Behavior

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Calming Mother Nature

Q: I have a 7-year-old Quarter Horse mare that is quite “the mare.” When she is around the geldings (even if they are in different pastures) and in season, she will put her butt up to the fence and wink (the vulvar lips), etc. She

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Crossing Bridges

My horse refuses to cross a wooden bridge. I walked him across plywood for about three days and had no trouble.

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Bad-Asses

Why do mules and donkeys have heightened “territorial” or protective instincts when compared to horses?

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Anabolic Steroid Effects

A colleague, Larry Soma, VMD, is an anesthesiologist/pharmacologist who conducts research for the Thoroughbred and Standardbred horse racing commissions in Pennsylvania. Basically, his lab develops and validates testing methods for detection of

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Understanding Horses Part 10: Stand Still

Horses often need to be restrained for the veterinarian, farrier, or groom. Foals present particular problems, as do horses that might have been mishandled or who have never been taught to be patient and respect their handlers. Here are a few tips

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Defecation Behavior

Why do some horses at our barn poop in the same place every time, then some others seem to go anywhere?

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Smart Mare, Smarter Vet

I am doing some positive reinforcement-based behavior modification for needle shyness in a draft broodmare. This mare is just too big and strong for the old-fashioned restraint methods of working around the problem. She has quite a repertoire of

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Hoofing It with John Henry

If you’ve visited the Kentucky Horse Park sometime in the past few months, you might have noticed a small, dark brown gelding, utterly unremarkable apart from his obvious age, walking with purpose with bright eyes and pricked ears among the sleek

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Training Your Horse for Procedures–And Everything Else

“It is our responsibility to have the horse so well trained that we can do whatever we need to do without a problem,” he stated. “Our horse does not have the right to hurt anyone. It’s not because the vet smells funny that a horse hurts him

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Gender Issues: Training Stallions

By Ron Meredith, President, Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre

Some people make a big deal out of a horse’s gender and say people should handle horses of different sexes different ways. We work with every horse, regardless o

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Gender Issues: Training Geldings

By Ron Meredith
President, Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre


Years ago, I had a client with a 2-year-old Arabian colt that she wanted to keep as a breeding stallion. The colt was argumentative and constantly

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Calculating the Equine Attention Span

Using operant conditioning, scientists have quantified horses’ attention spans, and they have drawn some conclusions that could help horse trainers and owners better understand their charges and how they learn.

The researchers at

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