Exploration of the relationship between laboratory stress parameters and leukocyte coping capacity in ponies exposed to repetitive handling during a research project
Phebe De Heus, Jessica Maute, Nikolaus Huber, Alexander Tichy, Rupert Palme, Eike Steinmann, Asisa Volz, Jessika -M. V. Cavalleri, Dagmar S. Trachsel · 2026
Read Exploration of the relationship between laboratory stress parameters and leukocyte coping capacity in ponies exposed to repetitive handling during a research project by Phebe De Heus, Jessica Maute, Nikolaus Huber, Alexander Tichy, Rupert Palme, Eike Steinmann, Asisa Volz, Jessika -M. V. Cavalleri, Dagmar S. Trachsel (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13495423.txt.
Description
Phebe De Heus and colleagues test, in a 2026 study, whether a white blood cell measure can serve as a stress gauge in ponies handled again and again for research. Stress is expected to raise cortisol and shift blood cell ratios, while weakening the burst of germ-killing oxygen from neutrophils. That burst, measured as leukocyte coping capacity, was tracked in nine university ponies over a 42-day vaccine study.
The coping measure and cortisol both drifted down over the study, which might signal growing strain. Yet the cell ratio did not follow the same course, and the coping measure tied only weakly or moderately with the other markers. Its per-cell version showed no ties at all. The authors conclude the markers likely tap different arms of the stress response. They urge bigger studies adding behavior watching before the coping test earns a place as a horse stress gauge.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Phebe De Heus, Jessica Maute, Nikolaus Huber, Alexander Tichy, Rupert Palme, Eike Steinmann, Asisa Volz, Jessika -M. V. Cavalleri, Dagmar S. Trachsel |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 51781 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |