accomplishments: Three co-coordinators continue to serve the S1094 community: Annette McCoy (University of Illinois), Mike Mienaltowski (University of California-Davis), and Elaine Norton (University of Arizona). Newsletters were produced in 2024 for dissemination to the Horse Genome Workshop listserv (maintained by the co-coordinators) and the general public via member contacts. Each newsletter highlighted meetings and community efforts. In collaboration with Dr. Samantha Brooks (University of Florida), the co-coordinators developed a stakeholder survey aimed at horse owners. Distribution of this survey was facilitated via members (particularly Drs. Molly McCue [University of Minnesota] and Laura Patterson-Rosa [Long Island University]) and extension/industry partners. Preliminary results were presented to the international horse genome community at the 14th Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Equine Genome Mapping Workshop in Caen, Normandy, France in May 2024. Final results were presented at the January 2025 annual meeting and are summarized below:

• 412 respondents from 44 states; 60% identified as horse owners and 15% as horse breeders. Nearly 80% of respondents own 10 or fewer horses (62% five or fewer). This was of great interest to us, as many surveys from the horse industry seem to primarily reflect large-scale breeders/trainers.
• A variety of breeds/disciplines were represented, led by sport horses (33%), stock horses (30%), and Arabians (12%). Racing horses were underrepresented (5%), reflecting the demographics of the respondents.
• Interestingly, three-quarters of the respondents self-identified as having at least a solid understanding of genetics. They identified their primary sources of genetics knowledge as universities and breed/discipline organizations. To a lesser extent, veterinarians and horse owner community websites/social media were identified as sources of genetics information. Most owners were interested in knowing about genetic diversity levels in their breed of interest, and most were interested in genetic testing for performance genes. Owners of racing horses were particularly interested in performance gene tests.
• When asked about health concerns of top priority, there were many shared conditions identified across breed/discipline groups. These included arthritis, colic/intestinal disorders, laminitis, metabolic diseases, tendon/ligament injuries, navicular syndrome, and ulcers. Behavior/temperament was also identified as a top priority across groups.

 These results will be shared as an abstract at the 2025 Equine Sciences Symposium. A manuscript is in preparation.

 More than a dozen graduate students and two dozen undergraduate students completed their training under the guidance of S1094 members in 2024. Public education and stakeholder outreach efforts by S1094 members are highlighted under Aim 3 accomplishments below.

A major ongoing collaborative effort among S1094 members is the Equid Pangenome International Consortium (EPIC). Led by researchers from the University of Kentucky, University of Minnesota, and Texas A&M University, current contributing members are located at 14 institutions around the world. The aims of this consortium are to develop haplotype phased T2T assemblies from crossbred trios that can be incorporated into an equine pangenome reference. The Thoroughbred T2T assembly was made publicly available this year, and the toolboxes and containerized pipelines being designed by EPIC members are freely available. This effort will completely revolutionize the way that researchers handle genomic data in the horse. 

The FAANG data set, which was a major collaborative effort across the S1094 community led by researchers at the University of California-Davis and University of Nebraska was concluded with all data publicly available. The University of Kentucky also hosts an interactive website for these data. The “adopt-a-tissue” initiative helped drive the success of this project, allowing researchers from around the world to contribute financially to the goals of the project even though they were not part of the original project funding proposal.

Additional accomplishments reported by stations specific to the aims of S1094 are detailed below. Though reported by individual stations, activities marked with an asterisk (*) reflect collaborations involving other S1094 stations or stakeholder groups. Publications, research presentations, and grants awarded are detailed in the accompanying appendices.

 Aim 1: Improve detection, curation and annotation of pan-genomic variability for genetic selection, as well as stewardship of genetic diversity, across horse breeds and exotic or feral populations.

• (Mississippi State) *Launch of a project to identify phenotypical characteristics of U.S. horse breeds to facilitate breeding practices that promote breed preservation. This project is being carried out in collaboration with the Livestock Conservancy, partnering with breed organizations including the Palamino Horse Breeders Heritage Foundation, Palamino Breeders of America Association, and Mountain Pleasure Horse Association.
• (University of Verona) *We successfully sequenced and assembled the genomes of four horse breeds (Selle Français, Hungarian Sport Horse, Westphalian and Arabian) using deep (30x) ultra-long Nanopore sequencing reads (>1 Mb) from Oxford Nanopore Technologies. These assemblies represent a pivotal advancement in the detection and annotation of pan-genomic variability across horse breeds, significantly enhancing the genetic diversity represented in available reference genomes: the Thoroughbred (EquCab3.0), available since 2018, and the recently assembled Finnish Horse (EquCab_Finn). Compared to EquCab3.0 (genome size: 2.5 Gb; Ncontig: 10,986; N50contig: 1.5 Mb), our assemblies resulted markedly more contiguous and less fragmented (genome sizes: 2.5 Gb, 2.5 Gb, 2.4 Gb, and 2.4 Gb; Ncontig: 172, 148, 178, and 190; N50contig: 53.6 Mb, 58.6 Mb, 56.1 Mb, and 59.9 Mb, for the Selle Français, Hungarian Sport, Westphalian and Arabian horse, respectively), underscoring their utility for accurate curation of genomic variability and stewardship of genetic diversity. These high-quality assemblies are now being integrated into the first equine pangenome graph as part of the Equid Pangenome International Consortium (EPIC).
• (University of Minnesota) *Mapped >900 equine genomes to the new Thoroughbred T2T reference. The plan will be to use these genomes to improve annotation and investigate population genomics in this population.
• (University of Minnesota) *I am part of the Equine Pangenome group that is working towards the first equine pangenome.
• (University of Minnesota) Published on the genetic burden and frequency of disease-causing variants in a population of 534 horses.
• (UC-Davis) *Provided all FAANG datasets and WGS from multiple breeds to assist with pangenome annotation.
• (University of Missouri) *We have several horse genomes that we have sequenced at the University of Missouri and then provide to collaborators to help find causal DNA variants. One disease, suspected hematochromatosis, is in a mule, hence the develop of the mule genome will be most beneficial to this project! We have supplied several short read genomes for diversity inclusion.
• (University of Nebraska) *Participated in the successful PanGenome grant effort. Contributed samples/data from Clydesdales for reference genome assembly. Continued work on genetic diversity of breeds (Thoroughbred, Clydesdale, Shire).
• (Royal Vet College) We developed and used a polygenic risk score for catastrophic fracture risk in Thoroughbred horses to develop in vitro cell culture models to compare bone forming osteoblasts derived from horses at high and low risk of fracture. This approach identified a functional SNP upstream of the Collagen Type III gene which is associated with catastrophic fracture risk in Thoroughbred horses (Palomino Lago et al 2024). It also identified 112 genes that are differentially expressed in osteoblasts in high and low risk horses (Palomino Lago et al 2025), which suggested that processes regulating the extracellular matrix may be involved.

 Aim 2: Apply and improve genomic resources to increase our understanding of equine performance and disease.

• (University of Verona) We are working on an imputation panel tailored for steeplechase horses to enable cost-effective genomic characterization at a population scale. Using 30x Illumina whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 35 sport horses representing different breeds, we evaluated six state-of-the-art genotype imputation tools: Beagle, GLIMPSE2, Impute5, loimpute, Minimac3, and Quilt2. Quilt2 achieved the best performance, with >95% accuracy in imputing more than 600,000 genomic variants on three chromosomes in two independent horses. This represents a significant improvement, with >25% and >15% increase in imputation accuracy compared to the panels currently available through Animal-ImputeDB and AGIDB, respectively. These findings directly enhance the utility of imputation for population-scale studies, paving the way for improved insights into equine performance traits and disease mechanisms.
• (University of Minnesota) Developed 90 equine simulated genomes, which have been made publicly available on the European Nucleotide Archive.
• (University of Minnesota) *Generated IsoSeq data on 9 equine tissues. These will be used to improve annotation of the equine genome.
• (University of Minnesota) Investigation of the genetics of exercise associated sudden death and atrial fibrillation in Standardbred and Thoroughbred racehorses.
• (UC-Davis) *Currently developing large allele frequency database that incorporates all public equine WGS data for SNP variants and small indels.
• (UC-Davis) Using genomics, we examined the cytoprotective properties of ascorbic acid for stressed tendon and peritenon cells, and we determined the correlations between mare’s milk microbiota and foal age to a healthy equine gastrointestinal microbiota. Moreover, we examined the detrimental effects of anti-inflammatory diclofenac on tendon cells.
• (University of Nebraska) Continued work to understand the genetics of shivers in draft horses.
• (University of Nebraska/UC-Davis) Studying chronic progressive lymphedema; we have collected samples, transcriptome and genotype data for this project.
• (University of Arizona) Identification of gene by environment interaction contributing to equine metabolic syndrome. For this project, we have completed collection of the EMS phenotype data from 690 Arabian horses.  Using the date, we were able to complete a large-epidemiological evaluation of EMS across the Arabian breed and within their subpopulations.  Additionally, we gathered genomic and epigenetic data, which will be analyzed this year to identify potential interactions between genetic predisposition and environmental factors contributing to EMS.
• (University of Arizona) Insulin dysregulation: placental changes and foal health For this project, we have started phenotype and genotype collection on 45 foals (15 born to foals with EMS, 15 insulin sensitive mare, and 15 insulin sensitive-obese mares).  This includes data for transcriptomics on the foals.
• (University of Illinois) Ongoing project investigating molecular markers of post-traumatic osteoarthritis in an equine fetlock osteochondral fragment model.
• (University of Illinois) Ongoing project investigating muscle gene expression response to growth and exercise in foals.
• (University of Illinois/University of Minnesota) Ongoing projects investigating osteochondrosis dissecans, gait, and performance in Standardbred racehorses.

 Aim 3: Expand the availability of genetic diagnostic testing and education on its use.

• (University of Florida) Several lay presentations/podcasts/articles:

Articles:

• Ciosek, J., Wickens, C. and Brooks, S.A. (2024) 'A Primer on Genetic Testing for Horse Owners and Breeders: VM261, 4/2024', EDIS, 2024(3).
• Interviewed in: “How Coat Color and Genetics Influence Equine Behavior” by Sarah Welk Baynum, The Horse, (USA National, March 8, 2024), https://thehorse.com/1125641/how-coat-color-and-genetics-influence-equine-behavior/
• Interviewed in: “Handling and Training Donkeys” by Haylie Kerstetter, The Horse, (USA National, August 8, 2024), https://thehorse.com/1122463/handling-and-training-donkeys/

Presentations:

• Kentucky Equine Research: 27th Equine Health and Nutrition Conference, Ocala FL, February 5-6, 2024 – “Should You Sweat It? Anhidrosis in the Equine Athlete”
• Equine Affaire, Columbus OH, April 11th 2024 – “DNA & Genetic Testing Isn’t Just for Breeders: Get a Leg Up on Genetics, Tips for Horse Owners”
• Equine Affaire, Columbus OH, April 12th 2024 – “Galloping into the Future: What’s Next for Equine Genomics, Recent Discoveries and Cutting Edge Applications”
• 2024 Al Khamsa Annual Meeting and Convention, Online, June 15th 2024 – “DNA 101: Genetic Profiling, what is it?”
• American Trakehner Association, 2024 Annual Meeting, Ocala FL, December 20th 2024

Podcasts

• Guest appearance on Scoop & Scale by Dr. Claire Thunes, “Ep. 23: Is How My Horse Sweats Normal?”, Podcast, May 28, 2024.
• Guest appearance on Tack Box Talk by Kris Hiney, “Sane and Sound: The story of an equine geneticists goal to build a better horse”, Podcast, June 10nd 2024.
• Guest appearance on Tack Box Talk by Kris Hiney, “Genetics Part 2: The story of fragile foals and muscle disorders”, Podcast, July 22nd 2024.

• (University of Minnesota/UC-Davis/University of Arizona)
  • ACVIM 1-hour panel: A Panel on Clinical Applications for Complex Genetic Diseases (Drs. Carrie Finno, Sian Durward-Akhurst, Elaine Norton and Lauren Hughes) (~25 attendees, board-certified equine internists and veterinary students, residents and technicians)
• (University of Minnesota) Presentations for the horse/veterinary community:
  • Horseracing Safety Integrity Authority and International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – discussed opportunities for genetics to reduce the frequency of exercising associated sudden death in Thoroughbred racehorses.
  • Minnesota Trotting Association – talked about arrhythmias and the genetics or arrhythmias in racing Standardbreds.
• (UC-Davis) Provided location of genetic mutation for Equine Juvenile Spinocerebellar Ataxia (EJSCA) to UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory for 2024 testing.
• (UC-Davis) Educational presentations on genetics:
  • American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, Minneapolis, MN; 45-minute presentation: Ongoing Investigation of Genetic Diseases in Horses (~50 attendees, including board-certified equine internists and veterinary students, residents and technicians)
  • Updated American Association of Equine Practitioner’s Statement on Genetic Defects
  • American Association of Equine Practitioner conference, Orlando, FL; 1.5 hr session: Kester News Hour – included current studies on genetic testing (~3500 attendees, including veterinarians, veterinary students and veterinary technicians)
  • California residents and horse enthusiasts at 2024 UC Davis Horse Day on October 12, 2024.
• (University of Nebraska/UC-Davis) Conducted a study focused on validation of a commercial genetic test (test is not valid and should not be offered commercially).
• (University of Nebraska) Stakeholder outreach sessions:
  • American Shire Association: approval to conduct a population-level survey of genetic variation, continued interaction with individual breeders
  • Presented to UNL Extension event, “UNL Race Nebraska and Horsemen’s Health Update.” Genetic Diversity in Thoroughbreds: What do we Know?
• (Royal Veterinary College) Invited speaker at the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Global Summit on Equine Safety June 2024.
• (University of Arizona) Arizona Arabian Association: Did a presentation on EMS and nutrition to 58 members
• (University of Illinois) Presentation on genetic tools and testing at the American Association of Equine Practitioners, ~100 attendees

 Aim 4: Create platforms for broad sharing of data, technology, and resources to enhance continued development and application of genomics tools in the industry.

• (University of Florida) We are continuing to develop tools to enable high-throughput and precise locomotor phenotyping and hope to have several packaged and pipelines published in 2025. A preliminary version of our review dashboard is publicly available on BioRxiv and GitHub: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.30.564795v2.full
• (University of Minnesota) *Development of containerized pipelines for analysis of whole-genome sequencing data, RNA sequencing data, and pangenome map creation.

Short-term Outcomes: The members of S1094 leverage community resources in the development of new genetic tests that can then be offered commercially once validated. A recent example is the addition in November 2024 of an updated test for gray alleles offered by the University of California-Davis Veterinary Genetics Lab. This now includes a novel gray allele that was recently found to be correlated to increased risk of gray horse melanoma (Rubin et al. Nature Communications 15:7510, 29 Aug 2024) – work that was a collaborative effort between researchers at the University of Uppsala and S1094 members at UC-Davis. Education bulletins are released by the VGL to share updates with stakeholders. One of the major goals of the Horse Genome Workshop community is to make the tools and resources that have been developed easily accessible to the broader community. A web portal which provides resources for accessing equine FAANG data was recently launched, supported by the University of Kentucky. This portal can be freely accessed at: www.equinegenomics.uky.edu.

Outputs: Data from several collaborative projects are being generated and made publicly available in repositories. These include whole genome sequencing, RNAseq, and ChIPseq, all generated as part of the equine FAANG initiative (led by the University of California-Davis and University of Nebraska). As part of the ongoing community pangenome project (led by the University of Kentucky) new shotgun sequencing from horses and non-caballine individuals have been generated and are publicly available. A new telomere-to-telomere (T2T) Thoroughbred reference has recently been completed. All of these resources are being leveraged to update annotation for the reference genome EquCab3.0. Containerized workflows for use with an array of equine genomics data have been developed (led by the University of Minnesota and University of Kentucky) and are available for use. A list of publications from S1094 contributors is included in this report.

Activities:

1. 14^th Dorothy Russell Havemeyer Equine Genome Mapping Workshop, May 12-15, 2024, Caen, Normandy, France

Members of the equine genetics community from around the world gathered to share research findings and strengthen collaborative relationships at this workshop, which has been held every 2-3 years since the 1990s.

2. Equine Genome Workshop, Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) 31, January 11-12, 2025, San Diego, CA.

The meeting was chaired by chaired by Dr. Ann Staiger (Texas A&M University – Kingsville) and co-chaired by Dr. Sian Duward-Akhurst (University of Minnesota). More than 50 scientists and trainees from 29 different universities and organizations from around the world were given the opportunity to hear about research advances from the past year from 16 diverse speakers. This work highlighted the varied applications of genomic and transcriptomic tools and resources developed by the Equine Genome community for investigation of horse physiology. The results of the S1094 equine owner stakeholder survey were presented and discussed.

3. Workshop Practical Pangenomics: Containerized Workflows for Building Graphs and Variant Discovery in Livestock and Companion Animals Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) 32, January 13, 2024, San Diego, CA. This workshop was a collaborative effort between S1094 members at the University of Minnesota, University of Kentucky, and Texas A&M University highlighting the development of pangenomes for agricultural animal species (using the horse an example) and associated interactive tools. This workshop was open to researchers across species and had a robust attendance.

Milestones: We continue to work towards several milestones for this project:

1. Engagement of researchers at ~20 stations across the country for multistate participation. Current S1094 members are being asked to actively recruit new participants, with a particular interest in engaging members of the equine industry and extension agents. We are slowly increasing the number of official participants, with continued robust interactions with researchers who have not yet been able to join. To date, S1094 includes 18 researchers at 14 stations across the United States and three researchers at two European institutions. These members engage in robust collaborative efforts with individuals who are part of the larger equine genetics community but are not yet part of S1094.
2. Generation of summary stations’ strengths and collaborative interests ahead of summer workshop meeting. This information was solicited via the call for station reports in January 2025.
3. Collaborative summer workshop A workshop focused on equine scientists has been accepted for the Equine Sciences Society meeting in June 2025. This goal of this interactive workshop is to provide information about available genetics resources created by the S1094 community, and to facilitate collaborations between equine genetics experts and scientists in related fields.
4. Stakeholder needs assessments. We will be launching two additional stakeholder needs assessments in 2025. The first will be aimed at (non-genetics) researchers, while the second will be aimed at veterinarians. The launches are planned to coincide with the Equine Sciences Society meeting in June (researcher survey) and the American Association of Equine Practitioners meeting in December (veterinarian survey). A summary of results will be shared with the S1094 community and the broader Equine Genome Workshop group, while stakeholder-specific data will be shared with the relevant community.
5. Renew website with lists of educational materials for stakeholders and genomics resources for researchers. A newly redesigned website for the International Horse Genome Workshop includes reports from meetings, identification of participants, and links to community tools. The website can be found at: https://horsegenomeworkshop.com/.

Culwell, J., North, E., Nicodemus, M.C., Cavinder, C., Williams, T. (2024) PSIV-9 Pedigree tracing to determine the origin of the golden coat phenotype within the Golden American Saddlebred horse. Journal of Animal Science, 102 (3), 549–550. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae234.617.

 Pepper, B., North, E., Culwell, J., Nicodemus, M.C., Cavinder, C., Harvey, K., Williams, T. (2024) Pedigree tracing to determine the origins of the modern Palomino Horse Breeders of America stock-type horse. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 143, 105209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2024.105209.

 Alhaddad, H., Powell, B., Del Pinto, L., Sutter, N., Brooks, S. and Alhajeri, B. (2024) 'Geometric morphometrics of face profile across horse breeds and within Arabian horses', Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 132, 104980.

 Ciosek, J., Wickens, C. and Brooks, S.A. (2024) 'A Primer on Genetic Testing for Horse Owners and Breeders: VM261, 4/2024', EDIS, 2024(3).

 Johns, L., Smythe, M., Dewberry, L., Staiger, E., Allen, K. and Brooks, S. (2024) 'Digital video analysis reveals gait parameters that predict performance in the jumping test phase of three-day eventing', Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 141, 105166.

McFadden, A., Martin, K., Vierra, M., Robilliard, H., Lundquist, E.W., Everts, R.E., Brooks, S.A. and Lafayette, C. (2024a) 'Three HPS5 mutations associated with depigmentation in diverse horse breeds', Livestock Science, 282, 105454.

McFadden, A., Vierra, M., Martin, K., Brooks, S.A., Everts, R.E. and Lafayette, C. (2024b) 'Spotting the Pattern: A Review on White Coat Color in the Domestic Horse', Animals, 14(3), 451.

McFadden, A., Vierra, M., Robilliard, H., Martin, K., Brooks, S.A., Everts, R.E. and Lafayette, C. (2024c) 'Population Analysis Identifies 15 Multi-Variant Dominant White Haplotypes in Horses', Animals, 14(3), 517.

Radovic, L., Remer, V., Rigler, D., Bozlak, E., Allen, L., Brem, G., Reissman, M., Brockmann, G.A., Ropka-Molik, K. and Stefaniuk-Szmukier, M. (2024) 'The global spread of Oriental Horses in the past 1,500 years through the lens of the Y chromosome', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(49), e2414408121.

 Wang, J., Hu, Y., Xiang, L., Morota, G., Brooks, S.A., Wickens, C.L., Miller-Cushon, E.K. and Yu, H. (2024) 'ShinyAnimalCV: open-source cloud-based web application for object detection, segmentation, and three-dimensional visualization of animals using computer vision', Journal of Animal Science, 102, skad416.

 Durward-Akhurst, S. A. (Corresponding Author), Marlowe, J. L., Schaefer, R. J., Springer, K., Grantham, B., Carey, W. K., . . . McCue, M. E. (2024). The genetic burden and frequency of disease-associated variants in the equine population. Nature Scientific Reports, 14. PubMed Central ID Number: PMC11006912 doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-57872-8

Marlowe, J. L., McCue, M. E. (Lead Author), & Durward-Akhurst, S. A. (Lead Author) Simulated whole genome sequencing data of Equus Caballus as a novel benchmark truth set. Nature Scientific Data. [Submitted:2024]

Palomino Lago, E. (Lead Author), Baird, A., Blott, S., McPhail, R., Ross, A., Durward-Akhurst, S. A., & Guest, D. (Corresponding Author) (2024). A functional single nucleotide polymorphism upstream of the collagen type III gene is associated with catastrophic fracture risk in Thoroughbred horses. Animals, 14(1).  doi: 10.3390/ani14010116

 Esdaile E, Knickelbein KE, Donnelly CG, Fereding M, Motta MJ, Story BD, Avila F, Finno CJ, Gilger BC, Sandmeyer L, Thomasy S, Bellone RR. Additional evidence supports GRM6 p.Thr178Met as a cause of congenital stationary night blindness in three horse breeds. Vet Ophthalmol 2024;27(3):248-255.

 Ma Y, Peng S, Donnelly CG, Ghosh S, Miller AD, Woolard K, Finno CJ. Genetic polymorphisms in vitamin E transport genes as determinants for risk of equine neuroaxonal dystrophy. J Vet Intern Med 2024;38(1):417-423.

 Wilcox CV, Knych HK, Katzman SA, Arthur RM, Rodriguez V, Finno CJ. Effect of clodronate on gene expression in the peripheral blood of horses. J Vet Pharmacol Ther 2024;47(3):187-192.

 Powers A, Peek SF, Reed S, Donnelly CG, Tinkler S, Gasper D, Woolard WD, Finno CJ. Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy / degenerative myeloencephalopathy in Gypsy Vanner horses. J Vet Intern Med 2024;38(3):1792-1798.

 Willis AT, Dahlgren AR, Woolard KD, Ghosh S, Donnelly CG, de la Concha-Bermejillo A, Pacheco A, Watson KD, Berryhill E, Aleman A, Wensley F, Humphreys S, Whitehead AE, Goldsmith D, Chesen B, Ragsdale J, Rompkins JE, Nash R, Plunkett AH, Qualls HJ, Rodriguez K, Hochanadel D, Miller AD, Finno CJ. Clinicopathologic and pedigree investigation of a novel spinocerebellar neurological disease in juvenile Quarter Horses in North America. J Vet Intern Med 2024;38(3):1808-1814.

 Bacon EK, Donnelly CG, Bellone RR, Haase B, Finno CJ, Velie B. Preliminary investigation of potential links between pigmentation variants and opioid analgesic effectiveness in horses during cerebrospinal fluid centesis. BMC Vet Res 2024;20(1):311

 Bailey E, Finno CJ, Cullen JN, Kalbfleisch T, Petersen JL. Analysis of whole-genome sequences from 185 North American Thoroughbred horses, spanning 5 generations. Sci Rep 2024;14(1):22930.

 Heath H, Peng S, Szmatola T, Ryan S, Bellone RR, Kalbfleish T, Petersen JL, Finno CJ. A Comprehensive Allele Specific Expression Resource for the Equine Transcriptome. BMC Genomics, in press.

 Mienaltowski MJ, Callahan M, Gonzales NL, Wong A. Examining the Potential of Vitamin C Supplementation in Tissue-Engineered Equine Superficial Digital Flexor Tendon Constructs. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Dec 4;24(23):17098. doi: 10.3390/ijms242317098. PMID: 38069418; PMCID: PMC10707379.

 Mienaltowski MJ, Callahan M, De La Torre U, Maga EA. Comparing microbiotas of foals and their mares' milk in the first two weeks after birth. BMC Vet Res. 2024 Jan 8;20(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s12917-023-03864-1. PMID: 38191395; PMCID: PMC10775675.

 Smith, E. J., Beaumont, R. E., Dudhia, J. & Guest, D. J. Equine Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Tenocytes are Insensitive to a Combination of Inflammatory Cytokines and Have Distinct Molecular Responses Compared to Primary Tenocytes. Stem Cell Rev Rep, May;20(4):1040-1059. doi:10.1007/s12015-024-10693-8 (2024).

 Palomino Lago E, Ross AKC, McClellan A, Guest DJ. Identification of a global gene expression signature associated with the genetic risk of catastrophic fracture in iPSC-derived osteoblasts from Thoroughbred horses. Anim Genet. 2025 Feb;56(1):e13504. doi: 10.1111/age.13504. PMID: 39801206.