Equine Science: Weekly News and Trivia Question - August 14, 2009

Sleep, saddles and social behaviour are just three of the things I'm going to be looking at in today's equine science weekly round up:

Researchers in South Africa have discovered that friendship with unrelated mares, can increase a wild mare's reproductive success.
The scientists from the University of Pretoria in conjunction with colleagues from New Zealand studied the social relationships of feral horses in the North Island of New Zealand and found that mares who formed bonds with other female equines had increases in both foal birth rates and survival.

Wild horses typically live in a stable social group usually comprising of one male and several unrelated adult females and their immature offspring. Once old enough their offspring leave the herd they were born into, meaning that herd members are not closely related.


The study, published online in the journal PNAS, confirmed that stallions harassing mares can affect the mare's reproductivity, but that social integration with other mares can reduce this negative effect. Not only does this reduction in harassment improve their chances of a succesful pregnancy, but it also reduces their stress level and improves their body condition.

Although this work involved studying wild horses, the effects could be relevant for breeders too.

The next piece of news, is not strictly equine, but instead about general veterinary practice and something I thought many barnmice readers may be interested in. Members of the public are being asked to have their say in how they think the UK's Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 should be updated.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has opened up their disciplinary committee, one of the RCVS's three committees, to the public after vets have been campaigning since 2003 for changes to the 1966 Act. The consultation closes on October 21 and any members of the public interested in getting involved can read more about it here.

Following on with the veterinary theme, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has announced the appointment of their new FEI Veterinary Director. Graeme Cook from Great Britain has had extensive experience working on policy as well as being a former equine vet at eventing competitions worldwide and a competitor himself. According to a press release on the FEI's website, Cook has said: "I am very happy to be taking up my new role. I am a firm believer in the values of sport and the importance of clean and fair competition. Ensuring the welfare of the horse is my highest priority, and I very much looking forward to working with the many passionate groups of people, who strive to make horse sport the best it can be in all ways." Cooke's addition to the FEI will be a welcome addition in ensuring the continued safe success of equestrian disciplines.

A little bit of science that is non-veterinary related for you now. A new research group has been set up which looks at how saddles can affect a horse's movement and performance. Saddle manufacturers have welcomed the move, although they are concerned that the research may not be truly independent.

The research is being carried out by the Saddle Research Group (SRG) in association with the manufacturer Solution Saddles, a company who specialise in treeless saddles. However, according to Horse & Hound Online "confidentiality agreements" mean that what exactly the research is looking at is hush-hush.


Many saddle manufactures welcome any scientific research into the effect of saddles on horses, particularly as there seems to be virtually no published studies in any recognised scientific journals. However, the UK's Society of Master Saddlers is concerned that the research may not be completely independent from the company Solution Saddle and that any results found could be questionable. They also told Horse & Hound Online that they had not been approached at all to help with the research despite being "the foremost organisation in saddle research".

The study began in April and results are due to be available later this year - this blog will be sure to cover the results, however controversial when they are published.

And finally...have you ever wished you could fall asleep standing up like your horse? Well sadly, our body's are very unlikely to ever allow that to happen regularly, but the University of Illinois have posted a short piece on their website discussing how horses can stand while sleeping.

Being originally a hunted animal, horses evolved to have an instant fleeing mechanism, allowing them to run away from predators. They are therefore equipped with a "stay apparatus" which allows them to stay standing for a long time by popping their knee caps out of place - sounds painful doesn't it?

Well a professor at the University of Illinois, Dr Gerald Pijanowski notes that whilst horses may look to be deepily asleep while standing, "they are really just resting". Like humans, horses need to lie down either on their breastbone or their sides in order to drift into REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the stage of sleep that allows us and our equines to dream.

However, most horses seem to prefer sleeping standing up most of the time - probably due to their instincts and habits picked up by their mothers after birth. But the act of lifting the patella (kneecap) over the end of their thigh bone (the femur) can cause problems. According to the piece on the University's website equines, particularly ponies, can sometimes lock both of their stifles at the same time, resulting in them being unable to move. A recent scientific study, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association found that some interesting spontaneous patella locking could occur. The most recent article in the journal found that a horse recovering from surgery locked its patellas when it was administered morphine after the operation, but the moment this medication was withdrawn, the horse's patellas unlocked again!

All of this sleeping standing up business can thus sometimes cause more harm than good - so be glad you have to lie down on a comfy bed to sleep, even if you sometimes wish you could nap anywhere like your horse!

Finally, it's time for this week's trivia question:

How many chromosomes does a horse have?
1. 19 pairs (38 chromosomes in total)
2. 23 pairs (46 chromosomes in total)
3. 32 pairs (64 chromosomes in total)
4. 39 pairs (78 chromosomes in total)

The answer can be found on my profile page by clicking here.

If you enjoyed this blog or there's anything else you'd like to see added - please drop me a comment below!

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Comment by Over Fences on August 14, 2009 at 5:27pm
Hi, what a great group. 64 chromosomes to answer your trivia question.

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