Researchers Examine Horse Management, Use, and Health Risks

Researchers learned that dressage horses have the greatest risk of locomotor problems, among other findings.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Which equestrian sport has the greatest risk of locomotor injuries? What kind of turnout results in the most wounds? How much competitive activity does it take to cause digestive upset?

While science often confirms what experienced horse people have intuitively believed for years, it can also reveal some unexpected findings. So some riders might be surprised to learn that, according to results from a new study, it’s dressage horses—not jumping or Western performance horses—that have the greatest risk of locomotor problems. And it’s horses that get only a few hours of turnout each day that are more likely to injure themselves in the field than those with constant turnout.

“There’s often a sort of almost religious belief about what’s good or not good to do for our horses, but there’s actually rather limited scientific data into the relationship between our horses’ health and what we do with them, with a few exceptions,” said Uta König von Borstel, PhD, a researcher at the University of Göttingen, in Germany. König von Borstel presented her team’s research results at the 2016 International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) conference, held June 23-26 in Saumur, France.

“So we decided to put some science behind the ideas—and we found a few surprises,” she said

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Passionate about horses and science from the time she was riding her first Shetland Pony in Texas, Christa Lesté-Lasserre writes about scientific research that contributes to a better understanding of all equids. After undergrad studies in science, journalism, and literature, she received a master’s degree in creative writing. Now based in France, she aims to present the most fascinating aspect of equine science: the story it creates. Follow Lesté-Lasserre on Twitter @christalestelas.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
433 votes · 433 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!