Spike Milligan - Performance Horse Consultant

22/11/2024

Below is a snippet from a recent podcast I did with Eventing Podcast.

I really believe that overtraining is a serious problem in the sports horse world at present. Plans are in place for a deep dive into the subject for an upcoming podcast so watch this space.

As the event horses start coming back into work in the coming weeks or some that are already back in work after a short “holiday”, I urge riders to have a conscious thought about what they want to improve from their training in the coming weeks and months. Be specific about goals and engage with your support team who can help you. Specific exercises and rehabilitation programmes are easier for more specific goals.

Below is a link to an interesting read on the FEI website. Particularly interesting is the comment that overtraining starts from Week 28 of training so any horse that started work this week will be entering that risk zone at the beginning of June….

https://www.fei.org/stories/lifestyle/teach-me/you-can-be-too-motivated-your-own-good

Please feel free to comment - will be interesting to read people’s thoughts on the subject.

20/11/2024

Been a bit quiet on the Socials - but found time to record this podcast with the lovely Rosie. Loads of good info in here and well worth a listen!!

Rosie Russell and Spike Milligan - Performance Horse Consultant delve into the critical topics of injury prevention and recovery for horses.

They discuss the immediate steps to take when a horse sustains an injury, the essential items to include in a first aid kit, and the importance of recovery time. They also cover the significance of recognising early signs of injury, the balance between training and preventing overuse injuries, and the role of regular veterinary check-ups.

🎧Listen for free across all podcast platforms 🎧

http://bit.ly/3vzhwEd

Connolly's RED MILLS
Foran Equine

27/08/2024

What a week we had in Poland Strzegom Horse Trials. It may not surprise some people to know I got a little emotional by Sunday afternoon. I could not have been prouder to be part of the support team for the incredible team of 12 that were out there representing Great Britain. The support they gave each other really did mean they were a team of 12. Through the various challenges that the week threw at the teams, they all stuck together and the medals that were won are a testament to all of them.

I am so passionate about my role as Youth Performance Vet and seeing Jasmine Underwood winning individual gold was so special. She and her support team have been so brilliant to work with in the last 3 years as this was their 3rd Championship appearance. They have been so engaged with any available advice and seeing their partnership grow has been brilliant. Watching their dressage test was surreal and I bow down in reverence to the legend that is Tracie Robinson!

My wash down team on Saturday were superb and kept ploughing on through the swamp that the wash down area became!

Sunday was absolutely non stop - and various challenges. The championships always seem to throw something new at me, however many events I go too!

So I’m home and my sleep count is getting back to normal - so proud of so many people! What a collection of medals!! Yes Team!!

20/07/2024

It’s such an exciting time of year with team selections and clients heading off to do their best to bring back medals!!

Best of luck to everyone and particularly to my sponsored rider MG Dressage. Come on Una - bring back some more medals to add to your collection!!

24/05/2024

Delighted to be supporting our local pony club show. So important to support the young generation starting on their equestrian journey. Maybe there are some potential future Badminton winners amongst them!

02/03/2024

RIP Mark Bradstock. It was an absolute pleasure to have been part of the team and work with him. He had a superb eye for a horse and was a true horseman in the truest sense of the word. Above all he was the most wonderful person with a wicked sense of humour. He will be hugely missed. Sending my thoughts to Sara, Alfie and Lily.

❤️ Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Mark Bradstock, who sadly passed away yesterday aged 66.

16/02/2024

Some weekend listening for everyone! A dive into the details of joints injections - the what, why and where of it all!

I was delighted that Chris Elliot from Palm Beach Equine Clinic joined me on the Eventing Podcast to discuss the subject. Loads of information for owners, riders and other professionals to digest and hopefully further people’s current understanding of what the current options available for treatment are.

As ever, feedback and questions happily received and maybe even some suggestions for further subjects for The Hold Box.

‎Show EquiRatings Eventing Podcast, Ep Hold Box: Joint Injections - 15 Feb 2024

14/01/2024

*** The Answer to Case of the Week ***

Some very impressive comments from people and there were at least a couple that not only noted the fracture to the pedal bone (P3) but also realised that the fracture extended to the articular surface of the coffin joint. Well done Kezia Allen and Jess Powell (sorry but couldn’t tag you for some reason!).

The fact the fracture extends to the joint means that without providing compression across the fracture plane there will be a defect in the joint and this will drive an aggressive arthritis in the joint and this will ultimately limit the horses soundness in the not too distant future even if the fracture “heals” well.

Therefore this horse went to the awesome team at Newmarket Equine Hospital where Matt Smith placed a screw that was millimetre perfect with the aid of their intra-operative CT Scanner. The images attached are of the fracture pre and post screw placement. This is state of the art technology that will have significantly aided Matt in getting the screw placement perfect!!

We can feel confident that we have given this lovely young horse the best chance of not only a full recovery but also of reducing the risk of long term soundness problems from an associated arthritis.

During the rehabilitation programme we will be using all the team members that care for the horse - the farrier for remedial shoes, the physio for managing secondary muscle soreness and compensatory postural issues and also the owners for giving that all important day to day TLC to keep the horse happy. Once the fracture has had some time to start healing we will then introduce controlled exercise and the rehabilitation programme will be closely monitored.

Please feel free to comment with any questions and comments on the case and I will be happy to reply!

I wonder what the next case will be!!?

12/01/2024

We are only 12 days into 2024 and already some interesting cases to get the brain working!!

These radiographs are of a young horse that had been very lame but had improved for rest and then went lame again when turned back into a small paddock. The images are of the LH foot. The horse presented lame at walk, very sore on the turn and reluctant to fully weight bear - however it had appeared sound only a couple of weeks previously after a period of box rest.

What’s your diagnosis?

There is an aspect to the problem that makes this a more serious condition and requires a more invasive “fix” - I wonder if anyone can see what it is?

I will post the “answers” on Sunday evening.

31/12/2023

2023 comes to the close and it’s now been 3 years since I took the plunge setting up my consultancy service. It’s been an epic year - a little out of control busy at times in the summer but it was another superb experience at the Youth European Eventing Championships in Montelibretti that emptied my petrol tanks this time! A full on Eventing season with Burghley my highlight and so close to seeing Reybridge Eventing win his first 5*. A brilliant result for my sponsored rider MG Dressage with team and individual medals at the European Junior Dressage Championships. Another highlight was speaking at the BEVA PPE CPD in November and also continuing to be part of the epic Eventing Podcast team. All these experiences were made more brilliant due to the people I worked alongside - vets, physios, grooms, farriers, coaches, and everyone else!
Finally I want to thank my wonderful family who continue support me in what is my job and passion. Hopefully I’m getting the elusive work/life balance right!!
Onwards to 2024 - hopefully it will stop raining soon and we can start to look forward to the elusive sun returning and competitions getting going again!

11/10/2023

Benchmarking with the Equinosis Lameness Locator can be such a useful tool in monitoring our competition horses. By doing this as part of a team approach of working with the horse’s farrier and physio we can monitor subtle fluctuations in a horse’s action and relate it back to any changes in training schedule or treatments by any of the support team.

I have found that the system has been a brilliant tool to help me in the proactive and preventative approach to managing sports horses.

21/09/2023

Exciting times ahead working with MG Dressage. Working with and supporting young riders has always been a great passion of mine but have always found it difficult to be able to sponsor only one young eventer given my BE roles. Therefore the opportunity to support such a talented and hard working young dressage rider was something I really wanted to be able to do.

18/09/2023

So, final post after an epic Youth European Eventing Championships in Montillebretti. Every year I think it’s going to be a bit “easier” than previously but nothing fails to surprise me or challenge me.

The show jumping was another rollercoaster and I really thought that the Junior Team were going to get that Gold medal but it wasn’t quite meant to be. Some great jumping rounds in the afternoon from the YRs but sadly a couple of rails cost Georgina Herrling an individual medal but a great performance over the week to finish 6th individually.

I finally sit at home thinking about how proud I am of every member of the team I worked for and alongside in the last 10 days. All 12 riders were a pleasure to be around and I know all will have learnt so much and that is ultimately what the Youth Programme is about. You can’t teach resilience and although some of the riders will have returned home today with regrets and frustrations I know they will have learnt so much. In sport, it’s easier to support people in good times rather than bad and I wish all of them the best for the future and hopefully more medals at every level.

To come home with a Team Silver medal for the Junior Team is a great achievement and one that they should be immensely proud of.

I can’t thank my team of supergrooms enough - what a team. They are still on route home, continuing to care for the horses that have already become firm friends. I saw in the tears shed on Sunday evening how much those 12 horses already meant to you guys.

Thank you to everyone that has supported the team and a huge thank you to British Eventing Official for the funding to get the teams to the Championships. Every member should be proud of how the 12 riders represented the membership - we will all continue to work hard to make the membership proud.

17/09/2023

Mixed day yesterday - brilliant morning for the Juniors and more challenging afternoon. Tough to think of the big picture when in the middle of disappointment but lots will be learnt through tough times. So proud of all the riders - the championship experience is not always about medals - but hey, let’s go get some!!

Can’t thank the grooms and the physios enough for all their hard work overnight. All the horses flew through the trot up looking fresh and ready to jump.

Fingers crossed for 10 clear rounds!! Let’s go Team GB!!

15/09/2023

Dressage done! Another brilliant day - superb riding, gleaming ponies, posh trotting.
Juniors in Team Silver.
Young Riders in Team Gold.
Exciting day ahead tomorrow. Check out this video of Ellie Fredericks doing some pole work this morning as part of preparing for their test - thought people would be interested to see how you can change things up in preparing for a test.
So proud of the whole support team out here - it’s hot and tiring work but they are all so positive and full of energy. Bring on xc day!!

15/09/2023

Summary of Day 1 - excuse the voice! Knackered and croaky!! Great day, great horse, great riders! Chuffed for all of them and looking forward to Day 2 of dressage tomorrow. I promise I will get some more videos from the venue tomorrow.