Instrumental conditioning, the use of reinforcement and punishment, is used when training horses and these procedures may have different consequences regarding animal welfare. The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of reinforcers that are used in training horses and when these reinforcers are used. This study has its focus on positive reinforcement and its advantages and disadvantages. Interviews of five A-level and B -level equestrian coaches about their training methods were conducted to complement the literature search and give a greater understanding to why certain methods are used or not in training horses. The results show that negative reinforcement seems to be the foundation of training horses whereas positive reinforcement is used but not to the same extent.

The main purpose of this thesis was to take part of girl?s descriptions and experiences of their treatment for deliberate self-harm and to investigate whether they still experience effects of the treatment today. Our main research questions where; how do the girls describe their experiences of the treatment method, do the girls describe that they still experience any effects of the treatment, and finally how do the girls look back on their treatment today? In order to answer these questions, we carried out eight qualitative telephone interviews with girls that had undergone treatment in a specific treatment centre. We chose to analyze the material from the salutogenic theory and the concepts of SOC (sense of coherence) and with a hermeneutic approach.

The spatial population structure of the saprotrophic basidiomycete Tulostoma brumale was investigated at a site in south eastern Sweden. Sporocarps were mapped and collected, and somatic incompatibility tests between mycelial cultures cultivated from the sporocarps were used to identify genets. Calculations of the size and numbers of genets and their distribution were performed. The spatial distribution of the tested sporocarps and the identified genets are presented graphically in a grid. The total number of identified genets within the investigated area (1210 m2) was 27 based on 48 tested sporocarps.

Den här rapporten redogör för utveckling, design och sömnadskonstruktion för en sadelpadd. Rapportens ämne valdes för att jag fann det intressant och har själv stort intresse för hästar och produktutveckling. Fokus på rapporten låg på att ta fram en fungerade prototyp som testades av hästägare för att se om en distansväv skulle klara av att vara det stötdämpande och tryckutjämnande materialet i en sadelpadd. Rapporten och utvecklingen av rapporten bygger på en enkätundersökning och några intervjuer med relevanta personer insatta i ämnena sadelpadd och ryggskador hos hästar. Utifrån den insamlade informationen från de intervjuade och de som svarade på enkäten samt tidgare skrivna källor gjordes en studie i hästars uppkomst av ryggbesvär.

This study deals with a Swedish company in a food industry that got affected by product failure, which led to consumer trust crisis followed by media and was needed to be managed. Situation had a negative impact on company?s trademark, which acquired long recovery work by the company. Study is following a case example of Findus problems with having horse meat in their meat product that was supposed to contain beef meat. Study aims to research how the company dealt with situation, through crisis communication and recovery strategies.

The aim of this study was to find out how many and which of the herbs used for horses that have been scientifically studied with results to justify the use. In order to find out which herbs that are commonly used by horse-owners a phone interview was performed where six companies selling herbs for horses was contacted and asked to provide information on the most sold herbs for horses in Sweden. Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), chamomile (Matricaria recutita), dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis), nettle (Urtica dioica) and monk's pepper (Vitex agnus-castus) where the most sold herbs, followed by marshmallow (Althaea officinalis), burdock (Arctium lappa), marigold (Calendula officinalis), purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia/purpurea), cleavers (Galium aparine), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), rose hip (Rosa canina), thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and vervain (Verbena officinalis), in no particular order. Of the most used herbs, research with focus on the use for horses was found for purple coneflower, licorice, devil's claw, monk's pepper, rose hip, thyme, and vervain. These studies did not cover the whole range of traditional use for the mentioned herbs, and more studies are needed to be able to claim that these herbs have, or have not, scientific support for use in equine management..

This article starts with a review of the literature regarding the normal reproductive physiology of the mare, prolonged luteal phase and medical drugs used within reproduction of the horse, with emphasis on Ovuplant®. The purpose of this article was to measure the progesterone level in blood, of mares implanted with deslorelin acetate (Ovuplant®). The study was performed at the Department of Clinical Sciences, SLU, in Uppsala. There were seven mares included in the study. They were divided into two groups, one experimental group (four mares) and one control group (three mares).

Aortic insufficiency is a very common valve problem in horses and most often affects older individuals, but nevertheless existent within younger ones. The root cause for aortic insufficiency can be varied, for example; endocarditis, ventricular septum defect or congenital valve disease but the most common are progressive valve degeneration or elite competition. Depending on the root cause, different changes can be observed on the aorta valves, but they do all have the same effect, the valves do not seal properly and blood leaks backwards. Many horses can, even with this deficiency, perform highly without any visible impacts and there is therefore no need to treat those subjects. Most often the symptoms arise at a later stage in life and they are, more often than none, put down for other reasons. In the occurrence of the clinical symptoms showing, treatment guideline is to inhibit these symptoms since the valve degeneration is presently irreversible.

Baled silage has become one of the most important conservation methods in Sweden. Because we take our grass as silage we get the quality and the good hygenic that we would like to have. Silage has become a big buisiness also in the horse feeding where many of the breeders have changed from the hay to the hay-silage. The difference between regular silage and haysilage is that the hay silage is dryer (60-70%DM). The hay-silage has also put higher demands on machinery and wrapping material since the grass gets sharper and harder to press together real hard. The main reason for the test was to compare two different systems for wrapping, the new Cross Pac and conventional.

Superficial digital flexor tendon injuries are common causes of premature retirement or pre-longed convalescence periods for race horses. The curve gradient at Täby Galopp race track is very small and most races as well as high speed training are done on the left rein. It is believed that the horses left foreleg is under considerably more strain then the right foreleg when being ridden on the left rein during gallop at high speed. During gallop on the left rein the horse puts its entire weight on the left foreleg when regaining ground contact. The purpose of this study has been to find out, through analyzing the statistics concerning the horses that visited the ATG clinic at Täby during a period between January 2003 and September 2006, whether there is a higher frequency of superficial digital flexor tendon injuries on the left leg rather than the right and if so, can this support the theory that the design of the race track in combination with continuous left rein races can be a contributing cause of these injuries. The result of the study shows that 57% of the tendon injuries occurred on the left front leg and 38% on the right front leg. The difference is not large enough to support the above theory of the underlying cause of these injuries..

VEP, visual evoked potential is an electrophysiologic test that can be used for evaluating the higher visual pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate if it is possible to adapt this method to horses. This method could have a clinical use in addition to the existing diagnostic methods that are available to evaluate vision in horses. Firstly, this study contains a summary of relevant studies done on animals and, secondly, an experimental part where the possibility of recording VEP in nonsedated and sedated horses is investigated and where to position the recording electrode to obtain the best results. Our results show that it is possible to record VEP in horses in a clinical setting. VEP was best recorded in the sedated horse to avoid movement artifacts and other disturbances.

Denna litteraturstudie har utförts med syftet att redogöra för hur husdjursavel kan användas för att minska den negativa miljöpåverkan från animalieproduktion. Animalieproduktion påverkar miljön negativt genom husdjurens utsläpp av växthusgaser, främst metangas. Litteraturstudien behandlar huvudsakligen idisslare eftersom den största delen av de totala metanutsläppen, från husdjur, härstammar från dem. Metangas bildas under den mikrobiella fermenteringen som sker i våmmen hos idisslare. Fermentering av foder med hög smältbarhet resulterar i mindre metanbildning jämfört med foder med låg smältbarhet.

Thoroughbred racehorses have suffered from exercise-induced haemorrhage for over 300 years. Almost all competing horses develop exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) at some point but most horses don?t suffer from reduced competing capacity due to the disease. The cause of the exercise-induced haemorrhage is unknown. The most believed theory today is that EIPH is induced by pulmonary stress failure caused by pressure over 100 mmHg in the pulmonary arteries during exercise.

Among researchers it has been established since decades that humans and animals have an internal biological clock that controls certain physiological mechanisms. One example regarding humans is the impairment of lung function during the night, causing the phenomenon ?nocturnal asthma? among asthmatics. Only a few studies concerning respiratory circadian rhythm in horses have been done previously and they showed a daily variation in horses with a chronic or an acute respiratory disease. The technique used in those studies was the conventional technique, which is invasive and less sensitive than the technique used in this study.

Livestock animals affect their environment in a number of different ways, mostly through grazing and trampling. This study focused on the effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest structure and diversity, and the impact on ground cover. To compare the fenced and grazed area with a reference area outside the enclosure a number of transects were used. The study showed that there was no significant difference in height structure and diversity between the compared sites; however, there were a significantly higher proportion of damaged trees inside the enclosure. The ground cover variables showed a higher amount of bare soil, plant litter and wood-rush (Luzula sp.) inside the enclosure whilst grass was more frequent in the reference area.