Hematological values, blood clotting and bleeding time of Philippine native horses (Equus caballus L.) in Laguna [Philippines]

The hematological values, blood clotting time and bleeding time of 40 apparently healthy Philippine native horses were investigated. These animals were grouped into two: 6 months to 4 years of age and 8 to 20 years of age with 10 males and 10 females in each group. The RBC [red blood cells] count (6.48 plus or minus 0.88 x 10 to the 6th power) of the 8-20 years old male horses was significantly higher (P less than 0.05) than that of the 8-20 years old female horses (6.28 plus or minus 0.55 x 10 to the 6th power). The RBC counts of male and female native horses 6 months - 4 years of age were not statistically different from each other but they were significantly higher than those of the 8-20 age group of both sexes. The WBC [white blood cells] count (10.27 plus or minus 1.14 x 10 to the 3rd power) was highest in female horses 6 months - 4 years of age (P less than 0.05). The PCV [packed cell volume] (33.37 plus or minus 2.59 percent) and hemoglobin (11.74 plus or minus 1.35 g/dl) were highest (P less than 0.05) in the 8-20 years old male horses. The MCV [mean corpuscular volume] (52.26 plus or minus 7.11 fl) and MCH [mean corpuscular hemoglobin] (18-38 plus or minus 2.77 pg) of the 8-20 years old male horses were significantly higher than those of the female native horses of the same age group (48.01 plus or minus 9.33 fl); 17.25 plus or minus 30.31 pg) (P less than 0.05). The MCHC [mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration] was not influenced by age and sex. Except for lymphocytes, the WBC differential counts for native horses were also not influenced by age and sex. There was a higher (P less than 0.05) lymphocyte count in the 6 months - 4 years old female horses (45.73 plus or minus 9.61 percent) than in the 8-20 years old female horses (40.83 plus or minus 8.43 percent). Coagulation time and bleeding time were not influenced by age and sex. The present values therefore could be used as baseline data on the normal hematological values of Philippine native horses. Perusal of available literature showed that this is the first study on blood values of Philippine native horses