HEALTH & EDUCATION

Health & Education

We all want the best care possible for our horses. The Heath & Education section covers both Learning Institutions, Organizations as well as many sources for equine assistance including Veterinarians and Farriers.

For those who want a to formally study horses, the Education section includes College Riding, Equine Studies, and Veterinary Schools. Learn about the wide variety of horses in the Horse Breeds section. Supplements and Treatments Therapy are also included in the section.

Everyone can learn from Fine Art and there are some specialty Museums that might surprise you.

Horses as a therapy partner enrich the lives of the disabled. These facilities are listed in our Therapeutic Riding section. To help children and young adults build confidence and grow emotionally, please see the resources available on the Youth Outreach page.

Looking for a place to keep your horse? You can find it in the Horse Boarding section. Traveling? Find a Shipping company or Horse Sitting service if your horse is staying home!

Want to stay up to date with the latest training clinics or professional conferences? Take a look at our Calendar of Events for Health & Education for the dates and locations of upcoming events.

Do we need to add more? Please use the useful feedback link and let us know!

photo credit: Courtesy of WolfBlur on Pixabay

by Valley Vet Supply

Every horse deserves to be protected against equine diseases through vaccinations. Are you aware of the core and risk-based equine diseases that could be threatening your horse’s health?

Learn about core equine diseases. Every horse, every spring deserves to be protected against the five core equine diseases, which include: Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) and western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE), Rabies, Tetanus and West Nile Virus.

McLean researchers are studying the effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy on women with trauma histories.

In the spring of 2019, four women with trauma histories visited a small farm in Lexington, Massachusetts, to try a new type of therapy. These sessions turned out to be quite a change of pace from typical group therapy—but not just because they involved horses.

Equine-facilitated psychotherapy (EFP), also known as equine-assisted psychotherapy, is, as the name suggests, therapy that features interactions with horses. Unlike therapeutic horseback riding, a licensed mental health professional facilitates EFP group sessions, and, in many cases, no horseback riding is involved. EFP instead focuses on caring for and working with horses to achieve goals similar to those of traditional psychotherapy.

Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy

How does EFP work? How well does it work?

That’s what Sherry R. Winternitz, MD, clinical director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Programs at McLean Hospital, and her co-investigator, researcher Stephanie A. Maddox, PhD, aim to show through the results of a McLean-led study at Lexington’s BINA Farm Center. BINA is a nonprofit focused on helping people of all ages and abilities thrive, primarily through equine-assisted activities and therapies.

by Holly Wiemers

The 2019-2020 foaling season has seen an increase in reports of Nocardioform placentitis, both in cases submitted to the University of Kentucky’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and in reports from equine practitioners in the field. Nocardioform placentitis is an equine placental disease affecting pregnant mares and their foals during pregnancy.

UK’s VDL provides real-time surveillance of this and other livestock diseases and has been sending reports updating practitioners and farms about what is being seen since positive tissue samples started appearing in late October. Additionally, the Gluck Equine Research Center announced at its foundation board meeting Feb. 6 that it was activating Koller Emergency Response Funds to immediately augment existing research efforts and launch new projects to study the disease while it is occurring, with an aim of understanding the disease better. Currently, early identification of the disease is a challenge, making it difficult to identify at-risk mares and treat them proactively.

Brain Training for Riders: Unlock Your Riding Potential with StressLess Techniques for Conquering Fear, Improving Performance, and Finding Focused Calm

by Andrea Monsarrat Waldo

Here are a few common mismatches that I see (or have experienced myself) between horses and riders. Some feel like you’ve been accidentally miscast in a romantic comedy, while others are worthy of full horror-flick status. See if any of these feel vaguely, or not-so-vaguely, familiar.

He’s Green—and so Are You

You have just started riding in the last couple of years, or you’ve taken it up again recently after riding a little bit in your childhood. You looked at a couple of schoolmaster types, but they were all older and needed a fair amount of maintenance. And they were, well, kind of plain. You found a gorgeous three-year-old that was as sweet as could be, and the seller said it was the easiest youngster she had ever worked with. You don’t have the opportunity to take regular lessons, but you do ride in an occasional clinic, so you figured you could get some guidance there if you got stuck.

Unfortunately, though, it’s not progressing as smoothly as you thought it would. The horse has started getting really pushy on the ground, and you’re having a hard time controlling him under saddle. He has started to test you with misbehaviors here and there, and you’re worried, because they seem to be escalating in their intensity.

Horses Want to Stretch

By observing horses in nature, we can see that they regularly move rhythmically, with true relaxation, and that they accomplish this by stretching their necks to maintain good balance. The image of a horse moving this way, completely free, is something we should never forget. We should ask ourselves much more frequently: what does this imply in terms of training our horses? The answer can only be this: horses want—inherently want—to move with a stretched neck, as this is the only position that makes sense biomechanically and economically. Last but not least, this position enables movement.

by Samantha Armbruster

It’s easy to be overly hard on yourself when you live and breathe in the subjective horse industry. When as little as half of a point can separate first and second place, riders are left wondering what could have been if they only could have done something just a little different. Beating yourself up over past rides or performances is not going to prolong your future or change anything. However, we can all take lessons on how to be a little kinder to ourselves along the way. Staying positive throughout it all can make a huge difference. Here are ten things to keep in mind when attempting to not be so hard on yourself.

1. Your Mistakes Are Made For Learning

No one is perfect every time out, one hundred percent of the time. Even the top professionals make mistakes every now and then, but what we do with those mishaps can either make us into better riders, or they can leave us upset and angry. Reflection is a powerful tool that can be used to learn from past mistakes. Every mistake that has been made can be used as a guide in the future. Win or lose, you can always learn and improve the next time out.

by Channing Seideman

An epilepsy diagnosis and risk of seizures while horseback riding doesn’t mean your equestrian days are over.

When people learn that I have epilepsy and ride horses, I typically hear: “Are you kidding? Isn’t that dangerous?” And it can be, unless you take the proper precautions (like wearing a Hit Air inflatable vest) to set yourself up for success.

Epilepsy is an individualized condition, and symptoms manifest themselves differently for everyone. Though epilepsy increases the chances of getting hurt while riding, because of the risk of having a seizure, there are steps you can take to mitigate that risk:

Partner with a suitable horse
Use proper safety equipment
Find a supportive barn

Bottom line: you CAN ride horses with epilepsy, which I know from experience.

Physical Signs of Damage Caused by Ill-Fitting Saddles

Cartilage chipping, nerve pinching, subluxated vertebrae, tongue problems – to mention only a few – can result in further behavioural and even psychological damage to the horse, which will make it almost impossible for horse and rider to find harmony. So please: listen to what your horse is trying to tell you! If you train the horse fairly and kindly the horse will accept you as the alpha horse. Once the horse accepts you as the alpha or leader, they can’t help but try to please you; it is in their nature for the last 50 million years. It is in the horse’s instinct to do want you want them to do, as long as you follow the natural and classical training methods. Be aware of potential saddle fit issues if behavioural changes or issues crop up over a longer period (a couple of days!) and do your due diligence to avoid the results shown in these photos.

The following pictures demonstrate clearly some of the often-irreparable long-term damage, which can result from a badly fitting saddle.