The following article appeared in
February in ‘The Clare People’, a
local newspaper in Shannon, Ireland.
Shannon
Equine Research
Members of the Traveller community in
Clare are set to participate in a major equine research project headed up by
the Shannon Horse Project. Shannon Horse Project has teamed up with the
University of Edinburgh in Scotland to carry out the study, which will look at
the system used to assess a horse’s body condition. The body condition scoring
system is a numerical scale used to evaluate the amount of fat on a horse’s
body through visual and palpation appraisal. Based on a grading system, the
scoring system is a good indicator of a horse’s general health.
Shannon woman Marie Rowland is currently
studying for a Masters in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare at the
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and is working with the project to
complete her dissertation. Marie’s project supervisor is Dr Tamsin Coombs,
(Programme Co-ordinator for the MSc) who coincidentally graduated from the
University of Limerick in 1999 with a BSc (Hons) in Equine Science, before
going on to further study at the University of Edinburgh.
The study consists of two parts;
firstly, attitudes to body condition scoring and other equine issues were explored
and secondly, the group condition scored their horses. This is the first
scientific study to include Irish Travellers as participants in equine
research. According to Marie, the Traveller community have a long history and tradition
of keeping horses but there is little research or consultation with Traveller
horse owners on equine related matters. Therefore, Traveller representation will
provide scientific research with an innovative approach to equine health and
welfare.
The research will be completed in April
2016.
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