Recent content by Frans

Thanks for all the replies, you have helped me feel stronger about my weight limit. Unfortunately she has not been able to ride much this year which is partly why she has gained the weight. I kept the pony fit during the school year in the hope she would be able to enjoy the summer with him but...

My 16 year old daughter has been steadily gaining weight since last year to the point where I think she is risking getting too heavy for her 14hh Connemara It’s a delicate issue, particularly as one of her sisters has struggled with anorexia. I think she’s fine to ride normally but they would...

Yes - its your post that was the breakthrough, thank you!! I had seedlings at the same state and, though I had my suspicions, when I Googled in the field I only found images of seedlings at a later stage so thought I just had an overactive imagination. Luckily decided to have another hunt for...

Feeling so bad, moved them in over the winter, no Sycamore trees immediately by the field but there is a wood one field over so possibly some there (no leaves at the moment and I'm not that good at identifying plants -obviously!) There were a lot of high winds and storms this autumn so seeds...

Does anyone know if it is possible for horses to get “slightly poisoned” by sycamore seedlings? ie would it be possible for a horse to show some symptoms that then settle down without it becoming a full blow, life or death situation? Has anyone had any experience of this? Pony has been...

Thank you so much for posting this OP - realised the plants I had dismissed as NOT Sycamore seedlings actually are! Ponies now off the field :)

I looked into this after having a lot of conflicting advice about hock injections. From memory (so vastly over-simplified) exercise is needed to ensure the product is properly distributed in the joint and to give it the best chance of working. Too much time-off reduces the effectiveness...

Presumably a genetic test would give the quickest answer?

Definitely checking respiratory issues as the next step. I have never ever heard him cough so its interesting to hear other peoples experiences of less obvious symptoms. Also wondering how much is simply his character, he is quite a laid back pony. Adrenalin livens him up, a lot - then he will...

Spoke to the vet. She has ruled out muscle issues as his muscle enzymes were totally normal (unlike many of the other horses with odd liver function results at the yard). She did though suggest bringing him to the clinic to do an endoscopy straight after exercise to check what was happening in...

oops, posted before being ready .. the one with the most obvious performance problems which is why I think the problem is just exacerbated by the liver issues rather than caused by them.

The floppy palette idea is interesting. I noticed the other day that he made a kind of swallowing noise/action as if to clear his throat and seemed better after that, could that fit? I shall spend endless happy hours researching that tonight now. For the liver issues, there is nothing obvious...

Almost regretting asking now, but thank you! Anyone have any ideas for things that can be easily fixed ;)

Trying to keep a long story brief! We have had our 8 year old Connemara gelding for 18 months. He was fat and very unfit when he arrived but he did improve with regular work. However, he looses fitness incredibly quickly and generally has less stamina than other ponies in similar work and of a...

Sorry for those that couldn't view, and thank you for trying. I'm not sure how else to post videos - any advice welcome!