A healthy onager foal – the world’s rarest equid – has been born at a UK zoo. Chester Zoo’s onager mare Azita gave birth to Jasper this summer and “the leggy youngster is doing very well”. “Azita is doing a fantastic job of nurturing and bonding with her new charge,” said Mike Jordan, the zoo’s animal and plant director. “He’s full of energy and enjoys playfully kicking up sand as he races around his habitat.” There are believed to be around only 600 onagers left in the wild.
Michael Bishop, the new chief executive of the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) spoke to H&H about why he believes social relevance is vital to the equestrian industry’s future for a news story this week. “Clearly the social licence conversation is of critical importance, and I don’t think anyone involved in horses can underestimate the scale of that challenge,” he said. “But I think there’s an even bigger conversation we ought to be having, about the social relevance of horses. And I really want to use the RDA stories; there are lots of others too, to demonstrate how socially relevant horses can be to all of our lives.”
A ground-breaking study has found that the composition of gut bacteria in foals at a month old has “significant” links to health and athletic performance later in life. The research, led by Professor Chris Proudman at the University of Surrey, found that the future athletic performance of the foals involved was positively associated with higher bacterial diversity in their poo at 28 days old. “This is very much making sure that right from the outset as very young foals, we understand the determinants of health and that we are setting them up for a healthy life,” he said. “By making sure that gut microbiota is as healthy as possible in those early weeks and months, we can set them up for a good life.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
