Horses are flight or fight animals. If confronted with a threatening situation, they prefer protecting themselves by running away from the danger. If running away from a threat isn’t an option, horses can protect themselves by biting, striking, rearing up, bucking, or kicking. How does horse protect themselves? The “fight-or-flight” Read more…
The “fight-or-flight” response Humans have removed many predators from the life of the domestic horse; however, its first instinct when frightened is to escape. If running is not possible, the horse resorts to biting, kicking, striking or rearing to protect itself. What are the natural instincts of horses? Instinct, together Read more…
Horses are one of the most perceptive of all domestic animals. Since they are a prey species, they must be able to detect predators. A stimulus unnoticed by humans is often cause for alarm for horses; as riders and trainers we commonly mistake this reaction for “spookiness” or bad behavior. Read more…
HORSES are highly sensitive to their environment and surroundings and they can easily become stressed by encountering new situations. These can include new and troubling situations such as loading and travelling, clipping, changes in routine, exposure to loud noises, as well as dentist, farrier and veterinary visits. How does the Read more…
It’s whoa. This interjection means “stop.” You might use it as a command to stop a galloping horse. Do horses understand Whoa? Horses may learn and memorize verbal noises or exclamations like clucking, “good girl!” or “whoa!” with more ease. Also, many horses only remember and understand words when specific Read more…
Horses can become depressed, even developing odd behaviours, if they are deprived of some natural elements of equine life that keep them happy. Horses Enjoy Routine. Horses are Social Animals. Horses Need a Day Off. Grooming Your Horse. Visit Your Horse Regularly. Make Use of the Radio. Introduce Some Toys. Read more…
Sometimes at a new location, your horse can be simply ‘fresh and excited’, but their big energy may intimidate or scare you. If you feel afraid it can make you either freeze or over-react. This could make the situation even more dangerous. It can take a fresh happy horse and Read more…
All horses and ponies on the yard which need to be wormed should be all wormed at the same time. Use the correct dose. What is the best horse worming schedule? Our Gillette vets recommend deworming most horses once or twice a year. Before having your horse dewormed in the Read more…
Try trotting downhill and doing walk and halt transitions. By going downhill, your horse is learning to sit back on their haunches. By asking for downward transitions, your horse is learning the proper way to do a downward transition, which is by stepping into it with their hind-end. How do Read more…
These clinical signs can occur within several hours or up to 7-10 days post ingestion of the contaminated feed. Horses can get botulism in any of three ways. What are the signs of botulism in a horse? What are the clinical signs of botulism? The main sign is flaccid paralysis Read more…