{"id":46283,"date":"2022-09-22T04:54:36","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T08:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/?post_type=news&p=46283"},"modified":"2022-09-22T04:54:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T08:54:36","slug":"mounting-block-creates-stress-for-horses","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/news\/mounting-block-creates-stress-for-horses\/","title":{"rendered":"Mounting Block Creates Stress for Horses"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the findings of a recent study, certain horses can have negative associations with mounting blocks.<\/b><\/p>\n

You can tell if a<\/span> horse is stressed<\/b> by looking at their <\/span>facial expression<\/b> when you lead them to the <\/span>mounting block.<\/b><\/p>\n

A new study found that when<\/span> approaching the mounting block, a group of <\/span>hobby riding school horses displayed signs of<\/span> tensionin their expressions<\/strong>. According to Katarzyna Olczak, PhD, of the Department of Horse Breeding at the National Research Institute of Animal Production in Balice, <\/span>Poland, this implies that certain horses develop<\/span> negative associations<\/b> with the mounting block<\/strong>, probably because of uncomfortable mounting and\/or riding situations.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the 2022 International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) Conference, in August 9\u201312 in Hartpury, U.K.; Olczak shared their <\/span>results. <\/b>She said that the horses (in their study) <\/span>standing nearby the mounting block display signs of anxiety and\/or discomfort<\/strong>.<\/strong> It’s possible that horses find mounting by <\/span>unskilled riders <\/b>unpleasant, which creates <\/span>unfavourable associations <\/b>with the mounting block. To safeguard the <\/span>wellbeing<\/b> of working horses, horse riding <\/span>coaches should focus more on <\/span>horse-friendly mounting<\/b> and <\/span>riding<\/b>, suggested Olczak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research process<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"At the<\/span> University of Agriculture<\/b> in Krakow, Poland<\/strong>, Olczak and her research partner, undergraduate student Natalia Azarczyk, took numerous <\/span>facial images.<\/b> Images were taken of 11 riding school horses, aged 6 to 12, of the Hucul breed that inhabits there. Images were captured as horses were <\/span>taken to<\/b> the mounting block and as they <\/span>stood close to<\/b> it. Each horse was captured on camera in both of the following situations: <\/span>with<\/b> and<\/span> without<\/b> a saddle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Horse Grimace Scale<\/b> (HGS), which was initially created by Italian scientists, was used by the researchers to assign <\/span>facial expression scores<\/b> to each horse in each condition. These <\/span>points<\/b> were primarily based on whether the horse had lowered ears, tightened orbital muscles, tensed chewing muscles, a tensed muzzle, strained and dilated nostrils, or eyelids that covered more than half of the eye.<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers asked <\/span>two impartial<\/b> observers to <\/span>assess<\/b> the images in order to <\/span>verify<\/b> their findings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research findings<\/h2>\n

According to Olczak, the <\/span>observers discovered<\/b> that the horses’ facial expression <\/span>scores<\/b> significantly <\/span>altered<\/b> from portraying a non-stressed state to a stressed state between <\/span>being walked to<\/b> the block and <\/span>standing next to it<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Olczak claimed that the<\/span> results were incredibly accurate. She remarked, this is the only <\/span>scientific behaviour research<\/b> where she has seen such obvious outcomes. It didn’t matter if the horse was wearing a <\/span>saddle, Olczak said. The horses’ <\/span>facial expressions<\/b> clearly changed<\/strong> before and after they reached the mounting block in either case.<\/strong> The difference between <\/span>using the saddle and not using it was modest, but hardly noteworthy, she continued.<\/p>\n

But the <\/span>mounting block<\/b> itself was certainly important, according to Olczak. You can observe how simply being in close proximity to the mounting block, without a rider in sight, affects the horses’ facial expressions.<\/span><\/p>\n

She suggested that <\/span>more research<\/b> could be able to shed light on the variables influencing these unfavourable mental states brought on by the mounting block.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: The Horse<\/a><\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the findings of a recent study, certain horses can have negative associations with…","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":46286,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46283","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equestrianism"],"yoast_head":"\nMounting Block Creates Stress for Horses - ehorses Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mounting block can be the cause of stress and tension in horses. 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