Equine Unlimited

08/08/2024

Pedicure and polish for Denny and Dinky Donks today. Huge thanks to Ani from Tay Valley Vet for sedation and donkey scratches, Jane Cumberlidge (who VERY kindly trims the donks for free 💕) for making their feet beautiful and Stuart Lindsay for polishing teeth and having a bit of muscle! All ensuring the donks had the best experience possible. I can gently run a rasp over Dinky's front feet, but as soon as you touch her back legs she kicks with the speed of a ninja. Denny, I can now, with clicker training, get a head collar on him if I go very slowly. However he is still so anxious and scared to have his feet touched. Bless him, he took 3 doses of sleepy meds and was still awake enough to kick out at the back 😳 Sadly Dinky has a broken tooth, so she will need some minor surgery to remove it. Otherwise they were both given clean bills of health, shiny teeth and dinky feet looking great. Vet commended me on the fact they aren't fat and indeed in great condition 💕🫏🫏

08/08/2024

Alfie is wondering who is going to join us on our in hand overnight adventure? Alfie says, "if you bring lots of carrots, you can hire me for the trip and take loads of selfies with me" 🥕🥕🥕🥕♥️♥️♥️

https://facebook.com/events/s/in-hand-overnight-saddle-tramp/1198285571591506/

07/08/2024

Final livery space available at Equine Unlimited, Dunkeld Perthshire. GRASS TURNOUT AVAILABLE 24HRS A DAY, 365 DAYS A YEAR

One space available on grass track system (track system summer and strip graze in winter) and maybe another field available to do what you want with. 24hr turnout, 365 days a year in large, mixed herd fields with natural shelter and undulating hills. DIY to Full, grass only or with stable, all options available. Happy, healthy horses are our main focus. Lots of courses and clinics run from the yard, focusing on positive reinforcement training and putting equine welfare first.

Small, private yard with absolutely FANTASTIC off-road hacking. Stunning 40x40m outdoor arena with a full set of jumps and permanent agility field. Owner lives on site. Friendly and supportive yard, with only 3 other owners. Horses MUST be barefoot.

DIY grass is £38.50p a week, up to £150 per week full livery, 7 days a week, with stable, no chores. Retirement livery is also available. 🐴

Please check out the website for loads of pictures and info. Equineunlimited.co.uk

07/08/2024

Erm excuse me. If you don't mind, I'd like to join you inside please, the midges are nibbling me out here 🕷

07/08/2024

Wonderful post about treating horses like royalty....enjoy ❤️

06/08/2024

This is the problem you have with positive reinforcement training...everyone self loads, so whilst I went to get Alfie, Monty had loaded himself (he wasn't coming on the trip!) and Promise was kindly waiting for me to move the partition over so she could get in too 🙈🙈

05/08/2024

But they love to run, they are treated like royalty 💔 This is abuse, blindfolded with 7 men pushing and pulling it...39 horses died on the racetrack in July alone in Britain and Ireland...

04/08/2024

Fancy an in hand overnight expedition with your own horse, or hire Alfie or another one from here.

September 21-22nd.

For more info please visit the events page
https://facebook.com/events/s/in-hand-overnight-saddle-tramp/1198285571591506/

04/08/2024

It's not all cute ponies here, we have cute kittens too 😍 Aria wishes you all a happy Sunday....stay cool 😎

30/07/2024

Last of the collapsible water buckets. One orange and two green one left. £10 each

30/07/2024

Number of rugs for sale. £3 each. Collecting only from near Dunkeld

30/07/2024

Frankie waiting for his turn at the bridle fitting clinic at the weekend! Jane Cumberlidge ran an amazing clinic looking at bridle fitting. She had a horses skull to show us how bridle affect the nerves of a horses head and how bits fit in the mouth etc. She then did a couple of demos on Promise and Frankie to show how having a properly fitted bridle can drastically improve how your horses moves.

On Sun Dorothy Heffernan ran what is probably my favourite clinic of the year, "Finding Forward". How to transition from ground work to ridden work, using positive reinforcement training. She covered some common problems and then Promise, Jess and Frankie were used for demos. Glad to say that all the horses did me proud ♥️🐴

That's the last of the free clinics. We ran three free clinics this years, funded by fundraising via Friends Of Miss Mop I'm so disappointed at the turnout 😔 All the clinics had good numbers signed up to them (between 9-23) and I'm sorry to report that on average over 85% of people didn't show up, most of them didn't even let us know they weren't coming 😢 At one clinic, only ONE person showed up. It is disappointing and quite annoying to be honest. Sadly, people don't seem the appreciate, or value free events. The professionals running these clinics are some of the best in their fields, you'd pay serious money to attend a clinic if you had to pay. These clinics were run free of charge to participants to ensure that finances weren't an issue for wanting to come and learn. So sadly the Friends of Miss Mop committee have agreed that we won't be running any more free clinics. There will be a nominal fee in the hope that people actually show up, at least if they don't, then their fee will go into the fundraising pot. Thank you to those who did attend, or who got in touch with genuine reasons to let us know they couldn’t come. 🫏

28/07/2024

Big bundle of horse tack and riding gear. All been donated, so being sold for literally £1 or £2 per item as I need to clear out the stable. Loads of rugs, boots, girthsz saddles, bridles, numnahs etc... If you want to book in a day and time for coming along and have a rummage, please get in touch. Money going to Friends Of Miss Mop

27/07/2024

Getting ready for another weekend of clinics. As you can see, it's a family affair where everyone gets involved, Inc the cats!!

Today we have Jane Cumberlidge doing bridle fitting and tomorrow Dorothy Heffernan doing positive reinforcement training. Couple of places left tomorrow if anyone is looking for a great day out! Booking info available on the events page. 🐴

26/07/2024

Please sign and share folks. Let's stop the smuggling of horses to the slaughterhouse 🙏

I have just pledged to support World Horse Welfare on their mission to . Will you do the same?

25/07/2024

Only the owner of multiple horses will know the pain and effort of getting 8 pooh samples...Denny achieved the "hold on to it the longest" award, not poohing for 6hrs...🙈🙈🙈🙈 Connie was first to give up because she is so good and wants to please!!

24/07/2024

Sadly, I'm not shocked to see the latest video of a famous and often worshipped equine professional abusing a horse 😢 I'm not sharing the distressing video, it's widely available if you want to watch and make up your own mind.

We all have moments in time...Monty more than the rest tests me, he badly stood on my foot last year after barging through a gate and he got a good few choice words and my other foot thrown at him. We have to train our horses, these 500kg+ of horse to ensure its safe (for them and us) to be around. But how we train is our choice... There are many ways to train, to achieve what we want, short cuts, lots of awful tack available to "help", bits, spurs, whips, draw reins, the list goes on. Training a horse ethically and morally, without fear or pain takes a long time. Ego often gets in the way.

Sadly, I fear that most equines at top end competitions are not trained or housed ethically, with their welfare put first. Double bridles required at a certain standard of dressage, why? Why is putting two bits in a horses mouth necessary? Why is putting a bit in a horses mouth necessary at all to compete? The heights horses are jumping, the positions their bodies are put into for dressage, the racing of 2 year olds...I believe any equine sport, at top levels has serious welfare concerns.

But the whipping, the kicking, the pulling of mouths, the 'show them who is boss', the stabling, the individual turn out...its sadly seen at all levels, not just professionals. I've seen abuse at pony club, overweight ponies being kicked and whipped around round after round of jumps with the organisers and mum shouting 'give it smack'....I counted 17 "smacks" in one round 😕 A (previous) friend took her metal steps she used to mount and battered her horse round the head with it because the horse wouldn't stand to be mounted. I've had people attend clinics who get the whip out and start smacking the horse to get it to load and I went to a clinic of an equine professional who caused the horse she was working with such fear, that it jumped out of the arena, flipping over and landing badly....Almost every event, clinic or competition I see something that makes me cringe 😳 It's the main reason I hardly compete these days.

The person who reported the dressage rider is being criticised for not reporting it sooner. My understanding is that she was 15 years old at the time and was having a lesson by a famous, well-respected equine professional. I can understand why she wouldn't have spoken out. At the recent clinic where the horse flipped over the arena gates trying to escape, none of us, all adults, said anything prior to it happening, despite a number of us disagreeing with the "training" of the horse. At the pony club where the pony was smacked 17 times, I didn't say anything, I just never went back. Nor did I say anything to my friend when she hit the horse over the head with a metal step, but we are no longer friends. When I do comment, raise awareness, highlight issues, I'm often met with abusive messages, who do you think you are comments, you get a reputation for being a trouble maker, so where does that leave us? How do you speak up without being shot down in flames. I honestly don't know the answer.

And then even when these equine professionals are caught behaving in a way which is deemed unacceptable (Mark Todd, Oliver Townsend to name just a couple), social media goes crazy, yet nothing is done by the Board responsible for the sport and often their sponsors continue sponsoring them...so where is the punishment, where is the deterrent? The FEI, British Dressge, British Horse Racing, British Horse Society, they all need to pull their socks up, they need to put equine welfare first, they need to lead by example and there has to be consequences for trainers and riders who abuse horses.

Equines are amazing. They put their trust in us, they try so hard for us, they do things they would not naturally do for us. We need to do better for them, at every level, from pony club to the Olympics and everything in between. We owe it to them. 🐴

24/07/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/7FCeJ6tavsbWyuUE/

Your horse does not love his stable. Sorry.

A few weeks ago I shared this post and it went viral. It reached 1572985 people.

Due to this reach, unsurprisingly I saw alot of comments along these lines

"My horse loves his stable"
"He waits at the gate to come in"
"You don't know my horse, he hated living out"
"My horse would be dead if i didn't stable him"

For some of you, stabling is likely your only option. I understand how hard it is when you are on a livery with certain rules and management practices, and I also understand if you are doing it for welfare reasons. No horse should be stood in knee high mud, or subjected to lush grass when they are lami prone and a stable is a good way of preventing this.

However. Have you ever thought there might be a better way?

For me, shutting my horse in a stable without free choice is just not something I am ever willing to consider again.

This started when I was lucky enough to have my horses at home for the first time, around 2012.

I remember one night I decided to go out and see my horses in their comfy beds at around 10.30/11pm. I strolled over in my pajamas, opened the barn gate and was shocked to be greeted by neighs and empty haynets.

I didn't turn out till 6-7am the next day... That meant another 7-8 hours of standing in a square with nothing to eat. Horses only sleep for a few hours a day, so the time they spend in a stable is mostly stood still, staring at four walls.

Yes we can improve this by adding enrichment, slow feeder haynets, multiple haynets spread around the stall, a window to touch the horse next door etc, but is this really all enough?

No, its not.

There is no other large companion animal we subject to this kind of imprisonment too. Yes some of you might crate our dogs overnight, but dogs need even more sleep than us and sleep through the night. They aren't designed to move miles a day or eat constantly.

It's no wonder we have horses exhibiting so many stress behaviors in a stable. Weaving, cribbing, box walking or losing their minds completely and thrashing around. Arguably one of the worst coping mechanisms is shutting down, which is exactly what my horse used to do. He would stand, facing the back wall completely still and silent. Giving off the impression that he was fine, when he was far from it.

The humanizing part of me LOVED my horses in stables. They were clean, they had their comfy beds, and when I first brought them in they seemed happy to be there. Munching on their hay and standing quietly while I brushed them and changed rugs. They even waited at the gate to come in.

Ever thought why your horse waits at the gate?
Ever thought its because their field is lacking something? Or because they are very easy to get into a routine? Or because they are positively reinforced by food when they do come in?

Try putting the things your stable offers outside... Make sure there is ample forage, friends (other horses!!), shelter and give them their feeds outside. Leave the stable door open and give them the choice WHEN to be in, and how long for.

Often horses wait at the gate as there paddock lacks these things. They know they will get a feed and hay in their stable, but this does not mean they want shutting in there for hours on end. Horses don't think into the future, so they don't think 'if i come into that stable now it means I'll be in there for hours, better not'.

My mission is to educate people so they learn that stables are not enough and there is a better way. We are depriving these animals from how they are designed to live. Constantly moving and foraging and being with other horses.

Anthropomorphism is so dangerous. This means the apply human values onto an animal, and its exactly what people where doing in most of the comments on that post.

I don't want to hear your excuses for why your horse loves his stable or how its your only option, I want to challenge you to ask yourself why you feel the need to defend yourself? And challenge you to consider another way.

As I state in my book:

"For all the horses that suffer from being confined to stables, without adequate forage, freedom or friends"

Shameless plug: buy my best selling book and learn how to make your horse an enriching environment that fullfills them both mentally and physically. TURNOUT INTO A BIG FIELD IS NOT THE ANSWER.

Horse Track Systems: A 'How To' Guide to a Healthier Horse in Body and Mind https://amzn.eu/d/13hSSMr

Follow my page to keep learning. Your horse will thank you 🙏

Artist of drawing (shared with permission)
https://instagram.com/trailtrotterdesign?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

22/07/2024

I have a few prints by the talented artist Nica Draws Nature but this is by far my favourite. How absolutely awesome is this "The next revolution will not be lead on horseback. But instead, standing their sides". How powerful is that...makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Privileged to not only know Nica Quinn, but also to call her my friend ❤️

22/07/2024

Ponies get to enjoy a couple of hours in the "fat field" each day. The grass is about 2ft long, loads of different grasses for them to forage through. Mostly they are on a track system with one hard feed a day and hay. It's tough having different sizes and different needs, some days it requires a bit of splitting the herd into two groups for a few hours to ensure everyone gets what they need. They are all looking great, perfect weights and happy ponies ❤️🐴🫏

21/07/2024

Just a horse grazing. Well for Jess, this is actually quite a big deal. Jess is a very forward going horse. When riding she often doesn't like to stand still, when getting on, you have to do so quickly as otherwise she starts to dance. In the field Jess is the first to start a hoolie and the last to finish 🤣 Often the rest have returned to grazing and Jess is still lapping the track 🙈

Jess had about 7 months off over winter. She wasn't lame, but we just felt she was a bit off at the back. She has been back in work about 5 weeks now and is a changed horse. She now grazes, her head carriage is a lot lower and whilst we are still forward going, she is more relaxed 🙏 So a rest does them no harm. Physically she is looking better and mentally too. Today we had our first trot as we've just done walks for the last 5 weeks. Wow...I'd forgotten how amazing her trot is....she flows....the world passes quickly, you can feel her power....but without the often nervousness. So nice to be back aboard this lovely girl💓

19/07/2024

Please sign and share this important petition. Let's try reduce the horse and rider deaths on our roads 🙏❤️

Katie's law (Enforce Highway Code Section 215 as Law for Safer Horse-Riding)

19/07/2024

Having recently had someone peep their horn at two of us riding on a single track road, having made the driver wait a whole 30 seconds out of their day, it's so important to raise awareness about just how dangerous it is for horses and riders. The statistics are horrendous, on average, 80 horses are killed each year on our roads, that's 2 a week 😳 Just tragic. Please do share 🙏

17/07/2024

Final livery space available at Equine Unlimited, Dunkeld Perthshire.

One space available on grass track system (track system summer and strip graze in winter). 24hr turnout, 365 days a year in large, mixed herd fields with natural shelter and undulating hills. DIY to Full, grass only or with stable, all options available. Happy, healthy horses are our main focus. Lots of courses and clinics run from the yard, focusing on positive reinforcement training and putting equine welfare first.

Small, private yard with absolutely fantastic off-road hacking. Stunning 40x40m outdoor arena and permanent agility field. Owner lives on site. Friendly and supportive yard, with only 3 other owners. Horses MUST be barefoot.

DIY grass is £38.50p a week, up to £150 per week full livery, 7 days a week, with stable, no chores. Retirement livery is also available. 🐴