Mopes Stud

10/03/2024

Happy Mother’s Day to my mares. Now I know having a stallion has been on vogue for the last several years , mares have always held a special place in my heart since owning Murrayhall Rosalie’s Astarella who taught me so much . I love watching the herd and learning from them. Unfortunately Soden Eirlys must have absorbed , she was scanned in foal in August but was scanned not in foal this week. However ever cloud has a silver lining , and Eirlys will be making her debut under saddle this year.
In other news, Chalfont Carrick attended his first ever competition this month bagging a 2nd and a 3rd with fantastic comments from the judges . Produced to perfection as always by Ashraw equestrian.

28/02/2024

Breeding Season is upon us

Information and guidance for breeders who have and are testing their breeding stock, now the breeding season is upon us.

In line with Equisec and Generatio breeding guide, the Registered Welsh Pony and Cob MIM Research Group recommend the following points should always be followed to breed out MIM from our bloodlines whilst retaining genetic diversity within the breed.

Ideally, all breeding stock should be verified for the presence of MIM variants. Biopsies which show the presence of an idiopathic muscle myopathy, but where the animal is negative for MIM variants would require different consideration.

Always use negative (N/N) to negative (N/N) as the first and favoured option.

In the case where no other negatives are available the next option is to put negative (N/N) to heterozygous one variant...example (N/K1). Heterozygous animals have a 50/50 chance of passing on just one gene resulting if passed another heterozygous (N/K1), or a another negative (N/N) animal.

Last option which is the least desirable is to use two heterozygous animals with two different variants, example (N/K1) to (N/P4). This resulting mating has the options of negative, heterozygous one variant carrier or another animal who carries two variants, but will be heterozygous for both variants.

Keeping genetic diversity is just as vital as breeding out MIM and any other diseases. Due to the Welsh breeds studbook being a closed studbook and the gene pool being small despite large numbers of animals this is the only way forward so we don't lose our bloodlines.

Twelve months ago, 68% of the 121 registered Welsh cobs we have verified results for showed the presence of at least one MIM variant and 24% for two or more.
More have since been tested and results are on file.
Do ask to see a copy of the actual lab results and that they match the animal tested.

It should always be noted that inbreeding should also always be avoided at all costs as all this practice does is compounds hereditary diseases/issues and narrows our gene pool, which has a deleterious effect eventually leading to extinction.

If anyone has any further questions please feel free to message us.

21/02/2024

This is something I whole heartedly agree with. After spending a career dealing with young stock that have been early weaned , ear twitched, shut in a stable devoid of any other company , fed a high sugar high starch diet, gone through sales one week a show the next and generally rough handled, I know that these experiences leave a life long impression mentally and on the horse gut microbome.
In order to be selling healthy happy animals that will be functional and enjoyed by their owners for a long time we not only have to breed them we have to raise them.

Massive thanks to Elena for allowing me share Rupert’s story this evening and to Anna for hosting the webinar. It was a huge privilege and I hope it helps to make a positive difference to the lives of many more horses to come. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us and for giving so generously to the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust!

13/02/2024

For anyone wanting to try Bitless I highly recommend these bridles, brilliant quality and owned by a very knowledgeable helpful lady.

https://www.facebook.com/TranscendBitlessBridles

The double bridle of bitless. Transcend offers a light soft gentle bridle, allowing direct gentle cu

12/02/2024

Look how grown up Moomin is looking! Loved so much by his new owner

28/01/2024

SERVICEABLY SOUND

Bear with me as I share some rambling thoughts that are rolling through my head (think Indiana Jones cave ball scenario) due to delving deeper into the world of horse dissections.

Serviceably sound. What is it? And why do we need to know about it?
More to the point, is it ethical?

Serviceably sound is that situation where a horse has known injuries but is kept and worked in such a way that they can remain sound despite the injuries but continue to have limitations to their abilities.

Serviceably sound is NOT a horse that bucks, rears, bites, trips, stumbles, wobbles, etc and carries on schooling or jumping because the rider pushes them through. THAT is ignorance, negligence and, I’d even go so far as to say, abuse, in action. Sorry, not sorry.

A horse that does any of the above is screaming in pain. They can’t scream, of course, but if any of you have had a child of yours break a bone and you hear that blood curdling scream ring out…imagine that’s what your horse is doing. How anyone can ignore this so blatantly beggars belief.

Serviceably sound is a horse with known injuries that have been assessed by a relevant professional, and you know what the problem is, and you do the rehabilitation work and continue to work within the parameters of the horse’s ability, being sure to listen out for any signs that say you’re going beyond the limit and ensuring you’re dialling it back to work within that, giving the horse the time off when their body hurts and providing them with the extra care and supplementation to keep them comfortable

Now, whether or not that’s worth your time and energy is an entirely subjective matter. If he’s your heart horse and you can’t bare to part with him or turn him out forever, then perhaps it’s worth your time. But if it’s just another horse that’s passing through, perhaps they don’t show significant talent toward your choice of sport or perhaps you have higher ambitions than the horse will ever be capable of; then you owe it to yourself and the horse to make an ETHICAL WELFARE decision. Perhaps that is turning the horse out as a paddock mate or babysitter, or maybe you would choose to euthanise the horse.
What is NOT an ethical welfare decision is passing the horse on to someone else dishonestly and making it someone else’s problem.

Wiggle is Serviceably sound. As am I. And perhaps it is due to this personal matter of my own soundness that I feel such an affliction towards the concept of Serviceably sound. I have a long list of injuries that I contend with daily. Some days I can run and jump comfortably, other days getting out of bed is a battle and I’ll spend the day hobbling everywhere. I don’t think any of that means I’m a write off though, but I do need to choose my path more carefully.

Wiggle has more sound days than I do to be fair. He almost definitely has a sprung pelvis as is evidenced by his slight hock wobble, he’s over at the knee, has high-low syndrome and a list of other quirks and foibles that make him an interesting character to say the least. It’s likely that he also has kissing spine and a myriad of other issues from his racing career.
He does not buck, rear, bolt or show any particular obvious signs. In fact he seems to outwardly show enjoyment at being able to move and strut his stuff.

I keep working away quietly with him because 1) he’s the coolest dude I know, 2) I find it interesting and rewarding and 3) I don’t have particularly high aspirations for him.
Truth is, it’s unlikely he will ever achieve anything higher than first level dressage and being a CTR mount, if that. For the current phase of my horsemanship journey, that is enough. I have a young horse waiting in the winds to come through when we’re all ready.

For now, he and I remain Serviceably sound together. And if the day comes when we are not, or I gather new information that makes me change my mind, I’ll assess that too.

Do you have a Serviceably sound horse?

24/01/2024

😍🐴Pferdefreunde aufgepasst: Herzlich laden wir euch zu dem exklusiven generatio Webinar, präsentiert von NOVAFON, ein:

PSSM2/MIM: Stand der Forschung und Einblick in das Management betroffener Pferde 📚🤓

Erfahrt von den Expertinnen, wie ihr euren geliebten Pferden mit Muskel-Integritäts-Myopathie (MIM) helfen könnt. Die erfahrene Online-Dozentin und Therapeutin Alexandra Schubert von novafon_vet wird euch wertvolle Einblicke rund um das Management von betroffenen Pferden geben. Dr. Melissa Cox, wissenschaftliche Leitung der generatio GmbH, wird euch auf den neuesten Stand der Forschung von MIM bringen. Lernt alles Wichtige, um eure Pferde von Training über Behandlung bis zur richtigen Fütterung optimal zu unterstützen. Anschließend habt ihr noch ausreichend Zeit, um alle eure Fragen zu stellen.🐴✨
Verpasst diese Gelegenheit nicht und meldet euch jetzt an:
🗓 Datum: 30.01.2024
🕒 Uhrzeit: 18:30 Uhr, Dauer: ca. 60 min

07/01/2024

📸 Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/p/KBqFAsCS2Wph4r6C/?mibextid=WC7FNe

31/12/2023

We would like to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New year.
In 2023 we had our first pssm and MIM foals, in 2024 we have hopefully four due and we have recently welcomed some exciting new additions to the stud. Our young stallion will also be coming out under saddle, with the aim of grading him and attending a few dressage competitions, Mopes Cult Queen will attend a few in hand shows later on in the year.
We will also be contesting LR classes with our two sec a ponies and our shetland, and of course following Moomin’s progress with RD Dressage - The Cob Diaries.

13/12/2023

10/12/2023

Moomin has arrived at his new home , a little earlier than expected due to my decrepit knee now affecting my hip. At this rate I’ll be having to have both replaced. Mare’s and Queenie are all fine gathered round hay supplied by Matt Stacey Rural Services. I also need to thank Ashraw equestrian for all her help with the stud whilst I’m laid up.

16/11/2023

Moomin was gelded last Wednesday, no swelling or bleeding, very different from the 2 yrd Irish draught c**t we had done at the same time. He is now getting used to being in the stable next to his dam and is not at all phased if she is out of his sight. In fact when we bring them up from the bottom field he has to be led now as he isn’t always interested in following her and when he does he usually gets top and then bolts back down to the others.
I’m laid up with flu at the moment so relying on Ashraw equestrian to do the yard. Matt Stacey Rural Services have also been keeping the herd supplied with top quality hay.
Moomin met Elswyth, my youngest grandchild on Sunday and I think they both were pleased to make each others acquaintance.

14/11/2023

Maybe it’s time to rethink what age we start our horses and ponies

This page is anecdotal not scientific study.

The explosion of this page has been great, it’s awesome that people are interested in the work and their horses well being. But it also has made many academics and vets very uncomfortable. I never really considered the politics of what I was doing because frankly I don’t care for it, with respect and let me explain why.

Everyone needs to remember why I started, it was never a dream to be chopping up horses! I started this work because I wasn’t getting the answers of diagnosis and yet the horses kept telling me something was wrong, in their behaviour, their relationships and their movement. After many horses had taken their secrets to the grave and left me forever wondering what went wrong, I had a thought……I actually had the skills, stomach and determination to take a look inside! I was shocked, the places they had issues alive were the same places the bones showed problems. The horses would tell me by their reactions to being touched there. Touch a sore spot, get a reaction….hardly rocket science BUT once you’ve located a sore spot there are a Miriad of problems it could be from soft tissues to skeletal problems.

This is where it gets tricky, I worked with the horses I have dissected or I get their full backgrounds and assess the horses before they are euthanised. I see repeat behaviours from certain problems but this is anecdotal. Many of the problems I show on this page could not have been imaged with the current technology available to most vets, Although that statement will annoy the vets who don’t like what I’m doing let’s be real…..even if you could image these problems, then what? Most would require surgery to help and that’s just not feasible for a horse. There is a reality to the horses nature and what science can realistically achieve, even if we could help the ethics should be considered.

It makes far more sense to not arrive at problems, to prevent them. In my opinion there has not been enough study into skeletal development beyond bone matrix remodelling to the load it’s put under. I’d like to see a study done on growth plates under load and how they develop. I consistently see damage on the caudal ventral aspect of the thoracic physeals in race horses that have well passed the age of fusion. I’m looking to undertake a study next year on pelvises and am currently researching what’s required to do so.

In my opinion the biggest obstacle to horses is doing too much work before 6 years old. I’m not saying no work, I’m saying age appropriate work. Horses need to learn how to learn in my opinion from age 3, small questions and how to give an answer, ground work only. At 4, ground work is established, we can move to sursingle and a plain bit for mouthing. The horse already understands that the human asks a new question and they have to find the answer. In the fourth year I would move to saddle and aim to have my first sit and walk around. In the 5th year I’d be looking to establish walk and trot work in a relaxed frame not creating any posture except for horizontal balance which the horse should have already learnt inhand. at this stage I’d want any circle work minimised and I’d opt for more straight line hacking out. At the end of the 5th year I’d introduce canter, why so late for canter work? The kinetic energy through the acetabulum from hind leg locomotion in the pelvis pushes inwards because the canter stride is naturally engaged. This energy has an effect on the p***s symphysis that doesn’t fuse until 6 years old. I see anecdotal evidence of horses doing too much before 6 in pelvises all the time.

I’d also add I work sporadically with my young stock, good work sticks and horses aren’t idiots.

Lastly I’d like to say I often joke with people I work with that I’m just a “skilled butcher”. In a world full of egos it easier to minimise yourself because I do realise I’m coming at the work arse about kite! I’m just an adult who never wanted to loose her wonder in the world, a fascination with “why”. So I will continue to present what I find but take it with a grain of salt because……

It’s all anecdotal.

🌸

Below is a picture of a 4 year old Thoroughbreds spleen. He had been diagnosed with a nerve entrapment issue in shoulder/neck but we didn’t find any solid evidence in the nerves of the area. These bright red areas had me baffled and so I went about consulting vets and dissectors for answers. Trauma is the most valid answer, a saggital cut showed scar tissue through the middle. I couldn’t find any information relating to equines so I did the next best thing and looked at humans. An interesting fact about ruptured spleens in humans, they get referred shoulder pain! We couldn’t find any good reason why he was intermittently lame in the fronts. The spleen can be exposed to trauma because of its location under the ribs.

08/11/2023

RIP my friend . You haven’t been in my life for long but in those few years we have been through so much crap together . Wilbur wonky handle will never be able to take your place 😢

03/11/2023

Ring feeder’s now ordered! It had to be Moomin… it’s always Moomin !

02/11/2023

Well we survived the storm here at Mopes Stud, as did Moomins hood fe**sh ! He is such a character he can brighten up the dullest morning, which is good as I now have the unenviable task of mending the muck trailer ramp !

25/10/2023

The mares enjoying the autumn sunshine today before coming in for worming . As usual Moomin was first to come up and see me . He is such a good boy he stands in the field while I pick his feet up no halter. Queenie is the polar opposite, a shy girl who likes to keep behind mum. She is being retained so can come round in her own time.

18/10/2023

This why we don’t wean early here

Weaning time? Controversial post alert! 🚨⚠️

Is there a right time and right way to wean a foal?

🐎 At 6 months of age the foal's stomach lining is nearly, but not quite ready for a life without milk and within 2 weeks of weaning at this age or earlier, the foal's stomach will most certainly ulcer. If you own a foal, are you prepared for that?

🐎 Weaning normally involves the complete separation of mare and foal, gradual or immediate. So we aren't just talking about stopping milk here. We are breaking the most significant attachment bond in a horse's life, before they even get to adolescence - which won't even start until next spring/summer. Do you have a suitable alternative adult to help fill that gap? Attachment bonds provide horses with security which helps them to be confident and better regulate their feelings as they grow up. Horses are adapted to growing up in a family group and naturally leave home by tooing and froing for a bit before they finally leave aged between 18 months and 4 years of age.

🐎 Weaning may be accomplished by shutting mare and foal in separate places out of earshot - abrupt weaning. Very stressful. By removing one broodmare at a time from the group - very stressful as who know which mummy will be abducted next? By placing all the foals in one place and the mares in another - at least some degree of group solidarity but still stressful. Day by day separating mare and foal for very short periods usually associated with feed time and reuniting them before they get upset - better but still need to be mindful of foal age and replacement attachment figure. Allow the natural process to run its course.

🐎 Weaning can be a significant welfare issue, even when seemingly "normal" practices are followed. Let's recognise stressful weaning practices as a welfare issue and move towards more mare and foal centred practices.

🐎 Weaning well sets the foal up to cope with life. Good weaning is an investment in the foal's future

I wrote quite a bit more in my chapter on breeding in the book, Equine Behaviour in Mind edited by Suzanne Rogers

11/10/2023

Never have I known an October where the mares and foals seek shelter from the sun and the flies . What unbelievable weather we are having . We are making the most of it , creosoting the stables, clearing out the barn and making a new wash area with solarium. Our stock fencing will be having a tidy up thanks to Matt Stacey Rural Services, who provides an excellent service at very reasonable rates.

28/09/2023

Mares and foals came in today for microchipping, we also took the opportunity to get Franny’s teeth done . She is the studs latest acquisition, having been here only 5 weeks. She was very well behaved, considering she has never even had a bit in.
Regular dental work, foot trimming and worming is a must to keep our mares happy and healthy. It also means they are handled on a regular basis and we can get to know their individual temperaments, which are usually mirrored in their foals enabling us to match foal to prospective owners.

27/09/2023

Mopes Cult Queen, pictures from when she was just born. Both mares foaled during the day which was a surprise as I’ve only ever had one foal during the day before.

23/09/2023

Our first foal this year was born in on June 5th. A striking c**t out of Soden Eirlys ( her first) by Cwmesgair Distraction. He is a very bold, friendly c**t who was sold within an hour of being advertised to the most fabulous home. Named by his new owner Rebecca Duke Mopes Mondtänzer, we look forward to following his journey via The Cob Diaries. Eirlys is back in foal to Distraction for 2024.

20/09/2023

Welcome to Mopes Stud page.

After spending many years breaking and producing welsh ponies and cobs , health issues forced me to hang up my boots. Having bred a few welsh cobs and pb’s in the past under the Ashraw prefix , Mopes Stud was started as a way of keeping me sane and breeding a few cobs and pb’s for my daughter to compete and hopefully in the future my grandchildren.
After learning about Pssm and experiencing MIM firsthand, I decided to test my stock for both. This has led me to a greater understanding of genetic diseases and also the need for genetic diversity, there is far to much inbreeding within the breed.
My aim is to breed the healthiest stock I possibly can , this will encompass genetic testing combined with environmental factors and husbandry techniques. I will only breed from stock that is temperamentally sound, and will be performance testing our resident stallion next year.
Foals will not be weaned until they are at least 8 months old. They will be wormed , used to having their feet trimmed and well handled. Homes are extremely important to me so please be prepared to be interrogated!
At the moment we have four welsh cob mares, a filly we are retaining, a thoroughbred mare and a welsh cob stallion. All Pssm and MIM negative. If any one would like to register an interest in one of next year’s foals please pm and I will add you to the list.

For more information on Pssm or MIM please visit Registered Welsh Pony & Cob MIM Research Group
PSSM & MIM Awareness
PSSM Type 1 & MIM Support Group