Kate Acton (from Ireland) and Nancy McLean (from the USA) discuss equine research projects and studies to help bridge the gap between the scientific community and the general community of horse owners, trainers and enthusiasts.
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Nancy and Kate talk about Dr. Manfredi's equine metabolic research at Michigan State University. Reference/Link to article: Manfredi, J. (2023). Horse health research will help humans stay healthy, too, with insights on reining in diabetes and obesity, The Conversation; Michigan State University. https://theconversation.com/horse-health-research-will-help-humans-stay-healthy-too-with-insights-on-reining-in-diabetes-and-obesity-205185...
This week Nancy takes a look at the use of Bell Mares during the 1800s up to WWII. Research References: L. Proops et al (2012). Social relations in a mixed group of mules, ponies and donkeys reflect differences in equid type , Behavioral Processes. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635712000654 Górecka-Bruzda A, Jastrzębska E, Drewka M, Nadolna Z, Becker K, Lansade L (2022) Female Horses are more socially dependent than geldings kept in riding clubs. Appl Anim Beha...
This episode Kate and Nancy discuss a listeners' recently published research. This research is a 2024 update to our past episodes on Equine Assisted Therapy. Research Reference: Seery, Rita, and Deborah Wells. 2024. "An Exploratory Study into the Backgrounds and Perspectives of Equine-Assisted Service Practitioners" Animals 14, no. 2: 347. Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020347
This week Nancy and Kate discuss a listeners' email request via a recently published paper on the effects of weather on pastured horses. Research Reference and Link (not open access-snippets available.): Keller, G.A.; Nielsen, B.D.; Vergara-Hernandez, F.B.; Robison, C.I. Tracking the Impact of Weather on Equine Activity While Pastured. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2022, 116 , 104052. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080622001903...
Kate and Nancy discuss using the EBPI to manage osteoarthritis in horses. References and Link: Howard DL, Lancaster B, de Grauw J. Development and Preliminary Validation of an Equine Brief Pain Inventory for Owner Assessment of Chronic Pain Due to Osteoarthritis in Horses. Animals . 2024; 14(2):181. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani1402018
Nancy and Kate discuss the horses role in 1872 and how an equine flu epidemic shut down the US economy, but also led to improved horse welfare. Research Reference/Link: Freeberg, Ernest (2020). How a flu virus shut down the US economy in 1872 – by infecting horses. The Conversation US, Boston, MA. December Issue. https://theconversation.com/how-a-flu-virus-shut-down-the-us-economy-in-1872-by-infecting-horses-150052...
Kate and Nancy discuss their recently published research paper on the preliminary results of their Conversations in Equine Science listener survey. Reference and Link: Acton, K., McLean, N. & MacKay, J.R.D. (2023) Preliminary evidence supporting the use of equine science podcasts to bridge the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts to improve horse welfare. Equine Veterinary Education , 00, 1–11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.13926...
This week Nancy and Kate discuss how horses are once again helping humans navigate the new frontier of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Research Reference and Link: Eakta Jain and Christina Gardner-McCune. 2023. Horse as Teacher: How human-horse interaction informs human-robot interaction. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 536, pp. 1–13. https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3544548...
This week Nancy discusses two peer reviewed papers on how to assess arena surface safety and usefulness. Research References and Links: Holt, D., Northrop, A., Martin, J., Daggett, A. and Hobbs, S. (2014), What do Riders Want from an Arena Surface?. Equine Vet J, 46: 41-42. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12267_126 Northrop, A., Martin, J., Blundell, E., Owen, A. and Hobbs, S. (2014), Development of the Equestrian Arena Surfaces for the 2012 Olympic Games. Equine Vet J, 46: 45-46. https://doi.org/10...
This week Nancy gives a summary of her results with replicating the hind-end massage study using her own horses. Research Reference/Link: Mabbutt, C., Yarnell, K., and Ferro de Godoy, R. (2022). Comparative Exercise Physiology Vol. 18 (5), pp. 419-426 https://www.wageningenacademic.com/doi/epdf/10.3920/CEP220022?role=tab
This week Kate and Nancy discuss the recently published paper questioning the protests and disagreements that occurred at this years (2023) Grand National at Aintree. Research Reference and Link (Open Access): Pearson, G.; Douglas, J.; Wolframm, I.; Furtado, T. Used like Pawns or Treated like Kings? How Narratives around Racehorse Welfare in the 2023 Grand National May Affect Public Acceptance: An Informed Commentary. Animals 2023, 13 , 3137. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193137...
This week Nancy discusses a research paper comparing pressures/forces in bareback riding with riding in a well fitted conventional saddle. Research Reference with Link: H.M. Clayton et al.(2013). Forces and pressures on the horse’s back during bareback riding. The Veterinary Journal.
This week Nancy and Kate discuss a paper that investigated a herd of 18 mares that were housed on a pasture since 1979 without a deworming program. Nancy also relates the lecture information from a seminar she attended about deworming horses to combat parasite resistance. Reference and Link to Research Paper: Steuer, A.E., Anderson, H.P., Shepherd, T. et al. (2022). Parasite dynamics in untreated horses through one calendar year. Parasites Vectors 15, 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-022-05168...
This episode Kate and Nancy discuss a paper revealing updated research on the requirements of horses using the 5 domains model. This is a foundational start to assessing welfare. Research Reference: Harvey, A.M.; Ramp, D.; Mellor, D.J. Review of the Foundational Knowledge Required for Assessing Horse Welfare. Animals 2022, 12 , 3385. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/23/3385
This week Kate and Nancy discuss lightening strikes in animals and how to lessen the odds of having a horse struck by lightning. Research Reference: Gomes, C., (2012). Lightning safety of animals. International Journal of Biometeorology ( 56), pp. 1011–1023. Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-011-0515-5 Additional Information: https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning...
This week Nancy and Kate discuss the Equine Personality Test (EPT) and it's reliability scores. Research Reference: A. Jolivald, K. Yarnell, C. Hall, C. Ijichi (2022). Do you see what I see? Investigating the validity of an equine personality questionnaire. Applied Animal Behaviour Science., 248, Article 105567 Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159122000259...
Kate and Nancy explore a recent study showing how a three-week hindlimb massage program enhanced gait symmetry in horses. They delve into the study's methodology, results demonstrating improved stride and hock flexion, and the broader context of musculoskeletal health in various equine sports. Nancy shares her plans to apply this research to her own horses, providing practical insights for listeners.
This week Nancy and Kate discuss an equine exercise program using Gymnastic Training coupled with Dynamic Mobilization Exercises to improve stride quality and strength. Epaxial muscles also were targeted for increased muscle strength and size. K. de Oliveira et al., (2015). Gymnastic training and dynamic mobilization exercises improve stride quality and increase epaxial muscle size in therapy horses . Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Vol 35, pp. 883-893. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com...
This episode Kate and Nancy discuss goniometry in horses and humans. They also have additional content from an orthopedic professional (for humans) talking about the practice of using goniometers. Research Reference: Liljebrink , Y. and Bergh , A. ( 2010 ). Goniometry: is it a reliable tool to monitor passive joint range of motion in horses? Equine Veterinary Journal 42 ( Suppl. 38 ): pp. 676 – 682 . https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00254.x App Store GoniMet...
Nancy and Kate discuss static and dynamic stretching and how implementing a stretching program, in your routine, can help your horse's performance and also prevent injuries. Research Reference: A. Frick, (2010). Stretching Exercises for Horses: Are They Effective? Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Volume 30 (1), pp. 50-59. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080609007072 Contact Information for Dr. Frick: e-mail: drfrick@lifeextendmethod.com...
This week Kate and Nancy discuss a paper that evaluates the effects of chiropractic therapy on sport horses. Evaluations are done via static bioimpedence and dynamic acoustic myography. Research Reference: Acutt, E.V.; le Jeune, S.S.; Pypendop, B.H. Evaluation of the effects of chiropractic on static and dynamic muscle variables in sport horses. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2019, 73, 84–90. Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080618304015...
This week Kate and Nancy discuss a paper that proposes owners and riders can measure and categorize bit lesions to assist them in the management of bitted horses. These measurements can also assist in research across the board by offering measurable comparisons. Research Reference (Open Access): Tuomola K, Mäki-Kihniä N, Kujala-Wirth M, Mykkänen A and Valros A (2019) Oral Lesions in the Bit Area in Finnish Trotters After a Race: Lesion Evaluation, Scoring, and Occurrence. Front. Vet. Sci. 6:206....
This episode Nancy and Kate discuss 2 papers; the first is a paper that gives an update on the current understanding of Equine Asthma and also gives the future direction of research goals for this devastating disease. The 2nd paper tracks a molecule, IL-8, which has been found to signal equine allergic immune responses. This may be a component as to how horses and humans develop allergic responses. Both papers are referenced below. Couetil, L., Cardwell, J. M., Leguillette, R., Mazan, M., Richar...
This week Kate and Nancy discuss the equine vertebral column and how this research discovered breed differences in the anatomy of the vertebral column. Research Reference: Spoormakers, T.J.P., Veraa, S., Graat, E.A.M., van Weeren, P.R. and Brommer, H. (2021), A comparative study of breed differences in the anatomical configuration of the equine vertebral column. J Anat, 239: 829-838. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/joa.13456...
This episode Nancy and Kate discuss medical students gaining insight and empathy skills by working with horses. These medical students were also able to lessen their own stress levels by being around horses and learning about them. Research Reference and Link (Open Access): Chakales P A, Locklear J, Wharton T (2020). Medicine and Horsemanship: The Effects of Equine-assisted Activities and Therapies on Stress and Depression in Medical Students. Cureus 12(2): e6896. https://www.cureus.com/articles...
This week Kate and Nancy discuss a paper detailing the negative effects that adiposity fat can have on the health and welfare of our horses. Research reference/link (open access): Pratt-Phillips, Shannon, and Ahmad Munjizun, (2023). "Impacts of Adiposity on Exercise Performance in Horses" Animals 13, no. 4 https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13040666
This week Nancy and Kate discuss the findings of a research paper comparing the electrocardiograms of the Televet ECG device with the Equimetre fitness tracker. Research Reference: Ter Woort, F., Dubois, G., Tansley, G., Didier, M., Verdegaal, E.L., Franklin, S. and Van Erck‐Westergren, E., 2023. Validation of an equine fitness tracker: ECG quality and arrhythmia detection. Equine Veterinary Journal, 55(2), pp.336-343. Link: https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evj.13565 Thanks ...
This episode Kate and Nancy discuss Equine Cervical Pain, clinical signs and treatment. Research Reference/Link (open access): Story, Melinda R., Kevin K. Haussler, Yvette S. Nout-Lomas, Tawfik A. Aboellail, Christopher E. Kawcak, Myra F. Barrett, David D. Frisbie, and C. Wayne McIlwraith. (2021). "Equine Cervical Pain and Dysfunction: Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment" Animals 11, no. 2: 422. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/2/422#app1-animals-11-00422...
