Practical, rapid, noninvasive methods for assessing healthstatus and establishing endpoints are needed in mouse ex-periments in which wasting and death are a potential end-point, including aging and toxicology studies, ascitesproduction, and phenotype analysis in mutant mouse colo-nies. Current methods for assessing the health status of amouse and establishing endpoints might include observa-tion of behavior, assessment of physical appearance, andmeasurement of body weight (BW). Behavioral parametersinclude observation of unprovoked behavior and responsesto external stimuli. Classic changes in physical appearanceinclude exophthalmia or enophthalmia (bulging or sunkeneyes, respectively), nasal or ocular discharge, rough coat, andhunched back. These observations, as well as additional onesparticular to an experimental procedure or to the geneticmakeup of an animal, have been suggested as standard indi-cators of ill health (1–4). These clinical indicators can bescored as degree-of-deviation-from-normal, thereby allowingan animal to be monitored over time as health declines (1–4). Decreased food and water consumption is an importantsign of deteriorating health (4), which generally results inloss of BW; support for using weight loss as an indicator ofpoor health in rodents comes from the study by Redgate etal. (5). They determined that 7 or more consecutive days ofweight loss in central nervous system tumor-bearing ratscorrelated well with irreversible progression to death. How-ever, Beynen et al. (2) found that observation of behavior andphysical appearance was largely ineffective for discriminat-ing between gallstone-bearing mice and healthy controls,and weight loss was significantly different between the twogroups of mice for the males but not the females. They con-cluded that response to palpation of the right hypochon-drium (i.e., signs of a painful response) was the bestindicator of gallstones for males and females.Twenty percent loss of rodent BW or prolonged weightloss (progressing to an emaciated state) are generally estab-lished criteria for euthanasia (3, 6). However, there are prac-tical problems with the measurement of BW, which may notyield an accurate measure of fat stores and muscle mass,because reduction of fat stores and muscle mass (as mea-sured by BW) is masked if weight loss is displaced by tumorgrowth, organ enlargement, or intraperitoneal fluid accumu-lation. Furthermore, the reference weight of a healthymouse will vary according to sex, age, body frame size, andin females, pregnancy status. Scoring body condition (BC) byobserving the amount of flesh covering bony protuberancesis largely independent of the aforementioned confoundingvariables. The technique of BC scoring as a method forevaluating animal condition and nutritional state has al-ready been validated for use in dairy cows (7–9), beef cows(10), goats (11), sheep (12), and horses (13). In cows, BC scorecorrelates with the amount of subcutaneous fat stores (7, 10)and nutritional status (14). Additionally, abnormal loss of BCwas found to be an indicator of mastitis in dairy cows (15).Our goals were to evaluate the accuracy of the BC scoringtechnique in assessing the health of mice that have organ en-largement concurrent with declining health; compare the accu-racy of this method with that of using BW for assessing healthstatus in these animals; and determine the interobserver reli-ability of the BC scoring technique. P- and E-Selectin doubledeficient (P/E

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Body condition scoring: a rapid and accurate method for assessing health status in mice.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of prolonged administration of insulin, whilst maintaining normal glucose concentrations, on hoof lamellar integrity in vivo on healthy ponies with no known history of laminitis or insulin resistance. Nine clinically healthy, unrelated ponies were randomly allocated to either a treatment group (n = 5; 5.9 ± 1.7 years) or control group (n = 4; 7.0 ± 2.8 years). The treatment group received insulin via a euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp technique modified and prolonged for up to 72 h. Control ponies were infused with an equivalent volume of 0.9% saline. Ponies were euthanased at the Obel grade 2 stage of clinical laminitis and hoof lamellar tissues were harvested and examined for histopathological evidence of laminitis. Basal serum insulin and blood glucose concentrations were 15.7 ± 1.8 μU/mL and 5.2 ± 0.1 mmol/L, respectively (mean ± SE) and were not significantly different between groups. Mean serum insulin concentration in treatment ponies was 1036 ± 55 μU/mL vs. 14.6 μU/mL in controls. All ponies in the treatment group developed clinical and histological laminitis (Obel grade 2) in all four feet within 72 h (55.4 ± 5.5 h), whereas none of the control ponies developed laminitis. There was no clinical evidence of gastrointestinal involvement and the ponies showed no signs of systemic illness throughout the experiment. The data show that laminitis can be induced in healthy young ponies, with no prior history of laminitis, by maintaining prolonged hyperinsulinaemia with euglycaemia. This suggests a role for insulin in the pathogenesis of laminitis, independent of hyperglycaemia, or alterations in hind-gut fermentation. For the clinician, early detection and control of hyperinsulinaemia may facilitate management of endocrinopathic laminitis.

Induction of laminitis by prolonged hyperinsulinaemia in clinically normal ponies.

Assessment of the welfare of working horses, mules and donkeys, using health and behaviour parameters

Objective—To determine the metabolic phenotype of a group of laminitis-prone ponies when at pasture in summer, compared with when at pasture in winter. Animals—40 ponies of various breeds predisposed to recurrent pasture-associated laminitis and 40 unaffected control ponies. Procedures—Body condition score and size of the crest of the neck were assessed, blood samples obtained, and blood pressure measured by use of an indirect oscillometric technique, while ponies were kept on winter pasture (last week of November or beginning of December) and again on summer pasture (June). Serum insulin concentration and plasma glucose, triglyceride, uric acid, and ACTH concentrations were measured. Insulin sensitivity was calculated with proxies derived from basal serum insulin and plasma glucose concentrations. Results—No significant differences were apparent between ponies predisposed to laminitis and control ponies during winter. However, in June, laminitis-prone ponies had increased serum insulin concentration and ...

Hypertension and insulin resistance in a mixed-breed population of ponies predisposed to laminitis.

Stallion harassment and the mating system of horses.

Three hundred and seventy two horses of varying breeds, height and fatness were weighed and measured for height at the withers. They were assessed for condition score by adaptation of a previously published method. The heart girth and length of 281 of the horses were also measured. Weight of horses was highly correlated (P less than 0.001) with height (r2 = 0.62), condition score (r2 = 0.22) and girth2 x length (r2 = 0.90). Nomograms were constructed to predict weight from height and condition score, and girth and length measurements. Weight can also be accurately estimated from the formula: (formula, see text) The average value of 'Y' in this experiment was 11900 and this estimated weight with more accuracy than some previously published values of 'Y'. Racing Thoroughbred horses were found to be significantly lighter than non-racing Thoroughbreds of the same height and condition score. The method of assessment of condition score was shown to be repeatable between different operators with varying degrees of experience.

C. L. Carroll

Papers

Body condition scoring and weight estimation of horses.