Endurance GB January/February 2020

Horse Health biosecurity and training

Forward Planning 2020 ride schedule January/February 2020

Official members' publication for Endurance GB

“Extra water to help keep them hydrated on long rides!”

It is essential that endurance horses are well hydrated and have plenty of energy to ride long distances.

Allen & Page feeds provide my horses with all the energy and power they need to perform without making them fizzy.

The soaked feeds also provide extra water to help keep them hydrated on long rides!

– Carol Chapman on Silver Prince Sadik (Prince)

QUICK SOAK

60

seconds!

The Quick Soak Fibre Provider Low starch and low sugar (7.5% combined) suitable for laminitics

High in fibre can be fed as a partial hay replacement

Low calorie / energy level ideal for good doers

Fully balanced with vitamins and minerals

Contact our award-winning helpline for more information and nutritional advice 902 | helpline@allenandpage.co.uk 01362 822 90

www.allenandpage.com

Office Administration Endurance GB Office, Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2RP t: 02476 697929 f: 02476 418429

In this

Volume 17 – Issue 1

issue

Publisher

Unit C, Northfield Point, Cunliffe Drive, Kettering, Northants, NN16 9QJ t: 01536 527297 e: info@matrixprint.com Designed by Matrix Print Consultants Ltd Alex Morris Tolu Akinyemi Production Editor Matrix Print Consultants Ltd Catherine Baldock t: 01536 527 297 e: catherineb@matrixprint.com Advertising Sales Manager Matrix Print Consultants Ltd Andy Etherton t: 01536 527 297 e: andy@matrixprint.com Deadlines Copy Dates to Editor for future issues of Endurance: March/April by 10th March. If you wish to advertise in the March/April 2020 issue, artwork deadline is 24th March. The views and opinions of the writers are not necessarily those of the editor, Matrix Print Consultants Ltd or Endurance GB. Endurance magazine is fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reproduced wholly or in part without the permission of Endurance GB and/or Matrix Print Consultants Ltd.

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34

Regulars 4

Future Focus

6

News

8 34

Endurance GB Chair Phil Nunnerley

Group updates and equestrian news

Endurance GB News Membership changes and upcoming rides

Cover Photo Beautiful Horse Head

Follow us on Social Media Twitter @EnduranceGB

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18

Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters

Instagram @endurancegbinsta

Equine Insurance Petplan help demystify insurance

Biosecurity Endurance vet, Tom Eayon-Evans offers advice

Sand Colic

10

Young Riders

12

Para

24

Rider Profile

26

Training

32

Male Focus

36

Novice Champions

38

Ride Preview

Carolyn Cummins of Westgate Labs explains

20

Worming

29

Life in Pictures

30

Hoof Care

Facebook @EnduranceGB

Endurance GB

SERC

Features 14

40

Future stars and important news

Endurance for everyone

Carol Chapman in the spotlight

Kathy Carr shares her fitness secrets

Paul Simmons from Arab racing to endurance

Janthea Newman and Angel

Parasite problems and pasture care Tilford national ride

A celebration of Bobby’s life

No hoof – no ride

40

Meet the Sponsors Emerald Green Feeds keep it in the family

ISSN 2516-2349

contents

3

Future

focus

Endurance GB Board of Directors Chairman, Policy & Governance PHIL NUNNERLEY T: 07860 323968 / 01761 221561 E: philnunnerley@endurancegb.co.uk Finance Director CHRIS WRAY T: 07856 500519 / 01600 860938 E: chriswray@endurancegb.co.uk

Phil Nunnerley Chair of Endurance GB

Dear members, A new ride season is ahead of us. The wind and rain that have been so much a feature of our weather these past few weeks has not helped prepare our horses for the goals we all may have set for this year. I am confident however that riders will be sensible in ensuring the welfare of their horses is paramount.

Globally, the New Year did not start well and none of us liked reading reports of fatalities at rides. Your Board issued a strong statement and has escalated its concerns to the FEI. The FEI itself has tightened some of its rules and for our part we are reminding all those riding abroad of their responsibilities to report any abuses.

Endurance GB faces financial challenges as we adapt to living without the sponsorship of HPower from which we have benefited for the last 3 years. That contract expired last August and by mutual agreement has not been renewed. Some tough and difficult decisions are required to ensure we now live within our means.

Clubhouse is up and running and delivering significant benefits already. We are particularly grateful to John Hudson and Nick Wallbridge for their efforts in delivering Clubhouse and to HPower and Meydan whose funding made it possible.

Thank you to all our Ride Organisers and their teams of volunteers for putting on an exciting ride programme.

I look forward to meeting more of you at rides throughout the season. Good luck for 2020; may your horse(s) stay fit but above all ENJOY yourselves- it’s what our sport is all about.

Phil 4

future focus

Groups, Health & Safety, The Office, Volunteering ROSEMARY HENDERSON T: 07894 477049 E: rosemaryhenderson@endurancegb.co.uk International Director, Development (Including Young & Junior Riders, Coaching, Futurity, Pony Club, Para) ROSEMARY ATTFIELD T: 07810 580880 / 01403 822567 E: rosemaryattfield@endurancegb.co.uk SERC Representative & Insurance CONSTANCE NEWBOULD T: 0131 445 2235 M: 07973 726001 Vice Chair, Operations Director, IT and BEF Equality Action Team Representative ESTHER YOUNG T: 07454 929919 E: estheryoung@endurancegb.co.uk Communications Director KERRY DAWSON T: 07818 283144 E: kerrydawson@endurancegb.co.uk Sponsorship Director SHAUN WALSH E: shaunwalsh@endurancegb.co.uk Welfare Director ANTONIA MILNER-MATTHEWS T: 07712 559256 E: antoniamilner-matthews@endurancegb.co.uk Safeguarding Director AMANDA WOOLCOMBE E: amandawoolcombe@endurancegb.co.uk Directors of Endurance GB are volunteers, so please be patient and considerate with any queries. Most Directors work full time elsewhere and are not always available during working hours. No calls before 9am or after 9pm please.

endurancegb.co.uk

Photo courtesy of David Saunders

The following appointments have been confirmed by the Board:

Amanda Woolcombe will join the Board as a coopted Director with responsibility for Safeguarding.

Amanda is a longstanding primary school Headteacher in Kent with many years' experience of both Safeguarding and Health and Safety.

Shaun Walsh will join the Board as a co-opted Director with responsibility for Sponsorship. Shaun is an accomplished operational commercial manager and brings a wealth of experience in negotiating commercial contracts, a key skill in negotiating sponsorship agreements.

Maxine Golledge has been appointed as Company Secretary. Although she is not a Director, she will attend Board Meetings.

Jan Hebblethwaite has been appointed Chair of Endurance GB's Disciplinary Committee. Jan is a retired solicitor with experience in private practice and local government.

All three are very welcome additions to the Endurance GB management team and we are looking forward to working with them.

International Announcement

F

rom the new year of 2020 there is a new international committee comprising of Rosemary Attfield, (Chair) Lindsay Wilson, Stevie Martin, Di Luke and Helen Blair. We wish to be much more open and would love to hear from anyone either already doing FEI or thinking of doing so. We shall have spotters out round the country to suggest future stars.

The international team management team is – Liz Finney (Chef), Andrea Champ (Deputy Chef & YR Chef), Georgina Vaughan (Vet), Nigel Brown (Farrier), Sam Daplyn (Physio), Robyn Dunn (Physio) and Fi Bloom (YR Physio)

who wishes to be considered for either team please email Rosemary Attfield.

There will be compulsory assessments with the dates announced on the web site under International. The assessments for Italy is on the 16th February.

We hope to run a development squad in 2021 So do either email or come and talk to any of us. If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear from you. rosemaryattfield@endurancegb.co.uk

This year the teams will be completely self financing. The World Championship 2020 is in Italy at the beginning of September when a team will be selected and sent. The Young Riders European championship is to be held in Spain in late September. Anyone qualified

future focus

5

The latest

news and updates

Talking about HorseHage & Mollichaff

T

hese days we have so much information at our finger tips with computers, smartphones and tablets, but nothing beats a face to face presentation with a real person to whom you can pose questions.

Our sales team has a wealth of experience in equine feeding and would be very happy to come to your riding club or equestrian organisation, free of charge, to talk to you about basic equine nutrition and hopefully provide answers to any feeding queries you may have.

They can also tell you about the different products in our HorseHage and Mollichaff ranges and how they can benefit different types of horses and ponies. We produce forage, chaffs and complete high fibre feeds for all types of equines, including those prone to laminitis.

We will also bring along free Mollichaff samples to give out as well as a raffle prize.

To book a talk for your group, please call the HorseHage & Mollichaff Helpline on 01803 527274.

South East Group

T

here was a great attendance at the South East Group Branch Annual Meeting (BAM) held on Saturday 7th December, where we enjoyed a great meal, with lots of conversations about how the season had been for everyone and promises of getting together at rides in the new season.

But the main part of the evening was awaited with much anticipation – The Awards. ‘Did I do enough? Who’s won what? Who'll be going up to collect! It was great to see so many new faces picking up prized awards. As ever, Leo Davenport did the Group proud with the incredible array of rosettes and trophies, so a huge thank you to Leo for all the time and effort that goes into gathering members results and putting this all together.

Special note goes to the following award winners: Junior Rider – Imogen who won the Lingfield Equine Vets Achievement Award Awarded to the rider aged 13yrs & under on 1st January 2019 gaining the most points in 10 CER & GER classes. Kindly presented

by Jo Woodman, photo courtesy of Kevin

6

news

Hawes. High Point Horse was Aberllwyd Ibn Phariz (awarded to the horse gaining the most points in 10 CER & GER classes) and reserve High Point Horse – Magdy. We also held a raffle of some great prizes donated by members and raised £235.

South East Group has yet again got a great programme of events planned for the season, so keep an eye on our website at https:// endurancegbsoutheast.wordpress.com/ Since the BAM in December, the South East Group committee have had their first meeting of the year. Su Middleton was voted as the new Chair, taking over from Mandy Yarnold. Shelley Bates, newest joiner to the committee, has taken on the post of Vice-Chair as well as Technical Steward representative and management of the E-Newsletter.

The South East Group Committee wish all Groups and Endurance GB members all the best for the 2020 season.

endurancegb.co.uk

Endurance GB office

I

f you are riding abroad you require a NOC (No Objection Certificate). In order to obtain one, you must be a full member, and if you live abroad you must have paid your overseas supplement.

To obtain your NOC please email Darren at darrenbutler@endurancegb.co.uk with your request. You will need a separate NOC for every country you wish to ride in.

These can take up to 5 working days to be processed so please ensure these requests are sent in good time before your ride.

Once received, your NOC will be uploaded to your Clubhouse record.

Mastercard – Please remember to send in your green mastercards from last year to ensure you have your yellow mastercard ready for the new season. You can either post it into the office with an SAE or you can email across a copy of your master card and make a £1 payment in the Endurance GB shop. This will then be posted out to you upon receiving your mastercards.

The process is also the same for yellow mastercards that are now full.

If you haven’t already logged into the new Clubhouse system, please do! If you require any help with this, please do not hesitate to give the office a call and they will be more than willing to help you.

Car and Trailer Stickers are now available to purchase in the shop along with our other merchandise. Please take a look. www.egb.myclubhouse.co.uk

Equine Herpes Virus

O

n Thursday 9 January, the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) issued an update following the confirmed diagnosis of EHV-1 (Equine Herpes Virus) at an equestrian centre in Hampshire, which has now been named as Crofton Manor Equestrian Centre in Fareham.

In consultation with the Animal Health Trust, the BEF is today strongly recommending that any horse or pony who visited Crofton Manor EC between 20 December and 7 January is tested by a veterinary surgeon for EHV. This is in addition to the originally recommended isolation period of 14 days and daily clinical monitoring.

EHV-1 is a contagious disease that can be spread through direct and indirect contact, with the virus surviving in the environment for several weeks. Clinical signs include a high temperature, coughing, nasal discharge, lethargy and loss of appetite. Severely affected animals can display neurological symptoms, and pregnant mares can also suddenly and unexpectedly miscarry their unborn foal.

The BEF recommends that all horse owners remain vigilant for signs of the virus, maintain excellent biosecurity and consult with their vets if they are concerned.

Please see p16 for advice on biosecurity

Owners of any horses or ponies who have been to Crofton Manor EC in the specified period should liaise directly with their veterinary surgeon on the testing process and advice.

End of an era

I

t is with tremendous sadness we announce the death of June Adams after a short illness.

June was a staunch supporter of endurance for many years helping in ride offices, crewing and officiating in many different roles, including as Technical Steward.

June's funeral is to be for family members only, but donations may be sent in June's memory to the Air Ambulance. Her funeral is to be for family members only, but donations may be sent in June’s memory to the Air Ambulance.

Photo courtesy of David Saunders Photo taken at Red Dragon 2019

news

7

What's new at

Endurance GB

The Endurance GB 2020 membership year is now open!

You can join Endurance GB via www.endurancegb.co.uk

Some of the main changes for this year include: The new website

Photo courtesy of LRG Photography

The website is now open for renewals and for new memberships/supporter registrations. If you were a member or a supporter in 2019, please log in using the details that you have been sent by email and if you cannot find the email with your new log in details on it, please follow the 'forgotten credentials' process on the Endurance GB website.

The ride dates and locations are on the new site but the ride classes and accompanying information are still being added with a view to opening the ride calendar for the first of the early season rides on 20 January.

The opening dates for the first rides will be delayed until the ride calendar is open. The rest of the website is still a work in progress as we move the remainder of the content over from the legacy site.

Please be patient, and thank you to everyone who has been involved in the transition: https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/cms/ spaces/miscellaneous/thank+you

Changes to Club membership

Club membership is now open to Pony Club members, Riding for the Disabled Association

8

endurance news

members, Retraining of Racehorses members, and to members of teams registered for the Riding Club Endurance Championships.

All Club members now get the same package: they can join as a Club member for free and can enter any Endurance GB ride up to 40km Novice

GERs but a temporary day membership fee is payable for each ride.

New riders wishing to register as a Club member need to fill in the details on Step 5 of their supporter/membership registration. Riders who are already registered with Endurance GB and

endurancegb.co.uk

who want to add Club membership to their supporter/membership account can do this by logging into their account and clicking on 'My Additional Info (My Forms)' on the main Clubhouse menu which can be found by clicking on their name in the top right hand side of the screen. https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/ cms/spaces/miscellaneous/thank+you

Change to novice rider qualifications

The Riding Club Championships

Young and junior riders now get the same entry fee discount (10%). The junior rider discount on membership fees has increased a little to compensate.

We are happy to accept applications for registration for the Riding Club Championships from Riding Club teams, Trec teams, Pony Club teams, University teams, Retraining of Racehorses teams, and Armed Forces teams. Any group, club or organisation who wishes to submit an application to register a team for the Riding Club Championships should contact johnhudson@ endurancegb.co.uk Registered teams benefit from free Club membership of Endurance GB and can enter any Endurance GB ride up to 40km Novice GERs. Existing members of Endurance GB can also form part of Riding Club Championship teams where they are eligible to do so.

The Northern, Southern and Welsh Championships

The championship classes on offer at these championships will be increased.

In addition to the 80-100km headline Regional Championship class (which will be a CER where possible) at each one there will be a 65km Regional Open Championship class, a 40km Regional Novice Championship class, and a 20km Regional Grassroots Championship class.

Flu Vaccinations

Endurance GB's flu vaccination policy currently remains as per 2019: https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/ cms/spaces/certifications/ equine+influenza+policy We require yearly booster vaccinations as a minimum.

Age thresholds

Juniors now become young riders in the year in which they turn 14, and young riders will stay young riders until the year in which they turn 25.

Rider cumulative distance awards

From 2020 we will be issuing cumulative distance awards for riders to sit alongside those that we already issue for horses.

Novice riders will now be required to complete five novice GERs of between 30-50km before they can upgrade to open level. Horses can still upgrade after three novice GERs.

Young and junior rider entry fee discounts

Eligibility criteria for 160km national rides

(GERs and CERs, single day and multi day). Any combination entering a 160km national ride must be at advanced level and must have completed a ride of at least 80km in a day as a combination in the 18 months prior to the ride.

De-nerved horses

Endurance GB will follow the FEI rules in relation to de-nerved horses who display hyper or hypo sensitivity, and these horses will not be permitted to participate in Endurance GB rides.

Equality Policy

Endurance GB has updated its Equality Policy with the aim to ensure that no individual receives more or less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, sex, gender, disability, race, parental or marital status, pregnancy, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender reassignment.

+/- 5% leeway on distances The wording in the rules relating to applying +/- 5% leeway on distances has been clarified. +/- 5% is still the tolerable margin for error in relation to the measuring of routes (ie someone enters a 40km ride which turns out to be 42km on the ground).

However, where a rider requires a ride distance for qualification purposes they will need to choose one which is advertised as the distance that they need. So for example, if you require a ride of 80km or more to qualify, you will need to enter a ride which is advertised as 80km or more.

However, if you enter an 80km in good faith and route changes on the day mean that the distance has changed to 75km, it will still count as a qualification ride as it was advertised as 80km.

Upcoming Endurance GB rides March Sunday 1st Forest of Dean March Hares Sunday 1st Runway Saturday 7th Spring Cannock Chase Sunday 8th Tilford Saturday 14th Daffodil Ride Sunday 22nd Wadebridge Sunday 29th Talybont Sunday 29th Willow Banks

April Saturday 4th Haywood Oaks Sunday 5th Haytor Sunday 5th Hardys Ride Friday 10th Kings Forest Spring Saturday 11th Southdowns Sunday 19th Forest of Dean Bluebell Sunday 19th Colquite Sunday 19th Croal Irwell Saturday 25th Pembrey County Park Saturday 25th Foxdales Sunday 26th Primrose

endurance news

9

Hoof prints

and heart beats

Photo courtesy of Marimages

Future stars

Bethany and Spirit

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young riders

D

urham and Teesside Group of Endurance GB member, Bethany, was born in August 2008. Prior to her birth, her parents Nicola and Steven were unaware that their daughter had a serious heart condition, called an Interrupted Aortic Arch, which is a rare heart defect in which the aorta, the main pipeline to the heart, is not completely developed. If that weren't enough, Beth also had Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) which is otherwise known as a hole in the heart. At the tender age of just 10 days, Beth deteriorated and was transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle Upon Tyne, which houses the children's heart hospital, where she then underwent an 8 hour open heart surgery.

Unfortunately, the operation wasn't successful and further surgery was required the following year, when she had a complete heart block and pacemaker fitted. 2 years of good health followed but the family were not able to relax for long. Beth began to deteriorate again, further surgery and talk of a heart transplant soon followed. Nicola and Steven felt helpless as their little girl began to struggle with day to day life and had to use a wheelchair.

Beth's Consultant suggested trying a brand new type of pacemaker. This had only been tried on one other little girl in the UK. The surgery went ahead, and Beth is now paced from 4 chambers. However, that wasn't the end of hospital appointments as since that point, Beth has endured a further 8 procedures, her last open heart surgery was 3 and a half years ago.

On two occasions, during life saving operations, it has been very much a touch and go situation, but Beth's fighting spirit kept her here.

"Beth and Spirit have a wonderful bond" Understandably, due to her experience of many medical procedures, Beth now suffers from post traumatic stress and anxiety but her great love of horses has been the main driving force to not let

endurancegb.co.uk

One to watch

Our very own Endurance GB rider, Katie Bedwin, has been recognised

by Horse and Hound as one of ’20 riders to watch in 2020’.

Katie ended her 2019 season on a high, securing six national titles at the annual Endurance GB awards after a consistent year with Aberllwyd Ibn Phariz.

Katie gives special thanks to Phariz’s owner, Sue Higgins, for trusting her with such a special and talented horse.

Well done Katie!

Important news for Young and Junior riders During the AGM there was some discussion, led by our Young Rider representatives, about the cut off ages for Young and Junior riders. The board promised to go away and talk about it, and the following decision has now been reached: From the 2020 season, the cut off dates for the move from Junior Riding Member to Young Rider Member will be changing.

– Junior Riders will be deemed to be Junior Riders up to and including the year in which they turn 13.

Katie and Phiraz

her heart problems get in the way of her striving to live life to the full. She is constantly pushing herself to achieve and do as much as everyone else.

Beth and her 15 year old pony Hawkhill Judy - or as she's known at home Spirit, (a very applicable name for her pony, as Beth herself has this quality in bucketloads) have developed a wonderful bond. Beth's Mum, Nicola and her own horse Sakama Taliesin have competed with Endurance GB for a while and Beth saw how much her Mum enjoyed it, what a stress relieving activity it was, how fabulous it is to get out into the countryside and just be at one with your equine friend - and she decided that was what she and Spirit were going to do next!

Beth started with a few pleasure rides in 2018 and then joined Durham and Teesside as a full junior member for the 2019 season.

Since then, she has gone from strength to strength, culminating in qualifying for the Pony Club Endurance Championships at Euston Park, where Beth and her super pony Spirit assisted the Grassroots Yorkshire Arrows Pony Club team to first place with Beth taking individual 7th in the Junior placings!

I know her family are, quite rightly, super proud of Beth - and all of us at Durham & Teesside Group are in awe of everything she has achieved and managed to overcome. Well done Beth - what an amazing year this little combination has enjoyed!

We can't wait to see what new goals this gutsy young lady and her best friend Spirit have in their sights.

Nikki Parnaby

– Young Riders will be deemed to be Young Riders from the year in which they turn 14 through to and including the year in which they turn 25.

– Senior Riders will be deemed to be Senior Riders from the year in which they turn 26.

This brings Endurance GB's domestic criteria in line with some of the other BEF disciplines, and will enable riders up to the age of 25 to enjoy Young Rider discounts and to take part in Young Rider activities.

Please note that the FEI will have different criteria, and that anyone entering an FEI event will need to comply with the new FEI rules to be published shortly by the FEI.

young riders

11

Unleash your potential

Something for

everyone

Endurance at Riverside RDA

Riverside RDA is a small group, which operates every Saturday throughout the year, weather permitting. We have over forty riders and for several of our riders working in the arena is challenging and when RDA National introduced Endurance as an activity we decided to look into it.

We are very fortunate that where we are based, we can offer rides along the riverside, into the woods and into a local estate where there are plenty of bridlepaths. We measured these rides and it became clear that these could be incorporated into Endurance. The ride along the riverside is exactly two kilometres and fits our weekly lesson time. The longer rides we save for the holiday schemes. After discussion riders were keen to participate. Riders who find the arena challenging had a new pathway and enabled us to set them goals within Endurance. Both riders and volunteers were enthusiastic about this new venture.

So, one Saturday we held an Introduction to Endurance Day. We used the two kilometre riverside course, simple markers showed the way and volunteers were briefed. Throughout the day all our riders had the opportunity to complete the endurance course, they were timed and given their own time card showing time and speed, to be used again in future sessions. After each ride the riders checked their horses over and offered them a drink.

The day proved a huge success in introducing

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para

Endurance riding is accessible to all, with distances from 1km to the ultimate 160km in a day with Endurance GB. In partnership with Riding for the Disabled, Endurance GB have developed a pathway which allows the rider to train and ride on their own terms and at whatever level, whilst providing any additional support needed. Riding for the Disabled now have 100 centres offering endurance riding distances from 1km-15km offering a great way to get a taste of our exciting discipline.

RDA Riverside group and RDA endurance rider Clare share their endurance journeys.

Endurance. In 2019 we took part in the RDA National Endurance Week. Families were once again involved and it was a good opportunity to reflect on how far Endurance had come at Riverside. One parent commented “ Endurance riding has made a great difference to Dan, he has new goals and challenges to achieve and comes back from riding relaxed, even tempered and most importantly to us smiling and happy. He knows which day of the week it is and can’t wait to get to the stables.”

Prior to signing up to the Grassroots League, we had our own Riverside League, recording distances and times for the riders. The riders received a certificate and sticker for each ten kilometres they achieved. As it was the RDA’s 50th Birthday in 2019, all our riders agreed on an Endeavour Promise based around 50.

Some chose to ride fifty kilometres over the year, which many achieved and they received their special 50th Birthday Endeavour Badge in December.

When RDA National Endurance decided to have a Grassroots Endurance League the group was delighted and we signed up for it. This gave our therapeutic riders and those who find the arena challenging new goals with rewards, which they love to receive. They followed their progress online. They are looking forward to the 2020 league opening in March.

We continue to develop Endurance at the group. We have at least one rider, who is very keen to compete in Endurance at the National Championships. We hope we can help him, as well as other interested riders, to achieve this goal in the next couple of years.

Moira Wragg

endurancegb.co.uk

RDA endurance rider

I have been riding horses for 31 years and with the RDA for 3 years. I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which causes me to suffer from extreme exhaustion and muscle fatigue, migraines and backache. In 2011 I was forced to give up riding due to my ill health and joined the RDA in 2016.

During these first few months at Avon Riding RDA Centre I kept hearing from riders about competitions, so I decided to try a dressage test. Although I came second, I found competing very stressful. I knew that my dressage days were over and resigned myself to not being able to have any of those shiny rosettes. Then last year, our coach Claire, told my class about endurance and instantly my ears pricked up. Claire explained that we would be part of the RDA endurance league and would record the distance of our hacks and as we reached milestones and clocked up kilometres, we would receive rosettes. It was so exciting to hear that I could earn rosettes without costing me my health. I could just enjoy hacking with my best four legged friend, Storm, and earn rosettes along the way!

During my riding career, what I have enjoyed the most is a ride in the countryside. It is where I am relaxed and at peace. The rocking motion of the horse relaxes my hips and shoulders and being out in the fresh air with horses and my friends is balm to my soul.

To find out more about Para-Equestrian Endurance Riding with Endurance GB, please contact welfare@endurancegb.co.uk

"TORQ feel very honoured and proud to be able to naturally fuel each rider. As this in turn, will help to ensure that each rider can achieve their full potential."

To find out more about Endurance riding with the Riding for the Disabled, contact Lucy Stokes on 01926 476307 or by emailing Lucy at lstokes@rda.org.uk

Ride preview The Haytor Endurance ride runs on 5th April 2020 on Dartmoor, Devon. This has a focus upon young and para riders. The ride has classes starting with 4km which can be led or assisted.

There is also a 16km pleasure ride and 32km graded endurance ride with performance formula. There are prizes and trophies for the highest place para rider for the performance formula.

The ride organiser is happy to provide theory sessions prior to the ride to support any para rider groups or associations to enable riders to try this event for the first time.

It is hoped that this event will be popular for para riders and provide a great introduction to the sport.

For more information contact ride organiser Vicky Queen egbsw.haytor20@gmail.com

I no longer feel left out or unable to achieve anything, I can ride at my own pace and be rewarded for it. I clocked up 20km last year and I would like to get to 25km this year and maybe even ride at the RDA regionals and nationals.

RDA Endurance is the best thing to have happened to me since I first got ill and had to give up riding. I feel I am part of something now which has really helped heal my self-esteem and confidence. What can be more important than that?

Clare Sealy

para

13

Ask the expert

Equine insurance

explained

Contributors

Claire Thompson has been part of the Petplan team since 2002. With 17 years of experience in the insurance sector, she offers advice to horse owners.

Laura Graham has been riding, training and competing in Endurance for over 20 years. She has a team of horses competing from Novice up to FEI level.

14

equine insurance

E

ndurance magazine has teamed up with leading specialist horse insurer Petplan Equine to help demystify insurance. From first time owners to top riders, most of us have experienced times when our horses have been unwell or injured.

Unfortunately, vet bills can quickly mount up and it’s worth considering horse insurance, which can help cover the cost of unexpected vet bills and allow you to focus on giving your horse the care he needs.

What cover is available?

Horse Insurance The most important thing to remember when buying or renewing your horse insurance is to make sure the cover is right for you as every policy is different, with varying terms and conditions dependent on your horse and what you want to cover.

It’s important to check you are correctly insured for the activities that you do with your horse.

Petplan Equine provides a ‘pick and mix’ policy, whereby you can choose the benefits to add to your cover, allowing you to tailor your insurance to suit your individual needs. You may require cover for Veterinary Fees, Third Party Liability,

Personal Accident, Permanent Loss of Use or Saddlery and Tack, for example.

Horse owners often see Veterinary Fees as the most important part of horse insurance.

With Petplan Equine you are covered for treatment recommended by your vet up to the full Veterinary Fee limit on your policy with no additional hidden limits for each condition.

Some policies from other insurers may include additional limits for Complementary Treatment such as physiotherapy, acupuncture and specialist farriery which can impact the level of care you can provide for your horse. Therefore, it’s important to understand what your policy provides and that it’s fit for your purpose.

Veteran Insurance Due to improvements in care and veterinary medicine, horses are now living active lives for longer. Some insurance providers class horses as Veterans from 15 or 16 years of age, even though horses in their late teens are often still in full work and regularly out competing and enjoying themselves. Therefore, it is important to double check if your policy provides cover for both illness and injury for your horse as he gets a little older.

endurancegb.co.uk

Reasons to insure: Petplan Equine ambassador Laura Graham is all too familiar with making an insurance claim, having gone through the process with two of her horses. Here Laura explains why having the right insurance is so important. “Equestrian sport asks a lot from our horses and unfortunately accidents and unexpected illnesses do happen. From experience it doesn’t take long for the costs of treatment to mount up and that can place owners under huge additional pressure at a difficult time, that is why it is always important to have your horse insured to give you peace of mind.”

Veteran policies generally just cover injury so you may not be covered if your horse should need treatment for conditions such as Colic or Cushing’s Disease. Older horses can be more susceptible to illness and injury, so it’s worth considering your options early to keep your horse covered.

Rider Insurance Riding accidents don’t just happen to horse owners. If you ride, but don’t own or loan a horse, you could benefit from a Rider Insurance Policy. Before committing to a rider only policy, it is important to check if the horse is insured and confirm with the owner exactly what cover is in place and if you are covered under this policy. Find out if the owner has cover for Personal Accident and Third-Party Liability and if so, are you covered? Some policies cover just named riders whilst others cover anyone riding and handling the horse with the owner's permission.

If the owner’s insurance does not cover you, or the horse is not insured it might be an idea to take out a Rider Insurance Policy. Cover for Rider Insurance varies from provider to provider and it is sensible to take a good look at the cover the policy provides before committing to a policy.

Things to consider

Exclusions An exclusion is a condition, group of conditions or event that is usually covered under a policy, but isn’t for your horse due to their previous veterinary history. It’s important to tell your insurance company everything you know about your horse's veterinary history. The more your insurer knows about your horse’s history the more accurate exclusions will be. With Petplan Equine some exclusions are temporary and can often be removed once your horse has been symptom free for the required length of time.

Even when an exclusion is permanent, it can often be narrowed down to a specific condition.

Loss of Use Permanent Loss of Use pays a percentage of your horse's insured value if he has a serious injury or illness, which sadly means he’s permanently unable to take part in an activity covered by your policy.

When considering Loss of Use cover it is particularly important to think about your situation if an injury or illness makes your horse permanently unable to compete at his current level. He might have to be retired early or compete at a lower level. Permanent Loss of Use cover pays out on the proportionate value the horse has lost.

Third Party Liability The simplest way to understand Third Party Liability is to think of the third party as anyone else who has been injured or whose property has been damaged (excluding people you live with and immediate family). The injury or damage must result from the horse that is insured. Your Third Party Liability cover will come into effect if you are found legally responsible.

If you believe that an accident or injury could result in a Third Party claim against you, you should not admit any responsibility, agree to pay any claim or negotiate with any other person.

You should contact your insurance company and allow them to take charge of your claim.

Case Study: Laura sadly lost her ‘horse of a lifetime’ Amber two years ago, “Suddenly Amber developed septic arthritis, an infection of his hock,” explains Laura. “We worked with our vets to try and save him over four months but sadly, he lost the battle. I am grateful that his last weeks were relatively pain free and a happy time back home with his friends. As I am insured with Petplan Equine, I was able to try all treatment options and as a result we were left with no ‘what ifs’, we did all we could for him. It doesn’t even bear thinking about if money had been a limiting factor.”

equine insurance

15

Biosecurity

Every horse owner should know their horse's normal, healthy vital signs The table shows the normal ranges for a normal, healthy adult horse at rest. These simple checks will help tell if your horse is healthy or if you will have to call the vet. Please note that factors such as exercise, fear, excitement, pain and weather can alter the range for your horse.

Temperature 37.5 - 38.5°C (99-101°F) The best way to take a horse’s temperature is rectally with a digital thermometer, holding in place for at least 30 seconds.

Pulse/heart rate 30-44bpm (beats per minute) Take the pulse from facial artery under the jaw using your finger or using a stethoscope, on the left hand side of the horse apply gentle pressure against the chest just behind the elbow.

A safe and clean

environment

16

horse health

Respiration 8-16bpm (breaths per minute) This can be taken by looking at the nostrils or abdomen/flank area of the horse, counting the rise and fall as a single breath.

Tom Eaton-Evans qualified in 2000 from the Royal Veterinary College and is actively involved with endurance. He is the vet for the British Young Riders Endurance team and advises the Endurance GB Welfare Committee.

B

iosecurity refers to the actions taken to prevent the introduction of disease agents into a specific area. Therefore, when we think about biosecurity it is important to first think about what area we are protecting. This can range from an individual yard, to all the horses involved at a competition, to the country as a whole.

Infectious equine diseases can have serious consequences – sick horses unable to compete and expensive veterinary bills for individual owners – and potentially cancelled competitions for Endurance GB and other disciplines in the case of a more widespread disease outbreak.

Therefore, taking biosecurity seriously is an important responsibility for all horse owners.

Good biosecurity requires a comprehensive approach which encompasses a range of preventative techniques, and if the worst happens, ways to contain the disease and prevent further spread.

Equine infectious disease in the UK

Several equine infectious diseases are endemic in the UK horse population meaning there is always a steady state of infection present. This includes diseases such as strangles and equine herpes.

Equine influenza would usually fall into this category, but an increase in numbers of cases last year would be better described as an epidemic.

Horses can be infectious without appearing ill – they may be incubating an infection, asymptomatic carriers or only have mild clinical signs.

Many equine infectious diseases require relatively close contact to spread. This means keeping horses separate from others can be an important means of reducing transmission.

Disease can also be transmitted via tack and equipment, people and their footwear and clothing, other animals and vehicles. Therefore, good standards of hygiene and cleanliness can help reduce the risk of disease.

Vaccination

Vaccination can play an important role in maintaining good biosecurity, where a reliable vaccine exists for a disease. Equine influenza is the most commonly used vaccine and is usually efficacious, although the virus is prone to change over time, so vaccine manufacturers need to regularly update strains. Following an annual vaccination, it has been shown that immunity against influenza decreases after six months, so epidemiological modelling suggests that more frequent vaccination is beneficial.

Vaccinations against other common equine infectious diseases are less effective. Vaccination against equine herpes is of benefit in breeding mares to help prevent herpes abortion, but its role in preventing respiratory or neurological disease is less clear. It is important to keep breeding operations as separate as possible from competition animals to minimise the risk of the spread of disease between the two groups.

"Vaccination can play an important role in maintaining good biosecurity" Monitoring for disease

Early identification of ill horses is essential for containment of equine infectious disease. An increase in rectal temperature can be an early warning sign of infection and prompt isolation can minimise the spread of disease. An elevation in temperature may precede more subtle clinical signs such as dullness or lack of appetite.

Coughing, nasal discharge or swollen glands should always be taken seriously, especially if linked to an increase in temperature. Not all ill horses necessarily have an infectious disease but it can sometimes be difficult to decide in the acute stages – swabbing to identify a viral or bacterial agent can be useful but results can come back as negative if the organism is not being actively shed at the time of sampling. Blood testing requires a pair of samples with a gap of between 10-14 days to identify a rise in antibody titre to an infection. Early isolation of suspicious horses reduces the risk of spread – in the meantime in contact horses should be monitored closely and not taken to competitions.

Isolation

The ability to isolate horses depends on facilities available. Ideally the horse to be isolated would be stabled as far away from the others as possible, at least somewhere that will preclude direct contact with other horses, and preferably positioned away from ‘through traffic’ of horses and people. If the isolated horse cannot be cared for by a dedicated person, it should be attended to after the other horses – with its own tack and grooming kit. Care must be taken to avoid

spread of infectious agent to the rest of the yard – foot dips, gloves, hand gels, overalls, showering and changing clothes should all be considered.

Other animals, such as cats and dogs or vermin, could also spread disease from the isolation area. Bedding and muck from the stable could also spread infection, so care needs to be taken in disposing of the waste, potentially covering barrows and/or using a dedicated muck heap.

New horses

It is considered good practice to isolate new horses on arrival at a yard for 2-3 weeks (exceeding the incubation time of most common equine diseases). Asymptomatic carriers of disease are a particular risk for strangles infection – although blood testing and guttural pouch washing can help identify these individuals.

Horses competing

Horses attending competitions are at risk of coming into contact with infectious diseases and introducing them into their yard. It isn’t practical to isolate a horse for 2-3 weeks after every competition, but horses should be monitored closely and any ill health within this period should be treated with a high index of suspicion. Minimise the risk of infection at a competition by preventing your horses from coming into direct contact with others and be careful of indirect means of disease transmission such as communal water sources.

horse health

17

Sand colics

in horses

Ask the expert

S

and is a relatively common cause of colic in horses in certain parts of the country. Animals ingest it as they graze and it can accumulate in the colon over time. Here it irritates the gut lining and, in sufficient quantity, also has the ability to cause impaction of the gut which, if not treated in time, can be fatal.

Many horses with sand colic have intermittent mild colics over periods of weeks or months before building up to a more severe episode.

Always call your vet if you suspect colic.

Classic colic signs; Mild depression and inappetence. Pawing, rolling, flank watching, getting up and down, standing as if to urinate or thrashing. Horses with sand colic may also have had diarrhoea before the onset of the symptoms.

Sand testing

Horses presenting with sand colic usually have a history of grazing on sandy soils, overgrazing paddocks or being fed in a menage. For equines in these risk categories a faecal sample can be taken at intervals through the year and checked for sand to assess the levels in the gut. This is done by dissolving dung in water and observing the amount of sediment that settles in the sample overnight.

18

horse health

Carolyn Cummins MVB Phd MRCVS, consultant vet to Westgate Labs.

Results

Test results from Westgate are expressed as a percentage to give a quantitative measure of the level found. While it’s not desirable to find any sand in faeces, some healthy horses are not affected by a small amount.

For this reason positive tests should be discussed with your vet on a case by case basis. Together you can determine whether other symptoms such as diarrhoea/colic are also present and devise an appropriate management and/or treatment protocol.

Treatment

Conservative treatment is usually successful if started early. Horses are given oral laxatives such as psyllium, with or without magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts), orally.

With the variables of gut movement it is possible for the test to generate a false negative and show no sand in the faeces of horses that are carrying a burden. For this reason we include two kits; if no sand is detected in the first sample then take a second a few days later.

If sand is detected in the first test then the second can be used to retest the horse following management adjustments.

Abdominal ultrasound and X-rays can also be used to detect sand in the gut, although X-rays may not be easy in larger horses and require a powerful machine.

The psyllium is believed to work by increasing the gut motility and clumping the sand together so that it is easier to pass.

For active colics your vet may also provide anti-spasmodics and pain relief to make your horse more comfortable.

endurancegb.co.uk

Case study

Sand can also damage the lining of the gut making it more “leaky” and allowing toxins to cross into the bloodstream. For this reason, your vet may also put your horse on a course of antibiotics. Horses that don’t respond to medical treatment may require surgery.

Prevention

Ideally the management of horses should be aimed at preventing the risk of sand colic. This is especially relevant if you live in a sandy soil area: •

Don’t feed horses off the ground. Use large, high sided tubs and place on rubber matting so that horses don’t pick up sand when scavenging for dropped feed. Hay should also be fed in nets, again over rubber matting.

•

Avoid overgrazing pastures. Horses are more likely to pick up sand if the grass is short or sparse, forcing them to graze too close to the ground.

•

Feed psyllium to high risk horses.

There are a number of proprietary products on the market which are designed for feeding to horses or alternatively feed the straight herb – either 250g once a day for one week every month or 250g one day a week.

•

Avoid daily treatment as this can damage the gut flora, limit the nutrients your horse can absorb from their feed and can become less effective over time as the body becomes overused to it.

•

While not every horse on sandy soil needs prophylactic treatment with psyllium, this may be of benefit to horses showing intermittent mild colics and who have high levels of sand in the faecal float test.

•

Provide access to a salt block. If horses are lacking in salt, they may attempt to eat soil.

•

Supply ad-lib hay. A diet high in forage can assist in clearing any ingested sand.

A recent study in the University of Florida compared four means of sand removal from the horses gut. 1. Hay fed at 1.5% of body weight 2. Hay fed at 2.5% of body weight, 3. Hay fed at 1.5% of body weight plus psyllium fed in a single daily dose and 4. Hay fed at 1.5% of body weight with psyllium fed twice daily.

They found that the best results and most sand cleared were with hay fed at 2.5% bodyweight.

How sand testing helped sophie return to health

Sophie arrived with her current owner in poor condition. She had been grazing coastal pasture, was underweight and generally in poor health. Blood test results from her vet suggested she was suffering from sand colitis.

Sophie's sand test results

Not long after the vet’s diagnosis in May 2019 we received a sample from Sophie for laboratory analysis. A sedimentation test revealed a 7% sand burden in her faeces.

Following the results Sophie was moved to different pasture and began a diet supplemented by large amounts of dry forage. This not only helped her gain condition but also served to push any intestinal sand deposits through her digestive system.

Sophie was retested six months later in November 2019 and to the relief of everyone returned a sediment level of <1% sand in her faecal sample.

She is now glowing, and a picture of health.

Where do we think the sand came from?

Sophie was previously grazing mountains in a coastal region, the pasture was sandy and we suspect this is where she collected the sand in her digestive system.

What happens next?

The next step for Sophie is to retest in 3 months’ time to see what the level of sand is, if it continues to remain at <1% that’s fantastic – we would look at decreasing the frequency of testing over the wet winter months. However if it increases again, we would suggest treating with psyllium and retesting a week after the treatment ends and to continue to monitor closely.

What a difference!

(Above) Sophie soon after she arrived, in poor condition and suffering from sand colitis from grazing sandy pasture. (Below) Sophie, a picture of health after a few months of management for sand colitis.

horse health

19

Ask the expert

Parasite problems

and pasture care

B

est practice worm control has received a lot of coverage in recent years with the availability of a saliva test for tapeworm diagnosis and more recently a blood test for small redworm (including encysted larval phases) which complement routine faecal egg count testing.

In addition, an expert panel of veterinarians and parasitologists prepared guidelines for UK vets in 2019 on worm control, which highlighted the importance of testing before resorting to the use of dewormers. This practice, often termed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;diagnostic-led worm controlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, leads owners to only administer dewormers when infections

20

horse health

are diagnosed, and treatment is really needed.

Gone are the days of routinely administering dewormers to every horse and hoping for the best. That strategy is out-dated as it has caused widespread drug resistance in worms â&#x20AC;&#x201C; meaning that worms are able to survive the killing effects of dewormers and remain in place after treatment.

We are often told these facts, but what do they really mean? This article compares the effects of diagnostic-led worm control and routine treatment programmes. Whilst routine treatment programmes provide worms with

regular exposure to deworming drugs, some yards may limit the use of dewormers by simply using them less frequently, so the effect of this practice is also included.

The following illustrations (Figures 1, 2 and 3) demonstrate the effect of different worm control practices on grazing as well as on the horses in the herd. The white horse in each figure represents a horse with a worm burden in need of deworming. It is clear from these illustrations that diagnostic-led worm control is essential for reducing the risk of drug resistant worms and effective long-term worm control.

endurancegb.co.uk

Please note, these illustrations are simplified examples to demonstrate the effect of worm control strategies. Reducing worm life cycles occurring in horses and the paddocks they graze can take time before improvements in worm infection levels are seen.

Correct pasture management As well as correctly managing worm burden levels within horses as described in the illustrations, it is important to manage worm life cycles occurring on the grazing too. Good pasture management can reduce the need for dewormer use which will in turn slow the emergence of resistance.

A simplified version of a generic worm life cycle can be seen in Figure 4, where the effect of dung removal on worm life cycles is illustrated. By removing dung, there is a significant reduction in eggs contaminating the grazing therefore limiting the number of infective larvae accessible for the horse to ingest.

Good pasture management can reduce the need for dewormer use which will in turn slow the emergence of resistance.

Fig 1. Diagnostic-led worm control

Grazing

Fig 2. Infrequent routine treatment – no testing

Commonly, a small proportion of a herd are high egg shedders – these horses are more susceptible to worm burdens

Commonly, a small proportion of a herd are high egg shedders – these horses are more susceptible to worm burdens

Without management, high egg shedding will result in extensive grazing contamination

High egg shedding = high grazing contamination Grazing

Worm eggs

Worm eggs

All horses are tested for worm infection and those requiring treatment are dewormed

All horses are treated, without testing to monitor for high shedders or for effectiveness of the worm control

This results in reduced egg shedding and less pasture contamination

Egg shedding reduces temporarily and pasture is less contaminated All treated

Identify and treat All horses are routinely tested and treatment is given where needed

High egg shedding recurs and contaminates the pasture and others are exposed to higher infection risks

Regular testing also helps identify horses likely to be more susceptible to infection and thus at risk of disease in the future

Higher levels of exposure may result in other horses becoming infected before the next treatment

Identify and treat After all horses are again treated, egg shedding is reduced and grazing contamination is lessened but the ongoing cycle continues, resulting in a cycle of contaminated grazing and infected horses

In this example, all horses are tested but none require treatment, alternatively there may always be a very low number of horses requiring treatment Note: Egg shedding and pasture contamination still occurs as the aim is not to eliminate all parasites but manage them at an acceptable level

Regular testing

Eventually this method of worm control could result in drug resistant worms emerging All treated

Cycle continues

horse health

21

To ensure your grazing has a low level of infective worm larvae, dung should be removed every 1-2 days, but twice a week may be suitable providing beetles and birds are not spreading the dung. It may be beneficial to keep horses on manageable sized paddocks to make dung removal more feasible and rotation of paddocks prevents grass from becoming overgrazed. If possible, it is important to completely remove the dung from paddocks and avoid harrowing to break up the dung. Harrowing practices simply spread the worm eggs/larvae throughout the grazing as most UK weather conditions are not hot or dry enough to eliminate worm eggs/larvae.

Conducting regular testing (as described below) will indicate how successful your paddock management is. If horses continually have test results indicating high infection levels, then there could be scope to make further improvements to your paddock management.

Diagnostic-led worm control is where testing is used to tell you when your horse needs deworming. Blood or saliva testing should be conducted every six months to detect tapeworm burdens, preferably during spring and autumn.

Faecal egg count (FEC) analysis should be carried out for assessing redworm and roundworm egg shedding throughout March to October for detection of adults. The small redworm blood test (which detects encysted larval phases) should be used from September to December, but if this is missed, testing should still be considered until April.

3. Frequent treatment – no testing Fig 3.Fig Frequent routineroutine treatment – no testing Commonly, a Commonly, small proportion a small proportion of a herd are high of a egg herdshedders are high egg shedders – these horses– these are more horses are more susceptible to worm burdens

susceptible to worm burdens

High egg shedding = High egg shedding = high grazing contamination

Underdosing should be avoided at all costs as the risk of developing worm resistance is increased due to worms being exposed to the drug without being killed. Ensure that you are using the correct dewormer dosage by using a weighbridge to determine the horse’s weight. And always administer deworming paste on clean flooring where possible so that any paste spat out can be re-administered.

GrazingWorm eggs Worm eggs

All horses are treated, without testing to monitor for high shedders or for horses are treated, without testing effectivenessAll of worm control

to monitor for high shedders or for

Egg shedding reduces and grazing becomes lesseffectiveness contaminated of worm control

Egg shedding reduces and grazing becomes less contaminated All treated

All treated

All horses are treated without monitoring Egg shedding reduces and grazing horses are treated becomes lessAll contaminated

without monitoring

But worms still existing on the Egg shedding reduces and grazing property are regularly exposed to deworming drugs and adapt becomes lesstocontaminated survive their effect = drug resistance

But worms still existing on the property are regularly exposed to deworming drugs and adapt to survive their effect = drug resistance

All treated

All treated

Drug resistance results in worms surviving treatment, high pasture contamination and greater worm challenge for other horses that are not normally as susceptible. Herd Drug resistance results in worms members suffer continuous infection surviving treatment, high pasture often resulting in disease

contamination and greater worm

There is no way back challenge for other horses that are from this situation

not normally as susceptible. Herd members suffer continuous infection often resulting in disease

All treated

Drug resistant worms There is no way back from this situation

Additional factors to consider

New horses arriving at a yard should be kept separate from the rest of the herd for at least 3 days after treatment with a moxidectin/ praziquantel combination dewormer. This practice will reduce contamination of your grazing with additional worm eggs. Testing prior to this treatment would inform you of the horse’s infection levels and whether additional testing or treatment may be required before the rest of the herd’s routine testing is due.

high grazing contamination

Grazing

All treated

Drug resistant worms

Fig 4. Dung removal reduces infection risk

Fig 4. Dung removal reduces infection risk

Removal of dung

Removal of dung

Worm eggs

Worm larvae Grazing

Don’t leave worm control to chance, speak to your veterinarian or SQP to find out more on how to conduct appropriate testing for diagnostic-led worm control for your horse.

Worm eggs

Worm larvae Grazing

By Dr Corrine Austin, Austin Davis Biologics

22

horse health

endurancegb.co.uk

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Photos courtesy of Event to Event Photography (Evelyn Radnai)

Rider profile

My

endurance

life

Favourite ride in the calendar?

2005 Harling Forest 32km

I have wonderful veterinary support from Wood Farm Vets as and when required and every 5/6 weeks Prince and Illusion are treated by Helen LeGood and treatments can include deep tissue manipulation, pressure and trigger point therapy, myofascial release and shiatsu if required.

and Power and Performance quantities of each increase with work. They both have Aviform supplements. These are Breatheasy which I started using when the boys started head tossing, snotting and snorting during the Oil seed rape season, they really suffered when being ridden or turned out. Following the success from this product in the spring I now also rely on it for when the boys are stabled during the winter months to stay cough free, I don’t think I’ve heard either of them cough since I started using it. Neither boy has a joint issue but I wanted to give them the best possible care and prevent any future issues and choose Aviform Suppleaze Ultraflex which contains not just the usual joint supplement ingredients of Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin, and Hyaluronic Acid but it also has the added ingredients of Collagen hydrolysate and Vitamin C to help prevent the early onset of any arthritic problems. Aviform Electroform (electrolytes) because it really works and when vets at a competition tell you that you have the best hydrated horses they’ve seen all day why change, lastly they have Biodura for their feet, when Illusion first started work his feet cracked very easily and now they are great, much stronger.

First endurance horse (or pony)?

What do you feed your horse(s)?

Who is your farrier?

Name

Kings Forest

Carol Chapman

Most challenging ride so far?

A 100km ride on a very, hot August day in 2012.

Endurance GB group Iceni

Ride/distance you most want to do?

80km at Red Dragon

Date of first endurance ride?

5th June 2005

How did you first get involved in endurance?

A close friend was very keen on endurance and asked me to join her on a pleasure ride, she said I could ride one of her horses, I agreed to go, had a fabulous time and that was it, it is a very addictive sport.

What was your first ride?

Flying Cimary 16.2hh Sport Horse

24

spotlight

Where and how do you train your horse(s)?

I give Silver Prince Sadik (Prince) and Sylvan Illusion (Illusion) a variety of training - wonderful farm tracks with river crossings, gallops, forest rides and the beach all within an hour from me.

Live in/live out?

They are out during the day and stabled at night weather permitting.

Vet or physio support?

Both boys are fed on Allen and Page Fast Fibre

Tim Arbuthnot RSS

endurancegb.co.uk

Any special shoes?

No but I do pad up for longer or stonier rides.

Team colours?

Red and Black or Blue and black depending on my mood.

What saddle/bridle do you use?

I use a Zilco Deluxe on Prince, a Simple bridle from Plas Equestrian on Illusion and they are both ridden in a Bob Marshall Sport Saddle.

What clothing/hat/footwear do you wear?

I wear t-shirt and riding tights. My hat is a Uvex and Tuffa Endurance Trainers, these trainers I could wear all day and all night and still have comfortable feet.

Most vital piece of equipment?

My Helite Turtle Equestrian Airvest – I never ride without it now, I had a bad fall 3 ½ years ago, damaged my back and thought I’d have to give up riding so take every precaution now to protect myself.

How do you plan your endurance season?

I check EGB list of rides at the beginning of the year, enter my wish list in my diary, see how training goes, see if any rides clash with my crew (my husband is my main crew and plays golf) and compete at as many as I can with the closest to home getting preference.

What do you eat the night before a ride?

I try to eat a good healthy meal.

How do you keep fit and healthy yourself?

I walk miles with my 2 dogs, ride lots getting/keeping 2 horses fit and I try to do lots of core strengthening.

Who are your crew?

My husband Colin is my crew.

What inducements do you offer them?!

None, he says happy to be involved.

What are the challenges of crewing you and your horse?

I don’t think I’m difficult my husband may have a different view, but one horse will sometimes try to bite and the other can be excitable.

What can you learn from other sports (equestrian and non equestrian)?

Training and rest are equally important,

appropriate food is important for both you and your horse also enjoy what you do and to finish with a happy horse is to win.

What have you learned about yourself competing in endurance?

I have learnt that I can succeed through tough times, I can understand and listen to what my horse is telling me, I can tell when things are good/ bad, and I know when it is time to stop. I have learnt to love and understand my horses in a way I didn’t understand or love any horse before endurance.

Your best endurance moment?

I have two which are equally momentous for different reasons so in no particular order as I truly couldn’t say which was most important to me (both very special) but one being selected to ride as part of the team in the Home International Squad for England three times but withdrawing once for personal reasons (has to be the best) and the other riding 100m at Barbury Castle finishing 4th riding across terrain we had never seen before (we live in flat Norfolk), hills that looked like mountains to us and what goes up must come down OMG!!

How would you sell the sport to a friend?

I am always telling people how I became hooked on this addictive sport, how much fun you can have and how it can be fun for the whole family, it allows your family to join in and help you and have a fun family day out.

Golden Horseshoe, Red Dragon or Florac?

Red Dragon

Desert or mountain?

Desert

If you could choose one of the iconic rides, Tevis, Quilty or South Africa’s new Ride The Wild Coast 350km 5-day challenge, which would it be and if you could pick any endurance horse from history who would it be on?

Tevis and Hidalgo (from the fabulous endurance film, not sure if it is a true story but I like to think it is).

Do you have any sponsors?

I am sponsored by Allen & Page, Aviform, Tuffa and Helen LeGood.

Your biggest endurance mistake?

Not padding when I should have known from experience.

Top tip for success?

Balance of training and rest periods.

Who is your endurance sporting hero?

I can’t name just one person there have been many who have taught me so much.

Horse of a lifetime?

That’s difficult - I’ve had my wonderful Prince for 11 years he loves and knows his job, ‘Endurance’. When I got him he was an awkward 4 year old, at his 1st competitive ride people said ‘surely you are not going to ride that’, he was so naughty, it took a year before he would stand still for me to mount him without help, we have learnt together, had amazing fun and climbed mountains together he has made my endurance career so worthwhile he also gave me the confidence to buy Illusion, I’ve had him 4 years and he’s at the beginning his endurance journey, he’s going to be as amazing as Prince. I have a wonderful connection, so much love for them both.

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Fit to continue

Taking the moor

in her stride

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Photo courtesy of David Saunders

A

t this time of increasing focus on horse welfare in Endurance it seems particularly relevant to focus on horses finishing rides in "best able to continue" condition. Kathy Carr’s Aberllwyd Femme Fatalle captured last year’s coveted Exmoor Stag Fleur award for the "highest placed horse that in the opinion of the vets is best capable of travelling a further 40km". Here Kathy explains how she got hooked on the Horseshoe

riding year will be focused on preparation for this one weekend. It falls relatively early in the season and as I don’t have steep hills locally for training, I have to work out where and when I can get in the necessary fittening work, using competitive rides in hilly areas if possible as part of the preparation. Paris also has weekly visits to a water treadmill to help build up the necessary muscles. She copes amazingly well with Exmoor conditions considering how different it is to our riding at home.

My first experience of the Golden Horseshoe was in the extremely wet conditions of 2013 when the venue became so waterlogged that even my crew car couldn’t get out by the end of the second day. I learned a lot that year, but two things particularly stick in my mind; first, I’m not really cut out for wet weather camping and second, my waterproofs were not nearly up to the demands of two days on Exmoor!

Countdown to the ride

Amazingly, in spite of the weather, I left Exmoor well and truly hooked by the amazing riding, the challenge and perhaps most of all, the camaraderie. I also had a much greater appreciation of what a tough, sure footed and confident little mare I have in my pure-bred Arab, Paris.

Exmoor holds all sorts of challenges which make it, if not unique, certainly different from the rides in the East of England where I am based. Obviously, there is the terrain and while there are certainly some very steep hills, I find it is the relentless ups and downs that sap the energy while the changing underfoot conditions demand a lot of concentration from both horse and rider. As the route is different every year, you never know quite what to expect.

The unpredictability of the weather is a further challenge and although this can be true of any ride, the exposed nature of the venue and of much of the route mean it has greater impact on Exmoor.

I like to travel to Exford a few days in advance to allow time to recover from the long journey and having endured camping in the rain on that first visit, I now treat myself to more comfortable accommodation.

Golden Horseshoe is the only ride I routinely pad for. Paris has great feet but in order to make up time, it can be necessary to crack on over quite stony ground so she will be padded in front from the shoeing cycle before the ride allowing her time to get used to them.

On the feeding front, I know she will need an energy boost by day two so she gets a handful of high energy oats based feed along with her usual (low energy) rations in the weeks leading up to the ride so I can increase this during the competition, especially on the second day.

Packing the horsebox always seems to take longer than I expect to ensure we have clothing for both horse and rider to suit all weather conditions (regardless of what the weather forecast says!).

Team effort

Golden Horseshoe is a real team effort, with crew as an essential part. Horse and rider are particularly dependant on the crew during the last 40k loop which at typical Exmoor pace can mean being out on the route for up to four hours – a long time for a horse who has already completed 120k over tough terrain.

Regular refuelling will be needed to keep up hydration and energy levels and a knowledgeable crew who are familiar with the horse and rider is a huge asset.

Good crewing along with sensible pacing by the rider are the keys to finishing with a sound and happy horse.

So what is it that keeps drawing me back to Exmoor?

After 2 years competing in pretty unpleasant conditions (2013 and 2015) Paris and I returned for a second attempt at the 160k in 2018 and the weather was lovely. I could see the views, admire fields of bluebells, enjoy watching the Exmoor ponies and their foals. We had a lovely cottage not far from the venue with excellent facilities for the horses. This was Exmoor at its best!

It’s a real privilege to ride over such beautiful countryside and a particular thrill to share it with the herds of wild ponies. The route is always varied, challenging and extremely well marked but probably the greatest enjoyment comes from the unique sense of camaraderie with fellow competitors and the tremendous feeling of partnership with your horse.

Paris grazing the morning after she won Best Condition in the 160k class.

In my four visits so far, we have experienced everything from driving hail when we had to use multiple rugs to keep Paris warm in the vetgate, to warm and humid when my crew had to return to our lodgings mid-ride to refill all the water containers.

Training for the ‘early season’ big weekend This is a ride where adequate planning is essential and if aiming to compete at Golden Horseshoe, the first half of my

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I often hear people say “endurance isn’t like it used to be” but the Golden Horseshoe is exactly like it used to be and yet entries for the longer classes are small. My message to the sport is ‘come on everyone, take up the Exmoor challenge!’.

I will certainly be back, perhaps not this year (I’ve promised Paris some flatter rides!) but I feel I have unfinished business as we still haven’t achieved the elusive Gold over a longer distance.

A huge vote of thanks as always goes to the wonderful Chisholm family and everyone else involved in keeping this iconic ride running.

"Come on everyone, take up the Exmoor challenge!"

Last year Aberllwyd Femme Fatalle (known as Paris at home) gained a Silver award in the Exmoor Stag and took home a further five trophies from the event.

Paris has an excellent record at the Golden Horseshoe having completed the 160km class twice and the 120km class once since 2015 and taking the Best Condition award in her class for the past two years. She has not yet been vetted out at any class at the Golden Horseshoe, or indeed at Red Dragon, another challenging 160km two-day ride.

Aberllwyd Femme Fatalle’s Golden Horseshoe record Paris’s spoils of 2019 2013

80km

Golda award

2015

160km

Bronze award

2018

160km

Silver award and Best Condition

2019

120km

Silver award and Best Condition

The Exmoor Stag Fleur award for highest placed horse that in the opinion of the vet panel is best capable of travelling a further 40k Saillard Fuller Silver Trophy to the competitor achieving Silver and closest to optimum silver speed Dunlop Heywood Veteran trophy to the highest placed horse whose rider is 55 years or over, decided on pulse in event of a tie Esprit de Ferzon award to the highest placed horse aged 15 years or over

The iconic Golden Horseshoe 2020 takes place on 23rd -24th May. Please take a look in our next issue for a full ride preview.

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Marcy Pavord Memorial trophy (winner can be from 160k or 120k class) for the oldest horse and rider combination completing their class

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Life in pictures Tributes have been paid to Bobby, the Helme’s 15hh trotter who enjoyed a career at the top level of endurance as well as in showing.

Taking it

in his stride

Bobby came third at his first 100-mile ride in 1991 and then won the Junior Championship at Dukeries ridden by Donna Helme. The pair were selected for the senior team 1994 World Equestrian Games with Donna aged just 16, the youngest in the race.

They finished 34th. Bobby was nicknamed the ‘cow’ by competitors from other countries

Bobby was still raring to go after his first endurance ride at Southport with Becci Helme. Still too full of energy to stand still in the vetgate, vet Tony Pavord’s verdict was ‘this job is definitely for him’.

Lucy Helme then took on the reins and won the 150km four-day Spirit of Sherwood before earning a place on bronze medal winning British team at the European Young Rider Championships at Cirencester in 1997.

Bobby went on to win five EHPS National Championships before the Helmes decided he needed a more sedate life in the show ring. Bobby qualified for Olympia in 2005 and went on to become Veteran Champion at the show in 2010 with William Helme.

Lucy Helme says: “They’re wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Bobby won at Olympia. That day we said: “He’s done, he’s nothing to prove to anyone now,” and he retired from the show ring. He continued to be ridden at home by Helen and did a few local pleasure rides. At 40 he was looking fantastic and we were planning to bring him out for a day at our local Garstang Agricultural Show with Becci’s daughter Molly.

But it wasn’t to be. On 9th December our boy spent his last hour in the arms of Donna and Lucy. He’s left a huge hole in the Helme family.

He will forever be ‘our horse of a life time’.

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Feeding for strong

healthy hooves

Kate Hore RNutr (Animal) Senior nutritionist, has worked at NAF for over 20 years and is also a member of the BETA Feed Committee.

No hoof â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no ride

W

e rely on the hooves to play many roles, and evolution has created a minor miracle of engineering to do that. The hoof capsule encases bones, tendons, the digital cushion, a complex matrix of blood vessels and the delicate laminae â&#x20AC;&#x201C; working together to aid propulsion, traction and absorb concussion. The hoof can truly be said to be the starting point of performance in the equine athlete; so, ensuring quality horn growth is the key to going the distance.

Slow growth leads to lack of new hoof wall meaning that nail holes are too close to the previous, so weakening the wall. In other cases, the rate of growth is fine but quality of horn is poor. Whether slow or poor growth, or a combination of both, the hoof is left cracking, crumbling and prone to having chunks missing. Without healthy hooves it becomes difficult for farriers to optimise the foot for performance, whether shod or barefoot trimmed, so a vicious circle ensues:

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horse health

Slow growth

Weak growth

Cracking, Crumbling

Lost work days

Compromised Shoeing

Poor performance

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Factors affecting hoof growth include surfaces, bedding, temperature and weather, all of which affect moisture levels. Hoof moisture has a direct link to hoof quality and is continually evaporated from the hoof wall, meaning it must be replaced or compensated for. This is done in the first instance internally through the blood and lymph systems which can replenish moisture in the horn cells. However, the wall can also draw moisture from its environment, which, depending on what the British weather is doing, can be a help or a hindrance!

During dry periods a topical application of a water based moisturiser is advised. However, at the opposite end of the spectrum excessive moisture from mud and wintery conditions can distort the hoof structure, and it's likely this is why we see such a rise in abscesses in winter.

Therefore, it’s advised to give daily access to a dry area, if possible, and consider regular application of a topical hoof hardener.

Hoof growth, like all systems in the body, can be hugely influenced by the right diet. If we’re putting the right things in, we should see good strong growth. The best known nutritional support for hooves is biotin (Vitamin H). Naturally biotin is synthesised in the horse’s own gut through

bacterial fermentation of fibre. Therefore horses on high fibre based diets should produce their own biotin requirements. If we see compromised hoof growth, it may be a sign that not enough fibre is being fed, or, that that horse is not absorbing efficiently what is being produced in the gut. This is particularly true of hard working equine athletes, who may be on a high cereal diet, or have compromised gut function. In these cases supplementing with biotin to support the body’s own supply, is recommended.

"Hoof growth can be hugely influenced by the right diet" If supplementing, ensure the correct level of biotin is being supplied for the size. We would advise 15mg biotin for ponies, 30mg per day is ideal for Arabs, larger Natives and TB types, with up to around 45mg per day for larger breeds

such as Warmbloods. However, just as nothing works alone in nature, targeted nutritional support for hooves should go beyond biotin alone for best results. Look for a supplement which includes good sources of bioavailable sulphur, such as MSM and methionine, as the hoof wall is rich in sulphur. In fact it’s the sulphur that gives hooves that characteristic smell of hot shoeing. Trace elements such as manganese and zinc are also indicated for hoof health, and are a useful addition to any hoof health supplement.

Lastly look for support of the whole system.

The integumentary system, which includes the skin, hair and hooves, is both the largest and most visible organ in the body, and therefore the first to show the stresses of performance training, travel and regular competition. We advise including antioxidants, such as pure Vitamin C and E, or naturally sourced antioxidants from herbs and fruit, which work just as the ‘five a day’ recommended for our own health.

Conclusion

A sound diet, good management, targeted supplementary support and working with your farrier, result in strong, healthy hooves which will be good for miles and miles.

Moulded on

exmoor

Arab racehorse trainer Paul Simmons tells us how his involvement with the sport began growing up on Exmoor at Dunster.

Tell us about growing up on Exmoor horse wise – what was your first experience of Golden Horseshoe?

I grew up on Exmoor and as a kid I competed in pony club activities like pony club games, show jumping and hunter trialling. When I was 16, my friend and I did the mini GHS which is now the pleasure ride. We got lost but I enjoyed it.

I didn’t properly start my endurance career till 18 years later when I took my homebred ex race mare Sakeena Sky Zayin to the GHS for the pleasure ride, she did the 25 km easily and for once it didn’t rain.

How did you get involved in endurance in the first place?

Photo courtesy of West-End Photography

My first original passion with Arabian horses was Arab racing, I used to own, ride and train and when I was 21 had a winner at Stratford with Sky’s mum, Sweet Simplicity. When I moved to London for my career, I sent my homebred Arabs into training with friends, Sky was always my favourite and she ended a 10 year winless run for me when winning her race at Huntingdon in 2010 and was consistently placed. I retired her at the end of 2011 and as she was my favourite riding horse, I decided to try endurance with her. I assumed it would be like a long hack and wouldn’t challenge me enough. Sky and I did the 25 km pleasure ride at GHS and she did the ride easily, Sky loved it too as she loves her work and enjoyed the variety compared to the boredom of running round a race track. Our next event and first proper Endurance GB was Boconnoc where she got so excited she threw me off at the start, but she went on to do the 32 km easily and passed the vetting and I was instantly hooked on the sport.

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Which other horse sports have you been involved in?

Arabian racing is my main sport and passion, I have owned and run Zayin Arabian Stud since 1998 and it is based on Exmoor. I have had a fair amount of success especially with my stallion Zayin Zachilles who has won nine races so far including the seven furlong handicap on Dubai Day in 2016 and came 2nd in the HH Sheikh Mansoor Championship in Windsor 2019; and Zayin Angkor Centurion who has won twice and come 2nd in the Group 3 ARO Cup and 2nd in the One Mile Emirates Handicap on Dubai Day.

How do other sports help you in your approach to endurance?

Arab racing is a very different sport to endurance and the training regime is completely different. With endurance I do a lot of long steady hacks with plenty of trotting and cantering and hill walking, whilst racing is about shorter intensive work and fast work. But both teach you to listen to your horses and know when they are spot on physically to take on their next event.

Best moments in the sport so far?

I have been very lucky in endurance and I've had some great years with Sky, she didn’t fail a single ride until we were in our 4th season and I definitely learnt so much about the sport from competing and training her; she has always been such a pleasure to compete with and in the vet gate unlike some of the others I’ve competed since. Sky and I had our best year in 2015 when she won the 120 km Exmoor Stag at the Golden Horseshoe, we then won the 80 km GER PF at Cirencester, came 4th in the 80 km Barbury Castle chase before finally winning her first race ride in the 100 km CER at Keysoe. These results led to Sky and me winning the best male endurance rider and horse award (the Jeffmaur Trophy) with Endurance GB. Sky also won 80 km Cerne Giant and the 80 km Brentor ride, she came 2nd in the 120 km Dragons Tail ride, 2nd in the 100 km CER at Cirencester and her final ride was in 2018 when she came 2nd in the 80 km Southern Championships. (Sky is in foal for May 2020). I took great satisfaction with getting both Amyzing and Kallista to open level endurance, as both were very difficult in the vet gate. Zayin Zachilles is now open level and I hope to get him to advanced in 2020.

Which aspects of endurance do you find most appealing?

Endurance is a fantastic sport, it is tough as the amount of things that can go wrong is endless, but the sense of achievement when you successfully complete a ride is great. I also like the strong partnership you create with your horse, at times when doing long distances (65km plus) you need to really know and understand your horses to know the difference between

lethargy, boredom and a horse that is struggling.

If you don’t know the sport or your horse it can be difficult to differentiate. I am not massively competitive, I tend to go steady and for a good completion, any result I get is a bonus. I have always let Sky dictate the pace and never really push her or had to other than sometimes the last 5 km when she would get a little bored or demotivated. I prefer the tough hill and stamina rides like GHS and Red Dragon and my results there are my proudest achievements. I haven’t tried FEI level yet as personally don’t see a huge amount of difference between an 80 km race ride and an 80 km FEI race, but maybe I will try this year or next year with Zayin Zachilles.

100 km race ride which she won, but again she finished quite fed up and I finished her for the season. Sky was a true 80 km horse, she did it easily and enjoyed the distance, but that extra loop to 100 was not for her. People told me to try 120 km or further but I knew her limits, very few horses make it past the 80 km mark successfully.

What tips or approach have you learned from the women in your life about the sport?

Interesting question, most of the women in my life tell me I have too many horses and spend too much time riding, competing in endurance or watching my horses racing or spending money on them…I generally ignore them!

How do you keep fit/train?

"I tend to go steady and for a good completion" Which role models in the sport (other horse sports too) inspire you and why?

I always admire anyone who can stay at a top level of any sport for a long period of time, so in endurance it would be Tricia Hirst and David Yeoman. As for endurance breeding I admire Lesley Dunn who has bred so many top class endurance horses, and Carol Legg who has bred numerous top class race and endurance horses. To reach the top in any sport requires so much time, energy, sacrifice and determination so I admire anyone who achieves success with horses, as we all know to get to that point there have always been a large number of bad days when you question your sanity. The past two seasons in endurance have not been good for me and definitely tested me.

Are there any aspects of the sport/competing/training where you think men have a different approach to women?

No not really, I think endurance teaches you to be patient generally, it takes time and years to qualify and go up the levels and the majority of owners/trainers and riders take their time to go through the levels. I think it’s important to know your horses' limits and listen to them after tough events, it took 3 yrs for me to get Sky to advanced and this was deliberate. I only did 100 km Endurance GB rides in a day twice on Sky, once early on in her 4th year at Cirencester (she was 2nd) but she didn’t enjoy the last loop and I gave her a long break after. Then two years later I did a

I feed my horses Baileys mix, sugar beet and chaff with plenty of Dr Green. All my horses live out, I try to keep them as simply and natural as possible. I keep my horses on my farm on Exmoor (which I have just bought), but I live and work in London during the week. This means my training regime is unusual, I start them over Christmas and build them up gently over the winter months at the weekends before building up to 30 km training rides by April. I am lucky in that the farm is based on Exmoor, I have endless hills, tracks, moors and forest to ride in and can easily do a 3 hr 30 km training ride. I always start my horses off in a 40 km warm up ride before going onto a higher distance. The training regime seems to work as I have had success with Sky, Amy, Kallista and Zachilles. In London I try and go to the gym a couple of times a week.

What would you say to encourage other men (of all ages) to get involved in the sport beyond crewing?

It is more than just a long hack, it is a challenging and enjoyable sport where you develop a unique partnership with your horse and get so see some beautiful parts of the world.

What are your plans and hopes in endurance for 2020?

I very much missed Sky in 2019 but I am excited that she is having her first foal in May. Zayin Zachilles is my main horse this season, he completed three rides last season and did his first 65 km at New forest in October last year. The plan is to get him to advanced and possibly try a 80 km FEI at the end of the year, his first main target is the 80 km one day class at GHS in May. I also have two novice mares to bring out, my homebred filly Zephyrella Zayin and Bey Safra. Kallista ruled herself out for the season by nearly breaking her leg in the field (she shattered her splint bone), so she will be heading to stud for her first foal.

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Photos courtesy of TopGearPhotos

Coming up

Fancy a trip

to Scotland?

Let yourself go on Irvine Beach

F

or ou ourr EGB readers, if you ever fancied a holiday in Scotland with your horse – why not combine that with one of our rides?

Most of our nine Branches are running two- or even three-day rides this year, which makes a worthwhile trip from south of the Border.

Nearly all are in very scenic areas, or within easy reach of towns or cities with plenty to see and do. Local members will be happy to advise on places to park your horse for a few days while you do a bit of sightseeing.

2020 has been declared Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, so what could be more appropriate than the first of the two-day events being Irvine Beach, run by Glasgow Branch, on 2 and 3 May. This is a glorious west-coast beach ride, also using dunes and coastal woodland, offering a 30k and a Pleasure each day. Within easy reach are Culzean Castle, the Isle of Arran, and the vibrant city of Glasgow. If there’s a golfer in your life, the Trump Turnberry course is a short distance away.

Tayside Branch aren’t offering a two-day ride this year but they have a little beauty on 24 May, Balbeggie, just north of Perth. With 50kms,

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30kms and Pleasure classes, this is a varied ride, with some forestry, fields, a couple of hills and lovely views of the River Tay. Perth is another attractive city, the gateway to the Highlands and also within easy reach of Dundee and Stirling, with Edinburgh only a 45 minute motorway trip away.

"2020 has been declared Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters" Next on the calendar is Lothians Branch major ride of the year – Temple, in Midlothian, on 30 and 31 May. This year for the first time it is offering a 120kms ER, plus lower distances, and two-day 80 and 60kms classes. Temple is a pretty and historic village set in rolling hills and woodland, with farmland and tracks forming the bulk of the routes. Edinburgh, with its many

Heather-clad hills and stunning views make the Scottish Championships a must-do

endurancegb.co.uk

Photos courtesy of KDM Photography

Four weeks later it’s the turn of SERC’s flagship event, the Scottish Festival of Endurance (aka the Championships), to dominate the calendar. From 11 to 13 September, the rolling Border hills around the town of Peebles will play host to riders and horses participating in all distances from Pleasure to two-day 160kms. There will be single 80km and 60km loops with remote vetgates. Shorter distances will focus on the forests of Cardrona, Glentress and Innerleithen, but the longer routes will encompass not only these forests but also moorland, farmland, some minor roads and enough Tweed Valley scenery to make the Tourist Board go weak at the knees.

(EGB member Andrea Champ wrote enthusiastically about her 2019 experience at the Championships in the September/October issue of Endurance.)

The Argyll Challenge is set in some of the best of Scotland's scenery

festivals, galleries and museums, is roughly 40 minutes away – and May has been declared Whisky Month, which might be an attraction in itself. The Edinburgh Marathon is the week before the ride, if you feel like adding to your fitness!

Into June, and Grampian Branch are holding a three-day event on 5-7 June, at Drumtochty Castle not far from Stonehaven on the east coast. A Friday Pleasure, 80 and 60kms classes on Saturday, and 30 plus Pleasure on Sunday. This is a farmland and forestry ride with some hill work. The city of Aberdeen is easily accessible (and running a food festival that weekend…), and the glorious Cairngorms National Park is also yours to explore. (Horses are welcome at Mar Lodge, in the heart of the park, if you fancy some serious exploring.)

On 13 and 14 June, Dumfries Branch hosts another beach ride, at Bareagle near Stranraer.

This ride includes two-day 80 and 60kms classes, and features 8kms of wide sandy (and under-populated) beach plus nearby forestry. If you fancy a quick trip to Ireland, the Stranraer ferry takes around two hours; or you could explore the forest parks of Galloway, the first UK Dark Skies Park with breath-taking views of the night sky.

place on the 18th), and the chance to explore the Cromarty Firth by boat, perhaps to see its resident pod of bottlenose dolphins, and the occasional visiting whale.

It’s the turn of Border Branch to mastermind a two-day ride on 22 and 23 August. Based around the town of St Boswells, the Longnewton/Eildons ride offers classes from 80kms downwards on Saturday and 30kms and Pleasure on Sunday.

With remote vetgates, the longer distances on this ride can be challenging with a couple of serious hills, but it offers superb scenery and many grassy field margins. There’s a wealth of history to be discovered along the Border, and the 103km Borders Abbey Way walk, which passes through St Boswells, is one of the most beautiful in Scotland.

Early autumn sees Argyll Branch hosting their annual Challenge on 26 and 27 September, at Scammadale near Oban. Although with no distances over 30kms, the routes here are all about the scenery – views of the sea, the Summer Isles, the lochs and the mountains.

The busy fishing port of Oban is well worth exploring, the beautiful Isle of Mull is a short ferry trip away – and the drive up to Oban from the Border will take your breath away.

Rides hosted by SERC’s newest Branch, Orkney, are not available at the time of writing.

Details of all these events will be updated on the Club’s website (www.scottishendurance. com). And you can follow us on Facebook too.

Alison Wilson

A taste of Border country is offered by the Longnewton/Eildons ride in August

Midsummer, and Highland Branch take advantage of the long hours of daylight to host a one-day ride on 19 July at Sheep Park, near Dingwall on the Black Isle (just north of Inverness). Classes include an 80kms (with remote vetgate), and 60kms down to Pleasure. Mainly forestry and some farmland, with a mixture of soft grassy tracks and standard forestry tracks, this ride proved popular in 2019 despite some testing ground conditions thanks to the wet summer.

Non-riding attractions include the town of Inverness (the annual Highland Games take

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Novice Champion

riding for three months. This meant our original plans of ‘doing it together’ were scuppered – so we concentrated on Angel – and I had crew!

Angel’s next, but also her first solo outing, was the Golden Horseshoe Pleasure Ride. Photos show me looking extremely nervous, but with help from others we completed. Building on her 2018 experiences of Penpont, after a nappy start, she followed other horses on the ride and settled despite the cold rain. Finally, she realised it was better fun to bowl along alone.

She finished on a pulse of 42 bpm at an average of 10.3kph and we collected a Grade 1 -yay!!

Delighted Photo courtesy of True to You Photography

by Angel

Janthea Newman’s GL Destiny’s Angel was awarded the prestigious National Novice Championship – The Mira Trophy for 2019 achieving 10 completions together, a tremendous feat not achieved by many horse/rider combinations.

Devon-based Janthea takes up the story…

D

estiny’s Angel was bought on a whim back in 2017 – one bid at Exeter Market and the unbacked eight-year-old bay Arab mare by GL The Redeemer out of HS Mimosa, was mine.

What had I done? How was I going to tell my husband? I already had four at home, but instinct took over as she stood in the ring completely unfazed. The catalogue told me that she was full sister of a gelding we had owned. She loaded without hesitation and back home in the field she settled and quickly stole our hearts.

Within days, my husband Charles said, “She’s not going anywhere else”. I had told him that I could back and sell her on, and maybe make a bob or two. Her personality is good for me. She responds naturally to a calm approach - so I had to change, as those who know me will attest, ‘calm is not my default setting’. I never got around to backing her that first summer so in the autumn we sent her to Nikki Malcolm and Nathan Sweeney at Stride Ahead in Dorset. They did a fabulous job - and fell in love with her too!

The following year, still with too many horses and not enough time, I concentrated on building Angel’s strength hacking to develop a free and

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balanced stride at trot and canter – she’s not keen on walk. We enjoyed a few Pleasure Rides in the company of my husband and his horse going to Three Rivers for a relaxed introduction, then Penpont and Dartmoor for ‘more challenging rides’.

By the time we got to 2019, there were no plans except for Team Newman to return to ‘riding fun’ with two mature novice horses, now 10 and 11 years old, who were well up to doing as many rides as we wanted. I definitely had no aspirations about the National Novice Championship – to be in with a chance I thought you had to do 10 x 40km rides, all at Grade 1. Secretly though I thought maybe have a crack at the Wessex Novice awards.

We started in April with a 36km class at The Hardy’s Ride in Dorset where (off plan) Angel had to cope with a split from her companion midway and either continue amongst strange horses or alone, which she quite enjoyed.

Back at the venue she yelled for her friend but still managed a Grade 2.

A gap of six weeks, firstly running Cerne Giant Ride then Charles injured himself and was off

Just a week later at Three Rivers we tackled a 34km in sunny weather riding with Claire Quinney and Cori, but as we met up with other riders Angel soon learnt that when there was plenty of space cantering alongside strangers was fun too. Again, we finished on a 42bpm pulse at 12.14kph and bagged another Grade 1.

The Piddle Ride followed a fortnight later giving us an ideal gap. We chose the 35km distance again as 45km seemed just too big a step. The ride covered a fabulous route and we enjoyed the lovely weather finishing with a 36bpm pulse and another Grade 1.

After another ideal two-week gap, Ella Hooper and I (both part of the Wessex winning team at the Inter Regionals) rode 40km at Cirencester for mutual support – and as the essential friend to avoid napping at the start. We ‘went when the going was good’ and the finish came round quickly, completing at just under 13kph and with a 33 bpm pulse scoring another Grade 1 and a winning Performance Formula!

We dared to dream…just momentarily.

Two weeks later we were off to Phoenix to tackle the 42km class. This was the first ride with my son Alex in more than 19 years and Angel travelled sweetly, but this ride has serious hills towards the end reducing our overall speed to 11.3kph with final pulse of 44 – just scraping another Grade 1.

Just one week on, and we were off to Barbury Castle 41km – this time alone – just how was my nappy mare going to make it over the start line? The answer was hot on the heels (well not quite), and with the blessing of Sue and Louise Rich. The Smeathe’s Ridge gallop nearly blew her mind as she kept saying ‘can I stop cantering yet?’. All was going well until Sue and Louise stopped to crew and Angel and I had to ‘have words’ before continuing on alone.

Angel was ‘lifted’ again when we were joined by another rider and we finished at an overall speed of 12.3kph on a pulse of 40 bpm and yet another Grade 1.

Looking at on-line results, my Trophy aspirations had now started to buzz. We had seven rides completed with Dartmoor, Bonham and Rufus to come…then Angel developed a cough, arghh, plans and horses don’t go together!

Service resumed in October when we headed from Devon to Red Dragon at Builth Wells and back in the same day, taking on the 42km class - again with Soraya and Alex at our side.

It was great fun, but the noisy vetting barn (which, shame on me, I hadn’t practised) was too much for her and our start and finish pulses were uncharacteristically high. It was our eighth ride and we had to settle for a completion, but the challenge was on, and I had decided we just had to go for it…

The next week we headed to the Rufus Ride in the New Forest for the 43km class.

Yay!! For the first time we started alone, and she was enjoying it. Then Liz Cochrane caught us up – and we were off and given a lead coped with the underpasses. We finished at 13.3kph with a 41bpm pulse so hope was still alive.

The last ride of the season involved hours of travel to and from Hanslope, our tenth and final effort. I had done my homework, identifying the M1 and the main line railway as scary hazards, so on Friday we practised the bridge going over the M5 with railway line alongside. After the initial vetting, Angel started alone and went willingly. With all the lovely grassy field margins we achieved a speed of 13.1kph and breathed a sigh of relief after the final vetting. 44 bpm pulse, just low enough for a final Grade 1 (a Grade 2 would have meant 2nd place by one point). She was indeed the Champion!

Meet team Angel

My husband Charles and friend Sue Thomson crewed throughout the season. We agreed where and roughly when we’d meet up. Once through the finish I gave out instructions about taking her pulse to help decide how much slosh she needed and of course to ‘keep that horse walking’ to bring down the pulse. However, I took over for final vetting as I’m certain the close connection between Angel and me helped in achieving consistently low pulses.

Charles and I started off in the sport with the Endurance Horse & Pony Society after a chance remark by a saddler that a newly bought horse would be ideal for endurance. I rode a Pleasure Ride alongside an established endurance rider, realised that it was well within our capability and enjoyable too – and the rest is history.

Our aim has been to ride together, mainly over distances of 40-50km, as a ‘self-supporting team with no crew’. Over the last quarter of a century, I have had three main horses – Gwendra, Aden Silver Moonlight (who achieved the 4000km award before her retirement) and now GL Destiny’s Angel.

Charles has also had three horses – Monty, Vicky and Pepe.

Our son Alex was EHPS Junior Champion riding firstly alongside me and then with Charles. He had a talented 12:2hh chestnut mare and when he was 10 achieved 64km riding with someone else who offered to accompany him. They also won the Dragons Days trophy for 40km on three consecutive days at Red Dragon ride. The great thing about competing years ago was that rides were so sociable, and I do miss the friends we made in those early days.

Want to aim for the Mira Novice Horse Trophy?

The Mira Novice Horse Trophy for 2019 awarded by the late Olive and Bernard Linge. It is awarded to the champion novice horse/pony gaining the most points in GERs in their first season of competition competing in rides of up to and including 45km. The 2019 contenders placed from first to fourth were all ridden by Open/Advanced riders who vied for the top slot all season, not knowing who had won until the very last ride. The fifth placed combination, and winners of the Red Sands Novice/Novice Award, were Stephanie Duxbury and Topend Lancealot. This was a magnificent result for a rider without the benefit of years of endurance experience.

It has taken us 25 years to achieve a National Trophy, let alone one donated by a dear friend, Olive Linge who died some years ago and her husband Bernard. Olive would have been delighted!

Back to today and in the 2020 season Charles will be riding my treasured Angel as I start the education of Angel’s only son Gold Leaf Haruki (half-brother to the successful GL Gilded Lance). So, as they say, watch this space…

All about Angel

Over the years I’ve learned there is no such thing as ‘the perfect horse’. Each comes with its own likes and strengths – but also weaknesses, dislikes and problems. Angel is calm and laidback and enjoys a mutual grooming session with her owner. But she is also low status - so she is generally happier following - unless she can be well ahead. She is fussy when it comes to forage, preferring to starve rather than eat ‘less than the best’. Although we make our own haylage we have to buy expensive small bale haylage to offer alongside to ensure that she eats. She has a propensity for gastric ulcers due to being so picky with food, so she has TopSpec Ulsakind and a palatable fibre chop for her bucket feed. She has not consistently learnt to drink during a ride – so this is something to work on for next year!

When asked “how did you train her?” my answer is that I didn’t do anything special or different from my other horses! I was just lucky to start with a chilled horse that travels well all thanks to being reared slowly in a herd but also with good human interaction.

Breeder Dawn Bradbury socialises all her foals so that they respect human space and trust people - the Gold Leaf way. Angel’s fitness was built up gradually – and by listening to her response I only asked her to do what she was happy and capable of. After competitions she is given plenty of time to chill and recover which I believe is essential in keeping a horse sweet. Exercise is ‘nopressure’ local hacking - only two or three times a week – but with the emphasis on quality rather than quantity with hill work and at least an hour and a half each time. When competitions are consecutive weekends she will do very little in between.

Many would say that 10 rides is too many for a novice horse, but I consider the Mira award ideal for the late starter who has finished growing and is trained to the required degree of fitness. From there the winner may go on to achieve greatness in longer rides – or even FEI – or rider and horse may just decide to have fun exploring the countryside doing more of the same in years to come.

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Photos courtesy of LRG photography

Coming up

Tilford National Ride

Virginia Rider on Vivat Rex

A

bout this time 6 years ago I got a phone call whilst out hacking from the Chair of the South East Group Committee asking if I could be an on the day Ride Organiser for the upcoming Tilford Ride.

Flattered to be asked having only been involved in Endurance properly for a year of course I said yes! And of course on the day it went without a hitch, I had such a great time meeting volunteers and riders that I thought that it would be fun to do again. I mentioned this in passing to Maggie Pattinson, who had planned the route that year and she’d been thinking the same.

Maggie used to run the Narnia Ride which was the precursor to Tilford and here we are celebrating the 5th anniversary of us co-organising the Tilford Ride.

Obviously I’m biased but we are blessed with some amazing riding in the Surrey Hills, the majority of it being on sand and therefore relatively free-draining. It means that most of the route is rideable all year round and that is certainly a big help with the ride being at the beginning of March.

Tilford has seen its fair share of weather; rain, snow, hail and wind – last year’s winds were strong enough to bring down some

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trees; route diversions and chain saws were required on the day! There has been some sunshine too.

We like to think of Tilford as good preparation for rides like the Golden Horseshoe. It’s certainly not a flat ride and there are some good pulls up to the Devil’s Punchbowl on Hindhead Common which, if the weather Gods are being kind will reward you with a spectacular view. You have to keep your eyes peeled as a common sighting are the herds of Exmoor Ponies and Highland Cattle that call Hindhead their home… you never know quite what is round the corner.

"We like to think of Tilford as good preparation for rides like the Golden Horseshoe"

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Dominic Smith on George leading the way!

And that phrase is all the more true on Hankley Common, an active military training area. There are regularly troops exercising on the area and whilst they are very good about letting horses past, sometimes the horses aren’t too sure about the moving bushes! One of my favourite photos is of Paul Henman leading his horse down an incline with a small armoured vehicle following closely behind.

Mandy Yarnold on Marley

If you are lucky you may also ride past a film set or two…many films have been created here…latest blockbuster 1917, James Bond and Black Widow…if you look through the smoke during the funeral scene of Michael Fassbender’s Macbeth you might see some of the early riders of the 80km class on the rise of Kettlebury Hill.

So what can we promise you for 2020? Bring a range of clothes, the weather is always unpredictable; bring a breast strap, you might need it up that hill; be prepared to meet walkers, riders, cyclists, cows, wild horses and maybe a tank! And finally a sense of humour and adventure! Watch our Facebook page for updates (please follow it – especially if you have entered the ride).

Finally we’re always looking for helpers so please email onthehoofdt@hotmail.co.uk if you can help.

Shelley Bates

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Meet the sponsors

A green gem

from the fields

Lincolnshire-based specialist forage supplier Emerald Green Feeds is actively involved as sponsors of Endurance GB providing backing for the welcome pack we give to new members, as well as Lindum Group and events such as the Revesby Park ride. The business says its success is based on premium products and a loyal customer base. We found out moreâ&#x20AC;Ś

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F

armers A Poucher and Sons have been supplying dried grass and Lucerne to the equine feed industry for decades and in 2012 took the step of creating their own brand, Emerald Green Feeds, to market a range of products including horse and pony pellets, meal and chop. Today the brand is going from strength to strength and is regularly seen at high profile events such as BETA International and as a sponsor to some of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading riders.

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A Poucher and Sons has a long history and is still a traditional family run farm

This extends to endurance where Emerald Green Feeds has been a strong supporter of Lindum Group, is a sponsor at Revesby Park Ride and RAF Cranwell, as well as providing funding to the welcome pack Endurance GB gives to newcomers to the sport. Emerald Green Feeds has even hosted a ride with classes up to 26km around the field margins, tracks, bridleways, woodland and quiet lanes in the pretty countryside around its home in Bardney Dairies near Wragby.

Two new lines have recently been introduced to the Emerald Green Feeds range, Meadow Magic and Tasty Treats. Meadow Magic is an alfalfa-free, high fibre, low sugar and starch pellet feed ideal for good doers which may have a reaction to alfalfa. The grasses used for the Meadow Magic are from old meadows and are harvested later than usual grass mixes to give a more hay-like consistency to the pellet. Tasty Treats is a range of grass or alfalfa pellets with carrot or apple flavour as a treat that is still completely natural.

The story of the business dates back to 1910 when Albert Poucher set up A Poucher and Sons when he bought a mixed livestock and arable farm in Bardney Dairies, a hamlet outside Market Rasen. By 1945 the business had expanded into green crop drying. Within 20 years, demand had increased so much that there was a need for a higher output drying system and so in 1966 a much larger drier was installed which remains in operation to this day. The drier is a crucial element in production as the green crops are cut and turned once after a few hours to reduce moisture before being harvested. The drier reduces the water content from around 70% to less than 10% before the dried material is milled or chopped. It was also 1966 when the plant expanded its operation and started producing pellets.

As well as being prominent as stand holders meeting horse owners at shows across the country, Emerald Green Feeds operates a Brand Ambassadors scheme for a number of leading

riders with the criteria for participation being that the competitors involved already use Emerald Green Feeds. Riders supported include World Champion event rider Rosalind Canter, who has been part of the Emerald Green Feeds team for eight years, Driving Trials competitor Libby Priest. Endurance is also closer than most other equestrian disciplines to Emerald Green Feeds hearts.

Heather Burchnall whose husband Howard has been working on the family farm since leaving college and has the role of product development, competed regularly with her horse Oliver until he recently passed away and the pair have twice hosted a popular fun ride on the farm with classes from 3km-26km.

Kerry Dawson, Communications Director of Endurance GB says: “We are really grateful to Emerald Green Feeds for all their exceptional support over the years. As a sponsor they are not just exemplars in their field, they are also knowledgeable and passionate about helping us grow the sport and we look forward to building this really special partnership. They are a fantastically friendly team and members are guaranteed a friendly and informative welcome on their tradestands at events throughout the season so please do go along and say hello – and thank you!”

Emerald Green Feeds have been a strong supporter of Lindum Group

Marketing manager Sarah Poucher says: “A Poucher and Sons has a long history and is still a traditional family run farm so the whole team takes enormous pride in the feeds that we produce. With our Emerald Green Feeds brand we are in the unique situation of actually growing the crops which are used to make the feeds, giving us full control of the whole production process and most importantly making our feeds fully traceable right down to the field from where the crop is grown.”

Family members are often on the stand at prestigious events including Great Yorkshire Show explaining the stages of production from growing to drying, processing and packaging. The emphasis at all times is on personal service.”

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ON THE MENU WITH EMERALD GREEN FEEDS

Emerald Green Feeds Grass-tastic

Grass-tastic is a highly nutritious, palatable chop made from the best quality fescue grass. It is high temperature dried to lock in all the natural goodness fresh grass has to offer. The high fibre, low starch make up of Grass-tastic means it provides slow, non fizzy energy release. Grass-tastic contains no other ingredients, just 100% grass.

Emerald Green Feeds Alfalfa-mazing

Containing high levels of calcium Alfalfamazing is the perfect feed for the growth and maintenance of bone strength. Its high protein level promotes muscle growth and repair, this coupled with Alfalfamazing’s superior fibre content is aimed at all round health and well being. Alfalfamazing’s high fibre content combined with its low starch and sugar levels ensures it provides slow, non fizzy energy release.

Alfalfa-mazing can be used to good effect for the soothing and healing of stomach ulcers, and is also suitable for equines with or prone to laminitis, this being in part due to its naturally low sugar levels.

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Grass-tastic will take approximately as long to eat as the equivalent weight in hay, meaning boredom is kept at bay, and more importantly this extended chewing period also helps wear the teeth evenly and correctly. It can also be used as a hay replacer for horses/ponies with poor dentition or other dental issues. For horses that struggle to graze due to poor dentition, Grass-tastic can be fed up to 2.5kgs (dry weight) per day, per 100kgs of horse. Grass-tastic can be fed by itself or alongside any of the other Emerald Green Feeds products.

Emerald Green Feeds Alfalfa Pellets

Emerald Green Feeds Alfalfa Pellets are a natural high value feed. By cutting the alfalfa during its optimum stage of growth & flash drying at a high temperature all the vitamins

& minerals which naturally occur within the alfalfa plant are sealed in. Emerald Green Feeds are palatable and high in fibre content.

This combination results in a steady release of digestible energy. They are also great forage for horses that have or are prone to laminitis as alfalfa is naturally low in sugar and starch.

Alfalfa is well documented as having the ability to neutralise excess stomach acid, one possible cause of stomach ulcers in horses, so Emerald Green Feeds Alfalfa Pellets can be particularly beneficial to competition animals fed with high starch feeds.

Emerald Green Feeds Grass Pellets

Emerald Green Feeds Grass Pellets are a natural high value feed. By cutting the grass during its optimum stage of growth & flash drying at a high temperature all the vitamins and minerals essential to horses’ health and wellbeing are locked in. There are many advantages of using emerald green feeds grass pellets, in a range of situations. They can be used all year round, and in varying amounts, which means a horse’s feeding regime can be tailored to the amount of work it is doing as well as the quantity and quality of grazing that is available. Another valuable use for Emerald Green feeds Grass Pellets would be as a feed for horses on box rest without access to grazing.

endurancegb.co.uk

Testimonials I have had a new horse this year and wanted to see what feeds were on the market, this is when I came across Emerald Green Feeds. My horse is a 16.2hh thoroughbred gelding, he is an ex racehorse so feeding was a concern I wanted to give him everything he needed for muscle growth, general health and enough energy for him to undertake his workload, While being careful not to fizz him up. I called Emerald Green Feeds and had a long chat with them regarding this, they were very helpful and sent me a free sample of the grass nuts.

The grass nuts smell delicious and my horse loves them. I started by introducing them as treats and I now feed them twice a day alongside hay. He is a horse that will bolt food down but he is unable to do this with the grass nuts so he really has to chew them down which helps him to digest them properly.

He has been on the grass nuts for a few months now but very soon after starting on them, his coat went from dull and scurfy to glossy and scurf free and his muscle mass and top line wasn’t great due to being out of work for sometime but he looks amazing now.

The most important thing for me is it’s such a natural food, they have added nothing to it at all, it’s always guaranteed quality. This is doubly important as hay is much harder to get hold of at the moment and the quality is not as good due to the weather. The grass nuts are of a consistent quality and in my view great value for money, in fact it’s the most cost effective food I have ever used. When you see the food you will see what I mean, it speaks for itself.

It’s simple good quality and can be delivered to your door so a win win all round.

We have been using Emerald Green Feeds for well over a year now and all of our horse have come through this winter better than ever.

We like our horses to be turned out as much as possible so in the winter months when this is not possible it has been great to be able to feed the horses grass pellets to keep their diet consistent all year round. We have horses ranging from happy hackers to three star event horses who are all enjoying this feed. It is non heating but is providing the top horses with enough energy for their competitions and this season they are fitter than ever without losing their condition.

I am delighted to have found a horse feed company that preserves the feed in its purest form. All my 3 love the grass pellets and chaff. One of my horses is entering his golden years and he is able to enjoy the pellets once soaked, as it makes the perfect mash.

Ros Canter

Claire Barton

It doesn’t cost the earth and its great knowing I am giving them something containing all the goodies they need, and they are looking great on it... thank you Emerald Green Feeds.

I’ve also started a 30 year old retired pony on this just for the winter months to help keep his condition consistent, again it has helped with his coat and he looks great on it. It also helps as a boredom breaker as they tend to graze on it in the stable. It can be fed to any horse of any age with any workload without a problem.

Kellii

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