BARBADOS RACEHORSES NOW A TOURIST EVENT
You may have seen my post a couple of years back showing the racehorses in Barbados being taken to walk and swim in the sea at dawn every morning. The equipment used then was questionable and I was concerned about the welfare of some of the horses.
However, this has now become a much bigger tourist event, with people paying to ride and have their photos taken with the horses. There is no consideration of safety with numerous people surrounding the horses in the sea, pulling on their lead ropes, rushing around them, constantly patting or smacking them and jumping on and off their backs - this is just a series of accidents waiting to happen.
The horses all have gum chains used very harshly, many of the horses are spooking and bucking on their way to the beach and several don’t want to go into the water, understandably. Not pretty to watch.
It is fascinating to see that there is effort put into discouraging tourists to have photos taken with monkeys, but the welfare of these horses doesn’t seem to count.
SHOULD HORSES HAVE PROSTHETICS?
I'm seeing an increasing number of posts and films showing horses with prosthetic limbs. Of course I believe a horse should be able to live their best life and it is every owners responsibility to provide that for them, without question. However, I do wonder whether the surgery and process that would have led to having the prosthetic fitted would have been so prolonged and traumatic for the horse that their quality of life would have been intolerable. The horse would need to have been cross-tied to stand up for weeks or months, endured sleep deprivation (from lack of REM sleep as they were unable to lie down), been socially isolated in a box by themselves and potentially dealt with extreme levels of pain. While we humans can cope relatively easily with being confined to a bed for months, there are a whole range of welfare considerations for a horse who has very different behavioural needs to us. Of course the horse has no choice or understanding of the procedure or process they undergo.
I do understand people have extremely valuable horses and want to ‘fix’ them when they are injured. These owners are prepared to put their horses through months of being cross-tied and sleep deprived. But I wonder how many realise what the horse may be going through mentally and physically. Apart from the injuries they have sustained, do they understand the additional trauma that these procedures will cause and what the fallout will be for the horse long-term? Would they ever be free of pain, distress or discomfort? Is it worth it from the horse’s point of view?
Of course all cases will be individual with different pros and cons, and there are so many factors to consider when evaluating the individual's welfare and quality of life. Does anyone have experience of any of these cases? If so, I'd be very interested to hear from you. I am also interested to find out how well horses manage with prosthetics, the long-term problems that can occur and
DO HORSES WASH THEMSELVES?
Yes – they definitely would if they could! Given the opportunity horses will paddle in freshwater and saltwater.
This film is of racehorses in Barbados being taken for their daily dip. Every day at sunrise the grooms take the horses to the beach to paddle or swim. Of course here the horses are restrained so their choice is limited. Some horses clearly enjoy this process, some are not so keen, but that may be a result of harsh handling rather than the bathing process.
Paddling, rolling and bathing in water like this is a great way for horses to wash, cover themselves in natural fly repellent, cool down and care for their own skin by removing loose hair, dead skin and stimulating the circulation. It is as important for horses to look after their own bodies as it is for us to looks after ours. However, sadly this is something we don't think about routinely incorporating into our horse's management or see very often.
Many of our domestic horses don't have any access to water at all (apart from boggy fields) and may be anxious about walking into streams, ponds or even puddles. However, research has shown that if horses do have access to water in their home environment they will often go paddling, splash themselves or even roll in water as a daily occurrence. This is an important part of their own healthcare routine and something we should give them the opportunity to do if we can.
WHAT’S NEW IN EQUITATION SCIENCE?
I’m at the annual International Society for Equitation Science conference at Hartpury University & College learning about what’s new in equine research. We’ve looked at whether the whip actually does make horses in harness racing speed up, loading problems in horses in the UK, the ethics and well-being of horses in sport, how bedding impacts sleep, how stable design influences vigilance behaviour and much, much more.
We have had the opportunity to perform a dissection of the horse’s head, assess our own rider fitness and visit the equine therapy centre (film of horse on a water walker here).
I will report back on some of the studies over the next few weeks and hope to post about the 4* eventing also being held here at Hartpury this week.
NEW FOREST ROAD BLOCK
This is the kind of traffic hold up I like to see! I am so excited to be back in the New Forest for a couple of weeks. It is such a magical place, with a pony around every corner. If you get the chance to visit, then now is a great time of year to see the foals. Just drive carefully and please give priority to the equine inhabitants at all times.
I am presenting a talk on equine body language here at Sparsholt College tomorrow evening. There are just a handful of spaces left if you live nearby and would like to come: https://www.equinebehaviourist.co.uk/events/understand-your-horse-sparsholt-14/6/22
HOW CAN YOU ENTERTAIN A HORSE WHEN THEY ARE TIED UP?
This is Magic, who was previously very anxious when he was tied up. His lovely owner Jen Adams has been working on retraining him to stand when tied and has shared this great idea for making the process more fun and rewarding for him.
Jen has smeared some smooth peanut butter on a chopping board and hung it up with Magic's haynet, so he can lick the board while tied. As you can see it is working a treat!
When retraining anxious horses to be tied up it is vital that the experience is positive for them and that they are only asked to stand for very short periods of time to start with (and that could be just a few seconds). Once they are relaxed at that stage then in subsequent sessions you can gradually increase the length of time they are tied up.
The horse should always be untied before they become anxious, so that they realise being tied up isn't a scary thing to do. They must always be given something to eat for the duration of the session, so if they don't think their haynet is appealing enough as a reward for standing quietly, then this lick mat is a great idea!
You could also use this for husbandry tasks your horse is uncomfortable with or when they may need to stand for a while – like clipping, vet or farrier visits or even when travelling in the wagon or trailer. Having a calm equine friend present is always a help too.
Peanut butter is best fed in moderation, I would feed no more than a few spoons of it a week. Don't use a peanut butter that contains artificial sweeteners, do check the ingredients list. Some companies may use a number instead of the sweetener name in the ingredients list. You don't need anything other than peanuts in peanut butter and please avoid palm oil! Also don't feed peanut butter to horses with EMS or allergies – horses can be allergic to nuts too. However, you could also smear fruit or vegetable puree on the board as a replacement.
RETRAINING A FEARFUL HORSE TO THE CLIPPERS
