Stable Science from Dr David Marlin's Animalweb

In a departure from the previous themes of injury, treatment and rehabilitation, Dr Gillian Tabor speaks to Marianne Davies about her research paper ‘Can’t jump, won’t jump.The conversation covers topics such as ecological dynamics, complexity theory, the constraints-led approach and solving movement puzzles and how this applies to horses. The names and definitions of the theory may not be familiar but the underlying understanding of a holistic view of an amazing biological system – the horse – will be recognisable! Marianne is currently doing a part-time PhD in Skill Acquisition in Equine Sports based at Sheffield Hallam University. Marianne’s coaching experience includes more than 25 years of working in sports, academic and corporate environments. She is a coach developer, coach educator, assessor, IQA and national trainer. She is currently working as a Senior Coach Developer for UK Coaching. Link to paper - Can’t jump, won’t jump: Affordances of the horse-rider dyad underpin skill adaptation in showjumping using a constraints-led approachDavies, M., Stone, J.A., Davids, K., Williams, J. and O’Sullivan, M., 2023. Can’t jump, won’t jump: Affordances of the horse-rider dyad underpin skill adaptation in showjumping using a constraints-led approach. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 18(4), pp.1313-1319.------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> AskAnimalweb.comNot a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Tracy Bye interview - The pressures under bitless bridlesDr Gillian Tabor interviewed Tracy Bye, a lecturer in animal science at the Royal Agricultural Society. Tracy researched and co-authored a paper called Noseband and poll pressures underneath bitted and bitless bridles and the effects on equine locomotion. The paper is about pressures under bitted and bitless bridles. Tracy talks through the rationale for the study, how it was conducted and the conclusions drawn from their results.  Here is a link to Tracy's Paper - LINKRobinson, N. and Bye, T.L., 2021. Noseband and poll pressures underneath bitted and bitless bridles and the effects on equine locomotion. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 44, pp.18-24.----Please listen back to Emma Busk's podcast where Emma mentions this study and for further info about bitting and bridles.Emma Busk has a webinar booked for Tues 23rd April @ 7pm - Find out more here.Emma Busk is an independent bit & bridle fitter and the newest member to our team of experts, Emma is starting strong with this webinar on – Equine cranial/facial anatomy and bridle fitting------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> AskAnimalweb.comNot a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Emma Busk interview – independent bit & bridle fitterDr Gillian Tabor interviews Animalweb’s newest expert – Emma Busk a highly-qualified, LANTRA-accredited independent bit & bridle fitter.Gillian learns about Emma and her work, they go on to discuss:Why is getting bridle and bit fitting important?What areas can an owner check?If an owner wants to get their horse’s bridle/bit fitted what are your recommendations for finding a suitably qualified person to do this?What happens during a session?What is the biggest myth you would like to dispel?!The myths of bitted v bitlessEmma has a webinar booked for Tues 23rd April @ 7pm - Find out more here.Emma Busk is an independent bit & bridle fitter and the newest member to our team of experts, Emma is starting strong with this webinar on – Equine cranial/facial anatomy and bridle fitting------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> AskAnimalweb.comNot a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Helen chats with Emma Dyer about Equine Careers. We interviewed Emma to learn why she is one of Animalweb's new experts and what she can help our members with.Emma has already written us an article on how to write a job advert – Read it on the website here – How to write a job posting that brings in awesome candidates by Emma Dyer. ------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> AskAnimalweb.comNot a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Dr Gillian Tabor chats with Diane Howard, lead author of a research study developing a pain scoring system for owners to use for horses with osteoarthritis. The article and the scoring system – the Equine Brief Pain Inventory (EBPI) – is openly available for anyone to access and use. Diane and her team used a reliable methodology to design a questionnaire to help owners assess the posture, facial expression, movement and behaviour of their horse. The resulting tool is undergoing further reliability testing in a larger population of owners/caretakers of arthritic and healthy horses before it can be introduced in practice. If you are reading this in 2024 and have a horse with OA, and would like to help with the study – please get in touch! Link to the paper: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/2/181Howard, D.L., Lancaster, B. and de Grauw, J., 2024. Development and Preliminary Validation of an Equine Brief Pain Inventory for Owner Assessment of Chronic Pain Due to Osteoarthritis in Horses. Animals, 14(2), p.181. ------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> AskAnimalweb.comNot a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Your horse has been diagnosed with kissing spines - what next? Firstly, don't panic or ask advice from the internet, which will definitely add to the confusion!Gillian talks about why sharing X-rays on social media are unlikely to help and some things you need to consider before committing to the veterinary intervention. Working on pre-hab and planning post-intervention management and individual care are discussed, which are critical to a successful outcome.------------There is more helpful information on the website about Kissing Spines:Webinar - Kissing Spines by Dr Gillian TaborVideo - Lifting the back or rounding reflexes by Dr Gillian TaborTo find out more about becoming a member >>> AskAnimalweb.comNot a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Dr Gillian Tabor chats with Jo Paul, Chartered Physiotherapist and President of The Register of Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners (RAMP). RAMP is a voluntary register of professionals who have signed up to take responsibility for attaining and maintaining gold standards of practice in animal musculoskeletal treatment. Professionals trained in Chiropractic, Osteopathic and Physiotherapy techniques are regarded by RAMP as one occupation - i.e. animal musculoskeletal practitioners. The register is designed to help veterinary surgeons and animal owners choose competent professionals who provide chiropractic, osteopathic, and physiotherapy techniques for the treatment of their animals.Gillian and Jo discuss RAMPs history, and the value of the three professions working together, to raise and maintain animal welfare and support veterinary referrals and animal owners choosing their MSK practitioner. They also talk about the education and courses that gain or work towards RAMP registration. Gillian finishes by asking Jo about the future of RAMP and the profession.https://www.rampregister.org/------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> https://drdavidmarlin.com/join-now/Not a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Dr Gillian Tabor reviews a recently published paper on the effects of using balance pads. In this paper, the research team measured the postural sway and multifidus cross-sectional area after standing a horse on pads for 5 minutes, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Cathcart, J., Ellis, K.L. and Moorman, V.J., 2024. Short term use of balance pads on postural sway and musculus multifidus cross sectional area in horses. Journal of Equine Rehabilitation, p.100006.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S294990542400001X------------To find out more about becoming a member >>> https://drdavidmarlin.com/join-now/Not a Member? Join for as little as £6 a month or £8 on a month-by-month basis to access all the test results and have a say in what we test and investigate next. For this, you also get access to all past and future webinars, videos, podcasts, and articles, the opportunity to take part in testing and research and SOOOO much more.

Horse walkers - are they the devil or a gift from the gods?Dr Gillian Tabor investigatesViews on using horse walkers to exercise horses are very polarised. But what does the research say? Dr Gillian Tabor, an equine physiotherapist, talks through a pragmatic approach to their use. Research papers discussed are:Freire, R., Buckley, P. and Cooper, J.J., 2009. Effects of different forms of exercise on post inhibitory rebound and unwanted behaviour in stabled horses. Equine Veterinary Journal, 41(5), pp.487-492.Walker, T.J., Collins, S.N. and Murray, R.C., 2012. Horse walker use in dressage horses. Comparative Exercise Physiology, 8(1), pp.63-70.Murray, R.C., Walters, J.M., Snart, H., Dyson, S.J. and Parkin, T.D., 2010. Identification of risk factors for lameness in dressage horses. The Veterinary Journal, 184(1), pp.27-36.