R-Pets

23/04/2025

VETS: STOP GIVING BAYTRIL TO CHINCHILLAS WHEN THERE IS NO PROVEN INFECTION! THEY CAN DIE!!!

08/04/2025

Beautiful boy. He's 28 here; Maleki 🤍 The horse welfare argument is raging on the internet, videos of horrible training pracitces & bad riding are pretty normal but there's also a HUGE movement for better horsemanship which is exciting, even better than we achieved at Sariah Arabians. I've always been interested in bitless riding but there are many welfare rules which are broken in normal practice at upper level competition riding:
1/ Never bend the neck past the vertical- Maleki is relaxed and almost vertical here.
2/ If your horse doesn't go well in a snaffle bridle then there's a training problem / rider problem. If Marion Perrissinoto can compete with just a neck strap then EVERY competition rider on the planet needs to be taking notes.
3/ Nosebands much too tight.
4/ Whips. I don't believe they're necessary AT ALL. I never use one.
WE CAN DO BETTER.

30/03/2025

Happy Pet Mum's Day! I just had a call from my Mum saying her doig got food poisoning from something vile a fox had left in the garden. So I'm posting my top THREE tips for dealing with food poisoning: always go to the vet but if you can give some Diatomaceous Earth and some activated charcoal then they'll bind the toxins and help the pet to pass the bacteria.

02/03/2025

Please DO NOT use tongue-pulling exercises. They can cause irreparable damage.

Horse owners please note! This subject is back! I heard a very disturbing tale some time ago now from a dental colleague (a BAEDT member) who had been treating the same horse for a number of years with no problems; this year, the owner decided to use a 'dentist' new to the area (not BAEDT) who 'diagnosed' various problems, but recommended to 'exercise' the tongue by pulling it out from side to side at full extension to help 'realign' the hyoid apparatus (see pic). Since this treatment (and one session of tongue pulling) the horse was unrideable due to violent evasive head movements under saddle and the owner was left distraught and wondering what had happened.

The hyoid apparatus is a set of delicate bones, one of which (no.3 in the diagram) is attached to the base of the tongue. The bones, delicate joints or the tongue itself could easily be potentially irreversibly damaged by such 'treatment' 😔

We have heard a few tales of tongue pulling to 'realign' the hyoid apparatus, and there seem to be a growing number of videos on Youtube, Facebook etc of persons performing this 'technique'. Some appear to be very credible professional looking people that I can only assume are doing as they have been taught by someone else. No disrespect to you, but please think again before performing or recommending this technique. Mostly it was Australia but it appears to be spreading like a disease around the globe. The first person attributed to this was Dr Kerry Ridgeway in USA, however he did not publish any scientific evidence or research about it and there are reports of it doing more harm than any possible good.

The hyoid is not a 'gyroscope' for the horse as stated in one video, and to attempt to realign the hyoid through tongue pulling, manipulation or any other method is in our view potentially damaging, and a potential welfare issue. Also, logically if the hyoid was ‘displaced’ or ‘out of alignment’ you would 100% know about it as your horse would be in marked distress and no amount of tongue pulling would help.

It is really important that all professionals whether they are body workers, physiotherapists, dental technicians or vets work together as a team for the good of the horse - we must all follow the science - there is none for this. Please, do not let anyone attempt to manipulate your horse's hyoid apparatus.

12/02/2025

Animal welfare is not less important than humans' bruised feelings.

04/01/2025

You're welcome.

23/12/2024

From our sister page, to our dear clients- Happy Yule, Christmas, whatever you celebrate or don't celebrate, just enjoy. Any excuse to buy the chins extra toys. 🙂 Here is our little Angel 🤍
💚🎄🎁🎄💚

Happy Yule (yesterday), Christmas, whatever you celebrate or don't celebrate, just enjoy. Any excuse to buy the chins extra toys. 🙂 Here is our little Angel 🤍
💚🎄🎁🎄💚

09/12/2024

About time, need the other countries to follw this excellent example and BAN CRUELTY! I always hated the double bridle with a passion, never understood why people couldn't see the OBVIOUS DISCOMFORT!!! Jeez! 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Breaking news: Denmark may become the first country to ban the double bridle. The Danish Animal Ethics Council, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and in place to advise the minister on necessary legislation for animal protection, has officially made the suggestion that curb bits be banned by law alongside draw reins, riding behind the vertical, tight nosebands, and any use of the whip which can be characterised as hitting and any use of the spurs which can be characterised as kicking.

Read or translate the official letter here:https://detdyreetiskeraad.dk/Media/638693250252120201/Henvendelse%20til%20FVM%20om%20hestesport%20051224.pdf

Photo by Crispin Parelius Johannessen. See more photos here: https://tinyurl.com/49xbr2n5

04/11/2024

🚩 If your own pet doesn't like somebody- even if they can see the effect they have on you when they haven't met the person- pay attention- the pet doubtless knows better then we do.

31/10/2024

Happy Halloween! 😈🎃👻🎃💀🎃👹🎃🦇
Angel designed her own costume: Asymmetric Bed Ear 😂

28/06/2024

Just finished an article on broken bones for the National Chinchilla Society Gazette. :)

04/03/2024

Weekday evenings and Saturday daytime now available for
PET TRAUMA TREATMENT
💚