Author: David Marlin

Dr David Marlin Rounds Up his last two weeks – talking to us about his work as a scientist and as an ambassador for Horse Welfare. Laterality survey launched – Researchers from around the world are working together to learn more about laterality or “sidedness” and what effects it. Is it nature or nurture? Trip to Holland to meet the marketing company for the Sport Horse Foundation. What is the Sport Horse Foundation trying to do to benefit horses in competition? Horse and rider obesity discussions with Tamzin Futardo, Jane Williams, Lorna Camron and Yorkshire Show Organisers – what can be…

AN EARLY XMAS PRESENT TO YOURSELF? As you know, we ran a survey on riding gloves and the results are about to be announced. We want to select 10 pairs of riding gloves from the survey results and send them out to Members to test and give some feedback on. And you get to keep them We need you to email us your email, mobile and address so send the gloves to you and for the courier. Your personal data will not be used for any other purpose than this trial, either by ourselves or any third party. You will…

Are Horse Owners Able to Estimate Their Animals’ Body Condition Score and Cresty Neck Score? This is the question that a group of vets and scientists from Italy asked and answered with a study published this month in the scientific journal Veterinary Sciences. Sara Busechian from the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Perugia which sits in the middle of Italy around halfway between Rome and Venice. They used 259 adult horses belonging to 30 different owners. The lead researcher, Sara Busechian, body condition scored (BCS) each horse using the 0-5 scale of Carroll and Huntington and scored…

In September 2022 David spent time with the members of the British Dressage South at their camp at Keysoe. Helping with issues, answered questions and queries the members had with their horses and he gave a series of lectures on topics the dressage riders wanted to hear about. In the recorded lecture David discusses with the BD members; Training, Nutrition, Travel, Warm Up, and Mental Preparation. David delves into the scientific topic of tapering! LOG IN TO WATCH THE FULL LECTURE BELOW:

In September 2022 David spent time with the members of the British Dressage South at their camp at Keysoe. Helping with issues, answered questions and queries the members had with their horses and he gave a series of lectures on topics the dressage riders wanted to hear about. In the lecture recorded below David discusses Calming and Energy supplements – discussing with dressage riders the pros and cons of such supplements, what are the laws and guidelines in the UK for the manufacturers of supplements and what you can use them for. LOG IN TO WATCH THE FULL LECTURE BELOW:

We ran this survey as a Facebook poll in Sept 2020. Dr Gillian Tabor has written about this survey and the results in her blog here. Survey Questions and Results Question 1: Which, if any, of the following forms of restraint do you commonly use when clipping horses? (2,609 answers – 4,204 votes) NOW READ Dr Gillian Tabor’s thoughts about this survey here.

In September David spent time with the members of the British Dressage South at their camp at Keysoe. Helping with issues, answered questions and queries the members had with their horses and he gave a series of lectures on topics the dressage riders wanted to hear about. This lecture was about boots and bandages – the advantages and disadvantages to both types of kit and helping the riders determine which was best for their horses and when to use them. LOG IN TO WATCH THE FULL LECTURE BELOW:

Vets in the UK are starting to report cases of ACORN (from OAK (Quercus robur) and SYCAMORE SEED POISONING (from Sycamore (UK) or Sycamore Maple (USA), Acer pseudoplantus). The amount of acorns and sycamore seeds and risk of accidental ingestion and poisoning may be increased this year due to the weather conditions this summer. Risk Factors Paddocks with oak and/or sycamore trees in or around them.Heavily grazed/over-grazed pastureAutumn – when the seeds mainly fallHigh winds – which bring down the seeds Reducing Risk Remove seeds/acorns by raking – this can be aided by a blower or a paddock vacuumFence off…

Why you should weigh your horse at the same time every day if you want to monitor weight accurately The graph below shows why you should always weigh your horse at the same time of day and in relation to feeding and exercise if you want to track weight accurately. Your horse could easily vary in weight by 15kg depending on when weighed. Horses generally weigh the lightest first thing in the morning but will lose even more weight with exercise. The amount of weight loss will depend on the intensity and duration of exercise and the climate. Recovery in…

The Short-Term Effect of Over-Rugging Horses – D.J.Marlin1, E. Bartlett2 & L. Cameron2(1AnimalWeb Cambridge & 2University Centre Sparsholt) Methods 6 Mature horsesAll horses clipped two weeksbefore studyStabledAir temperature 6-8°CiButton temperature loggersunder fly rugsLeft withersRight withersLeft hipRight hip Location of iButtons used to record under-rug temperature Horses started with a fly rug, and an additional fleece/rug was added each hour Measurements Every hour we collected the following measurements: Rectal temperatureRespiratory rateSweat scoreAir temperature & humidityBehaviour Results There were no changes is behaviourSweat was not detectable by feel on any horses at any timeThere was no change in rectal temperature or respiratory…