How can you tell when a horse is feeling stressed? It’s all in the eyes and the way their eyelids twitch, University of Guelph researchers have discovered. A horse will blink less and twitch its eyelids more when it’s under mild stress, the research team found – a new finding that could offer handlers a simple, easy-to-spot sign their animal is becoming agitated.

Today, we get to hang out in one of the most thrilling, complex and well-built skeletal structures in the body, the thoracic cage. While thrilling might be a stretch unless you’re an anatomy geek like me, suffice it to say that this region and its resilient, flexible function has potential implications in respiration, saddle fit, behaviour, body control, bending, collection, energy levels, the ability to be symmetrical and free in movement, and more. And I’m not just talking about your horse.

Findings Could Prove Helpful in Diagnosing Fetlock Injuries
One cannot help but get excited about the possibilities for electroarthrography (EAG) as a diagnostic tool after speaking with Ontario Veterinary College researcher, Dr. Mark Hurtig. He is developing a non-invasive way to assess joint cartilage health in fetlocks (the most commonly injured joint in horses). Current technologies to assess fetlock health have their limitations.

The ongoing problem of obesity in equines is not a recent one. However, in some industrialized countries, the increase in the number of obese horses and ponies predominantly found in the leisure industry has now become a globally recognized welfare concern.