Compulsive Circling
Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB
June 1, 2011
Why does my blind horse constantly pace in circles in an anticlockwise direction?
Why does my blind horse constantly pace in circles in an anticlockwise direction?
I own a 5-year-old Friesian cross mare that I have had since her birth; she i
Finding great riding school horses is a perpetual challenge for instructors. There isn’t a formula for selecting the ideal school horse–sometimes the perfect mount just comes along, and other times management methods dictate whether a school horse
Does a horse respond differently to “his person” as opposed to a stranger? The results of a recent French study indicate that horses use auditory and visual information to recognize specific people, and that they expect certain behaviors from those
How horses interact, the subtleties of equine communication, and the ways in which trainers can influence behavior are all topics of focus at the upcoming short course on horse behavior. The course will be held May 12-13 on the New Bolton Center campus.
Early-term abortion in mares is a frustrating problem for breeders, as often the cause is nearly impossible to determine. But a team of researchers from the Czech Republic might have uncovered one possible reason why mares abort in certain management
Anyone who’s suffered from chronic aches and pains will likely say the ever-present irritation can put a damper on their day, possibly even making them cranky. But is the same true for horses? A group of French researchers recently completed a study
What do wild mustangs have to teach people? If you ask the students enrolled in Rutgers University’s (RU) Young Horse Teaching and Research Program (YHTRP), the answer will likely be, “plenty.” For the past two years, the YHTRP, headed by Sarah L.
The researchers observed that whether alone or in groups, the enrichment items horses liked best involved food
A resurgence of interest in the equine temporomandibular joint (TMJ) (which allows for opening and closing of a horse’s mouth) has led to discussions on the relationship of TMJ disease to weight loss or behavioral changes in horses.
Most horse lovers have read Black Beauty, the famous novel Anna Sewell wrote to raise awareness of the mistreatment of carriage and other working horses in Victorian England. Another English writer, Michael Morpurgo, accomplished a similar feat with
Our pregnant mare thinks another mare’s colt is hers. Is it common for pregnant mares to adopt others’ foals?
Those who have worked with different breeds of horses almost always have their opinion as to basic temperament and behavioral characteristics of certain breeds.
A recent study found that horses with pica–a propensity for consuming non-food items–have lower iron and copper blood levels than horses who restricted themselves to food items, only. According to researchers from Turkey, “prophylactic u
Once you learn how the equine eye functions, you’ll better understand your horse’s actions. And you’ll have insight managing your trail horse when it becomes skittish for no apparent reason.
If a horse spends most of his time standing in the same position in his stall, would you say he’s just bored? And what about a mare that threatens to bite when you approach her stall–is she vicious?
The latest behavior research
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