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Topic:Horse Management
Horse management encompasses the practices and techniques used to care for and maintain horses in various settings, including stables, pastures, and performance environments. This area of study covers a range of activities such as feeding, grooming, housing, exercise, and health monitoring to ensure the well-being and optimal performance of horses. Effective horse management requires an understanding of equine behavior, nutrition, and physiology, as well as the ability to implement routine care practices and respond to health issues. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methods, strategies, and outcomes associated with different horse management practices.
Sentinel practice-based survey of the management and health of horses in northern Britain. Details of the management, feeding, level of activity and routine health care of horses in Scotland and the five northernmost counties in England were recorded through a stratified random sample of horse owners who had responded to a previous survey. Sixty-eight per cent of the horses were kept where their owners resided, and 32 per cent were kept away from the owner's home. More than 99 per cent were turned out to grazing for at least part of the year and 81 per cent were stabled for at least part of the time, most commonly bedded on straw (50 per cent) or shavings (34 per cent). Hay was fed ...
Horse-related injuries in a thoroughbred stabling area in Japan. To investigate the demographic details and patterns of injuries related to horse handling, we reviewed 637 horse-related injuries in 581 stable- or stud-workers in a representative area of thoroughbred stabling in Japan. We found that (1) injuries occurred most frequently in a group of a relatively young workers, with a seasonal variation; (2) the principal mechanism of injury was kicks, which accounted for 39.2% of all injuries, including 11 serious and one lethal visceral injuries; (3) the upper half of the body was more frequently involved than the lower half; and (4) the peripheral bones (...
Training failure among yearling horses. To compare financial returns between pinhooked yearling horses (ie, bought and trained for approximately 5 months with the goal of selling the horse at "2-year-olds in training" sales) that had mild or severe training failure and horses that had planned versus nonplanned training failure. Methods: 40 Thoroughbred pinhooked yearling horses. Methods: During the period from September 1998 through and April 1999, 20 horses had mild training failure (1 to 11 days lost), and 20 horses had severe training failure (13 to 108 days lost). Horses were assigned to these 2 groups on the basis of frequency ...
Traceability of Equidae: a population in motion. The accelerated speed of animal transport and the existence of complex and intricate movement systems have created an equine population in motion. This ease in the international movement of horses has an impact on the risk of introduction or spread of disease, specifically in relation to competition horses. Facilitating trade in Equidae, whilst simultaneously safeguarding the health status of the receiving country is a major challenge. To date, the international regulatory bodies are prepared to consider movement of registered horses as a relatively 'low risk' occurrence and thereby apply the ...
Management of horses showing stereotypic behaviour, owner perception and the implications for welfare. A telephone survey was conducted of 100 racing stables, 100 riding schools and 100 competition establishments (8,427 horses in total) to determine what management practices were being applied to horses showing stereotypic behaviour, and to determine the underlying reasons for them by assessing the perceptions and opinions of the people working with the horses. The results indicated that horse owners are concerned about stereotypic behaviour, first, because it reduces the performance of the animal (31, 30 and 27 per cent of the owners of racing stables, riding schools and competition establishm...
A note on the effects of forward and rear-facing orientations on movement of horses during transport. Several studies have attempted to determine the effects of orientation on a horse's ability to maintain balance during transportation. The results have often been contradictory because of differences in trailer design and lack of simultaneous comparisons. In this study, three replications of two forward-facing and two rear-facing horses were transported at the same time over a standardized course to allow for simultaneous comparisons. Each animal's total forward and backward motion during transport was calculated to estimate the effect of orientation on the horses' ability to maintain balance....
Chemical, physical, and environmental properties of pelleted newspaper compared to wheat straw and wood shavings as bedding for horses. Two experiments were conducted comparing pelleted recycled newspaper (PN) to wheat straw (S) and kiln-dried pine wood shavings (WS) as an animal bedding material. Adult horses housed 20 to 21 h/d in boxstalls served as the animal model for comparisons. In Exp. 1 eight boxstalls, each housing one horse, were each bedded with two types of PN (0.32 and 0.64 x 2.54 cm), S, and WS over four 5-d periods (replicated 4 x 4 Latin square). Initial amounts of bedding materials surpassed most commercial conditions, but stalls were cleaned daily of feces only and additional clean bedding was added as neede...
Effects of ground surface deformability, trimming, and shoeing on quasistatic hoof loading patterns in horses. To determine whether solar load distribution pattern on a solid nondeformable ground surface is the product of contact erosion and is the mirror image of load distribution on a deformable surface in horses. Methods: 30 clinically normal horses. Methods: Solar load distribution was compared among 25 clinically normal horses during quasistatic loading on a solid nondeformable surface and on a highly deformable surface. Changes in solar load distribution patterns were evaluated in 5 previously pasture-maintained horses housed on a flat nondeformable surface. Changes in solar load distribution cre...
Effect of water supply method and flow rate on drinking behavior and fluid balance in horses. This study investigated three methods of water supply on drinking preference and behavior in six Standardbred geldings (2-9 years, 505+/-9 kg). The water sources were buckets (B), pressure valve (PV), and float valve (FV) bowls. In an initial drinking preference test, PV was tested at three flow rates: 3, 8, and 16 l/min (PV3, PV8, and PV16), and FV at 3 l/min (FV3). Water intake was measured in l and presented as the percentage of the total daily water intake from each of two simultaneously presented alternatives. The intake from PV8 was greater than from both PV3 (72+/-11% vs. 28+/-11%) and ...
Clenbuterol in the horse: confirmation and quantitation of serum clenbuterol by LC-MS-MS after oral and intratracheal administration. Clenbuterol is a beta2 agonist/antagonist bronchodilator, and its identification in post-race samples may lead to sanctions. The objective of this study was to develop a specific and highly sensitive serum quantitation method for clenbuterol that would allow effective regulatory control of this agent in horses. Therefore, clenbuterol-d9 was synthesized for use as an internal standard, an automated solid-phase extraction method was developed, and both were used in conjunction with a multiple reaction monitoring liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method to allow unequivoca...
[Supplemental fat in the diet of horses…is it advantageous?]. Feeding fat-supplemented diets to horses has drawn considerable interest. One of the advantages of such diets is that the energy density is increased, so that less feed is needed to meet energy requirements. In addition, adding fat to the diet enhances the contribution of fat oxidation to energy production, thus sparing muscle glycogen. The 'spared' glycogen is available for energy metabolism when the acutely exercising horse reaches a point of oxygen deficit and must rely on anaerobic metabolism. This appears to be beneficial for both aerobic and anaerobic performance. Fats are readily digest...
Transmission of endoparasites in horse foals born on the same pasture on a farm in central Kentucky (1996-1999). Research carried out during the last 4 years (1996-1999) of an 11-year study of the prevalence of internal parasites naturally transmitted to horse foals born on the same pasture on a farm in central Kentucky is presented here. Horses in this herd were not treated with any antiparasitic compound for over 20 years except for a replacement stallion in 1994. A total of 22 species, including 12 species of small strongyles, were recovered in the 4-year period. Transmission patterns of all species (n=35) of endoparasites recovered are compared for the 11-year study. Some of the changes were an incre...
Review of equine feeding and stable management practices in the UK concentrating on the last decade of the 20th century. Equine feeding and stable management practices for horses kept in the UK vary greatly and it is probable that almost any permutation of regimen could be found somewhere. Unfortunately, there is uncertainty about the number of horses in the UK and very limited data are available on the ways horses are being fed and managed. This paper reviews some of the information that is available and provides an outline of some of the factors influencing the practices used. To a certain extent, the way UK horses are fed and managed primarily reflects the purpose for which they are kept (e.g. racing Thorough...
The development of equestrianism from the baroque period to the present day and its consequences for the welfare of horses. Many saddle horses are slaughtered at a young age which could be indicative of a welfare problem. Bad riding is probably an underestimated source of poor welfare. Widespread knowledge of 'academic' riding should be encouraged and should be beneficial to all horses, at all schooling levels, for all purposes. In particular, 18th century principles tend to be forgotten and in this article the authors illustrate some differences to modern dressage. Various suggestions are made in order to improve welfare.
The importance of ethology in understanding the behaviour of the horse. Domestication has provided the horse with food, shelter, veterinary care and protection, allowing individuals an increased chance of survival. However, the restriction of movement, limited breeding opportunities and a requirement to expend energy, for the benefit of another species, conflict with the evolutionary processes which shaped the behaviour of its predecessors. The behaviour of the horse is defined by its niche as a social prey species but many of the traits which ensured the survival of its ancestors are difficult to accommodate in the domestic environment. There has been a long asso...
Horses and the rural economy in the United Kingdom. The horse industry is large and varied, but until comparatively recently its contribution to the economy of the UK has been virtually ignored and this, together with the disparate nature and small size of the individual businesses involved, has resulted in a general lack of universally available data. What is undoubtedly true, however, is that the horse touches upon the professional and recreational aspects of many peoples' lives and that, without the horse, not only would a significant proportion of the rural working population be unemployed but many ancillary industries would have considerab...
Statistical evaluation of the regulatory guidelines for use of furosemide in race horses. The pharmacokinetic behavior of furosemide concentrations in performance horses is of great interest to the equine industry and equine researchers. Specifically, such information is useful for the evaluation of the existing guidelines in several racing jurisdictions and for the possible development of new guidelines for varying time periods after administration. We studied several approaches within the framework of nonlinear mixed effects models to increase the accuracy of evaluating these guidelines. Theoretical properties of the proposed methods were examined and the variances of the resulti...
Effect of water restriction on equine behaviour and physiology. Six pregnant mares were used to determine what level of water restriction causes physiological and/or behavioural changes indicative of stress. Nonlegume hay was fed ad libitum. During the first week of restriction, 5 l water/100 kg bwt was available, during the second week 4 l/100 kg bwt and, during the third week, 3 l/100 kg bwt. Ad libitum water intake was 6.9 l/100 kg bwt; at 3 l/100 kg bwt water intake was 42% of this. Daily hay intake fell significantly with increasing water restriction from 12.9 +/- 0.75 kg to 8.3 +/- 0.54 kg; bodyweight fell significantly for a total loss of 48.5 +/- 8...
