Opting for a wider saddle fit isn’t good for your horse, study findings suggest
Researchers compare properly fitting saddles with those that are too wide and too narrow. Here are the results.
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Care & Training
Research articles on the care and training of the horse.
Vets talk of challenges in identifying horses as lame during Endurance competitions
Nearly all those who responded to a survey reported they had been confronted at least once by a rider or associate over the decision to declare a horse lame.
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Indoor arena air quality a concern for many, survey findings suggest
More than three-quarters of survey respondents aired concerns around dust, moisture levels and/or the lack of air movement.
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Study offers chance for owners to benchmark their horses against others
How does your horse compare to others? A University of Sydney study will provide owners with invaluable feedback once they complete the questionnaire.
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Most British horse riders carry a whip, but see need for restrictions
A British survey revealed 72% of respondents rode regularly with a whip when doing roadwork, hacking, schooling and or lessons.
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Stress in horses: The story told by saliva
Not only did levels of a particular enzyme rise with acute stress, but the biggest increases were seen in the most stressed horses.
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Welfare state of horses revealed by their topline – research
“These findings show that poor welfare is also associated with chronic alterations of posture, erasing the natural curves of the horse’s spine.”
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Pony see, pony do: Study finds horses adept at learning by seeing
Horses in the study learned how to open a feed box containing apple and carrot by watching a human do it.
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Trainer shares 5 common myths many horse owners believe
Conscious Horse Conscious Rider Facilitator and Practitioner Armina Bridgeman shares the five most common misconceptions she sees about horses and their owners.
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Face flies linked to strangles risk in horses
Researchers find that flies may be an indirect transmission source of the contagious disease strangles; and do sticky fly traps help horses?
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Tight nosebands are prevalent in horse sport, and they do harm, says ISES
They should be subject to regulation and standardized monitoring during competition, according to the International Society for Equitation Science.
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No science? No problem for horse owners when using calming products
Survey indicates that equine calming products are often used by owners to calm challenging or “unruly” horses, often with little scientific basis for their action and with little understanding of how, why or, indeed, whether they actually work.
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Horses appear to have ability to smell human fear and happiness
“These results are leading the way for further studies on human–animal communication through emotional chemosignals.”
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Video course helps owners spot early signs of trouble in horses
12-part course “How to recognise the 24 behaviours indicating pain in the ridden horse” produced by lameness expert Sue Dyson and Equitopia.
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Hot to trot: Equine heat issues researched for Tokyo 2020 Olympics
FEI-commissioned study looked into best practices and management of horses training and competing in hot and humid environments.
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Heart responses of horses with equine metabolic syndrome probed
Horses with EMS have cardiovascular changes that affect resting heart rate and systemic blood pressure during insulin infusion.
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Crucial factor pinpointed in soft-palate-related breathing problems in racehorses
Fatigue of the thyro-hyoid muscles plays a role in this debilitating condition, according to researchers.
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Recovery from synovial infection: How do the numbers stack up?
“Return to full athletic function after synovial infection is possible,” researchers report.
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A positive reinforcement rein: Rule-changer and game-changer for horsemanship?
Fridtjof Hanson proposes a new type of rein for equestrian activities, that he says is far safer and more humane than any bitted rein he has ever tried.
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Hand-held equine blood testing device gives speedy results
StableLab can detect infections with 97% accuracy, and with 50 times greater sensitivity than a thermometer.
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