Kyra’s Livery Services

15/08/2024

Watching back Olympic replays, one thing I’m struck by is how many horses have toe first hoof landings and how few of them appear to land heel first.

This isn’t something I would’ve been inclined to notice in the past because I didn’t know enough about hoof health and a lot of horses have dysfunctional feet and toe first landings, so I thought it was normal.

Now that I know better, it’s been wild to see how many horses at the pinnacle of the sport aren’t landing properly.

It’s no wonder we see the number of long term hoof and joint problems that we do.

If horses can perform at the capacity they do with such dysfunction present in their bodies, imagine what they could do if that were addressed.

15/08/2024

Following on from my previous post, I want to spark some brainwaves on where tension might come from and how it can start.

My 4 E’s:

• Emotions (stress, lack of socialisation, pain etc.)
• Environment (stable, turnout, terrain, arena surfaces, friends, feed etc.)
• Equipment (tack, rugs, bits, riders etc.)
• Exertion (workload, type of work, too much/too little work, fitness levels etc.)

So not just injuries.. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I hope it gives you a starting point and some questions to ask yourself about your horse.

Does your horse turn away from you when you go into the stable with tack? When did you last have your saddle fit checked? Is your horse super grumpy in the stable but happier when turned out? Has your horse been grouchy to tack up since you went for that fun ride? Do they have enough topline/muscling/fitness for the work you ask them to do?

If you have a tense/unhappy horse, brainstorm these 4 E’s and think of some areas that may have caused it or need changing/tweaking - to try and avoid tension patterns being created, or minimise them. 🖤

📷

15/08/2024

Since food is a primary reinforcer and extremely valuable to our horses, over-excitement of food can be troublesome in the beginning phases of positive reinforcement training. This is something we can circumvent by reinforcing horses correctly.

FACT: If positive reinforcement training has become all about the food for your horse, you're missing something.

Prioritizing the emotional well-being of your horse will inevitably improve performance and foster a profound partnership. But first we must be able to evaluate and understand the horse's body language and have the basics solidly in place.

Jim Rohn said “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals” and this is something Shawna and I (Jessie) whole heartedly believe.

We're going to be talking trouble shooting... how do we avoid those pitfalls (like pushiness, resource guarding, food aggression, frustration) that many horses can struggle with? How do we develop heart and try in our horses? How do we increase trust? Check it out below... 👇🏼

15/08/2024

So now pretty much all of the horse abuse apologists have accepted that the photos of blue tongues at FEI events are real.

This means they need a new excuse to keep torturing horses. And that excuse is a contrived need for “more science” to confirm that it is indeed painful for a horse to have their tongue compressed by a double bridle until it goes blue.

For anyone who genuinely wants to understand how the tongue of a horse might turn blue from the pressure of a bit (even if it is just sitting in the horse’s mouth where there is insufficient space for it), this lecture by Cristina Wilkins is essential viewing. It takes 30 minutes and it’s worth it.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/HDs6sgrTmec?si=3gzkNeMobQJkMCpH

15/08/2024

Kissing Spines - What Should You Know About Symptoms, Relevance and Rehab

Kissing Spines is a frequent topic of discussion as it is a surprisingly common occurrence - sometimes clinically relevant and sometimes not.

However, looking at the underlying conditions that contribute to this condition is important information for owners, trainers and equine professionals to understand.

As with most situations, there is no "one size fits all" approach to kissing spines as each horse is different in so many ways.

We will be building up our library of information on this topic with our August webinar with Dr. Martina Neidhart.

Join us as we take a deeper dive into understanding more about this topic from diagnosis to rehab.

Learn more about our platform and the evidence and research based content that supports owners, equine professionals and organizations on the journey to creating protocols that produce healthy horse and rider partnerships - https://www.equitopiacenter.com/membership-plans/

15/08/2024

Yup!!

Herd living, so important for herd animals AND they learn better ! 🧡

“
Results from a new study show horses living at pasture with other horses are better at following human-guided cues than those living in stalls or paddocks, regardless of their relationship with the human giving those clues.

The findings suggest horses might learn to understand humans’ pointing gestures over time, but that good welfare, husbandry, and mental stimulation can strongly affect their learning ability, said Océane Liehrmann, PhD candidate at the University of Turku’s Department of Biology, in Finland.
“

https://thehorse.com/1128164/group-pasture-living-might-improve-horses-learning-ability/?fbclid=IwAR0ZI4BRGkUXtrm_fOQxj-LN_4y7u3rQNxM2IacwuplLGlLSoe1GM0IjqR8_aem_Abl32B-9c0-_O4vwBlIb4qFN6FU9_OY7nLqsIwdOc-CJA_C40hU3yIWjcUawtaMtgks&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

15/08/2024

Having a tense or sore horse isn’t going to bring anything positive to the table, and it’s very likely it will result in an injury. 🏥

Picture this:

😖 Your horse has tension somewhere - their back, their hindquarters, their ribs, or their neck etc. but it goes unnoticed and it’s not treated.
🤸🏼‍♀️ Because of this sore spot, they won’t be able to move in their normal range of motion because the area that’s sore will be restricted - everything contracts to protect it, flexibility reduces, soft tissue is no longer very soft.. so this area (which we’ll call area 1) is tense.
📈 Then as well as area 1 being tense, the horse alters their gait and changes the way they move to try and avoid the pain/tension in area 1. As they do this they’ll cause more tension in other areas that are now working harder and overloading to compensate for area 1.. so now we have tension in area 1.. AND area 2.. or even 3! And still no one has noticed because the horse is doing such a great job at compensating.
⚖️ Areas 2 and 3 become overworked and strained (e.g. joints, tendons, muscles, ligaments.. could be anything) because they’re trying to help area 1 out so much..
🤕 Injury occurs! And now we all want to lie down in a dark room because we’ve got a vet bill, or box rest, or a horse out of work for an ice age to deal with and it’s competition season and we had big plans.
🔍 Your attention is directed to where the symptoms are (could be area 3 or 4 at this point) and area 1 remains untreated..

THIS IS THE IMPORTANCE OF REGULAR BODYWORK❗️ where we check the whole horse for tension, and deal with the problem immediately before it spirals 🥰

Obviously I can’t promise that horses will never be injured, there are some things we can’t avoid despite all our efforts - but I can’t stress enough the importance of regular checkups. Horses that are soft through their bodies and free from tension are MUCH LESS LIKELY TO SUFFER AN INJURY. 🖤

If your horse is overdue a checkup - WhatsApp me to book in! 🐴

And tomorrow, I’ll provide some examples of where tension comes from and how it can start!

Huge thank you to for the photo of Clay used in this image! 📷

15/08/2024

14/08/2024

14/08/2024

14/08/2024

Just because we can doesn’t mean we should 🐴

A common theme with the horses I go out to see is that they have been given the “all clear” by vets/bodyworkers/various other professionals. Therefore the owner logically assumes they are definitely dealing with a behavioural issue as they have done all of the things they’re supposed to do as a caring owner.

Unfortunately diagnostics can be very limited and people seem to have trouble seeing the whole horse. Just because you haven’t found a solid cause yet doesn’t mean the horse isn’t in pain. Horses don’t lie and if they are behaving like they’re in pain I believe them. There is more to pain than hocks, kissing spine and ulcers.

With permission, I’m going to tell you a story which is unfortunately not an unusual one. I was called out to this horse as he had a “fear” of being mounted, but they said he was fine once they were on and they were jumping him competitively up to 1.20m. They had done x-rays of his back, stifles and hocks and scoped him for ulcers. A physio had also seen him and said they found no issues. The owner had tried every training method under the sun to fix this behaviour, pressure/release, chasing him around with a flag, clicker training, putting him against the wall, having someone hold a lick in front of his face etc. The horse was still biting, swinging away and becoming really agitated. I observed him being ridden and he was showing several conflict behaviours, tail swishing, unhappy in the mouth, head tossing etc. I didn’t do any training with the horse, to my eye the horse was definitely in pain and I referred them onto a recommended specialist vet. Upon investigation this horse had extensive arthritis in his neck and issues in his spine that had not been picked up by the first vet.

Horses are so, so stoic and we are also rubbish as an industry at seeing discomfort in them because it is so normalised. We see them as “fine” to ride as long as they aren’t actively decking us. We ignore them until they’re screaming and even then many do not listen because it is justified away as “quirky” or “sassy” behaviour.

Imaging is only useful if the person reading it has the skill to do so well and I have experience of one vet saying x-rays are fine then a second-opinion specialist vet making a pretty devastating diagnosis from the same images.

Now I am not saying we all need to spend thousands at the vet immediately, a huge part of what I do is gently, quietly improving posture and emotional health to see if we can start to help the horse feel and move better over time, but a hill I absolutely will die on is if the horse is unhappy with any part of tacking up/mounting then we do not ride the horse that day.

There are so many things we can do beyond just medicating and cracking on, if we can all learn a bit more about recognising postural issues and behavioural indicators we can potentially avoid a lot of heartache and frustration.

The industry as a whole is blind to postural issues, I’m still seeing horses regularly who have been “cleared” by several professionals who I find with saddle shaped dips in their back and incredibly poor hoof balance which is going to make their body really uncomfortable. Yet the poor owner has been told again and again the horse is fine and they need to crack on and get a trainer out, and then the training methods make the posture even worse…I will be writing in more detail about this soon and doing a live with Yasmin on the topic.

If your horse goes to the back of the stable when you arrive with your tack, you need to restrain him in cross ties or he repeatedly moves away from the mounting block, I encourage you to think about why that is. There is a reason he doesn’t want to, be it physical or emotional discomfort with the situation. Making him move his feet and harassing him until his only option is to stand still isn’t going to change those feelings. A horse complying once you’re in the saddle does not mean they’re fine with it, they just know they have no choice once you’re on because nobody has ever listened to the no. 🐴

www.lshorsemanship.co.uk

13/08/2024

13/08/2024

It is impossible to monitor daily consumption.

Horses rarely spend the time 🕰 necessary licking a salt block to meet their daily needs. This could require a horse to bite off and eat chunks to do so.

White salt blocks are optimum as a palatable supplemental source of salt. Red mineral salt blocks can be bitter and deliver only a very minute amount of additional minerals. Mineral requirements should be met in the core diet.

A salt block weighing 4 pounds would need to be consumed in 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on the weather to meet the minimum requirements for an 1100-pound idle horse.

🧂Salt is the most crucial mineral horses require and often overlooked in the equine diet. Despite providing a salt block, the vast majority of equine🐴 diets do not provide sufficient sodium.

If your horse doesn’t sweat and/or drink enough water, feeding adequate salt may alone resolve the issue.

Learn more about how much salt is needed, when & why👉 https://www.thehaypillow.com/blogs/news/why-horses-need-salt-why-salt-blocks-are-not-the-answer

13/08/2024

We recently received a question that’s not uncommon and I thought we should discuss it.

The query went something like this: "I have one saddle that is too long and another that is too tight on the withers. Given that I only have these two saddles, which should I choose?"

Let me start by saying that we’re not here to pass judgement on anyone seeking advice. There are no wrong questions when it comes to the well-being of your horse, and we are here to help. So please, keep those questions coming!

However, the question of choosing between two poorly fitting saddles is a bit like asking, "Would you prefer to lose your hand or your foot?"

It’s a choice between two undesirable options, neither of which addresses the fundamental issue.

If you have a pair of shoes that are too tight and another that are too loose, neither option will provide the comfort and support you need. The right choice is to find shoes that fit properly rather than compromising with the ill-fitting ones.

In saddle fitting, there is no "lesser evil." There is right for the horse and then there is wrong for the horse, there is freedom of movement and then there is irreparable damage.

We understand that not everyone has the means to invest in a well fitting saddle right away, and that’s a reality many of us face. If you cannot afford the necessary adjustments or a new saddle right now, don’t ride. There is a lot you can do with your horse that does not require you to ride.

The health and well-being of your horse should always be a priority.

13/08/2024

There is no excuse. The evidence and research is there to guide us. Time for the horse industry to evolve or go extinct!

13/08/2024

⛔ Hot, matchy-matchy bandages or boots with fluffy lining!

✅ Lightweight boots with airflow and cool hosing!

Did you know that the cells in a horse’s tendons begin to degenerate if they reach 42C? 🔥 That’s why, unless the weather is very, very cold, there’s no place for thick bandages and fluffy boot linings on horse’s legs. This is especially true in summer, when the ambient temperature is so much higher. So - please please please - stick to lightweight brushing boots with plenty of airflow, and consider some cold hosing or ice boots after they’re finished working!

13/08/2024

13/08/2024

12/08/2024

11/08/2024

🚨 Is Your Horse Hiding Its Pain? 🐴 Don’t Ignore These Subtle Signs! 💔

Horses are masters of disguise when it comes to pain. They might be suffering in silence, and it’s up to us to catch those hidden signals before it’s too late! 😞

🔍 **Watch Out for These Red Flags:**
- **Change in Behavior**: Is your usually calm horse suddenly cranky or withdrawn? Mood swings can be a sign of discomfort.
- **Subtle Lameness**: Even a slight hitch in their step or reluctance to move forward could indicate a problem. Don’t brush it off!
- **Performance Issues**: If your horse is suddenly struggling with tasks they used to excel at, pain could be the culprit.
- **Shifting Weight**: Does your horse frequently shift its weight or rest one leg more than the others? This could be a sign of hidden pain.
- **Grooming Avoidance**: Flinching or sensitivity when being brushed? Your horse might be telling you something hurts!

💡 **What Can You Do?**
1. **Listen to Your Horse**: Pay close attention to their behavior, even the smallest changes matter.
2. **Routine Check-ups**: Regular vet visits can catch issues before they become major problems.
3. **Holistic Care**: Consider therapy to address past physical and emotional trauma, contact me to book a session.

⚠️ **Remember**: Just because your horse isn’t limping doesn’t mean they’re pain-free. Be proactive and stay vigilant! Your horse’s health and happiness depend on it. 🐎💕

👉 **Share this post** to help other horse owners stay aware of the subtle signs of pain in their equine partners! Let’s keep our horses happy and healthy together. 🌟

11/08/2024

“Great horses love to win. They know they are champions. “

This is one of the most misguided views I have seen in defence of upper level competition and why the horses at that level cannot possibly be stressed.

First off, for Horse to understand that they have won, they would need to be able to conceptualize the sport they are competing in to the point of understanding what is and isn’t winning

They also need to know that they are competing in the first place, and that the intention of them being brought to the competition is to compete in an event and win.

They cannot do this.

Most people outside of the Horse world cannot even conceptualize how the judging works, and what allows horses to win, unless they make the effort to use the Internet to look it up or ask people.

Horse people make fun of non-horse people all of the time for their lack of understanding of what we do, and we also flex how complicated our sport is, yet we expect horses to be able to conceptualize how it works, despite them being animals that have no understanding of human competition?

The problem with this mindset is that it is used to justify competing horses at any cost to the horse physically or mentally.

It’s used to label what we know are stress behaviours based off of scientific study, yes, even studies that measures stress hormone levels, as excitement and drive to win.

Horses can’t understand why we are competing them, what it takes to win or any of that stuff. And why do they need to?

At most, they will feed off of the reaction of their rider.

A rider who is upset about their performance is more likely to be in an emotional state that feels uncomfortable to the horse, or react in a manner that is less friendly.

A rider who has won and is excited about the horse’s performance is more likely to reward the horse and be in an emotional state that is more pleasant for the horse to be around.

Horses can learn cause and effect based off the reaction of their rider following certain outcomes, but that doesn’t equate to an understanding of how competition works and whether or not they are winning it.

People love to anthropomorphize horses to justify the means used to create a winner.

But, that does not make it true.

Let horses be horses and take pride in their own unique way of perceiving the world instead of trying to humanize them to make them more like us.

Horses shouldn’t need to have human characteristics in order to be deserving of empathy and understanding.

Part of making competition as ethical as possible, needs to include actually accurately portraying how horses see the world and how competition would feel to them. 

10/08/2024

𝗧𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗭𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗨𝗭𝗭𝗟𝗘:
For overweight horses and ponies, it can be a constant battle to get them down and keep them at a healthy bodyweight. Using a grazing muzzle is one way to control grass and, therefore, calorie intake, as part of an overall diet and management regime.
🧐 Fitting 🧐 - Making sure the muzzle is fitted correctly, according to manufactures’ guidelines, is crucial to ensure the horse or pony is comfortable and to reduce the risk of rubs and dislodging. There are several different designs of muzzles on the market, to cater for different head conformations, but check for signs of rubbing or discomfort, on a daily basis.

🌾Grass Length - With the nature of the small holes in the muzzle, it’s important the pasture is generally no shorter than 2"/5cm, so it’s long enough to ‘poke’ up through the muzzle for the pony to bite off. The grass should also not be too long and ‘meadow-like’, as long wispy strands of grass simply fold and collapse under the pressure of the muzzle, meaning the horse can’t get any.

✅ Able to Drink and Eat ✅ - Always ensure the horse or pony is settled and can comfortably eat and drink as, it can take them a little while to get used to a grazing muzzle. They should always be introduced gradually and only used under supervision, to start with, so that you can be confident they are happy and are comfortably eating and drinking before being left.

⏰ Time Limit ⏰ – It is strongly recommended that a grazing muzzle be used for a maximum of 12 hours at a time, however, it’s also important not to simply take it off and let the horse graze freely in a field full of grass! Studies have shown that ponies will “compensatory eat” meaning that, when a muzzle is taken off, if allowed free access to grass, they will simply eat more to make up for the time they were restricted.

😁 Dental Care 😁 – It is vital to keep an eye on the horse’s dental health and remember that they are reliant on their incisors being healthy enough to grab and bite off the grass.

For more weight management advice, order your FREE copy of our Equine Weight Loss Handbook: https://www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk/equine-weight-loss

💚

10/08/2024

I found this educational sign today at Beamish museum in County Durham. The Equine Defence League who produced this, was founded in 1909 by Francis Cox, his initial objective being to improve the conditions for pit ponies working in the mines. His cause was supported by such big names as Jerome K Jerome, Jack London, James Keir Hardy and Winston Churchill.

These signs could at one time be found in places where horses would be pulling heavy loads up hill.

But this is so relevant to every situation in which a horse might be worked today. Perhaps more than ever before.

09/08/2024

Heroes and villains.

What a way to simplify the world.

A world where the heroes can behave villainous at times and the villains can be heroes at times.

Nuance is important.

A person doing many good things doesn’t mean they’re incapable of ever doing bad.

A person doing many bad things doesn’t mean they’re an irredeemable “rotten to the core” type person.

Just like with horses and the other animals we love, humans have underlying motivations for their own behaviours.

Everyone has a story, even the villain. Perhaps, especially the villain.

There’s a back story that can provide context for how they got to where they are.

They may have been taught that certain things are acceptable from a young age, becoming desensitized and no longer viewing “bad” as bad. They think it’s normal.

They may be fighting their own internal struggles that lead to quicker lapses in judgment and emotional control, making it easier to make snap decisions that aren’t good decisions.

None of these things justify their behaviour, but they do explain it.

And they also lend the potential of them overcoming the “bad” and learning to do good.

The whole “throw the entire person out attitude” towards unethical riding practices doesn’t allow for growth.

It causes people to double down and defend their actions because they feel as if they’re given the option of continuing on in denial or admitting they’re forever a bad person.

The door needs to be open for growth, or there is no positive change.

Far too many people in this industry have been conditioned to not see what they’re doing as bad. If you add in the element of permanently staining their character as villainous, it becomes even harder to come to terms with it.

Heroes can do bad, villains can do good.

These labels do no good.

If anything, there are heroic actions and qualities.

There are villainous actions and qualities.

They describe how the person is behaving in the moment, or in the history of their life if they’re repeatedly moments.

But, they ultimately do not write the person’s destiny.

Only that human does.

And there is the capacity for change.

Sure, for some change is more likely than others.

And this isn’t to say that we should withhold accountability for behaviour.

Absolutely hold someone to the standard they’re currently setting.

If they’re unapologetic, making excuses and lacking in empathy, that’s who they’re choosing to be currently.

You don’t have to see the good that might be hiding within if they’re not showing you that part of themselves.

But, be careful not to paint humans with such rigid brushes that we assume there is no hope to reach them and make positive change.

Ultimately, the only way this industry is going to improve is because of the belief that people can do better.

Without that possibility, there is no hope.

The future of horses is reliant on the belief that we can learn, unlearn and relearn.

Re-education is a far more attainable goal than trying to take every person who has ever handled horses in an unethical manner to the figurative scrapyard.

Tear down the structures that help to create humans who lack empathy for horses and rebuild them.

This doesn’t have to be a fable of heroes and villains.

We can just be humans.

09/08/2024

**** COLIC = CALL THE VET! ****

Having just been alerted to the most terrifying FB post I’ve seen for a while, with someone asking for advice for their poor horse with “mild” colic, I feel the need to share a bit of advice.

If your horse has ANY kind of colic symptoms then DO NOT ASK FB FOR ADVICE; CALL YOUR VET!!!!!

A horse that is going down unless forced to walk does not have “mild” colic; he has extremely obvious colic that may be fatal within hours.

I am still shocked when I hear people state that the horse won’t eat, is pawing the ground, even going down, but because he/she isn’t thrashing about then it isn’t colic.

The most common early symptom of colic, is a horse that doesn’t want to eat. He may just be standing there very quietly, and yes, may also have a “twisted gut” that requires surgery. It is actually very rare for me to see a colic, even a surgical colic, that is thrashing about on the floor. More often, it’s a quiet horse, off food, intermittently going down.

Also please DO NOT GIVE YOUR HORSE ANY DAMN BUTE!!!! This will make it tricky for your vet to assess the severity when he/she arrives 30-60 minutes later, as it will have started to work.

I’ll do some more colic posts soon, but the important message this evening is:

IF YOU HAVE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST SUSPICION THAT YOUR HORSE HAS COLIC, CALL YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY. Leaving a horse in agony with “belly ache” is just as bad as an elite competition horse working 1.65 degrees overbent. Welfare starts in the stable. But that’s another post.