Five tips for confidence…

Confidence seems somewhat elusive to those who doubt themselves. We have all been there, looking round thinking of all the things that could go wrong and all the ways we could fail, until we render ourselves completely incapable of doing anything!

But confidence is just another skill, and you can learn to do anything. So here are five tips to help you build your confidence.

1)      Be positive. Spending your time thinking “what if my horse spooks?” will not help your confidence. Instead visualise a positive outcome. Rather than visualising your horse spooking, visualise yourself trotting confidently around the corner.

2)      Small steps. If you become nervous in certain situations, break down the situation into bite size chunks. Are you nervous at a show? Break down the day into pieces. Are you nervous of loading your horse, or getting on in a strange place, or maybe even finding your way somewhere you haven’t been before. Once you have broken the day down, you will be able to identify what is causing the nervousness and then work with that area.

3)      Be kind. Don’t be self-critical, be kind to yourself. Remind yourself how far you have come, praise yourself for every step, even if it is simply that you were a little less scared than yesterday, remember to praise yourself!

4)      Set yourself up to succeed. Don’t over face yourself. If you enter a class above your ability and don’t do very well, you will enter into a negative mind-set about it. Why not enter a class below your ability, then you will have a rewarding experience before you start to push yourself.

5)      Breathe. When we are nervous, our muscles tighten and we don’t breathe properly. Our brain requires oxygen to function, you cannot think when you are scared!! Take a deep breathe, and another, and another, and off you go!

For more help with confidence in the saddle, why not take a look at Kelly Mark’s book Perfect Confidence, click here  for more information.

Navigational ultrasound imaging to accurately treat lameness.

A study was carried out using navigational ultrasound imaging, also known as fusion imaging, to be used in real time alongside a previously carried out CT or MRI scan. This was to help with the assessment and treatment of lesions.

17 horses with lameness, caused by either tendon or ligament damage, as seen on a MRI scan, were used in this research. Anatomical registration landmarks were chosen near the site of the lesion, and the ultrasound imaging was used in combination with the previous MRI scan.

The use of the fusion imaging with the MRI scan was found to be highly beneficial in 59% of cases. It was considered to improve the precision of the treatment that was being carried out, thereby, hopefully, making the treatment more effective and less invasive.

Even in the cases were the combined use was not considered to be highly beneficial, it was consider to give extra confidence and useful additional information to the treatment process.

Overall the use of the combined imaging was considered to have a positive effect on the procedure, with no negative consequences arising through its use.

Any research that can aid the treatment of lameness in horses, is of value, and in this case, it seems to have provided us with another tool in our collection for the treatment of lameness in horses.

Lustgarten, M., Redding, W., Schnabel, L., Prange, T. and Seiler, G. (2016). Navigational ultrasound imaging: A novel imaging tool for aiding interventional therapies of equine musculoskeletal injuries. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/evj.12410/full.

Five things to do with your horse when it’s too wet to ride!

Nothing is more miserable than a wet winter’s day with the wind howling and the rain lashing down. The last thing you want to do is ride in it! But if you want to still spend time with your horse and have a stable, or better still a covered yard there are plenty of things that you can do to enjoy spending time with your horse.

1)      Grooming. It sounds fairly basic, but we are always so busy, a groom usually consists of a flick with a brush, a quick hoof pick out and away we go. Take your time. Groom properly and slowly, feel for any lumps, or bumps, or scabs as you go.

2)      Massage. Give your horse a massage. Horses love being massaged and it’s a perfect way to thank them for the time we spend bouncing around on their back! If you are not sure of how to massage, check out our Horse Massage for Horse Owners bundle deal.

3)      Chalk muscles. Draw chalk muscles onto your horse. This is a great way to learn about your horses muscles and to increase your knowledge.

4)      Do some carrot stretches. Doing some stretches with our horses when we cannot ride them keeps their muscles in good working order. Rather like us doing yoga when we haven’t time to get to the gym!

5)      Standing still. Does your horse rush out of the stable door? The ability to stand still at the end of a line is essential. You can practise this to some extent in a stable. Practise standing with your horse on the end of a line while you walk out through the door, remember to think about your body language as you ask him to stand.

For more help on any of the topics raised here, or if you are struggling with your horse’s behaviour, please contact your local IHRA for expert behavioural advice.  http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/recommended-associates/  

Insurance - where do you stand?

Ashleigh Harris has just won a landmark case against her ex-boyfriend’s mother resulting in a pay-out of £3 million, after a fall left her paralysed from the waist down.

There has been the usual vitriolic keyboard warriors on either side of the story. However as with all stories only the people who were present on the fateful day know what happened, and even then their own interpretation of the events will be different. This is the nature of the truth.

For me the standout comment of the case is from the man who was selling the horse – this is quoted from the report in the Daily Mail - He described her as a ‘delightful ride’, although he wanted to get rid of her because she had proved to be too temperamental for point-to-point riding. To read the full story click here.

Personally I would advise against buying a horse that was sold for that reason!

I am not going to discuss the right or wrongs of the case or the nature of our litigious society and the effect it has had on risk taking. I am going to ask you to check your insurance carefully. Ring your insurance company and ask them if you are covered, make sure it is written in your policy.

I think letting people have a ride on your horse is a nice thing to be able to do, especially with children for whom riding could be outside their parent’s financial grasp. But riding is a high risk sport, accidents do happen. We are responsible for ensuring a basic level of care towards others.

Don’t let people ride your horse if you have any doubt about it – it is simply not worth it. Even if you were insured in the case of an accident can you imagine living with that guilt for the rest of your life?

Analysis into the visual assessment of lameness in horses while being lunged.

It can be difficult to see lameness in horses, especially low level lameness, which can sometimes manifest simply in a lack of performance, or a feeling of the horse not being “right”. A survey was carried out to analyse how successful a range of people were in identifying lameness on the lunge.

Videos were taken of 23 horses that were lameness, or had induced lameness, and these were sent to Sweden for analysis. 86 veterinarians completed the survey, with 43 defined as experienced and the remaining 43 as less experienced. They watched the videos and then assessed whether the horses were lame or not.

The horses that were defined as lame were correctly identified by 68%, whilst the ones with less pronounced lameness were only identified by 32% of the participants.

That horses were lame was agreed upon amongst the more experienced participants, whilst the less experienced had more difficult in concluding whether the horse was lame or not. With hind limb lameness only 37% of participants could correctly see the lameness. This could be that the compensatory nature of the horse masks the hind leg lameness, and in particular does so on the lunge.

In conclusion the study showed that in general it is difficult to correctly assess lameness unless you are very experienced and that hind limb lameness is very difficult to pick up regardless of how experienced you are.

So if you ever feel guilty for failing to pick up on your horse’s lameness – don’t! But make sure you get a highly experienced, respected vet out to look at your horse should you have any doubts over his lameness.

Hammarberg, M., Egenvall, A., Pfau, T. and Rhodin, M. (2016). Rater agreement of visual lameness assessment in horses during lungeing. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.12385/full.

Hope...

Today as I write, the world feels like it has lost its hope. Lost its hope in honesty, decency, freedom, acceptance…It is easy to forget that there is still good, there are still people who will strive to make the world a better place, for both people and for horses.

So rather than dwelling on what we have lost this year, let me bring you three moments that have been about hope…

1)      Willberry Wonder Pony and the inspirational Hannah Francis, who sadly passed away earlier this year. The charity founded by the teenager has raised over £115,000 to grant horsey wishes for those with serious illness.

2)      #notonmyyard. An anti-bullying campaign to prevent bullying and to encourage riders to support each other.

3)      A fundraising page for the paralysed jockey Freddie Tylicki raised over £200,000 in just 2 days.

As humans we are capable of achieving incredible things when we work together. Today, more than ever, we must remember to treat each other with kindness and compassion. For then we will once again regain our hope… 

Mud fever – the bane of winter!

Mud fever is a frustratingly common condition which occurs in the winter months.

Here are our top 5 tips to prevent it:

1: Avoid over-washing. In particular ensure that the legs are properly dried.

2: Rotate paddocks to avoid poaching, and electric tape off muddy areas if possible.

3: Disinfect all horse equipment to help prevent spread of mud fever. It is caused by an infectious agent called dermatophilus congolensis.

4: Consider a barrier cream – ask your vet for advice, they are usually oily based to prevent the water reaching the skin.

5: Be vigilant. If caught early mud fever can be quickly treated, if left it can cause lameness and require antibiotics to help it clear up.

Once your horse has mud fever it can take some time to clear up. If possible keep the legs clean and dry. Wash the affected with medicated shampoo and dry thoroughly. Consider applying creams to help the healing process. Please consult your vet is you are unsure.

Any tips for dealing with mud fever? Please let us know!

How to survive fireworks with your horse…

Fireworks night is a source of dread for most horse owners, and as they become more popular the “season” seems to stretch ever further around the 5^th November.

Gil Riley – one of our fantastic contributors to “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?” and a Petplan ‘Vet of the Year’ has given some tips on how to help your horse cope with fireworks.

“We must remember that, being flight animals, even the most sensible horses can be prone to bolting when frightened which can lead to injury to the horse or others. The most important advice I can give horse owners is to be aware and prepared by making sure your horse is as safe and secure as possible”, explains Gil Riley.

Top 10 Tips:

1: Find out where firework displays are being held. Listings are in local papers, radio stations, why not ask on social media and in turn share of any that you know to help other horse owners?

2: Speak to the organisers – ask them to stick to the agreed time and if possible point the fireworks away from your yard. (Obviously not if that means they are simply pointing at someone else’s yard!)

3: Where possible keep your horse to his usual routine. If you can move him to a further away field do so, but be aware this may unsettle him.

4: Check your field is secure and that you have 3^rd party liability. You are responsible should your horse escape.

5: If stabled, ensure that your horse has a deep bed, with plenty of hay to keep him occupied.

6: Cotton wool in his ears can help muffle the noise, as can leaving the radio on.

7: If possible stay with your horse, or check on him after the fireworks have finished.

8: If you think your horse may react badly, speak to your vet about giving him a mild sedative.

9: If you can’t be there, leave your details on your gate so that you can be contacted in an emergency.

10: Afterwards check your fields for fireworks.

If you have any other tips please share them with us!

Wishing all horse owners a peaceful Guy Fawkes night.