Profile of Ingvar 'Fredric' Fredricson in HästSverige: Throughout his life, Fredric has followed his own path, taken risks and tested limits to reach his goals. Follow Fredric's exciting life story.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
How horses move and interact with the ground has been an important area of research since the 1970s. One of the pioneers and a leading researcher is Professor Ingvar "Fredric" Fredricson.
Throughout his life, Fredric has followed his own path, taken risks and tested limits to reach his goals. He is one of the Profilers in HästSverige. Follow Fredric's exciting life story.
How horses' legs move and how hooves land on the surface became the start of an area of research that in the 1970s resulted, among other things, in sloping the curves of trotting racetracks. After a lot of development work and "invention", Fredric was able to submit his doctoral thesis Equine joint kinematics and co-ordination in 1972 and thus Swedish biomechanical horse research was born.
Today, the research area has grown and includes a large number of different work areas with a focus on horse biomechanics. It is, for example, about the importance of the footing for performance and durability and about new objective methods for diagnosing movement disorders and lameness in horses.
In Fredric's footsteps there are now several prominent researchers in biomechanics at SLU, including Lars Roepstorff, Marie Rhodin and Elin Hernlund to name a few.
Equestrian sports' international governing body unveils its mission, "to lead, drive, and develop the highest standards of equine sport globally." FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez sets forth the plan in this YouTube video, urging everyone to act as guardians to ensure a "good life for horses." Learn more about the horse welfare plan at https://www.fei.org/stories/lifestyle/horse-human/guardians.
Flyinge hosted the Horse Welfare Summit, Northern Europe's largest event dedicated to horse welfare. The summit spanned two full days and featured lectures, clinics, and panel discussions led by prominent experts in the field.
"From the Air you breathe, to the ground beneath your feet, you deserve the very BEST. Your well-being is our inspiration."
Scholarship recipient Eva Skiöldebrand was part of a research team conducting a clinical study of a novel drug combination that was effective in treating osteoarthritis-associated lameness in horses and restoring joint tissue. The findings could have implications for treating ostearthritis in humans as well, since horses and humans are genetically very similar. The researchers hope to conduct a clinical trial of the drug treatment in humans next.