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ISSUE 133 APRIL 2012
Expert tips for buying your show cob
John Whitaker
reveals his hopes for London 2012 selection
Expert breeding advice
finding the right broodmare
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April contents The No.1 Specialist Horse Sales Magazine... Now the Voice of the
Stallion special
P44 Yard essentials
P31 Rugs to protect your horse this summer
6 Out and About with John Whitaker 8 Spencer Wilton 10 Fredericks Forum 13 Latest products 19 Expert advice on how, why and when to feed fibre 22 Trade Talk – we meet the people behind The Pure Feed Company 25 Property – is your dream equestrian home here? 26 Dress for success – this season’s competition gear must-haves 31 Summer cover-up – rugs that will protect your horse 35 Lynn Russell’s top tips on buying and showing cobs 38 Breed of the month – the Gypsy Cob, an equine power house
P19 High fibre feeds
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p62 Has your mare got what it takes to become a winning broodmare? Read our expert advice
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p68 Vet Ed Lyall explains how to detect and avoid common health problems in youngstock
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to save 15% plus Equestrian Industry 40 My best buys – show expert Lynn Russell reveals all 44 Yard essentials – top riders tell us what they couldn’t live without 50 Everything you need to know about building an arena 56 A problem shared – arena issues
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P40 My best buys – Lynn Russell
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Stallion special – focus on breeding and broodmares 62 Our essential guide to putting your mare in foal 68 Vet advice on youngstock 71 Stallion of the month: Zip Phin 72 Behind the scenes at Woodcroft Stud
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APRIL
2012
Horse Deals
High Performance/Inside track
Track
Inside
I
t’s been a busy countdown to our planned weekend of competitions with Super Nova and Doogie, both of whom are making their debuts at different levels at two different venues. Looking back I realised that while I haven’t been out competitively myself since last year’s nationals, Neville [Super Nova] hasn’t seen an arena away from home since he last competed with Carl [Hester, his previous rider] when he finished fifth at the regionals in July 2010! So with very low mileage at advanced medium level, we’re not really sure what to expect when we take Neville to Summerhouse Equestrian in Gloucestershire for a couple of classes as he’s only ever done four tests at this level before! I’ve absolutely no idea how we’ll get on, but the plan is to treat it as a schooling outing and although he’s felt great at home, it will give us a good gauge of where we’re at in training and the bits that need to be improved. I’ve got a feeling he’s going to be fairly shell shocked. He’s quite a needy person and is always looking to his rider for guidance, but he can also rather forget himself and kind of zone out on you. I don’t think he means to, but in certain situations when he’s not sure about something, his body seems to just take over his mind! Apart from keeping my fingers crossed, my plan for the day is to try and keep him quiet and give him a nice consistent outing with no pressure, so he can begin to enjoy taking competitions in his stride. In the week leading up to this outing, we’ve tested a new regime where we work him in the mornings as usual, and then give him a light 30minute leg stretch again in the afternoon which seems to suit him very well. I get nervous when I hear riders talking about “tiring out” their horses before a test, because if a horse feels tired in their backs from too much work, then you also run the risk of them not wanting to work with you because they feel sore and that’s not a good thing! My aim is to get Neville to the show and then work on relaxing his mind and hopefully giving us both a pleasant experience!
APRIL 2012 Horse Deals
In his first competitive outing since the British Dressage national championships last year, Spencer prepares for his debut with Super Nova and looks forward to riding Doogie in their first Prix St Georges test I enjoy the pressure and the idea of having to perform a movement at an exact marker – if you get it right, it’s a great feeling! We’ve also had Neville on NAF’s Magic supplement powder, which we’ve doubled up the dose of a couple of days beforehand and we’ll add the fast acting syringe before the competition as well. It’s important that we try and allow him to be as relaxed as we can in the lead up to the show so we try and do what we can to help. A lot of horses will get very excited when they’re plaited up in the stable and their travel boots go on, or they hear the lorry being moved and the ramp come down for loading. You don’t want them to use up all their energy before they’ve even left home! Neville’s owner Jen Goodman has been In training for the big day: Spencer and Super Nova
great – we’ve reached an agreement that she’ll come to the show under her own steam and watch from a safe distance, but if we’re an embarrassment then she’ll just leave, but if all goes well, then she’s welcome to come and throw her arms round both of us – we’ll just have to wait and see! Doogie also has a big day coming up as we’ve got him entered in his first Prix St Georges at Abbey Dressage and whereas I thought I might just be able to potter about unnoticed, having read the list of entries, I see we’re up against some of the best, including Charlotte [Dujardin] and Don Archie and Isobel [Wessels] and Chagall, both of whom have previously scored over 70per cent at his level! Doogie’s a bit of a funny one, if he gets tense then he goes within himself and ignores his rider, so the approach to training him is different as you need to help make him feel good about himself. At home he’s been feeling really fit and strong, but the day before the plan is to just give him a quite day with a leg stretch and take the pressure off him. I have to admit I do like a challenge and love competing – I enjoy the pressure and the idea of having to perform a movement at an exact marker – if you get it right, it’s a great feeling! I don’t know how we’ll all get on, but one thing is for sure, we’re fired up and ready for the action so watch this space! • Update: Spencer won both classes with Super Nova, but his outing with Doogie was postponed.
About Spencer
Spencer Wilton started as a working pupil for eventing luminaries Lucinda Green, Mark Todd and Ruth McMullen. After taking up dressage, he was based with Carl Hester and won the 1997 national dressage title on Dolendo. He now has a training base at Grove Farm, Gloucestershire, with his partner, event rider Jay Halim. For information, visit www.spencerwilton.co.uk
Tel: 01733 468000
high performance/FREDERICKS FORUM
Fredericks
Forum
We join top eventer Clayton Fredericks as he enjoys the Portuguese sunshine
I
’m sending this column halfway through Barocca d’Alva horse trials in Portugal, where it’s a beautiful 20°. Publication deadlines mean I have to write this before our competitions here are over, but at the risk of tempting fate, I’ve got a nice warm glow of satisfaction! Sorrento, Mr Big Cat, Ben Along Time and the Badminton-bound Be My Guest have all gone beautifully. We kicked off with a fourth and seventh place in the CIC one-star event for Sorrento and Mr Big Cat respectively, then Ben Along Time cruised to a sixth in the CIC two-star, with Lottie (Be My Guest) also giving me a great ride. For once, the placings aren’t high on my list of priorities. Those of you who remember how excited I was to win a Harley Davidson motorbike here last year might be surprised to hear me say that, but the next few months are all about building up to the Olympics and I’m here to build on my qualifications. Although I always believed Australia would secure a team place for London, it’s great to have it confirmed. We were unlucky to miss qualification at our regional qualifying event last year, which left us dependent on individual rider rankings. When the FEI reached its March 1st deadline for finalising the individual qualifications, Australian Clayton has switched his top horses to Fodder Solutions
riders claimed the first nine places. As I’ve said before, the only thing you can be sure of with horses is that there are no certainties. We all know that with the best will in the world, things can go wrong right up to the last minute – but I’m thinking positive about my chances as an individual, as well as part of the team. Being successful at top level isn’t just
You can’t make a living out of competing, no matter how good and/or how lucky you are.’ about finding the right horses, it’s about planning – for the long term, as well as for immediate goals. As professional event riders, Lucinda and I have to focus on so many things, not least of which is funding our riding careers. You can’t make a living out of competing, no matter how good and/or how lucky you are. That’s one reason why we always have horses for sale, even if we’d like to keep them. Sorrento is a good example. Ronnie, as we call him, is a 17hh, eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding who competed in
Clayton and Lucinda with their new hydroponic feed system
dressage and show jumping in Germany before coming to the UK and starting his eventing career. He’s a stunning horse who ticks all the boxes – big paces, superb jump and lovely temperament – and I’d love to find him an owner or syndicate of owners so I could keep the ride. Both Cinda and I count our blessings when it comes to owners, as ours are wonderful. We’re so lucky to have long-term owners who have also become our friends, and who trust our judgement and care about their horses. If you want to succeed, you have to keep your eye on every detail. We always appreciate being approached by potential sponsors, but we won’t endorse anything we don’t believe in 100 per cent. That’s one reason why I’m so excited about our latest sponsorship deal from Fodder Solutions, which we trialled for several months before signing on the dotted line. It’s a hydroponic feed system that grows fresh ‘grass mats’ from barley seed, providing a consistent supply of fresh feed which suits the horse’s natural digestive system. At first, it was the cost benefit that attracted me and I looked at it as something that would make a good feed basis for the yard, even if it turned out to be not for my top horses. A few months on, I’m a convert and have seen the benefits all-round, including with my Olympic hopefuls. I’m finding that the horses are not only stronger and more supple, but are relaxed in their minds. They feel much softer through their backs and as this is the only thing that has changed in their regimes, it has to be the reason for their improvement. What also appeals is that by altering the seed mix, I can increase the protein in their diets to build muscle, without the risk of tying-up. For me, it’s the perfect way to feed horses naturally and give them all the fuel they need to be elite athletes: all we need now is a version for riders!
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Feeding/Forage
10 forage myths busted How, why and when to feed fibre – with the latest advice from top feed industry experts
I
f we want our horses to stay happy and healthy, we need to make the most of nutritional science – while staying true to nature. Horses are born to graze, and that means forage and high fibre feeds should be the mainstay of every horse’s diet. Forage – in the form of grass, hay, haylage, chaff or other high fibre feeds – keeps their digestive system functioning properly, helps keep them warm and also helps maintain a level temperament, which is why nutritionists www.horsedeals.co.uk
recommend it should always make up the bulk of your horse’s overall feed intake. In many cases, good quality forage, plus either a balancer, a broad spectrum vitamin and mineral supplement or a nutritionally balanced fibre-based feed fed in appropriate quantities, can provide all the fuel a horse needs. And that’s still the case, even if your horse is in medium or hard work. When you’re buying feed, you know what’s in the bag and you know the nutritional analysis will remain the same between one
batch and the next. However, when you’re buying hay or haylage, it isn’t so easy. Its nutritional quality depends on so many things: the grasses it’s made from, the time of year it was cut and how well it was made for instance. However, many feed companies will help by having hay analysed for you; in most cases, you only need to send enough to fill a supermarket carrier bag. If you want an accurate picture of any shortfalls in your horse’s diet and how you can compensate, it can be a cost effective way to start. APRIL 2012 Horse Deals
Showing/cobs
Turn to page 40 to discover Lynn’s best buys
An eye for a winner Expert Lynn Russell gives her top tips for buying and showing cobs – plus we have all the information you need to bring your cob on in style
G
ood show cobs are a real eyeful – powerful, workmanlike, full of character and great fun. But if you want to find one in the rough, you need to be a real star spotter. Over the past 25 years, show producer and judge Lynn Russell has built up an unbeatable strike rate. Appropriately, the cobs she brings out under the banner of Baileys Horse Feeds all have heavenly names, but her star-spotting technique is rather more down to earth. “You can find cobs in the most unlikely places – Polaris, one of the best-moving cobs I ever had, was a purebred Irish Draught stallion by Silver Jasper who had been sold as a teaser,” she says. “He was scruffy, hairy and
a real hooligan! I always look at two things first – the structure of the limbs, particularly the forelimbs, and the width of the chest. If a horse hasn’t got good limbs, with short cannon bones, clean joints and sufficient bone, I wouldn’t buy him. And if a horse doesn’t stand four square, with enough width between the chest, it isn’t a proper cob. “Nearly all my cobs come over from Ireland, usually as three or four-year-olds, and they’re certainly not in show condition when they get here. But even when a horse is undeveloped or poor, you can see from the basic framework whether it’s a show cob or what I call a ‘what a pity’ – meaning it has almost, but not quite, got what it takes.”
At the same time, says Lynn, you have to be able to look at a horse and work out how he will look with the correct schooling and feeding. It’s all down to that basic blueprint. “Some cobs feel narrow when you first get on them, because they haven’t built up a topline,” she explains. “But if the width across the chest is there and the basic conformation is right, the body will muscle up to match. “As young cobs mature, they let down through the body, but some take longer than others,” she adds. “I want my horses fit and well-covered, but not fat. Apart from the fact that obesity is a health issue with horses as well as people, a fat cob can’t move and will give a poor ride. “As a judge, I hate getting on horses who roll from side to side. Also, if a horse is too fat he will get a loaded shoulder and won’t move freely – despite what some people think, fat won’t cover a multitude of sins!”
Spoilt for choice Polaris when he arrived at Lynn’s yard as an unbroken stallion
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Polaris winning at the RIHS
So do you want a lightweight, a heavyweight, a maxi or a traditional cob? If you want even more choice, you could look for a coloured cob who could not only show in one of the above, but in classes under the auspices of the British Skewbald and Piebald Association or the Coloured Horse and Pony Society. april 2012 Horse Deals
April 2012 Horse Deals
Tel: 01733 468000
YARD equipment
‘I couldn’t
live without…’ In the high-tech world we live in, time-saving equipment around the yard is a must-have. Here, top riders reveal the gadgets they rely on
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APRIL 2012 Horse Deals
Arena talk
strian arles Britton Eque the experts at Ch as ch e su vic s, ad ist ial ing ec Sp build be happy to offer Construction, will
building an arena
An arena can be a fantastic asset, but how much does one really cost, can you build it yourself or should you leave it to the experts? Andrea McHugh reports
T
To download a free PDF on how to he benefits of having build your own riding arena visit an arena cannot be www.jacksonarenas.com understated. The convenience of being able to ride regularly in your own school will give your training Before you start, check with your local sessions a distinct edge, enabling you authority to see whether planning and your horse to fast track your riding permission is required for an arena goals. With the roads busier than they (turn to A Problem Shared on page 56 have ever been, an arena can provide a for more on this). safe riding environment, and a good Most professional arena construction surface will lessen the chance of specialists can help clients obtain injuries. In addition, your arena could planning permission. “We can provide create some extra income if you choose clients and planners with cross-drawings to rent it out to other horse owners. Dog and letters detailing all aspects of the training clubs are also often looking for site including fence heights and depth an equestrian arena to train in, of drainage channels etc,” says James particularly those that pursue activities Alford, proprietor of Jackson Arenas. such as agility and Flyball. A well“We either send these direct to the constructed outdoor ménage can add value to an equestrian property, but how customer, or to the planning department, and because of our experience the easy is it to turn dreams of an outdoor process is usually straightforward.” arena into reality? Ben Smith of Maple Arenas, based in There is no doubt that building an Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts agrees, saying: arena is a major project, and for those “We have been doing this job for 12 who are considering doing the years and are familiar with all entire job themselves, it is aspects of the planning not for the faint-hearted. process, and I have never A professional arena Constructing yet had planning construction your arena at a time of ye permission refused. specialist can take ar when contractors ar We’ve built arenas in two to three weeks to e quiet, rather than du many different areas ring the complete the job, height of sum mer including greenbelt land although this is help you to ne , can gotiate and historical sites, but it dependent on weather better rates. can seem a bit daunting and site conditions. An for people who try to do it amateur may take many themselves. Keeping it all months as they struggle to contained, and ensuring the arena understand the minutiae of and walk way are as close to your stables planning applications, source as possible can help with planning.” equestrian grade materials and book reputable contractors. However, doing it yourself can save you money, and many arena specialists are happy to provide A standard arena measures 40 x 20m, materials and advice to help ensure the and you will pay more for larger sizes success of the project. Getting expert such as 60 x 20m or the 60 x 30m that advice before you start is imperative, are often favoured by show jumpers. as Linda Wright of Charles Britton Prices will vary so get as many quotes as Equestrian Construction explains. possible and don’t necessarily go for the “Putting right arenas that have been cheapest, which may not be the best. badly built remains something that we Factors that influence costs include the do often,” she says. “Amazingly, DIY builds are often heavily over-engineered surface you choose, fencing and gates, plus added extras such as mirrors and in many ways yet can miss lights. The location and accessibility of fundamentals. For example we saw one the site will also affect costs. Large site recently where the depth of the base machinery is required to deliver was ridiculous – far more stone had materials and dig out the base, and been used than was necessary. “Another common fault is an obsession although an arena can be built virtually anywhere, the flatter and more with sub base drainage, especially accessible the site, the more costs can be when ‘drainage experts’ are used who kept down. An average budget for a invariably seem to employ some standard fenced 40 x 20m outdoor arena variation on the herringbone system. with a sand and rubber chipping surface This is not always the best thing for is in the region of £15-£20,000. a riding arena as it won’t always You could spend up to £80,000 for a 60 provide the instantaneous drainage x 30m arena covered with a surface such over every inch of the surface that we as Ekotrack with added rubber. believe is necessary.”
Planning ahead
Top tip
Budget options
april 2012 Horse Deals
Horse Health Vet
Supporting British breeding www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk
Bringing up
baby
About our expert Ed Lyall grew up on his parents’ North Yorkshire equestrian centre, and graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1994. He was awarded a scholarship to continue his studies there and is now a partner at Arundel Veterinary Hospital in West Sussex. He is an examiner in equine stud medicine and a treating vet at Hickstead and the South of England Show. His interests include competing his Grade A horse in affiliated show jumping.
april 2012 Horse Deals
The early years are a time when youngstock are most vulnerable to disorders and disease, so it’s essential to spot the early warning signs, says vet Ed Lyall Tel: 01733 468000
bringing up baby/horse health vet
Growth problems, such as contracted tendons, require veterinary intervention
A hock affected by OCD (see X-ray), and the visual effects of stifle joint OCD
Y
oung horses are vulnerable to a number of health issues, among which is a heavy worm burden. This is often more of an issue in youngsters than it is in older horses – partly because their immune system hasn’t developed enough to protect them from the worms in their alimentary tract. Often youngsters are kept in an intensive manner with a high stocking density, and because of this one youngster shedding worm eggs will rapidly infect all others in contact. www.horsedeals.co.uk
Small red worms can cause quite severe diarrhoea, often in autumn and spring. This is associated with the larval stages of the small strongyles (or cyathostomes) encysting in the wall of the bowel and causing an inflammatory process, resulting in diarrhoea. However, it’s not just small red worms that are a problem; tapeworms are a common cause of colic. The tapeworms (Anoplocephala species) often congregate at the junction between the small intestine and the caecum, and in the caecum itself. They attach to the
wall of the bowel in these sites and, in doing so, irritate the plexi in the muscle wall that are responsible for stimulating the muscular wall of the intestine to contract. Often this causes a colic that appears to be a hyper motile or spasmodic colic, however tapeworms can, in young horses, cause a more aggressive and uncontrolled contraction. As a result, the bowel may telescope inside itself resulting in what is called an intussusception. This is a type of colic that can only be corrected by surgical intervention. On some stud farms we see several cases of Ascarid infestation each year. These are large worms that can accumulate in foals and weanlings in significant numbers in the bowel – so much so they may cause an obstruction. Anthelmintics, or wormers, are an aid to the horse’s immune system for keeping worms in the bowel under control. april 2012 Horse Deals
Next month in
Horse Deals On sale 24 April Burghley here we come! Expert help and advice to help you find your perfect event horse
PLUS! Find out who’s
heading for Badminton glory in our sneak preview
Spooky? Lazy? Hot-headed? The latest feed advice for every temperament
Embryo transfer:
is it the right option for you?
From electric to post and rail…
Check out our essential round-up of every fencing option
Vet advice When and why to geld your stallion
PLUS Insider news and views
from Team Fredericks and Spencer Wilton – plus our new breeders’ column
Subscribe to Horse Deals magazine and get a Bentley grooming kit – turn to page 16 to find out more APRIL 2012 Horse Deals
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