Vitelle, the once-paralyzed filly, is finally walking, trotting, and cantering without a walker at the farm in Belgium she left more than a year ago. In June 2009, at 3 weeks old, the Boulonnais Draft horse foal developed sudden paralysis and urinary incontinence. Three days later she underwent a groundbreaking surgical laminectomy at a Belgian veterinary school to remove a cyst from her spinal co

Rein tension, saddle and seat pressure, training rewards and reinforcement, and the evaluation of stress and emotions in riding horses were some of the main topics at this year’s International Equitation Science Symposium held July 31–Aug. 2 in Uppsala and Strömsholm, Sweden. With the theme “Horse welfare and human safety: importance of learning, training, and

With the adoption of the new Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMR), effective since April 2010, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has reinforced the concept of the Person Responsible in doping cases. The recent doping case of German rider Marco Kutscher, who was tri

Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) show jumping horse candidate Crelido, ridden by Michael Morrissey (USA), was abused during a WEG-qualifying event when he was “excessively whipped,” and Morrissey has hence been disqualified, according to the statement of the final decision of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) Tribunal.

Less than a week after the resolution of the legal dispute concerning World Cup mount Sapphire, ridden by McLain Ward (USA), new international guidelines for the evaluation of hypersensitivity have been issued, according to the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). “Following the Sapphire disqualification and the legal challenge, the FEI examined carefully t

Through literally hundreds of vaccinations and dewormings, 60 surgeries, nutrition training, and a nationwide farrier clinic, all from June 6-13, the Dominican Republic’s horses, donkeys, and mules are once again benefiting from a new concept known as “equitarianism.”

The equitarian effort, headed by Jay Merriam, DVM, MS, of the Massachusetts Equine Clinic in conjunc

Two-time Olympian Marco Kutscher might not have known his horse Cornet Obolensky received injections of a prohibited substance during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, but the German equestrian was still named the “primary person responsible” and, thus, negligent, according to the decision of the Tribunal of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI).

Using a modern TEM, which can magnify images up to 250,000 times with high quality resolution, researchers examined 14- and 16-day-old embryos (about a half an inch in diameter) to better understand the unique aspects of the developing horse.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist dressage mount Salinero will not be competing at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games due to ongoing complications from having injured his withers, according to his owner, trainer, and rider Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands.

“As long as it hurts to have a saddle on him, he won’t be ridden,” van Grunsven said.

Swelling

Where the wild horses roam free, daily hoof tracks can be followed for miles. Now thanks to new, lightweight GPS technology, Australian researchers are no longer following tracks but recording satellite signals from various wild horse herds as well as domestic horses. Their studies suggest that through domestication and stabling, horses have taken on movement patterns that might be negatively aff

By comparing certain riding positions of amateur equestrians and the neck positions of their mounts to the kind of back pain those horses experienced while in the stall, the researchers concluded that how you ride makes a big difference in equine welfare.

Behavior Quiz: If you put five breeding stallions together in an open pasture, what do you get? A) the Kentucky Derby, minus the jockeys, B) a new pro basketball team, or C) dramatic chaos?

Believe it or not, according to a new study by a Swiss research team, the answer is D) none of the above. In fact, the scientists, led by Sabrina Briefer, DVM, MSc, researcher at the Swiss National

The development of sarcoids–the most frequent of equine skin tumors–appears to have a genetic basis, and Swiss researchers are now honing in on the exact genes responsible for the disease. A new major study involving 222 horses yielded three chromosomal regions of the equine genome that could be further investigated for candidate genes responsible for sarcoids, according to Vend

A new, simple muscular microbiopsy technique can reveal important information about a horse’s athletic potential as well as possible pathologies that can affect performance, according to a new study by Belgian researchers.

By analyzing mitochondrial respiration via high resolution respirometry (HRR), researchers can attribute values to the functional capacity of muscle cells t

Computer-assisted surgery (CAS) with a passive optical tracking system is the new future for repairing internal hoof fractures, providing highly accurate placement of screws and the chance for “perfect” results, according to a new study by Swiss researchers.

When it comes to forming couples, do opposites really attract? Or does it boil down to chemistry? New research in Switzerland suggests that, at least for horses, both of these phenomena play into the process of selecting mates. The reactions of mares at different stages of their estrus cycles to various stallions were investigated and compared to the “chemistry”–or more specifical