Researchers have learned that foals and dams appear to prefer looking at each other with their left eyes and keeping each other in their left field of vision in most situations.
Misinterpretations (believing a horse is happy when in fact he’s depressed, for example) could cause these future professionals to miss signs of poor welfare and put themselves at risk of injury (if they perceive an agitated horse as playful, for instance).
New study results indicate the pressure horses appear to accept from most bitless bridles is comparable to that they accept from snaffle bridles.
A mare’s attraction to a stallion—specifically, to his body odors, or “MHC”—affects pregnancy success rates. And, researchers found, mares appear to prefer stallions with MHCs that differ from their own.
By understanding these natural seasonal stress patterns, scientists are better equipped to continue preserving this endangered species, researchers said.
Researchers tested a technique to log heart rate and speed data from each horse in an attempt to monitor, step-by-step, the horse’s physical response to jumping during training, competition, and recovery.
In a recent study Japanese researchers found that the right mix of equine influenza vaccines provided immunity against the virus; the wrong mix, however, did not.
More experienced riders held their eyes on a specific point more frequently than less experienced riders, who shifted their vision frequently to look at more things, researchers found.
Researchers say the standing technique minimizes risk to the patient, reduces costs to the client, and limits complications.
While relatively uncommon, brain worms can occur. And when they do, their infections are usually fatal.
Researchers said many equestrians’ “preconceived ideas” about behaviors they associate with mares, stallions, and geldings could have serious consequences for training and welfare.
Horseback riding is a unique sport, in that it’s an “individual” sport with two participants—horse and rider. That also makes it special in the way it’s coached and learned, researchers say.
A new wearable device allows scientists to take electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements from active, moving horses’ brains in real time, which could help us better understand how horses think and react, researchers said.
These findings could eventually help veterinarians tailor medical care, feeding, and training to individual horses.
Przewalski’s horses and domestic horses probably experience the same emotions but likely developed different priorities and, hence, ways of communicating them.
In horses bone development begins in the womb, but researchers are still working to understand the complexities of in utero bone growth.
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