Performance
Scoring system finds lameness in horses considered sound by their owners
Low grade lameness in ridden horses is more common than recognised by owners. A previous UK study of 506 sports horses in full work and presumed to be non‐lame found that 47% were lame or had other pain‐related gait a...
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No Foot, No Horse? Are low heels associated with hind limb lameness?
Low heels are the most common abnormal hoof conformation seen in both the front and hind feet of horses. This conformation causes a ‘broken‐back’ hoof‐pastern axis and hyperextension of the distal interphalangeal (cof...
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Assessment of injury risk in high level eventing horses
In human sport science, the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is used to monitor an athlete’s preparedness for competition and to assess risk of injury. Researchers in the Netherlands have conducted a study investig...
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New recording technique to detect a difficult-to-diagnose equine heart condition
Use of a new electrocardiogram (ECG) technique to detect an abnormal heart rhythm called paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) has been described in Nature Scientific Reports (Alexeenko et al., 2020). PAF causes rapid,...
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Your horses’ ECG and heart rate on your mobile phone!
There was a time when a horses’ ECG would be studied in specialist clinics only with the horse standing attached to a large piece of equipment like the one featured (1) (rescued from a skip at the Animal Health Trust ...
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Latest research into heart rates of horses during cross-country in eventing
A horses’ heart rate (the number of times its beat per minute) tells us how hard it working. The harder the horse works the higher the heart rate. It’s the equivalent of the rev counter in a car which tells us how har...
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Would you like ice with that? Whole-body cryotherapy for horses!
The application of ice or snow or very cold water or packs containing cooling gels which have been cooled in freezers to relieve inflammation, pain and swelling is a commonly used first-aid technique for both people a...
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Feeding chromium increases insulin sensitivity in horses
Insulin insensitivity or insulin resistance is a common feature of both equine Cushing’s disease (Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction – PPID) and equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Insulin insensitivity leads to a num...
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Does Conditioning Equine Athletes on Water Treadmills Improve Fitness?
Equine water treadmills were initially designed for rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries but are now also widely used for conditioning sport horses. High-intensity exercise is important in improving fitness in h...
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Could National Hunt Racing be made safer by Changing the Colours used to Mark the Fences?
Horseracing over jumps is a significant sport in the UK. But it also carries a high risk of injury. From 2013-2018 the death rate in National Hunt races, where horses jump fences ditches, was 1 in 250 starts! Most inj...
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Safe & Legal Feeding
Many of you reading this will compete in affiliated competitions and will no doubt have an interest in nutrition and what is best to feed and supplement your horses.
With feed & supplements playing a vital role in...
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Understanding Electrolytes
Electrolyte use can be a confusing. There are many opinions and many myths. Electrolytes are required for almost all bodily functions including nerve function, digestion and muscle contraction. The major electrolytes ...
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