New Scale Helps Assess Halter-Handling Abilities of Horses
Researchers in Italy have developed what they describe as a reliable and valid behavioural test to assess whether a horse is halter-trained.
3D Printing Lets Amish Draft Horse Breathe Again
A typical work day for a Belgian draft horse on an Amish farm is to plow the fields until lunchtime, eat a bucket of oats, then head back out to plow until dinner. So when a draft horse named Ronnie started having trouble breathing three years ago, he couldn’t finish all of his chores. Because…
Horses Recognize Horse Faces in Photos
An Italian study shows horses know horse faces in photos, but not faces of other animals. The finding reveals information about how horses see 2D images.
For Facing Fear, Any (Horse) Friend Might Do
Researchers found that horses facing scary or stressful situations deal with them better when accompanied by another horse, regardless of whether the horses know each other.
Risks in Using Side Reins on Horses
Many users of auxiliary reins in a just-published study had them adjusted too tightly and did not change them despite the risk of related breathing problems.
Smell Can Affect Horses’ Feeding Preferences
Have you ever had a horse refuse to eat a certain feed, treat, or supplement? If so, he might not like the way it smells. While plenty of studies exist on horses’ flavour preferences, little consideration has been given to horses’ preferences for smell. For example, researchers have shown that anise increases the palatability of…
Modern Horses ‘Remember’ Their Original Predators’ Voices
Your horse might be terrified of a flapping flag or a rotting tree stump. But would she react to howls of a wolf or growls of a hungry panther, the real threats of her not-so-long-ago ancestors? A new study says yes—but it depends on where those ancestors came from.
Baylor Researchers Use Mechanical Horse to Help Autistic Children
Baylor University researchers are in the midst of a two-year long study of using a mechanical horse to help children with autism improve their motor and social skills.
How to Photograph Horses (Part 2)
A horse always looks better when it ‘pops’. This means the horse has its ears forward, eyes bright and it looks lively and alert! To do this, there are several tricks you can use.
Do Boots and Wraps Overheat Horses’ Legs?
Researchers investigated the degree to which boots and wraps impair convection cooling—potentially damaging tendon cells—during exercise.