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Study: Sedation And Whip Use May Lead To Trailering Trouble

Trouble getting a horse on a trailer is common; it often takes time and patience to get a horse to the point where he will load and travel well. However, if the horse needs to get on a trailer and there isn't multiple hours or days to work with him, there are quite a few tricks horse handlers can use, employing everything from feed to brooms to whips to sedation to get him in the trailer.

Nearly 14.5 percent of responders to an Italian study indicated that they had issues loading horses in their care onto trailers within the last two years. The 37-question, online survey was sent to people who were directly involved with the transportation of horses, either for recreational or professional purposes. The survey aimed to identify risk factors for problem behaviors and injuries.

The study team, made up of Drs. Francesca Dai, Martina Zappaterra, Michela Minero, Francesca Bocchini, Christopher Riley and Barbara Padalino, received 148 responses. The questions they asked related to the handler's equine background, vehicles, practices and experience. They were also asked if horses they handled sustained transport injuries within the last two years.

The most common problem behaviors were related to fear and anxiety before loading, including kicking and refusing to get on the trailer, and loss of balance while in the trailer. They discovered that the probability of the horse displaying an issue were:

three times more likely if the driver didn't check the brakes before hauling
five times more likely if the handler was female
five times more likely if the horse handler used a whip at loading
five times more likely if the vehicle wasn't designed for horse protection and if the trailer didn't have shavings as bedding
13 times more likely if the animal was sedated,

Nearly 11.5 percent of respondents said that their horses had injuries directly related to transportation within the last two years. The researchers determined that sedation and coercive equipment, like using whips, were major risk factors for injuries. Though sedation may be helpful to get a horse on a trailer, it can affect the ability of a horse to balance once the trailer is in motion.

Horses were more likely to be injured during travel if the trailer brakes weren't checked before transport, there was no padding on the chest bar and if there were no rubber mats on the floor. Horses that exhibited problem behaviors during loading and transport were more likely to be injured.

The study team concluded that transportation is a risk to the wellbeing of both the horse and the handler, and suggested that more research is needed.

Read the full study here.

Horse Owner And Manager Input Needed: 2021 Equine Industry Survey Launched

American Horse Publications (AHP) has launched its fifth Equine Industry Survey, which can be found here. Horse owners who live in the United States, are 18 years of age and older, and who currently own or manage at least one horse are invited to complete the survey by March 30, 2021.

The survey, which is conducted every three years, will gauge participation trends and management practices in the U.S. equine industry, identify critical issues facing the equine industry as perceived by those who own or manage horses, and better understand issues pertaining to horse health.

The online survey is made possible by a sponsorship from Zoetis, the leading animal health company dedicated to improving equine wellness, every day. Zoetis has sponsored the survey since its inception in 2009.

“Zoetis is proud to continue our sponsorship of the AHP Equine Industry Survey,” said Jeannie Jeffery, vice president of the Zoetis U.S. equine business. “We hope that the survey will continue to help identify successes and opportunities for improvement in the equine industry that horse owners, veterinarians and professionals can unite to resolve.”

“AHP is grateful for its partnership with Zoetis to provide ongoing and vital data on the trends in horse care, management, and welfare of horses in the U.S.,” said Christine W. Brune, AHP executive director. “We appreciate the collaborated effort of AHP members and the industry in promoting this survey and will strive to maintain or exceed previous responses in 2021.”

The study is anonymous; this means that no one–not even members of the research team – will be able to associate information that is given with respondents. When the survey results are tallied, only aggregated results will be presented.

The survey sponsor and AHP members who promote the survey will receive complete results of the 2021 survey to release through their own channels up to 60 days prior to release of the survey results to the AHP membership. The general equine industry may request a summary of this new information by contacting the AHP office at ahorsepubs@aol.com in October 2021.

Horse owners and enthusiasts are invited to promote the survey by sharing this link with horse-owner groups and individual horse owners. The more information we collect, the better we make our world for horses.

The 2021 AHP Equine Industry Survey is being conducted by American Horse Publications (AHP). Dr. C. Jill Stowe is providing consulting services for data collection and analysis to the AHP. Dr. Stowe is currently an associate professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky.

Take the survey here.

The post Horse Owner And Manager Input Needed: 2021 Equine Industry Survey Launched appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Opinion: Dismissing Research Can Be Harmful To Horses

Though it can seem like some studies that are done repeat a foregone conclusion, it's important not to dismiss them as a known quantity. Some equine enthusiasts don't hesitate to express their feelings that an institution is “wasting” funds researching a topic they feel no longer needs to be examined.

Often this blatant dismissal of research indicates that the person doesn't truly understand how scientific research is done. In the long term, this mindset can end up hurting horses. Researchers design their studies so that any other group can conduct the same research and have the same results. This confirms the conclusions that were drawn.

It's important to scientifically confirm what is “known,” as sometimes what is known is wrong—even when it's common practice, reports EQUUS. Withholding water from hot horses was common until research was completed for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, which showed that, though often done, not allowing horses to drink after exercise was harmful to them.

Even if research confirms observations made by horse owners, it's still valuable–it increases the body of knowledge available. Studies collect data that can be used to better understand an issue and form the basis for more research—which can lead to better diagnosis and treatments, a win for both horses and their owners.

Study Shows Horses Relax In Presence Of ‘Their’ People

An Italian study has objectively shown that horses can recognize individual people familiar to them, highlighting the importance of handler familiarity in the horse-human bond. Horses are generally relaxed when hanging out with humans they know.

Drs. Chiara Scopa, Alberto Greco, Laura Contalbrigo, Elisabetta Fratini, Antonio Lanatà, Enzo Pasquale Scilingo and Paolo Baragli noted that horses can determine if a person is familiar or unfamiliar by both vocal and visual cues. Horses are most likely to engage with someone who is familiar to them; they form long-lasting memories of these people and can recognize them long after their last encounter.

Horses then classify humans based off the interactions they have as either positive, negative or neutral. The research team noted that though the human-horse relationship has been investigated though behavioral analysis, they recommended that physiological indicators be considered for an objective assessment of emotional responses.

They hypothesized that long-term, positive relationships with humans would impact a horse's emotion regulation. The team looked specifically at heart rate variability of 23 healthy horses when they interacted with both familiar and unfamiliar handlers.

The team used 22 people, 12 of them familiar to the horses and 10 unfamiliar people. A baseline heart rate was taken before each person entered the stall and stood near the door for five minutes. The horse could see and smell the person, but could move around. The person then groomed the horse for 2.5 minutes on each side.

The researchers found that the horses appeared more relaxed while physically interacting with familiar handlers; this was especially noticeable during right-side grooming. They concluded that repeated positive interactions with a person are probable triggers for positive emotions during interactions with the same person.

Read the study here.