Riders who can roll their pelvis from side to side without moving their body or legs are more likely to have horses that are happy and perform well. Riders can test this unmounted, by sitting on an exercise ball and rolling their hips toward their ribs; the idea is that those with the ability to roll the pelvis well will be able to do this without moving their legs or upper body. 

Dr. Mette Uldahl of Vejle Hestepraksis in Denmark and the country's head Fédération Equestre Internationale veterinarian recently worked with a research team to study the relationship between balance and riding success. The researchers asked 20 female dressage riders to sit on an inflated exercise ball. They were then asked to roll the ball left, right and in circles using only their pelvis without engaging their legs or upper body. The team also asked the riders to balance on the ball, with legs lifted and arms outstretched, for 30 seconds. 

The researchers also investigated the rider's performance and their horse's heart rate, stress level, and behavior during a dressage test ridden in an indoor arena. A dressage judge also scored each pair, offering notes on the duo's quality and harmony. 

The scientists found that riders' ability to roll the exercise ball correlated with their quality and harmony score. The team also found that riders with a greater ability to balance themselves on an exercise ball without using their feet actually earned lower quality and harmony scores. These riders' horses also showed more conflict behaviors while being ridden. 

The researchers conclude that though balance is important in riding and should be practiced, it's important that the type of balance practiced is that which best creates harmony with the horse.

Read more at The Horse. 

The post Roll On: Balance Not Only Predictor Of Success For Horseback Riding  appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Dr. Agnieszka Sabiniewicza and her research team collected body odor samples from 10 people who were either happy or fearful to see if the emotional states elicited different responses in horses exposed to them.

The researchers asked the people involved in the study to avoid smoking, smelly foods, exercise, and alcohol for multiple days. They also asked them to wash their clothes in a perfume-free detergent. The scientists then showed the people a cartoon or a horror video while they were wearing sterile pads in their armpits. The pads were collected and frozen to preserve their odor.

The team exposed 21 adult horses to the pads that the fearful or happy humans had worn; the horses were also exposed to pads that were not worn at all, which served as the control.

For the test, two people stood in different corners of the stall while each horse was shown the pads. One person was familiar to the horse and the other was unknown. Neither person interacted with the horse. A pole with four odor pads (either all fearful, all happy or all control) was shown to the horse.

The team found that the horses exposed to the fearful odor raised their heads more frequently and for longer periods of time. These horses also touched the familiar person in their stall more frequently and for longer than they did when exposed to the control or happiness odors.

The team concluded that human body odor alone can serve as an indicator of human emotion and can cause horses to behave differently.

Read more at Equine Science Update.

The post A Stinky Situation: Horses Can Smell Human Fear appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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