Do horses need a field shelter? How important is it for them to have shade, or a place to get out of the wind and rain? What about protection from insects? Four researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala wanted to find out. In their research, Kristina Dahlborn, Elke Hartmann, Richard Hopkins and Claudia von Brömssen,…
Somewhere in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland, lies the Isle of Man. Douglas is the capital and largest town on the island. A busy working harbour and business centre, it’s also a popular tourist destination where visitors enjoy horse-drawn tram rides along the town’s waterfront. The famous, Douglas Bay Horse Tramway has been operating since 1876…
Have you heard the expression, “No feet, no horse.”? It means no matter how beautiful or how perfect the rest of a horse may be, without good feet they can’t perform and they can’t exercise. In fact, they can’t really do much of anything. Hooves that are allowed to grow too long not only look bad, they affect the internal…
Do you love making things for Christmas? This post will show you how to make horse head Christmas ornaments! Let’s get started. You’ll need: fine yarn or thread to be used for the horse’s body. I’ve chosen white, an orange for a chestnut colour and grey. cardboard (or a book) about 7″ (18 cm) wide…
Click to enlarge Have you started thinking about Halloween yet? Do you have a costume? What about a design for your jack ‘o lantern? Have you ever carved a horse jack ‘o lantern before? Maybe this is the year to give it a try! If you know how to use a grid to change the…
Have you ever had the job of feeding hay to a barn full of horses? A common method of feeding hay to horses is to simply toss flakes of hay on the ground. The horses lower their heads and don’t stop eating until it’s all gone—or trampled into the ground. If you’ve ever mucked out a stall or…
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…
It’s back to the Bay Area Equestrian Club’s Vet Summer Camp again this week. The third day of summer camp took campers to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis for a tour that included an introduction to the blood donor herd, an explanation of how blood is collected from horses, as…
Twelve-year-old Taylor Lai has a passion for horses. She’s attended horseback riding summer camps, and has been fortunate to have grown up with horses in the Mount Diablo foothills in California. “I really want to have my career to do with horses, and I like the idea of being a vet because you get to be around…