Greetings!
It's exciting to see our pony's slick summer coat emerging from under his fuzzy thick winter coat. My daughter is busy grooming and conditioning him, and I'm sure you're doing the same with your horses as spring begins to tease us with better riding weather to come.
I had the pleasure of working with a very aged horse the other day. She's in her 30's at least and not moving so great, although still working as a beloved lesson horse. She came down to the barn very slowly, dragging one foot behind her. I kept her session light so as not to open her tissues more than she could handle all at once. The walk back to the pasture was a whole new picture with her previously dragged foot now fully lifting off the ground and engaging in her walking stride. The report is that she's a happier girl since her session!
Warmly,
Karen
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Link Between Chronic Pain and Aggression in Horses Identified
This article discusses research that links aggressive behavior with pain in horses. As the article discusses, it's not a big leap if you think about how your behavior is affected by chronic pain.
Equine Natural Movement is an excellent way to address these aches and pains in your horses, although it isn't a guarantee for good behavior. Unfortunately, our horses can develop habits with behavior that are slower to release than the pain.
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Battling Boredom and Slow Feeders
Continuing with the subject of horse behavior, here are two articles discussing ways to keep your horse busy (instead of your horse looking to entertain himself in ways you might not enjoy as much). In " Battling Boredom: Study Proves Food-Related Items Most Successful" the author discusses a study done to find the most interesting enrichment items to keep your horse from boredom. Items relating to food were most successful, with the reminder that grass is always one of the best "busy" items. In a related blog post, "Slow Feeders" discusses some options to extend the time it takes your horse to eat hay, keeping her busy, slowing down her eating and creating the more frequent small meals that are better suited to your horse.
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