Health & Education
We all want the best care possible for our horses. The Heath & Education section covers both Learning Institutions, Organizations as well as many sources for equine assistance including Veterinarians and Farriers.
For those who want a to formally study horses, the Education section includes College Riding, Equine Studies, and Veterinary Schools. Learn about the wide variety of horses in the Horse Breeds section. Supplements and Treatments Therapy are also included in the section.
Everyone can learn from Fine Art and there are some specialty Museums that might surprise you.
Horses as a therapy partner enrich the lives of the disabled. These facilities are listed in our Therapeutic Riding section. To help children and young adults build confidence and grow emotionally, please see the resources available on the Youth Outreach page.
Looking for a place to keep your horse? You can find it in the Horse Boarding section. Traveling? Find a Shipping company or Horse Sitting service if your horse is staying home!
Want to stay up to date with the latest training clinics or professional conferences? Take a look at our Calendar of Events for Health & Education for the dates and locations of upcoming events.
Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!
by Carolyn Charles
What makes Equine Assisted Skill Development so special? The horse of course!As horse people, we all know that these majestic creatures are some of the best teachers in the world. We have all experienced the moments, the changes and happiness they have brought to our lives. But why is it that horses are such incredible teachers and help us learn and grow?
1. Horses feel everything!
From being able to hear our hearts beat, to feeling a fly land on them, the sensitivity of the horse is essential to why they are able to teach. This is what allows horses to discern between calm and nervous energy and lets them know how their human team members are feeling. Think about what happens when you cut your finger - sometimes you can feel your heart beat in it. Your body is sending extra help to heal the situation.
Horses are so sensitive that they can sense all of the physiological changes in our bodies. Our heart rate increasing, becoming agitated, frustrated, or when we are living in the moment and being truly authentic. That’s why when horses respond, the participant can make a change in the moment and see the immediate outcome.
Read more: Working with Horses to Develop Skills - Five Reasons Why It Works!
Stereotypic behaviors such as weaving, cribbing, and stall-walking occur commonly in high-performance horses as well as many companion horses. In addition to being unsightly, potentially damaging to the barn, and raising welfare concerns, stereotypic behaviors also result in important health issues such as dental disorders, temporohyoid joint damage, poor performance, weight loss, and colic.
“Cribbing is the most troublesome of these compulsive behaviors. It involves grasping a fixed object with the incisor teeth and aspirating air with an audible grunt,” explained Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., a nutritionist for Kentucky Equine Research.
The exact reason horses crib remains unknown. Some suggest that cribbing horses have unmet dietary or management needs. Others believe that altered biological functions are the culprits, such as decreased antioxidant levels or increased oxidative stress.
Read more: Possible Link Between Selenium and Cribbing in Horses
by Sarah Nash
For seasonal breeders such as the horse, the lengthening days of spring have long been associated with increased fertility, enhanced performance, improved coat condition and better health and well-being. The duration of light exposure and the quality of the light administered are key to regulating these important physiological changes. Understanding this regulation is a fundamental factor to consider in our management of horses for breeding and performance.
The Duration of Light
The first key understanding is the duration of light exposure. Horses are long-day breeders. Their natural reproductive period coincides with the light-filled days of summer. A normal winter’s day consists of 16 hours of dark and 8 hours of light (Short Day). A summer’s day consists of approximately 16 hours of light and 8 hours of dark (Long Day). It is the rapid transition from Short Day to Long Day that can stimulate early reproductive activity and ovulation in mares. On average, it takes 75 days from initiation of Long Day light treatment to the first ovulation of the season. We recommended that Long Day light therapy begins no later than July 1st (SH)/ December 1st (NH) to ensure that mares are ready for breeding in time for the official start of the breeding season.
Equitopia traveled to Holland to investigate how a rider's shifting weight in the saddle effects the gait of a horse. Equitation seat specialist Tessa Roos and equine motion analyst Bert Lam strapped Pegasus Gait analysis sensors on a horse and collected data in various positions. www.EquitopiaCenter.com
Read more: Rider Biomechanics: Using Sensors to See How the Rider Influences the Horse (7:24)
by G. Robert Grisel, DVM
Foremost, we should consider the basic rationale behind why horses limp. Is it pain? Is it some biomechanical restriction that prohibits normal movement? Pain might be an inciter in some instances, but the uncomfortable horse actually limps in an attempt to avoid pain. The resulting gait abnormality, therefore, is a voluntary action executed by the horse to circumvent the problem as opposed to an involuntary product of the problem. This is an important distinction, because as observers we don’t directly appreciate the source of the horse’s pain. Rather, we see how the horse alters its movement to escape it.
Visual assessment of the horse’s physical adjustments relies on the art of pattern recognition, which is relatively simple once we know where to look, when to look, and what to look for. This concept is familiar to us, because all of us practice pattern recognition in one form or another in our daily activities/jobs. Horse trainers, for instance, regularly evaluate recurring patterns of body language expressed by riders, both correct and incorrect. Farriers, on the other hand, are accustomed to interpreting various patterns of hoof wear. In all cases, abnormal patterns can give us insight with regard to what might be going on behind the scenes. With practice, we will learn to use our pattern recognition skills to depict visual markers of lameness that were previously imperceptible.
by Capt. William E. Simpson II - USMM Ret.
In the latest cooperative effort with a handful of visionary politicians, natural resource advocates and supported by noted wildlife biologist Craig C. Downer, rancher-author William E. Simpson II has opened a new line of communication with Siskiyou County, CA.
Here is an open letter by Craig C. Downer, Wildlife Biologist, followed by a response from Capt. Simpson.
"The pilot test of the Wild Horse Fire Brigade as proposed by Mr. Simpson is both ecologically and economically sound and solidly positioned upon well-established science [1]. Cultural and paleontological evidence from the locale shows that wild horses lived in the area of the Soda Mountain Wilderness area of Southern Oregon and Northern California for millennia and up until recent times.
"I spent 3-days on-site touring the landscape on foot and have evaluated the conditions of the local flora and fauna. From my findings, I concur with Mr. Simpson that there is a severe depletion of large-bodied native herbivores here. This situation has led to super- abundant vegetation to become intensively established throughout the landscape, a major portion of which is rocky and of rugged, accentuated topography. At present, the wild horses here are well below their carrying capacity for this particular ecosystem, and this ecosystem could greatly benefit from their increase. Other native herbivores have been and continue to be depleted by a robust population of lions and coyotes. The predated remains of adult and sub-adult wild horses are frequently encountered in this reserve along with scant remains of deer. I concur with Mr. Simpson that the use of livestock for fuel abatement would result in significant loss of animals and financial investment.
by Carlos E. Medina
The new University of Florida Equine Acupuncture Center in northwest Marion County will focus on treatment, education and research of the ancient healing art.
Dr. Huisheng Xie grew up in a family of Chinese herbalists who prescribed custom mixtures of herbs and plants to treat any number of human maladies. But he decided to apply the ancient practice of traditional Chinese medicine to the veterinary field, particularly to horses.
After 35 years practicing acupuncture and refining herbal medicines for animals, the doctor of veterinary medicine and a clinical professor of integrative medicine with the UF Department of Comparative, Diagnostic & Population Medicine, is celebrating the newly opened University of Florida Equine Acupuncture Center in northwest Marion County.
The center, a partnership between Xie and the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, includes a 6,240-square-foot barn with an attached 12,500-square-foot arena. It is located between Irvine and Flemington, on County Road 318.
For Xie, the growing acceptance of traditional Chinese medicine by the West is in stark contrast to what he faced when he started as a professor at the university in 1998.
"When I first started the job at the University of Florida, people talked about acupuncture like it was a joke. Now, over 90 percent of the faculty accepts it and refers cases to us," Xie said.
In the 20 years since he started with the university, a growing number of studies and continued research back the anecdotal benefits of acupuncture.
Why do we work with horses? Horse course, horse school, horse program, horse work, horse learning… whatever you want to call it; it is achieving a dream career for you and your horse. A Global Equine Assisted Learning Business Training™ (EABT™) company that works together to find success around the world, helping people to be empowered and helping them to change their lives while working with the horse. Through this powerful Horse Course which just isn't a dream; it's a reality, you will start your new business with your horse programs with confidence!
Read more: Equine Connection: International Horse Certification Course with Business Training
by Dr. Eleanor Kellon
With feral horses, by the time weaning occurs naturally both mare and foal are more than ready for it. When we hasten the process artificially, there is inevitable stress.
Foals depend on their dams for basic survival needs of nutrition and protection from predators or even other horses. The dam also gives the foal its social status in the band. Mares fulfill these functions because of the extremely powerful drive of their instincts and hormones.
Interfering with this bond predictably causes anxiety, even anguish. This means poor appetite, vocalizing, pacing (or running if room allows), poor concentration and diminished awareness of people, other animals, even physical barriers. In the worst-case scenario, they may be a danger both to themselves and others.
A variety of methods are used, from gradual lengthening of periods apart to abrupt complete separation. When separation is final, mare and foal should not be able to see or hear each other. Foals do best either housed in individual stalls or pastured in a group of familiar peers with at least one quiet and tolerant adult baby sitter.
- Dental Basics: The Who, What, When, How and Why of Floating Teeth
- How Myofascial Bodywork Helps Horses
- The Effects of Routine Morning Exercise on Muscle Response
- Is the Great British Shire Horse About to Go Extinct?
- Red Light at Night Facilitates Recovery and Rest
- Breathing Easy: A Key to Equine Health and Performance
- Alfalfa and the Insulin Resistant Horse - The True Story
- Burning And Learning?
- The Canadian Horse: Discover a Versatile Breed Rich in History
- Core Equine Disease Risks Increase Amid Mosquito Season
- Equilume Stable Light Can Influence Body Composition and Biological Rhythms in Horses-in-training
- Inflammation: It’s Not Just In Joints
- Horsepower: How Digital Technology is Transforming the Equine World
- Exercising and Training Horses in Hot Weather
- Choose Hemp Instead of Soy for Your Horse!
- Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis
- What is the Ideal Conditioning Program for an Eventer?
- Is Your Horse a Slave in a Sand Box?
- Surprise! It's Twins!
- Dental Surgery and Extractions