A new source of reliable information about horse behavior and training is available online. Three scientists have launched a YouTube Channel called “Equine Science Talk International” to present videos on a variety of topics.
“The videos were created to catch the interest of equine science students for particular topics,” says Konstance Krueger, PhD, a professor at Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Science in Nürtingen, Germany. “In addition we want to address lay persons with an interest in scientifically sound information about training, management and behavior.”
Teaming up with Krueger on the project are two of her former doctoral students, Laureen Esch and Isabell Marr, as well as Kate Farm, a trainer and long-time collaborator on research projects..
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For your bookshelf: • Horse Speak: An Equine-Human Translation Guide: Conversations with Horses in Their Language• What I’d Teach Your Horse: Training & Re-Training the Basics: Horse Training How-To, Volume 8
on research projects.
“Isabell and I started conducting a new lecture series and wondered how we could attract the students’attention,” says Krueger. The videos were meant as an ‘appetizer’ to encourage students to learn more about the topics. Then we realized that the videos would also be of interest to many ‘horsey’ lay people, and we decided to make them public.”
The channel, which launched in mid-October, currently has six videos ranging in subject matter from why there is no single “lead mare”, through blanketing to rollkur, the practice of riding horses with extreme flexion at the poll, which is sometimes seen in dressage and other disciplines. “We are not avoiding controversial topics,” says Krueger, “And we try to provide information from all points of view. We throw light on a topic by presenting the knowledge that has already been scientifically tested, and then it is up to the viewer to make up his/her mind. It is not the job of science to think for people, but rather to make them think for themselves.”
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