Disqualified For Trimming Whiskers? New Rule For International Competition

The international governing body for equestrian sport has banned horse owners from trimming the whiskers of horses that compete in international competition in 2021.

The rule was passed at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) general assembly in the veterinary regulations session. Beginning in July 2021, any horse that has had his whiskers removed will be disqualified from FEI-sanctioned events unless a vet deems the whisker removal necessary.

The exact wording of the rule reads: “if the horse's sensory hairs have been clipped and/or shaven or in any other way removed unless individual sensory hairs have been removed by a veterinarian to prevent pain or discomfort for the horse.” The measure was passed unanimously.

The FEI veterinary committee believes a horse that has had his whiskers trimmed has a reduction in sensory ability. This ruling aligns the organization's rules with legislation in multiple other national federations, including Germany, France and Switzerland.

The US Equestrian Federation is concerned about the subjectivity of the clipping of sensory hairs, which they feel may lead to irregular enforcement at competitions. One specific concern raised by the Federation is the length of the sensory hair around the eyes, which could possibly become trapped in the blinkers on the bridle of driving horses. The Federation asked that the changes be removed and addressed when a complete review of the veterinary rules are conducted.

Read more at Horse & Hound. 

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Understanding Equine Perception May Be Key To Training And Welfare

Understanding how a horse uses his five sense to perceive stimuli can be key to his training and horse-human interactions.

Drs. Maria Vilain Rørvang, Birte Nielsen and Andrew McLean reviewed more than 180 studies that investigated equine vision, smell, taste, hearing and touch, and how information about the horse's environment is perceived. Though horses and humans have the same sensory modalities, how the information gathered from them are perceived can be drastically different.

Understanding how a horse perceives sensory information is key since sensory ability, perception and behavior are closely linked. The researchers determined that horses have a highly developed sense of smell; in some cases, their hearing is better than humans. Additionally, horses have a wider field of vision that people, but they see similarly to humans who are red and green colorblind.

The scientists concluded horses perceive the world in the following ways:

Vision

A horse's vision is adapted for detection of and escape from predators; they have a wide focus that allows them only a small blind spot directly behind them. Horses do not have good acuity, and will lift, lower or tilt their head and neck to focus on an object. Horses also have good vision in low light, seeing details better on cloudy days than during bright, sunny days.

Hearing

Equine ears can pivot toward sounds to enhance their hearing. While larger animals tend to hear lower frequencies well, horses are the exception; the lowest frequency detectable by horses is higher than the lowest sound a human can hear. Conversely, horses can hear higher frequencies than humans can. Horses can also recognize people from vocal cues even if they can't see them.

Smell

Little research has been done on horse's sense of smell. Horses have distinct odor profiles; similar profiles can shape a horse's response for interactions with other horses that have a similar smell. The research team notes that a horse's sense of smell could be exploited to draw the horse to certain locations, limiting the need to manually move horses. Additionally, riding in or around areas where a horse might encounter the smell of a predator may pose a safety risk to the rider.

Taste

Horses rarely breathe through their mouth, so it is unclear if horses can differentiate odor and taste from flavor, like humans. Horses can detect sweet, sour, salty and bitter; it is not known if they can detect umami (savory).

Touch

Horses are sensitive to touch; this sense is the main mode of communication between a horse and human, whether riding or handling. Horses are most sensitive around their eyes, nose and mouth; other areas of the body vary in their sensitivity, with the neck, withers, flank, shoulders and back of the pastern generally being the most sensitive.

The study team suggests that tactile stimulation be used with caution, especially when there is force applied, like during twitching. Future studies may investigate how a horse's age, breed, personality and experience may influence how touch is perceived.

The trio conclude that identifying specific sensory reactions in horses may be a way to optimize management and training to improve equine health and welfare.

Read more at HorseTalk.

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