NEXT week the Main Hall in Dublin’s RDS will once again come to life as thousands of young students descend for the 53rd BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE), which takes place from the 12th-14th of January, 2017. The exhibition brings together the brightest young minds from across Ireland in a showcase of ideas and innovations designed to tackle the issues facing the economy and society today and it is great to see a strong equine focus amongst this year’s entries.

2017 Equine-related

entries

1. Sycamore poisoning in horses, is it weather related ? This project examines whether sycamore-seed poisoning a fatal disease of horses is linked to a certain combination of weather conditions temperature, humidity and wind speed.

2. Equine injuries, how they occur and preventative methods. This project will examine and compare the physical damage done to both racehorses and show jumpers,where they are most prone and prevention methods for the future.

3. The Statistical Analysis of the Birth Dates of Thoroughbred Racehorses and the subsequent impact on their Racing Career. This project aims to prove that the rule declaring all thoroughbred horses to share a universal birthday of January 1st ultimately determines the careers of all flat racehorses.

4. What fitness types are best for our horses? I intend to investigate whether slow work or fast work is more beneficial for a horse’s fitness.

5. To investigate the behaviour of horses being ridden alone compared to in a group. We are investigating the changes in a horse’s behaviour while being ridden alone compared to being ridden in a group by carrying out a survey.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE

Monica Cherry and Niamh Buckley are the two young students who have been investigating the changes in a horse’s behaviour while being ridden alone compared to being ridden in a group. Monica Cherry told The Irish Field a little bit about their project: “Myself and Niamh both have mares, one is quite young and the other older. We started to compare how they react to each other. My mare Sally gets a bit hyper when she sees others.

“We decided to conduct a survey with some people we knew. We did work experience in a riding school nearby and handed them out. We found out that in a group, up to 50% change when there are multiple horses. Basically the more horses, the more they would act out.

“We also found that there were more drastic changes in behaviour when we looked at racing yards. 70% of Thoroughbreds would become more agitated and more excitable. We would love to look into that further.”

INFORMATION

To find out more about the BTYSTE, log onto btyoungscientist.com or follow the exhibition on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @BTYSTE. You can also call 1800 924 362.