Equissance Equine Therapy

28/01/2025

Some questions I’m asked regarding the laser .: it’s a 2b laser of veterinary grade, which I’m fully trained to use

24/01/2025

My passion

Are you ready to go eventing? A helpful fitness plan for a grassroots eventer – read more via link below

08/01/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1Edffuc6mz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/11/2024

❄️ For some, it is rug season again! ❄️

Whilst there may be differing opinions on if/when is the right time to rug horses, there is one thing that we can all agree on, the importance of SAFETY and fastening rugs correctly. Here are some key guidelines that are all to often overlooked. Using the correct way to fasten rugs should help avoid accidents such as getting attached to hay nets and getting legs stuck in straps. 🐴💙

👉 Face hooks inward. Always position clips towards your horse’s body to prevent them from getting snagged on fences, hay nets, or anything else. Outward-facing clips can get caught or come undone, risking injury if your horse panics.

👉 Cross those straps! Belly straps should always be crossed (some rugs do have a different arrangement now, i.e. 3 straight straps, follow the manufactures intentions) to prevent twisting. A twisted rug can cause rubbing, discomfort, injury, or even panic if your horse feels trapped or gets a leg caught in poorly fitted straps.
Leg straps must also be crossed in a loop, this prevents rubbing on the inside of the hind legs and keeps the rug level, it also stops the straps hanging to low and risking a leg getting caught as the horse gets up or down.

The image shows visual examples of correct and incorrect strap and fastening placements.

03/11/2024

Can’t wait for the weather to cool
Down to get rid of the pesky flies!
This is a Thermal Image of a horse fly bite ..

17/08/2024

An insight into my Job and Passion .. very interesting and a few need to understand the Horses anatomy. Caution if you’re squeamish at certain parts.

13/08/2024

Something that has been questioned quite a bit lately! Hopefully this will help !!

Hay soaking – top tips for weight loss (not respiratory issues)

The water-soluble carbohydrate content of UK hays is highly variable and if the content is unknown and you are dieting your horse then the hay should be soaked.
The effect of soaking can also be very variable these pointers may help you maximise the impact of soaking your hay.

• Water temperature can have a marked effect and soaking in water of 16°C for 1 hour has a similar effect on sugar content as soaking at 8°C for 16 hours; in colder weather the use of warm water should be encouraged (Longland et al, 2014).

• The quantity of water is also important as the sugar is lost by a concentration gradient. The more water used, the more sugar can be lost

• Be sure to use fresh water each time you soak your hay – re-using the same water over and over again will have the opposite effect, you are then soaking the hay in a sugar solution! Changing the water midway through soaking will lead to more sugar being soaked out.

• You will need:
- A big water bucket, or maybe even a small wheelbarrow/bath.
- A hose
- And most importantly, a drain (be sure to fill your container near the drain, so there is no lugging of heavy hay and water concoctions across the yard.)

• Remember to weigh your nets before they are soaked not after!

• Another important consideration is mould. Feed soaked hay immediately after soaking and don’t allow it to sit uneaten for long periods, because it can start to ferment, especially in hot weather (allow it to drip before feeding so as not to flood your stable!)

• To make draining and clean up easier, make sure your drain is covered with some sort of mesh catching device.

• While soaking is recommended, it is impossible to determine the exact effect it will have (without testing it) Therefore, the response in the individual horse should be monitored closely.

• Beware, soaking hay will also reduce the vitamin and mineral content, therefore you may need a vitamin and mineral balancer.

• Wet hay on the ground tends to get slimy, mouldy, and smelly pretty quickly. You may want to use a mat under your soaking area, and be sure to keep yours stable clean.

• In freezing conditions, it can be difficult to soak hay, water pipes will freeze solid and the hay will also freeze, in this weather do not worry if you have to feed unsoaked for a couple of days. Luckily in the UK we rarely get weather that is so cold, so it should not continue for very many days continuous.

Steaming hay
It is worth also noting that steaming hay DOES NOT effectively reduce the water-soluble carbohydrate content of hay and therefore soaking in water is the most effective method for weight loss. If we were discussing allergy and breathing difficulty rather than weight loss, steaming would be a different story and maybe the topic of my next post!

05/08/2024

Totally agree! Bin it

04/07/2024

A lovely lady to work for

**Groom Required on 5* Eventing Yard**
Owing to university degree, the wonderful Tegan Wood sadly has to greatly reduce her hours so we are looking for someone to take over most of the yard duties from mid/end September. Must be experienced with handling fit competition horses, incredibly reliable and happy to be in sole charge when required. Possibility to bring own horse. Please PM or 07770 377951.

01/07/2024

Worth a read

A higher percentage of obese horses have equine metabolic syndrome but this is because EMS makes them eat more and gain weight easily, not because obesity is causing EMS. Read more in the proceedings from Dr. Kellon's presentation COMPARATIVE HUMAN AND EQUINE METABOLIC SYNDROME from the 2021 NO Laminitis! Conference: https://www.e-junkie.com/i/11jjb. Downloads are free.

26/06/2024

Who doesn’t have tight hamstrings.. I know I do 😫

Touched your toes recently? Does it feel impossible?

Our hip flexors are often discussed when it comes to riding, and most riders know that they need to address their hips to create suppleness. But what does that mean?

Well, the truth is that when you stretch your hips, you aren’t looking for just one stretch that will undo all that tightness.

There are 21 different muscles involved in your hip movement, and opening them up and creating freedom in the saddle requires addressing them all and creating balance through them.

So, let’s talk about our hamstrings.

The hamstrings are muscles that extend the hip and flex the knee.

In the saddle, the hamstrings will affect your thigh and seat bone positions. If you tend to sit back into a chair position in the saddle, chances are those hamstrings and your deep six are tight as a result of this.

Or maybe the cause.

You may never know who started the issues, but chances are they are both tight.

The hamstrings play an important role when we walk through kinetic energy absorption.

They help protect the knee and hip joints. They also do this in the saddle.

Tight hamstrings impact posture, walking, and riding, contributing to lower back problems.

They directly affect how your pelvis is positioned, in and out of the saddle and how well you move with the horse.

If ignored, progressive tightening of these tissues happens over time. Especially if you have spent time at a desk over the past decade or two.

And if you are nodding your head right now, the truth is it’s the norm for dressage riders to have tight hamstrings. But it doesn’t have to be.

I have put together a new article on the website now discussing more about your hamstrings and the role they have on your position in the saddle.

Just comment 'hamstrings' below and I will send you the link direct to your inbox so you have it to read later.

Or here is the link - https://dressageridertraining.com/article/dressage-riders-have-tight-hamstrings/