Gill Maybury Chiropractor

13/12/2024

*** COLIC MYTH - IT’S ESSENTIAL TO WALK ANY HORSE SHOWING SIGNS OF COLIC ***

I’ve unfortunately seen 5 colics in the past two weeks, so I thought I’d start some colic posts again.

I think one of the main myths surrounding colic, is that you must walk them, even if they don’t want to walk. There are definitely some types of colic when movement is good/essential for the horse, but there are equally many occasions when it’s actually detrimental to keep the horse moving.

Before knowing whether or not you need to keep your horse moving, you need your vet to diagnose what is causing your horse to colic. If your horse has a classic “twisted gut” then no amount of movement will help. In fact, forcing horses to walk if they’ve got intestinal torsion will result in extreme pain. If surgery is an option, then continuing to walk a horse with intestinal torsion (twisted gut) will also wear him out, and potentially cause even more damage to the gut itself, reducing the odds of surgery being a success.

My general rule of thumb for any colicking horse is to allow them to do what they want to do whilst waiting for the vet. If they are standing quietly, then that’s perfect. If they are down in the field then I do normally advise getting them up and to somewhere easily accessible for the vet. If they are thrashing about in a stable and could hurt themselves, then getting them out and into the safety of a lunge pen or arena is a good idea, as long as you don’t risk injuring yourself. If they want to march around, then let them walk. It’s a complete myth that a horse rolling around will result in him twisting his intestine; we’d obviously be seeing hundreds of colic cases daily if this were true.

To conclude, walking a horse with colic MAY be advisable, but you need your vet to diagnose the cause of the colic first. If your horse is reluctant to walk, then definitely don’t force them to move.

02/10/2024

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

20/09/2024

***Applications have now closed*** Thank you to the great number of people who have applied. We are currently working through applications and will be in touch with those who have been successful in the coming days.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱! Due to customer demand, we are delighted to confirm that we will be adding 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗶𝗻 & 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 to our range this season - a premium quality sainfoin chop with cold pressed linseed oil.

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗶𝗻 & 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲. You will be supplied with the feed (free of charge) along with feeding instructions. In return you will submit before and after photographs and fill out a questionnaire on completion of the 30 day trial period.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂! To apply, simply complete our application form by following the link below ⤵
https://sshf.uk/testers

Demand to partake in our trials is typically very high. We strongly suggest applying as soon as possible.

25/07/2024

More great words

Together we can all improve. I thought I might suggest some simple ways in which I believe the horse world can improve across the board.

1️⃣ - Stop referring to horses as “it” ! Happens all the time from industry professionals to young riders! Why does it matter?! Words have power, words reflect your attitude and your attitude influences your actions! So horses as a sign of respect should be referred to as he / she or by their name.

2️⃣ - We must all continue to improve our understanding of horse behaviour. On social media there is an abundance of innocent ignorance. Music and memes made of horses showing stereotypies like weaving, box walking, head shaking and lip slapping all put to music implying that it is funny…Which is isn’t!
Horses that show these behaviours need help to improve them, equestrians on social media should have the knowledge that these things aren’t funny and most definitely infulencers shouldn’t be getting viral likes and comments for what is ultimately just a lack of actual knowledge of horses!

3️⃣ - All horses must have turnout everyday- no exceptions, no excuses! All horses should have access to graze / roll / have zoomies. It is / should be there right as we all except that looking at videos of battery chickens is cruel so the horse world should stop making excuses and make sure all horses have adequate turnout time. (Only exception is while under veterinary treatment)

4️⃣ - Horses mustn’t be kept alone. They are herd animals they are not designed to live alone. While many horses accept this, it is not good for their mental health and deprives them of one of there greatest pleasures to scratch & groom another horse.

5️⃣ - Children / young riders should not be eligible to wear spurs. It’s not necessary and more training should take the place of a quick fix.

6️⃣ - Those who have the loudest voices aren’t always the ones who have the greatest knowledge! We can all be responsible for being better informed about training and making sure the horse world is an involving improving story. 💕 Emx

10/05/2023

A great summary on kissing spines from a specialist vet

‎Show Equestrian Voices, Ep Deep Dive: Understanding Kissing Spines - 9 May 2023

16/04/2023

We all know we should do this for both our own and our horse’s benefit. This short video gives you 3 quick, simple exercises you can do standing on the yard or in the tack room before you get on.

10/03/2023

Really useful summary of a horse’s face when it’s in pain

21/01/2023

Although the title is about bringing a horse back into work, this podcast actually provides so much information on the type of work programmes our horses should have and very importantly what surfaces are best to work/hack on. It’s not long - well worth a listen.

‎Show Stable Science from DrDavidMarlin.com, Ep Dr David Marlin - Bringing your horse back into work - 20 Jan 2023

16/01/2023

Amazing lady - but true words. It’s what you make of the cards you are dealt.

02/01/2023

Worth a read. I think this issue is going to affect all of us sooner than you’d think.

TO CONTINUE TO ENJOY HORSE SPORT WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR MINDSET!

So I predict that 2023 is going to be a very important period for Equestrian Sport. The concept of Social Licence to Operate is increasingly moving to the forefront.

In 2022 I gave around five presentations on the topic to various Stakeholders and equestrian groups. The Sporthorse Welfare Foundation ran a Delphi project to ask the industry what it thinks about itself. And we ran a poll on this page of over 4000 equestrians. This data will be made public shortly but 24% felt the welfare of sport horses is often compromised and 17% felt animal activists often had a point and 62% felt they sometimes had a point when criticising horse sport. But only 15% felt our SLO was greatly under threat.

We can dismiss and excuse, but our SLO doesn't depend on what WE THINK. It depends on what society thinks - equine and lay.

Did those involved in bear-baiting, cock-fighting and dog-fighting a few hundred years ago ever think it would be banned? No. An extreme example, but who knows how we will be judged in our use of horses today in 200 years time?

Change may be slow or it may be fast. It may creep up on us without us even realising.

So for 2023, whatever you do with horses, I would ask you to think how that might come across to the non-horse public. We should all see ourselves as AMBASSADORS for what we love doing. And not just COMPETING, but also even just OWNING and RIDING horses.

So for 2023, let's not bury our heads in the sand, because if we do, when we eventually come up for air we might find things have changed dramatically and in a way we don't like. And then it will be too late to go back.