2022 was a year of weather records in Europe. The summer was record hot with numerous heat related deaths, drought and fires as the unfortunate result. The predictions for 2023 so far are towards another record year of heatwaves. Dr. David Marlin, one of the equine world’s leading scientists, recently posted a ‘Best Practices Guide for Horses in the Current Heatwave in Europe’ on his website and social media channels. We thought it would be good to post that guide here as well so as many horses as possible can benefit from it.
Who is Dr. David Marlin?
Dr Marlin has worked at the forefront of equine research for over 30 years. He has always been passionate about equine welfare and as a result has been involved in many campaigns, including working with World Horse Welfare to improve the conditions for horses transported for meat in Europe.
He is currently involved in a range of projects including the impact of COVID-19 on horse owners and horse welfare, protective boot testing, the safety of headcollars, performance analysis, saddle tree design, saddle pads, quantification of head shaking and an extensive number of studies in equine nutrition.
FEI Guidelines
Dr. Marlin is the President of the UK National Equine Welfare Council and of the Internationally established Sport Horse Welfare Foundation. In his illustrious career, Dr. Marlin has worked for over 25 years on equine thermoregulation, worked with endurance horses in the Gulf, worked with numerous charities on thermal stress, worked at the 1996 Atlanta, 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2018 Tryon World Equestrian Games, and authored the FEI Guidelines for the National Federations on the management of horses in thermally challenging conditions.
Great resource!
Dr. David Marlin founded the website DrDavidMarlin.com to create a safe, reliable and science lead hub of information for all equine professionals and horse riders. The website offers a tremendous library of articles, webinars, videos, podcasts, product testing and research into the world of horses. Team HorseGrooms recommends this website as a great resource!
Featured photo by Digishots.nl
