Equine Behaviour Online education

Equine Behaviour

http://www.opened.uoguelph.ca/offerings/offering.aspx?hold=y&id=4523

Description

Enhance the welfare of horses in your care by learning the language of horses. Equine Behaviour encourages you to understand a horses behaviour through the eyes of the horse, adapting the horses environment and handling through investigating horse perception and learning. Examining equine behaviour research and practice are part of this course designed to improve the health and welfare of horses in your care.

There are optional activities and readings built into the course content which allow you to explore additional topics in equine behaviour. The additional topics are popular among the behaviour students and we would like you to know participating in optional activities increases the amount of time per week you would need to commit to the course.

This course is entirely online, so travel to the University of Guelph is NOT required.

NOTE: This course is an elective course in the Equine Science Certificate program and a core course in theDiploma in Equine Studies program. For details about these programs, please see our program website www.EquineStudiesOnline.ca

Designed For

racehorse trainers, veterinarians, horse owners, trainers, grooms, breeders, stable employees, veterinary technicians, industry representatives, coaches and individuals with an interest in horses.

Course Topics

• Introduction to Behaviour
• Perception
• Behaviour and the Brain
• Learning
• Social & Play, Communication
• Body Care
• Ingestive and Eliminative Behaviours
• Reproductive Behaviour
• Stereotypies
• Locomotion
• Training
• Handling and Transporting
• Welfare

Textbooks

Equine Behaviour, A Guide for Veterinarians and Equine Scientists (Confirmed)
Edition: 2ndAuthor(s): Paul McGreevyPublished by: Elsevier Ltd in 2013 ISBN: 978-0-7020-4337-6

Dr Gustafson is an equine veterinarian, veterinary behaviorist, and novelist. He helps refine horse and dog training methods to accommodate the inherent nature and behavior of horses and dogs. Applied veterinary behavior enhances optimum health, performance, soundness, contentment, and longevity in animal athletes. Natural approaches to development, training, nutrition, and conditioning sustain equine health and enhance performance. Behavioral and nutritional enrichment strategies enhance the lives of stabled horses. Training and husbandry from the horse's perspective result in content, cooperative horses. DrSid provides equine behavior consultations to help recreate the needs and preferences of horses in training and competition.

Lasix Encourages Racehorse Doping in America

The Florida Derby racehorses will be injected with two performance enhancing drugs before heading to the paddock for their derby run, prednisolone and Lasix. Both prerace drugs are allowed by the state racing regulators, who have become puppets of the trainers' lobby. Raceday injections are the root of all the current doping troubles in America. The state racing jurisdictions, all of them, have chosen to set the example of allowing horses to be injected intravenously with performance enhancing drugs shortly before racing. This practice of legal doping has created an untoward atmosphere of generalized racehorse doping, as we are seeing. Raceday and day before medication has to be eliminated if progress protecting the health and welfare of racehorses is to advance.
A strict policy of not allowing horses to be injected with drugs in the days before and the day of racing is the international standard. Where raceday injections are not allowed, racing is 4X safer for the horses, and jockeys. In America, horses break down at 4X the rate of horses racing without the pre-race performance enhancers in Asia, Australia, and Europe.
The raceday drug Lasix potentiates breakdowns due to its performance enhancing effect. Lasix also allows for the substandard care of the racehorses. To permit legal doping is to encourage widespread doping. Raceday Lasix (and IV cortisone) are considered doping by the regulators in Asia, Dubai, Europe, and Australia, where racing is safer and horses are better cared for. 
Sid Gustafson DVM
http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/author/sid-gustafson/