Horse Weighbridge North East

13/07/2025

𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 😍

Palomino was always my favourite colour growing up. I remember being in awe when I saw one for the first time as a horseless kid. ✨️😍

The Mary-Kate and Ashley PlayStation game would occasionally give you a palomino and I'd be very excited (I'm feeling a little nostalgic, okay 😆), they are just sooo pretty ! ✨️🤩

I now lean towards the chaos and irregularity of patchy horses 🐄 and I'm pretty fond of dun and chestnuts too. 🐴

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿? 🌈

P.s. professional, serious content will follow soon I promise!

13/07/2025

A reshare from 2022 ♻️

Today is the second day of the Great Yorkshire Show and in recognition of all the fabulous combinations gracing the show ring, I figured it was quite a fitting time to speak about combined weight of the horse and rider. ⚖️

Rider weight and horse capability is a sensitive subject and one which is increasingly in the spotlight. Ridden horses are expected to not only carry our weight, but to perform under that weight. As the population of both horses and riders gets heavier, the debate surrounding rider:horse weight ratios intensifies.

The Great Yorkshire Show has valiantly lead the discussion on rider and horse weight over the last few years. You may recall back in 2016 the controversy when 8 people were asked to dismount having been deemed too heavy for the horse they were riding.
This year sees the show draw our focus to horse weight with initiatives for appropriately conditioned equines granted in many showing classes. This is brilliant progress for the showing world, a sphere where historically many an obese equine has been rewarded. 🦏

A key element of equine welfare of the ridden horse includes an appreciation for the affect of rider weight on the horse. It's commonly but problematically cited that horses should carry no more than 20% of their bodyweight (Powell et al, 2008). For a 500kg horse that equates 11.8 stone (15%) or 15.7 stone (20%). However, this study is flawed in a lot of respects and more recent data has disproved many elements of the original study. ❌

📜 A 2020 study from Aarhus University of Denmark concluded that there were no changes in behavior and physiological parameters in horses during low intensity exercise when rider weight increased by 15 and 25%.

📜 Conversely, a 2020 pilot study by Dyson et al showed that riders of a heavier weight induced temporary lameness and behaviors consistent with musculoskeletal pain in their horses. The rider:horse bodyweights for this study were between 15.3% and 27.5%.

❓So what is the right ratio?❓

The answer is far from straightforward. In horse racing, lead weights are placed in the saddle cloth in order to handicap a horse and make races more competitive. Logic would suggest that the locomotion of a horse would be impaired if the horse were subject to additional weight, but of course the variables are vast. There still remains a lack of scientific evidence on which to set guidelines for the everyday horse and rider combination. 🏇

In my work I find it useful to translate excessive horse weight from KG into Stone to demonstrate how problematic it is for a horse to be an unhealthy weight and body condition. For example, if a horse is 70kg overweight I will often say that it is carrying around an 11 stone rider all the time. This is, of course, to be taken with a pinch of salt as the excess bodyweight is not placed in one area as it is with a rider and will have been gained over time. In sum, carrying excessive body weight wouldn't be the same as being ridden continuously,(obviously!).

The reason this analogy still remains a useful way to address the Equine Obesity crisis is because once we add a rider to an already overweight horse we can easily agree that carrying two loads of rider weight is problematic. 💡

🧮 A hypothetical example: Take an overweight horse (BCS at least 7/9) who's healthy bodyweight is 500kg. It is deemed by a professional that the horse is carrying around 70kg in excess bodyweight. This then coupled with an 11 stone rider totals at 140kg excess weight (before tack) during ridden work. 140kg is 28% of 500kg exceeding the bodyweight ratios which induced temporary lameness in the recent pilot study by Dyson et al. Based on the findings from Dyson et al study, it would be fair to conclude that lameness may be likely in this hypothetical horse when under saddle. If this horse lost the 70kg in bodyweight, its ratio would reduce to 14%, a percentage where no lameness was seen in the study.

This analogy may be a bit of a blunt instrument to use when tackling such a sensitive topic and when I speak of horse:rider ratios I am by no means trying to single out riders of certain weights or sizes. I truly believe equestrianism has a place for all and no one should be alienated from the joy which horses bring. 🌍

The main take away from my ramblings today is to make you think about your own personal rider:horse bodyweight percentage and decide if changes need to happen. 🤔

📩 If you would like some insight into your horse's bodyweight, please send me a PM and book in for a weighbridge session. Prices from just £10.00 per horse! 📩

A massive thanks to the initiative organised by The Horse Trust and University of Liverpool for bringing this topic into focus and good luck to everyone competing today.

Thanks to Dustyn and Steph for being such willing models 🌟

Please like and share.

12/07/2025

𝗜𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺? 🩹🤔

With the 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 range of supplements on the market, you'd be forgiven for mixing one, two or maybe even three different powders into the daily bucket feed.

We've all been there, focused on a specific ailment or behaviour and wanting to 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘁. 🛠️

It is easy for companies to cash in on our want for a quick solution, using words like "ulcer", "lami" or "calm" to pe*****te our heart and purse strings. It's 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟭𝟬𝟭 and something most feed companies do very well. ✅💰

The thing is, there's 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 to your horse's state of mind, performance and general wellbeing then what is provided in a 50ml scoop of powder. 🧘‍♀️♾️

In my opinion, things like 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 and 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 can make a far bigger difference than the latest "magic" concoction. 🪄

We need to be 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 when choosing a supplement on the hope it helps with a pathology or condition, particularly when used in avoidance of a vet. For example, when we want to achieve "calmness" we should first consider 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 over 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. For ulcers, we should assess 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 and the feed regime. For laminitis, we must first consider the 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 and (where appropriate) the 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 of your horse. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭! 🦸

Sometimes, we put so much pressure on a supplement out of desperation 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, when a yard move, a pain review or a change of routine could be a better solution. 💡

That being said, I am no conspiracy theorist, and a balanced diet undoubtedly contributes to good health. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 but there are also a whole tonne of 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 ones too (for example iron supplements when very few horses are deficient in iron*...) ❌

Trying to achieve a 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁 to overcome any potential 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 will, of course, be of benefit to your horse but if you achieve a balanced diet whilst keeping your horse in a stressful environment or in chronic pain, you may find your efforts seemingly redundant. 🤷

𝙎𝙤.... 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩❓
Usually yes, but not at the cost of ignoring the other contributing factors to a behaviour, deficiency or pathology.

𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙙𝙤 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙❓
It depends. When balancing a diet, we are speculating what is provided by the forage. There are common deficiencies we can counter by using a quality balancer at the correct feedrate, but each horse has different requirements based on workload, age and condition and as such I avoid giving sweeping recommendations online.

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 or 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?
𝗜'𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄. 👇👇

*https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30269378/ 📖

12/07/2025

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 👋

How's your Saturday going?

11/07/2025

𝗨𝗞 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 🌱🥵

With areas of the UK enforcing a 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗻, it goes without saying that grass growth has steadied quite considerably in the last few weeks. Yorkshire has received 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 so far meaning many of us are battling with arid conditions and poor growth.🏜️

The Scotland and the North East of England lead the way in terms of grass growth for mainland UK, with the Midlands, Yorkshire and the South West struggling the most for growth. 📉

For those with good doers, this could be a welcome sign, but it is always worth assessing your horse's body condition and gut health before making rash decisions. My own pasture actually has a lot of grass still, so it is worth assessing case by case.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲?🌱🌱

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🌐 www.horseweighbridgenortheast.com 🌐

11/07/2025

💦💧🐴

06/07/2025

Last night I went to the press preview of Kynren which was 𝗔𝗪𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘. 🎆🐴

This morning I had a 4.30am alarm as my first appointment is in Carlisle at 8am ☕️🚚💨

🏞

03/07/2025

Would any of my clients be interested in taking part in this study ? Exciting new products to be tested ! 🐴🌱

📈🔎🔬Can you help? Do you fancy a Summer project?🔬🔎📈

Here at Trickle Net HQ we never stop thinking about feeding horses better. As part of our commitment in designing products to improve equine welfare, we always perform in house testing and research on new products, before we seek to confirm our findings through independent studies. Often being privileged to work with Universities or other wonderful professionals in our field.
This is what makes us the experts in the field of trickle feeding👍

This time, we would like to invite YOU to take part in a wider field study, looking at how new materials and designs can influence our horses forage consumption. We are particularly interested in observing the DM intake with our new designs and compare our data to published studies on pasture intake.
Is this something of interest to you? Would you like to learn with us, and be credited for your input? Well read on....

We are looking for any suitable yards and horses with owners or managers who can commit to undertaking our study method, and collecting accurate data on one day per week over a four week period.
The study aims to understand the consumption rate of the horses usual forage when presented in our new product, which uses a material and construction we have not used before. In particular we are looking at 3 different aperture sizes and their impact and relationship to the DM consumption rate in this type of delivery method.

Would you like to get involved?

Each of our Sample Yards must be able to meet the following criteria.

👉 There must be at least one group of 4 equines following the same daily management routine. This must involve feeding a minimum of 4kg of forage per day per equine, in an unshared space such as a stable.
👉 The horses must be healthy. - Not in recovery and not requiring soaked forage or haylage. Equines with a high BCS are not suitable for this study.
👉 The forage type fed to any group of 4 equines must be the same. Same cut of hay, same Round or Heston bale etc.
👉 One person is willing to oversee the research and supervise or conduct accurate data collection on the same day per week, over 4 weeks.

You will have plenty of support throughout the study, with access to a Registered Nutritionist who has designed the method and will be available throughout for questions and any guidance required.
The study is designed not to interfere with your horses daily management, and allows for habituation periods. The method is simple to follow, and data collection is one day per week for the four weeks.

What do you get for taking part?

You get to keep the products supplied (RRP £180) and you'll get another bundle of products sent out to you on completion of the study.
We will credit you or your business and thank you within the research report on our website and in and public articles.
You'll receive a lifetime discount on Trickle Net products.
You may be asked to participate in future research.

This would be an ideal summer project for equine students, but participation is not restricted to student. The study is open to all who are interested and can fulfill the criteria.

If you would like to apply to take part, please contact [email protected] with your details, and a paragraph about your yard set up, horses and your relevant experience.

Please share this opportunity 😊

01/07/2025

And finally ! This gorgeous lady yesterday 😍🐶

01/07/2025

On the next episode of weighing non-equids .... meat Tuna the Ryland lamb 🐏🐟👶

01/07/2025

"𝑨 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚'𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈!" claims Marley. 🐶😝

30/06/2025

I really want to run a series of posts about 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀. 🐴✨️

But first...I have a confession. 🫣

𝗜'𝗺 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗱 🤓

When I was little, I used to read horse breed books 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 📚

In fact, I was such a nerd about breeds that I'd note down all the defining features of each breed and see which had 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝘀. When I was allowed on the computer, I started putting this list in a document, saving it to a floppy disc. 👵💾

From The Shire to the Morgan to the American Baskir Curly, even now I could pretty accurately recite their acceptable height, colour and other features. 🌈🔍
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙨? I hear you ask. 🤷‍♀️😆

Well...
Many breeds have developed 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 features to help them excel in their designated sphere. Things like cow hocks in Clydesdales or the sloping shoulders of the Hackney Carriage Horse are features curated for what the horse was bred to do, which is really handy to know when it comes to 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 💯

Many breeds carry their fat differently due to their conformation. A fat Thoroughbred could still have easily felt ribs, and a healthy draught could have what appears to be a fatty behind. This can make body condition scoring quite 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 if done by an untrained eye. 👀

Whilst we need to be careful to not make excuses for fat areas, it serves the horse if we are 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 of where the fat is most likely to go and how their conformation affects this. 🐎📏

Moreover, when we ask specialist breeds to do something which is a far cry from their intended career, we need to be 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 and 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 in our expectations.🏆

This can make weight management tricky when you are unable to give a horse the type of exercise they were bred to do and it can leave owners frustrated when the "standard" paths of exercise don't fit their horse, or are something their horse struggles with. 🤸‍♀️😩

I think as an industry we need to be more appreciative of the limitations facing certain breeds when it comes to their performance in a chosen sphere. The dog world is better at appreciating this, but in a similar way to the horse world the pet dog industry sees certain breeds reprimanded for traits which have been selected specifically for a use. More often than not, 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲. 🧬

I am going to run a series of fun, educational posts over the next few weeks detailing the nuisances of some 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲? Comment below 👇👇