Hello everyone, I hope that the changing of the seasons are not affecting your equestrian plans too much – I know some of my British followers have been blighted by horrible weather this last week. So for those of you unable to exercise your horses at the moment, keep yourself entertained with this latest edition of Equine Science News which is jam-packed!

Firstly a couple of research-related stories, which I found on the amazing blog – equinescienceupdate.co.uk.

Botox is usually associated with face makeovers, but now it could be a preventative treatment against the more serious complications of laminitis. Mark Andrews over at equinescienceupdate.co.uk has reported that researchers in America have now developed a new technique to reduce the tension in the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) that is usually seen in laminitis horses.

By injecting a diluted solution of Botox into the muscle thee researchers were able to block the release of neuro-transmitters (acetylcholine). In turn this stops the DDFT muscle from being able to contract for up to a period of 3 months. This in turn reduces the pull of the DDFT on the pedal bone, which in laminitic horses often rotates.

The technique has been successfully used to treat several equines and the researchers have patented it to prevent anyone using the technique without authorisation. Further work is needed to assess the value of the Botox injections in the fight against laminitis, but so far it looks like a great method for helping a horse recover and develop a normal routine.

How well do horses see at night? Well now researchers from the Equine Research Foundation in California believe that our equine friends can see better in the dark than we can.

Dr Evelyn Hanggi and DR Jerry Ingersoll initially trained four horses to distinguish between two geometric shapes – a circle and a triangle. Two were trained to touch the circle with their nose whilst the other two were taught to chose the triangle. The researchers ensured that the horses were correct at least 80% of the time, to prevent the differentiation in shapes being purely down to chance (which would give a 50% accuracy rate).

The horses were then tested in a range of darker lighting conditions and after some initial tests they were allowed 15mins in the light to acclimatise to the dimmer conditions. The scientists found that the horses were able to see in very dark conditions and were able to distinguish between the two shapes in almost complete darkness. Humans are unable to differentiate between objects in such dimly-lit conditions. The horses only struggled to identify their shape when the darkness was similar to a “dense forest with minimal visible sky”.

The findings of this experiment may come as a surprise to many horse owners and riders, but in actual fact the equine eye is well-designed for dim conditions featuring more highly sensitive light cells (known as rods) than the cells responsible for detecting colour (cones). Horses also have a reflective layer on the eye that reflects stray light back in making it easier for them to see in darker conditions. No doubt the evolution of the eye has stemmed from the times when wild horses needed to navigate their way across rough land at night to escape predators.

A little while ago on this blog I discussed Vesicular Stomatitis, well now researchers at the Agricultural Research Service have realised ... might be a potential carrier of the Vesicular Stomatitis virus.

Their research, which has been published in the Applied and Environmental Microbiology found that the virus can live on rangeland plants which then pass it on to grazing grasshoppers.

Vesicular Stomatitis can affect cattle and horses and symptoms include painful blisters. The virus can be spread between animals through direct transmission and it has been previously thought that both soil and plant could be a source for the virus but current disease management does not include decontamination of pastures.

However, in this latest research the scientists tested a common grasshopper pesticide and found that it deactivated the virus on upon contact. There is hope that the results of this study may be useful in the development of new disease management decisions during future outbreaks of Vesicular Stomatitis.

With all of the troubles the sport of equestrianism has had recently with doping accusations, the horse industry is going to have a bit of a shake up after recommendations to combat doping were announced in London.

Horse & Hound have a detailed article on the announcement, but here’s a quick overview of some of the recommendations that the FEI’s advisory panel have come up with:
- Establishing medication logbooks, similar to the ones used with racehorses
- Tightening stable yard security at competitions
- Widening the group of people who can be deemed responsible for a positive dope test, to include any individual connected to the horse in question
See Horse & Hound’s article for a full list of the recommendations and more information.

Eventing has been relatively free from doping allegations compared to some of the other equestrian disciplines, but now the FEI are hoping to combat the problems of drugs in competition horses

Now a plea for help – SPANA is a charity that helps animals in third world countries whilst trying to educate their owners. According to a post on H&H’s Online Forum they are currently trying to obtain a large number of washable nosebands to be used on horses, mules and donkeys to save them from the wire, chain or rough metal nosebands their owners use.

They are trying to get people to reuse their old fleece jackets or blankets and make a very simple Velcro noseband covers which can be used on the horse’s headcollars or bridles to make them more comfortable.

Full instructions on how to make the noseband covers can be seen here, along with details of who to send them too. Let’s get the followers of barnmice.com leading the battle in helping improve the lives of these poor equines!

And finally, a follow-up to my post on August 23 about crib-biting and pheromones. Some of you may remember that I said the researchers were going to be conducting a survey of horse owners whose horses cribbed. Well the survey is now live online and anyone interested in assisting with the research can do so here.

Now this week's trivia question:
What is the gestation period (time from conception to birth) for a horse?
1. 8 months
2. 9 months
3. 10 months
4. 11 months

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