Beehive Farm Livery

29/10/2025

It’s never an easy topic to talk about putting your horse to sleep. However, on quite a few pages I’m seeing all these posts about how they’re putting their older horses (21+)up for sale as a companion that’s full of old injuries, or the ones who are younger and have had a career ending injury and can only be a companion. Either way, they’re looking for a new home

Sadly I’m also seeing posts of horses that have been miss sold to new owners. These are similar to the horses above who are injured, old and have a fake passport knocking the years off them

horses don’t have to go through that.
Sometimes, there may be one or two situations where people have found their unwanted horses new homes as a companion. But come on, in the world of today how often does this happen?

If you have truly loved and owned your horse for years, but no longer want him due to age/injury… who else actually does?

Euthanasia is honestly a gift we can give our horses. It prevents your horses living in pain, starving, sold pillar to post, buted up and kicked on.
Euthanasia is a definite outcome, it means your horse is at rest.

Please consider euthanasia rather than selling your old, injured horses.

There is much, much worse to fear than death.

This is Bally , that I had to put to sleep 2 years ago due to multiple long lasting injury’s from racing. We tried everything but sadly wasn’t meant to be. Nobody can now try to force him to be ridden, or abandoned, neglected and left to starve. I know this because when I took on the responsibility of owning a horse this decision is inevitable in the end. I put my feelings aside, for his quality of life.

23/10/2025

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1212601794260848&id=100065331166565

*** Strangles Awareness Evening ***

Wednesday 26th November 2025

6:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Price £10 PP

Hear our team share what we’ve learned first-hand at Hall Farm, alongside the latest science on Strangles, testing, vaccination and getting yards back to normal.

In addition to our team there will also be a presentation by specialist vet Phil Ivens and plenty of opportunities for questions.

Open to all horse owners and yard managers.

There will be a light buffet supper included in ticket price.

To book your ticket, please follow the link below
https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/visit-us/events/strangles-awareness-evening

04/10/2025

04/10/2025

May have some oat straw available next year.

*** FEEDING STRAW TO HORSES ***

Following on from yesterday’s post about trying to never leave your horse in a stable without forage, I promised I’d do a post about feeding straw to increase low calorie forage supply.

Leaving horses without forage for prolonged periods of time is not okay, and can (and does) lead to:
- Ulcers
- Stress
- Colic
- Choke (when they finally get food again)
- Behavioural issues/vices

For any horses that need to gain weight, straw is absolutely not suitable, and you need to be feeding more hay. For any good doers, straw can provide an almost calorie free fibre source and help to prevent some of the above.

1. Straw is not suitable for every horse/pony.

2. Speak to your vet before starting to feed straw, to discuss if age/dentition/medical history make him/her a suitable candidate.

3. If your horse has previously suffered from impaction colic, then you will need to introduce straw extremely slowly, and may not be able to feed it.

4. If your horse has poor dentition (of the cheek teeth (molars)) then they may not be able to eat it. Although some straw can be softer and easier to eat than some courser hays.

5. Feed the best quality, softest straw you can find. Oat straw is thought to be the best, followed by wheat and barley, but the main thing is the softness and quality of the straw.

6. Introduce straw VERY SLOWLY to your horse’s forage ration. I normally advise mixing two handfuls into the haynet and monitoring for a week.

7. Monitor droppings on a daily basis whilst introducing and feeding straw, and if they start looking hard/dry or more “nuggety” than their normal droppings, then you’re feeding too much, have introduced it too quickly, or straw isn’t going to work for them. Stop immediately for a few days until droppings back to normal for that horse, and try again.

8. Personally I advise never feeding more than 25% of the forage ration as straw, although one study has shown that 50% straw:hay is safe, and has no increased risk of ulcers.

9. Straw can still be fed if your horse doesn’t like it, as it will slow down the amount of time it takes your horse to eat the hay, due to him picking around the straw.

10. Straw can be steamed to ensure as much dust as possible is removed, and to make it more palatable.

11. If your horse won’t touch his haynet with straw mixed into it, then obviously that is defeating the point of increasing forage, so pop a few handfuls into a separate net and go from there.

12. Always ensure easy access to fresh water (obviously this applies regardless of what you are feeding!).

13. Increase volume of straw fed by just a couple of handfuls every 7-10 days, or even slower if you have any concerns at all about droppings.

14. Ensure a good quality Feed Balancer is always fed, regardless of whether or not you are feeding straw. All of my good doers are on Baileys Lo Cal.

15. If you decide to feed straw, invest in some hanging luggage scales to ensure you don’t feed too much of the forage ration as straw.

16. If you currently need to feed soaked hay, then you will need to continue soaking your hay as you introduce straw, or it will defeat the object.

17. If your horse/pony is finishing all of his forage intake by 11pm/midnight, and standing in his stable with nothing until 7am (or even later) when you arrive, this is absolutely not okay, and you need to do something about it.

18. There are very few studies on feeding straw, so the above is based on a couple of studies and my experience of introducing straw into rations with my clients.

19. Chopped straw/chaff is an alternative (you may be able to leave your horse with a bucket of dampened down chaff overnight) but avoid chaff completely if your horse has been diagnosed with diastema. Again, you need to know about your horse’s dentition before introducing this.

20. Introduce good quality straw extremely slowly, and stop immediately if the droppings look very hard/dry.

Unrelated photo of beautiful Mabel ❤️

EDIT: You are obviously welcome to share this post directly, but not to copy and paste my words. I put a lot of effort into some of my posts, so sharing only. Thank you!

25/09/2025

Cyclists, joggers, walkers, riders just enjoy what you are doing.
Be in the present - or you might end up in the past.

02/08/2025

From September 2025, the Danish Equestrian Federation will restrict double bridles to level 4+ in dressage, part of sweeping horse welfare reforms.

28/07/2025

*** Well what do horses do in the wild, then? ***

After one rider’s justification in taking her horses out travelling and jumping in 30 degree heat in the U.K. involved the phrase “all the wild horses are fine” (on my post about horses not being able to acclimatise to a few days of 30 degree heat in the U.K.), I thought I’d do a little post about how “horses in the wild” cope in various situations. I’ll use several “real life” examples that frequently crop up on my posts; some are genuine people asking genuine questions, and some are confused people thinking that “horses in the wild” live this idealistic life that we should be trying to emulate for our own horses.

Firstly, real “wild horses” live extremely tough lives. They fight to eat, they fight to stay in their herds, and most of all, they fight to simply survive. It’s not a lovely, relaxed lifestyle. Horses are prey animals; they have many predators. They must be acutely aware of their surroundings, 24/7. These horses are born into that environment, but it’s still a tough life. Our horses are literally born in a barn. They are COMPLETELY different to a herd of wild horses. Most foals are born in a stable, with just their mother for company. They are born into safety. They know domestic life as a safe life from day one. They aren’t wild horses. Wild horses need to get their foals up and running, literally, before predators smell the placenta/see the vulnerable new born foal, and move in. Wild horses must be on their guard at all times; it’s not a life of freedom.

1. Why do we need to examine our horses’ mouths and treat dental pathology at least once a year? What do horses in the wild do?
They die. It’s honestly as simple as that. Horses hide dental pain incredibly well; they are “programmed” to hide dental pain as they must keep eating to survive. Yes, wild horses will absolutely suffer from dental pathology (it’s not due to the “evil” domestication, or the nasty stables we keep them in). If a wild horse can’t eat very well, he/she will become malnourished, unable to keep up with the herd, and succumb to predators. Their shorter life expectancy also means that a lot of dental disease seen in our veteran domestic horses, won’t be relevant due to their shorter life span.

2. Horses don’t need shoes! How do horses cope in the wild?!
Yes, a lot of wild horses definitely cope barefoot much better than our domestic horses are able to. It may be due to breeding, and likely also due to the fact that they are constantly moving over various terrain from day one, and do very little “road work”. A lot of barefoot domestic horses can’t really cope barefoot, which is where hoof boots have their place. If we want to hack our horses out for hours on roads, or to compete our horses on grass without them slipping, then they will most likely need some form of shoe/grip on their feet. Wild horses don’t need to collect and jump on slippery grass, and won’t spend hours on tarmac (which wears hooves down).

3. Horses get colic because they’re stabled; what happens in the wild?
Certainly a lack of constant forage will predispose a horse to colic, and in the wild, horses are constantly foraging and grazing. However, there are many causes of colic that just happen, and we don’t know why. Again, many wild horses won’t live long enough to suffer from some of the “old horse” causes of surgical colics, such as strangulating lipomas. Again, a horse with a surgical colic will simply die in the wild.

4. Why do we need to acclimatise our horses to being ridden in extreme temperatures? Wild horses are fine!
Well, firstly, they aren’t out in the midday sun cantering in circles and jumping courses, whilst carrying about 90kg. And secondly…..no, I think that just about covers in! They find natural shade, and will move about slowly if they can’t find water/shade.

5. Why do I need to provide field shelters and hard standing for my ponies? What happens in the wild?! Just because horses survive in the wild, doesn’t mean they thrive. Yes, horses in the wild don’t have field shelters, but our domestic horses are often used to a roof over their heads from birth, and by choosing to domesticate horses, we are also responsible for ensuring the absolute best of welfare standards for them. Horses do find shade and shelter in the wild, normally under big trees, and just because they don’t have shelters, it doesn’t mean their quality of life wouldn’t be improved by having them. Horses in the wild are frequently on the move, so it’s rare for them to be standing around in muddy paddocks - our domestic horses need hard standing for that reason.

To summarise, just because horses (mainly) survive in the wild, definitely doesn’t mean they thrive. We often expect our horses to carry us around, and in return for that, we should expect to provide the very best care for them. Our domestic horses are more often than not, born in a stable or barn, and are extremely far removed from wild horses from day one. A life for a wild horse is often one of battling to survive.

15/07/2025

Horses for courses - of course.
Dependant on what is available to you.
Mine loves his routine and his stable.

*** The benefits of horses spending time in a stable throughout the year ***

I stable my horses at my yard overnight, all year round. If I could afford to employ extra staff, I’d also stable the two old retired ones at my rented yard all year round (they are stabled overnight all winter, but out 24/7 with a huge field shelter all summer). After a couple of people have recently sent messages asking me if I’d do a post on the benefits of horses spending a good proportion of every day in a stable, I decided I’d brave it! I stable mine overnight all year round, rather than switching them to night turn out during the summer months, and I cover a couple of the reasons why in the points below.

1. Stabling allows their feet and legs to dry out for a good portion of a 24 hour day during the wet winter months. This most definitely reduces the incidence of foot abscesses and mud fever.

2. Gets them out of the midges (dusk and dawn) during the summer months. Sweet itch is a heartbreaking condition for a horse to suffer from, and one of the hardest to treat and manage. It is an allergy to the culicoides midge, so stabling horses overnight avoids them being exposed to midges (unless you are bringing in very late and/or turning out very early!).

3. It gets horses used to being in a stable, if box rest is required for an illness or injury.

4. It also gets them used to being in a stable if you want to go to a stay away show, or a riding camp.

5. You know exactly how much your horse eats and drinks in the time they are stabled, so will notice any early changes in eating patterns. This is an extremely important point.

6. You know the amount and consistency of your horse’s poo. This is also extremely important, and does not only help indicate early stages of colic, but also helps the vet in treating your horse for colic.

7. Allows elderly horses and ponies to rest and sleep out of the mud in the winter months; although movement is good for arthritis, if fields are very wet and muddy and no hard standing is offered, that’s absolutely not good for arthritic joints.

8. Means the competition horses are used to sleeping overnight, rather than during the day, so they are sharper and have more energy to compete. More often than not, horses that are out overnight stay awake all night, and sleep in the early hours or during the day. A minor point, but still a valid reason.

9. Avoids the predisposing factors for summer pastern dermatitis (legs with pink skin getting damp from the morning dew on grass are then exposed to the sun, sometimes resulting in pastern dermatitis).

10. If you have good areas of dry, covered hard standing, with a nice area of dry bedding for horses to sleep, then obviously these areas have most of the above benefits, and a few of their own benefits.

There will of course be people that believe horses should never be shut in a stable, but these points are to cover why there are benefits to it, and to explain why I keep my horses in overnight 365 days a year. No “what would they do in the wild” comments, please; most domestic horses wouldn’t survive for 24 hours in the wild.

EDIT: I completely forgot weight management as a very important point! Thank you to those of you for bringing it up!