TheHorse.com THE HORSE February 2016
12
REHOMED AND HAPPY
My retired Thoroughbred,
Red Cloud, found a magnifi-
cent home that met all of my
many requirements to adopt
him. Thank you so much for
your free horse listing service
(TheHorse.com/free-horse-
adoption). I have used your
site for at least 10 years for
meaningful health issues,
horse feed, smiles, etc. I feel
very comfortable with Red
Cloud's new "Mom" giving him
everything he lives for in life.
Suzi Stammich
Oregon
CAN WE DEFINE
EMOTIONAL STATE?
Regarding the article "Do
Eye Wrinkles Reflect a Horse's
Emotional State?" (TheHorse.
com/36638): One of the first
lessons in livestock handling
is to quit trying to explain the
animal's behavior in terms of
what it might be thinking or
feeling. Suggesting what an
animal is thinking is merely
guessing and constitutes a
prime example of the "illusion
of knowledge." Instead, we are
dependent on observing what
it is doing.
Ambiguous, subjective
labels applied to equine behav-
ior, such as "unmanageable,"
"unruly," "uncontrollable,"
"pessimistic," and "afraid," are
hypothetical explanations of
behavior.
My sources are, among
others, the National Academy
of Sciences, the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and neuroscientist Dr. Joseph
LeDoux. Dr. LeDoux's work
turns the concept of emotion
in all animals on its head.
The existence of feelings of
conscious awareness in non-
human animals is unknown,
probably unknowable, and
likely never solved by science.
Behavioral responses includ-
ing an ethogram are not reli-
able indicators of emotional
state, even in humans.
Validating behavioral indi-
cators of emotional state in
equine would be challenging,
to say the least.
Don Hoglund, MS, DVM
via e-mail
PODCAST PROPS
Tonight's Ask the Horse Live
(PPID: Early Signs, Diagnosis,
and Treatment, TheHorse.
com/36408) was very informa-
tive, thank you! I have had a
PPID horse in the past and
now have a 23-year-old that I
will have tested next week."
Michelle McKellar
via e-mail
SAFETY FIRST
While reading the Novem-
ber 2015 article "Winter Hoof
Care: It's a Team Effort," I
couldn't believe my eyes when
I saw the photo on page 68.
This person is actually stand-
ing on the left side and leaning
under the horse while cleaning
snow from the right front
hoof. This is a position that
even the most novice horseper-
son would not put themselves
in. If this horse should shy for
any reason, the person would
be knocked to the ground and
possibly trampled.
Keith Whaples
via e-mail
LETTERS
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TH 2016-02
L t
She swallowed hard as they walked into the start box.
She could feel his muscles tense under her leg.
"Five, four, three, two, one… have a great ride."
She didn't have to ask; he galloped out of the box
and across the f eld toward their f rst training
level course. His ears pricked; her heart pounded.
He attacked each obstacle with conf dence,
clearing them with room to spare. A huge smile
broke out on her face as she crossed through the
f nish f ags. She leaned forward and buried her face in
his neck. T eir bond of love and trust blocked out all else.