Horse lovers in and around North Somerset are in for a treat with the launch next month of a series of talks by leading experts on key aspects of horse welfare.

The series will open on February 18 2008 with a talk by Dr Alistair Barr on fractures in horses’ legs. The next event, on March 4, will deal with dietary issues and will be given by Kate Lugsden of Bailey’s Horse Feeds, who are sponsoring the series. Equine artificial insemination will be the subject of a talk on March 25 by surgeon Tim Randle, while on April 8 Professor Christine Nicol will discuss the prevention of abnormal behaviour in horses. Clinician Geoff Lane will focus on the care of horses’ teeth on April 15, and equine rehabilitation will be the subject of the final talk on April 29 by Dr Cathy Fuller and Sam Franklin.

All six events are being organised by the University of Bristol’s renowned School of Veterinary Science at Langford. The School incorporates the Bristol Equine Centre, which the University has been developing over the past decade into one of the world’s foremost facilities of its kind.

Professor Avril Waterman-Pearson, Head of the Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, said: “The Equine Centre is of national and international importance for its teaching, research and clinical work, but it’s also part of the local equine community.

“We’re keen to develop our relationship with all those who care for and work with horses. These talks will be a great way of opening up the Equine Centre to more people who share our enthusiasm and want to learn more.”

Professor Waterman-Pearson added that money raised from the events would be put towards the development of a new equine surgery suite and intensive care unit at Langford. This will complement the diagnostic facilities, equine sports medicine unit and clinical stables that already form parts of the Equine Centre.

All the events will take place at the School of Veterinary Science at Langford, starting at 7pm with welcome drinks. Tickets cost £8 and can be booked in advance by telephoning Bristol 928 9502.

Article from: www.bristol.ac.uk 

Further information about the conference and booking forms can be found here Animal Health Trust 

What is Strangles?

Strangles (Streptococcus equi) is a highly contagious disease. It is
treatable, but can be fatal. Younger horses are generally more at
risk, but any horse can develop the disease. The incubation period of
Strangles is around 2 weeks, but outbreaks can occur up to 3 weeks or
more after an initial outbreak. New rescued horses should be closely
monitored and swabbed for signs of the disease.

What to look out for: nasal discharge, a high temperature depression,
lack of appetite, cough and swollen glands on the head and neck, these
can develop into abcesses. Once abcesses have formed, they will need
to be lanced by a veterinary surgeon. If you suspect strangles,
contact your vet immediately. Strangles can be transmitted not just
through one horses contact with another, but also through contact via
humans, tack, equipment and feed. So all tack and stable equipment
will need to be disinfected and a strict disinfection routine will
need to be carried out by anyone who has contact with the horse who
then has contact with other equines. ie disinfection of hands, boots
etc. Also people from other areas outside
the infected yard should stay away from the infected area. Any
vehicles leaving the yard should also be disinfected. Strangles is
known to survive longer in water, and outbreaks often occur as a
result of a shared water source.

Treatment is possible with antibiotics but vets generally do not
recommend this due to the fact that antibiotics kill off good bacteria
in the system.Horses kept comfortable and with a good supply of feed
and water will generally fight off the disease with their own immune
system but will need to be monitored carefully, and you will need to
keep in close contact with your vet.

Vaccination: You will need to discuss a vaccination programme with
your vet to see if he thinks vaccination is necessary. Horses at high
risk, ie rescued horses of unknown origin will need to have two
initial vaccinations four weeks apart, followed by a re-vaccination
with a single dose four times a year at three month intervals. If no
outbreak occurs, no additional vaccinations after this are required.

Strangles is also known as ‘bastard’ strangles. It’s not hard to see why!

Puffa, The AHT, & The British Horse Society – Serious About Strangles Campaign

“The AHT and The British Horse Society have joined forces to launch a campaign to increase awareness of Strangles and raise vital funds. Together they plan to raise £250,000 to accelerate research into the development of diagnosis and prevention – ultimately to eliminate the disease. Your donation can help us reach this crucial target.” (from www.seriousaboutstrangles.com) Visit Serious About Strangles for further information.

To measure length: Measure your horse from the chest to the back of the rump, beneath the top of the tail (the dock) You should also measure from the wither (at the base of the neck) to the dock.

For neck measurements: Measure from the front of the wither down the shoulder to a point level to the top of the chest.

Below is a horse rug sizing chart, but please note this is a guide only, as there are other factors to consider when sizing a horse rug, ie the breed and build of your horse.

If you would like to learn about keeping your horses in a more natural way, read Paddock Paradise – a guide to natural horse boarding by Jaime Jackson.

“The barefoot grazing idea outlined in his book is very simple, but very clever. He suggests making a track around the perimeter of your field for your horses to live on all year long.

Food, water, shelter etc are positioned around it, in different places, so encouraging the horses to remain on the move all the time. The idea is quite amazing, so simple but yet unique in the horse world today.

Paddock Paradise is well worth reading in order to gain greater understanding of this barefoot grazing concept. The theory is all there, it is then just a matter of transfering that theory into practice, in your own particular situation.”

From successful-natural-horsecare.com

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7180326.stm

Neglected foal ‘showing recovery’

RSPCA workers found 32 horses dead and put down three more

A two-month-old foal saved from a site where 32 horses were found dead amongst dozens of neglected ponies and donkeys is recovering, rescuers have said.

The foal, named Esther, was taken to Norfolk-based Redwings Animal Sanctuary for urgent care after it was found at a farm in Amersham, Bucks, by the RSPCA.

About 80 animals were found living in a squalid state alongside the dead horses last week, the charity said.

Despite a poor start in life Esther has done well, a Redwings spokeswoman said.

“She is playful today and that is a really good sign.

“We think she must be the youngest one they found,” the spokeswoman at Redwings dedicated horse-hospital in Hapton said.

Mistreatment on this scale is unprecedented in Britain
Lee Hackett, British Horse Society

Esther and her mother were taken to the centre, along with 21 horses, ponies and donkeys rescued from the Amersham farm.

RSPCA officers described how dozens of dead horses had been piled up against fences at the farm, with workers describing the scene as the worst they had encountered.

Three horses were put down at the farm, and the emaciated animals which were rescued were taken to sanctuaries across the country.

“Some of them just won’t let anyone near them at all,” the Redwings spokeswoman said.

“We have to put those through a gradual handling programme and let them recover before we eventually release them into a herd.

“Redwings Horse Sanctuary had travelled to rescues on many occasions but rarely sees cruelty so far advanced that equines are seemingly forgotten and literally left to die.”

Man charged

Lee Hackett, the British Horse Society’s welfare senior executive, said: “Mistreatment on this scale is unprecedented in Britain – the true horror of the situation is only now becoming clear.”

James Gray, 44, of Amersham, was arrested after the animals were found at the farm.

He has been charged with criminal damage and assaulting a police officer and is due before Aylesbury Magistrates court on Monday.

Police would not confirm how he was connected to the operation.

As both my ponies were rescued, and suffered greatly at the hands of people who were less than gentle with them, they both literally gave me the run around in the early days. My rescued mare would not let me near her in the paddock. She had become so defensive and I suspect that as she is prone to laminitis (something that soon made itself known) one of her previous owners had more than likely dealt with the situation by shutting her in a stable and never letting her out. She was practically stable phobic. But, at the livery yard where I kept her, she was turned out in a small, well grazed paddock, so laminitis risks were low, catching her though, seemed an impossibility.

I was at a loss, but I didn’t want to take the advice of everyone at the yard. They kept saying things like ‘Don’t let her get away with it’ ‘She’s just playing a game’ ‘She’s taking the mick out of you’ etc etc. But I didn’t see it like that. I saw a pony that had been abused and simply had enough of humans thank you very much! People offered me their help in various different ways of ’rounding her up’ or cornering her. To me, it just seemed pointless, and would just perpetuate her mistrust of humans. So, I decided to listen to my gut instinct and let her come to me. Ok, it’s not revolutionary, and it isn’t quick, but I wanted her to come to me because she wanted to, not because she had to.

For some strange reason, some horse owners at livery yards don’t make it easy for you if you want to try something different, break away from the norm, they can even seem determined to convince you that what you’re trying is a waste of time, and cannot possibly work. If this sounds familiar, ignore the doubters, ignore everything but your gut instinct. After all, you’re the one who knows your own horse better than anyone.

So, with ‘stick to your guns’ as a mantra in my head, I set about on a mission for my pony (who, by the way, thought I was a pain in the backside!) to want to be at my side, or at least want to have a headcollar put on and be led out of the paddock. I took a book or a magazine with me every morning and went and sat in her paddock and read. I did this every day much to the amusement of my fellow horse owners, who all thought I was completely barking mad. Like I said, this wasn’t a quick fix, and yes, it took a long time, but it worked and I truly believe that this was the foundation for the wonderful relationship we have now, which is based on trust and understanding.

The first day that she approached me I didn’t try to put a headcollar on her, I didn’t even have one with me. I just did nothing and let her stay with me for as long as she wanted. (she wasn’t with me for long on that first day) Gradually the time she spent with me increased and I got to the point where she let me stroke her. Next, when she came over to me, I stood up and stroked her, no problems. I started taking a headcollar into the field with me, but I still didn’t try to attempt to put it on her, I just kept it laying on the ground with the books and magazines. The next step was to have the headcollar in my hand when she was with me. There were still no problems, ie she didn’t run off. When it came to actually putting the headcollar on her, it was actually easy and caused no problems at all. By that time, she was just so used to me being around and not trying to do anything, that she just accepted the whole thing.

This is a special case, and it took a longer than normal time because the pony was a rescued one, and because I was new to it and was just going on my own instinct. But with my next rescued pony, and in fact, every horse or pony that people have asked me for help with, it is just a question of patience. I’m not saying sit in a field for months, that was my first experience at catching a horse that doesn’t want to be caught. But I am saying if you want it to work long term, then be prepared for it to take time.

It seems that a lot of horse owners would rather stick a headcollar on a horse and turn it out in that rather than deal with catching problems, even though it’s known to be risky and be the cause of some nasty accidents.

I find the way that works best for me is to just go into the field without a headcollar, simply to pet the horse, and then just walk away again. Once you’ve done that a few times, you should be able to go in and put a headcollar on but then take it straight off again and then walk away. If you find that as soon as you produce a headcollar, the horse goes back to square one and runs away, then go back to square one yourself and return to going into the field without the headcollar just to pet your horse. Perseverance is the key, as is a calm attitude, even though sometimes you may want to scream and swear very loudly and have absolutely nothing more to do with horses, ever. (well, I sometimes feel that way!) It can be frustrating, and that’s an understatement, but the more wound up you become, the more your horse will know about it – Never underestimate how tuned in horses are to our feelings! Variety seems to work wonders too, so say, for instance, that a horse has become used to being brought in for the field only to be ridden, he/she isn’t going to be particularly keen on being caught. (unsurprisingly) It helps to bring the horse in just to be groomed and then turn it back out straight afterwards. Or bring the horse in and do something different with it, ie a walk in-hand, anything to break the pattern of catch=being ridden.

If your horse has got an aversion to headcollars (and some do) something that worked very well for me with one of my rescued ponies was to show my pony the headcollar, let him sniff the headcollar, and ‘reward’ him by taking it away, which led to him becoming more curious about it and therefore wanting to ‘know more about it’. I’m no Pat Parelli, but these natural horsemanship techniques have been invaluable in my daily relationship with my ponies.

Further reading:

Web:
Parelli – Catching Problems

Books:
Kelly Marks: Catching Made Easy (Intelligent Horsemanship)

Kelly Marks – Perfect Manners – How to behave so your horse does too

The problem of mud fever is difficult to combat in horses that are living out, since the bacteria that are usually present on the surface of the skin don’t normally become a problem until they meet wet and muddy conditions. If it is at all possible to bring the horse in, even for a few hours ie long enough for the limbs to dry out completely and remain dry for a short period of time, it will actually help to minimise the problem. If there is no possibility of bringing your horse in, the alternative is to try one of the various barrier creams and powders currently available on the market. These products claim to waterproof the skin, and help to protect against mud fever.

If an infection is already present, gently wash the area to loosen scabs, do not pick the scabs off, (yuck, I do apologise, but it has to be said!) Then dry the limbs thoroughly and apply an anti-bacterial cream, powder or ointment. This will help to stop the infection from spreading. Please note that any cream, powder or ointment applied will not penetrate the scab. So if scabs are still present, then so is an infection.

In severe cases, it may be necessary to seek veterinary assistance and stable the horse all the time, or only allow the horse to be turned out onto a dry all-weather surface.

Creams Ointments and Powders to try:

Mudgard from NAF: Natural Animal Feeds – barrier cream (use in conjunction with NAF MSM ointment and NAF teatree oil shampoo)

Click HERE to view these girths on Tackbay

When you get to the site, click on ‘online surveys’ on the left hand side of the home page, and it will take you to the petition. It doesn’t appear to be possible to post a direct link to the petition page.