Equine Head to Tail by Billie Morris

16/11/2025

Fascinating ❤️

13/11/2025

Not particularly horsey but, I’m interested in what the animal charity bosses earn.

Aside from all that, surely if charity bosses took a pay cut, the ones who are exceedingly well paid and payed that back into the charity they front, the charities would be able to spend their money more wisely. 🤔

Just a thought.🧐💬

11/11/2025

It has been a tough time recently for our equine friends. First the non-stop fireworks which have caused no end of trauma and in some cases resulting in a number of injuries and deaths.

And no, I am not being dramatic.

And now we have this stormy weather. The rain has been at times torrential, driven by strong winds. It makes me think of the horses and ponies who have no shelter. When I say no shelter, I mean no trees to get under or hedges which are tall enough to provide some protection. Even if a horse is rugged, he still needs some sort of shelter. Field shelters are great when facing the right way and not at the bottom of a hill. But who can guarantee the wind and rain will blow the right way?

So our poor horses are not only at the mercy of over feeding, under feeding, over rugging, under rugging, lack of basic horsemanship but the elements as well.

Well done us!

Photo of the dreaded electric tape that tends to fall down in a breeze.

06/11/2025

This lot are often a waste of time, other charities have to step in and do their job for them, but, they just might have the clout to change the law regarding fireworks. Something needs to be done.

Did fireworks affect your pets last night? You're not alone 😔

A massive 66% of animals are negatively impacted by private firework displays. In 2024 alone, we received 1,084 heartbreaking stories from people whose animals experienced fear during this stressful season.

Your voice matters, and sharing your experience helps us push for real change. If your animals have been affected, please complete our short survey: https://bit.ly/3YIqpam

06/11/2025

Bit of a rant…..

Well last night was a lovely night for firework lovers in my area. I have absolutely no problem with firework displays provided that the local population are warned in advance. People are entitled to enjoy themselves.

But four and a half hours of the damn things??

Come on play fair. 9.35pm was the time it finally stopped.

Is it any wonder animals are so frightened? Not to mention children getting eniugh sleep for school the next day.

But in this world of self entitlement, who cares?

The sooner they make quieter fireworks the better.

Rant over.

04/11/2025

Horses are like people. They are all different. Some like to be in, either in a stable or a field shelter or barn. Some like to be out all the time. Do what suits your horse. He’s the one who has to live in whatever arrangement you have.

My mare loved her stable, she enjoyed going out but she was never a 24/7 out in the field type. There were times that I wished she would have been happy to stay out, but it wasn’t to be.

During her last summer, she decided that she wanted to stay out overnight. In all the 30 years I owned that mare, she had never wanted to stay out overnight. So she stayed out at night for a few weeks until she decided that normal service could resume back to being stabled at night.

I do think that as horses get older, they feel the cold more, they don’t tolerate hot weather and flies as well as they did when they were younger. They also don’t do quite as well in wet weather. In short, they are like us, they become more sensitive to the elements as they age.

Elderly and sensitive horses need extra care, I don’t care what other people think. What seems to be missing in the horse world these days, is basic common sense and the ability to stand up for what your horse needs.

02/11/2025

Are these relentless (at the moment) fireworks scaring your horses?

There are a few things you can do to help reduce the noise.

1) cotton wool packed in the ears.

2) ear plugs.

3) inserts for the ears of your fly bonnet.

4) acoustic fly hood.

5) titanium mask.

My mare was never really bothered by loud bangs, unfortunately my lurcher has made up for that. But as she is now quite deaf, the dog that is, I see that as a blessing.

I live in a rural area and yet every single night during the last two weeks, the sound of fireworks just goes on and on. I really feel for everyone and their animals affected by this noise.

Hope this helps. 🤞🤞

28/10/2025

Have you noticed the amount of horses and ponies available for loan or sale at the moment? Have you noticed that the majority of them are ex-racehorses?

With winter approaching, I wonder just how many of these horses will be chucked out in a field and left to basically fend for themselves. The ‘lucky’ ones being rugged up. The unlucky ones left exposed to the elements.

The cost of keeping horses has become absolutely ridiculous, from vets, farriers, feed, bedding, insurance and basic equipment.

Why is it so difficult to find a yard to keep your horse on that is safe and actually geared up to allow, yes that is the right word, allow a horse to live as he should live, with access to daily turnout. Everyone seems to be terrified of grass these days.

It’s all about the money, the actual horse comes way down the list. I suspect that over the coming months, the horse charities are going to be very busy. They are busy now with people being unable to provide for their horses, but with all the rest of the crap that is going on in the UK at the moment, it will be even worse.

If the equestrian world would take more responsibility with breeding and concentrated less on how much money they can make out of these horses, thoroughbreds in particular. Then maybe there would be less unwanted horses.

It’s not hard to work out. Less horses and ponies being bred, means in the long run, less unwanted animals being discarded when there is no room for them, money has dried up, they are sick or lame or both. And the elderly who have given endless pleasure throughout their lives could be allowed to enjoy a retirement. Not sent to a sale or knackers yard.

We need to do better.

13/10/2025

Wind Ops.

Over the years I spent in racing in National
Hunt, flat and point-to-point yards, it was always drummed into us riders, to get our horses as fit as we possibly could. After all, isn’t that the purpose of the job?

At the beginning of my riding career, there were very few and I mean just the odd horse who required a wind op. As I neared the end, it seemed to be the go to method to improve a horses wind. I often asked myself why was it, that an op was necessary in the first place.

Why do some horses have noisy wind? I was taught that if a horse is making a noise when he is cantering and galloping then he is probably not quite fit enough to run in a race. But then there are the exceptions, the horses who just cannot get their breath, one minute they are travelling and the next it feels like they have hit a brick wall.

Horses can’t function if they cannot draw enough air into their lungs. They also need to be able to breathe out, ridding the lungs of carbon dioxide. When the horse is exercising, the larynx opens up to allow the horse to breathe, but in some horses the left side of the larynx isn’t able to stay open. This can become worse as the horse gets tired. This is why some horses make a noise whilst cantering and galloping. That whistling sound is the larynx struggling to stay open.

Another reason why a horse can struggle to breathe when tired, is the soft palate at the back of the roof of the mouth. As it weakens it drops down and can cover the oral and nasal passages so that the horse has to breath through his mouth. This results in a gurgling sound.

So this brings me back to getting horses properly fit for the job you are intending to do with them. Take the extra time, put in the work and maybe the horse can be spared having surgery.