Kylie Roberts Health & Wellbeing For Animals

26/07/2024

As we were coming out of Covid restrictions in 2022, Sue Dyson and her team released a film; 24 Behaviours of the Ridden Horse in Pain.
There was a good amount of coverage for this project at the time.
The message needs re-visiting.
The webpage, https://www.24horsebehaviors.org/ , has the film (free to watch) plus the posters and other resources.

Do yourself and your horse a favour. Watch it, learn it and apply it.

“The question we asked was: can we determine, by looking at facial expressions and other behaviors, whether the horse has musculoskeletal pain?”– Dr. Sue Dyson The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain: Shifting the Paradigm of How We See Lameness. The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pa...

09/11/2023

The lovely Jacqui from WormCheck will be coming through Bendigo again in the next few weeks.
Please drop off samples to Premium Stockfeeds between 13th - 15th Nov.

28/09/2023

Starting your Christmas shopping?
This online store is based in Melbourne.
I use them frequently. Great titles. Many topics. For horses, donkeys, dogs and cats
Support a small business not giants

Horse books has a large range of horse training books, horse riding books and all things equestrian in it's online horse book store.

21/09/2023

Check you training bridle AND your competition bridle.
If pressure on the ears goes for too long, the horse can lose feeling in their front legs :O

**THURSDAY RESEARCH MEME**

Todays meme relates to browband fit.

Correct bridle fit is essential. Attention is given to the fit of the noseband but, other bridle features are also important to consider.

A browband which is to small, will pull the headpiece forward and cause localised pressures at the base of the ears and in the region of the TMJ. Previously we have demonstrated the effect that increased pressures at the base of the ears and TMJ can have on equine Locomotion.

All bridle features should be considered and reinforces the importance of correct bridle fit and working with a qualified bridle fitter.

🤓

www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/blog/

01/09/2023

Hello a reminder.....
Shaving whiskers and clipping out ears on your horse or pony is BANNED!

For those who missed the notice here it is. https://www.equestrian.org.au/news/whiskers-stay-put

The BAN is enforceable & has been since 1/1/2022. And it applies to all EA disciplines.

This survey's results are disturbing https://www.equestrian.org.au/news/whiskers-stay-put

The EA Board has voted to implement the recent FEI rule to ban the trimming of horse sensory hairs across all EA National Disciplines in the interests of horse welfare. At the 2020 FEI General Assembly, a new rule that prohibits the clipping/shaving of sensory hairs was passed as part of the veterin...

18/04/2023

Excellent article from Equine Vet association.

https://www.facebook.com/246126103612/posts/10159544173118613/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

08/04/2023

“The Magical Mystery Tour” - unsubstantiated fluff said in the right sequence with a few sciencey or anatomy words thrown in to give it enough credibility.
Promises world peace and your comfort, doesn’t stand up to be being questioned.

The horse world is absolutely rife with it right now. Like a sleight of hand, they draw your eye away from the wringing tail and chomping teeth, the worried eye, their pulling hands or their lack of direction entirely- and they tell you what to see.

We want to believe so badly! We want it to be true. Just his mere presence dropped the nervous horse to the ground, never mind the total adrenal fatigue. He rides ONLY on a whisper of his breath, never mind the see sawing hands. She makes horses follow her like a puppy at liberty, never mind the endless drilling at night in the round pen, or the unsavory practices you wouldn’t even want to know about.

There are some positive turns in the horse world right now. But there is a lot of dangerous, misleading and just plain wrong information and work too- and most of it is aimed at making you feel GOOD. It’s aimed at making you feel awe, and comfortable, and pleasant.

If it isn’t delivering hard truths, if it isn’t delivering a road map to YOUR betterment, if it’s promising love and flowers and crippled horses turned into best friends and sound companions by the sheer act of diaphragm breathing, just investigate a little further.

I’m not saying if it feels good it must be wrong but - these people are often experts in gaining attention, and they know making you feel good is how they get it. They know just how to make you feel good, and that is to deliver magic without proof, to say one thing and do another often right in front of your eyes- The best con artists believe their own con. And, if you challenge them, which can be a simple Clarification question, you aren’t “spiritual” enough, or you’ll be labeled with heavy ego.

I sincerely believe that the work of self betterment, the honest day to day of rehab, the muddy stuff, the actual nature of a horse IS magical. I don’t know why it has to be dressed up in bs to be loved, but in a TikTok sensation culture, we have 2 minutes to get your attention, and maybe we just don’t know and love a real horse anymore- so we want to jazz it up, dumb it down, dress it, tweak it, and make it into something’s it’s not for our own amusement.

28/02/2023

The picture caught my eye; Simple bridle, no noseband, no martingale. And jumping at elite level (5*)

French showjumper Grégory Cottard, 44, has been enjoying a winning streak recently, most notably winning the five-star grand prix at Bordeaux, France, with the striking mare Co***ne Du Val

13/10/2022

Thought for the day:
Confusion and indecision is rife in the horse world.
There are so many ideas and gadgets and supplements and feeds etc out there all being marketed as the best way to go and the only thing to do if you like your horse even in a moderate way.
On the net everyone has an opinion on how everything should or should not be. Often these opinions come from people who are as confused as the newcomer but have a burning desire to create an authoritative image.
You see people that become so into something that they promote it with religious like fervent only to find a short time later they have just discovered something else.
Everyone seems to be searching for that "one thing".
I guess its passion that allows this phenomenon to exist.
I am not saying that everyone selling or promoting ideas into the horse world are intentionally trying to take advantage of this confusion. Most honestly believe in what they do or sell.

If one were to go to the trade stalls at a horse expo and ask at every trade stall what should they do about their horse that rears the outcome would be as follows if they followed all the advise given:
They would come home with several new saddles, bridles, bits, bit less bridles, boots , therapeutic rugs, supplements, feeds, training programs, safety equipment, club memberships, feet management plans and tools, saddle pads, dental ideas, liniments, courses on a myriad of massage and bodywork techniques, gadgets galore and a head full of conflicting ideas and ethical questions.
Their pockets would be empty, their mortgage larger and they most likely would still have a problem with their horse.

05/10/2022

https://www.facebook.com/Saddlefit4Life/photos/a.221441764615628/5515694901856928

Riding through it.

Most riders can think back to a coach or trainer who was heavy handed and believed in riding a horse through it, or using increasing force to get their way with horses. Be it riding a horse harder to a jump after a refusal, or swapping out tack to exert force and control, to belittling the rider and saying they're not strong/tough enough on the horse and they're being "walked all over".

What these supposed coaches and trainers fail to understand is that coercion and force are not part of proper riding, neither is inflicting pain, physical or psychological. That all falls into another category which is miles away from compassionate, correct, proper riding.

When a horse is ridden through what some deem as bad behavior, we're telling the horse that we don't care about their physical and psychological well-being, and that they had just better do what they're told or face the consequences. If I were to swap out the horse for a child, or even a spouse, those same people would now say that it's abusive, but strangely enough it's not when it's inflicted on an animal.

That pinning of the ears, rooting at the bit, running away from the leg, biting at the girth, that is ALL communication. A horse can't exactly sit you down and have a chat about what's bothering them, so they communicate it in the only way they know how, and depend on us to listen.

09/09/2022

The recommended tightness of a noseband is being able to EASILY slip two fingers between a horse’s front nasal bones and the noseband.

Researchers found zero-finger tightness equaled 10 times the tightness of a human limb tourniquet.

22/08/2022

The survey link https://survey.uu.nl/jfe/form/SV_07d0TxaiICiuN7f

You have an exciting and important opportunity to participate in what-I-think is so very important veterinary research on owner expectations for veterinary services. From some of your comments over the years, I know that some of you feel somewhat like hostages when it comes to interactions with the....

17/08/2022

Self awareness is often the last thing addressed. Because it's often hard to realise humans are the weak point the situation and do something to improve ourselves. Animals & children can be like mirrors....

You Got Sold a Dangerous Horse...

You were so careful to buy the horse that came with all the assurances it was going to be a good fit for you and your family.

It was quiet, it was reliable and had been there and done that and had no issues.

Your test ride went great. Vet check didn't show any red flags. The horse loaded on the trailer fine to come home.

A couple of months later and now things are very different.

The horse is hard to catch, rug, lead, won't go on the trailer. It bites, threatens, keeps getting emotional and can't handling things. Feeding it is scary and handling it is a nightmare.

And don't even talk about riding it...that is even worse!

The horse is dangerous. You must have been lied to and horse probably drugged when you rode it.

You contacted the old owners and they tell you it must be something you have done to the horse as it never did any of these things to them.

You are furious as there is NOTHING you have done wrong....NOTHING.

Someone says that maybe you should get help with the horse. This is ridiculous because even your neighbour can't catch the horse and it rushed through gates with them.

It is the HORSE. It is a dud, it is dangerous.

The old owners refuse to take the horse back. You are stuck.

Someone suggest the horse might be in pain. You get the vet out. You struggle to handle the horse for the vet. The vet struggles to handle the horse but can find nothing obviously wrong, except it is hard to handle and highly emotional.

Maybe it needs drugs. A chemical restraint for its difficult behaviour? It seems like it is the only option.

Again, someone mentions getting help with the horse but that makes you angry as THIS horse is clearly dangerous. Your neighbour and the vet have basically confirmed this. Who do they think you are anyway - a beginner, stupid??

Another friend suggests that maybe the horse needs groundwork. You smile, nod and fume on the inside. The horse is SO dangerous to even lead through a gate. You have never done groundwork but you know this horse is out of the league of groundwork.....

Want to hear the truth?

This horse has just had its world turned upside down by moving home. Everything has changed. Every reliable thing it could understand and navigate has changed. Your routine, the way you do everything with it is different.

This change is stressful. The horse will experience stress in this transition and stress makes horses more reactive and more emotional. This is NORMAL and managing the horse through this change is something we have to LEARN how to do.

Is your horse dangerous. Currently, yes. But most likely NOT because there is something pathologically wrong with it. It is because its you are not being able to recognise this and support the horse through this change. Being able to handle them in a way that provides the sense of clarity that allows them to feel they can successfully predict and navigate this new world.

You are lacking the insights and skills to support a horse through this transition.

Instead the horse is stressed, you have got stressed. The horse feels threatened, you feel defensive and threatened and everything has gone pear shaped.

That is the truth. It is not the responsibility of the horse to navigate this themselves. While some are less impacted than others, it is our role in the partnership to understand their needs and how to help them.

Just because the neighbour, vet, your friend or even riding instructor cannot help the horse does not mean the horse cannot be helped. These handful of people are not necessarily experts in handling horses that have become distressed and difficult to handle. Also, the horse is not going to be "fixed" in 5 minutes once it has been stressed for a period of time.

You need to learn 3 things: 1) Insights into horses and their behaviour 2) Skills in how to influence horses both for handling on the ground and in the saddle; and 3) Self awareness of what you might be doing that is contributing to the horse being stressed by your presence and interactions with them!

Each horse that comes into your life is a gift. They reveal gaps in your knowledge, skills and awareness of how you negatively impact horses unconsciously.

You cannot outsource to someone else to fix this problem because your gaps will always be experienced by horses and they will react to them according to their individual tolerance.

But I know what you are thinking now....but Shelley, but my horse IS different....you don't know THIS horse.

I don't know your horse but I do understand horses. I also understand deeply how people negatively impact horses without any clue they are doing so. People can make mistakes with horses while trying their hardest to do the right thing.

I know this as I have been that person. I have wasted years with a horse that I was stressing out only to discover he was the most easy going beautiful horse when I learnt how to not freak him out!

But again...I know what you are thinking...that is not me, its this horse, he has a history and I have been lied too...my neighbour, the vet etc...they all agree...

And that is ok ❤.

If one day you get curious, contact me and let me guide and support you in navigating this situation with your horse. This situation can be turned around ❤

14/08/2022

Too often hock problems, tendon problems, lameness etc are blamed on the limb, hoof. It may be the training style and gadgets used that is creating the problem.

13/08/2022

Judges often place overweight ponies—which could be at greater risk for metabolic issues and laminitis—higher than their leaner counterparts in competition.

07/08/2022

05/08/2022

CEPA AGM on 18th August.

✅Guest speaker Dr Ben Fahy (Chief Veterinary Officer's Unit) on traceability of all livestock and FMD.

Get your info from the right source

03/08/2022

This is a nice summary of the importance of the hyoid bone & tongue movement for your horse.
Tight nosebands do NOT help

https://balanceddressage.com.au/understanding-the-horses-the-hyoid-apparatus/

horses the hyoid bone, the function of this tiny bone is essential, a direct link to the tongue, forelimb, poll but indirectly to the hindquarters.

28/07/2022

*** PLEASE DO NOT GIVE AWAY/SELL YOUR OLD and/or UNRIDEABLE HORSES ***

Today I did one of the saddest euthanasias I have done in a long time. This wasn’t a client of mine, and to be fair, it actually wasn’t this person’s fault. I don’t normally go out to non-clients, but I wasn’t going to say no when I was told the horse had collapsed and couldn’t get up.

I arrived to find an emaciated 20+ year old, riddled with lice. The client had been sold the mare 7 weeks ago, and told she was a 7 year old. The old mare was gobbling away at feed, so she genuinely was just too weak and emaciated to stand. With some really good, strong help, we tried twice to get her up, but she just didn’t want to. So I made the quick decision to let her go.

No horse should end his or her life like that. She was scared, and whickered at me when I came back with the catheter and Somulose. She went with no dignity, in a place she had been for just a couple of months.

I want to cry when I see these awful posts on social media, offering a 20 year old horse for sale “as a companion”, for £50, or “free to good home”. I want to cry even more when I see posts on social media, with people in complete and utter shock and disbelief that the “beloved/much loved etc” horse, that they gave away just two months ago, was now being sold as a ridden horse.

I’m sorry, but wake up. Not many people really want to take on an old horse and the associated vet bills. I do appreciate there are exceptions, but if you are going to give your old or unrideable horse away, do NOT expect to then be able to take the moral high ground when he’s advertised two weeks later. He’s not your property at that point, and, unless your circumstances drastically changed, you didn’t care enough about him to now be “devastated” and “appalled” that he’s being moved on again. I do understand that circumstances can change, but the kindest thing in most (not all) cases at this point, is to let your horse be put to sleep with you, at the home he has known for many years.

A horse is as expensive to keep as a companion as it is a riding horse, so not many people want to take on old or unrideable horses. Or if they do, they don’t have the money to be able to look after the horse properly.

It is obviously completely different if you have known that person for many years, and know the home the horse will be going to, and I know several old horses who have been successfully rehomed to friends, or at least acquaintances.

You could also try a reputable rescue centre, if your financial circumstances changed, but many of these are full to bursting. Rescue centres normally ensure that if the home doesn’t work out, the horse is returned to them again, and therefore won’t be passed around.

If you can’t look after your old and/or unrideable horse, then do the responsible thing, and if you can’t rehome to a person you know extremely well, have them put to sleep at home, with you by their side. Don’t let someone you don’t know, have the horse for free, and sell him two weeks later as a lot younger, or ‘buted up as a ridden horse. Your horse deserves better.

Photo of my old man, Harold, who is rising 22 this year! He hasn’t been ridden for a few years now, and is just an expensive field/stable ornament….as is Molly….as is Mojo….as is William 🤦‍♀️😂

05/07/2022

An overly flexed head carriage is linked to physiological stress. Horses ridden with an overly flexed head carriage experience greater degrees of physiological stress than those ridden in more relaxed “frames,” according to a new study from Europe.

30/05/2022

British showies are starting to be rewarded for healthy body condition of their horses

"Horses who are overweight or cresty are often celebrated for their condition – and we want to challenge that, by celebrating horses in ideal body condition."

30/04/2022

When given to humans, reduced gastric acid production is associated with a decline in the digestibility of several nutrients, including protein, fat, calcium, iron, and vitamin B12.

26/04/2022

You are personally responsible for becoming more ethical than the society that you grew up in.

Let that sink in for a moment.

YOU, alone, are responsible for becoming more ethical than the very environment you grew up in, in all areas of your life.
Kindness breeds kindness, ethical actions and treatment of our horses breeds the same as well.

That means taking the time to learn more about the sport you love, and the various facets of equine care that mean the difference between a happy, comfortable life or one of pain, learned helplessness and misery.

We live in an age where the information of the world is at your fingertips, and while nonsensical BS floats around in the mix, critical thinking is really all you need to help w**d through the misinformation. Ask the RIGHT questions of anything you read.

Who does this benefit - financially or otherwise?
Does this make logical sense?
Who funded the research?

Also asking yourself not what you can do to immediately "fix" a behavior, but why that behavior is present to begin with.
Why does your horse shy away?
Why does he "like" or "dislike" a certain direction?
Why does the horse NEED a flash?
Why does the horse NEED to be ridden in spurs?
Why do you need to lunge your horse for 20 min before you get on?
Why do you feel you need to "teach the horse who is boss"?

Once you start taking an active role in the wellbeing of your horse, and really being present you will start to have actual 2-way communication and a true partnership.

Ethical doesn't mean having the reins hang loose and never nudging your horse forward, it means LISTENING.

Listen.
Understand.
Communicate.

That is ethical riding, training, saddle fitting, and more.

13/04/2022

The Exception.

"When *I* use [insert latest training gadget] it doesn't harm the horse"
"When MY horse is worked with [insert draw reins, rollkur, see-sawing, tie-downs or other tools and methods used to create a false frame] he's perfectly fine"

Many people make the argument that THEIR horse or THEIR training methods or use of particular devices doesn't harm their horse in the ways that are documented in different studies on whatever gadget they're using.

A horse is a horse.
Gravity is gravity.
Physics is physics.

What many fail to notice is that when they use these devices, they don't do so with a ton of additional equipment such as a heart monitor, Lameness locator, slow motion camera, gait analysis or anything else to both develop a baseline and measurable improvements/deterioration of the gaits, however it is being analyzed.

While there are horsemen and women who have a trained eye which is capable of seeing the subtle true engagement versus false, there is a larger majority that cannot. Too often you will hear riders say how rounded and beautiful a horse is while being ridden with his chin almost to his chest. The same for horses who are hollow over jumps, or completely disunited, tight barreled and 4-beat cantering.

Too many cannot discern good vs bad, and as such, cannot rely on their experiences alone to determine suitability of a method or gadget. This is why studies exist, and while not without fault, they provide valuable insight that should be combined with experience to make better choices.

11/04/2022

I heard a great quote the other day that I've been thinking a lot about lately. "The most honest person in the room is the problem child".

When it comes to horses, they are naturally designed to be good liars. From a prey perspective, they're supposed to lie to predators about their physical and mental weaknesses, because their very survival depends upon it.

"Good" horses are good liars. They're stoic about physical ailments, they tolerate mistakes, and they can perform their duties without needing to be heard by their human handler, or requiring a lot of skill from a rider. These are horses we value a lot in our equestrian society, and they're great for many reasons.

Problem horses are very bad liars. They cannot just go on with life when they are hurt, or upset, or feeling like their needs are not acknowledged or met.

They either find somebody who understands that, or they are sent to a trainer who's main job is to teach them to learn to SUPPRESS this urge to constantly communicate their emotions and needs, effectively becoming better liars. Some horses can learn this, but the ones that cannot are labelled permanent problems, and often find themselves shuffled around.

But what happens if we begin to value communication over compliance? What if we prioritize the relationship before our egos, and trust before our human goals?

We can all agree that we would prefer to be in a meaningful human relationship that ivalues empathy to a different perspective/reality. Why wouldn't we consciously cultivate the same relationships with our equine partners? Would that not be beneficial for everyone?

The next time you find yourself making a binary judgement about your horse's behavior, pause for a moment instead and consider the root cause of it. What are they trying to communicate? How can you help meet their needs and build trust instead of prioritizing your ego in that moment and demanding compliance because you've arbitrarily decided you deserve it?

08/03/2022

On International Women's Day don't watch MAFS but use the time to listen to interviews with these amazing women; Stephenie Rodriguez and Charlie Farren.

https://www.mamamia.com.au/podcasts/no-filter/the-day-stephenie-rodriguez-lost-her-feet/

https://micromobilityreport.com.au/influencers/charlie-farren-interview/

Watch the influencers! interview with Charlie Farren, owner of the Farren Collection and passionate bicycle enthusiast. Live 1st Sept 2021 on our website.

06/03/2022

The map of Tables isn't complete, so contact them about 1 close to home.
We are all in this together.
www.themenstable.org

24/02/2022

21/02/2022

Thought for the day:
Four ways people make it tough for their horse and themselves.
There are many more

1: Forcing the horse to do things he doesn't know how to do yet.
Its kind of like trying to get you to solve a complex mathematical problem before you have learned to add up or subtract. Add discomfort as a motivation and the worry increases accordingly.

2: Trying to do things fast, that, he hasn't mastered slowly.
You don't learn to tango at tango speed even if you already know how to waltz.

3: Trying to change behaviour that has always been ok in the past.
When a habit or behaviour has always been ok its pretty confusing when all of a sudden its not ok. I think horses can change more easily than many people but inconsistent expectations create many problems. For those with young horses, start out as you mean to go on.

4: Expecting your horse to do something from your leg and hands when your body and balance are actually influencing the horse to do something else (or in many cases the opposite).
Its common to see people wanting their horse to turn left when their body and balance is asking the horse to fall out to the right.
Horses often compensate but at the expense of softness. They must blank out much of what they feel to manage at all.