Horse Scene Magazine by Horse Scene

FRE E The No. 1 NATIONAL magazine

The benefits of clipping

September 2012

Improve your horses suppleness & flexibility

Exercises for the green horse

Win a day with Tim Stockdale

Worming myths dispelled

Master flying changes

WIN

Over £4,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!

Teach your horse to use his ‘Imagination’

Ahead of the herd

YouR No1 FREE MagazINE The old Tannery, 224 Spen Lane, gomersal, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire BD19 4PJ T: 01274 878755 • F: 01274 878754

Editor

Pascale armitage pascale@horsescenemagazine.co.uk

Advertising Manager

Inside this issue... 4

........ Horse talk

........ Letter scene

........ How the digestion system works

10 ...... Teach your horse to use his imagination 12 ...... New on the scene

Caroline Ludkin caroline@horsescenemagazine.co.uk

14 ...... Subscribe to Horse Scene

Subscriptions

16 ...... Improve suppleness & ﬂexibility

subscribe@horsescenemagazine.co.uk

Contributors

Dr.Hans Delaunois-Vanderperren Zoe Davies Laura Sanders Joanna Baxter Rosie Howard Selina Finneran Cathy Burrell

Published By MCL PUBLISHING

© MCL Publishing all contents are copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Whilst every eﬀort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted however caused. Contributed material does not necessarily reﬂect the opinion of the publishers. The Editorial policy and general layout of this publication are at the discretion of the publisher. No responsibility can be accepted for articles, photographs or illustrations whilst in transmission with the publishers.

............ Token Frenzy...collect your 3rd token

20 ...... WIN...a Super Codlivine hamper 22 ...... Clipping - it has it's beneﬁts 24 ...... Clippers & trimmers on the market 26 ...... Master ﬂying changes 28 ...... Worming myths dispelled

30 ...... Exercises for the green horse 32 ...... WIN...a day with Tim Stockdale + goodies 34 ...... WIN...a pair of Carl Hester gloves 36 ...... Bedding, stable & yard equipment 40 ...... Tack and gadgets

42 ...... Liver & kidney disease 46 ...... WIN...Giveaways up for grabs! 48 ...... Tried & tested...read our reviews 50 ...... Tack room break

HorseScene 3

Horsetalk New dressage ﬁlm 'The Equestrian'

Sybil H. Mair’s new short ﬁlm, The Equestrian, premieres on Horse & Country TV on Wednesday 14th November at 9pm and for

all keen equestrians, it’s one show not to be missed. This dark psychological drama stars young British actor, Layke Anderson, who plays talented dressage rider, Freddie Forester and James Wilby, who stars as his father. Our very own Olympic gold-medallist Carl Hester also makes a cameo appearance. Says Carl: “After the success at London 2012, I think it’s fantastic that a ﬁlm has been made about our sport. It deserves the recognition.” The Equestrian tells the story of Freddie and his black stallion, Gaius, who look set to take the dressage world by storm. However, when pride and vanity get in the way, things take a turn for the worse, and what was once a close partnership based on trust looks irreparable. The ﬁlm follows horse and rider’s emotional journey together as they work hard to get back on track. The team behind The Equestrian includes twice Oscar-nominated cinematographer, Tony Pierce Roberts and twice BAFTA-nominated editor Jon Gregory, as well as dressage composer Tom Hunt, who

has worked with top riders such as Michael Eilberg, Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester. Award-winning director Sybil Mair came up with the idea for the ﬁlm after watching her instructor training for a dressage competition. Believing that dressage is the ideal sport to portray the intimate relationship between horse and rider, she says: “I was going to adapt a short story about horse racing, but then I noticed something much more interesting and subtle was going on in a horse and rider dressage combination.” Equine star of the show is Gaius, who is played by Sandro’s Dancer, a stunning 16.2hh Swedish Warmblood. Owned by Rachel Struel and trained and competed by Stephanie Eardley, Sandro’s Dancer stands at Home Farm Stud, Hartpury in Gloucestershire, where most of the ﬁlm was shot. A son of the famous stallion Sandro Hit, he has competed and placed in international young horse championships, regional and national championships, at advanced medium level since starting his dressage career in 2010.

Talk one-to-one with olympic gold medallist and help a charity at the same time Scott Brash on his horse Hello Sanctos

donate contributions from a new initiative called ‘Dial a Celebrity’ to HorseWorld, to help fund its rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming work of over 100 ponies and donkeys yearly. People can speak to Scott one-to-one on the phone for £10 per minute, with a proportion of the money going direct to HorseWorld, the charity Scott has chosen to beneﬁt from his involvement in this initiative.

“Taking part in the Olympics was a fantastic experience, and I look forward to telling callers all about it” said Scott. During an interview with BBC presenter Clare Balding he made a cheeky comment that made the nation giggle: “Calls from the fairer sex are especially welcome!”

Members of the public have a unique opportunity to speak one-to-one with a GB Olympic gold medallist Scott Brash on the phone; whilst helping raise funds charity at the same time. Scott Brash won gold for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics in the equestrian show jumping has pledged to

‘Dial a celebrity’ features various celebrities including Frank Bruno, Loose Women’s Denise Welch and other reality TV stars as well as several footballing legends, who are all donating proceeds to charities. Following the team gold and the recent success of the Olympic Games ﬁnding out what is next for this world class competitor would be truly insightful and how he managed to reach the games on his ride Hello Sanctos, owned by Lady Pauline Harris and Lady Pauline Kirkham after little less than a year!

For more information about how to speak with Scott Brash go to http://www.dialacelebrity.co.uk/operatorproﬁle.html/34/Scott-Brash

Have you become a fan of Horse Scene’s

Page yet? If not, you’re missing out on

Competitions & Giveaways Up to date news Gossip & discussions ...and much more Join us today and become part of our on-line team

'Easy Care sheep' will help your grazing 'Easy Care Sheep' are a “lowmaintenance” breed that do not need shearing and are being promoted to horse owners to help control paddocks. The 'Maternal Sheep Group', launched last month to promote the breed, is a collective of 20 breeders from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Easycare sheep grows enough wool over the winter to

protect itself against the weather, but sheds it in spring, have fewer foot problems and lamb easily. Sheep grazed with horses can contribute to controlling worms in equines and give horse owners an excellent opportunity to utilise excess grass or rough ground. For more information visit www.maternalsheep.co.uk or www.easycaresheep.com

Ride-away from home with this season’s catalogue Ride-Away’s new autumn/winter catalogue is available now and has over 250 pages packed with the best products that the equestrian industry has to oﬀer. The latest version contains a host of hand picked country clothing items and riding wear from leading manufacturers and for horses, over 20 pages of this season’s rugs ensure that horses and riders are well dressed and warm during this autumn and winter. The new catalogue is broken into nine sections: country clothing, riding wear, footwear, horsewear, horse and stable care, saddles, saddlery, dog equipment and giftware making it easy to read and ﬁnd exactly what you are looking for and new product lines have also been added as well as the new DVD and book releases. In addition to the catalogue, customers can also order through the telephone, by fax, online, through the mobile website, by post and by visiting

the store which is ten miles north of York. In addition to the twice yearly catalogue, RideAway also distributes bimonthly e-mail promotions featuring the latest products and special oﬀers, and has an active Facebook page. The new autumn/winter catalogue is available now and can be obtained free by visiting www.rideaway.co.uk or by phoning 01347 810443.

Worming goes mobile To help horse owners on the move Merial Animal Health, manufacturer of Eqvalan and Eqvalen Duo, has launched a new mobile version of the excellent ‘SMART worming planner‘. Free to download at mobile.smartworming.co.uk, the app allows you to access your horse’s worming planner whilst ‘out and about’, to make it easier to discuss details of your horse’s needs with your veterinary surgeon or Animal Health Adviser (SQP).The app also allows you to add your horse’s weight to help you calculate how much wormer to administer if treatment is required. Providing an accurate dose of wormer is vital to ensure it works correctly and to reduce the likelihood of resistance developing. Alongside the new mobile app, Merial is also repeating its popular Autumn special oﬀer, providing a free Dodson and Horrell weigh tape (while stocks last) with purchases of Eqvalan Duo - licensed to treat more species and stages of parasite than any other spring and autumn wormer, including tapeworms.

HorseScene 5

letterscene

Write to: Letter Scene, Horse Scene Magazine, The old Tannery, 224 Spen Lane, gomersal, Cleckheaton BD19 4PJ or email: letters@horsescenemagazine.co.uk

The starletter will win a pair of

olympia Full Seat Breeches

! 44.99 1 £ h Wort

Features four-way stretch schoeller fabric for maximum comfort and mobility, stretch Clarino full seat, front zip and unique hand pocket design with piping eﬀect. Ariat’s patented V3 system in the waist and CFS (Calf Fit System) ensure these breeches not only perform in the saddle but look great too. Available in white, beige, navy, black or truﬄe in sizes 22-36.

www.ariat-europe.com

Thank you for inspiring me

I would like to thank you for your great ‘’Trick Training “ articles that have been running in several issues. The articles have given me conﬁdence to try new things with my horse and we both enjoy spending time together mastering these tricks. Horses need to try new things to stimulate their minds, but us horse owners sometimes need to try new things to put freshness back in to our hobby. It is so easy to get in to a routine of doing the same tasks all the time and it becomes boring for the horse and the owner too. Me and my horse now have a better relationship and it is fun and new for us both - so thank you for inspiring me to give them a go. ashley glebe - Nottingham

HotsHot Vicky Baker's pony 'Chance' is known to the vets as a miracle pony. against all odds he has come back to work after a broken spine. We were told to put him to sleep 6 months ago - 1 week ago he did his ﬁrst jump. He is pictured with his dedicated rider Emily. and.. ‘Chance’ with his best friend ‘Blue’

Want to be next months HOT SHOT? send your picture to hotshot@horsescenemagazine.co.uk

6 HorseScene

star letter Against the odds As a regular reader of your magazine, I wanted to share my experience with you all. My nightmare started when I went to the yard to find my 13year old Cob X mare ‘Guinness’ had colic. I urgently called the vet and they were with me within the hour; they gave her a full examination and two injections. An hour past and Guinness was still in a lot of pain and exhausted from walking around. The vet examined her again and said she had a blockage and they needed to operate quickly. My heart sunk, I had owned Guinness 12 years and she has never had any thing wrong with her! I bravely choose to operate and this is where the challenges began. Guinness doesn’t travel well on the best of days, so we padded out the trailer, sedated her and off we went. On arrival at the surgery her bloods were taken and it looked very bad, her liver was only working 17% and her body was shutting down. The vets advised me to have her ‘put to sleep’ as there was only a 20% chance she would make it. Bursting into tears I looked at Guinness and it was like she bravely looked at me. I said “Do it, operate! I gave her a kiss and off she went. After two anxious hours the vet called; astonishingly Guinness has made it! Clinically she should have died, but mentally she made it. A week later and after some fantastic veterinary care, she was allowed to come home. I was so proud of her; she clearly wanted to live, my own little war horse. Even against the odds I choose to give her the chance. Guinness is on the road to recovery with 10 weeks box rest and lots of cuddles. Sometimes the impossible can be possible. A big thank you to my wonderful trooper of a horse Guinness and Rase veterinary Team. Kim Turner and guinness - Lincolnshire

Clean up your act

I am really annoyed at the lack of ‘council support’ regarding ragwort. The biggest harbourer of ragwort is the council themselves making it a never ending problem for landowners to keep on top of the problem when roadside verges and pockets of waste land are allowed to go to seed year on year without being removed. It is there heavily growing crop of ragwort which IS seeding and blowing on to adjoining land where horses graze that makes the spread of ragwort worse! My land backs on to council property which is always ﬁlled with ragwort. Year on year I ring to get them to remove it, but this year I was told the “funds would be redirected elsewhere“, so I had to pull the weed from the council property myself! It is not up to the public to get rid of ragwort on council property - we pay enough to the council as it is! Under the Weeds Act 1959 the occupier of land should take action to prevent the spread of common ragwort. The council need to clean up their act and quick! grace Smithson - Yorkshire

The digestive system – HOW DOES IT WORK? Our expert Zoe Davies Msc.Eq.S.,R.Nutr. A qualified and highly experienced Equine Nutritionist, Zoe is one of only a handful of Registered Equine Nutritionists in the UK today. Zoe is able to offer independent advice across the full range of feeds and feed supplements available commercially. She has over 25 years of experience in equine nutrition and offers advice to feed companies, supplement manufacturers and their customers, she also undertakes veterinary referrals and diet and forage analysis.

All horses and ponies from the Shetland to the Shire, including the Thoroughbred are non ruminant herbivores or hindgut fermenters. The natural feeding pattern of horses involves endless and varied grazing, eating small amounts often. Horses will spend up to 60% of the day grazing if allowed to do so. This is known as "trickle" feeding and the horse’s digestive tract is ideally suited to this feeding pattern. The natural diet of horses consists of grasses and vegetation containing large amounts of chemical substances including the components cellulose and hemicellulose, more commonly known as digestible ﬁbre. Horses are completely unable to break down this cellulose to release the energy within and require the assistance of billions of microorganisms in its hind gut to perform this task and release the inherent energy supply instead.

Structure of the gut The function of the digestive system of the horse is to take in food, break it down and remove nutrients from it to use within the body for living, working, reproducing etc. It takes approximately 65-75 hours for food to pass through the entire length of the gut. The digestive system is about 100 feet long from the mouth to the anus. The horses digestive system tends to be split into two parts namely, the foregut and the hindgut.

8 HorseScene

The digestive system of the adult horse The foregut consists of the mouth, oesophagus, stomach and small intestine and this is the area where mostly enzymic digestion occurs (i.e. enzymes are secreted into the gut to break down food and release the nutrients from it). The hindgut consists of the Large Intestine, which in turn is split into the caecum, large colon, small colon and rectum. The hindgut is the important area of fermentation, where micro-organisms break down cellulose and hemicellulose (ﬁbre) and produce energy giving substances known as volatile fatty acids or VFA’s. The digestive tract starts at the mouth. The horse grazes by carefully selecting food with the highly mobile lips and then cropping it with the incisor teeth. The food is then passed via the tongue, to the back of the mouth where the molars start to grind down the food material by chewing. Horses produce about 10-12 litres (3 gallons) of saliva per day. Although it has little if any digestive activity, it wets and lubricates the food. Food or water cannot return to the mouth from the oesophagus because the soft palate blocks its path. The epiglottis (a muscular ﬂap) also closes over the top of the trachea (wind pipe) to prevent food going into the lungs. A muscle known as the cardiac sphincter regulates the opening of the oesophagus (tube between the mouth and stomach) into the stomach. Once food has passed into the stomach it cannot be regurgitated back, so unlike humans, the horse is unable to vomit.

Presence of food in the nostrils may indicate a ruptured stomach. The stomach of the horse is small compared to that of other animals. It comprises about 8-10% of the total digestive tract and holds about 7-9 litres (2 gallons). The empty stomach is roughly the same size as a rugby ball. Feeding large concentrate feeds to a horse can lead to severe problems such as labored breathing and fatigue or worse still, laminitis, colic, gastric ulcers or a ruptured stomach. The small stomach simply does not have the capacity to, nor is it designed to handle a large feed. The stomach does actually have a small microbial population which allows a small amount of digestion to take place. Acid secretions in the stomach help to kill any bacteria which may have been eaten with the food. Chewing of food, results in the production of large quantities of saliva being produced. This is alkaline and helps to neutralize the acidic environment of the stomach, as the saliva is swallowed. This results in marked variations in the acidity of the food in various regions of the stomach. Chewing is therefore vital to neutralise stomach acid and reduce possible damage to stomach lining which high levels of acid can cause. Food material is only in the stomach for a short time and this limits the amount of digestion which can take place. It is in the less acidic regions of the stomach that some bacterial breakdown of food (or fermentation) occurs resulting in a small amount of lactic acid.

Gastric ulcers are common in racehorses in training, with more than 50% suffering from the condition. This has been associated with high levels of gastric acid production often seen in horses on high levels of grain based feeds. High fibre rations reduce the incidence of gastric ulcers and horses with ulcers, when turned out to pasture mostly recovered quite quickly. The length of the small intestine in the horse is approximately 20-27m (6588 feet) with a capacity of 55-70 litres (12-16 gallons). It runs between the stomach and the caecum. The small intestine is split into three different parts, namely the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The small intestine can move quite freely within the abdominal cavity except at its attachment to the stomach and the caecum. It lies in several coils with the small colon. This is the major site of enzymic breakdown of concentrate food such as starch protein, fat, some vitamins and minerals and their absorption. Although the enzymes in the stomach need an acidic environment, the opposite is true of the small intestine. Here the enzymes require alkaline conditions. This alkalinity is achieved by the secretion of pancreatic juice from the pancreas and bile from the liver. The horse does not have a gall bladder in which to store bile, instead bile trickles continuously into the duodenum from the liver via the bile duct. This suits the horse’s natural pattern of almost continual grazing or feeding. The rate of passage of food through the small intestine is relatively rapid and food will reach the caecum in just over an hour. Non-fibrous, soluble foods will be substantially digested in this short period through the action of digestive enzymes. The large intestine is made up of the caecum, large colon, small colon and the rectum. The large intestine is approximately 8 metres (25 feet) long. Although the foregut of the horse is similar to other simple stomached animals, the hindgut is remarkably different. It is in the horse’s hind gut that fibre is broken down. Fibre refers to cellulose and hemicellulose found in plant cell walls. The horse itself does not have any enzymes such as cellulase which are needed to break down these complex substances. Some micro-organisms however are able to breakdown cellulose and hemicellulose by a process of fermentation. The horse has a greatly enlarged large intestine which accommodates a vast number of these microorganisms and these are able to release the "locked" energy, providing nutrients to the horse. In return the micro-organisms are provided with a safe environment in which to live. These micro-organisms are extremely susceptible to sudden changes in diet. They thrive on a consistent ration and a sudden change in ingredients could result in colic or diarrhoea. More than half the dry weight of faeces produced by the horse is bacteria! The amount of micro-organisms in the digestive tract of the horse is huge, numbering more than ten times all the tissue cells in the horse’s body. The caecum is a large blind-ended, comma shaped sac situated at the end of the small intestine with a capacity of approximately 25-35 litres (6-8 gallons). The caecum acts as a large fermentation vat where fibrous parts of the food are mixed with the micro-organisms and the digestible fibre from forage is broken down. These micro-organisms also synthesize B vitamins for use by the horse. The Large colon is approximately 3-4 metres long (10-13 feet) and has a capacity of 90-110 litres (20-24 gallons). The large intestine is only held in place by its bulk. At certain points, it changes in direction and narrows at the same time. These points are known as flexures and not surprisingly, they are vulnerable to blockages, which can result in colic. The digesta reaches the caecum approximately 3 hours after a meal and remains in the large intestine for 36-48 hours. The small colon is 3-4 meters long (10-13 feet) but is narrower than the large colon. The small colon lies intermingled with the jejunum and as it is fairly free to move it can lead to abdominal crises such as a twisted gut. Most of the water from the digesta is reabsorbed here, before the undigested food residues and dead bacterial cells are moved to the rectum, prior to evacuation as droppings.

PART 7

It’s a

TRICK

Teach your horse to use their imagination Our expert Rosie Howard first became involved in Equestrian Vaulting in 1995 and competed on the British Team for several years. Regularly performing in many horse displays, both nationally and internationally, Rosie is also a Level Two Equestrian Vaulting Coach. Combining her love of performance with all the skills she has gained over the past seventeen years, she is now the founder and performer of 'Galloping Acrobatics'. If you have been following the series of articles on trick training, you and your horse should have an accomplished little repertoire of tricks. One of the most important elements in trick training, and which we are going to cover in this issue, is to make sure your horse enjoys what they're doing. Although this article is titled 'Teach your horse to use their imagination', it should really be called 'Let your horse be themselves, encourage their odd behaviour quirks, put a cue to these quirks and turn them into performance behaviours' – but that's a bit of a mouthful! All horses are individuals and must be treated as such. They will all have different paces at which they learn and different techniques which suit their style of learning better. One of the joys of trick training is that there are no hard and fast rules and you are not aiming for a behaviour that will ever be judged at a competitive level – therefore there is no pressure! It is purely an activity which you and your horse can enjoy together, and enjoy it you both should. Every horse has their own funny behavioural quirks, and these are often very comical. The very first thing I taught my horse 'Tinker' was based on one of these quirks. I bought him as an unbroken four year old stallion, so the first thing I did was introduce the headcollar and bridle to him. I very quickly noticed that whenever either of

10 HorseScene

these went on or oﬀ his head he would yawn. Great big yawns, with his mouth as wide open as he could get it. I started to put a cue to these yawns (a double kissing noise) just before I knew he was about to do it, and then marking and rewarding each yawn. Before long Tinker was yawning on demand, and six years later this is one of his strongest tricks!

Before long Tinker wa s yawning on demand

My other horse 'Casper' had a tendency as a young horse to sniﬀ everything before curling his top lip right up. Once again, I put a cue to this (I hold my index ﬁnger up and say 'smile') and marked and rewarded every time the behaviour occurred. After a short while Casper was smiling on cue, a trick that always goes down well!

was after a short while Casper cue on g smilin

Horses have fantastic imaginations – we all know they can see scary black monsters instead of bin bags, and that

butterflies and slightly different coloured patches of grass are the most terrifying things in the world. You need to be able to recognise when your horse has ideas of their own and judge whether they can be utilised. During your training sessions your horse will come up with alternative suggestions as to what they should be doing. Whilst you need to focus on your goal (the trick you are currently working on), you can pay attention to their point of view and see if it can be developed. For example, whilst I was teaching 'Casper' to catch, the first time the cloth fell on the floor and he instantly put his nose down to it on the floor, nuzzling it. From there it was an easy step to teach him to pick it up – very handy when he does accidentally miss it! Another example is one of 'Tinker's' ideas. I was in the middle of a training session with him when my phone rang. As I held the phone to my ear Tinker was obviously intrigued as to what it was and started nuzzling it. This has now developed into him 'whispering' into my ear (he follows my hand with his mouth up to my ear and nuzzles it – it looks like he's whispering to me), which we currently use in the show, much to the audiences' amusement! Allowing your horse the freedom of expression, and positively encouraging and rewarding such behaviour will ultimately lead to your horse enjoying their training, which should in turn mean you get much more out of your relationship yourself. Horses are expensive, time consuming animals to keep, and it is very easy to get wrapped up in your goals and forget to have fun with them and enjoy the time you have with them. Trick training is a fantastic way to enhance your relationship with your horse, which I hope anyone following these series of articles has realised. There really is no limits to what you and your horse can achieve – just follow your instincts, use your own and your horse's imaginations, and the possibilities are endless!

New

on the

A walk in the country

The new ‘K*TY Oracle Leather Country Boots’ are effortlessly stylish, combining both fashion and comfort. The on trend lace up detail on the outside of the boot enables you to customise the fit of the boot to suit your calf. The boots are a pull on style, yet they feature a zip up the rear which widens the calf area allowing the wearer to easily slip the boots on and off. Other features include a top strap with Velcro closure, a soft lining and a durable yet lightweight rubber sole with a comfortable padded insole. The leather has been treated to make it water resistant and the boots are perfect for wearing around the yard or countryside. Available in Black or Brown, in sizes 2-9. Priced around £72.99. available to buy online at www.equestrianclearance.com

Stylish choice The new ‘Dublin Candice Hoodie’ is a soft and comfortable half button hooded sweatshirt with front pockets, a contrast colour button placket and shield logo. It’s perfect for layering and wearing around the yard on those cold winter mornings and is available in Elderberry/Grape/Ash or Black/Taupe/Burnt Red, in sizes S-XL. Priced around £39.99. Visit www.dublinclothing.com to locate your nearest stockist.

12 HorseScene

scene

Earth conscious sportswear is here!

Dutch equestrian apparel brand Equirex has launched its range of high quality, earth conscious equestrian sportswear into the UK equestrian market. The company’s range of breeches, jackets and casual riding tops combine comfort and style with earth conscious materials such as certified organic cotton, pure merino wool and Blue Sign fabrics. Whilst the apparel has been made to have less environmental impact, the design and fabrics used are flattering, comfortable, elegant and great to wear. Merino wool, a key element in the Equirex range, is the ultimate equestrian sports fabric due to its natural ability to wick moisture, breathe and regulate body temperature, it does not absorb the smell of the horse and stable and, to top it off, it’s very comfortable to wear. One of the items in the range is the Equirex Merino Jacket which is made from 100% merino wool and is ideal for everyday wear. Available in Spring Blue, Midnight Blue and Antra, in sizes XS-XL. Priced at £117.50. The stylish collection is available to view and buy at www.equirex.nl

A rug that has it all The new ‘WeatherBeeta Original 1000D Stretch Combo Heavy’ offers extra strong WeatherBeeta quality and protection with maximum freedom of movement, in a traditional, combo neck style. The outer is waterproof and breathable with a super strong 1000 denier four way stretch fabric across the neck, shoulders and back for maximum movement, and a strong 600 denier bottom panel. A heavy 360g of fill makes this rug suitable for the coldest winter days, while the rug is also packed full of great features; a combo neck, breathable ‘wick-easy’ lining to keep your horse dry and comfortable, an extra large tail flap for added protection from the weather, hardwearing steel fittings, reflective detailing to help spot your horse at night, adjustable twin chest straps and adjustable removable web/elastic leg straps that stretch and move with your horse. Available in sizes 5’6-7’0 and is priced around £139.99. Visit www.weatherbeeta.com to locate your nearest stockist.

What’s your discipline? The new ‘Diva Collection Hoodies’ from Bling Equestrian have launched with an exciting new theme. Every hoodie in the collection is a ‘diﬀerent diva’ so if you're a Jumping Diva, Dressage Diva, Showgirl Diva or simply just a Horse Diva - let everyone know in these top of the range hoodies. The luxurious, top quality hoodies are made to perfection with high quality print that wont fade! Features include a double fabric hood with draw cords, ribbed cuﬀs and hem, a kangaroo pouch and twin stitch detail. To make the hoodies 'extra special' two interlocking silver horseshoes sit perfectly on the kangaroo pouch while the main “Diva Slogans'' take centre stage across the chest in glitter print. Available in sizes S-XL so everyone can be a Diva! Buy online at www.blingequestrian.co.uk

Eliminate odours and bacteria easily

The new Lincoln Stable Powder is a must have product to have around the stable yard. This natural, antibacterial, deodorising powder removes odours from the stable improving the overall air quality, making it a more comfortable environment for the horse. It not only absorbes moisture, it also eliminates the irritating smell of ammonia and reduces the build up of bacteria. Available in a 4kg tub and is priced around £13.99. Visit www.battles.co.uk/lincoln to locate your nearest stockist.

Horsescene S U B S C R I B E T O D AY

• Never miss an issue • Enjoy delivery direct to your door • only £25 (to cover 12 months p+p)

'%&'

FREE Belstane organiser Bag

with every subscription

,000 Over £4 of worth prizes up s! for grab

Tel: 01274 878755 or

www.horsescenemagazine.co.uk

WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN

tokeN frenzy NuuMed Saddle Pads - you will win...

1 x NuuMed HiWither Everyday Saddlepad

• Best lightweight non wool pad on the market • Made from quality quilt • Superbly shaped • Very smart Colour choice: White. Size choice: S-XL Style choice: GP, Dressage or Close Contact

1 x NuuMed HiWither Everyday Suedette Saddlepad

• Made from suedette soft to the touch fabric • Superbly shaped • Looks very smart Colour choice: Denim, Baby Pink or Meadow Green. Size choice: S-XL Style choice: GP, Dressage or Close Contact

tokeN 3

• Keeps your saddle looking at its best Colour choice: Lilac, Navy or Sky Blue Style choice: GP or Dressage

PLuS... Both saddlepads will be embroidered with your initials!

# S12

1 x NuuMed Fleece Saddlecover

How to Enter: To be in with a chance of winning, collect the ''tokens'' from the July, August and September issues. Once all 3 tokens have been collected, send them along with your name, address and contact number to: Token Frenzy, Horse Scene Magazine, The old Tannery, 224 Spen Lane, gomersal, West Yorkshire, BD19 4PJ Please visit our website for full terms and conditions.

IMPRoVe

suppleness and flexibility

Our expert Selina Finneran is a British Show Jumping Accredited Coach, BHSAI and a UKCC Level 3 Show jumping SpeciďŹ c Coach. Selina has competed for many years, having represented Great Britain numerous times, been selected for the European Young Riders Team and ridden at top level ranking in the top 50 UK Riders. She was also ranked top 5 Young Riders and has competed many times at HOYS and RIHS. Since qualifying as a Coach, Selina has assisted with British Young Rider Training, Coached 3 Junior Academys and is in high demand throughout the Country and Europe with pupils from all areas. Her numerous pupils include riders at local level to riders aiming for British Team Selection.

16 HorseScene

Flexibility and suppleness of the competition horse or pony is crucial to success aside from the technical side of show jumping. The horse is an athlete and just like a human athlete, the more ﬂexible and supple he is gives him the best chance to perform to his best ability. aRE You ‘THE RIDER’ FLEXIBLE & SuPPLE?

EXERCISE 1

I think before I move on to the horse, it is important to mention that the rider should also be as supple and flexible as their horse. We often spend hundreds of pounds on ensuring that our horse has physio, dentist, expensive diets, the perfect shoes etc. that we forget to look after ourselves just as much. I highly recommend that a rider sees a physio just as often as their horse to ensure that they are not creating any problems and to be as fit as we would expect our horse to be. I’m not saying that you need to be in the gym for hours a day, but one great exercise for riders is Pilates classes. They help to improve core stability and strength, flexibility in joints and relaxation techniques. So, find a good sports physio in your area and join a pilates class and you will be surprised at the results!

You need to be supple & ﬂexible too, a great exercise is pilates.

One basic exercise that is very simple doesn’t even require the rider to be on the horse. Lunging the horse once a week is a great exercise as long as it is done correctly; it is no use having a horse careering round any old how on the end of the lunge line with you hanging on! I was once very fortunate to watch the famous dressage rider Jenny Loristan-Clarke work a horse on the lunge and it is amazing what good work you can do, if done correctly. I’m sure an internet search could bring up some videos of her clinics if you want to see good lungeing in action!

a SuPPLE & FLEXIBLE HoRSE There are so many exercises to help improve ﬂexibility and suppleness that I can only list a couple here. The help of a good dressage trainer would be very beneﬁcial. Our very own British Olympic Dressage Rider, Richard Davison, was instrumental in helping many of our British Team Riders with their horses before the Olympics in London this year and a lot of riders put our successes down to his input. So, if it is good enough for them!

Ideally, you should have the horse in a lunge cavesson over a bridle and a roller with loops for you to pass the lunge line through. Also side reins, but not on too tight that they are restricting the horse, nor too loose that they are not doing anything. They should be taught, but not tight when attached to the roller and then to the bit when the horse’s head is in his normal carriage. They should ’never’ be used to ‘pull the horse’s head in’ as this will make him tense through his back and defeat the object of the session. Ideally you would also have two lunge lines – one to the near side from the cavesson through the roller loop and to your hand and the other on the off side again from the cavesson through the surcingle loop and then passed around the back of the horse, resting loosely above the hocks and in to your other hand. If you have not done this before then I would recommend you ask someone to show you how to do it on a horse that is used to being lunged on two lines before you move on to a youngster, as it can be quite a difficult technique to master at first and the last thing you want is a young horse to be spooked while you fumble around with handfuls of lunge lines; it can easily develop in to a dangerous situation for both horse and rider.

HorseScene 17

EXERCISE 2 After you have mastered the lunging, you can introduce some long reining in walk to get the horse listening to you. When you feel confident that your horse is not going to set off with you ‘skiing behind’, try a little trot with long reins. From here you can then walk backwards, gradually positioning yourself in the centre of a circle and bring the off side or ‘outside’ lunge line gently around the back of the horse – again remembering that this line rests above the hock loosely, but not trailing on the floor. So, now the inside line acts as your inside hand and leg and vice versa with the outside line.

EXERCISE 3 A very simple way of ensuring your horse stays flexible and supple is to make sure you do some flatwork at least 3 times per week; remember a show jumping course is about 75% on the flat and the actual jumps are only a small part. Easy exercises include lengthening and shortening the stride, incorporating 20 metre and 10 metre circles in your routine and serpentines etc. You don’t have to do a dressage test, but something more than just going round in the school one way and then the other; remember there is a difference between working the horse and simply exercising him.

From here, you can work on some simple transitions from walk to trot then trot to canter etc. Don’t forget that your voice is important to give commands. You can ensure you have hock engagement with the outside line and create bend with the inside line. Once you are confident, you can introduce some cavallettis to your lunge work on the circle. Starting with just the one, you can use the length of the cavalletti to increase or decrease the size of your circle; making the horse work harder and flex his hocks more. You can then add in more cavallettis, again in to the ‘clock face exercise’ (as described in last months article) increasing and decreasing the size of your circles gradually; not forgetting transitions as well to ensure the horse is listening. Don’t forget to do both reins and change the rein by moving away from the cavalettis going back to a circle, gradually moving backwards towards the horse’s quarters bringing both lines parallel. From here you will find yourself in the long rein position again, so simply change the rein as above and continue on the other rein. Of course there is an easier option if you think you will struggle with two lunge lines and that is to use a Pessoa or similar training aid. This will come with instructions on how to put it together on the horse and then it will do a similar job as the two lines. Personally, I think using two lines is more effective and you have more control on how your horse is working, but using the training aid is a much easier option!

EXERCISE 4 I like my horses to be very supple and flexible, so I try to train them to do some of the more advanced dressage movements. I usually start training the horse some simple leg yield from the quarter line to the track. In this exercise, you want the horse to move sideways to the track, keeping his body, head and neck parallel with the sides of the school crossing his front and back legs at the same time as he moves sideways. Another way of describing this exercise would be to think of transferring the ‘forward’ motion energy of your horse to ‘sideways‘. He will then use the muscles behind the saddle as well as his hocks. I usually start in walk, keeping the reins parallel, move both hands towards the track, whilst applying your inside leg to instruct the horse to move over towards the track. In this exercise be careful that you don’t pull on one rein more that the other or the horse will bend his neck inwards and fall shoulder first towards the track. Also, make sure that as you apply the leg the horse doesn’t just speed up – remember you are transferring the energy sideways with an instruction from your leg. It is also important that the rider continues to look directly forward and keeps the body as straight as possible in the saddle as it is very tempting to start dropping the hip and shoulder towards the track whilst attempting to get the horse to move across. This is where arena mirrors come in very handy to ensure that you are sitting correctly and you will also be able to see how well your horse is moving. From here move up to trot and then try to move your horse away from the track to the quarter line; this he will find more difficult as he is naturally inclined to want to go to the track. Then, when you are really well practised, you can come down the centre line and move sideways off the centre line in each direction; all the while remembering to keep the horse’s body, head and neck parallel to the track. So, leg yield is a great way to start the horse off with some exercises for suppleness, but it is also useful to get the horse listening to your leg commands. This is extremely helpful when training your horse further movements such as shoulder in, quarters in, half pass, flying changes and canter pirouettes – and yes even me, a showjumper, has trained my horses to do all these movements and more!

18 HorseScene

UNIQUE ANTIBACTERIAL WOUND BOOTS

Contains activated carbon with silver Treat and prevent Bacterial skin conditions and treat minor wounds 100 % success rate against Mud Fever and Pastern Dermatitis Recommended by Vets Enhance wound healing rates Can be washed and reused Indoor use only

BEFORE

AFTER

For more information

07775577165 info@equimedag.co.uk

WIN

WIN WIN 7 up for grabs!

Hamper

We have teamed up with Super Codlivine to oﬀer 7 lucky winners the chance to win one of these great hamper sets. Each winner will win....

The Complete Supplement 2.5 kg Bucket + Reﬁll Pack A balanced, broad spectrum, blend of vitamins, minerals and trace elements, together with cod liver oil to optimise health and well being. Based on the ﬁnest available grass meal to closely mimic the horse’s natural diet. Bursting with health and vitality - improving coat and hoof condition. No other nutritional supplement will be required. Makes horses feel good on the inside and look good on the outside.

Super Codlivine The Joint Liquid

Super Tasty Herb Sticks

Targeted joint aid that really hits the spot. Contains both cod liver oil and evening primrose oil. Rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids including GLA, DHA and EPA. Regular use of this product will help maintain mobility and ease stiﬀness to sustain an active life.

The natural way to treat your horse; containing a blend of 7 ﬁne herbs including marjoram, sage and chamomile. The easy way treat a horse as nature intended; your horse will love them!

20 HorseScene

CLIPPING ...it has it’s benefits

Clipping your horse depends on may factors, but one of the most important is the amount of work your horse does throughout the winter months. Here we look at when to clip, the beneﬁts and what type of clip you should consider….

Our Expert Laura Sanders (BHSAI, INT SM Reg’d) has a wealth of experience gained over a lifetime of working with her own & client's horses. She has had extensive training within the BHS and externally by world renowned trainers in all disciplines, while also being a fully qualified groom. A horse in his natural state has all the protection he needs against the winter weather. However, for horses that are in regular work, a winter coat can become a hindrance, causing them to sweat heavily and it is often difficult to do more than light hacking before they need some or all of their winter coat removed. By clipping a horse you can minimise sweating and enable him to cool and dry quicker and more effectively. Clipping therefore not only cuts down on grooming time, but can also prevent a horse from catching a chill in cold weather. Horses in the wild grow long, thick protective coats essential during the winter. They are better at staying warm than cooling off. Their bodies are designed differently to humans and can generate and store heat. As free roaming grazing animals they are constantly on the move, keeping warm and searching for new pasture, however humans have asked them to work and perform in ways that nature never envisaged. Humans have created an unnatural winter environment by stabling horses out of the elements, feeding well, and providing warmth through stable/turnout rugs. The extra protection of a winter coat is no longer needed and can sometimes do more harm than good, especially if your horse is being asked to work regularly. Leaving a long thick coat on a horse that is stabled or a horse that is often exercised can cause skin and health problems and keeping a horse in good condition can become very difficult. Being too hot can actually cause a horse to lose condition, even whilst he is being correctly fed.

In the UK horses and ponies begin to lose their thin summer coats as early as August and grow a thick dense coat through the autumn as their bodies prepare for the winter. This coat serves them well in the cold, wet, windy weather. How thick/ long your horses coat grows depends on a number of factors; temperature and weather conditions, if the horse is grass/stable kept or a combination, breed, age and general health.

When to clip your horse

Depending on the breed and the amount of work your horse does, most horses have their ﬁrst clip in September or October. Native and heavier breeds tend to grow a thicker coat in the early autumn, which can lead to excessive sweating if September proves to be mild. From September to December, the coat will grow quickly and within a few weeks clip marks will disappear and the coat will get thick and need clipping once again. For most horses two or three clips throughout the winter will be ample. Although it is less common, some horses, particularly competition horses, are clipped all year round to help keep them cool and minimise sweating. Older horses are often clipped out in the summer months as some do not lose their winter coat properly. Excessive coat growth or retention of the coat during summer should be brought to the attention of your vet as this can be indicative of certain other problems generally associated with older horses. If you only clip your horse during the winter months, the last clip of the year should be no later than the ﬁrst few weeks of January, at which time your horse will begin to grow his new summer coat.

What type of clip should you consider?

Your choice of clip depends on the type of work your horse will be doing over the winter period, taking into account how much he usually sweats; removing the minimum hair necessary.

The various clips include the following:

Trace clip: there are two types, the high and the low trace. This clip allows horses and ponies to be exercised without getting too hot. It also allows them to continue being turned-out in the winter. The coat is removed from the belly and up the underside of the neck. Hair is left on the head, the topside of the neck, body and legs for warmth and protection. For a low trace only a small section of hair is removed from the belly and neck. A high trace takes more hair from these areas going further up the horse's flank. Blanket clip: this type of clip would suit a horse that has regular exercise, is turned-out in the field and does various events at the weekends. The coat is removed completely from the head, neck and flanks, leaving only an area of hair that looks like an exercise sheet over the back and hind-quarters and on the legs. The hair on the legs is left mainly for warmth and protection. Hunter clip: used mainly for horses in heavy work, such as hunters. The clip is similar to the blanket except the hair over the hindquarters is removed leaving only a patch in the saddle area. Again, the leg hair remains for warmth and protection. Full clip: this is usually given to competition horses that compete in the winter months. The whole of the coat is removed, including body, legs and head. This clip looks very smart but does require careful stable management. Horses with a full clip need to be rugged up at all times and may need to wear stable bandages in very cold weather.

Reasons for clipping For quick drying after exercise To allow a horse to carry out medium to hard work without too much stress To conserve condition by avoiding heavy sweating Makes grooming easier Maintains a smart looking horse

22 HorseScene

oN tHe MARket CLIPPERS

TRIMMERS

Wahl avalon Clipper

Masterclip Showmate Trimmer

This affordable, cordless horse clipper is compact, well balanced and lightweight. It provides 2.5 hours of quiet, low vibration clipping and is perfect for use around young or nervous animals. It fits comfortably in the operator’s hand and is easy to manoeuvre in those difficult to reach areas. Powerful enough for full body clips, hogging manes and removing feathers; this clipper offers calm, stress-free clipping. The Wahl ‘cool running’ Snap-On blade system eliminates the need for blade alignment and tensioning and ensures ease when cleaning, oiling and changing the blades. Thoughtful innovation has positioned the air intake at the rear of the clippers to avoid clipped hair blowing into the face of the operator. Fully recharged in just 3 hours, they are ideal when electricity is not readily available. The kit also includes a battery pack and belt, mains transformer, cleaning brush, clipper spray, clipper oil and storage case. Priced around £239.99. www.wahl.co.uk

A lightweight, cordless horse clipper that comes with two rechargeable batteries. Weighing in at only 225g, this superb clipper is ideal to use in all those awkward areas that the heavy duty clippers cannot reach. Perfect for all delicate areas and very handy for all show preparation including ears, poll, whiskers, heels and fetlock. The Showmate comes in a smart aluminium style box for easy storage. Also included are a set of ceramic blades and four comb attachments, oﬀering a variety of cutting depths, 3mm, 6mm, 9mm & 12mm. Priced at £54.99. www.masterclip.co.uk

Liveryman Harmony Plus Clipper An exciting new edition to the Liveryman range is the more powerful, Harmony Plus clipper. This high efficiency, brushless motor with 10,000 hour lifetime offers a fast clipping speed and the light, ergonomic design offers ease of use. The clipper offers up to 2 hours clipping time from the internal battery pack and up to a further 3 ½ hours from the battery pack allowing plenty of clipping time without the need for a mains supply. Comes with a battery pack and belt, and three snap on steel blades in wide/fine, wide and narrow. Priced around £257.00. www.agrihealth.com

24 HorseScene

Wahl adelar Trimmer The Adelar Trimmer stands alone in its class for performance, versatility and power delivering unbeatable results every time.Whisper quiet with almost un-noticeable vibration, the trimmer cuts through all coat types, eﬀectively removing hair from legs, head, face and ears; but powerful enough to hog a mane. Perfect for young or nervous horses it’s an ideal introduction to stress-free trimming. Supplied with two rechargeable batteries, capable of 120 minutes trimming time, the Adelar can be used anywhere at any time. Encompassing Wahl’s ‘cool running’ technology, the fully adjustable 5 in 1 Snap-on, rust resistant blades require no alignment or tensioning. Widely used amongst top professionals, this amazing little trimmer performs beyond its size. The kit also includes a storage case, clipper oil, two batteries and battery charging unit. Priced around £177.99 www.wahl.co.uk

CLIPPERS

TRIMMERS

Masterclip Hunter Clipper

Liveryman Classic Trimmer

The Masterclip Hunter is a mains powered, 200w heavy duty horse clipper. With its fast cutting speed, this clipper makes light work of all over body clipping. Weighing in at only 1kg, the Hunter is a lightweight and easy clipper to use, oﬀering fast and hassle free horse clipping every time. The perfect choice for competition horses that need to be clipped on a regular basis. Included in the price are two sets of blades, clipper oil and a 48hr delivery. Priced around £169.99. www.masterclip.co.uk

The new rechargeable Classic trimmer from Liveryman has a highly eﬃcient brushless motor with a lifetime of 10,000 hours. The powerful motor allows for heavy duty trimming, and it provides 3.5 hours operation from a 2.5 hour charge. Comes complete with an adjustable blade allowing a trimming depth of 0.8mm, 1.2mm, 1.6mm and 2mm, it also has four comb attachments, 3mm, 6mm, 9mm and 12mm. The trimmer is light weight, comfortable to use and priced around £84.00. www.agrihealth.co.uk

Learn to perform a

FLYINg CHaNgE Our Expert

Image courtesy of FredTheCat.co.uk

Cathy Burrell is an International dressage rider at both Young Rider and Senior level, and competed at all levels including Grand Prix. Cathy is the northern para representative for British Dressage and a member of the Pony Club dressage committee, while also playing a major part in www.burrelldressage.co.uk. She has trained at all levels from Pony Club up to Advanced dressage, and enjoys teaching all levels of riders and horses to reach their goals and ambitions. Cathy is a B.H.S Registered Instructor and has also achieved the UKCC Level 3.

26 HorseScene

After the wonderful success of our dressage team at the Olympics, the sport is suddenly identified as “The Dancing Horses”. The sight of these horses apparently ‘skipping’ across the arena doing flying changes every stride is what most people enjoy seeing the most. So what is a flying change? A flying change is when a horse changes from one canter lead to the other in a single moment of suspension. The horse should spring expressively off the ground. The front and back legs should change at the same time in the same moment of suspension. The uphill balance of the canter should be maintained throughout, but in order to achieve big expressive changes, the collected canter is allowed a bit more freedom. The most important aspect of a correct change is it must also be straight. I was always taught to imagine‘I was riding through the eye of a needle’. So, now we know what we are aiming for, how do we get our horses to do it? Some young horses will change legs when they become unbalanced and sometimes this will actually be a correct flying change. If it is correct then don’t tell the horse off, just quietly come back to trot and strike off onto the correct leg again and give the horse a pat. You need to have the future in mind and you are going to want your horse to give you these! To teach the horse about changing from the aids you have to be clear yourself. If you want the horse to change from the left lead to the right lead then you need to put your left leg back, as if you were asking the horse to strike off that way, and half halt on the left rein at the same time. Start by putting the horse into a circle in counter canter and ask as you are going over the centre line. Make sure the canter has plenty of activity and ‘jump’ then put your leg back and half halt a touch as well. You might need to reinforce the aid with a small tap of your schooling whip. If your horse only changes with the front legs then give the leg aid again until he changes behind as well. This will probably take a few goes to get it right, but the most important thing is to keep patient and help your horse to understand what you want. You will find your horse will change easier one way, so when you are training always start that way. Make sure when you get the right reaction to your aid you always praise your horse. Make sure you keep your upper body as still as possible when you are asking as otherwise you will push your horse off balance and then it is not so easy for them to do a correct change. When you are finding the changes happen on the circle then start to put them on straight lines to teach the straightness to the change. Go onto your diagonal lines in the arena and ask as you are going over the centre line. Again, make sure the canter is active as you come out of the corner. Don’t ask for the changes in a corner or on a sharp turn as you can’t get the horse straight on these lines and you will therefore shorten the change.

When you have established the single change you can then progress to tempi changes. These can be done every stride or every second, third or fourth stride. To start with don’t try and count the numbers just turn onto the long diagonal i.e. KXM and ask for a change on the quarter line, then the centre line and then the three quarter line. The most important thing is to focus on the quality of the canter, the straightness and the correctness of the changes. If your horse becomes tense, then work on the quality of the canter and go round the short side in counter canter and continue the exercise on the next diagonal. Never compromise the quality of the canter just to do the change. Once this exercise is easy, then start to count the strides in between the changes. When I was learning I found three times really hard to grasp and a lot of riders will find that they find one number harder than the others for whatever reason. When it comes to teaching one time changes, as a rider you need to be able to have the second aid ready as soon as you have given the first one. A bit like riding a bike you have to keep the rhythm of your legs moving in order to give the horse the right aid quickly enough. Start by asking for a ‘pair’ of one times. Once you have got the hang of how quickly your legs need to move and your horse has got the quality of the canter to do it then you are away. Just keep the aids in rhythm to the canter and the straightness and quality of the canter and suddenly the fifteen required in the Grand Prix doesn’t seem so hard. The most common faults in the changes are the horse changing late behind, or early behind. Late behind means that the hind legs change a stride or more after the front legs. This is usually caused by the canter becoming flat and too long, or in the case of a horse that is just learning it can just be inexperience to the aid. You need to improve the quality of the canter to sort this problem. Early behind means the hind legs change a stride or more before the front legs. This is usually caused by the horse being a bit on the forehand or the rider over bending the neck to the new inside bend thus restricting the shoulder coming up and the change coming through. To fix this problem keep the horse straight, and again work on the quality of the canter. The other common problem is that the changes, although correct, are flat. This is again fixed by improving the quality to the canter, so that there is the impulsion for the horse to push off from. As you will have gathered by now the quality of the canter is the most important aspect of good flying changes. Once you have this and you sit balanced with your horse it is possible for many riders to enjoy that feeling of ‘skipping’ across the diagonal like the wonderful ‘Dancing Horses’ from Greenwich.

HorseScene 27

Worming Myths MYTH 1 all horses kept together should be wormed together.

It was once standard practice to worm all the horses on a yard at the same time. However, treating all horses with the same product at the same time means that some horses may get wormed unnecessarily. It is estimated that in many groups of horses, only 20% of the group will carry 80% of the worm burden. Merial recommends creating a worming strategy for each horse to determine their true need, and only worm an individual as needed – if a worm egg count is under 200 epg (eggs per gram), it may not be necessary to worm that horse at that time.

MYTH 2 WECs identify all worms.

Worm egg counts have been presented as an important method in a targeted worming strategy, and their use is thankfully becoming far more widespread. However, WECs do not identify immature or encysted worms or tapeworms, so treatments should be planned into the

worming programme if you believe they may be at risk from these. Tapeworms are a common parasite in the horse. While signs of infection are not obvious and often go undiagnosed, tapeworms can cause potentially serious health problems including colic, irritation and inﬂammation of the intestine, especially the colon. It is therefore advised that owners consider treating their horses for tapeworm twice yearly, in the spring and the autumn or ask their vets about an ELIZA antibody test to determine need.

MYTH 3 WECs and targeted treatments is expensive and diﬃcult to manage.

Incorporating WECs into your worming programme at the time when retreatment would normally be due will determine the worm burdens of each horse and will help you identify which horses are the high egg shedders (following the 80:20 rule, whereby 80% of worms tend to be in just 20% of horses). Treating only these horses will reduce the number of wormers you use and should reduce the total costs of your worming programme. Your horse’s worming programme can be easily managed at www.smartworming.co.uk or download the Smart Worming app.

MYTH 4 Pasture management is not important to help control worm burdens.

Poo-picking regularly (approximately twice weekly) is one of the most eﬀective ways

to control worms. Parasites on the pasture are ingested by grazing horses, so removing them is a practical way to reduce pasture infectivity. Co-grazing with sheep or cattle may also help – the majority of equine parasites will not survive being eaten by these species. Rest the pasture if you can, and only harrow in hot, dry weather.

MYTH 5 all horses need one tube of wormer.

Giving a reduced dose of wormer increases the risk of resistance because the worms may be exposed to the wormer at a level that does not kill them, but allows them to develop resistance. Additionally, giving too large a dose of wormer to a horse will not deliver any extra beneﬁt. Use accurate dosing based on the weight of your horse, calculated either using a weighbridge or a weigh tape.

FRee

WEIGH TAPE To encourage more accurate and eﬃcient worming this autumn, during September and October, or while stocks last, when you purchase a tube of Eqvalan Duo you will receive a free Dodson and Horrell weigh tape to help you accurately assess how much wormer your horse or pony needs.

To set up your own free worming plan visit www.smartworming.co.uk. Plus, for access to your worming plan on the move simply download the new SMART planner mobile ‘app’.

28 HorseScene

Exercises for the

green Horse Watching the Olympics was an inspiration to us all to get going with our own horses, particularly owners with younger horses, which we can all too easily forget that they require hard work and eﬀort to assist their development.

Our expert Joanna Baxter is Head of the Equine Department at Craven College. Joanna herself came up through the Pony Club, and has competed nationally as a Junior and Senior in many disciplines, including British Dressage, British Show Jumping, British Eventing, and Showing. She has her BSc (Hons) in Equine Science and BHSII, BHS SM.

30 HorseScene

With the education of young horses goes three general principles: avoiding short cuts, progressing at the horse’s own pace and the use of reward and also punishment if required. Short cuts should be avoided at all costs as training takes time, eﬀort and patience; we can all be guilty of trying to ﬁt in a quick training session between work, school or making the tea, however, a rushed session can result in a backward step in the horse’s training. For example if a problem arises, there is then less time in which to resolve the issue and the training session is not successful to the horse or trainer’s mindset, and even less useful to progression of the horse’s skills.

All horse’s and ponies progress at diﬀerent paces; whilst your friend’s four year old horse may be hacking out alone and going to local competitions, it doesn’t mean your ﬁve year old which is doing less, is a slow learner. As with humans we all progress at own pace, whilst some horses learn a lot early and then level out, whilst others learn more as a six year old. The rate of progress is dependant on many factors such as the horse’s breed, temperament, conformation, condition, and other factor’s such as the training schedule implemented.

Reward and punishment are useful tools to engage when training horses, authority is essential to set guidelines which the horse must be encouraged to maintain. Whilst some horses will require limited praise, others will require more persuasion and encouragement in which to fulﬁl their goals. The basic training of the young horse must aim to:

1 Encourage their willingness to go forwards

2 Develop natural abilities 3 Strengthen their physique 4 Increase suppleness 5 Develop stamina 6 Allow to rider to maintain control Allowing these aims to be achieved is vital to the horses progression, with one of the most important parts of the young horse’s development being variety. Whilst schooling is essential to the horse’s development they must also be allowed time in the ﬁeld, enjoy riding out both in company and alone, and be given time in which to mature. Getting young horses out and about is a good way of broadening their horizons; with lazy horses it encourages them to think a little more forward, whilst with more nervous types it can increase their boldness. Depending on the environment horses can be taken to local training events or small competitions, whilst we all like to win a red rosette, some times competitions must be taken as training events to allow the horse to develop the skills to go and win later in life. Therefore, competitions can be used to allow the young horse to see the environment, engage with diﬀerent horses, listen to clapping hands and tanoids, load correctly and un-load correctly. This is a fundamental part of training particularly if the horse has a competitive career ahead of itself.

Hacking or riding out is another enjoyable way in which to progress the young horse. Ideally the first steps should involve a local bridleway with a sensible horse and rider to assist, this way the sensible horse can give the young horse a lead if required, this can then be progressed to longer routes and quiet road routes. Farm rides with a few natural obstacles are fantastic to support the horse’s progression, again this can be aided by a sensible companion. Using farm rides allows the horse to see open spaces, fences, steps, undulating ground and water. You will also see how excited the horse gets in this environment, to gage future outings. As mentioned young horses should have time to develop by allowing field access either by themselves or in company to socialise, particularly as they are herd animals. Therefore when training the young horse, schooling sessions should be kept around 3040 minutes, these can include the use of ridden flat exercises, pole work, or small jumps such as grids. Also lunging and long reining can be used to support the horse’s development, however lunging sessions should be kept to a minimum time length and used within a large enough circle size to avoid putting excess pressure on the horses not yet developed joints. Exercises on the lunge can include transitions, development of the aids to increase the horse’s balance and understanding; this can be achieved by short sessions whilst always maintaining the same commands. Ideally the horse should wear a cavesson and loosely fitted side reins, or training aids such as the Pessoa can also be used to support the horses development; this should be used in the loosest, longest position. Whilst exercises for long reining can consist of straightness as the two lines aid to assist the horses lateral suppleness and evenness, exercises can be used on a circle or on a straight line. Long reining is clearly a useful way in which to develop increased

Hacking is an enjoyable way in which to progress the young horse

engagement and allows the horse to start working over poles. Ridden exercises can include the use of progressive transitions, circles however should be kept to no less than 15 metres within trot and large 20 metre circles in canter, otherwise the horse will begin to loose balance, resulting in their conﬁdence to be knocked or loosing impulsion. Lots of walk exercises are good for teaching control, aids and bend, these can be in the form of 10, 15 and 20 metre circles, as well as shallow loops and return back to the track exercises. Pole work allows the horse’s progression of rhythm

Pole work allows the horse’s progression of rhythm, ideally these should be used within the trot, either within a + shape design or on a straight line set up, these should be spaced either 4-4.5 feet apart or 8-9 feet apart which will allow the horse to take two steps inbetween the poles. Another good exercise is placing the poles on a diagonal line, as this helps develop the hose’s straightness. Grids are increasingly useful for encouraging horses to take oﬀ in the correct place, and encourage their forwardness over the fences. Which ever exercises you choose to use to develop your horses training, it must be remembered that young horses loose concentration quickly. Variety is essential and the main training scales should be implemented which are forward impulsion, balance, rhythm, suppleness, straightness and submission. Thanks to riders Francine Mccormick and Ella and Jill Cross and Tilly. Images courtesy of www.rditchﬁeldphotography.co.uk and www.idnp.me.uk

HorseScene 31

WIN

WIN WIN

A day with Tim Stockdale + Goodies We have teamed up with a sponsor of Tim Stockdale to oﬀer one lucky winner and guest the chance to win a day with Tim himself as well as bag themselves lots of goodies. We also have two runnersup prizes, so make sure you enter!

The Winner Will Win..... A day for 2 at Tim Stockdale’s yard in Northampton Introduction to the horses and guided tour Behind the scenes insight into a professional yard Look and learn as Tim conducts the daily training Lunch with Tim Questions and answers session The complete Showman range Plus an Adelar Trimmer

Two runners-up will win... The complete Showman range and an Adelar Trimmer

How to enter: Send your name, full address and contact telephone number on a postcard to: Horse Scene Magazine, The Old Tannery, 224 Spen Lane, Gomersal, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, BD19 4PJ or email your entry to win@horsescenemagazine.co.uk. Closes: 30th September 2012. T&C’s - Date of the prize will be subject to the commitments of Mr Stockdale, but is provisionally planned for early 2013. Prize does not include any travel expenses and the winner will be responsible for their transport to and from the prize venue. general t&c's apply.

32 HorseScene

WIN Carl Hester British Master Gloves worth £65!

5 pairs up for grabs!

We have teamed up with leading German Glove brand Schwenkel to offer 5 lucky winners the chance to win their very own pair of Carl Hester British Master Gloves. Carl Hester has worn Schwenkel gloves for many years and appreciates their quality, comfort and fit. Made from the softest most durable lambskin available to give the ultimate in luxury and comfort, the waterproof gloves feature a panel stretch fabric on the knucles to ensure a perfect fit with plenty of movement, offers an excellent feel and grip on the reins, ventilation holes on the fingers, reinforced panels on the rein areas and an elegant Carl Hester Signature embroidered onto the Velcro fastening panel. Available in White leather with Black signature or Black with White signature in sizes 6.5 - 10. UK stockist www.zebraproducts.co.uk

How to enter: This competition can only be entered on the ‘’Horse Scene Magazine Facebook Page’’.

Come and join us and be in with a chance to win this fantastic prize. Closes: September 30th 2012

Introducing a new concept...The “Horse Arc” Developed in co-operation with equine scientists and the National Trust, Pan Products presents the Alfresco Arch Horse Arc. The unique shelter uses a revolutionary design and technology to develop a simple and affordable shelter, capable of being built to size your needs. Built to the highest standards, it is the only open ended shelter to have been tested to withstand winds of up to 80mph The benefits: • Open ended, giving quick entrance/exits for horses • Withstands greater forces from scratching than standard mobile field shelters • Curved structure gives a fantastic new range of scratching areas • The fly nets put flies off entering • Light and airy • Rain & snow clears easily and quickly • Withstands gale force winds up to 80mph • No planning necessary What makes the Horse Arc different? Problem 1 - Finding a shelter your horse will actually use Why would you spend lots of money on a traditional horse shelter that your horse stands outside of, or worse, one that the member of the herd hogs leaving the other members out in the rain? Horses are wary of enclosed

spaces, so going into a dark shelter with one small entrance or exit does not appeal to most horses. This feeling of insecurity in a traditional shelter is made much worse if the herd has a very dominant member, who could either stop other herd members entering the shelter, or worse, trap another horse in the shelter kicking out and injuring them. The solution - The Horse Arc is not an enclosed space, making it light and airy all the way through. The open ends offer a quick and visible escape route meaning the horses are much happier to enter them and feel much more secure once inside. To the horse it must feel like sheltering under a tree or hedge, only much drier and the lower members of the herd may feel more confident entering the Horse Arc as they know they can escape flying hooves and teeth very easily! Because it offers ease of escape, more horses will use the Horse Arc at once, for example, 2-4 ponies or small horses will fit in The Cob Arc happily together, all with easy exits in sight, whereas a traditional shelter that could shelter the same amount will need to be much bigger, most likely needing two 6 or 8 foot long doorways, therefore costing thousands more and possibly being used less! Problem 2 - Your field is exposed and you are concerned that a shelter will deteriorate rapidly, or even blow away in the wind

The solution - The unique design of the Arc means that it is very weather resistant; rain and snow simply slide oﬀ and the curved design means wind ﬂows over rather than hitting a solid wall. The Horse Arc will withstand gusts of up to 80mph and is secured to the ground using concrete blocks. Problem 3 - You need a mobile shelter The solution - The Horse Arc does not require planning permission as it is classed as a temporary structure and can be moved as needed. Available in three sizes - pony, cob and horse. For more information contact 07860 250212 or visit www.alfrescoarch.com

The new â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Diva Collection Hoodies' are here!

Luxurious, top quality hoodies, made to perfection with high quality glitter print that wont fade!

www.blingequestrian.co.uk

BEDDING DOWN Now winter is upon us, it’s time to turn your thoughts to the type of bedding you will use; here are a few ideas....

Verdo

Nedz Pro

£4.43-£4.46 (15kg)

£6.50-£8.00 (20kg)

Verdo Horse Bedding is made from environmentally friendly, biodegradeable wood pellets. This increasingly popular form of horse bedding is more cost eﬀective than traditional bedding such as wood shavings, because it’s cleaner, more comfortable, less smelly, less wasteful, easier to use and more hygienic because of the pellets’ impressive absorbency. The 15kg bags are easy to carry and store and mucking out is considerably easier; you will remove much less bedding, meaning that you won’t need to top the bed up as much. One bag of Verdo horse bedding per week should be all you need to maintain your bed, meaning less cost, a smaller muck heap and more time for the fun stuﬀ! www.verdohorsebedding.co.uk

Manufactured from top quality rape straw that has been rigorously dust extracted and treated with a 100% organic formula called Natural Nedz. Exceptionally absorbent, Nedz Pro helps reduce ammonia levels in the stable and the inclusion of Manuka, Aloe Vera and Cade Oil offers additional health benefits, including antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-insecticidal and antiinflammatory properties. Nedz Pro rots down within 2- 3 months and provides an efficient mucking out system to save time, waste and money. www.nedz.co.uk

Unibed Premium

Easibed

£6.00-£7.29 (20kg)

£6.00-£6.50 (20Kkg)

Unibed premium bedding is ﬁnely chopped and put through a rigorous dust extraction process to ensure dust levels are kept to a minimum. The rape straw is then treated with a unique formula of three natural, non toxic oils – Muna, Moringa and Arnica which combine to create a clean and soothing environment for your horse. All three oils are naturally antiparasitic, antibacterial, anti fungal and have anti inﬂammatory properties. Suitable for use as a deep bedding material, removing droppings daily and wet bedding once a week and as it rots down very quickly it will keep your muck heap cost to a minimum. www.unibed.uk.com

Easibed is a clean, dust free wood ﬁbre bedding used by top international riders Billy Twomey, Ellen Whitaker and Olympian Richard Davison. Easibed is produced in robust packaging and provides a dust-free, supportive bed with a consistency that allows the wet to drain through to the base where it is absorbed, leaving the top dry and comfortable. It is economical to use, easy to muck out and it produces a smaller muck heap. Easibed's dust free qualities make it a healthier choice for the rider and the horse. www.easibed.co.uk

36 HorseScene

STABLE & YARD Take a look at these stable and yard products designed to make your life easier, your yard tidier and your horse healthier....

Weelie Barrow The bigger and stronger Weelie Barrow is now supplied ready to assemble and with colour coordinated handles and wheel. This tough, light, multipurpose wheelbarrow features a strong galvanised welded and lacquered frame, a heavy duty easy to clean stepped pan, strong wheel brackets plus improved balance and weight distribution when loaded. The load capacity 160kg and it is available in Pink or Navy. Priced around £82.99. www.battles.co.uk

Harold Moore Stable & Yard Tools

Elim-a-Net Elim-a-Net has been developed with an ‘inner net design‘, which slows down the rate of consumption, as well as reducing waste and mess. Elim-a-Net promotes a healthy digestive system by helping to increase chewing time, without having to increase the quantity of hay or haylage. Not just another ‘small holed haynet’, the unique inner net design alters the size and shape of the holes in the haynet helping to ensure the horse has access to forage for longer and therefore increasing the amount of time they spend chewing. Available in three sizes, pony, cob and horse, and for each size the holes are scaled up to prevent frustration. A variety of colours are also available with prices starting from just £9.99. www.parellproducts.com

Mag Laundry Equipment Horses are just as susceptible to bacteria as humans. Our commercial washing machines offer capacities of 7.5 to 32 kg with special wash programmes for horse rugs and accessories which are the perfect solution for equestrian and stable yard establishments. The equestrian programmes include special programmes for washing and proofing horse blankets - a 30°C and a 40°C programme, a delicate programme and a programme with a proofing cycle included for optimum waterproofing. The machines can also handle halters, girths, bandages, saddlecloths and similar textile items. Priced at £4199.00, the washing machine is ideal for yards, vets or rug washing businesses. www.maglaundry.co.uk

Make your stable and yard a cleaner, safer, more attractive place to be. The extensive range of tools meet all stable and yard maintenance requirements. The formulated materials guarantee products are of the highest quality and consistency without compromising on strength or durability. Unlike traditional metal stable equipment, the unique stable and yard tools have rounded edges, will not rust or rot, are very lightweight, easy to clean and warm to the touch on cold mornings! Available in Pink, Purple, Baby Blue and Lime Green, we've taken our unique stable and yard maintenance system to the next level. Riders and enthusiasts of all ages can now enjoy a perfectly coordinated stable and yard system combining ergonomics and style! www.haroldmoore.co.uk

Nomad Portable Washer More eﬀective than a hosepipe, more useful than a bucket and handier than a traditional horse shower. The Nomad 18v Cordless Portable washer will clean and cool your horse as well as being suitable for lots of equestrian duties. The detachable tank holds as much water as a full bucket, only there is no waste. Instead, the Nomad’s pump and optimally designed spray gun delivers enough water pressure to clean mud or clay oﬀ your horse, or a lighter spray that’s perfect for showering. You can use cool, warm or iced water and being about the size of a cool box it is small enough to keep in a corner of a trailer, lorry or in the boot of a car. The Nomad uses a professional rechargeable power tool type battery with enough charge to run non stop for up to 40 minutes, so no electric on site is required. The versatility of the Nomad is what makes it a unique piece of equipment every horse owner should invest in. So if you do not have water on site to clean your horse or yard then the Nomad is the perfect choice. Priced around £179.99 with free delivery. www.nomad-direct.co.uk

Tack & gadgets Tack and gadgets as a topic would ﬁll a whole magazine, so we will just stick to the basics in the hope it gives you some understanding of the tack and gadgets available ….

Our expert Steven Fry, a retired Mounted Unit Officer helps riders and horses with starting and training young horses, ‘de-spooking’, obedience, horse and rider confidence, improving and re-educating established horses and riders and problem solving from happy hackers to serious competitors. For more information on how Steven can help you visit www.floppyhorse.co.uk

LET’S STaRT WITH THE SaDDLE

After buying your horse, the saddle is perhaps the next most expensive piece of kit. Everyone I talk to about their saddle know of the importance of being the correct fit for the horse, but more than a few are surprised when I tell them that the saddle does not fit the rider. The seat size is dependent on the size of the rider, principally the length from hip to knee. It is not a measure of the size of horse. Talk to an expert; try a range of seat sizes to find a best match. The simplest test and most influential ‘Do I feel comfortable?’ There are of course a range of types suited to your activity. Choose wisely to suit your main activity, a General Purpose saddle is a compromise if you enjoy multiple activities and you can only afford one saddle. Above all be comfortable. Your saddle might fit your horse, but does it fit you?

“

”

BITS aND BRIDLES

There are many hundreds of bits/bridles available on the market, but they all fall into one of ﬁve groups; Snaﬄe, Pelham, Double, Gag and Bitless. Each group has a range of actions on one or more of seven areas of the head; the bars of the mouth, roof of the mouth, the nose, the poll , the tongue, curb groove (chin grove) and the corners of the mouth. Like the saddle, the biting arrangements must suit both the horse and rider. Do not be misled by ill informed opinions on ‘strong bits’. Any bit badly used will be cruel, there is a pair of hands at the other end of the reins; hands can be cruel, a bit on its own is not. Good Riders push (from the leg) the horse into an accepting contact. An accepting contact is one where the horse is holding the bit and is able to feel and react to signals

40 HorseScene

down the rein. The degree to which the horse is accepting and reacting to rein signals dictates the style of bit. In the ‘ideal world’ we would all be riding in a simple snaﬄe bridle, but in the ‘real world’ we have to consider alternatives and an understanding of the bit action would help you steer towards a workable bridle to suit you both. Understanding the action of your horses bit is very important

“

”

If you are considering a change of bit, do your research and then honestly look at what you and your horse need. Bridles and bits exert pressure to varying degrees and on different parts of the horses head. As I have mentioned, you need the horse to yield to pressure; consider this, if your horse does not yield to pressure on the poll when you ask with your hand is it likely to yield to pressure exerted from a bridle? Likewise, if your horse consistently moves with its head up in the air, you are not perhaps seeking a bit that ‘invites the horse to lift the head’. The bit and bridle convey a lot of information to the horse; you must be able to communicate clearly. In the heat of the cross country gallop with the horse ‘enjoying’ it’s self so much it can’t ‘hear you’ then you require a bridle that is ‘clearer’ for the horse. (One of my trainers, Dorothy Johnson F.B.H.S. used this term to me) Your training and communication must be clear; sometimes a whisper is sufficient other times a shout. Sometimes a plain snaffle will do, other times perhaps a Pelham. Do a bit of research, ask people who have experience (Preferably in more than one field of equine activity) Sometimes trial and error works best and there are ‘Bit Banks’ available where you can hire bits to try. You must remember to give a new bit a chance for you and your horse to learn how it works.

NoSEBaNDS

Nosebands enhance the eﬀect of any bit; it prevents the horse from evading the contact by opening its mouth and they also transfer some of the rein contact onto the nose itself, giving the eﬀect of a bitless bridle. The combination of the bit and noseband requires experiment and trial.

gaDgETS

Anything that is not a saddle or bridle is a ‘gadget‘ and again there is a vast range. ‘Developmental gadgets’ including draw reins, running reins, de-gogue bungee rein and similar. The main principle is to relieve the rider of some effort. Gadgets are used to limit some of the actions of the horse and bring faster results in warm up for instance or muscular development. The gadget should be helping us to push (yes from the leg) the horse into whatever desired outline you seek. Once achieved, the gadget should be ‘out of draught’ (not working) and the horse is ridden on the bridle. I commonly see gadgets used to pull a horse into a false outline without any ‘back-up’ from the leg. The gadget becomes a permanent fixture instead of a developmental tool. Beware of gadgets that effectively tie your horse into a shape without any form of instant, partial or full release. These gadgets have their use, but must be used progressively to allow the horse to build and develop the mind and body to cope. I have been asked to help horses where the pessoa had been used ill advisedly and I find I’m dealing with a sore, confused and reluctant individual. Quick fixes are seldom reliable, progressive development consistently maintained is. Anything that is not a saddle or bridle is a gadget

“

”

‘Control Gadgets’ include running martingales etc. These do what they say, enhance your control by limiting the horse’s action in some way. Usually for faster activities where there is ‘excitement’ and you need more clarity than reﬁnement in control. I would highly advise you seek advice from an experienced trainer, who understands ‘gadgets‘ and can help you decide what is best for your horse. They can be useful and developmental, they are not however a replacement for poor riding or plain hard work. Most poor riding is due to lack of experience, so have some more training to help your riding progress.

Vetscene on the

Dr. Hans Delaunois-Vanderperren, DVM, MSc(EqSc), CertEM(StudMed), GespPD, MRCVS

NoRFoLK

EQUINE VETERINARY SERVICES

Liver & Kidney Disease a diseased liver

LIVeR DIseAse Liver disease is relatively common in the horse. However, liver failure is much rarer because the liver has a large reserve capacity and good capacity to regenerate. Liver failure will not occur until 70% or more of the organ has been damaged.

Clinical symptoms of liver disease • Chronic weight loss (most common presenting sign of liver failure) • Dullness • Anorexia • Behavioural abnormalities • Skin lesions, Photosensitization, Pruritis • Bleeding disorders • Diarrhoea • Colic • Jaundice

Jaundice is one of the possible clinical symptoms of liver disease. Hepatic dysfunction may occur for a wide variety of reasons including viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, hyperlipaemia, biliary lithiasis, neoplasia and chemical hepatitis.

42 HorseScene

The underlying hepatic pathology is generally chronic but clinical signs are often relatively sudden in onset when the degree of organ failure exceeds the considerable functional reserve capacity of the liver.

The dietary causes of liver damage Pyrrolizidine toxicity Ingestion of plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids is a common cause of equine liver failure. The plant species most frequently involved in the UK is Ragwort (Senecio jacobea). These plants are generally unpalatable to horses unless withered, e.g. following pasture-topping or if grazing is severely restricted. The plants retain their toxicity after drying and horses can be poisoned by contaminated hay and pelleted hay cubes.

Plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids Common name

Latin name

Ragwort

Senecio jacobea

Common Groundsel

Senecio vulgaris

Fiddleneck

Amsinckia intermedia

Rattleweed

Crotalaria spp.

Salvation Jane

Echium lycopsis

Iron toxicity Iron intoxication is an uncommon cause of hepatitis in adult horses and foals. However, consumption of vitamin supplements containing ferrous fumarate has been associated on several occasions with the development of hepatitis in adult horses. Mycotoxins Toxic fungal metabolites occur in a wide variety of feeds; the fungal organisms can invade the feed supply during production in the ﬁeld, transportation, processing, or storage. The toxicity of mycotoxins to animals ranges from acute death to chronic disease. Liver damage can be caused by aﬂatoxins and ochratoxin A. Mouldy feeds can contain high levels of toxic mycotoxins.

Young Ragwort plants are often overlooked and as such allowed to grow and ﬂower. The ragwort ﬂower typically has 50 - 70 seeds in total, the majority of which have a tufted aerial dispersal ‘wing’. Typically, plants produce ca 100,000 seeds to 200,000 seeds .

Liver diet management The dietary strategy should concentrate on providing energy and protein in a form that minimises the metabolic workload on the liver: • Low protein (8-10% in total diet). Feed mature, seed hays and haylages or oat straw blends. Citrus pulp, dried. Sugar beet pulp (unmolassed). Avoid leafy hays/haylages, pasture, dried grass products, soya bean meal, linseed and high protein compound feeds. • Low oil (<150ml additions to diet). Although a small amount of cod liver oil may be beneﬁcial in providing fat-soluble vitamins A and D. • High-soluble carbohydrate from starch and sugars: this helps to maintain constant blood glucose levels without liver having to mobilise glycogen and fat stores. • Vitamin supplements: A, B12, D, E, K (as liver stores will be poor). • 1000mg choline per kg diet • Branched-chain amino acids supplements (essential amino acids required in energy transfer). • Feed little and often, helping to reduce metabolic workload of the liver. Divide feeds into two or three small daily meals to prevent ﬂuctuations in glucose levels. Feed hay ad libitum.

• Horses with liver disease tend to lose condition; however, don’t feed large amounts of conditioning feeds as these tend to be high in protein. • Avoid poisonous plants, such as ragwort (particularly in Britain). • 1000mg choline per kg diet • Branched-chain amino acids supplements (essential amino acids required in energy transfer): isoleucine and valine 1g/kg diet • Feed little and often, helping to reduce metabolic workload of the liver. Divide feeds into two or three small daily meals to prevent ﬂuctuations in glucose levels. Feed hay ad libitum. • Horses with liver disease tend to lose condition; however, don’t feed large amounts of conditioning feeds as these tend to be high in protein. • Avoid poisonous plants, such as ragwort (particularly in Britain).

HorseScene 43

kIDNeY DIseAse The kidneys are the organs responsible for ﬁltering the blood thereby controlling the excretion of waste products or toxins from the body and for maintaining the ﬂuid / electrolyte balance. Kidneys also secrete hormones, including those responsible for controlling red blood cell production and calcium levels in the body. When kidney, or renal, disease occurs the kidneys cease to function properly, causing toxins to build up in the body causing toxaemia or blood poisoning.

Clinical signs of renal disease Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) Poor performance Lethargy Weight Loss Anorexia Ventral Oedema (swelling of legs and abdomen) Rough Hair Coat Tartar accumulation

a diseased kidney Gingivitis Ulcers (in mouth and / or stomach) Mild anaemia Increased thirst / urination

Renal disease is a relatively rare disorder in the horse, although the role of nutritional factors is less common than that of liver disease, ingestion of several different plant species can cause either chronic or acute disease, the Oxalis spp. (e.g. rhubarb or sorrel) are known to be particularly toxic to the kidneys. Also mycotoxins such as ochratoxin A can cause kidney damage and renal fibrosis at concentrations usually found in feeds. Both chronic and acute forms of disease can affect all breeds and ages of horses. Renal disease can go undetected for a long period of time as a large portion of the kidney has to be damaged before clinical symptoms become apparent. Acute renal disease can usually be successfully treated if diagnosed in the early stages. Chronic renal disease is not reversible but can be managed successfully allowing your horse to have a prolonged, better quality of life.

Causes of renal disease Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) acute Renal Failure (aRF) Congenital disorders Pre-existing disease process (e.g. colic or enteritis, severe haemorrhage, azoturia) Acquired disorders Calculi (stones)/Ruptured bladder Glomerulonephritis Heat stroke Chronic interstitial Severe dehydration due to over nephritis exertion (e.g. high pace endurance riding) Amyloidosis Heavy metal poisoning (e.g. lead or mercury ) Renal neoplasia Ingestion of poisonous plants (e.g. onions, rhubarb, oak tree leaves or acorns) Ingestion of fungal or bacterial toxins Ingestion of anti-freeze (ethelene glycol) Prolonged administration of antibiotics (e.g. aminoglycosides, tetracyclines or sulphonamides) Prolonged administration of NSAIDs (e.g. aspirin, bute, ﬂunixin or carprofen) Vitamin overdose (D or K3) Sporazan parasite – Klossiella Equi Equine Viral Arteritis

44 HorseScene

acute Renal Failure (aRF) Pre-existing disease process or illness Dehydration Depression Lack of appetite/Anorexia Fever Increased heart rate Pain associated with urination (excessive grunting and straining), Mild abdominal pain Laminitis Increased thirst / urination Decreased/Absence of urination Toxaemia (blood poisoning)

Straining to urinate is one of the clinical symptoms of aRF.

Kidney Diet Management After the development of renal disease, the kidneys will need time for recovery, due to the alteration of organ filtration function; dietary treatment must focus on the administration of good quality food sources to enhance recovery. Objective: High carbohydrate energy source, high quality fibre, low protein intake and Ca:P ratio 2:1 • Feed little and often (4-6 feeds per day) • Cooked, high carbohydrate diet will minimize protein catabolism and provide adequate energy supply. • Dietary protein should not exceed 10% of ration, and the protein source should be of the highest quality. • Ca:P ratio 2:1 (0.6:0.25% of ration) • Inclusion of oils as additional energy source will decrease the cereal and protein intake • Vitamins B1 and B6 should be supplemented to combat anemia. • High fibre diet is highly recommended • Fresh and clean water should always be available Dietary sources to be avoided (restrict calcium, phosphorus and protein) • Salt supplements • Limestone: an unbalanced mineral intake could promote crystal formation • Foods rich in calcium such as alfalfa and beet pulp that can induce kidney stone formation • Wheat bran,Rice bran and Legumes Most photos courtesy of Prof. Dr. D. Knottenbelt.

Giveaways

Closing date: 30th September 2012

Snuggy Hoods Turn Out Hood

2 up for grabs!

Used by olympic rider Mary King, the new and improved Turn Out Hood is the ultimate time-saver for the busy rider when bringing wet, muddy horses in from the field. It can also be used in the stable to prevent stable stains and to protect plaits before a show. Constructed of a robust yet breathable, shower proof, fully washable stretch fabric and lined with a silky shoulder and mane saver to prevent rubbing/chaffing. Features include; an adjustable nose for a better fit, a no seam mane liner, fantastic water repellancy, shoulder lining and a self fixing surcingle. Available in sizes XXXS-XXL. Please state size when entering

Timothy Foxx Matilda Gillet This stunning gillet is brand new from the tweed designer's autumn collection and just what you need to keep you feeling warm and looking stylish this season! Incredibly ﬂattering, this tweed gillet is lined with a gorgeous two tone blue viscose and features two small pockets and signature Timothy Foxx buttons. With matching tweed skirts available, this gillet can be dressed up or down when teamed with jeans. Available in sizes 6 - 18. Please state size when entering

1 up for grabs!

Equilibra 500 + Omega 3 Balancer 6 We have six 20kg up for bags of Equilibra grabs! 500 + Omega 3 up

for grabs courtesty of GWF Nutrition, the company who introduced the feed balancer concept in the late 80’s. It is designed to provide optimum vitamin and mineral content, whilst complementing the feeding of forages, chaﬀs, hard feeds and now, crucially, oils and fats. Equilibra 500 + Omega 3 balancer contains high quantities of Omega 3 to support optimum health, fertility and performance.

Spanish Riding School Show Tickets + meet Carl Hester 1 pair & Lee Pearson up for Due to the massive success of the show last year, The Spanish Riding School of Vienna are back for three grabs! exclusive shows only at the NIA. Nicki Chapman will be hosting the event joined by Team GB Olympian Dressage rider Carl Hester and nine times Paralympic gold medallist Lee Pearson who will be demonstrating some of the dressage moves that the modern day sport practices. Now, you can win a pair of top price tickets for the opening night on 16th Novemeber 2012! The winner and a friend will have an exclusive preview of behind the scenes, watch Carl and Lee warm up before the show and even get to meet them and the head rider from The Spanish Riding School.

How to enter: please send a postcard marked with the product you would like to win, along with your name, address

& telephone no. to: Horse Scene Magazine, The old Tannery, 224 Spen Lane, gomersal, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire BD19 4PJ or email your entries to: win@horsescenemagazine.co.uk

Please note: Entries will not be accepted without a telephone number and full address. See full T&C’s on our website.

46 HorseScene

tried&tested Littlemax

Blaze Uttoxeter Gilet

The bedding comes in bags that can be stored outside which is great for owners who do not have much space. The bedding itself is a ﬁne, soft shaving that oﬀers a deep, comfortable bed. It is dust free which is a huge bonus and one bag goes a long way, saving you money. I like the fact the bedding is extremely absorbent keeping the top surface dry and it was really easy to muck out. The only thing I was not keen on was the amount of time spent having to separate the shavings due to them coming in such a tight vacuumed bag. Other than this, it makes for a really good bed at a great price. For more information visit www.bedmax.co.uk

This gilet is super stylish and is great for the cooler weather. The gilet is made from soft quilting that keeps you snug and the fur trimmed hood which is also detatchable makes it fashionable to wear. The gilet also has a two way zip fastening, brass stud fastenings, zipped pockets to keep your valuables safe and zipped backed vents which oﬀer extra movement in the saddle or while doing yard duties. It is a bargain price at only £44.99 and it is smart enough to wear out and about too! For more information visit www.blazeclothing.co.uk

Joules Leaton Sweatshirt This is a gorgeous sweatshirt looks and feels top quality. It’s super soft and comfortable to wear while on the yard, while riding or to slip on when out and about. It has a full length zip, two front pockets with velvet inside trim and a drawstring hood. I would recommend to anyone who wants a top quality sweatshirt to wear anytime. For more information visit www.joules.com

Lister Star Clipper

This is a great clipper that offers an effortless performance!. They offered a fast, clean clip through even the thickest coats and the lightweight design made them easy to use and hold. The clipper noise is quiet to use in comparison to other makes I have used and the magnet style motor offers constant speed and power. Other great benefits are the ventilated head which keeps the blades from over heating; keeping the horse comfortable, removable air filters for easy maintenance, and I love the slim design of the clippers as you can fully grasp around the clipper. They also have a dimpled design on the sides to further enhance your grip, offering better control with a steadier hand! The clippers come in a handy carry case with all accessories and easy to read instructions. Highly recommend. For more information visit www.lister-shearing.com

48 HorseScene

Point Two Air Jacket Safety is paramount when riding or dealing with horses; they can be unpredictable or make mistakes, which can sometimes lead to falls. I have fallen from my horse a few times in the last few years; lucky no serious injuries, but I might not be so lucky next time. I was over the moon to test this Point Two Air Jacket as I have heard so much about it and my confidence after my last fall was near rock bottom! I would say first that the jacket fitted perfectly and I instantly felt safe knowing that in 0.1 seconds it would inflate if I became unsaddled– and that time came! Out riding on the cross country course, my horse slipped on landing and I become unsaddled – before I knew it I was on the floor surrounded by the inflatable jacket. In a blink of an eye I was protected; it felt strange when inflating, but not uncomfortable in any way and I still had full movement of my waist, arms and legs. The jacket distributed the pressure of my fall, absorbed the shock and supported my spinal column; around 20 seconds later the jacket slowly deflated. I feel completely safe when wearing this jacket along with my normal body protector and I would never go out riding without it again whether it be hacking, eventing or jumping. Horse riding is a dangerous sport and although the jacket is pricey at £433 it's worth every penny! For more information visit www.point-two.co.uk

Veredus Magnetik Rug I was really excited to test this rug on my competition horse and the rug did not disappoint. I can see and feel a massive difference in my horse since using the rug and it now comes everywhere with us. The rug itself is made from breathable microporus material with 32 neodymium magnets that develop a power of 2400 guass each! The magnets are specifically distributed in the lumbo-dorsal, large dorsal and shoulders, to help reduce pain and swelling, stimulate blood flow, accelerate the elimination of toxins, speed up the regenerative processes and prepare the muscles and tendons for work. The rug fits perfectly and it can be used under a rug or on its own. The rug has a very thoughtful design and it really does work – I saw amazing results fast! For more information visit www.zebraproducts.com

SoloComb Limited Tel: 01235 511358 Fax: 01235 532083 www.sologroom.com

tackroombreak Wordsearch hunt X A P Q C V M R P F D G U V A D O R I D T R M E P Q R C R P

T H O Y X F A S C T P E O F D E H D L V U A A Q C Y S X A O

U I A Z T T D M X N E Q P T P L I V M F K I P Y X Z M T I D

K N D Y U N P R T G O Y C N E J B F A T A N O Z T A R U N E

A W E H N G E D U U E Z X G O E N T D N R W D A U I D K W L

R S Y A K E O V K F N A T U E U J N P G S S E I K B V A S J

S O A Y A U T F A U I W H E E L B A R R O W L U L I F R O E

F I R S T A I D K I T I U F N A E G E E O O J W M L T S H U

O H D T T F E T R N L U K U I R U U O Q P H E S R M N O I A

P I B E L U N N S B M W A N S A D D L E R A C K D A G P Q R

C Q R A O N I G O R A S R B L S O F E Y C I U O V D E C Y S

X Y U M B B L E P A P O S R S G N I V A H S A H F P Q X Z M

T Z S E K R M Q M O O R D E E F P U N Z X Q R I T E Y T A R

U A H R C A A Y C I O H O A M M C N I A T Y S B N O Z U I D

K I L A I I P Z X N D I P I R R X B L I U Z M N G E A K B V

L B J I K N O A T W E W C N U D T R M U K A E J U N I L I F

M I E U R W D I H S L A X W B V U A A W L I P E F I U M L T

R L U W S S E U A O J T T S B F K I P S M B I U U L W R M N

D M A S O O L W Y H E E L O E T A N O O R I P P N M S D A G

V A R W A R T S R I U R E H R N R W D H D L E O A A O V D E

F D S O P H J S A Q A T V I M G S S E I V M S P B D H F P Q

U T

50 HorseScene

Y N H B

U T E M

P R R A

O I C S

R T H S T

O T A I

A V O R N

N S E D N

I E R T

Y O N S

N E R I X Q U H K Z S O H Y T Q P H J N T D H X A O I O O Z

G O D B T Y C I U A M U S Z T Y C I E J N P R T I D B N C A

U E V N U Z K B K I R G U A I Z X Q U E G E D U N E N G E K

F N F J K A E N L B D H K I N A T Y A U U O V K W L J U N I

U I T E L I T J M I V B L B G I U Z R O F E F A S J E F I U

N L N U M B E E R L F N M I A U K A S P U N T R O E U U L W

B M G O R I U U D M T J R L P W L I M C N I N S H U O N M S

R A E P D L A O V A N E D M O S M B R X B L G O I A P B A O

Hidden words STRaW WHEELBaRRoW BuCKET HaYNET FIRST aID KIT SaDDLE RaCK SHaVINgS YaRD BRuSH FEED RooM RuBBER MaTTINg WaTER TRougH HaY STEaMER HoSEPIPE HaY RaCK SHoVEL KICK BoLT PaDLoCK

Sudoku challenge

Fallen phrase

I D E O I

T P M H C I B O C Y R R O Q A E O O L B F A O C R P L T E Y

G F

Look for the white label as your sign of quality

Beware of inferior copies A market leader in the field of horse toys with a persona of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own. A twenty-sided, Equine Boredom-Buster made from military-grade materials. Fill with pony nuts or treats and let the horse play - with tasty rewards. Excellent for in the stable or paddock. Also useful as a trickle feeder to stop the horse eating its food too quickly. Available in 5 exciting colours and two sizes: Small 20cm - holds up to 2kg feed Large 25cm - holds up to 3kg feed

www.elico.co.uk

Now in

itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

14 th Yea r as mark et leader

Available from all good equestrian and agricultural retailers