Angela's Equine Solutions

28/11/2023

Giving Tuesday!!!

Today is the day!

Irvin is encouraging you to give him a little gift today!

Giving Tuesday, established in 2012, is a global movement encouraging people to engage in acts of kindness. Over the past 11 years, it has evolved into a year-round initiative, inspiring millions to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

We are gearing up for winter expense, which include higher electric costs with all the heated water buckets, more hay to keep everyone warm, as well as more straw and more shavings!

Please consider giving this Tuesday ❤️
L I n k I n b I o ! Or you can use this link!

https://solsticesanctuary.networkforgood.com/projects/209680-solstice-sanctuary-giving-tuesday-2023?utm_campaign=dms_email_blast_2918403

14/11/2023

17/02/2023

29/11/2022

It’s always interesting to see how timelines shift in life. Two years ago I would have been shopping Cyber Monday deals for my Training and Lesson business, along with gathering any items for the bodywork side of it, now I stare at a little bar on Giving Tuesday that calculates the donations that come in for our sanctuary.

It’s always been for the animals, it’s just shifted to the animals that truly need my existence on earth.

Giving Tuesday is here!!!

We are excited to welcome all of our new followers and supporters! If you can find it in your heart to donate please do- even $5 can buy a bale of hay!

If every new person that has joined the sanctuary in the last month, through social media, would donate just $10 we could raise over $300!

Please use this link below and share this post!

https://solsticesanctuary.networkforgood.com/projects/178191-giving-tuesday

04/10/2022

We did big things today!

Please consider donating!

Please share this post!

We are almost home with four sweet souls. It was difficult to decide which four we picked. We decided on the four that we felt needed us the most.

“Bodhi”- Top left, young stud c**t, he was scared and buddied up to two other young horses, he will take a little bit of patience because he has not been handled and does not understand what a halter is. He has the kindest eye.

“Reya”- Young thoroughbred mare. She sustained multiple injuries during the auction process, multiple cuts, abrasions and open wounds. She is lively and already starting to trust a team member.

“Merla”- This sweet senior mare has an injured knee and is in loads of pain. She also has cushings, and tendon issues in the hind end. Even though she has injuries she still shows the others she can be the boss.

“Cassia”- This quiet young mare is a 10 year old Quarter Horse with multiple injuries and a terrible abscess in her hind end. She cuddled all of the team members today. We have high hopes regardless of all her health issues.

The mission of the sanctuary is to help animals who have experienced trauma, we connected with these four today because they truly need support, love, healing and safety.

Thank you for all your support and being there with us along this journey. It’s difficult, full of emotions, and exhausting but with everyone supporting us- we can feel the sustainable energy. 🤍

https://solsticesanctuary.networkforgood.com/projects/170868-sanctuary-salvation-campaign

22/07/2022

❤️❤️❤️ Our sweet Josie who is a resident at Solstice Sanctuary!

01/07/2022

17/06/2022

29/05/2022

PSA: Don’t punish your horse just for being a horse.

So often I hear the words, “He’s too expensive to just be a pet. He has to work and have a job.”

I have five horses. Trust me, I know how expensive they are to keep. But that is not the horse’s fault. Do you wake up in the morning and look at your dog and say, “what are you going to do for me today?”

When you tell someone that you have a dog, the first thing they typically ask is “Oh my gosh! What’s his name? What does he look like?! Do you have pictures?!”

The first thing people ask me when I tell them I have a horse is, “Nice. What do you do with him?”

People don’t mean any harm when they say that. It’s just that this view of the horse is a historical thing. From the time you are a little kid, you’re flooded with images of horses being ridden. You learn about horses throughout history that carried soldiers into battle, worked across the Great West, and served a distinct purpose for humans. This doesn’t mean that the people who were using horses as a tool didn’t love, admire or respect them (though we know some didn’t), it just means that the horse has always, throughout time, had a JOB.

But that doesn’t mean they HAVE TO have a job today. It’s not their fault hay prices are out of control, board rates are high and their accident-prone tendencies bring on thousands of dollars of vet bills. It’s not their fault they cost a lot of money to maintain and keep. Horses are beautiful, energetic species just like our dog and cat friends. They should not be forced to have a “job” just because they cost a lot of money.

Now, I’m not saying that your horse shouldn’t be ridden. I’m not saying horses hate having jobs. (Although we know a lot of them don’t actually like what they’re doing.) I’m saying that OUR INTENTION, OUR ENERGY, and OUR ACTIONS need to shift in order to approach the “work” from a place of mutual respect, joy, pride, excitement, and LOVE.

I used to tell my horse, “I work 40 hours a week to afford you. You can work 1 hour a day.” I ignored his attitude, his attempts to communicate with me and his objections because my ego had decided that I worked too hard to not get everything I wanted from that horse on any given day. I was punishing him just for being a horse.

It took time for me to shift my perspective. It took truly seeing the horse as a beautiful, independent being to realize that actually: I worked 40 hours a week to afford him, yes. But he didn’t need to work 1 hour a day to justify that. All he needed to do was look at me with those big brown eyes when I showed up to the barn, nicker softly and breathe against my cheek. THAT was all the “payment” I needed. THAT made the 40-hour work weeks worth it.

Funny thing is? As soon as I dropped the “you owe it to me” schtick, his attitude softened. He offered more to me in terms of “work” than he ever did before. He started ENJOYING rides, taking real pride in what we did together and being a very active participant in everything we did together. It wasn’t the “work” or the “job” that needed to go away. It was the reason I had for asking him to do it. It was MY attitude that needed to change.

It’s been years since that shift occurred for me. Years since I needed to have a horse held at the mounting block so that I could get on. Years since I told my horse they could “suck it up and be ridden” for an hour. And in those years, I’ve seen more horses happy to work, more horses willingly and enthusiastically showing up to sessions, and have felt more fulfilled and proud of the work I do with horses than I ever did when my ego was in charge.

Just some food for thought. Honor yourselves, .

20/04/2022

Allow them time to grow! 🤍

'Backing Your Young Horses'
Written by Vikki Fowler BVetMed BAEDT MRCVS

"There is much info around which leads the reader to think horses age more quickly when they are young and slower as they get older. There is no evidence to support this. Why would the horse be the only animal in the world that ages in a non-linear manner? It doesn’t make sense and is used as an excuse for impatient owners to justify working their immature horses.

Sitting on a horse before maturity has many dangers. It is risking kissing spine, especially if the horse is not conditioned slowly. Sending a horse away as a three year old to go from unbacked to ridden daily in 6-8 weeks is a recipe for disaster. Riding in circles on three year olds damages the hocks. Jumping four year olds is asking for stifle injuries. Pounding the roads pulling traps with two year olds damages every joint in their legs. Any joints asked to take excess pressure before maturity increases the risk of irreparable damage. Maybe a young horse puts down more long bone in response to trauma, to work, but just because a child heals quicker than an adult it's no excuse to cause such damage. An adult is still fully capable of adapting to the work load, just slower, without the collateral damage to the rest of the body.

For every horse that is backed at three and lives a long working life until they are thirty, as a Vet I can show you thousands, tens of thousands that are euthanised before they hit their teens because their bodies are broken. The exception is not the rule.

Fact: A horse ages roughly three times faster than a human, so a 90 year old human is a 30 year old horse. Both very old, usually arthritic, don’t have many of their original teeth left, and very likely retired and enjoying the finer things in life.

A 25 year old horse is a 75 year old human. Some are still happily working but some prefer retirement and an easier life. Often depending on just how hard a life they’ve lived.

A 20 year old horse is a 60 year old human. At that point where the body doesn’t work like it use to but the brain is all there and wants to be active.

A 13 year old horse is a 39 year old human. Middle aged, prime of their life where their knowledge and physical ability are about equal.

So let’s get down to the babies and work our way back up:

A 1-1.5 year old horse is getting their first adult tooth, this happens at 6 years old in a human child.

A 3 year old horse is a 9 year old child.
A child.
Not ready for work by a long stretch. We have moved past sending children down the mines.

A 4 year old horse is a 12 year old child. Often will do odd jobs for pocket money, maybe a paper round, mowing lawns etc. Basically a 4 year old horse can start a bit of light work experience to learn the ropes.

A 5 year old horse is a 15 year old teenager. Think they know it all, cocky, and ready to up their work and responsibilities. Still quite weak and not fully developed so shouldn’t be at their physical limit but can start building strength.

A 5.5 year old horse has just cut their final adult tooth, this happens at 17 years of age in a human.

A 6 year old horse is an 18 year old human. An adult.
Ready to work

An 8 year old horse has achieved full fusion of their final growth plates. This happens at 24 years of age in a human. This is the age it is safe to push a horse for their optimal performance.

Pushing your youngster too hard too young will result in the failure of many body parts. Joints, spine, tendons, ligaments as well as their brains. Waiting another year or two at the beginning could give your horse an extra 10 years of useful working life.
Be patient with your pride and joy!

22/03/2022

*** PLEASE DO NOT GIVE AWAY/SELL YOUR OLD and/or UNRIDEABLE HORSES ***

Today I did one of the saddest euthanasias I have done in a long time. This wasn’t a client of mine, and to be fair, it actually wasn’t this person’s fault. I don’t normally go out to non-clients, but I wasn’t going to say no when I was told the horse had collapsed and couldn’t get up.

I arrived to find an emaciated 20+ year old, riddled with lice. The client had been sold the mare 7 weeks ago, and told she was a 7 year old. The old mare was gobbling away at feed, so she genuinely was just too weak and emaciated to stand. With some really good, strong help, we tried twice to get her up, but she just didn’t want to. So I made the quick decision to let her go.

No horse should end his or her life like that. She was scared, and whickered at me when I came back with the catheter and Somulose. She went with no dignity, in a place she had been for just a couple of months.

I want to cry when I see these awful posts on social media, offering a 20 year old horse for sale “as a companion”, for £50, or “free to good home”. I want to cry even more when I see posts on social media, with people in complete and utter shock and disbelief that the “beloved/much loved etc” horse, that they gave away just two months ago, was now being sold as a ridden horse.

I’m sorry, but wake up. Not many people really want to take on an old horse and the associated vet bills. I do appreciate there are exceptions, but if you are going to give your old or unrideable horse away, do NOT expect to then be able to take the moral high ground when he’s advertised two weeks later. He’s not your property at that point, and, unless your circumstances drastically changed, you didn’t care enough about him to now be “devastated” and “appalled” that he’s being moved on again. I do understand that circumstances can change, but the kindest thing in most (not all) cases at this point, is to let your horse be put to sleep with you, at the home he has known for many years.

A horse is as expensive to keep as a companion as it is a riding horse, so not many people want to take on old or unrideable horses. Or if they do, they don’t have the money to be able to look after the horse properly.

It is obviously completely different if you have known that person for many years, and know the home the horse will be going to, and I know several old horses who have been successfully rehomed to friends, or at least acquaintances.

You could also try a reputable rescue centre, if your financial circumstances changed, but many of these are full to bursting. Rescue centres normally ensure that if the home doesn’t work out, the horse is returned to them again, and therefore won’t be passed around.

If you can’t look after your old and/or unrideable horse, then do the responsible thing, and if you can’t rehome to a person you know extremely well, have them put to sleep at home, with you by their side. Don’t let someone you don’t know, have the horse for free, and sell him two weeks later as a lot younger, or ‘buted up as a ridden horse. Your horse deserves better.

Photo of my old man, Harold, who is rising 22 this year! He hasn’t been ridden for a few years now, and is just an expensive field/stable ornament….as is Molly….as is Mojo….as is William 🤦‍♀️😂

12/03/2022

A great description of why we should be waiting to start horses, the part about vertebrae in warmbloods really surprised me!

This is an absolute must read for every horse owner and especially those with younger horses!
People can certainly debate and argue over different training techniques and styles but we can not argue the science.

"Owners and trainers need to realize there's a definite, easy-to-remember schedule of fusion - and then make their decision as to when to ride the horse based on that rather than on the external appearance of the horse.
For there are some breeds of horse - the Quarter Horse is the premier among these - which have been bred in such a manner as to LOOK mature long before they actually ARE mature. This puts these horses in jeopardy from people who are either ignorant of the closure schedule, or more interested in their own schedule (for futurities or other competitions) than they are in the welfare of the animal.

The process of fusion goes from the bottom up. In other words, the
lower down toward the hoofs you look, the earlier the growth plates will have fused; and the higher up toward the animal's back you look, the later. The growth plate at the top of the coffin bone (the most distal bone of the limb) is fused at birth. What this means is that the coffin bones get no TALLER after birth (they get much larger around, though, by another mechanism). That's the first one. In order after that:

2. Short pastern - top & bottom between birth and 6 mos.
3. Long pastern - top & bottom between 6 mos. And 1 yr.
4. Cannon bone - top & bottom between 8 mos. And 1.5 yrs.
5. Small bones of knee - top & bottom on each, between 1.5 and 2.5 yrs.
6. Bottom of radius-ulna - between 2 and 2.5 yrs.
7. Weight-bearing portion of glenoid notch at top of radius - between 2.5 and 3 yrs.
8. Humerus - top & bottom, between 3 and 3.5 yrs.
9. Scapula - glenoid or bottom (weight-bearing) portion - between 3.5 and 4 yrs.
10. Hindlimb - lower portions same as forelimb
11. Hock - this joint is "late" for as low down as it is; growth plates on the tibial & fibular tarsals don't fuse until the animal is four (so
the hocks are a known "weak point" - even the 18th-century literature warns against driving young horses in plow or other deep or sticky footing, or jumping them up into a heavy load, for danger of spraining their hocks)
12. Tibia - top & bottom, between 2.5 and 3 yrs.
13. Femur - bottom, between 3 and 3.5 yrs.; neck, between 3.5 and 4 yrs.; major and 3rd trochanters, between 3 and 3.5 yrs.
14. Pelvis - growth plates on the points of hip, peak of croup (tubera sacrale), and points of buttock (tuber ischii), between 3 and 4 yrs.

and what do you think is last? The vertebral column, of course. A
normal horse has 32 vertebrae between the back of the skull and the root of the dock, and there are several growth plates on each one, the most important of which is the one capping the centrum.

These do not fuse until the horse is at least 5 1/2 years old (and this figure applies to a small-sized, scrubby, range-raised mare. The taller your horse and the longer its neck, the later full fusion will occur. And for a male - is this a surprise? -- You add six months. So, for example, a 17-hand TB or Saddlebred or WB gelding may not be fully mature until his 8th year - something that
owners of such individuals have often told me that they "suspected" ).

The lateness of vertebral "closure" is most significant for two
reasons.
One: in no limb are there 32 growth plates!
Two: The growth plates in the limbs are (more or less) oriented perpendicular to the stress of the load passing through them, while those of the vertebral chain are oriented parallel to weight placed upon the horse's back.

Bottom line: you can sprain a horse's back (i.e., displace the
vertebral growth plates) a lot more easily than you can sprain those located in the limbs.

And here's another little fact: within the chain of vertebrae, the
last to fully "close" are those at the base of the animal's neck
(that's why the long-necked individual may go past 6 yrs. to achieve
full maturity). So you also have to be careful - very careful - not to
yank the neck around on your young horse, or get him in any situation where he strains his neck."

Dr. Deb Bennett

ABOUT DR. DEB: Deb Bennett, Ph.D., is a 1984 graduate of the University of Kansas, and until 1992 was with the Smithsonian Institution. She is known as an authority on the classification, evolution, anatomy, and biomechanics of fossil and living horses. Her research interests include the history of domestication and world bloodlines and breeds. She teaches unique anatomy short-courses and horsemanship clinics designed to be enjoyable to riders of all breeds and disciplines, and all levels of skill.

Internationally known for her scientific approach to conformation analysis, "Dr. Deb" has made a career out of conveying a kind of "X-ray vision" for bone structure to breeders and buyers. Her background in biomechanics helps her clearly explain how conformation relates to performance ability. Dr. Deb's clinics often feature real bones and interesting biomechanical models.

27/02/2022

"Horses don’t think the same as humans.
Something that’s most unique about the horse, that I love, is not what he possesses but what he doesn’t possess..........and that is greed, spite, hate, jealousy, envy or prejudice.
The horse doesn’t possess any of those things.
If you think about people, the least desirable people to be around usually possess some or all of those things.
And the way God made the horse, he left that out." - Buck Brannaman.

Image of Buck is by Heather Kessler - https://www.facebook.com/kesslerphoto

16/02/2022

It’s so important that we change old beliefs that come with starting young horses.

04/02/2022

Our very first interview and YouTube video about Irvin- lots of tears! 🥺💖

Donkey Irvin was rescued from a certain death at slaughterhouse by his new mammas. When kind ladies from Solstice Sanctuary saw Irvin he looked veery bad: he...