Welcome to Path to Bloom
I’ve been working with horses for long enough to recognise when the conventional wisdom doesn’t match what the research actually says.
Sometimes the gap is small. Sometimes it’s substantial. Often, it exists because the research itself has blind spots or because translating findings from peer-reviewed journals into practical application requires more nuance than a three-sentence summary can provide.
That gap is what Path to Bloom addresses.
Path to Bloom exists at the intersection of equine neuroethology, nutrition, and physical therapies.
This newsletter translates peer-reviewed research into accessible analysis for practitioners and horse owners who want to understand the science behind equine behaviour, physiology, and management.
What you’ll find here:
Research-based content on topics like social behaviour, separation anxiety, nutritional physiology, manual therapies, and the interconnections between behaviour, physical health, and management decisions.
Every article is grounded in published research. When I reference a study, I cite it properly. When the evidence is incomplete or contradictory, I say so. When we’re operating in areas where solid research doesn’t exist yet, I’m explicit about that too.
My aim here is not to parade knowledge or pretend that “I have all the answers” or that “I know everything” as this isn’t and won’t ever be the case. This is just a space in which it’s safe to look at things from a scientific perspective acknowledging what we know, what we don’t, what we wish we knew, what questions should we ask to investigate more.
The approach is multidisciplinary because horses are whole animals, whole complex biological systems. Behavioural problems often have nutritional or physical components. Nutritional issues affect behaviour. Physical discomfort influences both. Understanding these interconnections matters if we want to make evidence-based decisions about equine welfare.
Dealing with complex, multilayered things is hard, difficult and maddening. Often you wish things were easy, clear, direct, “1 cause = 1 consequence” kind of things. But reality is rarely easy and never straight-forward. Isn’t this the very same thing that makes it so interesting and challenging, though?
Why English:
I’m writing primarily in English to reach a broader audience, though I’m based in Italy and work in both Italian and English contexts.
For Italian-speakers, head to my “Path to Bloom - Italian Substack”
What this isn’t:
This is not a space for quick hacks or oversimplified advice. Equine science is complex, and I’m not interested in reducing it to clickbait or listicles.
Frequency:
I’ll publish when I have something worth saying, not on a rigid schedule. Quality over consistency.
Who I am:
I’m a neuroethologist, equine nutrition advisor, osteopath and physical therapist specialising in horses. My work integrates behavioural assessment with nutrition and manual therapies: maintaining as multidisciplinary an approach as possible across every front is very important to me, because I believe that addressing individual problems matters, but one should never lose sight of the bigger picture.
What’s next:
The next post will dive into allogrooming: why mutual grooming in horses affects physiology in a measurable way and it’s not just social behaviour. The post will also address what the research tells us about its welfare implications.
If this approach to equine science interests you, subscribe. If not, no hard feelings.
