Beaver Dam Creek Horse Boarding

01/22/2025

The sad part of this is it shouldn’t take a science experiment to inform people that horses are herd animals and need companionship. Keeping them confined and isolated causes huge stress. They feel unsafe without a herd with multiple horses to detect danger. Stalls and paddocks are jail to horses. No end of health issues as a result.

INDIVIDUAL STABLING FOUND TO ALTER IMMUNE RESPONSE

Research has found that horses moved from group housing to individual stabling showed changes in their white blood cell counts and plasma cortisol levels. These changes could mean they are at a higher risk of infectious disease.

Equine scientists at the University of Hohenheim in Germany studied 12 warmblood geldings aged 2-3 years old during several management changes, monitoring their behaviour and immune response.

The horses used were all living in a group, turned out at pasture. For the first part of the study the group was then split into two, each kept in a separate paddock so that the horses in one group could not see the others. After a trial period of eight days all the horses were returned to their original group, living together. They were then were left out at pasture for eight weeks.

For the second part of the study the horses were all moved into individual stables, where they could see and touch their neighbours through bars. During the first week of being stabled, the horses were given 30 minutes of turnout in an indoor area. From the second week onwards, the horses were lunged.

Throughout the study the research team collected blood samples from the horses to analyse their immune cell numbers and cortisol concentrations.

The results showed that moving the horses to individual stabling led to acute stress-induced immune changes. However, dividing the larger group into two smaller groups at pasture did not.

“The number of eosinophils, monocytes and T cells declined, whereas the number of neutrophils increased resulting in an increased N:L ratio. This pattern of change resembles the well-known picture of an immunomodulation induced by acute social stress."

The plasma cortisol concentrations didn’t change after dividing the group into the two smaller groups at pasture, but there was an increase in cortisol concentrations one day after stabling which then returned to the previous levels eight days later. However, the researchers reported that “Although cortisol concentrations returned to baseline level after 8 days, the alterations in most immune cell numbers persisted, pointing to a longer-lasting effect on the immune system of the horses."

The team also found that some of the horses started to perform stereotypical behaviours as soon as one week after stabling.

The team reported that the results “strongly indicate that social isolation is a chronic stressor with negative impact on welfare and health of horses and highlight the advantage of group housing systems in view of immunocompetence."

The researchers concluded that “relocation to individual stabling represented an intense stressor for the horses of the present study, leading to acute and lasting alterations in blood counts of various leukocyte types. In contrast, fission of the stable group did not result in behavioural, endocrine or immunological stress responses by the horses."

This sudden change from group turnout to individual stabling with training being introduced is a very common scenario for horses being started for the first time. This study gives us yet more evidence that stabling horses individually is stressful for them and detrimental to their physical and psychological wellbeing. The majority of the horses I see are stabled for the bulk of the day. I do wonder how much evidence is needed before horse owners, yard owners and professionals act on this information and change their management to increase turnout and group living...

The research is free to access and is a very interesting read: Schmucker S, Preisler V, Marr I, Krüger K, Stefanski V (2022) Single housing but not changes in group composition causes stress-related immunomodulations in horses. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0272445.

01/03/2025

⭐️⭐️ 2025 Riding Lessons Rates ⭐️⭐️

For any inquires about the program feel free to reach out!! Can’t wait to see you at the barn!

12/04/2024

Combien de temps un cheval peut passer sans foin❓

Un vrai sujet sensible.... Surtout de nos jours avec les réductions de budgets dans les écuries et la frénésie du gaspillage ! J’avais envie de vous faire un article avec mes mots, de façon clair et sans chichi. ⬇️
De plus en plus, je vois des chevaux passer de longues heures sans foin. Soit disant au régime, ou trop gaspillant... Et je me rends compte de l’ignorance des gens, sur un sujet aussi dangereux et populaire ! Combien de temps un cheval peut-il rester sans mastiquer avant que sa santé en pâtisse ? ⚠️4 HEURES MAXIMUN.⚠️

❓Pourquoi ❓Les chevaux sont fait pour brouter constamment. Ce sont des herbivores, ils sont fait pour manger en petites quantités 18 heures par jour, de ce fait, ils n'ont pas de vésicule biliaire pour stocker la bile et leurs estomacs libèrent constamment de l'acide gastrique. La quantité minimum pour un cheval adulte de taille standard est de min 10 kilos par jour !
L'estomac des chevaux est de petite taille, il a une capacité de 8 à 15 litres pour un cheval adulte. Il faut en moyenne 4 à 6 heures pour que l'estomac soit complètement vide. Après, les acides commencent à attaquer l'intérieur de l’estomac et ensuite les intestins. C’est ça qui créer les fameux ulcères. On estime que 70 à 95 % des chevaux adultes a l’entraînement souffrent d’ulcères. Rajoutons à ce manque de fourrage les aliments concentrés et on a un combo explosif aux dommages énormes... 🤕

Mais les ulcères sont la cause physique et « visible » du problème de la non alimentation continue...
Car avoir le ventre vide est une situation de stress énorme pour un cheval. Plus longtemps ils sont maintenus sans fourrage, plus ils libèrent des hormones de stress, cortisol par exemple. Le cortisol bloque l'insuline et cause un taux de glycémie élevé. Cela stimule l'organisme à libérer de l’insuline, ce qui entraîne à son tour le dépôt des tissus gras et la résistance à la leptine. Au fil du temps, cela provoque une insulinorésistance (syndrome métabolique équin - SME). Vous l’aurez compris, la privation fait GROSSIR le cheval. On a jamais fais maigrir durablement un équidé en le laissant sans foin ! Jamais !! C’est dangereux ⚠️
On parle de cette réaction de stress comme si c'était juste interne et biologique mais le cheval est conscient de ce stress. L’énervement au nourrissage, les tics, l’agressivité, les chevaux « con » en écuries ou violents au pansage.... sont des démonstrations de stress en raison de privations alimentaires !
Donc, si vous mettez du foin à votre cheval à 18:00 et qu’à 21:00 il n’a plus rien son ventre est vide jusqu’au lendemain 7:00, heure du prochain nourrissage.... Soit 10 HEURES ! Alors qu’en 4 heures, il entre en mode famine.
Un cheval avec un approvisionnement constant en foin mangera beaucoup moins qu’un cheval qui est affamé par intermittence. Ils ne mangent pas dans la frénésie ! Vous pouvez par exemple installer des filets à foin, ou des râteliers pour faciliter l’ingestion continue sans gaspillage.
Soyons vigilants sur la quantité de foin et le nombre/moyen de distribution pour la santé de nos chevaux ✅

Texte par : L’Care - Bit & Bridle Fitting, préparation physique et soins du Cheval

11/30/2024

Black Friday BOGO 1/2 OFF!

I’ll be doing massage gift cards and they’re good for a year to date of purchase!

I’m offering buy a full massage $60.00 and get one $30.00.

$90.00 for an $120.00 value and valid month of December to be used all of 2025.

Pls message me if interested!

11/23/2024

Hello Friday 👋 🥰🐎

11/20/2024

It’s sad to think about how many horses never really get the opportunity to run free, exercise their legs at speed, unless it is at the instruction of a rider.

Horses who experience most of their athleticism under the control of a human but who don’t have the freedom to do so on their own time due to lack of space.

I wonder how much of the accident prone nature of horses is contributed to by their inability to learn how to autonomously use their bodies in larger environments.

If you never get to experience your full athletic potential while maintaining freedom, how can you learn to control that in a manner that keeps you safe?

It’s no wonder that, when given the space, a lot of these extremely fit and exceptionally athletic sport horses careen around at startling speeds and don’t necessarily take care to avoid risk, because the excitement and over stimulation of being able to self exercise overcomes their self preservation to an extent.

I see why people are fearful to give sport horses larger turnout spaces when the horses haven’t had access to such areas before.

Oftentimes, their reaction is scary to watch and one that gives people a 1001 different thoughts on how the horse could potentially injure themselves.

One of my least favourite parts of getting OTTBs straight off the track was that “first turnout” after they’d been stalled for lengthy periods of time because they’re wicked fast and they tend to run at a fast clip, without regard for potential hazards around them.

And if they’re out with other horses, the other horses tend to join in on the excitement.

It’s scary to watch when you have the thought of potential vet bills dancing in your head.

Seeing horses run in turnout after years of growing up in competition barns where they never had the space to move fast was a source of anxiety for me for years.

Now, I enjoy it and see the beauty in it.

Sometimes, when they’re being particularly silly, it still makes me anxious for potential injury.

But, ultimately, I’ve made the distinctive choice to “risk” injury in turnout for their longterm wellbeing.

I would rather lose a horse to a pasture injury than have them live a shell of a life in solo turnout in a small paddock, even if it increased the quantity of their life.

The quality of life would drop so drastically when compared to engaging social turnout where they do have space to run and play.

I want my horses to live happy and full lives. How fulfilling their life is matters a lot more than keeping them sound for riding.

I’ve realized that my past focus on evading “career-ending” injury by depriving my horses of a basic need was a selfish one because I was willing to put them at risk of injuring themselves in training or competition so I could enjoy riding them.

There’s no way around the fact that it’s selfish if risk of injury doesn’t stop our desire to ride and compete horses but is used as an excuse to not give them adequate turnout.

Risk of injury when in the pursuit of a better quality of life and meeting species specific needs is more justifiable than risking injury to compete.

This isn’t to say I’m anti-competition, but we do need to address the elephant in the room when it is quite common to hear riders say they can’t give their horses more turnout due to “injury risk” but risk injury to move up the levels of competition.

Accountability is a necessary part of good horsemanship and we need to honestly reflect on what our actions and excuses actually say about our overall priorities.

I wouldn’t have admitted it at the time, but looking back on the way I used to care for my horses, it was very clear where my priorities were.

And it often was not with the overall wellbeing of the horse, though at the time I would’ve insisted it was.

11/20/2024

11/13/2024

Why having horses is healthy

10/11/2024

Love this!

10/06/2024

Love hate relationship 😂