Melanie Hook wrote to us about the need to train our horses to be safe and sensible on the road.

"I wish people would take more responsibility for training their horses for today’s roads. As harness horse trainers, we teach young horses to be safe, confident and happy in traffic. 

It seems many carriage drivers try to avoid traffic, rather than training their horses better. We even encounter other harness trainers who don’t believe in training horses for traffic. But we all know vehicles can be found in fields (combine harvesters, scrambler bikes and so on), and not everyone has the luxury of their own manege, fields, or access to off-road tracks. 

When we're out driving, motorists will sometimes beep their horns in greeting; sometimes out of ignorance. Part of our training for harness horses involves me driving past with the horn blaring. In our opinion, if horses have experienced it during training, they are prepared should it occur later on in their driven career. 

I’ve seen a driving horse bolt because a car driver was crawling along parallel to the horse’s quarters, brushing the hedge on the side of the road and making a noise. The driver assumed it was their speed that caused the horse to spook and so pulled out even wider, exacerbating the problem and causing the runaway. You can’t say to a motorist “You passed too wide and too slow!” when this is what we tell them to do.

There are organisations that offer road safety training, however these are mainly focused on the human rather than the horse itself. I agree that there are inconsiderate car drivers just as there are inconsiderate cyclists, carriage drivers, riders, shop assistants and bank managers. Regardless of how polite you are, there will always be someone who is rude for no reason even if they do know better. 

I’m not saying we should stop educating motorists that horses are unpredictable and to pass wide and slow. We don’t want to encourage drivers to act recklessly - not only for our sake, but for that of other road users. But we should look at improving our horse’s behaviour too.

The sad truth is that the less people drive on the roads, the less motorists accept us as “road users”. This means they are more likely to get frustrated when they do see us on the road. I believe we should all strive for the highest possible standards, not only in competing, but in driving out on the roads."

Melanie

Would you like to write a one-off blog for H&C? Is there a topic in the horseworld that you really want to rant about? Something you want to get off your chest? Is there some aspect of horse-ownership that really makes you laugh? We'd love to hear from viewers who want to write a one-off guest blog post about everything and anything. Send a max of 400 words to webeditor@horseandcountry.tv, and we'll choose the very best to use on our site.

Related links: Horse advice | Carriage Driving | Other

Beverley from Nottinghamshire reflects on the progress she has made with her ex-racehorse, Duke:

 "Duke was stabled at the same yard as my horse. His feet were terrible, no farrier would shoe him unless he'd been sedated, and he had not been ridden for about a year.

I had been learning about horse behaviour and making great progress with Sprite. I wondered - could Duke overcome his issues and could his life be turned around? Could I help him and learn from him at the same time?

I asked his owners if they would sell Duke, and in no time at all I was the new owner of a 16.1hh ex-racehorse I knew little about.

Some things were obvious. His teeth were terrible, his back a mess and his feet shocking. Once these were addressed, I could start helping him with the other issues he had.

These included bucking, rearing, biting, kicking, panicking, plus nervous and aggressive behavour. He wouldn't load, he hated sprays, and he couldn't be clipped or tacked up. He was terrified of the vet, farrier, dentist, and back man, and being around other horses blew his brain. 

He would suddenly explode, dragging me around. it was hard keeping my adrenaline down and staying focused. I had never experienced anything like this before. His behaviour was unpredictable and erratic.

I started to see small changes in him, but his confidence and emotions were very delicate.

The first time I got on him he panicked, tried to buck, rear and run off all at the same time. He was biting himself, trying to bite me.

That’s when I needed help. I didn’t have the knowledge or confidence to go further. So I rang Mickey Gavin, my instructor, and arranged for us to to go there for a week.It was the best thing I could have done.  

Duke's issues are nearly all behind him now, we are making huge progress. My goal is for us to compete at dressage, not for the rosettes, but because it will be a massive acheivement in itself.

No matter how hard its been we never gave up. This horse deserves the best. He has overcome so much, and he now trusts people. I am very proud to be his partner."

Is there a topic in the horseworld that you really want to rant about? Something you want to get off your chest? Is there some aspect of horse-ownership that really makes you laugh? We'd love to hear from viewers who want to write a one-off guest blog post about everything and anything. Send a max of 400 words to webeditor@horseandcountry.tv, and we'll choose the very best to use on our site. Views do not necessarily reflect those of H&C.

Related links: Horse advice | Natural Horsemanship

Jenni Preston wrote to us about finding a balance between managing a laminitic horse, and giving him enough energy to work.

"Let’s just say that my horse Bob knows me inside out and, quite frankly, is too clever for his own good. I blame the native in him, his sharp wit has given him a big personality and his pony-like looks enable him to get away with murder, despite being a 15hh, 16-year-old gelding.

As a Welsh x Connemara he’s built to survive the harshest of UK weathers and live on fresh air, but this year it has gone against us as we’ve had our first experience of laminitis. It was a mild case and he’s now pretty much back to his normal workload, but this is where the problems have begun.  

Quite frankly I don’t know when he’s having me on and when he’s feeling sore. He’s been barefoot for the past eight years and his soles have become a lot thinner since his lamintis attack in May.  To add to this, he was never the swiftest of steeds, he’d watch other horses heat up at jumps with pure disdain and the thought of bucking or leaping, well, was just too much effort. Now that he’s had the summer off, he’s lazier than ever.  

Bob’s brain seems to be forever thinking up of ways to evade hard work, but is it because he’s just damn lazy or is he in pain? We walk out on a hack as if going to our deaths, but incredibly can walk back home in lengthened stride or jog trot. When I ride him in the school, it’s me who gets off sweating and out of breath, while he stands there cool, calm and collected, like the horse version of James Bond.

The problem with laminitis is that you have to leech every last bit of sugar from the diet, it’s incredibly hard to feed for energy – his soaked hay is offering little spark and practically every feed is a prohibited substance. Can I really blame him for not wanting to move? If I was asked to go to the gym on a no sugar diet, I’d want to spend my time in the Jacuzzi, not on the treadmill.

So my ‘get Bob moving’ campaign has now reached new levels. In the last week I’ve changed his diet, clipped him, he’s had an Equine Touch bodywork session and his feet have been done. What’s the betting once I get him moving, I’ll be complaining I can’t stop…"

 Is there a topic in the horseworld that you really want to rant about? Something you want to get off your chest? Is there some aspect of horse-ownership that really makes you laugh? We'd love to hear from viewers who want to write a one-off guest blog post about everything and anything. Send a max of 400 words to webeditor@horseandcountry.tv, and we'll choose the very best to use on our site. Views do not necessarily reflect those of H&C.

Related links: Horse advice

"Arctic Soul went brilliantly at Boekelo to complete a wet and technical cross-country course, clear and within the time. Check out our round from my head camera, you can hear me talking to him all the way round as he is so keen and needs lots of steadying.

"He was such a super star and we finished 13th in the CCI three star among stiff competition. Big pat, clever pony - he has been brilliant all season and you can see how much he loves his job in our video."

Gemma

Related links: Horse advice | Eventing

Anita Hall from the Pelion Stud welcomes a new arrival - one of two foals born on the same night! 

Related links: Horse advice | Breeding & Futurity

Jo Bassett is part of the British Young Drivers squad. Here is the first part of her exclusive video diary, leading up to the World Championships in July.  

Related links: Horse advice | Carriage Driving | Other | How to

"This year is absolutely flying by – possibly something to do with having a Little Brown in tow – hardly seems possible we are now in September.

Harry passes exams

We are delighted to confirm that Harry passed his Diploma Examination from the Worshipful Company of Farriers with great results which now make him a fully qualified farrier. His apprenticeship officially finished on the 31 August and he graduated at a ceremony in London shortly after. He is currently on a well-deserved holiday but he is not leaving us – just yet!

Lewis secures a place

Lewis completed his two month probationary period before starting his apprenticeship officially on the first of September. College places were somewhat restricted this year and we were quite relieved to learn that he had secured a place at Warwickshire College. He is currently at College completing the first four week block at college.

Competition success

So many competitions and so many ribbons! Despite a few trips to A&E (I was kicked on the head, Robbie injured his leg, Harry had to have his eye washed out and I was then kicked on the finger) we have battled on and have enjoyed some great results.

Between the team we have secured multiple placing’s at the Ayrshire Branch Competition, Devon, Bath & West, Three Counties, Royal Welsh, Handmade Shoes (UK) Ltd Shoemaking Competition, Peover Game Fair and Newbury (Royal Berkshire).

Replacing the original Royal Show Championship held to coincide with the Royal Show at Stoneleigh each year, the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association held the National Championship over the weekend of 11th - 14th August 2011. These Championships (and their trophies) are highly sought after amongst farriers across the UK.

I won in the Shoe & Tong with partner Duncan Thomson, received a second in the Open Therapeutic Shoemaking, a second in the Roadster, a fourth in the Heavy Horse Shoeing and won the Best Specimen Shoe for the Heavy Horse Shoeing. Overall I finished sixth in the ‘Royal Show’ Championship.

Client stories 

Hetta Carthew was successful this year to be selected to represent Great Britain at the International Pony Club Polocrosse Challenge held alongside the Polocrosse World Cup. The team won – read Hetta’s report complete with photographs on our website under ‘News’.

Monmouthshire Open Mounted Games team who train with Iain Hopkins based in Llanarth, Abergavenny have just been crowned the new British Champions after stealing the title from 2010 winners Shropshire after a fast and furious run off. The full story is on our website. Congratulations to them!

Coming up

I am part of the Welsh Team selected to compete at the International Team Shoeing Competition held on the first weekend of October hosted by the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association. Wales will be one of 14 teams confirmed so far and we are busy practising. The team this year is a young team of up and coming farriers so the competition will be tough but good experience.

This competition will be one of the last in the year. It’s been a busy summer and it will be nice to catch up with bits at home and local friends we have not seen for a while! 

New website

We were busy working on the website in our last blog and pleased to confirm it has now gone live. We have had great feedback from current clients and have gained new clients already. The news section keeps everyone up to date with developments and changes within the business. Do have a look and let us know what you think www.nrbrownfarriers.co.uk"

Nigel

Related links: Horse advice

“When you have horses, you definitely need regular visits from an equine dentist. But are horses as afraid of the dentist as we humans are?

Hogwash and dentists

Here in the United States, an equine dentist does not have to be a veterinary surgeon, but the American Veterinarian Association is lobbying hard to make it illegal for a non-veterinarian to be an equine dentist. To that I say “hogwash”! Fortunately, our farm vet Dr. Paul Elwell, who has been practicing forever (Tim remembers Doc Elwell coming to treat his family’s horses when he was just a little boy), and he has a great equine dentist who that he refers his patients to and that is who we use. We love Doc Elwell’s forward thinking.

So this month we held dentistry day at North Point Farm. Because our horses are competition horses and lots of what they do involves a bit in their mouths, dental health is of great importance for optimal performance.

One by one, the horses were led to an empty stall where they were sedated and then had a rather scary looking contraption put on their heads to keep their mouths open during their treatments.  Our dentist uses power tools to float teeth, but he also uses old-fashioned hand tools. The tools make lots of noise and as in humans with tooth drills; the floating produces lots of vibration which can be startling to a horse. The biggest issue with our horses seems to be that with the sedation comes heavy head drooping. Have you ever tried lifting a draught horse's head?

Once everything was in place and the dentist was ready to begin, we all gathered around to watch and see what the mouths of all of our horses looked like from the inside. I am sure there was no pressure on the dentist as Tim and I stood behind her, almost in her back pocket, and the interns that work on our farm also took time away from barn chores to peer inside and watch what she was doing. Several of our interns have aspirations of attending vet school so we try and expose them to as much of the vet work here at the farm as we can.

Caps off

One of our three-year-olds needed to have some of her caps removed. You all probably know that a horse keeps losing “baby teeth” until around age four. The caps will come off naturally, but sometimes a bit of help is needed as was the case with this mare.    She also had her teeth floated and, the dentist exclaimed, “This mare’s teeth are huge”.   

The mare had been holding her head to one side recently while being bited and driven so we suspected that there was a dental issue after we had changed bits three times with no resolution. Sure enough, between the loose caps and the sharp edges on the teeth on one side of her mouth, and the correction of these issues, her biting issue has resolved itself.

We like to tell folks that a horse will always tell you what is wrong, you just have to be an excellent listener. We knew that there was something bothering this young mare so after changing bits with no result, the next logical step was dentistry.

Blind wolf teeth

Another mare that we had the dentist look at had no issues with her mouth and was accepting the bit and working well. But because the dentist was out at the farm, we asked her to take a look. 

The mare had what are called “blind wolf teeth”. These are unerupted teeth, which can be detected as firm nodules under the gum in front of the cheek teeth in some horses. These are often painful and may be covered with ulcerated gum membranes and may require removal. The dentist was shocked that the horse was so stoic and accepting of the bit. She recommended that the teeth be removed and would have done so except for the fact that the horse does not belong to us and was only here for training and, she is pregnant, making sedation a risky proposition. 

Since the mare was having no issues and seemed to not be in any pain, the decision was made to address her dental issues after her foal is born next year.  Her owners got a phone consult with their vet about the issues and, all is well with her.

Our last dental patient of the afternoon was a young two-year-old mare who is going in to work next year. Our dentist believes that dental work for the young horse is essential and we agree.  This mare also had a set of wolf teeth that we will keep an eye on. Because of their position in her mouth, they do not affect the bite or her ability at this point to work in a bridle.

Every six months

In six months, the dentist will be back on the farm to do more routine dentistry and to make sure that everyone is doing well. We believe that money spent in this fashion is money well spent and all of the horses benefit.

Until next time, please be sure to keep in touch via Facebook and, be on the lookout for a complete re-modeling of our website in the next few weeks at www.northpointfarm.com"

Related links: Horse advice

"The progression of the human species is dependant upon our capacity to look beyond the present. Indeed, we often describe great human achievers as “visionaries”. This is as true for sporting performance as any other area of performance. 30 years of personality research in sport has shown that the most common psychological characteristic of elite athletes is the ability to engage the right-hand side of their brain, the creative side that uses images to practice skills and rehearse scenarios. Research also suggests that the world’s best spend more time thinking about their best performances, reliving them in their mind as if they were actually back in competition.

Listen to interviews

Listen carefully to riders being interviewed after competition and you will often hear reference to how they used imagery to focus their performance, control their nerves and build confidence. Competing in her first Badminton at the age of 21, Laura Collett described using an imagery technique in her dressage allowing her to stay relaxed and in control her emotions whilst focussing on the job in hand. As a result she finished in the top three after the first phase by recreating all the hard work done in the practice arena at home.

Mental imagery is powerful

Effectively, mental imagery is the process by which we create and live experiences in our mind. The emphasis is not necessarily on seeing these images but on feeling them (i.e. as if we were actually doing a dressage movement or a show-jumping round). Research has consistently demonstrated that done well this can even be better than physically practicing a movement because we can imagine doing it perfectly and therefore refine the neural pathways associated with that movement! This explains a very common phenomena found with injured athletes/riders who have been forced to imagine performing rather than actually doing it. When they eventually get back into competition they often do better than before the injury!

Use your imagination

Using our imagination comes naturally to some riders and less so for others, but one thing is for sure; we can all learn to use these techniques to great effect. The more control riders have over their imagination, the more they are able to control their anxieties, focus, confidence and ultimately performance.

In this series of blogs over the next couple of months I will be exploring how you can use imagery to best influence your riding performance, helping you to:

-          Generate confidence and belief in your ability to execute a plan

-          Control your emotions and respond to adversity

-          Learn new skills faster and execute them every time in competition

In particular I will cover specific areas where visualisation is especially useful;

-          Dressage Tests

-          Course Walking

-          Learning New Skills

The four key principles 

In the meantime, it is important to recognise four key principles of mental imagery to get you going on the right track:

1) Imagery must be controlled deliberately and therefore done when you have time to do so properly. If you rush it, it defeats the object of doing it in the first place. Therefore if you are short for time you are better imagining one movement of your dressage done perfectly rather than the whole test done quickly.

2) Visualisation is more powerful when you imagine performing as if you were actually in the saddle riding (as opposed to watching yourself). What makes visualisation such a powerful technique is NOT seeing yourself do something well, but FEELING it.

3) Don’t underestimate how much concentration good visualisation takes. Start by imagining one step at a time in real time.

4) Only visualise when you are in the mood you want to be when competing. Listening to music before or during visualisation can be great for helping you achieve this.

Workshop dates still available

There are still some places left for the popular “Mindful Rider” Workshops designed for all competitive equestrians. Remaining dates include:

27 June – Thirsk, Yorkshire

30 May – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

PLUS

6 June – Meeting of the Minds (Kent) – A one-off live demo alongside Jason Webb looking at the parallels between horse and human psychology

Visit www.performancelegacy.com/events_equestrian.htm to find out more and book places."

Related links: Horse advice

"Happy New Year! And happy birthday to all the Percherons who, like Thoroughbreds, celebrate their birthdays on January 1!

Here at the farm we have been very busy getting ready for foaling season, which for us begins in a few weeks. 

DIY

When we started breeding Percherons, a vet used to do all of our reproductive work. She was a very sweet young woman and we enjoyed learning what she had to teach us. The only problem was that her conception rate was not so good and it ended up costing us literally thousands of dollars to get our mares in foal. Being thrifty, as all horse owners are, we decided simply to teach ourselves to do our own reproductive work and bid a fond adieu to the repro vet.

Many people wonder how we have come to be so successful breeding our mares since we are able to achieve a 100% conception rate on foal heats. The average conception rate on foal heats, as stated by Dr. Bob Judd and widely held, is about 72% nationally. 

Magic spell? Crystal ball? Luck?

I suppose part of the plan is good genetics and good husbandry. We practice good husbandry all year, not just during show season or breeding season. We always tell folks that there is no short cut to good husbandry, ever. A healthy mare is easier to get in foal and has fewer, if any, issues carrying her foal to term.

The other and probably bigger part of the plan is that we are able to do for ourselves what a vet cannot do for us. If a vet needs to come and do an ultrasound to tell you if your mare is ready to be covered, you have to work around his schedule. If he has an emergency colic or it is out of office hours, he may get to the mare later or not at all on the day you need him. 

Here, we are able to scan whenever we feel that the mare may be close to ovulating, be that at 7am or at 2am. [Editor's note: It is illegal in the UK to scan mares unless you are a qualified vet, but not in the US]. We are also able to do multiple scans in one day if necessary and by doing multiple scans, we are able to ensure that the semen gets into the mare at the most opportune time.

The beauty of technology

To be sure, there is education and skill involved in doing a successful scan and artificial insemination. Nobody should ever attempt to ultrasound a mare without training. Here at North Point, we have spent countless classroom hours learning to ultrasound a mare and that has paid off for us. We also own a state of the art ultrasound machine and that is helpful in making sure we get the images that we need. Our ultrasound was expensive, about US$6000, but it paid for itself the first year we used it.

Practice and learn

To be successful breeding from your mare, you need to know what a mare’s reproductive system looks like on the ultrasound and how to identify what you are seeing. You need to know what drugs, if any, to use to encourage ovulation, and how big follicles need to be before you can administer those drugs. Follicle sizes prior to ovulation are different in draft horses then they are in light horses and this is helpful to know. You need to know when to order semen and how to perform the insemination itself. None of this hard but it does take a level of skill and knowledge as well as practice.

Ultrasound

My photo is an actual ultrasound which we did of a thirteen day old embryo. Our mare Larissa is currently carrying that embryo, sired by the current World Champion Percheron stallion, and she is due to deliver this foal in about three weeks! 

We have a whole library of embryos at various ages for each of our breeding mares which is helpful resource year to year. We also have videos of the embryos taken with our ultrasound machine which are always fun to look at.

So as foaling season begins, so does breeding season.  It is an exciting time for all of us here at the farm as well as the students from some of the equine colleges that will visit with us during this time to observe. 

Until next time, please send 'pink' thoughts to our mares as they prepare to foal! And as always, please keep up with us on our website or on Twitter. You can also see what the month of February is like here on the farm by reading about it in Farm and Ranch Magazine, Febrary/March 2011.

Related links: Horse advice | Breeding & Futurity | Other