Have you dreamed of studying wild or feral horses when you grow up? Dr. Brian Hampson, co-founder of the Australian Brumby Research Unit, is part of a team studying the only remaining true wild horse, Przewalski’s horse. Let’s take a look at Przewalski horses and see what makes this breed unique. Science Talk – feral: having…
Have you ever seen a wild horse? Did you know there are some people whose job it is to observe and learn about horses in the wild? Many places in the world still have wild or feral horses. Wild horse research field studies are needed to monitor their numbers, activities, movements and behaviours. Science Talk – feral: animals…
When you greet your horse, or simply want to thank them for a nice ride, do you pat them or do you give them a good scratch? If you had to guess, which horse human interaction do you think horses prefer, to be patted or scratched? Three researchers at Nottingham Trent University asked this very…
Ten-year-old Ava Alley, a 4th grade student at Walsh Elementary in Walsh, Colorado, decided to enter her school’s science fair for the first time. She chose her project because of her love of horses. Knowing horses like carrots and apples, Ava wondered if horses would like corn, pumpkin, or dates even more. In her research…
Have you ever watched a mare and her foal together? Newborn foals tend to stay close to their mother’s side. Over time, as the foal gets older, they venture further apart. Researchers in Japan were curious about how this distance changes over time. To study mare and foal behaviour, they attached GPS devices to the halters on…
Is it possible to estimate how big a foal will be when they reach mature size? While there is no one exact mathematical formula for estimating a foals’ mature size, several methods have been developed for estimating mature horse height in foals and yearlings. One method of measurement is to measure a straight line in inches…
This year four new Assateague foals were born to the Maryland herd on Assateague Island. Let’s take a look at each of these foals, see what they look like, who their moms are, and what their numbers are. The first foal born was a colt. The National Park Service named him N2BHS-O. What kind of name…
You may have already heard about the wild ponies of Assateague Island. What you may not know is that the ponies on the island are split into two main herds separated by a fence at the Virginia/Maryland State line. The herd on the Virginia side is managed by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. The National Park Service…
Have you ever bridled a horse? You have to be careful when sliding the bit into the horse’s mouth; you don’t want the hard metal of the bit bumping against the horse’s teeth. What does it feel like for the horse to wear a bit and have it pulling at the corners of their mouth…
In this post we head back for the final days of the Bay Area Equestrian Club’s Vet Camp. Day four began with campers designing their own equestrian centre. Here’s what camper Caden Hernandez had to say about designing an equestrian centre: “Math is very important when making a blueprint or map! You need to know how much…