The UK’s best-selling equestrian monthly
THE REAL COST OF A
ways to feel safer in the saddle
HORSE
COLIC
How does yours compare?
complete vet’s guide
Sylvia Loch explains
Lateral work
Winter feeding
How to check your horse’s
VITAL SIGNS
made easy
BANISH YOUR HORSE’S
CLIPPING FEARS
Show
jumping
WIN £3,300
warm-up plans GEAR GUIDE
Long riding boots
Rugging systems
ON TEST: Exercise sheets
Nov 2017
Winter coats
OF PRIZES!
£4.20
Issue number 572 November 2017 n Lateral work with Sylvia Loch n Vet’s guide to colic n Showjumping warm-up plans n The real cost of a horse n Banish clipping fears n 27 ways to feel safer in the saddle
27
IPN Consumer Magazine of the Year
As told to Kelly McCarthy-Maine. Photos: Bob Atkins. Venue: Tweseldown, Hampshire, tweseldown.co.uk. With thanks to rebeccahowardequestrian.com
In this feature. . .
➤ Warm-up
plans for different personality
Warm up for
SUCCESS How to design your own simple, effective warmup for a successful showjumping round with Olympic eventer, Rebecca Howard
B
y the time you head to the showjumping warm-up at a one-day event, your horse will have already warmed up and done a dressage test. This makes your job slightly different to at a pure showjumping competition, because you’re really just getting his body and mind ready to jump a fence, rather than starting from scratch with a cold horse. The most important thing to do when you arrive at the warm-up is check in with
20 HORSE&RIDER
the steward to let them know you’re there and find out how many horses there are in front of you. Depending on your specific plan, aim to start warming up when there are six to eight horses to go before you, which gives you around 12–16 minutes. If there are more than eight horses in front of you, find a spot out of the way and watch a couple of rounds. This will give you important information about how the lines are riding and if there are any bogey areas on the course.
➤
In the saddle
types ➤ How different warm-up fences can help your horse Our expert
UK-based Canadian eventer Rebecca Howard’s top 10 finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics made her the top female eventer at the Games. She’s ridden for Canada at Olympic, Pan-American and World Equestrian Games, and earned top 12 results at Badminton, Burghley, Kentucky and Luhmühlen. She rides Dream Kanyu, a six-year-old Irish Sport Horse bred and owned by Frank Gordon.
Our models
Danielle Searson moved from the USA in 2016 to take a working pupil position with Rebecca. She rides her own 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, No Comparison, who she’s eventing at BE100.
Victoria Voller is a working pupil for Lucinda Fredericks. She rides Moor Land Oscar, a sevenyear-old New Forest x Appaloosa eventing pony.
HORSE&RIDER 21
Our expert
With thanks to XLVets Equine for their help with this feature, xlvets-equine.co.uk
Dr Imogen Burrows BVetMed CertAVP(EM) MRCVS is a vet at Cliffe Equine Clinic, a member of XLVet Equine. She has a particular interest in respiratory problems, stud medicine and opthalmology.
Tummy troubles Colic can affect any horse at any time and it can be life-threatening. Vet Imogen Burrows, from Cliffe Equine Clinic, explains what signs to look for and what to do when it strikes
C
olic is one of those things all horse owners dread and most horses will suffer from at some point in their lives. It’s certainly common for vets to be called out for this problem, with around 7% of horses coming down with it each year. Many people think of colic as a condition in itself, but it’s actually just a term that describes abdominal pain or tummy ache and can have several causes. Horses have a limited number of ways they can express pain or discomfort and colic is a catch-all term for the behaviours generally associated with this type of pain. 66 HORSE&RIDER
Signs of colic Common signs associated with colic include...
● kicking at abdomen with hindlegs ● absence of droppings
● pawing the ground ● curling or lifting the upper lip (Flehmen response) ● trying to lie down ● rolling ● sweating ● flank watching ● loss of appetite ● standing as if to urinate (lordosis) ● unsettled behaviour such as constantly switching from resting one hindleg to the other
The signs vary between individuals, depending on how stoic they are and the degree of bowel distention, inflammation of the intestinal wall and compromise to the intestinal blood supply. Horses with an impaction usually appear dull, lose their appetite and won’t have passed droppings for several hours. Cases with a twisted bowel and an inflamed, bloated section of intestine that has a restricted blood supply are often in a huge amount of pain, responding very poorly to pain relief.
Ask a vet
Different types of colic Very broadly, colic can be separated into two categories – medical and surgical. Medical colic is defined as cases that don’t require surgical intervention as a part of treatment and includes... ● spasmodic colic, when the bowels contract abnormally causing intense, painful contractions ● ileus is where the gut movement slows significantly so food doesn’t move along it properly ● impaction is a blockage in the bowel, usually caused by a build-up of food ● false colics are cases of abdominal pain not caused by a problem in the gastrointestinal tract, such as equine exertional rhabdomyolysis (azoturia) or abortion Medical cases are by far the most common, accounting for 90–95% of all colics. Spasmodic and simple ileus cases with no specific diagnosis account for 80–85% of all colics, and impactions occur around 10% of the time.
DID YOU KNOW?
Fortunately, the vast majority of colics are simple cases, resolving either without veterinary attention roughly 30% of the time or after one veterinary treatment. Around 10–15% of colics are repeat cases, with some horses having multiple episodes each year.
Surgical colic occurs when medical treatment fails and surgery is needed to resolve the problem. Non-strangulating obstructions or strangulating diseases requiring surgery account for the approximately 5% of cases remaining... ● non-strangulating obstructions that require surgery include masses within the abdomen that compress the gut externally, preventing the passage of food, and masses within the bowel that can’t be cleared medically, such as a foreign body. ● strangulating disease occurs when the blood supply is cut off to a section of bowel and, if not treated, can rapidly progress to bowel death. Severe displacement of the bowel, or twisting of the gut around itself or another object, can lead to the bowel becoming strangulated. The intestine is supported in the abdomen by a thin, mesh-like structure known as the mesentery. Occasionally, tears can occur in this structure and the bowel may pass through these holes and become strangulated. Strangulating obstructions carry the highest fatality rate of all types of colic. Large colon torsions (twists) are the most common type of strangulating obstruction, with small intestinal strangulations the next most frequent.
➤ HORSE&RIDER 67
THE R£AL COST
of a horse Thinking about whether you can afford a horse or want to save money on your current costs? We’ve looked into four different types of livery to see how big a hole horses burn in our wallets
Photos: Jon Stroud
T
here’s no getting away from the fact that keeping a horse is expensive. But whenever anyone asks how much you actually spend, are you able to give them a real answer? Probably not. Most owners deal with how much their horse costs by burying their head in the sand and paying the bills as and when they arrive, without adding it all up – not a bad plan! But in all seriousness, knowing the real cost of looking after a horse is important – although a little eye-watering – whether you’re looking to get your own horse and need to consider if you can afford it or already have one and could do with making sure how you keep him is costeffective. We asked four horse owners who all keep their horses on different types of livery to get brave, add up their costs and let us know how much their beloved equines really cost them...
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Management know-how
DIY GRASS LIVERY
Elizabeth keeps her Welsh gelding, Simba, at grass. As he’s a hardy breed, he doesn’t need rugging in the winter and is able to go barefoot. Together they hack, school and go to Riding Club shows. As part of her livery, she has access to an outdoor school without floodlights.
AVERAGE COST PER MONTH Livery
Vaccinations Dentist Worming (inc FWEC) Saddler Physio Insurance Rug wash and repairs
Field £75 Stable £25 (optional, but Elizabeth uses it for storage) £3 (for emergency use) £7.50 £41 £10 £10 (barefoot trim every eight weeks) £5 (annually) £4 (annually) £4.60 £8.75 (four times a year) £8.33 (twice a year) £36 £0
Total cost per month
£238.18
Bedding Hay Feed Supplements Farrier
YE TOTAL COST PER
£2,858.16
AR
➤ HORSE&RIDER 107
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