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As a trainer and equestrian, I believe to lead by example.
In today’s podcast I invited to guests for a panel discussion who are, each in their own way, ambassadors for equine welfare. Together, we were trying to unravel the actual happenings in the equestrian world.

Crispin Parelius Johannesen is a fine art equine photographer.
He is documenting moments and details of equestrian sports.

Claudia Sanders is the editor in chief of the German Magazin “Dressur Studien”.
She is talking about her own experiences in the equine industry.

Link zu Aftenbladet:
https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/Xbx2l7/english-version-patrik-kittel-s-horse-lost-oxygen-in-its-tongue?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2vjTWNFLS6wZ9jhszlFJFx1vy8LyciZge8AH-rWJ33hJGzmaVdleAn5Yw_aem_AWqSqWWRAY5_Lfx6w0pIw9kS-FbQomjSbveMpXeVvIQ4GvOpGsoP9xWrNk0fEjsen3VkWFPhnS0Dn8MrqTuU03Za

Ressources:

Horse Grimace Scale
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-Horse-Grimace-Pain-Scale-with-images-and-explanations-for-each-of-the-6-facial-action_fig2_260950013

24 Behaviours:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350097948_The_Ridden_Horse_Pain_Ethogram...

Horse owners encounter the horse's preference for one side, laterality, every day, but many are not even aware of it. In science, this “crookedness” is divided into four aspects: the physical unstraigthness, motor and sensory laterality as well as the laterality of the brain.

Typical situations in horse training: Sometimes it turns out that horses only get spooked on one side or that mounting works easily on the left side while there are difficulties on the right side. It may also be that your horse only prefers one particular side when leading.

Absolutely recommended reading*!

Forschung trifft Pferd:
https://amzn.to/4bzYXyt

Lateralität...

The recent scandal at the Olympics, where a horse was reportedly mistreated, has sparked intense debate within the equestrian community. So I would like to share my personal insight on the incident, emphasizing the need for stricter regulations to protect the welfare of horses. I discuss the broader implications of such events on the reputation and future of equestrian sports. Ultimately, I call for a collective effort to ensure ethical treatment and respect for these magnificent animals in all competitive arenas.

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**More of Equidemia** https://equidemia.com/

**continued reading:** https://equidemia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Equidemia-podcast-references.pdf

Sue Dyson is a renowned veterinarian and researcher specializing in equine orthopaedics and welfare. She is particularly well known for her work in the field of equine lameness diagnostics. Her research has shown that many behavioral problems in horses are often due to physical pain that is difficult to identify.

She developed the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE), a systematic scoring system that identifies 24 specific behavioral traits that may indicate pain in ridden horses.
This tool helps to detect pain at an early stage that might otherwise be overlooked. The characteristics include, for example, teeth grinding, frequent tail slapping...

Today Dr Andrew McClean is on the podcast. We are talking about the emerging scientific interest in Equine Cognition as a base of Equitation Science, why dominance Theory is outdated and which ways can lead into the equestrian future.

Today’s Podcast guest is Ylvie Fros.
Ylvie is a dear colleague from the Netherlands. She is a rider, trainer, has a
background in centered riding and academic art of riding.
We are talking about our journey and our own development, and how advances in
research are influencing our perspective, and how gaite analysis and
Rehabilitation are influencing our work with horses.

Groundwork is an essential building block within the academic art of riding.
Within the academic art of riding, we see the horse as a student that need to be taught.
We are teaching each aid, and start seeking communication and trust. Afterwards, the evolution to more difficult exercises is a natural development.
Listen to an enlightening talk. If you get curious, look at our links. Bent ist teaching two Webinars a year at Equidemia, and we offer more online tools to give you a head start!

Nothing is as controversial and blurry as the correct usage of the hand in the equestrian world. Many know what they don’t want, but little we know about people doing it better.
Today I am in a discussion with Bent Branderup about what a halt is, and how to use it correctly.

As horses don't express pain vocal, judging discomfort in equines is not always easy. In this episode, I am talking to Emanuela Dalla Costa. She developed a scale that uses facial expressions of horses to detect equine discomfort and pain, and categorises it in different levels. Before the HGS was developed, discovering aspecific discomfort was difficult. If you don't know what you search for, you wouldn't find. That has changed now!
In the show notes you find the download links to the specific open source studies, and also to our illustration download.