Regine Germies - Pferdetherapie & Reitercoaching

02/12/2023

𝗘𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗸 😅
Het kan zijn dat deze opmerking wat irritatie bij je opwekt, misschien zelfs weerstand of juist nieuwsgierigheid. Het is niet mijn intentie om jouw mening te veranderen waar je misschien nog niet klaar voor bent. Ik wil meer besef creëren en inzichten delen.

Ik heb jarenlang mijn paarden uit slowfeeders (

08/08/2023

If you suspect your horse’s hair whorls have something to do with his personality, you might be right.

30/03/2023

Schubkarre mit 200 l-Kunststoffschüssel aus PE (Polyethylen) Tragkraft 200 kg L x B x H Mulde 112...,Schubkarre mit 200 l-Kunststoffschüssel (PE) der Marke Mefro in Nordrhein-Westfalen - Enger

23/02/2023

Die Fliegendeckenzeit fängt wieder an. Ein Artikel dazu, welche Deckenmuster unattraktiv für Insekten sind.

Warum haben Zebras eine extravagante Fellfärbung mit dünnen, kontrastreichen Streifen? Diese Frage beschäftigt die Wissenschaft schon eine ganze Weile. Lange ging man davon aus, dass die Streifen der Tarnung dienen. Indem sie eine Art „Blendeeffekt“ erzeugen, könnten Raubtiere einzelne Tiere...

23/02/2023

Research Demonstrates Friesian Horses have Different Cardiac Measurements

The equine heart is an impressive organ. The heart is composed of four chambers that provide the pumping function needed to supply blood to the body. The upper chambers are called the left and right atria. The lower chambers are called the left and right ventricle. There are also various in and out flow vessels in the heart to support blood flow. In simple terms, the function of the right side of the heart (right atrium, right ventricle) is to pump blood to the lungs, where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide is removed from the blood. The function of the left side of the heart (left atrium, left ventricle) is to pump blood to the rest of the body, where oxygen and nutrients are delivered to tissues, and waste products (such as carbon dioxide) are removed. Together, the four chambers of the heart perform an impressive and complicated symphony, pumping and supplying blood to the body, every moment of every day throughout the horse’s life.

A recent study conducted by Ghent University in Belgium compared the cardiac measurements of 100 Friesians and 100 Warmbloods and found that in general, the left and right ventricle internal diameter measurements of Friesian horses were significantly smaller than those of Warmbloods. Additionally, the measurement of the heart's muscular output contractions (Fractional Shortening and Ejection Fraction) in Friesian horses was higher, indicating the heart of a Friesian horse contracts harder than a Warmblood’s heart to achieve sufficient blood output.

Research has demonstrated an “athletic heart” is linked to positive endurance related performance in horses. One study in particular found cardiac measurements, specifically left ventricle measurements, correlated with performance and showed strong heritability levels. Another study, which specifically studied fitness levels of Friesian horses, confirmed for the first time that genetics do indeed influence fitness in horses- something proven long ago in humans.

Research has confirmed Friesians have a different response to training and reach their anaerobic threshold at a lower workload than other breeds. It is possible there is a correlation between the smaller cardiac measurements of Friesian’s and aerobic endurance. Riders and trainers of Friesian horses should understand continuous exercise, particularly at the canter, might initially exceed the aerobic threshold of some Friesian horses early in their athletic conditioning. Some Friesian horses may require shorter periods of more intense aerobic exercise until they can work up to longer periods.

The Gent University study led to the publication of echocardiographic (heart ultrasound) reference intervals specific to Friesian horses. These reference intervals may be shared with your veterinarian for use when conducting clinical diagnostics of the heart.

Link to study, including echocardiographic reference intervals: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvim.15938

References

Vernemmen, Ingrid & Lisse, Vera & van steenkiste, Glenn & van Loon, Gunther & Decloedt, Annelies. (2020). Reference values for 2‐dimensional and M‐mode echocardiography in Friesian and Warmblood horses. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 34.

M., Younes & Robert, Celine & Barrey, Eric. (2014). Genetic Component of Endurance Ability. Equine Veterinary Journal. 46.

Munsters CCBM, van den Broek J, van Weeren R, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM. Young Friesian horses show familial aggregation in fitness response to a 7-week performance test. Vet J. 2013;198(1):193-199.

04/02/2023

❄️ Mini Blanket Weight Experiment ❄️

I am so sorry I have been MIA lately, life has gotten rather busy! But I am back with what I think was a little fun science experiment (but I may be biased). The timing worked all too well as I guess it celebrates the one year anniversary of my original blanketing post, but this time we added a few more variables!

Intro: So after the last experiment, many of you responded with, "Well we assumed a blanket would make a horse warmer, but what about a sheet?" The reasoning behind this relates to my previous post on piloerection: if a sheet prevents the horse from fully utilizing piloerection but doesn't offer additional insulation, would the horse be colder? So we wanted to see what we could find out by comparing all blanket weights!

Materials and Methods: To test this, I had to find a really cold day (apparently the first week in February is a rough one for us up here in Wisconsin) and I had some fabulous students who volunteered to help (shout out to Kate Malmanger, Cylar Johnson, and Leah Johnson!). So we met out at the barn at 9 am and we took re**al temps of the four horses and then applied the designated blanket weight. The outside temperature was -10°F (-23°C) with feels like closer to -22°F (-30°C; It was cold, I don't know why I still live here).

We went back out at 2 pm when temperatures rose to a balmy 0°F (-18°C) and re**al temperatures were taken again. We then removed the horses' blankets one by one and immediately took thermography pictures to look at surface temperature.

Results: While the results between the no blanket control and the blanketed horses (with insulation/fill) replicates what we saw last year, I was most interested in the horse with a sheet (no insulation). It does show that her surface temperature was indeed colder than all other horses (including the non-blanketed control). Re**al temperatures were comparable for all horses.

Discussion: Would I blanket a horse in a sheet in these conditions? Definitely not. It wouldn’t even cross my mind. Does that mean you should never use a sheet? Nope! Sheets may be a more effective management choice with milder temperatures when rain or wind is observed. Overall, I think these results demonstrate the importance behind choosing the appropriate blanket weight if you decide to blanket your horse. I would like to replicate this study on a windy day when it is a tad warmer (I don't know how effective the thermography camera would be for a wet coat but it could be worth a shot as a well).

Until then, enjoy this mini project! And if you have any suggestions for what I should test next, let me know below 👇

Your friendly, neighborhood equine scientist,
Dr. DeBoer

04/02/2023

Als ich 1984 mit meinem Pferd Jule einen Kurs bei Jean-Claude Dysli besuchte, war diese Aufforderung "schreib ein Buch über Pferdeausbildung" ebenfalls Thema. Damals ging es ums Westernreiten, und das war recht neu in Deutschland.
Jean-Claude hat abgelehnt mit derselben Begründung wie Lehrmeister Pferd.
Nun liegen fast 40 Jahre zwischen diesen beiden Aussagen, aber immer noch sind solche Antworten notwendig, da immer noch viel zu viele Menschen nach einer Bedienungsanleitung für das Pferd suchen.
Nebenbei: Den Auffordernden ging es ums Westernreiten. Jean-Claude meinte dazu: "Ich reite nicht Western, ich reite ein Pferd!".😉

🤔"Warum schreibst du nicht mehr Artikel zum Thema Pferdeausbildung und wie man etwas macht?"

Diese Frage erreichte mich vor kurzem über den Messenger. Ja, warum eigentlich nicht?

Es gibt in der Pferdeausbildung Fakten (und manchmal auch Mythen), wie etwas zu funktionieren hat und wie eben nicht. Und dann gibt es die Pferde. Die Pferde haben meist kein Buch über Pferdeausbildung gelesen, sind also nicht vorbelastet wie so mancher Mensch, der dann sagt: "aber das steht so in 100 Büchern...". Oder: "Davon hab ich ein Video auf Youtube gesehen, das macht man so."

Jedes Pferd ist individuell. Jeder Mensch auch. Jeder Vier- und Zweibeiner hat seinen eigenen Körper, seinen eigenen Charakter und seine eigene Art, die Welt verstehen zu wollen. Der Körper, ja der hat seine Funktionen, die angeboren sind. Das ist richtig und wichtig, sich damit auseinanderzusetzen, welche Trainingsvorgaben wir zum Beispiel von den großen Gelenken bekommen oder wie und wo das Becken kippen kann und wie und wo eben nicht.

Und dann gibts da die Hummel. Eh scho wissen, zu schwer zum Fliegen und so. Fliegt aber trotzdem.

Was viele über mich vielleicht nicht wissen, ist, dass ich mich seit über 10 Jahren intensiv mit Pädagogik auseinandersetze. Ich habe verschiedene Ausbildungen im Humanbereich absolviert, wo Lernen im Mittelpunkt steht. Ebenfalls habe ich eine sehr intensive Zusatzausbildung im Bereich Sensorische Integration und sensomotorische Wahrnehmungsförderung, die mir sehr geholfen hat, zu verstehen, warum Kinder (und dementsprechend auch Pferde) Manches machen oder nicht machen. Individualität und Lernen. Ein Wunderwerk.

Ich liebe es, herauszufinden, wie ich es dem Pferd am einfachsten machen kann, eine Idee zu entwickeln. Ich will es so erklären, dass es sehr simpel scheint, dass die Aufgabe immer lösbar ist. Ich mag es, dem Pferd zu zeigen, wie es den eigenen Körper erfühlen kann, Freude an der eigenen Kraft entwickelt, Funktionen genau ansteuern kann, seinen Körper und damit sich selbst in immer feineren Nuancen kennen lernt.

Diese Fähigkeit ermöglicht mir, dass Besitzer über ihre Pferde staunen. Weil ich es erklären kann. Und weil ich durch meine 20 Jahre Unterrichts- und Ausbildungserfahrung hundert verschiedene Wege kenne, etwas zu erklären.

Und ich weiß auch, welche Stationen man nicht überspringen darf. Ich mache keine Show. Ich bilde Pferde und Reiter aus. Und zwar nachhaltig.

Ich wünsche dir einen schönen Samstag!
Sandra von Lehrmeister Pferd

20/01/2023

What do you do to gain your horse's trust and why is it important?

30/12/2022

Does blanketing impact hair coat growth?

New research, hot off the press! For a limited time you can read/download the article here: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1gIu92dbxqfJHC

Introduction: As discussed more in depth in a previous post, the dominant variable impacting hair coat changes is the photoperiod, or amount of daylight. These shifts in daylight are observed at the winter and summer solstices in late December and June, respectively. As we observe more daylight, shedding of the winter hair coat is observed and a new summer coat replaces it. However, is it the only variable that plays a role?

Materials and Methods: Sixteen horses were used, eight were blanketed and eight were not. The horses who were blanketed had a medium-weight blanket placed in October, when maximum daily temperatures consistently fell below 40°F. Horses blankets were checked and removed regularly to monitor horse health. Monthly, hair samples were taken with a tweezers from the base of the neck (non-mane side) and hindquarters and measured for length and diameter.

Results: Hair length for blanketed and nonblanketed horses had similar changes over time in which it peaked in January and February but returned down to the baseline (October) length by March. While blanketed horses had shorter neck hair length in January and February (when hair length peaked), hair on the hindquarters did not differ. The peak neck hair length for nonblanketed horses was 2.3” compared to 1.7” in blanketed horses.

[For the graphs below, A-D represents changes over time within a treatment and X-Y is changes between treatments within a time point]

Discussion: (1) Neck vs. Hindquarters. I found it very interesting that hair on the neck, an area that was not covered by the blanket, was shorter while the hindquarters was not different. My only reasoning for this is that neck hair grew longer which could’ve created more room for a difference to be observed. (2) Timing. Another variable that likely played a role is the timing of the blanketing application. We know it takes a delay between an environmental/management change (such as daylight or ambient temperature) and the physical change in hair coat. Considering blankets weren’t applied until late October, an earlier application of a blanket or a different blanket weight could have led to more drastic results. (3) Another study performed by Bocian et al. in 2017 found an increased barn temperature can decrease hair coat length. This study supports the idea that ambient temperature can impact hair coat growth.

Conclusion: While photoperiod is the dominant variable, blanketing horses housed outdoors could mimic an increased ambient air temperature to reduce hair coat growth in blanketed horses. However, this change in hair coat between blanketed and nonblanketed horses appears to be short-lived with comparable hair coats observed once shedding begins. There are so many variables involved and a lot more research needs to be done on blanketing, but this is a start!

[While I would’ve loved to continue looking at hair coat changes, this study took place in 2019 – 2020 and had to be stopped short due to the COVID lockdown.]

K Bocian, K Strzelec, I Janczarek, Z Jablecki, R. Kolstrung. Length of winter coat in horses depending on husbandry conditions. Anim Sci J, 88 (2017), pp. 339-346, 10.1111/asj.12587

24/12/2022

𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁

The 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲 is a very large muscle that extends from its tip, which you can see, to the hyoid apparatus and its attacement to the ramus of the mandible at the back.

It is the most sensitive part of your horse's mouth and the most prone to injury.

The tongue is vital for swallowing and influencing the hyoid apparatus

Like any other muscle, restriction or tension within it can induce a muscular chain reaction.

The sensitivity of the tongue is a very important consideration when fitting a bit. An ill-fitting or harsh bit or excessive pressure on the bit from your hands can cause pain and discomfort. In some cases it can result in tension throughout the body and poor performance.

Gillian Higgins

23/12/2022

23/12/2022

How does your horse stay warm in the winter?

*Please read the whole post before jumping to conclusions - by no means am I telling you not to blanket - every horse is different!*

Thermoregulation is a process that allows mammals to maintain their core body temperature. Due to fluctuations in the ambient temperature, horses will use physiological and behavioral adaptations for heat production or heat dissipation in order to maintain their core body temperature within a narrow range. Focusing on the cold climates (as we are sitting at [feels like] -29°F right now), there are a few physiological adaptations the horse may use including shivering, vasoconstriction, and adaptations to the hair coat including piloerection and hair coat length. Commonly observed behavioral adaptations include facing away from the wind, using solar radiation, or increasing consumption of fiber, often fed in the form of hay, for fermentation.

However, most of these physiological processes come at a cost due to something known as the lower critical temperature (LCT). The LCT is the ambient temperature below which an animal will require additional metabolic heat production to maintain their core temperature. The further below the LCT the ambient temperature gets, the more energy the horse needs to expend to maintain their core body temperature. The LCT changes based on age, precipitation, season, and hair coat length among other variables, but the LCT for horses with a dry, winter coat has most commonly been reported between 5°F (in cold climates) and 41°F (in mild climates). We often use 18°F as a benchmark.

So what does all of this mean? Well most horses do a great job at thermoregulation when given the tools they need. Below 5°F, and especially when precipitation is observed, it is recommended that horses have access to a 3-sided shelter with a roof as well as additional hay to help heat their internal furnace via fermentation and provide additional calories in the process.

It is also important to note that some horses may do better with some assistance such as hard keepers, underweight horses, aged horses who might have trouble consuming adequate forage, horses with an improper hair coat, etc. So just because one horse is fat, happy, and unbothered by the cold, it doesn’t mean every horse is!

So as the temperatures fall, see what your horse is doing to respond! It is pretty neat to see all the things they are naturally designed to do to conserve heat and stay warm! And if you have any questions on whether your horse may need assistance, I recommend reaching out to your veterinarian for guidance!

27/11/2022

Ok, let's take a break from blanketing and focus on deworming for the next few posts!

Part 1: Do you know why you deworm your horse?

I used to believe my goal was to abolish all parasites, every last one of them! But now I am here to tell you - PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!

If you have been in the horse industry for more than a decade, I am sure you have heard of rotational deworming. This recommendation involves deworming a horse blindly every two to three months with a different dewormer. While the original intent of deworming was to eradicate all parasites, we have learned this is not at all possible. My favorite saying related to this is, "You may win some battles but you'll never win the war."

So if our goal isn't to abolish parasites, then what is it? Well the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has defined three main goals associated witg parasite control:
1. Reduce the risk of parasitic disease
2. Control parasite egg shedding
3. Maintain efficacious drugs and avoid further development of anthelmintic resistance

Reread those again and take a moment to let them sink in.

First off, we don't want clinical illness to develop in our horses. Nobody wants their horse to have parasites at all, but it is a natural part of being a horse. And while parasites can be harmful to their hosts, they typically do not want to kill them considering the horse is their home and the parasites rely on them to survive. But we can see them negatively impact horse health through weight loss, diarrhea, a poor hair coat, compromised growth in young horses, as well as potentially fatal complications such as colic. So one of our goals is to control parasites to reduce the risk of these complications and the appearance of clinical signs of disease in our horses.

Our next goal is to reduce parasite egg shedding. As shown in the picture, the life cycle of the parasite has two main stages, free-living (in the environment), and infective (inside the horse). The life cycle of the parasites persists as the parasite matures inside of the horse until it reaches a reproductive stage and can deposit eggs in the manure. A single horse can deposit MILLIONS of eggs into the environment every day. By targeting horses that are shedding these parasites, we can reduce parasite exposure for the rest of the herd.

This leads to the final goal: keeping effective dewormers. The other two goals would be easy if we could just keep deworming indefinitely without any consequences, but this isn't the case. Unfortunately, we did this already, and we ended up creating a super population of parasites that no longer die when they are exposed to most of our dewormers due to resistance.

Resistance happened when we dewormed our horses blindly and frequently, ultimately creating a parasite boot camp that made our parasites stronger and allowed them to survive our dewormer better. This problem only got worse as we continued to kill susceptible parasites, leaving resistant parasites to reproduce and pass these traits on to their offspring. This means that in our attempt to rid horses of all parasites, we actually strengthened a super population of resistant parasites that just don't seem to die.... well that is no good.

So what now?

Well thankfully 20% of horses shed 80% of the parasite eggs. As a result, we don't need to deworm all horses all the time! Rather, we can identify the horses who carry the majority of the parasitic burden and target them with dewormers more frequently. In fact, one study found that deworming 50% of horses (the ones with over 200 eggs per gram) resulted in a 95% reduction in parasite egg shedding (Kaplan and Nielsen, 2010).

To do this, you can:
(1) Use f***l egg count reduction tests (FECRT) to determine efficacy of different dewormer classes to identify which ones are still effective within your herd and
(2) Utilize f***l egg counts (FECs) for mature, adult horses to create your deworming plan based on shedding level and climate.

*Stay tuned for the next post where I will discuss FECRTs, FECs, and research on the efficacy of current dewormer classes more in depth!

But most importantly, create a plan with your veterinarian. They will be best suited to make recommendations based on your horse's age, climate, and shedding level!

Deworm wisely, friends!

22/11/2022

06/11/2022

Die Unterbringung von Pferden in Gruppenhaltung fördert zwar ihr allgemeines Wohlbefinden, aber Hauspferde sind nicht unbedingt gut darin, sich kleine Ruheflächen zu teilen, so das Resümee einer schwedischen Studie. - ProPferd ist ein unabhängiges P...

10/10/2022

01/10/2022

The three-beat canter is overly simplistic. Just between the first beat, (1), impact of the right hind leg as Chazot is on the left lead canter, and the second beat, (2), the diagonal sequence, there are the two hind legs on contact, (1A), and the three legs on the ground phases, (1B).
Nancy Deuel measured longer hind legs contact duration during the stride preparing for the flying change. Further studies talked about the decelerating phase. Jose Morales explained that horses increased the decelerating phase to better control balance and stored more elastic energy for propulsion. At the level of the hind legs, the horse creates the condition for a better flying change during the intermediary phase where both hind legs are on ground contact (1A.)
Of course, we don’t control this phase. Of course, we cannot stimulate it with a touch of the spurs or the whip. We can only create conditions that can lead the horse to this specific variation. There is a difference between biotensegrity, creating conditions optimizing the horse’s body function, and the archaic concept of obedience to the rider’s aids.
Jean Luc