Stable Science from Dr David Marlin's Animalweb

In this episode, we dive into animal genetics with Dr. Victoria Lindsay-McGee, the newest expert on Animalweb. Dr. Lindsay-McGee introduces the fundamentals of animal genetics, including: complex disease genetics genetic selection the impact of breeding practices. She discusses the importance of genetic counselling for animals, as well as the challenges of managing genetic diversity and cultural a...

In this episode, Dr. David Marlin sits down with Vickie Dennis and Ruth Schofield, the minds behind the Equiseat Aid. They dive into the inspiration for creating the Equiseat, a product designed to enhance symmetry, engage the rider's seatbones, and improve rider positioning. David, Vickie, and Ruth discuss the Equiseat Aid's functionality and its benefits for a range of riders. They also explain...

A quick podcast from Dr David Marlin about all the topics you'll be thinking about and worrying about this autumn. Here are a few links to the topics David mentions in the podcast: Fireworks - https://askanimalweb.com/?s=fireworks Mudfever - https://askanimalweb.com/webinar-the-skin-of-the-lower-legs-from-mud-fever-to-mites-dr-kieran-obrien/ Increased feeding/bedding - https://askanimalweb.com/?s=...

Dr David Marlin took the opportunity to catch up with his old friend and colleague, farrier Ben Benson, at the annual Acpat seminar at Leamington Spa in October 2024. Ben Benson AWCF Farrier presented at the conference 'The Farrier's role in influencing equine posture and injury prevention'. They discuss the role of the farrier and how they can work with other professionals to determine the best c...

TWO Animalweb experts, Adi Devonish and Nicola Bell, come together to discuss the trials and issues with running livery yards and what yard owners and their liveries need to be talking about, planning for and discussing. The conversation includes: Cost of having a horse on livery The vital role grooms and yard staff provide How yard owners and their liveries interact and communicate Dealing with w...

Dr David Marlin discusses Blue Tongue What do we know? What do we THINK we know? What do we NEED to know? Why have we only been seeing images fairly recently? What can we learn from the photos we have seen? And why photos can't tell us everything we need. David also discusses a small pilot survey about Blue Tongue and what could be causing it. ----------------------------------------- To find out...

Dr David Marlin discusses the different beddings the Animalweb team tested from the first round to this second round. There are a wide variety of types from all the different manufacturers. David discusses all the different tests that have taken place; dust, hygienic quality, absorbency and marketing claims. Do you use any of these bedding products? Bedmax Littlemax & Strawmax Caviera Cavianth...

Caroline is LIVE from Burghley Horse Trials, and David is away on holiday, but the two found a little time to catch up and discuss their work. Caroline is a renowned Eventing Coach who works with many leading horses and riders. Although spending her life producing horses and riding up to 5*, Caroline’s passion has always been in coaching and helping others achieve their goals. Caroline became a Fe...

What is the autonomic nervous system, and how does it affect our horses? In this podcast Dr Gillian Tabor discusses the flight and fight, rest and digest elements of horse behaviour and poses the questions: Is being in a high arousal state always a concern? Can it be beneficial in rehab and training? We have a lot to learn about motivation and ideas such as 'flow state' and how they can be applied...

Animalweb's Equine Physiotherapist Dr Gillian Tabor reviews two new research papers on rehabilitation exercises:   The first paper investigates the horse's trunk kinematics and limb movement when walking backwards and forwards. Jobst, I.D., Zsoldos, R.R. and Licka, T.F., 2024. Trunk kinematics and limb movement of horses walking backwards and forwards in hand and lifting a single limb. ...

Dr David Marlin Interviews Charlotte Hodgetts of Myerscough College about her latest Research into Cooling Horses. David chats with Charlotte about how her equine science career started and what led her to research cooling horses. Charlotte's work and abstract can be found on the Animalweb website here. To understand more, here is the Introduction: Introduction: Strenuous exercise like British Eve...

Listen to Dr David Marlin as he discusses in-depth how he advises the FEI and IOC on climate mitigation and, essentially, how to manage competitions in terms of climate and temperature. This is an incredible podcast where David discusses: Education Scheduling Air-conditioning Competition modification Cooling facilities Monitoring Plus, David makes weather predictions and suggestions for the teams...

🐴 Can Horses Experience "Flow" During Training? 🤔 Ever wondered if we could make rehab and training more enjoyable for our equine partners? Research by Hintze & Yee (2022) asks: "Can we provide animals with the same access to a sense of enjoyment that we as humans value so much?" 🔑 Key Points: Effective rehab/training requires intensity for adaptation What if horses could be happy increasin...

Mark Lucey has a 40-year career as a vet, including officiating at the Olympic Games and working as an eventing team vet, and is a former partner at Bourton Vale Equine Clinic in Gloucestershire. David and Mark have worked together for many years, and in this relaxed interview, they discuss why the surfaces our horses runs on are so important and why this is important for ALL horses and not j...

Equiband Pro Research - Latest Update Dr Gillian Tabor reviews a recently published paper on the effects of the Equiband Pro system on gait symmetry in horses at trot. The papers discussed are: Pfau, T., Simons, V., Rombach, N., Stubbs, N. and Weller, R., 2017. Effect of a 4‐week elastic resistance band training regimen on back kinematics in horses trotting in‐hand and on the lunge.  Equine v...

A relaxed chat with Helen Reynolds, who is one of the world's leading equine thermographers, BUT there is so much more to Helen than even we realised! Hear about Helen's life with horses, what thermography is, and how it has become a crucial diagnostic tool. PLUS we chat about Helen's work with 'Hot Horses', thermo imaging at the Tokyo Olympics and what her role as Heat Mitigation Officer at the u...

This is a light and fun interview with Groom Of The Year Emma Cornish to discuss her career, feelings towards the industry and her exciting role at the upcoming Paris Olympics! Emma will be one of the very few veterinary team members coming from the UK. In her official role as Forge Manager, Emma explains more about how she will assist all teams and ground crews on site for the duration of the Oly...

Emma Davies is a Senior Lecturer (Rider Performance) at Hartbury University about Rider Sleep. Dr David Marlin and Emma discuss rider performance and the important role of sleep! Discussing previous studies and development of studies for riders Safety - are you considering the safety aspect of getting enough sleep Performance - how does sleep decrease and improve performance? Decision-making - sle...

Dr Gillian Tabor talks to Nikki Routledge, who is a fellow animal musculoskeletal practitioner but not a physio this time!  Nikki holds an MSc in Animal Manipulation and a Master's in Veterinary Chiropractic. They discuss the history of McTimoney Chiropractic, how she trained, how she works and how to get into the profession.   ------------ To find out more about becoming a mem...

In this fasinating chat between two animal physiotherapists, Dr Gillian Tabor and Canine physio Tom Daly, discuss the many similarities and differences in treating horses and dogs. Tom discusses his passion for helping dogs, the powers of water therapy for dogs In a typical day, Tom would treat dogs that have: Joint issues - such as arthritis, hip or elbow displacer Cruciate issues in need of supp...

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 no...

Tracy Bye interview - The pressures under bitless bridles Dr 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...

Emma Busk interview – independent bit & bridle fitter Dr 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 w...

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...

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, fa...