03/26/2015
La premiere chose que j'ai appris de mon cours de massotherapie équine est que les chevaux sentent une mouche sans problème sur le peau. Plusieurs clients me disent que ça doit être sur de masser un cheval. Au contraire! Les chevaux sont des êtres beaucoup plus sensibles que vous pensez, tant au niveau physique que psychologique!
HORSES HAVE THINNER SKIN AND MAY FEEL MORE PAIN THAN HUMANS
For those who think horses don't feel pain as we do - you could be right. They may feel far more. Australian TV programme 'Catalyst' asked vet pathologist Dr. Lydia Tong to look at the differences between horse and human skin, something that has surprisingly never been studied before. She found the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) is thinner in horses and they have a higher density of 'pain sensing' nerve endings than we do. So what happens to the great whip debate now I wonder?
This information was revealed as part of an interesting film looking at the use of the whip in racing and is well worth a watch. Professor Paul McGreevy is also interviewed here, one of the authors of the article I shared a couple of days ago analysing whip use in UK racing. The information about the horse's skin starts around 12.30.
The image below is of horse skin on the left with the thinner epidermis. On the right, human skin.
You can watch the programme here: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4201890.htm
Further information here: http://m.foxsports.com.au/more-sports/horse-racing/pressure-mounts-to-ban-whips-as-new-study-indicates-horses-feel-pain-when-whipped/story-e6frf41l-1227275365083