EXERCISE YOUR HORSE TO REDUCE HIS STRESS

New research from Korea suggests that exercise reduces stress in horses, just as it does in people.

Researchers at the Jeju National University divided 61 horses into three groups: those who gave tourists rides, those who served as lesson horses and those not ridden at all.

They collected saliva samples from each horse four times a day---in the early morning and then three times throughout the day. In the working group, the samples were taken after each exercise session; the same schedule was followed for the resting group.

The saliva samples were then tested for levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress. In all of the horses--even those in the resting group---cortisol levels were the lowest in the third daily samples. As a percentage of the early morning cortisol levels, the horses working in the lesson program had the greatest decrease in cortisol throughout the day, followed by the horses ridden by tourists. The horses at rest showed the smallest drop in cortisol levels.

In addition, the saliva samples were analyzed for spikes in cortisol levels,