Posture, Behaviors Indicate Horse Well-Being

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

Read More

Eye Position and Animal Agility Study Published

New research from scientists in Liverpool has revealed the relationship between agility and vision in mammals. The study, published in February in the Journal of Anatomy, sampled 51 species to compare the relationship between agility and

Read More

Horse Stereotypies Vary by Discipline, Researchers Say

Some horses crib, some weave, some chew wood. Some have many in-stall habits, while others have practically none. But these equine stereotypies are not as random as they might seem. According to recent findings from an equine behavior research

Read More

Student Research on Horse Behavior

Q: I am a third-year veterinary student at Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. I am working on a paper for my Equine Health Management class, and I am focusing on equine behavioral stereotypies (cribbing, weaving, stall/box walking) and pasturing…

Read More

Barn Improvement

As our understanding of horse health and behavior has improved, barns have changed–a lot. No longer are they just places to house horses. Today’s owners now approach barns and other farm structures with horse/human health, environmental impact…

Read More

Student Research: Weaning, Foal Response to Mare Breeding

Questions: What is the best age to wean a foal? Is it a good/bad practice to take the afterbirth away from the mare right away so the veterinarian can check it? In the covering barn, why does the foal always get upset when the stallion…?

Read More

First Steps for Foal Handling

Discussion of the many ways to teach young horses/foals to submit to humans; from imprinting to halter training, tying, grooming, and much more.

Read More

Horses and Veterinarians: How to Get Along

“Veterinarians work under a great handicap when handling horses–almost everything the veterinarian does to a horse is either frightening or painful,” began Robert Miller, DVM. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no way for a v

Read More

Training: Positive Reinforcement Improves Horse Memory

The research team that demonstrated yearlings perform much better if their training included feed rewards as positive reinforcement is now back to let us know that positive reinforcement gets engrained in young horses’ minds for the long ha

Read More

Odd Posture to Poop

I have a 9-year-old gelding who holds his body in a strange position while defecating. He curves his head to the left, then brings the left hind leg forward while passing feces. His whole body is in a curve to the left… any ideas why?

Read More

Tongue Troubles

I have a filly who occasionally sticks out her tongue to the side and lolls it at times when I do ground training, but I have never seen her do it under saddle. She’ll also bite at herself and stick her tongue while grooming. Is it stress?

Read More

Compulsive Urinating on Hay

My 10-year old Paso Fino gelding consistently, and sometimes frantically, urinates on his hay. I have tried to place his hay where he can’t urinate on it, but he will try his hardest to get to it. Could this be some sort of “marking” behavior?

Read More

Weaving Worries

I have a 12-year-old Tennessee Walker who weaves. I recently noticed lameness in the right front leg. How does weaving affect the lameness, and what treatments can I use to stop or decrease the lameness? Would steroid injections help?

Read More

More From The Horse

hair loss in horses; Improving Dry Equine Skin and Coats With Nutrition; IBH vaccine for horses
Down Horse _ 3
Collecting Colostrum, colostrum, foal care, mare care
foal nursing

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Has your horse started shedding his winter coat?
291 votes · 291 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!

The Horse
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.