23 SEP GETTING TO GRIPS WITH MUD FEVER
Mud Fever is a bit of a mystery. It seems to come from nowhere. The microbes responsible are probably already on the skin just waiting for an opportunity to get in a bit deeper and cause trouble. Horses prone to mud fever include the elderly, those with compromised immune systems from…
04 AUG THE SPANIARD (PT 4) FEATURING TOMMY A.K.A. SHADOWFAX ON E-NUMBERS
It’s been a long time since anyone has really done much with Tommy, a 17hh grey ID hunter … for his part, he’s just been doing his thing out in his field for the last couple of years; waste of a good horse really … that was until earlier this…
24 JUN THE SPANIARD (A.K.A TORNADO) AND TECHNOLOGY
My trainer is stuck in Australia (worse places to get stuck I guess), has been for several months now and is clearly getting bored … so she’s told me to send her some videos of me riding so that she can “virtually yell at me”. Now I love training and…
07 MAY LAURA GROOM, SURFER DUDE & 'BABY PILE'
Just what is 'Baby Pile' when it's at home anyway?
20 APR SAM, THE SPANIARD AND HIS STUBBORN ITCH!
I’ve woken up so terrifyingly early this morning, so early that I’ve given myself a headache … no work to do as such and yet I’m up not only with the lark but before him, typical.Skipping (gazelle like, as if, ha ha) off downstairs it seems that even the majority…
05 NOV MUDDY PAWS AND WHY THEY MATTER: PROTECTING YOUR DOG FROM ALABAMA ROT
Why am I worried about clean paws at this time of year? No – it’s not because I’m house proud. With two big dogs, 3 horses and young grandchildren around, that would be daft. It’s actually because of the increasing prevalence of what were once exotic diseases in dogs. …
26 MAR WHY IS MY HORSE SO ITCHY IN SPRING?
This time of year – late February and March - when the days are lengthening, we get a lot of queries from people who are wondering whether to start their sweet itch regimes as their horses have started to rub. My response to this is to be careful that you’re…
05 FEB MAKING SENSE OF SWEET ITCH TREATMENTS
I read many posts and receive messages from owners of horses with sweet itch who are at their wits end having ‘tried everything’.For someone who feels they’ve tried everything, where can you start to help them? The answer is to break things down for them and help them work out…
24 MAR WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES.....
In response to the shocking news regarding the effects of insecticides on France's bird population, I ask what can we can all do to help prevent this problem worsening.
14 FEB A PREVENTATIVE APPROACH TO MUD FEVER
There are lots of different remedies out there for mud fever (and other related winter skin conditions), but my approach is primarily preventative. Infection starts when microbes enter a small break in the skin's surface. The organisms are omnipresent and only seem to become aggressive in certain conditions: (1) compromised…
