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Maya Meinhold, D.C.: Posted on Wednesday, July 5, 2017 6:52 AM
Horse training. You either pay someone to do it for you, struggle through it yourself, or unknowingly do it every day. Most likely, if you have a horse, you are unconsciously training him or her every time you go out to the barn. Every action you do around your horse sends him a signal which he tries to interpret in order to protect himself or get what he wants. If you break it down to the simplest of elements, your horse is a very basic creature: he wants to eat, sleep, and basically be left alone. |
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Maya Meinhold, D.C.: Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2016 12:14 PM
In their natural setting, horses typically graze between 14-16 hours a day. This has anatomically designed them to be best suited for small, frequent forage meals throughout the day.  However, in today’s setting with modern management strategies, many horses have limited access to forage due to meal feedings and increased time being stalled. These management changes have led to alterations in digestion as well as dysregulations of metabolic patterns including glucose, insulin, and cortisol. |
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Maya Meinhold, D.C.: Posted on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 10:01 AM
Facial expressions are commonly used to assess pain and other emotional states in humans, but can the same be said for horses? Researchers have been trying to streamline an effective and accurate way to detect pain in horses. Grimace scales have been designed by monitoring the appearance of facial changes from individual or a combination of muscles of the face. These grimace scales are species-specific, and are said to be more advantageous than other methods generally used to detect pain in animals. |
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Maya Meinhold, DC: Posted on Tuesday, June 28, 2016 12:59 PM
Saddle fit is an extremely important aspect of equine management and welfare. If a saddle is improperly fit to a horse’s back certain health concerns such as back pain and lameness can occur. The saddle should be assessed both on and off the horse as well as before, during, and after exercise. Some saddle issues only present themselves when a horse performs a certain maneuver so it is pertinent to be thorough in your assessment. It is also important to note that not all brands of saddles will fit all horses’ shapes, sizes, breeds, etc. |
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Maya Meinhold, DC: Posted on Monday, May 23, 2016 10:38 AM
 It’s that time of year again. We have emerged from the bitter cold days of winter and the warm temperatures have returned. With the warmer weather here we are usually determined to get out and do more, and that often involves our horses. After a more sedate approach to riding during the winter months it is important to make sure your horse is ready for the frenzy of activity that comes with summertime and show season. Unless you have been diligent over the winter months and have ridden your horse on a regular exercise regimen it is generally safe to say that some conditioning workouts are in order. |
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Maya Meinhold, DC: Posted on Monday, April 11, 2016 11:45 AM
Do you have a cribber in your barn? Are your stalls chewed down to studs and beyond? Have you ever wondered what is going through your horse’s head when he’s doing this behavior? The exact etiology of cribbing behavior has yet to be determined, however, most equine researchers agree that the cause is multifactorial. There have been several studies conducted to investigate the potential mechanism of origin, and there are a handful of associations between environmental or physical events and the development of cribbing behavior. |
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Maya Meinhold, DC: Posted on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 11:58 AM
How much time do you regularly spend grooming your horse? It probably varies depending on the day, how dirty your horse is, how much time you have, etc. On average though riders tend to spend around 10-20 minutes grooming their horse before and after riding. If you add that time up over the course of a month of daily grooming that equals 8+ hours of grooming time spent with your horse. Why not make that quality time with your horse more productive in order to deepen your bond and create a lasting partnership? |
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