Mad About Horses

In this episode of 'Mad About Horses', Dr. Chris Mortensen delves into the important and complex topic of recognizing and understanding horse emotions. Dr. Mortensen shares personal anecdotes to illustrate how horses experience emotions like separation anxiety and happiness, emphasizing the value of observing their body language, facial expressions, and behavior...

Dr. Chris Mortensen, an experienced equine educator and researcher, takes listeners through the complexities and nuances of equine communication in this podcast episode of 'Mad About Horses'.

He explores the fascinating research related to wild equines, specifically the Somali wild ass, and their means of communication including body language, olfactory responses, and signals encoded in gene expression. He branches over to domestic horses and how they too communicate...

What makes a champion Dressage horse? What makes a champion show jumping or eventing horse? How about what makes a good therapeutic riding horse? Listen for these answers and more in this week's Mad About Horses Podcast.

Dr. Chris Mortensen starts off this podcast episode by delving into the incredible story of Lis Hartel, a Danish dressage rider who overcame polio to become a champion. He discusses Lis's significant contributions to equestrian sports and therapeutic riding...

What makes a champion a champion? Which breeds are excelling in which disciplines?

In this week's podcast, Dr. Chris Mortensen, an equine science researcher and educator, discusses the key elements that make a horse a champion in Western disciplines like barrel racing, cutting, and reining...

What do horses do all day? What should they be doing all day compared to their wild counterparts? A critical topic for any horse owner or enthusiast.

In this episode, Dr. Chris Mortensen, an equine educator and researcher, discusses the experience of observing the behaviors of equids throughout the day. He notes the vital importance of understanding the natural behaviors of horses and other equids as it influences how they are managed, fed, and looked after.

Dr...

This episode of the Mad About Horses podcast delves into the history of various equestrian sports, tracing their origins and development over the years.

Dr. Chris Mortensen, PhD. opens with the inspiring story of Pat Smith, a trailblazer in the field of show jumping. The discussion moves on to the birth and rise of various equestrian sports such as chariot racing, horse racing, show jumping, and dressage...

In this episode, Dr. Chris Mortensen addresses more factors that impact equine performance: age, gender, behavior, and diet.

Dr. Mortensen presents his own experience and cites several research related to these topics. Dr. Mortensen highlights the story of Zenyatta, a remarkable racehorse, and how her journey reflects these performance-related factors...

What influences how well a horse competes? Well in this week's podcast we start to look at how and why horses are so athletic.

Introduction

Dr. Mortensen introduces the various disciplines where horses compete today. He highlights the diversity of events like show jumping, dressage, eventing, endurance riding, racing, polo, vaulting, and more. Dr...

What are the most popular horse breeds on the planet? And which horse breed is your personal favorite? Listen to this week's episode to see if your favorite gets mentioned!

Popular Horse Breeds Worldwide:

Dr. Mortensen is an equine science researcher and educator. In this episode, he opens up discussing the importance of horse breeds. He mentions the variety of purposes for which horses are bred. Dr...

How do horses see? How do horses hear? How do horses smell, taste and even touch?

In this episode of Mad About Horses, Dr. Chris Mortensen kicks off by delving into the fundamental sensory abilities of horses and how they navigate their environments. He emphasizes the importance of understanding these senses in relation to how we interact, train, and care for these incredible equine companions...