Health Considerations for World Equestrian Games Horses
The Horse Staff
August 9, 2010
Quarantine, confinement, and stress can affect World Equestrian Games (WEG) horses.
Quarantine, confinement, and stress can affect World Equestrian Games (WEG) horses.
Catherine Kohn, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University, will be part of a multinational team of veterinarians caring for horses competing at the 2008 Olympics.
Keep your horses cooler, less stressed, and happier when hauling in hot, humid conditions.
“Since transport is known to be stressful and few studies have examined the effect of a mid-journey rest, the purpose of this study was to examine if a 12-hour rest and feeding stop during a long journey would impact the horses’ immune response,”
Transport, regardless of method, is stressful to horses. From the days before air travel, when horses traveled by boat to reach competitions on faraway shores, to modern times, when horses and riders alike rack up their share of frequent-flyer miles, Olympic Games-bound mounts have endured their share of travel delays, cramped conditions, stale air, weather-related difficulties, and trip-related illnesses.
Martin Atock has seen a lot of things in the more than 20 years he has spent coordinating international equine travel. Atock is managing director of Peden Bloodstock, the official Olympic horse transportation company.
In 1990 he was
Although the stress of exposition environments might be unavoidable, according to several exposition professionals, its effects on horses can be reduced through careful selection of the horses that will be participating and management at the event.
Three top dressage riders–one from Switzerland and two from Canada?have renounced their participation in the 2008 summer Olympics in China, citing potential equine health hazards posed by extreme climate and travel conditions.
Canadian
Switzerland’s dressage team will not take part at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The move follows the withdrawal of the team’s top rider, Silvia Ikle, who doesn’t want to expose her horse to travel-related stress and the humid conditions in Hon
Traveling with horses is no longer the big deal it once was, but the risks attached to hauling are as great as ever; as we all know, accidents happen, even to the most responsible of us. And while it’s essential to take precautions to protect
One of the major problems with EVA is how easily it can be transferred from one horse to another. Of course there is the respiratory route, where nasal secretions spread the virus from horse to horse through a barn or training stable.
Any time you have excessive road noise or vibration in a horse trailer, I think the horse experiences some stress. That can lead to fatigue, both muscular and mental. Reduction of noise or vibrations should benefit horses in transit.
It becomes obvious that acclimating to a new environment is a challenge for the competing horse, involving everything from wellness and altitude to circadian rhythms involving time zones. It also becomes obvious, based on research, that there is no
New research indicates that the normal stresses of traveling and showing can cause ulcers and stomach lining changes in as little as five days.
Scott McClure, DVM, PhD, of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, used 20
While there have been many changes in the equine world in the past several decades, no change has been more dramatic than that experienced by horse transportation. The change, literally, has been from hooves and rails to wheels and wings. While
What suggestions do you have for keeping a horse calm during transport without hay, or reducing the dust in the trailer?
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