Observational studies in horses involve systematically assessing and recording behaviors, conditions, or other characteristics without manipulating the study environment. These studies provide insights into natural equine behaviors, health conditions, and interactions with their environment. Researchers often focus on aspects such as herd dynamics, feeding patterns, or responses to environmental changes. The data collected can help identify trends, correlations, and potential risk factors for certain conditions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various observational methodologies and their applications in understanding equine behavior and health.
Fonseca-Rodríguez O, Pinheiro Júnior JW, Mota RA.In Brazil, glanders remains a serious problem, with the obligatory sacrifice of disease-positive animals without compensation. Each year, glanders cases are reported in several regions of the country, causing severe economic losses and trade restrictions. The present study describes and discusses the occurrence of glanders foci in Brazil during a 12-year period from 2005 to 2016. The highest frequency of reported affected holdings during the study period was in the northeast region. Moreover, during this period, the disease incidence in Brazil showed an overall increasing tendency. The number ...
Pehkonen J, Karma L, Raekallio M.No studies have focused on dental pain signs associated with periapical infection in cheek teeth (CT) of horses. Moreover, the ability of owners to recognize signs of dental pain in horses has not been reported. We hypothesized that periapical infection will usually induce pain that manifests in the behavior of the horse. Removing the infected tooth will reduce the expression of such behaviors. Owners of 47 horses whose CT had been removed because of periapical infection participated in this study. They filled an internet-based questionnaire including 23 questions about eating behavior, bit be...
Molesan A, Wang M, Sun Q, Pierce V, Desideri R, Palmer S, Todhunter R, Kelly K.Postmortem evaluation of racehorses has focused primarily on musculoskeletal injuries; however, horses also die suddenly on the track (sudden death [SD]). Although cardiac conditions are frequently suspected as a cause of death, SD racehorses are often autopsy negative; however, previous studies have been limited due to inconsistent or insufficient cardiac sampling and lack of controls. SD in New York (NY) and Maryland (MD) racehorses was evaluated in an observational case vs control study comparing clinical information, postmortem evaluation including cardiac dissection, and cardiac conductio...
Bennett-Wimbush K, J SB, Amstutz M, Duthie M.Three sequential studies were performed to evaluate the effects of tying horses while wearing overchecks (strap from the bridle to backpad). In an observational study, horses (n = 305) wore high (HC), low (LC), or no overchecks (NC) with frequencies of 29.2%, 51.8% and 19.0% respectively. Study 1 (Latin square, n = 6) consisted of a 90-min tie test (90TT) with treatments (HC, LC, NC) x periods (1-3). Horses wearing HC had higher plasma cortisol (P < 0.01) when compared to LC and NC. Muscle soreness (MSS) and tightness (MTS) were evaluated pre and 24 hr post 90TT and were higher (P <...
Fortina M, Maniscalco P, Carulli C, Meccariello L, Colasanti GB, Carta S.Horse racing is a hazardous sport. We analyzed the incidence and characteristics of jockey injuries in a typical horse race. Methods: We analyzed all injuries sustained by 224 jockeys in the last 72 years. Results: It was found that in 96.1% of the races there was at least one fall and in 28.6% of the races 50% or more of the jockeys fell. In 43.4% of the falls, the jockey was taken to the emergency room. Comparing the Palio with traditional races in other countries, a higher injury incidence rate was observed for every 100 falls (109.884 vs 27-59) and a lower concussion rate/100 falls (0.97 v...
Bonsembiante F, Perazzi A, Deganello A, Gelain ME, Iacopetti I.The cytobrush technique is commonly used to sample the equine ocular surface. Impression cytology (IC) is an innovative noninvasive method, which allows for the collection of superficial layers of ocular epithelium. Objective: The aims of this study were to compare the cytobrush and IC techniques on healthy equine ocular surfaces, to assess the agreement between observers with different levels of expertise, and to test the preservability of filters over time. Methods: Twenty-four horses were sampled within 10 minutes of slaughter using IC on the left eye and the cytobrush technique on the rig...
Shelef A, Brafman D, Rosing T, Weizman A, Stryjer R, Barak Y.Equine assisted therapy (EAT) which includes therapeutic horseback riding (THR), grooming, horsemanship and ground level work with horses, has been studied as treatment for children with special needs and/or autistic spectrum disorder. Preliminary evidence indicates that EAT is also effective for improving self-efficacy and self-esteem in adults with psychiatric disorders. Empowerment, bonding and building trust with the horses, may promote functioning of patients struggling with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).The authors performed a prospective, pilot open case series study to assess t...
Popescu S, Lazar EA, Borda C, Niculae M, Sandru CD, Spinu M.This paper investigates the effect of different housing conditions on the welfare quality of breeding horses. Using a welfare protocol that included health and behavioral parameters, 330 stallions (kept in tie-stall housing) and 365 broodmares (kept in extensive, mostly free housing) were assessed. The horses were categorized into four welfare categories ("not classified", "acceptable", "enhanced" and "excellent"), according to an individual welfare score calculated for each horse. The prevalence of stallions with dyspnea, tendon and joint swellings, abnormal gait and abnormal hoof horn qualit...
Spargo KE, Rubio-Martinez LM, Wheeler DP, Fletcher L, Carstens A.The incidence and types of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries in Thoroughbreds that resulted in euthanasia on selected racetracks in South Africa between 1998 and 2012 were investigated by an observational retrospective investigation. Data from the National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa for these racetracks were used to calculate incidence rates in Thoroughbreds (n = 114) that sustained catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries during racing that required immediate euthanasia, based on the diagnosis made by the on-site veterinarian as well as on fetlock radiographs and dissections o...
Leśniak K, Whittington L, Mapletoft S, Mitchell J, Hancox K, Draper S, Williams J.Despite the likelihood that a horse's mass influences hoof morphology, empirical evidence is lacking. A clearer understanding of factors influencing hoof shape could enable prevention, or better treatment, of foot-based disorders; common causes of equine lameness. The study's aim was to investigate the relationship between horse body size, in terms of mass and height, and fore hoof dimensions. A further aim was to determine changes in the occurrence of hoof asymmetry as body size increases. Height, mass, and fore hoof dimensions; coronet band width (CBW); hoof base width (HBW); dorsal hoof wal...
Czycholl I, Klingbeil P, Krieter J.Objective tools for the assessment of animal welfare are needed. The present study analyzed the interobserver reliability of the Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses to further enhance knowledge concerning reliability. Therefore, two trained observers conducted 18 assessments on farm at the same time and on the same animals. The results were compared at individual level by calculation of Cohen's kappa (κ), weighted kappa (κ), and prevalence-adjusted, bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Spearman rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient ...
Prado Silva RH, Carneiro de Rezende AS, Felipe da Silva Inácio D, Norberto F, Saraiva de Melo Queiroz JN, Melo MM, Colares de Araújo Moreira D....Mangalarga Marchador foals in Minas Gerais, Brazil, are usually weaned during the dry season, when there is a scarcity of forage. Although sorghum silage has been used to feed weanlings, the effect on their feeding behavior in comparison with grass hay has not been reported. Twelve Mangalarga Marchador weanlings were randomly assigned to two groups of six animals: SS: sorghum silage; VH: Vaquero hay. Both groups received commercial concentrate in the proportion of 1.2 kg.100 kg of the live weight and forage ad libitum. The animals were filmed for 48 hours, being timed: forage intake time, wate...
Hardeman AM, Serra Bragança FM, Swagemakers JH, van Weeren PR, Roepstorff L.Objective lameness assessment is gaining more importance in a clinical setting, necessitating availability of reference values. Objective: To investigate the between -path, -trial and -day variation, between and within horses, in the locomotion symmetry of horses in regular use that are perceived sound. Methods: Observational study with replicated measurement sessions. Methods: Twelve owner-sound horses were trotted on the straight line and on the lunge. Kinematic data were collected from these horses using 3D optical motion capture. Examinations were repeated on 12 occasions over the study wh...
Nankervis KJ, Bradley F, Kosek K, Dyson SJ.Published guidelines indicate an English saddle tree should not extend beyond the 18th thoracic vertebra (T18). The study aimed to assess reliability of saddle fitters (SFs) to identify the T18 spinous process (SP). Part 1 investigated agreement between T18 (T18SF) as identified by three SFs using palpation and a veterinary surgeon (VS) using radiography (T18VS) in seven horses. Saddle fitter 1 and SF2 palpated the lumbosacral joint and counted cranially six SPs, whereas SF3 followed the rib curvature toward the dorsal midline. In part 2, SF1 and SF2 identified T18 by counting cranially five S...
van Loon JPAM, Van Dierendonck MC.Objective pain assessment is important to guide and tailor therapy in clinical practice. This study describes the clinical applicability and validity of two pain scales, the Composite Pain Scale (CPS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP) in horses with orthopaedic trauma or after orthopaedic surgery. A cohort follow-up study was performed using 77 adult horses (n=43 with orthopaedic trauma or injury; n=34 controls). Composite and facial expression-based pain scores were assessed by direct observations of pairs of two independent observers. All horse...
Manning HS, Runcan EE, Dias de Moraes CR, Coutinho da Silva MA.The objective of this study was to use estrous behavior alone to determine the appropriate time for beginning an oxytocin treatment protocol for estrus suppression. We hypothesized that administration of oxytocin beginning 8 days after the onset of estrus will prolong the luteal phase in mares. Twenty-three light breed mares (aged 4-20 years) were exposed to a stallion and observed for signs of sexual receptivity. Mares not displaying signs received 250 μg of cloprostenol intramuscularly (IM) and were teased again 3-4 days later. On the day that estrous behavior was observed (Day 0), mare...
Træen B, Finstad KS, Røysamb E.The purpose of the study was to elucidate the relationship between personality traits, perfectionism, and mental health (self-efficacy, positive emotions) among competition riders. Data were collected by online questionnaires among 662 licensed competition riders in Norway. The results showed that riders who were high on conscientiousness and low on neuroticism had better mental health than other riders. Self-oriented perfectionism predicted mental health and mediated partly the associations between personality traits and mental health. Socially prescribed perfectionism had no association with...
Egan S, Brama P, McGrath D.Since Muybridge's 'horse in motion', researchers in the equine movement analysis field continue to improve objective analysis and performance monitoring while ensuring representative data capture. However, subjective evaluation remains the primary method of equine gait analysis in the applied setting, despite evidence highlighting the unreliability of this approach. Objective: To map research trends, limitations and opportunities across the diverse equine gait analysis literature. Methods: Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane systematic scoping review. Methods: Search terms were chosen based o...
Rowan C, Puggioni A, Hoey SE, O'Leary JM, Kearney C, Connolly SE, Skelly C.The requirement to pack the sulcus of the equine foot as an aid to diagnostic interpretation before acquisition of dorsoproximal-palmarodistal oblique projections is debatable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of packing the sulcus in the assessment of normal anatomy. 23 cadaver limbs were radiographed in a podoblock (https://www.podoblock.com/products-page/podoblock/podoblock/) A non-packed image (NP) and a packed image (P) of the same foot were acquired. The image quality of P was graded against the reference NP by five observers, where -1=P was superior, 0=no differe...
Pluháček J, Tučková V, King SRB, Šárová R.Overmarking occurs when one individual places its scent mark directly on top of the scent mark of another individual. Although it is almost ubiquitous among terrestrial mammals, we know little about the function of overmarking. In addition, almost all studies on mammalian overmarking behaviour dealt with adult individuals. Reports on this behaviour in juveniles are extremely rare, yet may elucidate the function of this behaviour. We tested four mutually non-exclusive hypotheses which might explain this behaviour in juveniles: (1) conceal the individual's scent identity, (2) announcement of ass...
Siwinska N, Michalek M, Zak A, Slowikowska M, Noszczyk-Nowak A, Niedzwiedz A, Paslawska U.Precise understanding of the dimensions of the vascular lumina is essential for accurate interpretation of cardiac vessels imaging. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study focusing on the ultrasound measurement of the right coronary artery (RCA) in the horse. The aim of this study was to determine both the ultrasonographic range of the normal diameter and lumen area of the RCA in horses and the influence of gender, age and level of training on the RCA dimensions. An additional aim of the study was to assess intra- and inter-observer repeatability of the collected measurements. ...
Holcombe SJ, Shearer TR, Valberg SJ.We conducted a retrospective cohort study to test the hypothesis that performing 4 weeks of core abdominal rehabilitation exercises (CARE) postoperatively would be safe and associated with faster return to training and improved performance after colic surgery. Performance horses that recovered from colic surgery performed by the same surgeon and survived ≥ 1 year from 2008 to 2017 were included. Data were obtained from a review of medical records. Information about the horses' rehabilitation and performance was obtained from owners/trainers. Data from horses that completed a 4-week CARE pr...
Sutton GA, Atamna R, Steinman A, Mair TS.A valid, reliable and usable scale is needed for assessing severity of acute abdominal pain in horses. The study aim was to compare three different scales: (1) the equine acute abdominal pain scale (EAAPS); (2) a scale described by Mair and Smith (2005; M and S); and (3) a numerical rating scale (NRS). Forty brief films of horses (35 of colic cases and five of control horses) were randomly presented to 46 equine veterinarians from different countries. Participants, randomly divided into three groups, each used one scale. Five randomly selected films were shown twice for determining intra-obser...
Smith LCR, Wylie CE, Palmer L, Ramzan PHL.There are few observational studies regarding the potentially serious complication of synovial sepsis following intrasynovial medication in general equine practice. Quantification of risk is fundamental to fully inform decision-making and owner consent prior to undertaking procedures. Objective: To describe the occurrence of synovial sepsis following intrasynovial injections in a large ambulatory equine practice between 2006-2011. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Medication records were cross-referenced against synovial cytology submissions and hospital admissions for synovial sep...
Pollard D, Wylie CE, Newton JR, Verheyen KLP.Previous robust epidemiological studies of equine laminitis have utilised only veterinary-diagnosed episodes of disease, potentially underestimating true disease frequency. Objective: To estimate the incidence of, and describe clinical signs associated with, owner-reported active laminitis in horses/ponies, using both veterinary-diagnosed and nonveterinary-diagnosed episodes. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: Data were collected from horse/pony owners in Great Britain between August 2014 and December 2016 using a web-based application. The incidence of owner-reported laminitis was estimate...
Sigurjónsdóttir H, Haraldsson H.We explore how herd composition and management factors correlate with frequencies of social interactions in horse groups. Since the welfare of horses correlates with low aggression levels and social contact opportunities, information of this kind is important. The data are a collection of records of social interactions of 426 Icelandic horses in 20 groups of at least eight horses. The complexities and limitations of the data prohibit useful statistical modelling so the results are presented descriptively. Interesting and informative patterns emerge which can be of use both in management and in...
Hartmann E, Christensen JW, Keeling LJ.The intensity with which a horse responds to separation from its group and subsequently to being alone is relevant for both horse and handler safety. Identification of training methods that may reduce responses to separation would be useful in practice. Objective: To investigate whether the initial presence of a familiar companion horse modifies responses to separation from the group, lowers stress levels (as measured by heart rate) and increases training efficiency. Objective: Habituation to separation proceeds more quickly if the horse is first trained with a companion, and heart rate is low...
Püschel V, Michaelsen U, Giensch M, Lockemann U, Meenen NM, Hessler C.To reduce the number of equine-related injuries, knowledge about causes of accidents is of great importance. In the present study the causes of equine-related accidents were evaluated by a questionnaire survey. Based on our results options for prevention of equine-related accidents were formulated. Methods: The working-group "safer riding, Hamburg" and the "German riding association (FN)" created a questionnaire to evaluate causes of equine-related accidents. This questionnaire was published in the print media "Cavallo" and "St. Georg" as well as on the online portal www.hamburger-ag-reitersic...
Leclere M, Bédard C, Cortes-Dubly ML, Lavoie JP.As inflammation and coagulation are intertwined processes, the efficiency of blood coagulation of heaves-affected horses and controls were compared in an observational case-control study, using thrombelastography. In experiment 1 (Exacerbation, six heaves, five controls), horses were housed indoors and fed hay. Thrombelastography, functional fibrinogen, platelet count, hematology, and antithrombin were measured. In experiment 2 (Remission, eight heaves, 11 controls), horses were housed in a low-dust environment for at least a month when thrombelastography was performed. Heaves-affected horses ...
Ringhofer M, Trösch M, Lansade L, Yamamoto S.When interacting with humans, domesticated species may respond to communicative gestures, such as pointing. However, it is currently unknown, except for in dogs, if species comprehend the communicative nature of such cues. Here, we investigated whether horses could follow the pointing of a human informant by evaluating the credibility of the information about the food-hiding place provided by the pointing of two informants. Using an object-choice task, we manipulated the attentional state of the two informants during food-hiding events and differentiated their knowledge about the location of t...
Shields E, Seiden-Long I, Massie S, Leguillette R.A "high-sensitivity" cardiac troponin-T (hscTnT) assay recently has been validated for use in horses and is a specific biomarker of myocardial damage. Postexercise release kinetics of cTnT utilizing the hscTnT assay have yet to be established in horses. Objective: To determine: (1) cTnT release kinetics in racing Thoroughbreds after a high-intensity 5/8th mile Chuckwagon race; (2) the effects of age on pre- and postrace cTnT concentrations; and (3) sampling guidelines for clinicians evaluating horses presenting after exercise. Methods: Samples were obtained from 38 Thoroughbred geldings aged 5...
Spier SJ, Berger Pusterla J, Villarroel A, Pusterla N.Behavioural reactions to selected handling procedures were compared between conditioned, or imprint-trained, and untrained foals raised on the same farm. Nineteen randomly chosen healthy foals were imprint trained at birth and 24 h later (Group A). Twenty-one similar foals that were not imprint-trained served as age-matched controls (Group B). Training began within 10 min of birth and consisted of touch desensitization by gentle rubbing. Each tactile stimulus was repeated 30-50 times over 45-60 min, until the foal no longer resisted the procedure and appeared relaxed. The procedure was then re...
Engell-Sørensen K, Pall A, Damgaard C, Holmstrup M.We investigated the prevalence of equine tapeworms, Anoplocephala spp., in Danish horses during a seven-year period assessed by coprological analysis. The data material included >11,000 observations distributed over the period 2009-2015, and four major geographic regions in Denmark representing sandy soils and clayey moraine soils, respectively. This allowed us to test for possible differences between regions (or soil types) and seasons. For a sub-set of the data (about 1200 observations) age of horses was also known, and it was shown that prevalence was highest in the age group 1-5years and t...
Kobluk CN, Ducharme NG, Lumsden JH, Pascoe PJ, Livesey MA, Hurtig M, Horney FD, Arighi M.From May 1, 1983 to April 1, 1985, 142 operations were performed on horses with signs of acute abdominal pain (colic), using a ventral midline incision. Seventy-eight horses lived for at least 15 days after surgery or had acute dehiscence and were included in the study. Seventy horses had surgery once, and 8 horses had surgery 2 or more times. Six-month follow-up evaluation was obtained for 66 horses that had 1 surgery and for 6 horses that had multiple surgeries. Incisional complications included drainage (including infection), acute dehiscence, hernia, and suture sinus formation. The effects...
Korosue K, Murase H, Sato F, Ishimaru M, Endo Y, Nambo Y.The purpose of this study was to observe the changes in body temperature before parturition using a wireless temperature monitoring device (WTMD) and to evaluate the usefulness of body temperature measurements using a digital rectal thermometer (DRT) and a microchip transponder thermometry device (MTTD) for predicting parturition in mares. The body temperatures using a WTMD at 0 hr and -1 hr were significantly different from those at the same time on Days 1-5 (P<0.01). The temperature differences between the morning of Day 0 and at -3 hr, -2 hr, -1 hr and 0 hr using the DRT and MTTD showed ...
Gallagher LM, Crane J, Fitzharris P, Bates MN.To confirm that working with horses is an occupational respiratory hazard and observed associations are not attributable to confounding. Methods: A postal survey of the respiratory health of 659 horse trainers and a comparison group of 506 vegetable growers was conducted. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Results: Relative to vegetable growers, horse trainers reported higher rates of chronic bronchitis [odds ratio (OR) = 6.8, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.2-21.4] and organic dust toxic syndrome/farmers' lung (ODTS/FL) (OR = 3.5, 95% CI: 1.8-6.8). Grinding oats, spreading hay, and...
Swanberg J, Clouser JM, Gan W, Flunker JC, Westneat S, Browning SR.This study investigated the prevalence of self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) and work-related factors associated with elevated MSD among Latino thoroughbred farm workers. Participants (N = 225) were recruited using a community-based purposive sampling approach to participate in in-person interviews. Of these workers, 85% experienced MSD. MSD was divided into tertiles; the upper tertile was defined as elevated. Multivariable Poisson regression revealed associations between any elevated MSD and longer tenure on horse farms, longer work hours, and poor safety climate. Elevated neck/b...
Aleman M, Spriet M, Williams DC, Nieto JE.Auditory loss is a common deficit in horses with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO), however, recovery of function is unknown. Objective: To investigate neurologic function with emphasis in audition in horses with THO after treatment. To describe anatomical alterations of the petrous temporal bone that might result in auditory loss. Methods: Twenty-four horses with a clinical diagnosis of THO. Methods: Prospective study. A brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) study was done as part of the criteria for inclusion in horses with a clinical diagnosis of THO from the years of 2005 to 2014. Ph...
Pleasant RS, Moll HD, Ley WB, Lessard P, Warnick LD.To determine if intra-articular anesthesia of the distal interphalangeal joint could alleviate lameness associated with the navicular bursa in horses. Methods: Experimental investigation. Methods: Six clinically normal horses. Methods: Lameness was induced in each horse by injecting either the left or right front navicular bursa with 5 mg of amphotericin-B. Forty-eight hours later each horse was videotaped walking and trotting before, and 5, 30, and 60 minutes after injecting the distal interphalangeal joint of the treated limb with 5 mL of 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride. All video recordings we...
Bernátková A, Oyunsaikhan G, Šimek J, Komárková M, Bobek M, Ceacero F.Reintroduction is a common technique for re-establishing threatened species. However, the adaptation to novel habitats with distinct conditions poses a risk of failure. Weather conditions affect the behaviour of animals, and thus, their adaptation to new conditions and survival. Reintroduced Przewalski's horses living in Mongolia's continental arid climate with extreme temperature and precipitation variability, serve as an ideal model species for studying the behavioural response of selected groups to these harsh conditions. Methods: The research was conducted in The Great Gobi B Strictly Prot...
Pratt S, Bowen I, Hallowell G, Shipman E, Redpath A.Equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) is a common condition causing signs of gastric pain although lesions are highly variable in their appearance. The only definitive method to diagnose EGGD ante-mortem is gastroscopy. The current recommended method for describing these lesions is the European College of Equine Internal Medicine (ECEIM) guidelines; however, repeatability between users is variable. This study aimed to validate the reliability of lesion descriptions using ECEIM consensus guidelines, using four blinded equine internal medicine diplomates. Ninety-two horses with EGGD with pre- ...
Rørvang MV, Nielsen TB, Christensen JW.Animals can acquire new behavior through both individual and social learning. Several studies have investigated horses' ability to utilize inter-species (human demonstrator) social learning with conflicting results. In this study, we repeat a previous study, which found that horses had the ability to learn from observing humans performing an instrumental task, but we include a control for stimulus enhancement. One human demonstrator and thirty horses were included, and the horses were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: (A) full human demonstration, (B) partial human demonstration, a...
Felici M, Nanni Costa L, Zappaterra M, Bozzo G, Di Pinto P, Minero M, Padalino B.During horse transportation, the journey conditions are considered a welfare risk. This study aimed to document journeys, journey conditions, and welfare status of handled horses on arrival at two different slaughterhouses in Northern and Southern Italy, to find possible associations between journey conditions and welfare problems. The welfare status of 613 draft-breed and light-breed horses from 32 different journeys was evaluated on arrival at the slaughterhouses with a standardized protocol, using animal-based (ABMs) and environmental-based (EBMs) measures. The drivers’ skills and vehicle...
Munsters CC, Visser EK, van den Broek J, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.Mounted police horses have to cope with challenging, unpredictable situations when on duty and it is essential to gain insight into how these horses handle stress to warrant their welfare. The aim of the study was to evaluate physiological and behavioral responses of 12 (six experienced and six inexperienced) police horses during police training. Horses were evaluated during four test settings at three time points over a 7-week period: outdoor track test, street track test, indoor arena test and smoke machine test. Heart rate (HR; beats/min), HR variability (HRV; root means square of successiv...
Andres SA, Bushau-Sprinkle AM, Brier ME, Seger YR.To investigate the risk reduction and benefit of wearing body protection/safety vests in equestrian sports. Methods: A comparison of equestrians wearing body protective vests and those not wearing vests was performed using incident report data of 718 participants in the United States Pony Clubs during 2011-2017. Data obtained included age, gender, certification level of member, type of activity, description of incident, description of injuries, what protective equipment was worn and other possible contributing factors. Results: While wearing body protective vests when riding on the flat or for...
Bernauer K, Kollross H, Schuetz A, Farmer K, Krueger K.A previous study demonstrated that horses can learn socially from observing humans, but could not draw any conclusions about the social learning mechanisms. Here we develop this by showing horses four different human action sequences as demonstrations of how to press a button to open a feed box. We tested 68 horses aged between 3 and 12 years. 63 horses passed the habituation phase and were assigned either to the group Hand Demo (N = 13) for which a kneeling person used a hand to press the button, Head Demo (N = 13) for which a kneeling person used the head, Mixed Demo (N = 12) fo...
Janczarek I, Wilk I, Pietrzak S, Liss M, Tkaczyk S.The aim of this study was to determine the taste preferences of horses in relation to their breed and sex. Forty-eight adult purebred Arabian, Anglo-Arabian, Polish Konik, and Polish cold-blooded horses-stallions and mares in equal numbers-were examined in the study. During the experiment, five types of industrially processed feeds based on oats and natural dried products commonly regarded as horse treats (i.e., sour and sweet apples, carrots, sugar beet molasses, and barley with salt) were given to horses in buckets on three consecutive days. The behavior of the horses during the experiment ...
Raspa F, Roggero A, Palestrini C, Marten Canavesio M, Bergero D, Valle E.The effects of specific feeding positions upon the horse's shape variations of the back and neck postures as well as the variations of the mandibular angle have never been objectively studied. For this reason, geometric morphometrics was applied. Six horses, aged 14 ± 8 years (mean ± standard deviation, SD), were video-recorded while using three different feeding positions: on the ground-control position (CP); neck held 15 ± 3° below withers height with low hay net position (LP); neck held 15 ± 3° above withers height with high hay net position (HP). Data were analyzed using principal co...
Spence KL, O'Sullivan TL, Poljak Z, Greer AL.The objective of this study was to describe the demographics and movement patterns of a sample of horses in Ontario, Canada. A convenience sample of 222 owners completed an initial questionnaire to provide demographic information for 570 horses. These horses were enrolled in a longitudinal study to document their movements from May to November 2015 using a monthly questionnaire. The median age of the participating horses was 11 years (IQR: 8 to 16 years). The primary discipline of participating horses included competitive disciplines (63.3%), leisure (33.3%), and racing (3.2%). During the 7-mo...
Ursini T, Shaw K, Levine D, Richards J, Adair HS.Thoracolumbar pain has been identified in both human and equine patients. Rehabilitation and conditioning programs have focused specifically on improving trunk and abdominal muscle function (1-5). Equine exercise programs routinely incorporate ground poles and training devices for the similar goals of increasing spinal and core stability and strength (6-8). The multifidus muscle has been an area of focus due to atrophy associated with disease (9). To date, there have been no reports on the activity of the multifidus muscle in horses in relation to therapeutic exercises. Our objectives were to ...
Oosterlinck M, Royaux E, Back W, Pille F.Thus far, pressure-plate analysis has been limited to measurements on a hard surface, whereas equine athletes routinely perform on a deformable substrate. Objective: To explore pressure-plate analysis on arena footing. Methods: Nonrandomised crossover study using noninvasive techniques. Methods: Five sound, unshod ponies were walked and trotted over a pressure plate in 2 different conditions. In the first session, the plate was covered with only a 5 mm rubber mat, and in the second session, with an additional 50 mm layer of sand and synthetic fibres. Limb loading and timing variables (peak...
Tallon R, Hewetson M.Equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) is recognised as a separate entity to equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and it is recommended that lesions are graded differently. Currently, no validated scoring system exists for EGGD. Objective: To determine inter-observer reliability of two previously described grading systems for EGGD and to assess if agreement improved with gastroscopy experience, specialist training or familiarity with the descriptive system. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: A link to an electronic questionnaire containing 20 images of glandular lesions was circulate...
Herbst AC, Johnson MG, Gammons H, Reedy SE, Urschel KL, Harris PA, Adams AA.Loss of skeletal muscle mass likely compromises performance and welfare in horses and thus routine monitoring would be valuable. Currently available methods to assess muscle mass require expert knowledge and are often expensive. To provide a simple method, a muscle atrophy scoring system (MASS) was created and tested by three evaluators (raters) in 38 horses of varying age, breed, and health status. Inter-rater agreement on atrophy scores was in the good-to-excellent range for ratings of the neck (ICC = 0.62), back (ICC = 0.62) and hind (ICC = 0.76) regions but was poor for the abdominal...
Brown JA, Hinchcliff KW, Jackson MA, Dredge AF, O'Callaghan RA, McCaffrey JR, Slocombe RF, Clarke AF.Little information is available regarding the prevalence of abnormalities of the upper airway and their association with performance in the general population of Thoroughbred racehorses. Objective: To describe the prevalence of selected abnormalities of the upper airway and their association with performance in Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia. Objective: That abnormalities of the upper airway of Thoroughbred racehorses are associated with poor race performance. Methods: Rhinolaryngoscopy was performed after racing and presence and characteristics of abnormalities of the larynx and pharynx...
Gross I, Hadar A, Bala M, Hashavya S.Horse riding has become increasingly popular in recent years and is a common activity among children. As a result, pediatric horse-related injuries are frequently encountered in emergency departments. Objective: To examine the characteristics of horse-related injuries in the pediatric population. Methods: We collected and analyzed the data on all pediatric horse-related injuries presented to a tertiary hospital, level one trauma center, during the years 2006-2016. Results: A total of 53 children with horse-related injuries were documented. Forty-two patients were male (79%) and their mean age ...
Clouser JM, Swanberg JE, Bundy H.Although farm management may understand agriculture's risks, they may not provide personal protective equipment (PPE). This study describes thoroughbred farm management's risk perceptions, provision of PPE, and factors that influence its provision. Methods: Thirty-five representatives from 26 farms participated in a 1-4hr semi-structured interview covering perceived risks associated with horse work and perspectives and provision of PPE. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, entered into ATLAS.ti, and analyzed by three coders. Results: Management cited horse-related tasks as most dangero...
