Equitatio

20/01/2025

INDIVIDUAL STABLING FOUND TO ALTER IMMUNE RESPONSE

Research has found that horses moved from group housing to individual stabling showed changes in their white blood cell counts and plasma cortisol levels. These changes could mean they are at a higher risk of infectious disease.

Equine scientists at the University of Hohenheim in Germany studied 12 warmblood geldings aged 2-3 years old during several management changes, monitoring their behaviour and immune response.

The horses used were all living in a group, turned out at pasture. For the first part of the study the group was then split into two, each kept in a separate paddock so that the horses in one group could not see the others. After a trial period of eight days all the horses were returned to their original group, living together. They were then were left out at pasture for eight weeks.

For the second part of the study the horses were all moved into individual stables, where they could see and touch their neighbours through bars. During the first week of being stabled, the horses were given 30 minutes of turnout in an indoor area. From the second week onwards, the horses were lunged.

Throughout the study the research team collected blood samples from the horses to analyse their immune cell numbers and cortisol concentrations.

The results showed that moving the horses to individual stabling led to acute stress-induced immune changes. However, dividing the larger group into two smaller groups at pasture did not.

“The number of eosinophils, monocytes and T cells declined, whereas the number of neutrophils increased resulting in an increased N:L ratio. This pattern of change resembles the well-known picture of an immunomodulation induced by acute social stress."

The plasma cortisol concentrations didn’t change after dividing the group into the two smaller groups at pasture, but there was an increase in cortisol concentrations one day after stabling which then returned to the previous levels eight days later. However, the researchers reported that “Although cortisol concentrations returned to baseline level after 8 days, the alterations in most immune cell numbers persisted, pointing to a longer-lasting effect on the immune system of the horses."

The team also found that some of the horses started to perform stereotypical behaviours as soon as one week after stabling.

The team reported that the results “strongly indicate that social isolation is a chronic stressor with negative impact on welfare and health of horses and highlight the advantage of group housing systems in view of immunocompetence."

The researchers concluded that “relocation to individual stabling represented an intense stressor for the horses of the present study, leading to acute and lasting alterations in blood counts of various leukocyte types. In contrast, fission of the stable group did not result in behavioural, endocrine or immunological stress responses by the horses."

This sudden change from group turnout to individual stabling with training being introduced is a very common scenario for horses being started for the first time. This study gives us yet more evidence that stabling horses individually is stressful for them and detrimental to their physical and psychological wellbeing. The majority of the horses I see are stabled for the bulk of the day. I do wonder how much evidence is needed before horse owners, yard owners and professionals act on this information and change their management to increase turnout and group living...

The research is free to access and is a very interesting read: Schmucker S, Preisler V, Marr I, Krüger K, Stefanski V (2022) Single housing but not changes in group composition causes stress-related immunomodulations in horses. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0272445.

19/01/2025

There are new blog posts on the website 😀

Equitatio is a holistic, accredited consuiltancy for all your equine and canine requirements.

14/01/2025

01/09/2024

New pony scratch post. I wonder who will be the first to use it 🤔

14/08/2024

It isn’t as profitable to tell people what they don’t want to hear.

There’s a reason why so many trainers, to the detriment of the horses, maintain outdated viewpoints and double down to defend all aspects of competition.

There’s a reason why people don’t want to admit to themselves, or others, that common welfare concerns in the horse industry hold scientific merit.

Clients might fire you if you tell them their horse is showing signs of discomfort.

Particularly if they don’t want to deal with veterinary expenses and if any signs of lameness are mild.

They might opt to find a new trainer if you tell them you won’t ride their horse without a fitted saddle.

Or that their horse needs months of ground work to build top line before they can be in active ridden work.

Or that their horse shouldn’t be jumping yet, that they need to focus on flatwork.

Many people don’t want to hear it if you tell them their horses’ behavioural issues are largely related to their boarding barn.

The lack of turnout.

The lack of socialization with other horses.

Going hours at a time without hay.

If they don’t want to leave that barn — you, as the trainer suggesting the need to, will be the villain in the equation.

Especially when they can find crowds of people who WILL tell them what they want to hear.

So, what do you do?

Do you standby your morals, maintain integrity and lose the client?

Or, do you fold and do what you know they want? What you know you need to do to keep them.

Or, perhaps, you’ll try to find a compromise, something less impactful to horse welfare, but still something you know isn’t the best decision.

You need to pay rent. You need to make a living.

And this is the challenge so many trainers are met with.

In order to make a good living, especially while you’re becoming established as a trainer, there is so much pressure to sell out.

And many, I would argue most, do.

Even if it’s just temporarily before they assert their boundaries.

What does it say about our industry if, in order to be successful, you need to abandon yourself? If you need to abandon horse welfare, to some extent?

I think this is an “open secret.” Something many are aware of but that few honestly talk about.

It’s a “right of passage” for those who’ve dreamed of being a trainer since childhood.

I was one of them.

And I lost myself for quite sometime before I found myself again.

It took a while to get my head right and realize that abandoning my integrity, my morals, was what was causing me so much internal distress.

And I had to step wayyyyy back from training to the extent I used to in order to actually put my beliefs into practice.

Because the pressure to abandon them was too much.

I think I speak for a lot of trainers, whether they’re established or up and coming, when I say the pressure of the industry corrupts.

Even if you don’t want it to.

The environment that makes it so needs to be healed.

Try not to lose yourself in the process of chasing that dream of “making it” in the horse world.

It isn’t worth it.

And if you do get lost, try your damnedst to find your way back.

31/07/2024

Back from a fantastic weekend away learning about the whole horse approach to hoof care. Trimming cadaver hooves and then watching disections of the hoof and lower leg. 3 very long days, only touching on the tip of the iceberg.

07/06/2024

Just put a new blog post up on the website.

Equitatio is a holistic, accredited consuiltancy for all your equine and canine requirements.

07/06/2024

EDIT: Please do feel free to share/replicate/display this sign - I’d rather it went out into the world to be used freely and help horses far and wide than if it was just kept on social media!

I seem to spend a lot of time thinking about the ethics of horse sport, and whether we, as an industry, will be able to keep our social licence to operate.

Although we won’t get it right 100% of the time, I think the intent and knowledge behind our actions is a key part of the puzzle.

I have put this sign up on the gate of my arena, in the hope that it reminds me, all my clients and other users of the facilities to stop and think about our intent before embarking upon working our horses each day.

What do you think?

Photo: HDE ‘Promise to the Horse’.

29/05/2024

Very happy with my first published magazine article ♥️🦄

24/05/2024

Had a busy few weeks with work but have spent several spare hours re-painting the jumps.
Pretty happy with how they turned out 😀

07/05/2024

As show season starts in a couple of weeks and Rexelle hasn't been in a trailer since last August (8 months!😳) I thought it would be a good idea to do some loading practice with her, so we had 10 minutes on Sunday afternoon.

A short training session with Rexelle, hadn't done any loading for 8 months so wanted a refresh before show season starts.

11/04/2024

Helpful post, especially at this time of year when moving from winter grazing to summer (hopefully) it's good to remember to treat this as any dietary change and do it gradually

11/04/2024

Always worth double checking that any equipment is fitted/fastened and used correctly

Equitatio is a holistic, accredited consuiltancy for all your equine and canine requirements.

08/04/2024

After seeing multiple videos posted by various breeders bragging about their 2 ½ year olds/recently turned 3 year olds and sharing videos of them cantering around in the arena, I have decided to once again circulate the below article.

First of all, breeders *should* have the knowledge to understand a horse’s fragile and slow maturing musculoskeletal system. Breeders should not condone their own horses let along anyone’s horses being cantered around under saddle at an incredibly young age. Period. This sets a terrible example and is quite honestly animal abuse. Just because a horse does not object does not mean it is right. And quite frankly, most of the videos posted show animals that are already in pain or developing pain…

As breeders, we should strive to produce healthy and sound animals. We should promote horsemanship that produces long term soundness. No, starting a horse later does not guarantee soundness. But it certainly helps.

I am a firm believer in scientifically backed approaches to horsemanship. You can’t argue with science that has been proven time and time again. Let’s dispel some stupid rumors:

1. There is no such thing as a (skeletally) slow maturing horse or one that is fast maturing. No horse is skeletally mature before the age of 6. And that is on the low estimate for age.

2. Growth plates are not just in the knee. Every bone behind the skull has a growth plate. Not every single one needs to be converted to bone before starting. There is a schedule of when bone fuses…this is the information needed to know when to start a horse. Not their outward appearance. It is a known fact that during growth, proprioceptive awareness can regress, greatly increasing the risk of injury.

3. Starting a horse is not the same thing as riding a horse. Starting a horse does not mean cantering it 3-4 days a week in an arena.

4. Injecting a horse that is in pain does not mean you fixed a problem. You masked it.

5. You can build correct muscle and teach a horse how to move their body from the ground. This creates a solid foundation to work from once your horse is ready to actually be backed. Teach a horse to use its body correctly before backing and you’ll save yourself a lot of vet bills down the line.

Hocks are “late” for maturity. The growth plates on the tibial and fibular tarsals do not fuse until a horse is 3-3 ½. Ever wonder why so many horses seem to have hocks issues?? Horses need to learn to carry themselves and their own weight well before adding a rider.

The growth plates that are LAST to close are at the base of the neck. This area is where we ask a horse to raise the base of their neck and come round. If under too much stress, the growth plates can fracture or be permanently damaged.

There are DOZENS of activities you can do with a young horse to build healthy muscular development. None of them involve a saddle or your weight on their back. Teaching a horse to carry themselves correctly BEFORE adding a rider is essential and cannot be done in a week. A 2 ½ year old horse is a baby. Mentally and physically. We see far too many injured performance horses at VERY young ages - broken down and/or sour from work. It’s wrong. Period. They need slow and steady work and need time to recover from even the slightest of injuries.

PLEASE, if you are considering when you should start your horse and what that work load should look like, please read the below. There are some wonderful things you can do with your young developing horse. Please don’t rush a year out of greed.

http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

06/04/2024

A bit of insight into what my diploma in equine training and coaching and ABTC registration actually mean.

Equitatio is a holistic, accredited consuiltancy for all your equine and canine requirements.