Amryddawn Welsh Cobs NZ

02/01/2025

A good scratch in just the right spot is always appreciated around here

25/12/2024

Just when we thought we might have got to the other end of all the excessive rain, December has been sogging and we can't see any end of it in the forecast. At this stage we are due for rain well into January. The paddocks are all sogging again, we've got hay in the paddocks just standing there waiting to be cut and we haven't been able to do any more work on the facilities for a few weeks now :(

24/12/2024

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from Amryddawn Welsh Cobs

23/12/2024

This little lady is my kind of horse. She is affectionate, has brains, is an excellent problem solver, and since settling in here, has found her voice.

I suspect, in the past, she hasn't been heard and consequently she can be quick to shout her opinions. But, the more we listen and work with her to problem solve, the quieter and more chilled she becomes. It really doesn't take much for her to find her peace. A kind hand, gentle soothing words, a little space and time to breathe. She literally just wants to be heard.

I wish every horse person would learn how to do this.

18/12/2024

Hard to believe all these photos are the same horse. He changes colour so frequently

18/12/2024

Someone is having a bad hair day 🤣

I normally try to get shots where they show off their best sides but I decided this one was too funny not to share

17/12/2024

Sometimes I wonder if we try to protect our horses too much. I know I know... they are accidents waiting to happen and will try all sorts of creative ways to hurt themselves. BUT they also love novelty and thrive when exposed to problems they need to solve for themselves.
Like people, I think horses do best when you DONT remove all risk from their lives. Its for that reason we ultimately decided to leave the tree stump areas in their paddocks open for them to explore and navigate. Some of the benefits we've noticed are that they are more bodily aware, they are more conscious of their surroundings and their boredom behaviours are reduced from other places we've housed them.

15/12/2024

The collection and insemination facilities are a bit closer to being completed. A couple more weekends to do the finishing touches to make them functional and we should be just about ready to start testing them out 🤞

Bridgerton is coming into season at the moment so we'll most likely miss the December opportunity for her but hoping we are done in time for Afallon's Royal Celebration cycle.

12/12/2024

It's a fairly good indication you are building a solid bond when they willingly come trotting up to you.

09/12/2024

Ground work is such an under-utilised skill. Something that I would suggest 99% of equestrians need do more of. Not only does it, when done well, help to build appropriate musculature, it can really help a horse improve its mental well-being and help us develop a stronger and more robust relationship with our horses. Sadly though, in my experience anyway, most coaches don't use it themselves and if they do, they don't often teach it.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15cPfRrhMS/

One of the biggest things I see is people wanting to know what to do for an underdeveloped topline…

Well let me tell you what, an avid rider hates to see me coming because the first thing I’m going to tell you is to GET OFF OF THE HORSE’S BACK.

Get out of the saddle and stay out of the saddle until the muscle comes back.

You don’t build a topline by riding… meaning,

You can’t strengthen something that isn’t there to begin with- so if your horse’s top line musculature is depleted, you aren’t going to fix the problem by riding.

You add a rider once you have foundational muscle.

And I think that’s where the disconnect lies. Riders, trainers, breeders etc. have all convinced themselves that underdeveloped muscle is just fine and they call it ‘fitness’.

If you want real results you have to do real work.

You start building muscle once you’ve stopped the pain cycle. Once you’ve addressed tensional patterns.

Look at the situation for what it is.

These horses are started too young, they’re ridden in tack that doesn’t fit with restrictive training aids that don’t allow for the appropriate muscles to build and engage. On top of that, most don’t receive enough natural movement in their routines because they’re confined to a stall.

The formula is easy folks. We’ve created the problems. Just modify a few things and you’d be surprised how good that horse’s topline looks. You don’t need to make it harder than it has to be.

Poor topline= get off the back

⭐️You can check out my ‘rehabbing the topline’ freebie here- it has a few helpful tips. This is something I’m going to be going into a lot more detail about in a project I’m working on🤭 stay tuned

https://stan.store/abequinetherapy?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabvCH-69u_CN5SKDBf_5lM_kU4dalF5a3AYGjMygLAsth4hFe7RApPEV-s_aem_hjVz7GmOrGgBeRkAWuE9hw

07/12/2024

After some input from our local vet earlier in the week we made some more progress on the facilities today.

06/12/2024

I can be 100m away from this lad and he will still have his full attention on me. He seems really relish the liberty work we are doing and often asks to do a little more.

06/12/2024

I managed to catch a tiny glimpse of the boys playing today. Notice they are both mouthy with each other but there is no malice. In fact, Rio nips Flint on his side to goad Flint into playing after Rio's first attempt is ignored.

When I first saw this it was a huge ah ha moment for me and made me want to completely rethink how I approach biting behaviours.

How often do you watch your horses interact? Do your observations ever influence how you interact with them?

05/12/2024

We had the vet out yesterday to check Afallon's Royal Celebration is mature enough to put in foal this year. During that visit we put a plan in place for managing her weight. In the last few weeks she has really stacked on the kgs and we want to ensure she remains healthy into her old age. Being over weight, especially from a young age increases the risk of metabolic issues, insulin resistance, laminitis and a bunch of other health concerns. None of which we want for our horses.

I generally use the texture of their crest to judge when they need to go on a diet - I'm looking for soft and spongy. If it is hard its time to come in off the grass.

Other indicators are fat lumps anywhere on the body (they usually show up above the tail first) and I also like to check their lady parts - a protruding a**s requires less calories (but they still need 24/7 access to something like meadow hay), a sunken one needs lots more calories. In geldings and stallions it is the same, but an overweight boy will often have a swollen looking sheath as well.

The mares were on a hybrid track system but we tested her crest a few days ago and it was far too hard (an indicator of laminitic risk) so we bought her into the sheep pens that are now grass free thanks to the piglets who were busy preparing them for her all winter long 🤣

She'll hopefully only be in the sheep yards for a few days - just until her crest softens up again, and then we'll pop her on her new track that the sheep are currently tasked with limiting the available grass.

We like a track system as they encourage lots of movement which is so very important, especially to a young developing body.

05/12/2024

It takes a lot to get your head around but believe it or not, grass is often not suitable for horses, especially ponies and some grasses, like rye grass, are best avoided altogether due to the likelihood of them being toxic to horses under some conditions which are hard to control for.

02/12/2024

It always amazes me how much a horse's shape can change when their exercise regime changes. Bridgerton is currently spelling and busy putting on weight in preparation for her pregnancy to Shelyron Disgleirio 🤞🤞 she looks completely different to when she first arrived back in July.