Stirrups Equestrian Services of Derbyshire

17/08/2024

When someone leaves a comments or a like here, I often click on their name to see their riding images on their page. I do this to keep track of what today's typical riding looks like. I see all kinds of riding. Some images and videos show very good balanced riding. What seems to be a common riding flaw that I see recently is with head position. So many riders post pictures of their riding with their eyes looking down. This might seem a minor issue, but it is not.

When your eyes are down, your horse can feel that your balance is forward, more over the forehand. This will put your horse onto their forehand. When your eyes go down, your head that weighs 15 pounds (7 kg) goes down and forward, and usually your shoulders fall forward as well. The fact that your head is up high at the end of an effective lever that is your upper body, multiplies the forward weight that you place over your horse's shoulders.

The negative effects this has on your horse show up in several ways. It makes both upward and downward transitions more difficult for your horse. This is because Horses need to push off or reach under with their hind, and you have shifted their balance off their hind. Lead changes become more difficult for the same reason.

Worst of all for riders, looking down makes it more difficult to develop "feel". I briefly had an argumentative student who insisted on looking down. She would argue with me when I said "eyes up", saying "I like to see what my horse is doing". I'd explain that with eyes up you can feel what your horse is doing and that makes all the difference.

If you look down when riding, just stop doing that. If you have to look down, move your eyeballs, not your head. If you do this, many improvements will follow. You will sit the canter better because your head and neck position will no longer interfere with your hips swinging to the 1-2-3 beat of the canter. "Eyes up". It's simple and fixes a lot of things.

03/08/2024

𝗦𝗢𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗛𝗔𝗬 💧 𝗜𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 ☀🔥 If you're soaking your horse's hay in much hotter weather, we'd recommend:

✅ Soaking it for a shorter time ⏱ than usual (1-3 hours)
✅ Refresh the water each time
✅ Keep it in a shady/cool place to reduce the risk of fermentation
✅ Be sure to rinse with fresh water, after soaking, to reduce any possible bacterial content

💚

31/07/2024

⚠️Hard Ground!!⚠️
With the high temperatures this week the ground is starting to harden up! Please be aware as tempting as it can be, cantering/galloping your horses on the hard ground can lead to lameness. The concussion horses experience from the hard ground puts a great strain on their tendons and ligaments. Injuries such as splints, bruised soles, fractured pedal bones, strains and ligament damage are often seen as a result of the hard ground.
We hope you enjoy the nicer weather and the freshly cut stubble/open fields but please do take into consideration the surfaces and conditions before allowing your horse to have a good blast! 🏇🏇🏇

13/07/2024

With our climate becoming warmer and the UK seeing hotter summers, higher levels of pollen and dust occur, and this is leading to an increased number of horses suffering from Equine pasture asthma or as it was previously known, Summer Pasture Associated Recurrent Airway Obstruction (SPARAO). English...

10/07/2024

Dear motorists -🚗🚙🏍🚐🚚🚛 and non-horse people,
please do not drive in front of a horse-trailer into the supposedly large gap to the foreman.

We have a long distance from the front man, not because we drive slowly Wir, but we need a long brake path. Unfortunately, we don't have it anymore, if you stop in front of us.

Our horses in the trailer need us to be careful and slow in curves and slow down so they have a chance to balance. Not only can they otherwise be seriously injured, it can even flip the entire trailer and cause serious accidents.

On the photo you can see how little space and opportunity the mare has to keep her balance. The foal is even right under her. She knows a misstep could seriously hurt her foal, so she tries to keep it from moving as possible. You can only do that if I can drive carefully. Please help me do this and consider! 🙏🙏🙏❤️

May be shared, because I know that most drivers do it not out of carelessness, but out of ignorance 😉

26/06/2024

How to avoid your horse suffering from sunburn this summer

Read more via link below

22/06/2024

Just something I have written for all of our lovely companions we have looking for their next forever homes.

Companions still have so much love to give. Even when they are no longer able to carry a rider. They can still carry the weight of your heart.

There has been some nasty comments about companion horses. Just because they are companions and no longer ridden, does not mean they don’t have a place in this world.

Injuries happen.. health changes.. but if the horse is still happy being a horse… then let it be.

I understand, in some cases it can be different. But our horses on our website are still healthy enough to still live a fulfilling life.

At Horses4Homes, we try and help every horse. Whether they are ridden or not. It does not change anything. Our mission is to stop neglect and horses being passed around. It is not meant to stop them from living.

11/06/2024

24/05/2024

Giving your horse access to the stable during the day in the summer helps manage their grass intake, exposure to heat, insects, and other environmental factors, promoting their overall well-being and comfort. We would love to see some pics of your horses having a snooze! 😴

11/05/2024

11/05/2024

As the season shifts, horse owners face the challenge of managing the fresh growth of spring grass, which can significantly impact a horse's health. In ...

06/05/2024

We make no apologies for the image attached to this post as it is an accurate reflection of the impact of livestock worrying.

Between 15th and 16th of April a farmer found that 4 of his ewes had been killed by a dog(s) on his land at Hardy Barn Lane, Buxton.

The dead ewes cost around £1200 plus £40 each for disposal. The ewes had 6 lambs between them, 1 of which has now also died and the others are having to be hand reared on milk formula at a cost of £50 per week per lamb. A total of almost £2000 damages to this farmer not considering his time and potential future earnings.

The impact of livestock worrying offences cannot be under estimated, with significant financial losses along the stress and upset caused to farmers and their families.

The area is popular for visitors and dog walkers and particularly popular with private dog walking companies operating in the Buxton area.

We are appealing for any information regarding this offence and hopefully this post will act as a stark reminder to put your dog on a lead if near to or likely to come into to contact with livestock.

Please get in touch via the usual means, FB Messenger or Crimestoppers quoting crime number 24000238188.

04/05/2024

‼️DUMMY FOAL SYNDROME‼️🐴🌿
VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!! ❤️

Neonatal Malfunction Syndrome, also known as “dummy foal syndrome”, occurs in 3-5% of live foal births. These foals don't recognize their mothers and have no interest in nursing.

A dummy foal is a foal that wasn't squeezed the chemical during the process of birth. All foals are essentially "drugged" upon entering the birthing canal. This keeps them from fighting and doing real harm to their mom on the way out. At some point, (probably when the chest/stomach slides out) they squeeze in a way that reverses this chemical.

They often require 24-hour intensive care to keep them alive (feeding probe, IV fluids) until they begin to nurse on their own. They usually look very clumsy how numb and spend more than 80% of the time asleep.

The “Madigan Foal Squeeze Technique” shown here is a developed technique to recreate the birthing process by applying pressure to the stringed chest box. Squeezing triggers biochemical changes in the central nervous system that are fundamental for the c**t to move from sleeping in the womb to being awake and conscious at birth. The pressure around its torso causes the c**t to sleep soundly and the squeeze is held for approximately 20 minutes. Once done, the pressure is released and the c**t will wake up. The goal is for them to look for their mother and nurse.

AS ALWAYS RECOMMEND TO SEE A VETERINARIAN WHO KNOWS ABOUT THIS SUBJECT BUT IF FOR ANY REASON THERE IS NOT SOMEONE AT HAND, PLEASE USE THESE VIDEOS OF HOW TO PRACTICE MANEUVERING IN THE MEANTIME

https://youtu.be/-oxGVrRzCYI
https://youtu.be/mKbwOv7eQKc
https://youtu.be/CUvvQ5gjtVM

04/04/2024

Sycamore seedlings — what’s the risk to my horse and how do I get rid of them?

Read more via link below

18/03/2024

Interesting photo, something to think about

13/03/2024

This poor pony got stuck in a cattle grid after walkers left a gate open 😡

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02/02/2024

Friday focus...feeding before exercise!

Ensuring that your horse or pony has something in his or her stomach before you ride or exercise them is so important to keep their stomach healthy.

The strong acids in the horses stomach are present whether there is food in the stomach or not. If there is no food in the stomach for the acids to break down, the acids attack the squamous cells in the non-glandular region of the stomach. If the horse is frequently without food, this usually results in the horse developing gastric ulcers; the stomach does not work well when empty! If you add exercise onto this, the acid will just be splashing around in the stomach causing all sorts of problems. Ensuring that your horse eats before you ride will help prevent this.

Whatever you offer should be forage-based and highly digestible. Either offer some hay or haylage and let them nibble at that while you are getting them ready, and/or feed 1/2-1 Stubbs scoop of dampened chaff; I always feed a short chopped forage as well as hay, just to be sure! If your horse has dental issues, some soaked grass nuts are ideal! I would still advise feeding something if they are ridden or exercised from the field, so you can be sure there is something in their tummies; this is particularly important if they are on restricted grazing or their grass is short!

It was always promoted to not feed before exercise and to leave about an hour after feeding before riding. This still applies if you are feeding cereals or straights. However, hay, haylage and forage-based feeds are absolutely fine and for all the reasons above, should be fed to protect the stomach from splashing acid.

Your horses stomach works best 1/2-3/4 full, so ensuring it is kept that way will help support and promote a healthy gut environment!

22/01/2024

20/01/2024

18/01/2024

To all walkers/ countryside users
If you happen to come across a sheep lying on its back with its legs up, it is 'cast'. Please be so kind as to tip/roll it back over; if left like this they can die as they cannot get up. This is especially important this time of year as most 'cast' sheep will be carrying lambs, hence their struggle to get to their feet.
Please be kind enough to share.

17/01/2024

16/01/2024

We all love cold, frosty mornings – all, that is, except laminitis prone horses and ponies. The action of the sun (photosynthesis) causes sugar to build which during warmer weather results in growing grass. Frosty weather prevents growth, instead building potentially dangerous stores of sugar in pasture.

Is it safe once the frost thaws? Not really. The important thing is getting growth going to use up the sugar stores, which requires overnight temperatures of 5 degrees or above.

❄️ Limit turnout in frosty, sunny weather and provide alternative forage from analysed or soaked hay
❄️ Regular farrier visits to keep hooves well balanced
❄️ Keep exercise up and calories down
❄️ Talk to NAF for bespoke advice on nutritional care of the laminitis prone

14/12/2023

Horses are incredibly tolerant and giving creatures, a quality that unfortunately leaves them susceptible to exploitation due to human ambitions. Once their basic needs are met, the training of your horse requires careful consideration.

Your initial duty is to preserve the purity of your horse's paces. What does this entail? The walk has 4 beats, trot has 2, canter has 3, and gallop has 4. The hind leg reaches under, the poll is highest point of the skeleton, and the head is in front of the vertical ALWAYS! Any deviation signals a biomechanical issue, putting your horse at risk of injury. Notably, impure paces can often be detected in photographs, despite them capturing "just" a moment in time. This principle holds true across all disciplines.

In the context of jumping, addressing behavioural issues requires more than just changing equipment. Bigger bits and martingales won't fix a bolting horse, and whipping a hesitant one won't instil confidence. These behaviours are cries for help. The use of a crank/flash noseband, among other restrictive equipment, often contributes to biomechanical issues. Horses need the freedom to move their tongue and jaw for full hind leg range of motion—a crucial fact.

Bolting and stopping indicate that your horse is asking for HELP. Go back and consolidate the basics. The beauty of horses lies in their retrainability. Ignoring these hints may lead to breakdowns or a more urgent shout for attention, resulting in potential harm.

04/12/2023

More advice on keeping track of your horse's condition

30/11/2023

❄ ❄ Much of the country is expecting sub-zero temps, bringing the risk of frozen pipes, troughs, and water buckets.
In cold weather, these should be checked at least twice a day. Removing ice from troughs (not just breaking it) and/or adding hot water means the water will take longer to re-freeze.
Between saliva, stomach acid, and secretions into the intestine, horses produce ~170 litres (~12–15 buckets) of fluid/day. Much is reabsorbed, but horses need to be well hydrated otherwise gut function is affected and colic risk increases.
Find out more about cold weather care of horses on our website advice pages https://bit.ly/47B1mbd

22/11/2023

Our top tips for feeding oil to horses