Racing Victoria releases new Thoroughbred Racehorse Welfare Policy
Racing Victoria (RV) has released its new Thoroughbred Racehorse Welfare Policy (TRWP). The policy defines the minimum standards and best practice guidelines for caring for and interacting with thoroughbred racehorses in Victoria. The TRWP will come into effect from 1...
Sport Horse Welfare: Where are we at?
In a thorough review titled 'Champing at the Bit for Improvements: Equine Welfare in Equestrian Sports in the United Kingdom', independent researchers Tim Holmes and Ashleigh Brown, explore the effect of equestrian sports on the lifelong welfare of horses, highlight...
Stereotypies
In this article, Dr Rachel O’Higgins examines the current understanding of stereotypies - a group of behaviours which are commonly referred to as ‘stable vices’. As Dr O’Higgins explains, horse owners must change the way they think about stereotypies; instead of...
The Science of Rugging Horses: What rug to use and when!
The Science of Rugging Horses: As we move towards winter and despite enjoying warm autumn days, the colder nights and mornings probably have most of us reaching for our body-warmers, fleeces and jackets when we go to see our horses. But, does this mean it's time to...
Researchers Study the Effect of Different Rugs on Skin Temperature
Horse core body temperature and the effect of rugs on skin temperature. Many horse owners rug their horses all year round, however, a preliminary study, warns that the ambient temperatures expected and the type of rug needs to be carefully considered as horses can...
Fire Risk Management Planning
Risk Management Plan This information about fire risk management planning has been compiled by the Queensland Horse Council Inc. to assist horse owners to prepare and respond to bush fires. Reproduced with kind permission. Before the Fire In times of crisis, people...
Roadmap for the Ethical Use of Horses in Sport
A British researcher has mapped out an ethical framework to help horse sports assess issues affecting their social licence to operate. It is hoped that different organisations will use it as a starting point, to critically assess existing and proposed practices, as...
French Parliament Calls for Horse Welfare Overhaul at Paris 2024
Nine months after several incidents and accidents marred the equestrian disciplines of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, a study group from the French National Assembly (the lower house of the French Parliament), makes 46 recommendations for making Paris 2024 the Olympic...
Racing Victoria’s ‘Medicare for Thoroughbreds’ Aims to Minimise Injury Risk
Racing Victoria (RV) has announced a new subsidy scheme for owners and trainers to offset the cost of advanced diagnostic imaging on Victorian thoroughbreds. The Diagnostic Imaging Subsidy Program is a proactive approach to injury prevention for thoroughbred...
Swiss Guide to the Ethical Use of Horses
A guide to the ethical use of horses, with a focus on their welfare. Horse sports are struggling to successfully match the public's expectations of welfare. Competition demands are not always compatible with satisfying the horse's needs, and the tension...
Perceptions of Sport Horse Welfare Issues: New Study
There are growing concerns about the welfare of horses from within and outside sport and these concerns are threatening horse sports' social license to operate. In early 2021, the Animal Welfare Research Network (AWRN) and National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) ran an...
Open the Gates to Good Horse Welfare
Horses thrive with friends, forage and freedom to move. When we picture scenes of animal cruelty, we generally imagine thin, malnourished horses in haphazard paddocks filled with abandoned cars, barbed wire fencing and empty gas cans. Less commonly associated with...
When in Doubt… Turn the Horses Out!
Going down in history as one of the best Melbourne Cup wins, a horse named Kiwi, originally purchased to round up sheep, dashed to victory in the 123rd Melbourne Cup of 1983. With only 100 metres to go, and at 10-to-one odds, the chestnut gelding upstaged the best...
Will You Know When It’s Time? Horse Euthanasia, the Hardest Decision by Far
This article will help all horse owners who are either grappling with an end-of-life decision or aiming to plan ahead. It covers when and how to take the decision and who to involve. It explains the difference between welfare state and quality-of-life, and how to...
Can Bedding Improve your Horse’s Performance?
If you were asked how to optimise your horse’s performance, it is likely you will think about meeting his nutritional needs, following a strict conditioning regimen, or ensuring that he is in ‘good’ health... Would bedding even come into your mind? ‘Good’ sleep is...
The Impact of Birth Trauma on Horse Welfare and Performance
Help! My horse is girthy, crooked and has uneven front hooves… What can I do? This problematic trio is one of the most common reasons owners decide to seek some form of body therapy for their horse. After treating more than 10,000 horses and analysing related...
Journal Opens Access to Heat and Humidity Research Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics
To help vets protect elite horses from the extreme conditions expected at the Tokyo Olympics, the Equine Veterinary Journal is providing free access to a Special Collection of eleven landmark papers covering the health and welfare of horses competing in hot and humid...
Strengths and Weaknesses of a National Equine Database
French researchers investigate the strengths and weaknesses of a 45-year-old National Equine Database. Their findings can help all countries optimise the efficiency and management of horse traceability systems. A national equine database can help keep track of where...
The Saddle Fit Guide
Here is some advice for fitting, using and maintaining your saddle, compiled by the Animal Health Trust, in collaboration with World Horse Welfare. Their research has highlighted some areas that should be carefully considered when fitting a new saddle, which will help...
How to Find the Right Bit for your Horse
What’s the best bit for my horse? Well, I am glad you ask! It is a very important question that directly affects your horse’s well-being, but finding the answer involves considering and balancing many aspects, from the horse’s history, individual anatomy, conformation...
Horses and Floods
Horses and floods Floods are one of the most frequent natural disasters that horse owners have to deal with because many of the properties horses are kept in are floodplains. Despite this, it is easy to become complacent. This helpful information has been compiled by...
Effective Horse Cooling – as Recommended by the FEI
Hot or hot and humid environmental conditions are a serious risk to health and performance unless properly managed. Research into the effects of heat and humidity on horses during competition has been ongoing since the Atlanta Olympic Games. Here is some practical...
Your Horse’s Vital Signs Part 2: Emergencies
How to help your horse in an emergency. Horse emergencies can be frightening but here's how you should respond to ensure the best outcome for your horse. This article is the second of a 2-part series. In the first part, Dr Rachel O'Higgins explained the vital signs...
Your Horse’s Vital Signs: Part 1 of 2
It’s essential that every horse owner knows their horse’s normal vital signs; that is their healthy resting temperature, heart rate and respiration (breathing) rate. As prey animals, horses can be very good at hiding signs of illness to avoid attracting unwanted...
Horses and Floods
Horses and floods Floods are one of the most frequent natural disasters that horse owners have to deal with because many of the properties horses are kept in are floodplains. Despite this, it is easy to become complacent. This helpful information has been compiled by...
Researchers say foals need their own pain ethogram
They’re all horses, yes. But that doesn’t mean that baby horses act like big horses when they’re in pain. According to Dutch scientists, foals express pain differently from the way adult horses do. And because of that, they need their own pain-related facial...
Learning Theory to Improve Equine Veterinarian Safety and Retention
A new program to teach horse handling methods based on learning theory to equine vets will make treatments safer. Horses aren’t always the easiest of patients. They kick; they bite; they bolt. They rear; they stomp their feet; they raise their heads so high you need a...
Researchers Question Artificial Weaning
Weaning foals Six months old. That landmark age when your baby foal isn’t a baby anymore. Time to wean... As in, time to take him away from his dam, lock her up so she doesn’t injure anyone trying to get to her baby. And time to make him try to get past the anxiety of...
Horse Bit Fit: Comfort and Communication
We can’t change the world by helping one horse and rider but we can change the world for that horse and rider. Over recent years, Horse Bit Fit consultants have placed a spotlight on the notion that bit and bridle fit must be considered as a routine part of every...
Hendra Vaccine Effective Against New Variant
Researchers have completed the analysis of the new Hendra virus variant which was detected by routine testing from a horse who died in 2015 but had tested negative to HeV infection. They say that the current vaccine will be effective against the new strain, now named...
Further evidence that weaning is stressful for foals
There is strong evidence to show that weaning (artificially removing foals from their mothers) causes foals considerable stress. A variety of factors can affect just how stressful weaning is for foals, including their age and management factors (e.g., feeding, social...
Tough Decisions and Community Support Key in Fighting EHV-1 Outbreak
The official death toll from the EHV-1 outbreak has risen to 17, with three more horses dying in Germany, two in Belgium, and one more horse dying in a Valencia equine hospital. The FEI is following through with their promise of full transparency and improved...
Novel Rotavirus Linked with Increased Foal Diarrhoea Cases in the USA
Researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have made a preliminary identification of a novel Rotavirus associated with diarrhoea in very young foals. The discovery followed a significant...
Strengths and Weaknesses of a National Equine Database
French researchers investigate the strengths and weaknesses of a 45-year-old National Equine Database. Their findings can help all countries optimise the efficiency and management of horse traceability systems. A national equine database can help keep track of where...
Vaccination in Horses
The mantra that prevention is better than cure is recited so often these days that it is fast becoming a cliché. It is true though, and vaccination is probably the cardinal example of this. By priming your horse’s immune system before it is exposed to a disease, it...
