Training

“Owners need to be made aware that these behaviours are not normal and may be a manifestation of underlying problems.”

The research involved 17 healthy three-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses trained daily at Partynice Race Course in Poland.

Educational strategies may prove important in safeguarding recreational horse welfare, according to researchers.

Four factors significantly increase the odds of injury among Thoroughbred racehorses, Australian researchers found.

In half the cases of horse injuries sustained during transport in an Italian study, the handler was injured too.

Researchers present the first evidence of a link between object-directed curiosity and learning performance in young horses in two very different learning tasks.

Neuromuscular biopsies can help look below the surface of a horse’s skin to evaluate, diagnose, and provide treatments without making a single cut.

Dirt surfaces showed higher rates of forelimb injuries compared to other surfaces, while hind limbs were more likely to experience a fatal fracture on turf than on dirt.

“The differences found between male and female horse handlers suggest that sex is an important factor to consider when understanding equine behaviour.”

“The effect of withholding feed should be taken into consideration when interpreting data on the equine faecal bacterial microbiota in horses.”

The condition often has a poor prognosis for function and life, the researchers said.

Mineralisation of the longitudinal odontoid ligament appears to be quite common, but the study findings suggest no link to head shaking.

Horses with multiple riders were more likely to be unresponsive to leg and whip cues, compared to horses with fewer riders, researchers found.

Periodic preventative care checkups, performed at least bi-annually, can be key to catching many age-related conditions and diseases that owners may not notice in their everyday care because of gradual onset.

Researchers set out to evaluate oxidative stress parameters in the horses in relation to their housing conditions, presence of stereotypies, age, sex and breed.

Paddock-level management and farm structure were key drivers in the quality of grasslands in the German study, not socio-economic factors.

Findings highlight the importance of effective and humane in-hand training. Horses who are well-behaved in-hand will likely be better behaved under saddle.