24 April 2020
Multiple studies have investigated the positive effects of human–animal interactions and showed that animal-assisted activities can be successfully used to better human physical and mental health. Equine-assisted activities have also raised con...
Background: Equine-assisted experiential learning (EAL) is an emerging approach that uses human–horse interactions to develop leadership skills through experiential methods. Purpose: This review synthesizes the literature on the role of EAL in...
Horses have evolved to show little indication of discomfort or disability when in the presence of potential predators, including humans. This natural characteristic complicates the recognition of pain in equine patients. It has been our clinical impr...
Equine-assisted therapies (EATs) have been widely used in the treatment of patients with mental or physical conditions. However, studies on the influence of equine-assisted therapy (EAT) on equine welfare are very recent, and the need for further res...
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) refers to mucosal gastric disease in horses, including equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD), which present as two distinct disease entities differing in pathophysiolog...
Gastric ulcer disease and other potentially painful gastric conditions are among the most common afflictions adversely affecting the welfare of domestic equids. A large percentage of affected animals may not display the classic signs of gastric disea...
This study examined human–animal symbiosis in an animal-assisted intervention through observations of animal maintenance behaviors. The rise of psychotherapy, learning, and recreation incorporating animals warrants exploration of the welfare of...
Equine asthma is considered a non-infectious respiratory disease characterized by inflammation and hypersensitivity. Given the importance of antimicrobial stewardship, an international survey was designed to investigate the use of antimicrobials in a...
While human benefits of animal-assisted therapy programs have been documented, relatively little research has been conducted on behavioral factors that predict a successful equine-assisted services (EAS) horse. This study compares the behavior of exp...
Equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) have been suggested to improve adaptive behavior, and possibly motor function, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigated the effects of EAAT on adaptive behavior and motor function in 1...
Horses constantly face several challenges inherent to the domestic environment, and it is common for the expression of their natural behavior to be drastically limited. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as an alternative to improve the capt...
Equine-assisted activities (EAAs) are considered a suitable innovative rehabilitative practice for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While standardized scales have been previously used as a tool to...
Non-invasive measures are preferred when assessing animal welfare. Differences in behavioral and physiological responses toward a stressor could be the result of the selection of horses for specific uses. Behavioral and physiological responses of wor...
The off-the-track Thoroughbred’s (OTTTB’s) suitability for equestrian retraining and rehoming should always be subject to behavioral considerations. Certain attributes may be advantageous to a horse’s racing performance but unfavora...
Background/Objectives: This study examines the effectiveness of equine-assisted intervention (EAI) in improving adaptive behaviour and motor skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: To that effect, a self-controlled experiment...
Owner complaints of estrus-related behavior in mares are a common cause of referral for laparoscopic ovariectomy. Granulosa cell tumors are a common neoplastic condition affecting the equine ovary, causing behavioral changes at rest and reduced perfo...
Behavioral problems are a common complaint in equine practice, particularly in sport horses [...]
1 February 2023
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become a critical public health issue that affects more than 78 million people. In many recent studies, the authors have demonstrated that equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAATs) can substantially improve t...
Equine yards represent a substantial yet often overlooked land-use category in Europe, with potential to contribute to biodiversity and environment conservation. This study explored behavioral drivers and barriers to biodiversity implementation on Du...
An online survey was conducted to determine associations between equine transport management and transport-related injuries and problem behaviors in Italy. The survey was composed of four sections: respondents’ demographic information and backg...
Equine orthopedic pain scales are targeted towards horses with moderate to severe orthopedic pain. Improved assessment of pain behavior and pain-related facial expressions at rest may refine orthopedic pain detection for mild lameness grades. Therefo...
Hoof and leg problems in racehorses can cause serious injuries and decrease their value. Although therapeutic shoeing using special horseshoes can increase the effectiveness of veterinary care, it is labor-intensive and burdensome for farriers. A thr...
Different welfare indicators were studied in three patients with psychomotor alterations and in two horses throughout 9–10 equine assisted therapy sessions in each patient. In horses, heart and respiratory rates, blood pressure, temperature and...
Domesticated horses are constantly confronted with novel tasks. A recent study on anecdotal data indicates that some are innovative in dealing with such tasks. However, innovative behavior in horses has not previously been investigated under experime...
Small stalls and regulated feedings restrict horses’ natural foraging and locomotion, increasing risks to welfare. Environmental enrichment may promote more naturalistic behavioral time budgets, yet little is known about how enrichment type or...
Facial-expression-based analysis has been widely applied as a pain coding system in horses. Herein, we aimed to identify pain in horses undergoing subcutaneously polylactide-based polymer implantation. The sham group was submitted only to surgical in...
Erection and masturbation in horses are considered unwanted behaviors in training contexts, despite recognition that these are naturally occurring behaviors that are integral to the welfare of male horses. Equestrians, especially those who use positi...
Studies show that horses express favoritism through shared proximity and time and demonstrate unique affiliative behaviors such as allogrooming (mutual scratching) with favorite conspecifics. Allogrooming also occurs more frequently during stress and...
Reining in Anxiety (RiA) is a therapeutic program for youth with mild to moderate anxiety delivered in a therapeutic riding setting by Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. RiA was developed after a review of the evidence base for youth anxiety,...
There is risk of dropping an amputated ovary within the abdomen during standing laparoscopic ovariectomies in mares. If the ovary can no longer be directly visualized with the laparoscope, the procedure is then converted to a flank laparotomy for man...
Hair whorls are a hereditary feature in horses that may be associated with temperament and coat color. Hair whorls are described as changes in the hair pattern and may take various forms, such as circular and linear whorls. We first carried out a fre...
Riders need core stability to follow and guide the horse’s movements and avoid giving unintended or conflicting signals. This study evaluated the rider’s performance of exercises on a gymnastic ball with on-horse performance and indicators of stress...
Behavioral problems in reproductively healthy mares are a challenging issue that is successfully treated with bilateral ovariectomy (BO). This laparoscopic procedure represents an alternative to conservative treatment for mares not intended for breed...
With the recent advances in deep learning, wearable sensors have increasingly been used in automated animal activity recognition. However, there are two major challenges in improving recognition performance—multi-modal feature fusion and imbalanced d...
This article used an intersectional feminist analytic framework to theorize the role of anthropomorphizing human–equine interactions in the HERD Institute’s modality for practitioners of Equine-facilitated learning and equine-facilitated...
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in and need for a comprehensive ethogram of discomfort behavior of horses, particularly for use in recognizing physical discomfort in domestically managed horses. A clear understanding of the physica...
The learning and cognitive challenges that horses may face differ according to the activities in which they are involved. The aim of this investigation was to study the influence of equine activities on the behavioral responses and autonomic nervous...
Melanocytic tumors are an important neoplastic disease in human and veterinary medicine, presenting large differences regarding tumor behavior between species. In horses, these tumors present a prolonged benign behavior, with rare invasiveness and me...
2 November 2023
Effective teaching requires an educational environment that promotes learning, and yet, developing such an environment can be challenging within today’s agricultural-based classroom for educators due to the trend to a more virtual teaching form...
Background: The volumetric and biological behaviors of equine block grafts compared with autogenous block grafts have not yet been assessed. Hence, the aim of the present study was to compare—by means of histomorphometry, immunohistochemistry and mic...
The skin of donkeys and mules represents a promising source of income; however, cultural, productive, and infectious factors can directly interfere with the quality of the integumentary tissue and well-being of these species. The objective of this st...
Since Darwin, many evolutionary and behavioral researchers have considered the role of phenotypic traits that favor the domestication of nonhuman animals. Among such proposed traits are a species’ social structure, level of intra- and interspec...
Horses’ behavior can provide valuable insight into their subjective state and is thus a good indicator of welfare. However, its complexity requires objective, quantifiable, and unambiguous evidence-based assessment criteria. As healthy, stress-free h...
Children with psychosocial, developmental or physical impairments benefit from equine-assisted therapy (EAT) in multiple ways. However, to date, the animal perspective of such interventions has received comparatively less scientific dedication. Thus,...
This paper challenges the prevalent characterization of domesticated horses as prey species that inherently view humans as predators. Drawing on evolutionary, ethological, and cognitive evidence, we propose the “mutualistic coevolution hypothes...
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is one of the most frequent tumors of skin and muco-cutaneous junctions in the horse. Equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) has been detected in equine SCC of the oral tract and genitals, and recently also in the larynx....
Feral donkey removal from state land has raised concerns in terms of disease transmission between equine species. Disease outbreaks may occur as a result of the relocation of animals to new environments. Virus and bacteria DNA load and serum amyloid...
Healthcare-associated infections caused by Staphylococcus, particularly Staphylococcus aureus, represent a high risk for human and animal health. Staphylococcus can be easily transmitted through direct contact with individual carriers or fomites, suc...
This article presents a very detailed study on the mechanical characterization of a highly nonlinear material, the immature equine zona pellucida (ZP) membrane. The ZP is modeled as a visco-hyperelastic soft matter. The Arruda–Boyce constitutive equa...
Equitation is a cause of physiological stress in the equine athlete, and personality is a factor generally associated with the different responses of equines to stressors. This study explored ocular temperature, measured via infrared thermography, as...
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