Use of temperature sensitive microchip transponders to monitor body temperature and pyrexia in Thoroughbred foals

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate temperature data collected from Thoroughbred foals between birth and shortly after weaning. It provides a valuable survey with epidemiological conclusions providing insight into the temperature trends and pyretic occurrences of Thoroughbred foals during this age period. Temperature data were collected using telemetry from temperature sensitive microchips implanted into newborn foals. The system of inputting and storing temperature data was completely electronic and this study evaluated this system. It was found that this system was stable and allowed the evaluation of large amounts of frequently acquired data with little human intervention. The data obtained resulted in the valuable evaluation of age associated body temperature trends within the foals as well as providing an indication of the extent and epidemiology of pyrexia within the study cohort. The system of evaluating temperatures based both on the individual day value as well as on each individual foals prior series of temperatures shows that the use of these two criteria can be utilised simultaneously. The study provides basic information which future researchers using similar systems can use to objectively set criteria for pyrexia. An outbreak of equine encephalosis also occurred during the study period and this provided much needed prospective epidemiological information for such an outbreak, something which has not previously been documented. Copyright