Four of our equine students are presenting their research to the Alltech-Hartpury Equine Student Conference on 2 May.
The conference gives students experience of the process behind presenting research and delivering a theatre presentation to a full audience, whilst showcasing student equine research. There are prizes from Alltech – the sponsors of the World Equestrian Games.
The BSc (Hons) Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation third year students are:
• Sheena Nobili, who has compared the effects of tapotement and acupressure therapy on pain threshold and peripheral blood flow in the equine lumbosacral region.
• Emily Barker, who has investigated the effects of different interfaces on the pressures upon the equine back.
• Emily Hughes, who has researched rater agreement in equine lameness assessment.
• Rosemary Lawrence, who has analysed the effect of rider weight on horse biomechanics.
Last month, Caitlyn Cuthbert won the Best Oral Presentation award at the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) Student Animal Welfare conference, held at Writtle University College. Caitlyn, BSc (Hons) Equine Behavioural Science, presented research on how horses find horse walkers less stressful when they go on with an equine companion. Best poster went to Lucianna Churchill, Integrated Masters in Veterinary Physiotherapy, for her systematic review of the commonly occurring injuries in performance dogs.
Caitlyn and Emma Pickett, who is studying the BSc (Hons) Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation, are also submitting abstracts for the International Society for Equitation Science Conference (ISES) in Rome in September. Emma’s research is on the effect of nose band type on rein tension in the ridden horse.
To find out more about the equine degrees at Writtle University College, please visit: writtle.ac.uk/UG-Equine