Conversations in Equine Science

Interview with ”MadBarn” Owner/Founder Scott Cieslar

This episode Nancy and Kate interview Scott Cieslar owner of MadBarn. Madbarn is a nutrition, and supplement company that also fuels equine research. Listen in and check out the website @ https://madbarn.com/ (USA) or https://madbarn.ca/ (Canada).

Emotion and Pain Recognition in Horses using Artificial Intelligence Applications.

This week Kate and Nancy discuss using smartphone apps to help in the recognition of emotions and pain in horses.
Research Reference/Link
Corujo, Luis A., Emily Kieson, Timo Schloesser, and Peter A. Gloor. (2021). "Emotion Recognition in Horses with Convolutional Neural Networks" Future Internet 13, no. 10: 250.
https://doi.org/10.3390/fi13100250
Equine Pain and Welfare App:
Apple:
https://apps.apple.com/il/app/epwa/id1428507532 
Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.epwa&hl=en_US
Link to Training Program for EPWA:
https://training.epwa.nl/

Horse health research and how it is helping humans.

Nancy and Kate talk about Dr. Manfredi's equine metabolic research at Michigan State University.
Reference/Link to article:
Manfredi, J. (2023). Horse health research will help humans stay healthy, too, with insights on reining in diabetes and obesity, The Conversation; Michigan State University.
https://theconversation.com/horse-health-research-will-help-humans-stay-healthy-too-with-insights-on-reining-in-diabetes-and-obesity-205185

Bell Mares...a look back in history.

This week Nancy takes a look at the use of Bell Mares during the 1800s up to WWII.
Research References:
L. Proops et al (2012).Social relations in a mixed group of mules, ponies and donkeys reflect differences in equid type, Behavioral Processes.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635712000654
Górecka-Bruzda A, Jastrzębska E, Drewka M, Nadolna Z, Becker K, Lansade L (2022) Female Horses are more socially dependent than geldings kept in riding clubs. Appl Anim Behav Sci 254:105714. 
Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105714

Equine Assisted Services

This episode Kate and Nancy discuss a listeners' recently published research. This research is a 2024 update to our past episodes on Equine Assisted Therapy.
Research Reference:
Seery, Rita, and Deborah Wells. 2024. "An Exploratory Study into the Backgrounds and Perspectives of Equine-Assisted Service Practitioners" Animals 14, no. 2: 347.
Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14020347

The Impact of Weather on Equine Activity

This week Nancy and Kate discuss a listeners' email request via a recently published paper on the effects of weather on pastured horses.
Research Reference and Link (not open access-snippets available.):
Keller, G.A.; Nielsen, B.D.; Vergara-Hernandez, F.B.; Robison, C.I. Tracking the Impact of Weather on Equine Activity While Pastured. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2022, 116, 104052.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080622001903

Using the Equine Brief Pain Inventory (EBPI) to assess osteoarthritis in horses.

Kate and Nancy discuss using the EBPI to manage osteoarthritis in horses.
References and Link:
Howard DL, Lancaster B, de Grauw J. Development and Preliminary Validation of an Equine Brief Pain Inventory for Owner Assessment of Chronic Pain Due to Osteoarthritis in Horses. Animals. 2024; 14(2):181.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani1402018

A look back at the equine flu epidemic of 1872

Nancy and Kate discuss the horses role in 1872 and how an equine flu epidemic shut down the US economy, but also led to improved horse welfare.
Research Reference/Link:
Freeberg, Ernest (2020). How a flu virus shut down the US economy in 1872 – by infecting horses. The Conversation US, Boston, MA. December Issue.
https://theconversation.com/how-a-flu-virus-shut-down-the-us-economy-in-1872-by-infecting-horses-150052

Year End Review for Episodes of 2023

Nancy and Kate review their favorite episodes and then reveal the favorite episodes of the listeners.
Welcome Everyone to 2024 - Season 5

The Influence of Podcasting on Equine Welfare

Kate and Nancy discuss their recently published research paper on the preliminary results of their Conversations in Equine Science listener survey.
Reference and Link: Acton, K., McLean, N. & MacKay, J.R.D. (2023) Preliminary evidence supporting the use of equine science podcasts to bridge the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts to improve horse welfare. Equine Veterinary Education, 00, 1–11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.13926