Episode Details

The information about care for our horses is overwhelming and often conflicting. The reason is simple: accurate science with horses is impossible due to the expense.

The rule for scientific study follows a simple roadmap. First, suggest a hypothesis, which is a supposition based on observation but not on facts or evidence. Then, scientists work hard to disprove the hypothesis. If they can't prove it wrong, then it must be right, and, therefore, the hypothesis becomes a theory based on fact.

Several problems arise in collecting facts, such as ensuring there are enough subjects in the study and that they represent all subjects in the world. Studying engineering or mathematical questions can be done anywhere in the world, countless times, and with standard variables. However, in living things like you and your horses, too many variables exist to make the facts rock-solid in their validity. Studies on our horses require large numbers of horses to be examined over long periods, and the expense of doing so prevents good, accurate science.

The results are sophistry, or smoke and mirrors. Facts are twisted to shape the theory, leading to conflicting, confusing information for the horse owner. There are only two ways for horse owners to resolve this dilemma:

- Return our care for horses to a time before human intervention, when evolution shaped their needs.

- Ask this question: Is what is being done today to our horses in their best interest, and does it support or distract from how they developed?

This podcast starts and shapes the discussion about horse care for all horse owners, whether novice or seasoned professional. The theme is this: just because we can, should we? The hypothesis is this: Is what we do to horses in their best interest? As owners, we need to look at the "facts" that marketing geniuses say lead to their conclusions and prove whether they are true or just smoke and mirrors.

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