Equus September 2015

Partners for life “How Horses Help Us Heal” (EQUUS 454) was a breath of fresh air. Tim Hayes really gets why and how horses enrich our lives. They have been waiting patiently for centuries for people to understand them and accept what they have to offer us: companionship, protection and validation. Horses are amazing animals. Like every parent should, they forgive and provide unconditional love---if you give them the chance, and if you understand their language or intent. Like children, horses are born innocent and wanting to please. It’s how we treat them that determines how they grow up and react to us. How do I know this? I have such a horse---one who was treated with respect and love from day one. I am her second owner, and I…

Call it the “Barry White Effect.” A new study from the University of Rennes 1 in France shows that mares are more attracted to stallions who have deeper whinnies---and those stallions are generally more fertile. The researchers recorded the whinnies of 15 breeding stallions of various ages and collected information on their semen characteristics, breeding records and testosterone levels. The recorded whinnies were then played for various mares and their reactions were observed. The researchers report that mares paid more attention to the lower-pitched whinnies, spending more time near the loudspeakers from which they were broadcast, even as higher-pitched calls were played concurrently on an opposite speaker. Mares seemed to prefer the deeper-voiced vocalizations regardless of whether they were in season. What’s more, the researchers discovered that a higher percentage…

If sarcoids removed using laser surgery don’t recur within six months they are likely gone for good, according to a new study from England. Medical lasers are now used for several types of surgery because their incisions bleed less during procedures and heal with less swelling and pain afterward. Sarcoids are tumors of the skin that are usually benign but can be persistent and locally invasive. Working at Rossdales Equine Hospital, researchers reviewed the records of 99 horses who had a total of 235 sarcoids removed using neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet lasers to cut away the tumors and surrounding tissues. For each case, the researchers collected information about both the horse and the tumor, including the size and location of the sarcoid and time of year it was removed. They…

Although success rates for colic surgery have improved over the past few decades, a new study shows that the prognosis is guarded at best for horses who require a second surgical intervention within 14 days of the initial colic procedure. When researchers at the Royal Veterinary College in England reviewed the cases of 92 horses admitted to three referral hospitals who required two colic surgeries within a two-week period, they found that only 23.9 percent were still alive six months after discharge from the hospital. Repeat surgery was necessary for a variety of reasons, but the data showed that horses who required intestinal resection (removal of a portion of the intestines) during either the first or second surgery were significantly less likely to survive long enough to be discharged. Likewise,…

New research from England suggests that the fat that accumulates along a horse’s crest may be distinctly different from deposits elsewhere on his body. The study, conducted at the University of Bristol, was based on 96 horses with access to pasture for more than six hours per day. The horses were assessed at the end of winter and again at the end of summer and assigned a cresty neck score (CNS) for each season. Determined through visual assessment as well as by palpating the area, CNS is a 0 to 5 scale used to describe the amount of fat along the top of a horse’s neck. A score of 0 correlates to “no visual appearance of a crest and no palpable crest” while 5 indicates a “crest that is so…

The practice of “doping” racehorses with cobalt chloride not only fails to enhance their performance but also puts their health at risk, according to a review study from England. Cobalt is an essential trace mineral that is important in the formation of the vitamin B12 complex and as an activator of enzymes involved in the oxygen-carrying function of red blood cells. Although it is a banned substance in many racing jurisdictions, some unscrupulous trainers administer cobalt chloride to horses either intravenously or orally in hopes of increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood and thus enhancing their performance. University of Surrey researchers note, however, that studies have shown that the mineral can accumulate to toxic levels in the body organs and can cause other health problems. In particular, the researchers…