Equine Head to Tail by Billie Morris

08/02/2025

Have a read of this 👇
This post is 100% right.
People these days are turning to ‘therapists’ for their horses who have no where near the experience they seem to think they have. Yet the therapists who do have the knowledge and experience are pushed to one side. Usually in favour of the latest gimmick.
Then to make matters worse, they the owner then complain to other therapists about who they have used.
Do me a favour either complain to the therapist who actually treated your horse or just shut the f*** up.

So I posted this on my private page as often we are silenced by the popular but I really want to raise awareness about so called therapy practices that have most decent therapists sat picking their jaw off the floor at what horses are put through in the name of therapy
We often call trainers and riders out on abuse while ego filled therapists seem to get away Scott free

Why should we stay silent because what this guy is doing here is in no way therapeutic for the horse yet the likes and oohs in the comments are to me so disappointing especially as I recognise other therapists
I have called it out before and been at the end of abuse for saying simply what I see

Therapy over the years has degraded and it's sad that while some of us are trying to make a change we get labels such as trouble maker, not playing by the rules and usually the same labels as horses that don't want to put up with people's s**t but I can't sit quiet and say nothing or only share in a place where fellow therapists who I trust are out there not doing this s**t

Simply you cannot hypnotise fu***ng horses, but you certainly can press in areas to appear you are some mystical being😒
Putting the leg over a horses head or sitting on the head does absolutely nothing therapeutic wise

Owners please look at your horses reaction to a therapists hands its not always an explosive reaction that means it's unhappy a horse that is spaced out wobbling side to side with it's head to the floor is probably exploding on the inside
Check people's credentials but also check i with your horse to see if their credentials are worthy

If I get cancelled so be it facebook is not where I earn a living

But please think of the horse not the ego when you call a therapist we are there first to do no harm

Just to add even as militant as I am in being a voice for the horse i to am guilty of being quietened for fear of reprisal by "bigger" names but isn't that exactly what the horse does stays quiet for fear of something worse happening
And people wonder why I don't collab it's because most people are not in it for the horse and those that are are shunned by those who want to stay in cliques

Just adding this isn't a picture it's a screenshot i took off a reel and there is loads of videos even worse are the training vids
P.s I am not a man hater neither do I own a pitchfork 😀😀

06/02/2025

The Blame Game.

There are some truly awful posts of animals and human beings who are or have been abused. Yet the very organisations who are supposed to be looking out for and stepping in to protect these animals and people appear to be looking the other way. Is it because they are so inundated with what is going on that they just can’t cope, or is it that the money that was there, has either been misappropriated or spent many times over and has dried up due to the volume of cases they have had to deal with.

Take all these dog attacks, why are so many dog’s untrained, resulting in accidents and attacks. Why are so many horses unrideable in some cases, why can’t the riders and handlers manage these horses from the ground?

Maybe we need to look at ourselves first and just stop treating our animals like a child. Dogs are pack animals, when a dog steps out of line in a pack they are reprimanded. The same with a horse, they are herd animals, a horse steps out of line in the herd, they are reprimanded. They know where the boundaries are.

You, the owner, handler, rider are the pack/ herd leader with these animals. Set some boundaries. I don’t mean beat manners into them but a short, sharp reprimand when needed, to remind them how to behave around other animals and people could result in fewer accidents and unwanted animals, then again it might not.

But on the whole we need to buck our ideas up, man up, stop being sheep following people who have absolutely no idea what they are doing but are so quick to criticise. Treat your horse or dog, as a horse or a dog. Accept the blame for when your animal misbehaves, don’t blame the animal for your wishy washy attitude.

My dog is never on a lead, she never leaves my side. I trained her to be that way as I have trained all my dogs. My horse was trained to never step out of the stable until I said so. It’s not hard, it’s called respect from both sides.

04/02/2025

Subsidised training for people with ex racehorses, learn with your horse.

Ready to enjoy some of the fantastic Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme (TAP) training that's on offer near you? Then bookings are being taken already for the subsidised sessions being delivered by our hand-picked Level 3 and above certified coaches.

All dates can be found on the Horse Monkey TAP page which you can find here http://bit.ly/4gnA24H . By mid January they will also start appearing on our website so that you can book them directly from there also.

There are already more than thirty dates scheduled for the first few months of January with many more being added over the next few days and weeks. If you region hasn't got anything booked in yet, just let us know that you would like some and we will let the coaches know that are covering that region.

Bookings are all on a first-come-first-served so do get yourself booked in early. We can't wait to meet as many of you as possible who are giving these fantastic horses new futures outside of racing!

25/01/2025

There’s a post doing the rounds about the negativity and the trolling that some individuals think they are entitled to put on social media. I have been subjected to these so called keyboard warriors. My take is, if you don’t like it, then don’t read it, scroll on past. Do not indulge in a character assignation plot. There’s no need for it.

This brings me to a lady I am helping with her lovely horse.

Her horse is in my eyes, absolutely stunning, but the utter jealousy, rumours created and bitching she has been subjected to over the past few years is unbelievable. No doubt I’ll cop it now, but I really don’t care.

She has looked after this horse to best of her ability, he always looks well and happy. She has stood by him when he has behaved like a dick and he can have some epic tantrums. But they love one another. They understand one another.

Every time I see them, I am drumming into her that she is good enough, she is good enough to ride her horse, she is actually a pretty good rider. So it makes me wonder about how many other good horse people are out there being put down, being made to feel that they aren’t good enough for their horse.

The people doing the putting down really need to stop, have a good long look at themselves and even their own abilities and maybe just shut the f*** up. It’s not clever chipping away at someone’s confidence because you wish you had that particular horse.

17/01/2025

A lot of subsidised training taking place this month for riders of Throughbreds via the Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme (TAP).

If you haven't already booked there are four training days taking place this weekend with various sessions on offer along with many more commencing next week - all of which can be found on the Horse Monkey booking link below.

This weekend:
18 January - Sarah Tubbs - Flat/Polework/Jump Clinic
at Marwood Equestrian, Barnard Castle

18 January - Jo Burns Firth - Polework / Jump Clinic
at Hill House Equestrian Centre, Market Rasen

19 January - Joanne Alderton Whitworth - Flatwork
at Moores Farm, Gloucestershire

19th January - Carl Belson - Flat/Polework/Jump Clinic
at Farley Hall Equestrian, Swallowfeld

https://horsemonkey.com/search?s=the%20howden%20way%20thoroughbred%20aftercare%20programme

09/01/2025

Is your horse over sensitive? Or is it you who’s nervous of being around horses or one horse in particular?

I’m seeing posts of people waving plastic bags on the end of sticks at horses saying that they are desensitising the horse. Seriously? I wonder how much is being charged for this wondrous ‘treatment’.

A horse is a flight animal, of course he wants to get away from what he perceives as dangerous. If cornered he can become self defensive, that’s natural. So the horse can’t win. He’s either classed as a flight risk or aggressive.

What is wrong with just allowing the horse to investigate his surroundings, allowing him to take it all in. But then again people are in such a rush to get a horse ‘going’ they don’t put the work in to let the horse assimilate his surroundings and to learn from other horses who know how their world works.

The main problem from what I can see, is that the rider and or handlers are nervous and lacking in experience. Nervous riders create nervous horses. You, the rider are there to encourage the horse, not the other way round. If you are over horsed get some help. Proper experienced help. There is no shame in asking for help.

When I was a groom in polo, I was put in charge of some ponies who had recently come over from Germany. They were absolutely bomb proof, nothing and I mean nothing fazed them. Turns out that their field in Germany was in the middle of an army shooting range. They were used to mortars being fired over their heads from one side of their field to the other. They weren’t traumatised, before the keyboard warriors set up shop, they had learnt in a herd that just because loud banging was going on, it was not the end of the world. They were also happy to be taken away from their herd with no dramas. They had been handled correctly and they were an absolute pleasure to handle.

With ex racehorses, they have done nearly everything and so they take most things in their stride. They have been handled regularly and properly, they are fed according to the work they are doing and they are exercised by riders who are not worried about a few bucks and spooks. They are in a regular routine. Horses like routine.

Unfortunately they are also cheap and too often, end up in well meaning but inexperienced homes where their behaviour goes downhill. Instead of sending them down the plastic bag on a stick route, why not enrol both yourself and your horse on one of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Programmes that are available and learn together.

24/12/2024

THOROUGHBRED Aftercare Programme's (TAP) launch at the Howden Christmas Racing Weekend at Ascot Racecourse is the latest evolution in the significant investment made into eventing by David Howden.

23/12/2024

Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to all my followers and everyone who has liked, shared and commented on my posts over the year.
Roll on 2025🐎🥳

23/12/2024

So sad. We definitely need a better system to keep a check on these horses.

The horse, identified as War Envoy, spent the latter part of his career running for different connections in California before falling into the wrong hands

22/12/2024

Have a listen to this. Well done Howden 👍

19/12/2024

Leading on from my last post and also after reading and sharing Mills Stables Retraining Racehorses, I would also like to share my concerns not only about ex racehorse welfare but also the amount of people who are advertising and answering adverts for rider’s who to be honest are limited in their ability.

Please, if you are going to use one of these so called riders and or grooms make sure that they can do what they say. Your horses life may depend on it and who’s to say that the rider won’t come back to claim off you if they have an accident. I can guarantee that the horse will be blamed if such an incident occurred.

Ex racehorses come from a structured lifestyle, fed at a certain time every single day. Exercised within a three hour window, every day depending on how many horses and riders there are on the yard. No, they are not ridden for three hours, they probably get on average 20 to 50 minutes exercise a day. But that exercise has been carefully planned out for the horse in question.

They have access to spas, walkers, treadmills, salt rooms, they are taken on hacks and other trips out. They are washed down with warm water after exercise. They are turned out regularly in fields or paddocks. They are ridden on good surfaces, not crappy stoney tracks and roads. Take note of that one for the barefoot supporters, TB’s have thin soles and the wall of the hoof is often thin as well. And yet we are so surprised when they develop foot abscess. They have regular physio, did you know that their skin is thinner than ours? Dental checks are carried out every three months, and of course vets are on hand pretty much all the time. They are shod regularly. At my old yard we also had nutritionists. With every batch of feed delivered, a sample was sent off to make sure it was safe to use, it didn’t contain anything potentially harmful to the horses.

So your ex racehorse has been given the best of everything, then he comes out of racing and the bubble bursts. He is usually homed on a livery yard, he doesn’t understand why he hasn’t been fed with the first horse that received his breakfast at 6am or whenever. He doesn’t understand what you are asking of him when you want to use natural horsemanship, or other types of handling. He is confused, he then gets frightened because all he wants to do is to please you. He then, in your eyes, becomes a nightmare to handle and ride. You lose your confidence with him and then you are both locked in a vicious circle of doubt and fear.

Please approach and ask for help from the numerous ex racehorse rehabilitation yards, they won’t look down on you, they just want to see your horse have a good, happy and settled life out of racing.

Oh, and don’t b**g them full of feed, keep it simple, feed good quality hay, nuts chaff. They aren’t working like they used to but make any changes gradual, that includes your natural horsemanship. There’s nothing wrong with it, just introduce it gradually.

17/12/2024

Having spent 40 years riding a huge assortment of horses and also being a bit fitter, I have learnt that strong bits aren’t always the answer. It’s usually a mixture of schooling and an understanding of the horse you are sat on.

Personally I am in my happy place sat on a quirky horse, but not everyone agrees with that. I have been able to draw on my experiences with what tack and bits go with which horse to make everyone’s lives nice and easy.

What I have noticed though, is that most horses go well just being left alone in simple tack. Sit quiet and listen. You will be surprised at the information you will learn from the horse.

I rode a filly years ago in racing who used to put her head down and ‘go for it’! I found that if I set her up, got my reins where I wanted them at the very start of the gallop, didn’t fidget, and left her alone, she was a lovely ride. Yes her head was low, but that was HER way of going.

I think people are frightened of being dumped off the horse, so they tighten everything up. I can assure you, you are more likely to be buried when you have a strangle hold on the horse.

Another of my favourite bits of tack is a bib martingale. The horse can’t run ‘through’ that if he takes a hold.

Most race yards use them on their horses, they also use Australian nose bands for keen horses. It works physiologically for the most part, something going down their face and the bit is held in place.

15/12/2024

This shows healthy fascia doing it’s job.

11/12/2024

This article on having an ex-racehorse is spot on. All you so called horse experts who have absolutely NO idea how to handle let alone ride a racehorse TAKE NOTE.

10/12/2024

This is an interesting article. A few years ago I knew a mare who as she got older started to flip over, I mean just flip over for no apparent reason, she would then get up and stand there as though nothing had happened. She had poor muscle in her neck which just didn’t add up with the way she was worked and appeared to be otherwise fit and healthy and pain free. It was always in the back of my mind about malformation of the C6 and C7.
The mare was put down as a result of her flipping over, maybe now, there would have been some way to help her, but at the time there was little information or indeed treatment available.

There has been so much going on around the topic of ECVM, this congenital malformation is one we are diagnosing, managing and studying at Denali Equine in partnership with Rexos Inc, under the guidance of the legendary Dr. Sharon May-Davis. We wanted to give you the top ten points on ECVM facts. (Sorry this is long- Well worth the full read!)

1. ECVM is a congenital condition, meaning they are born with it. We suspect it is a recessive genetic disorder because two unaffected adults can produce offspring with it. There are several groups racing to find the genetics behind this condition. More information on the horizon.

2. ECVM is not a fatal diagnosis. However, it can be. It depends on the severity of the malformation and how well the horse can functionally compensate.

3. Radiographs of the lower neck are necessary to diagnose the condition. These radiographs must be clear lateral and obliques of C6, C7 and ideally T1. These can be done in the field for most horses. However larger generators do get better images.

4. Variability: Horses can be either a bilateral or unilateral malformation of C6, which in 52% of C6 cases can transpose either bilaterally or unilaterally. To C7; T1 and the first ribs are variably affected.

5. Studies show horses with transposition of the ventral lamina to C7 are more likely to suffer from clinical neck pain than horses with normal anatomy. In our experience horses with rib malformations have more severe clinical signs than those with normal ribs (no clear studies yet).

6. The bones absolutely do not tell the whole story. However, bones do not lie. They often indicate the level of soft tissue malformations present. The more severe the boney changes- the more severe the soft tissue is altered around them.

7. Clinical picture: all horses are not lame, but they do all have subtle clinical signs. Most often the clinical signs are not limb related lameness (but can be). These horses can show signs of the pain ethogram, rearing, sporadic behavior, abnormal front limb flight patterns (especially with equipment), girthiness, resistance to go forward, doesn’t like physical touch (brushing, blanketing ex). The signs are so variable for every horse!

8. The common things heard from owners/trainers:
* The horse was always bad from the start (this is concerning for the more severe cases)
* The horse was fine until it wasn’t. We find this is from something changed in the program. i.e., was imported, switched barns, changed jobs.
* They don’t understand why the horse is failing quicker than usual as it gets older. As the horse ages the clinical signs become more apparent. The body can only manage for so long. Think of it this way- the foundation was built wrong from the beginning. Therefore, it takes time for the cracks in your walls or floors to show, it then takes those cracks a while before they become a structural problem in your house.
* A minor incident happened and now they’re not ok. Suspect an injury can cause the horse to spiral out of stabilization or have the ability to compensate. An example could be getting cast or trailering event then the horse was never the same. Example, you do not know your house wasn’t built well until the storm blows it over.

9. These horses have significant soft tissue pathology on necropsies. Therefore, no matter what the data is showing us: If the horse has ECVM, is clinical, and other differentials have been ruled out these horses are clinically affected by the ECVM.

10. On necropsies we have found:
* Missing, malformed and fractured ribs
* Abnormal nerve patterns, these nerves can be totally entrapped and compressed by abnormal muscle patterns. The dorsal scalene can trap the large nerves of the brachial plexus within its abnormal paths. The phrenic nerve can get pulled inappropriately and leave impressions within the ventral scalene.
* Abnormal muscles: dorsal scalene, ventral scalene, iliocostalis, longus coli, re**us abdominal, intercostal muscles, serratus ventails cervicis. All these muscles have critical roles in stability, proprioception, and biomechanics.
* Abnormal vascular patterns
* Trachea abnormalities
* Fascial changes

ECVM is currently a controversial and sensitive topic so we thought we would share a few known quick facts to help you understand this issue better. Please go to our website (www.DenaliEquine.com) to find more information and links to the current studies on this disease. We are researching and studying these horses! We are working on several angles of research right now throughout Non-Profit Rexos Inc. If you would like more information on how you can help, please reach out!

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