Megan Birbeck Equine Podiatrist DEP MEPA

10/01/2025

‼️ With the recent strangles outbreak in the North East, I'll be taking precautions to keep your horses safe and my own.

If any horse on your yard has strangles, any symptoms or is awaiting test results. Please let me know and I'll cancel and rearrange the appointment.

I have disinfectant sprays. All of my equipment and tools will be sprayed in between yards. I also have wipes etc for my hands.

If your yard has other precautions e.g. a foot bath ect, please let me know prior to the appointment.

Let's hope we can get rid of strangles quickly, thinking of everyone involves and wishing all a speedy recovery 🙏

08/01/2025

A rather lovely sky at one of the yards this evening 🌃

06/01/2025

Perfect prints from Ted today 👣

20/12/2024

I'm signed off for 2024 🙌

Merry Christmas to all of my lovely clients! 🎄

I hope you all have a great festive period!

The photo below is Teddy, my new 2 year old. He hasn't managed to make it onto this page yet, I'm sure his cute face will spread some Christmas cheer 🐴

16/12/2024

8 month old Frankie had his second trim today and what a superstar he was 🌟

23/11/2024

I had a rare day working Saturday today, as I have a few days planned off next week.
I just want to say a huge thank you to all of my lovely clients, who battled through the snow and were all on time ☺️
I don't think I could love my pickup anymore after today! 😂🛻

22/11/2024

This is Brandy, Laura Davidson Welshy. He really struggles with his feet, in particular he struggles with a person who smells like feet and carries tools!
By taking our time and becoming friends, Brandy now tolerates me for two front feet. Progress with horses isn't always up, but these little wins with Brandy are so rewarding ☺️
I love how relaxed he is on this video!

06/10/2024

Another fantastic day at one of Sue Dyson's talks. This one covered hood balance, conformation and assessing signs of pain!

28/09/2024

A fantastic day of training, absolutely loved the sessions 😊

It has been great to welcome Dorothy Heffernan back to Northumberland College for the sell-out ‘Safe start with positive reinforcement training’, ably assisted by equine star students, Vinnie, Ben and Elvis 🐴😇

Thank you to Dorothy (Light Touch Equine) and our brilliant course participants for making this such a successful day! (Feedback below) 😁

We will be in touch with today’s attendees with regards to a follow up event in the new year and hope to run a repeat of this event in the spring if there is sufficient interest 🤞😎

https://www.lighttouchequine.org/

“Great mix of talk and demos. Really good to see multiple short sessions per horse.”
“Enjoyed the pace, with time to think over the demos and ask questions.”
“Very approachable, welcoming -thank you….. Feel encouraged to continue down this road - love the breaking things down and listening to the smallest answer.”
“Absolutely excellent session - privilege to meet Dorothy and learn from her.”
“Inspirational - enjoyed the whole day.”

03/09/2024

I'm away until the 15th of September 🌴🏖
I'll get back to you when I can, anything none urgent will be responded to when I'm back!

26/08/2024

Lovely to see Laura and Tilly like always today 😊

Pedicure day with fabulous Barefoot First - Equine Podiatrist - thank you!

There are some interesting studies going on currently into the relationship between hooves, surfaces and biomechanincs.

Sadly this research is mostly with racers, but they are the ones with the cash to do the research so it's a good start.

Technology has significantly improved over the last few decades allowing these studies to take place and will hopefully continue to expand into other disciplines to enable us to make the best decisions for our horses on an individual basis.

I'll keep researching, and let you know what I find!

08/08/2024

Absolutely loved working with Sandy today, she was a pleasure 🥰

06/08/2024

What a journey Libby and her owner have gone through! I've loved being part of it ❤️

She's taken on every little bit of advice I've given and all the hard work has paid off 💪

23/07/2024

I'm away on holiday until Monday 5th August.
Anything urgent will be responded to, anything else will be picked up on my return!

Thanks 😊

19/07/2024

When your head is too heavy 💆‍♂️

09/06/2024

I hear that saying all of the time: 'there's no grass in the field' 🙈

Where has all the grass gone?...

“But there isn’t any grass on the field…” We hear these words a lot at this time of year, from the exasperated owners of fat horses fighting what sometimes seems like a losing battle with their horses’ weight.

Have you ever wondered why horses on a seemingly bare paddock can still gain weight?
It is worth keeping in mind, the picture of the un-grazed side of the field below. Of course, it can be very difficult for owners to monitor what a horse is taking in, but one thing is certain: when that side of the field is full of horses, it won’t look like this! That grass would be nipped off as soon as it poked up high enough to be nibbled!

Sarah Stoneham BVSc Cert ESM MRCVS gives this very good explanation of the problem which helps us to understand and monitor the amount of grass that the horse is consuming.
“UK grass growth figures (grass check GB) indicate that over the last week, average grass growth in the north west has been high. At the moment a small well-managed paddock, the size of a 40x20m dressage arena will be producing an average of 22.5kg of grass per day. The dry matter content of grass is currently only 20% which means it is 80% water, so a 40x20m area produces 4.5 kg of grass on a dry matter basis each day.
This has a calorie content similar to 4.5 kg of a conditioning hard feed. The grass is also high in sugar, 17.1% on average. So, the 4.5 kg of grass on a dry matter basis will contain approximately 770g of sugar! #

If your paddock is still looking as bare as it did earlier this year it is because your horse has eaten all the new grass each day.”

So, where has all the grass gone?... its inside the horse!