It is common knowledge that our Horses do occasionally hurt themselves and cause damage to their bodies. They also manage to do it in the most remarkable ways. The problem is not that they hurt themselves, because everybody does so from time to time. The problem is that they often experience difficulties with the healing of the wounds. The cause to that problem is the fact that they often lose a vast amount of tissue, the wound is more often than not extensively contaminated and the wound is often found a long time after the accident occurred.

High-performance equine athletes have an energy requirement that often reaches twice the maintenance requirement. Horses are grazers and adapted to a grass diet, and diets high in grains and concentrates are associated with digestive upsets and behavioural disorders. It could therefore be of interest if the energy requirement of a high-performing horse could be met by forage. It is important that the forage have a high concentration of energy so that the horse is able to consume the whole amount of energy needed from the forage without exceeding the maximum voluntary intake. The purpose of this literature study was to investigate if the energy demand of a high-performance horse can be covered by forage produced under Northern Swedish climate conditions.

This report describes how I worked with a spatial information problem, where the focus was to produce clearer barriers between Horses and spectators at equestrian competitions. My background as a competition rider, combined with my knowledge of the spatial design, has caused me to react to how the information on riding and racing facilities deficiencies. Experienced people in the riding know how they should act with the horse. But novices who are unfamiliar with the situation is not aware of the risks it may pose to move among Horses. The study was conducted on the national facility Strömsholm which both experienced and novice equestrian visits.

Dressage schooling is not a subject that rests on science, it is a matter of dependable experience. So far there hasn?t been so much research about it, but more and more is done. Especially the interaction between rider and horse is a nearly uninvestigated field. Riding skills is much about having the right position, and having the Horses head and neck in different positions, but there are no research done that support or deny that this old ?knowledge? is for the best for the horse. This study was performed to evaluate if the head and neck position of the horse, and the velocity, has any influence on the position of the rider.

60 million years ago the horse was the size of a small dog, and walked on four toes. Today it can weigh up to 500-1000 kg and has evolved to walking on only one phalanx. The anatomy of the Horses? legs and hooves allow them to run at high speeds, and at the same time enables them to bear the extremely high concussions applied to the foot at high speeds or jumps. Every horse owner has his or her own opinion on how to manage their Horses? hooves, and whether the horse should be shod or unshod. The knowledge, commitment and attention of the owner determine the quality of the hoof care, but also the time between the arising of symptoms of abnormalities of the hoof until care is sought with a farrier or veterinarian. New laws will be applied at the beginning of 2015 which bring on changes in authorization for farriers.

Background Research concerning footing and its contribution to injuries has been conducted primarily in racing Thoroughbreds. Studies in UK and Japan indicate that some specific factors could be responsible for an increase in performance-associated injuries. Researchers in Sweden have performed studies on Standardbred trotters. More research is needed to be done on equestrian sports since requirements on footing are not exactly the same in riding and trotting Horses. The lack of scientific evidence on the construction of equestrian surfaces has lead to anecdotal validation of designs.

Laminitis is a debilitating disease causing much suffering to Horses and ponies all over the world. It is manifested in the hooves as a mechanical failure of the suspensory apparatus between the hoof capsule and the distal phalanx. Due to the weight of the horse the disease may result in a dislocation of third phalanx. Six healthy standardbred trotters were used in this study on whether standardbreds tolerate forced recumbency as well as Shetland ponies. Recumbency was induced pharmacologically but maintained only by lowering the ceiling height of the box to a height of approximately 125 ? 140 % of the horse´s thoracic height.

Twitching is frequently used in horse management because of its sedating and pain-relieving effects. In this study, the effects on the horse?s nervous system by twitching were investigated by thermography of the skin temperature. The temperature is regulated by the sympathetic nervous system through postganglionic sfincters at the capillaries of the skin. The effects on the endocrine activity have also been studied by the measuring of ACTH and cortisol in blood plasma.

Multiple Congenital Ocular Anomalities (MCOA) is a genetic disease that affects primarily Silver coloured Horses of breeds such as the Rocky and Kentucky mountain Horses. In these breeds the Silver dapple colour is very popular leading to an increase of affected Horses. The major feature of the disease is ocular cysts of variable size. Large cysts also lead to a variety of secondary syndromes, for example retinal detachment. In previous studies the locus for MCOA has been mapped to an interval of 420 kb on equine chromosome six.

AbstractMycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi. Moulds producing mycotoxins grow on various crops that are used as horse feeds. Since the treatments of mycotoxin poisoned Horses are limited it is important to prevent production of mycotoxins in feed. The major mycotoxin producing moulds in horse feeds are Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp.

AbstractMycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by filamentous fungi. Moulds producing mycotoxins grow on various crops that are used as horse feeds. Since the treatments of mycotoxin poisoned Horses are limited it is important to prevent production of mycotoxins in feed. The major mycotoxin producing moulds in horse feeds are Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp.

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.

Animal-assisted therapy had its large breakthrough in the 1960-ties when a psychiatrist named Boris Levinson discovered the great advantages of involving animals in the treatment of patients. Therapy with animals involves that animals are used in a systematic way, in a person's process of treatment. The most distinguished companion animal used within this area is the dog, but Horses, cats, rabbits, birds, dolphins and the most common farm animals are used in animal-assisted therapy. Most animals that are to be used for this specific purpose need to be trained in order to maintain their physical and mental health, but also to minimize the risks for the people that are involved. Most studies within this research area are focused on the positive effects on the patients and less on the effects on the animals.

Ossification of the collateral cartilages of the distal phalanx has been studied primarily in cold blooded Horses. The clinical relevance of this condition is unknown. Despite this fact, since 1939, all Swedish Ardenner stallions have had to be classified as being free from this ossification to be approved for breeding. Initially, palpation was used as a diagnostic method, but since 1982 radiology has been the only method used. The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of 68 years of breeding program. Dorsopalmar radiographs were taken of the front feet of 58 Ardenners (30 mares, 8 geldings and 20 stallions) and the ossification of the collateral cartilages was evaluated and graded according to three different scales; - Ruohoniemi (grade 0-5), - Swedish University of Agricultural Science (grade 0-3), - and a new scale (grade 0-3), developed for this study.

The trotting in Sweden has a good reputation in an international view, both in the perspective of success and how the sport is managed with focus on security, animal protection and animal welfare. A large number of equipment details are fitted on the Horses during training and competition. The Swedish law of prevention of cruelty to animals regulate training and competition with raceHorses, and propose to protect Horses from unnecessary suffering. The equipment permitted in races is regulated in Tävlingsreglementet (The Regulation of Competititon) and in the regulations of equipment, that the Nordic Regulation Committee and Nordic Animal Welfare Committee have worked out. Due to training and competition the equipment must even meet the Swedish law of prevention of cruelty to animals. However, the behaviour or the senses of the Horses is often affected by the equipment due to the way the equipment corrects, modifies, restrains or reduces the behaviour of the horse, which may cause the horse stress or discomfort.