TRANSPORTATION STRESS IN SPORTS HORSES INFLUENCES THE LEVELS OF NON-SPECIFIC AND SPECIFIC HUMORAL EFFECTORS

Horses are transported within the European Union for a number of reasons. Specific regulations are now in place for this species (broken, unbroken, registered) and for the transport age of young animals (Burnstead N., Carpenter D.J., 1988; Burnstead N. et all., 1987; Carpenter D.J. and Burnstead N., 1987, Hartung J., 2006).The transport per se may cause physical problems, such as pleuropneumonia, and the stress may reactivate latent infections (equine herpesvirus-1). Additionally, other viral or parasitic diseases may also pose a risk for horses traveling to potentially endemic regions (Burnstead N. and Millard B.J., 1988, Englund L. and Pringle J., 2003-2004).