Cognitive decline & dementia in horses

Yards caring for horses in their late twenties and beyond.

• ◆Recognise behavioural signs of cognitive change
• ◆Adapt handling for safety of horse and human
• ◆Modify routine to reduce confusion and stress
• ◆Communicate sensitively with owners

1. 01.

   What we know, what we don't

   Current veterinary research summarised.

   • ·What we have learned from canine and human cognitive ageing models
   • ·The small body of equine cognition research — strengths and limits
   • ·Distinguishing pain, sensory loss and cognition
   • ·Tools currently used in research that yards can borrow
2. 02.

   Yard adaptations

   Predictability, lighting, companion stability.

   • ·Why routine matters more than enrichment in advanced age
   • ·Lighting, footing and signage in barns
   • ·Keeping companion pairings stable — and what to do when one dies
   • ·Reducing acoustic stress in the stable block
3. 03.

   Handling safely

   Reading the disoriented horse, restraint, vet visits.

   • ·Approach, voice and handler positioning for the disoriented senior
   • ·Headcollar, bridle and rug changes that minimise startle
   • ·Vet visits — sedation planning and recovery time
   • ·Safe loading and transport for the late-stage senior

Bring a written description of one resident you suspect is cognitively affected — what you've seen and over what timeline.

Submit a one-page yard adaptation plan for a named resident within 21 days.

• §Brosnahan & Paradis, 'Demographic and clinical characteristics of geriatric horses' (JAVMA, 2003)
• §Adams & Tarr, 'Cognitive ageing in horses' — review (Vet J, 2022)
• §Companion-animal cognitive dysfunction frameworks (ISFM/AVMA, adapted)