With the social license of equestrian sports under increasing scrutiny due to welfare concerns, being able to recognize what a pain-free, happy horse truly looks like is more important than ever. Although many top riders claim their horses are “happy” competing at elite levels, often anthropomorphizing qualities such as competitiveness, pride, or joy in the…
Looking at a drop of fluid from the hindgut, a vet student expected to see digestion; what they witnessed instead was an ecosystem. It was then they realized that while fibre is often dismissed as mere “roughage,” in a horse’s hindgut, it is everything.
Horse owners have questions about how haynet use impacts their horses: “’What about their teeth? What about their back and muscles and all of that?’” These questions inspired researcher Michelle DeBoer’s recent research on hay feeders and haynets.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association is now accepting applications for the Equine Vocation Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to an applicant pursuing a career specifically within the equine industry. Applicants must be at least 16 years of age and currently enrolled in a degree program, certificate program, or vocational training related to the equine…
Master’s in environmental science student Hannah DeFelice is studying how the environmental conditions in paddocks and stalls, such as grass cover, soil condition, and space influence the behaviour, health, and welfare of animals.
Scientists from the University of Copenhagen and ETH Zurich set out to find how animals react emotionally to positive and negative sounds made by both humans and members of their own species.
Researchers now understand how 7 types of shoeing combinations affect movement in each area of the horse’s neck and back.
In 2023, the conservation group Rewilding Spain introduced a herd of 10 horses to the Iberian Highlands. The animals now roam more than 5,700 hectares of public forest, reducing the volume of combustible vegetation in the landscape.
When hikers, mountain bikers, trail runners, and other equestrians use a trail system in America’s National Park System, public lands, or designated wilderness area, it’s more than likely that a mule carted in the equipment necessary to maintain that trail or build the outhouse they use that’s far back from the roadway.
A brief video shows a touch screen test developed by researchers. It may look like a novelty computer game for horses but the researchers believe this test could help identify stress, sleeping problems or even depression in horses. Horses use their noses to distinguish and match images, and are rewarded with food when they get…