|
The Australian Brumby
Research Unit
|
||
![]() |
Opening Statement- March, 2008. Welcome to the public information web site of the University of Queensland, School of Veterinary Science's, Australian Brumby Research Unit |
![]() |
| The Unit is managed by Professor Chris Pollitt and coordinated by his Ph D student |
||
|
|
The Unit is attached to the Australian
Equine Laminitis Research Unit and was established with the aim
of investigating the feral horse and applying research to improve
the foot health of the domestic horse. |
|
|
|
||
|
We will publish this information on the web site in July, 2008. By this time we will also be ready to release some information on Brumby travel. |
||
|
|
Feel free also to contact direct either Professor
Pollitt by email or |
|
|
THE WILD HORSE RESEARCH TEAM |
||||
|
|
|
The team is headed by world renowned equine foot
researcher Professor Chris Pollitt of the Australian Equine Laminitis
Research Unit. Prof Pollitt BVSc PhD will make a 25% time commitment
to this project in 2008-10. Pollitt is an honorary Professor of equine
medicine in the Prof Pollitt has 75 publications in international peer-reviewed journals and has published regularly in the top specialist journals and textbooks in the field of laminitis. |
||
|
|
Brian is currently a Ph D candidate under Professor Pollitt's supervision working on the project "Improving the foot health of the domestic horse". Brian is an experienced horseman and a keen competitor in the cattle working horse events and enjoys the challenge and experience of handling and starting horses to saddle. |
|||
|
The research is supported by:- |
![]() |
|||
| Industry contributions also play an important role in supporting this research which will give the equine world a much greater understanding of the form and function of the feral horse foot and will ultimately lead to a better deal for the domestic horse. | ||||
|
SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH |
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
The aim of the project is to improve the foot health of the domestic horse. This will be achieved by the detailed study of the feral horse foot and comparisons to the form and function of the domestic horse foot. Each individual study will be revealed in time but a basic plan of attack follows: We are studying 50 feral horses from each of 5 remote locations in
|
|||||
|
|
|
*GPS
tracking of distance, speed and habitat. |
||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
All study areas are nearing completion in design and several are well under way. Other areas of study will be added as time goes on. The ability of the research to attract sponsorship, particularly from private individuals and syndicates will impact greatly on the quantity of research performed and the impact it will have on the equine industry. Please read the following section on to learn how individuals may contribute and become part of the research team. |
|||||
|
WILD HORSE (Brumby) TRACKING |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is perhaps the most exciting phase of the Brumby research. The research team is tracking the movement of Brumbies with GPS tracking systems to determine the habitat and distance travelled by horses in an unrestricted environment. Paddock size inhabited by the horses depends on the location but ranges from 10,000 acres to 2,000,000 acres. The country ranges from sandy desert to hard rocky footing. Horses are monitored every 5 seconds for 6 days, every 30 seconds for 3 months and every 5 minutes for 12 months. Horses are darted with a tranquiliser from hidden positions and are collared and released within 3 minutes, totally unaware of the GPS collaring process. |
||||
|
|
It has taken 12 months to find ideal hide locations on natural water points to construct hides and trap yards and desensitise horses to the changed environment. The above photograph shows a typical yard and hide design at the entrance to a natural spring. Horses walk through small yards every day beneath the raised hidden hides and are unaware of the presence of the research team at time of darting, tracking and filming. |
||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
GPS UNIT DESIGN
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
WILD HORSE
(Brumby)
COUNTRY Water holes in this country are typically 50-60km apart and horses travel considerable distances between water and feed.
|
||||
|
|
|
![]() |
|
||
Typical |
|||||
|
|
CONCLUDING
STATEMENT We hope that individuals will feel free to prompt us by email if they think we are remiss in neglecting to offer available information. Please understand that the Australian Brumby Research Unit is a group of scientists with the sole purpose of improving the well being of the horse. We certainly have no vested interest in any commercial application of the work and are approaching the research from a neutral position. We do not intend to enter into the argument of bare foot trimming versus shoeing or one trimming method as apposed to another. We will describe objectively what we find and use well structured scientific analysis to draw conclusions from our research. We look forward to sharing our work with the community over the next few years and hope that people will offer constructive feedback to assist the direction of the research. Please understand that we need individuals to contribute both ideas and sponsorship to this research so that the equine community can have some ownership of this exciting endeavour. |
|
|||
|
|
|
||||