From wild horse to riding horse

Over 45 million years of evolution the horse developed to a highly specialized animal in anatomy, physiology and behavior. No other animal had influenced the economic and cultural history of men to such extent. Hunting prey since the ice age, domesticated 4000 B.C. and used for thousands of years as unique animal all over the world has attained a new role today as partner in sport, as companion animal and even as cotherapeutic. The well known behavioral demands in use and keeping are still often not fulfilled.     

The American humane association (AHA): Position on wild horse management

The American Humane Association is a national federation of local humane societies and animal control agencies, founded in 1877.In 1974, American Humane was asked by the Bureau of Land Management to observe wild horseroundups and provide recommendations on humane capture and transportation. Later, the Association was asked to provide expertise in formulating the Adopt-A-Horse and Burro Program.Since 1975 the American Humane Association has been involved in many wild horse and burroroundups, attended several hearings locally and in Washington, DC, on regulations and amendments, and has participated in field trips to examine and learn about land use.The author, Director of Animal Protection for the American Humane Association, will represent humane organizations on the newly formed National Advisory Committee on Wild Horses and Burros. The purpose of the Committee is to provide advice to the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the BLM, as well as the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief of the Forest Service, on matters pertaining to management, protection, and control of wild free-roaming horses and burros on the Nation's public lands.     

Intracapsular lens removal in a Przewalski's wild horse (Equus caballus przewalskii).

A 11.5-yr-old female Przewalski's wild horse (Equus caballus przewalskii) presented for unilateral blepharitis and drainage from the left eye. The left cornea was not ulcerated, and intraocular evaluation was hampered by severe corneal edema. The left eye appeared to respond positively to treatment with anti-inflammatories and a topical mydriatic agent. During the ensuing 2 yr, there were minor episodes of epiphora from the left eye. The discharge then increased, and a luxated lens was noted during an examination by a veterinary ophthalmologist as part of the preshipment examination. Initially, the lens was located in the anterior compartment but was in the vitreal compartment at the time of surgery, complicating the intracapsular extraction. After successful removal of the lens, the horse was transferred to a new institution without incident, where it appears to have adapted well to its probable loss of vision in the left eye. No further episodes of uveitis, corneal edema, or epiphora have been reported, and the horse has successfully foaled at the new institution.     

The Bayesian controversy in animal breeding

Frequentist and Bayesian approaches to scientific inference in animal breeding are discussed. Routine methods in animal breeding (selection index, BLUP, ML, REML) are presented under the hypotheses of both schools of inference, and their properties are examined in both cases. The Bayesian approach is discussed in cases in which prior information is available, prior information is available under certain hypotheses, prior information is vague, and there is no prior information. Bayesian prediction of genetic values and genetic parameters are presented. Finally, the frequentist and Bayesian approaches are compared from a theoretical and a practical point of view. Some problems for which Bayesian methods can be particularly useful are discussed. Both Bayesian and frequentist schools of inference are established, and now neither of them has operational difficulties, with the exception of some complex cases. There is software available to analyze a large variety of problems from either point of view. The choice of one school or the other should be related to whether there are solutions in one school that the other does not offer, to how easily the problems are solved, and to how comfortable scientists feel with the way they convey their results.