To better understand the piaffe and its effects on a horse’s biomechanics, researchers teamed up to investigate the ground reaction forces of elite dressage horses performing the movement over pressure plates. Although forces varied from horse to horse—likely indicating different training techniques—and stride to stride, overall, the researchers found horses in piaffe adjust the ground…
If you could see scientific data, gathered by the use of high technology, that proves how your horse feels about how good the inside of you is for the inside of him, would you be brave enough to look at the facts?
Drones and computer modeling have been used to paint a surprisingly complex picture of societal dynamics among horses. When examining how horses synchronize their herd behaviors, computational modeling is a must. Much more is happening among the many mares, stallions, and foals than can be summarized by a few simple equations.
Whether it’s opening the gate, breaking into the feed-room, or finding ways to steal their friends’ food, horses certainly appear to find their own, often very creative, ways to solve their day-to-day problems. But do they come up with these ideas out of necessity, or do they become more creative when their needs are already…
In this article Clinical Animal Behaviourist, Loni Loftus uncovers the mechanics of the digestive system and looks at how the health of the equine gut can have a direct effect on behaviour, including mental and physical health.
According to Italian researchers, horse manure could be a clean and efficient biofuel—provided scientists can determine how to dry it out first.
Stabling horses is a human thing more than a horse thing; horses are obliging souls and will usually accept and adapt to less-than-ideal living situations, even if it negatively affects their health and their capacity to express normal behaviours.
Many training styles and riding mistakes can make a horse less responsive to cues, pressure, and even pain—and that’s often the early stages of learned helplessness. Learn how to identify and prevent this negative mental state.
When your horse is a bit slow coming in from the field, not as excited as normal, not interested in finishing their meal, you know something’s wrong. The first thing you can do is check your horse’s vital parameters, and checking a rectal temperature is something everyone can easily do.
US research on judges’ attitudes towards equine weight found that the proportion of respondents who said they would penalize a horse or pony for being too thin was significantly greater than the proportion who would give a similar penalty to an animal who was too fat.