Today we keep our horses in a way that is easy for us humans but may not always be the most optimal way for the horse. Often the housing of the horse prevents the horse from performing behaviours that they have natural needs to perform. It is not unusual that animals that can not adapt to their environment develop abnormal behaviours. Many of our stabled horses therefore develop some kind of stereotypic behaviour. This study was made in purpose of comparing the behaviour of a weaving horse to two non-weaving horses under similar conditions, where one of the horses was stabled next to the weaving horse and the other horse was stabled further away in the same stable. Seven weaving horses were included in the study.

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..

The purpose of this thesis was to analyze conception and foaling results of Swedish warmblood and Standardbred trotters using breeding statistics during the years 2000-2006. Key issues in this thesis were: Have the conception and foaling results of stallions changed during the period 2000-2006? What is the effect of the use of various breeding methods? Is testicle size correlated with conception and foaling results? How important are age, breed and level of inbreeding of the stallion for conception and foaling results? Breeding statistics were available for 537 Swedish Warmblood stallions and 305 Standardbred trotter stallions. To be included in the analyses, a stallion must have mated at least ten mares in total over the period 2000-2006. This criterion was met by 313 Swedish Warmblood stallions and 272 Standardbred trotter stallions.

This thesis is focused on what impact stall confinement has on a horse?s mental and physical welfare. It was of great interest to get a gathered picture of how Swedish horseowners had experienced having their horses in stall confinement. A survey study was conducted to achieve this. The survey included twelve questions which for example investigated the horses? age at the time of stall confinement, the length of stall confinement and their sexes.

This work focuses on the relation between human and animals and especially on the relation between horses and human. I have brought up the human och horse relationsship, today, and in history and wrote about the behaviour of the horse. Some older studies with human and animal interaction, including animals like dog and cattle are discussed. I have also discussed physiological parameters that might influence the bond and the interaction between human and horse and some critical aspects concerning the methodology when studying this kind of physiology. The purpose of the experimental study was to analyze if common management routines and grooming of horses increases horses interest in making contact with humans. Many horse owners feel that they have a good connection with their horse and factors that can influence the relationsship could be physical contact, feeding or some challange that make the horse trust the human.

This work is a combination of a literature study and a practical pilotstudy. In the literature study essential physiological reasons of why anaesthesia of horses is so risky are explained. Diffrent methods of induction and recovery are brought up, together with significant aspects of positioning the horse on the operating table and perianaesthetic complications such as myopathy, neuropathy and limb fractures. The pilotstudy had the purpose of examine the bodytemperature of horses undergoing general anaesthesia and to control the perianaesthetic temperature measurements performed in Swedish horseclinics and veterinary hospitals. Our hypothesis was that the bodytemperature of the horses would decrease but not enough to cause a problem. The purpose of this work has been to gather more profound knowledges in the subject of perianaesthetic nursing of horses which is an important part of the assignment of a veterinary nurse..

The horses have been in the care of humans for about 5000-7000 years. But even though the horses have been domesticated and artificial selected for such a long time their natural behaviours and instincts still remains. In the rich countries there are many people who have the opportunity to ride either on their own horses or at riding schools. Many of these people have not grown up on farms and have no experience of handling big animals. This can lead to implications of the horses? welfare.

There is a need for correct and adequate pain assessment in horses. Methadone is used in pain management in horses but the full pharmacokinetic picture of methadone is not yet known. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a behaviour protocol and suggest a reliable recording method for use in a larger research project with an aim to potentially correlate behaviours to concentration of methadone in blood. In this study two coldblooded trotters were given methadone intravenously with doses of 0.1 mg/kg for horse 1 and 0.2 mg/kg for horse 2. The horses were videotaped pre and post methadone administration.

Background: The most common reason for veterinary care in horses is lameness. Lameness in riding horses is often difficult to evaluate and in many cases may require riding to come to a diagnosis. Evaluation of lameness has proven to be very subjective and depends on the examiner. There is a need to evaluate ridden horses in an objective way.

The horse was domesticated about 6000 years ago. Since then humans have used the horse for different purposes, such as work force and in sports. Horses are social, group living animals that spend around 16-17 hours a day on grazing. Horses are often kept stabled in single boxes with a limited feeding time. The forage usually contains grain-based concentrates and roughage.

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify Lactobacillus species indigenous to the gastrointestinal microflora of Swedish horses. These lactobacilli are to be used as probiotic candidates in research concerning antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in horses. Eight horses, age 6-10 years, were selected from a riding school for collection of faeces samples. Man Rogosa Sharp medium and gram staining were used for the selection of supposed lactobacilli. We could identify 33 isolates of supposed lactobacilli. With the use of API tests 22 of these 33 isolates could be identified.

Today, individual indoor stalls and individual outdoor paddocks are the most common way to house horses in Sweden. The way that we manage, house and feed the horses are not optimal for the species natural basic behavioural needs. However, the awareness of this grows in the context of research and the emergence of alternative housing systems. One of the alternatives to the traditional format in individual boxes is called group housing. Group housing systems allow horses to live in herds and they can choose how they want to distribute the hours of the day between movement, resting and foraging. The purpose of this study is to examine how frequently the young horses in a group housing system use the indoor lying area.

Inbreeding has become a problem in some horse breeds. Studies show that it may lead to inbreeding depression which affects e.g. reproduction traits. In the wild there are mechanisms that make horses avoid mating with close relatives. When selection is done by humans this mechanism is removed and intensive breeding for a few traits, for example good racing results, can become a problem.

There are no reliable, objective and simple methods today for measuring pain in horses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and describe measuring of mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) values with a pressure algometer in clinically pain free riding horses at the riding school of Strömsholm. In this study there were 24 horses. Tape recording and electromyelografi (EMG) was used in an attempt to increase objectivity in the examination. MNT increased with age, however sex and colour had no influence.

EVA, Equine Viral Arteritis, was diagnosed for the first time in 1953 in USA. The disease gained international interest in 1984, when there were several outbreaks of abortion at Thoroughbred studs in USA. EAV, Equine Arteritis Virus, is an RNA virus in the Arteriviridae family. There is only one serotype of EAV but several strains and the strains have different virulence. EAV is transmitted in two different ways: by aerosols, or by venereal transmission.