HorseworldNews Charity stalwart wins prestigious award Heather Armstrong, one of the founders of The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, beat stiff competition to be crowned Animal Charity Volunteer of the Year at the Petplan and ADCH Animal Charity awards on 20 April. The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust was set up in 2002 by Heather and Stella Marsden. With only a handful of paid Gambian staff, the charity is run almost exclusively through volunteers, including Heather. It works to provide education to local people who depend on their equines for transport and farming, but unfortunately do not know or understand how to properly care for their animals. This amazing charity has built a road to enable the village to more easily reach the market and local town, provided more than 150 families with a donkey, and is now raising funds to build a second equine hospital and training centre. For more information about the awards, visit petplan.co.uk. To discover more about The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, visit gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk
Take up the Reins tour off to a winning start The Take up the Reins Tour of Great Britain began on 20 March at the Sport Relief Games, when more than 200 people came to #GetHorsey by trying out one of the mechanical horses at the stand. The British Equine Trade Association (BETA) devised the campaign, which is also supported by Hoof and the British Equestrian Federation, to encourage
more people to take part in the sport either in or out of the saddle. The hope is to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to connect with horses by riding, volunteering or attending equestrian events. The tour continues around the country until 9 October, at various venues across the UK. For more information, visit takeupthereins.co.uk
New scholarship scheme for young instructors The British Horse Society is hoping to encourage more people to progress their careers as riding instructors by offering the new BHS Instructors Development Scholarship. During the next five years, the BHS will invest ÂŁ250,000 into the 8 HORSE&RIDER
scheme, helping to support the cost of training for the BHS Stage Three and Preliminary Teaching Test exams, and paying the first year on the BHS Register of Instructors. As lack of finance can often prevent young instructors
progressing, the hope is to help them to train and gain industry experience, ensuring that they become well-rounded and knowledgeable in their teaching. For more information about this scheme, visit bhs.org.uk
Horseworld
Equine road safety campaign launched Anyone who has ridden on the roads has probably experienced a near miss with a motorist. Recognising the conflict between riders and drivers, The British Horse Society (BHS) has launched a campaign asking drivers to slow down to 15 miles per hour when passing horses, in an effort to combat the growing number of accidents. They’ve produced a video for drivers, demonstrating the correct way to pass a horse safely. The BHS is also campaigning for legislation to change, but in the meantime they’re urging drivers to make an instant change by slowing down when passing a horse on the road. As well as asking drivers to
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#thinkhorsethink
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A Serious about Safety tour is taking to the road this year. Continuing until late September, Harry Hall is bringing staff to various venues around the country offering free checks of all your safety equipment. They will explain safety standards, and improve the fit of your hat and body protector, as well as teaching you how to check for wear. For more information on venues, visit harryhall.co.uk/seriousaboutsafety
change, the BHS is also asking riders to ensure that they thank drivers for passing them responsibly. Spread the word of how to correctly pass horses on the road by watching and sharing the video, visit bit.ly/BHSroadsafety
Showing class for rescued and rehomed horses
Camel racing
Beverley Racecourse in Yorkshire is swapping horses for camels on 11 August this year in aid of Save The Children. Entries are open now if you’d like to take part in the race, but you must be an experienced rider, willing to pledge to raise at least £1,500 for the charity, and be able to attend the three training days prior to the event itself. All the money raised will go to Save The Children, and be used to help fund programmes to help prevent, control and treat diarrhoea in Pakistan, Nigeria and India. For more information, visit beverley-racecourse.co.uk
A new showing series for rescued and rehomed animals has been started by Hope Pastures, a small charity that rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes equines. The Rescued and Rehomed Showing Series aims to celebrate animals who have successfully been rescued and rehomed. Any rescued or rehomed animal can be entered, even if they haven’t been rescued via a charity. Entries should include a brief description of the equine’s history with before photos, if available. The series began in April, and will continue to hold monthly virtual qualifiers on Facebook and at local shows. The virtual qualifiers and the series final will be judged by an expert panel, including Horse&Rider’s Editor, Louise. The champion will receive £650-worth of prizes. To find out more, search for Hope Pastures on Facebook or visit hopepastures.org
Fundraising vets tour South Africa In August this year, 10 senior specialist vets will be undertaking a 12-day endurance motorbike ride to raise money to help improve the working conditions of children and working equines. Vets with Horsepower is aiming to raise £75,000 by riding from Johannesburg to Cape Town, travelling 2,500 kilometres in 12 days, stopping to provide 10 educational talks, five for local horse owners and five for other local vets. The team will spend
Time for a safety check
two days with the Bizana Project, which provides important vaccinations for rural equines, tack to replace makeshift headcollars and bridles, and healthcare advice for their owners. The money raised will be split between three charities – the Ethelbert Child and Youth Care Centre, the Bizana Project and the Highveld Horse Care Unit. For more information or to donate, search ‘vets with horsepower’ on Facebook.
Golden Horseshoe returns for 2017
Britain’s oldest endurance ride, The Golden Horseshoe, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. After a break in 2016 due to a change of organiser, the ultimate test of stamina is set to return in 2017. There are a few changes to the 100-mile ride itself – traditionally, it has been run during the week, however, it has been moved to a weekend date in the hope that this will increase entries.
➤ HORSE&RIDER 9
In the saddle
➤ Expose him to new experiences ➤ Deal with spooking during competition
spook
Stop the
Riding a spooky horse can make life very difficult, especially if you’re trying to achieve good marks in competition. International dressage rider Sune Hansen shares his top spook-busting tips
M
ost horses are quirky in one way or another and spooking seems to affect lots of horses. Learning how to deal with the spookiness in a way that doesn’t exacerbate the problem further is vital. Horses are flight animals and, as spooking is a completely natural response to stimulus that is frightening to them, it follows that you should never meet this response with aggression. Some horses are naturally spookier than others and it can be frustrating if your horse reacts dramatically. However, it’s important to remember that he’s not being stupid or naughty, or trying to annoy you, it’s a natural reaction.
Confidence is your best friend Spooky horses need a leader – a captain on board. If your horse is spooky, assess how you’re reacting to his behaviour. You need to tell him that it’s okay and that nothing bad is going to happen, and you can do this by... • keeping your seat relaxed • holding your hands steady • using your voice in a controlled manner to reassure him • continuing to ride him forward
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Spooking is a natural response
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Top tip
Before you start working on improving your horse’s spooking, have him checked over by your vet, and his teeth and saddle looked at to make sure there is nothing causing his behaviour.
One of the best techniques for a spooky horse is circles – and lots of them!
All ears and eyes on you
The more your horse is listening to your aids, the easier it will be for you to distract his attention away from the source of the spook. And the better your basics are, the better the chances of you getting past the ‘monster’. One of the best techniques for a spooky horse is circles – and lots of them! If your horse is in a new environment, or you know that he doesn’t like one end of the arena or he always makes a fuss when going past the pile of jumps, simply circle. First, make sure you’ve got him responsive and listening to you by staying away from the object and working on your basic schooling. Then gradually move your circle down the arena towards the spooky object. Practise lots of bending and lots of transitions, keep his attention on you and never ride him directly at the object he’s concerned about. When you notice his ears prick towards the object and he starts to bend his body away from it, he’s reacting to it and this is 22 HORSE&RIDER
what you want to avoid. Instead, try to anticipate what he’s going to react to. The moment he starts to react, circle him so that he’s still being made to work, and you’re in control of the direction and way of going, not him. It’s important, however, that you don’t ride away from the object and not return – stay near it. You’re not aiming to keep him away from it, you know it’s not going to hurt him, and you need to quietly and confidently prove to him that you’re right. Once you’ve ridden a circle and he’s listening to you, change direction and ride close to the spooky object again. Any response and you can circle, but don’t go to the other end of the arena. Be prepared to go past it a hundred times if necessary – each time you’re looking to get a little less reaction. Keep reassuring him, even if it’s just a scratch on the neck or a verbal confirmation of good behaviour.
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Equine
senses TASTE
At some point, we’ve all given our horses something nice to eat, only for them to turn their nose up at it. Vet Sophie Wilkinson from Fellowes Farm Equine Clinic explains why they’re so fussy
E
ver noticed your horse pulling a face of disgust, while spitting out the contents of his mouth? That’s his sense of taste, known as the gustatory sense, kicking in. It’s not quite as critical for survival as the other senses, however, along with his sense of smell, it Our expert helps to prevent him digesting anything harmful. This is important because your horse is unable to be sick, so he’s unable to remove harmful substances from his body once they’ve been swallowed. As an example, many plants that are poisonous to horses, such as ragwort, are thought to have a bitter taste that horses find unpleasant, so they don’t usually eat them. However, their sense of Sophie Wilkinson taste isn’t completely fail-safe because horses do BVetMed MRCVS joined sometimes eat harmful things – for example, they Fellowes Farm Equine will eat ragwort if they are hungry and there is Clinic, a member of little else to eat, or if it has been cut and dried, XLEquine, in 2014. She making it taste less unpleasant. So although he has has a particular interest a built-in mechanism to protect him, it’s important in equine lameness and to make sure your horse doesn’t have access to surgery. anything poisonous.
DID YO
Horses pre U KNOW? young pla fer the taste of nts to matu re ones.
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Ask a vet
The gustatory system This is how your horse’s gustatory system helps him decide whether something is safe to eat...
Taste bud
Taste pore Gustatory hairs Gustatory cell
DID YO
A study th U KNOW? impact of at assessed the fla selection vours on food fo most read und that the flavours w ily consumed banana, c ere fenugreek, h cumin, ca erry, rosemary, rrot, pepp ermint and oreg ano.
Nerve
Tongue
Horses’ taste buds are similar to ours and are situated on the tongue, soft palate and back of the throat, although the majority of them sit towards the back of the tongue. Taste buds are onion-shaped and measure approximately 0.2mm
across. They contain gustatory cells and each of these cells has a gustatory hair at the end, which protrudes through a little pore in the taste bud. The gustatory hairs detect taste chemicals and the gustatory cells send nerve impulses to the brain. The brain processes these impulses and assesses the information, then fires impulses back to the muscles in the mouth and tongue telling them whether to ingest it or spit it out.
➤ With thanks to XLEquine for their help with this feature, xlequine.co.uk
When food and drink enters the mouth, it passes over the tongue. If it has an unpleasant taste, it’s simply dropped out of the mouth rather than being swallowed, when it can no longer be rejected from the body.
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e of taste is so se Your horse’s sens fferences in the mineral content di even taste subtle lead him to not want to drink n ca is lematic of water. Th hich can be prob ur w e, m ho om fr you flavo water away often. However, if er if you travel him es ially-d igned wat ec sp or e ic ju e pl me, water with ap rse used to it at ho . ho ur yo t ge d an flavourings fferent water get him to drink di this will help you
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Our trainer
Photos: Trevor Meeks
Izzy Taylor is the latest in an eventing dynasty. Her grandmother was placed at Badminton, her mother rode for Britain at Young Rider level and her aunt won the first-ever Burghley horse trials. But Izzy’s success speaks for itself – she rode as an individual for Team GB at the 2013 and 2015 European Championships, coming sixth in 2015.
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Management know-how
NEW
Behind the
SERIES
tack room door
Ever wondered how top riders run their yards? Wonder no more, because Horse&Rider has been looking behind the tack room door to see how the professionals do it. This issue, we meet eventer Izzy Taylor
Stable management is as personal as the way you train your horse. While the basic principles remain the same, every yard and owner has their own preferences. But the goal is the same – to create an environment that ensures your horse is happy and healthy, and to develop a routine that is manageable, time- and cost-efficient.
I
run my eventing yard alongside my mother’s hunter livery yard on the Oxfordshire/Northamptonshire border. But rather than these two yards being run separately, as you might expect, my eventers and Mum’s hunters are stabled side-by-side. The horses are kept in the stable or barn that suits them best, rather than being in one block or
the other depending on what they do. It’s the same for my event stallion, KL Omar, too. He is stabled on the main yard among the other horses, and he knows what his role here involves – to be a competition horse. I expect my horses to be polite and respectful and, to that extent, he doesn’t get treated any differently. He is just one horse on a working yard. As a performance animal, I expect him to toe the line and he knows what we want of him. Then, when he goes away for stud duty, he knows, too, the difference between what is needed of him there. That side of his life happens not only in a different environment, but also at a different location. It’s really important that he knows to differentiate between his two different roles.
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