in-hand | Horse Racing Free Tips

Horses that are dangerous under saddle show several in-hand clues about how they will act when ridden. Horse owners and riders should be aware of these behaviors so they are prepared for what the horse might do with a rider astride, report Drs. Nicole Romness, Kate Fenner, Jessica McKenzie, Ashley Anzulewicz, Bibiana Burattini, Bethany Wilson and Paul McGreevy.

The research team used 1,584 responses by horse owners to the Equine Behavior Assessment and Research Questionnaire (E-BARQ) to come to their conclusions. E-BARQ is a global database of horse behavior that allows riders to benchmark their horses against thousands of others in terms of welfare, training and behavior.

The scientists found that bolting, bucking and rearing are dangerously common; nearly 91 percent of pleasure horses in Britain had one or more of these tendencies, E-BARQ responders showed. These tendencies can reflect on a horse's experiences, health or history, the team said.

They found that:

Horses that have issues loading onto a trailer, spook at other animals or don't lead or tie well tend to bolt.
Horses that have issues loading, are intimidated by other horses and don't tie well tend to rear.
Horses that have issues loading, spook at other horses, don't lead or tie well and that don't like having their heads touched tend to buck.
Show jumpers had an increased tendency to rear, while show and companion horses had an increased risk of bucking compare to pleasure-riding horses.

They concluded that good ground manners translate to better behavior under saddle. Addressing issues before a rider is aboard could allow horse owners and handlers to fix them before training measures escalate to involve more force. This would improve the safety and welfare of both horses and riders.

Read more at HorseTalk.

The post Poor Manners In-Hand Lead To Poor Behavior While Ridden, Study Shows appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Scientists from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences found asymmetrical movement in most of the Standardbred horses used in a study.

The group recruited the help of 12 Standardbred trainers across Norway and Sweden. They used wireless inertial sensors to detect uneven movement at the trot on 103 horses. All the horses had been broke to harness and were beginning race training; each was considered fit to train by their trainers.

Drs. Anne Kallerud, Cathrine Fjordbakk, Eli Hendrickson, Emma Persson‐Sjodin, Marie Hammarberg, Marie Rhodin and Elin Hernlund chose to study this group, which had an average age of 18 months, to reduce the chances of the presence of training-related injuries. All horses received a physical exam before the study; measurements were taken to see if any associations could be found with the uneven movement that could be detected.

Of the 103 horses, 77 were seen in-hand and on the track; 24 were assessed in-hand only and two were assessed only on the track. The scientists used thresholds established for other breeds to determine asymmetry. They determined that 94 of horses (93 percent) showed front and/or hind limb asymmetry in the in-hand reviews. In the track trials, 74 horses (94 percent) showed asymmetry. Though most of the asymmetry was mild, one in five horses switched the asymmetrical side for one or more parameters between in-hand and on-track trials.

The study team explored the prevalence of asymmetry, but not its underlying causes. It is unclear if the asymmetrical movement increases, decreases or stabilizes with age and training. They suggest that future studies look at the changes in asymmetry over time, and explore any associations between the asymmetrical movement and the development of clinical lameness.

Read the study here.

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Poor Manners In-Hand Lead To Poor Behavior While Ridden, Study Shows

Asymmetrical Movement Common In Young Standardbreds