Belgian veterinarians have successfully completed the first cardiac ablation—a procedure used to correct irregular heartbeats—performed in a horse. Diamant, a 5-year-old Norwegian show jumper, came through the four-hour operation with no difficulties.
Overall, men were more likely than women to approve of whipping during a race, and lower-income populations were more likely to refuse to bet on races if authorities banned whipping, Australian survey results revealed.
The horse training aid researchers tested–made up of a system of loops and a pulley–could help keep rein tension levels at near zero with the horse’s nose at the vertical.
Selective breeding has led to a Thoroughbred uniquely adapted to modern racing’s demands. But it’s also led to inbreeding, and with that has come some less favorable genetic issues.
Swiss researchers have developed and tested a novel IBH vaccine for horses that minimized the disease-associated inflammation and itching in their trial herd.
One veterinarian concedes that equitation scientists and vets alike are still working to determine how to change people’s behavior with the goal of improving horse welfare, but offers some suggestions on how to make progress.
Researchers have determined that the matrix—a stretchy, sticky, weblike structure within the tendon—loses its resistance over time. This could play a role in tendon problems in old horses.
Find out how equine researchers are using the latest gadgets and gizmos to diagnose lameness, collect data, and more.
Researchers determined that modifications in whip use rules, aimed toward more ethical use had no negative effect on Standardbreds’ racing performance or race times.
Describing age-related structural changes in senior horse hearts is a critical first step in recognizing pathologies. However, researchers say it’s too soon to know how those age-related changes affect horse health.
A study shows that “ulcerated” horses didn’t seem to look or act significantly different from healthy horses.
Researchers found that 90% of stem-cell-cloned foals were “completely healthy and normal” at birth, whereas two-thirds of the skin-cell-cloned foals were not.
Scintigraphy gives provides the practitioner with information about some injuries related to bone or soft-tissue connections to bone, but it might not reveal many other sources of foot pain, researchers found.
Researchers determined that, even in a short time span, a horse can associate a place with positive or negative experiences and consequently present different emotions when he returns to that place.
While that might sound obvious, it’s important to recognize the link between attitude and behavior to bring about welfare change. Specifically, one researcher says, education programs should first focus on changing attitudes to change people’s behavior.
A custom-fitted thermoplastic glue-on shoe, designed to support the frog, made study ponies at-risk for laminitis more comfortable within three days, researchers said.
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