Recent content by JanetGeorge

I confess I find it hard to work out WHICH is more important - a good farrier or a good EDT. I have a fantastic farrier - who has also become a close friend. I HAVE experienced the efforts of a lousy farrier - the sad thing about him is that for the first 15 years he went from VERY good, to...

I've had quite a few with diasteme (and one of them is now a police horse in London!) To me, it's a routine treatment carried out by my very good EDT, Olivier Gilot. Amd the crazy thing is he isn't yet 'qualifid' and may never be, because BEVA doesn't LIKE EDTs who do a better job than the...

I have had a fairly mega tack room break-in - to make it worse, I KNEW who'd done it. More than 20 saddles, 30 bridles, bits and leather girths (they left brand new fabric girths, head-collars and rugs.) They even 'borrowed' a wheel-barrow to carry their gains 500 yards through fields, as they...

I lost a diffeent type of mare but also though a heart attack the only likely cause. She had been retired fom breeding for several years (and her first foal nearly killed her.) She was 25. With her group of mares she was strolling down one of the fenced tracks to come in fore a trim. She...

Now if he's grey, that would increase the chances that it's a melanoma: in the early days of both, it's easy to confuse them. If they're growing rapidly, then that makes melanoma even more of a possibility: so vet is No. 1 - and the trust his diagnosis and treatment.

At 90 days of pregnancy, your brood mare has hormones doing handstands. Having one either side of a centre line IS the best 'quick fix' - but you could also try putting her back on regumate at a slightly lower dose. There are dozens of different 'calmers but - TBH - the vast majority are useless.

lol, Shilasdair - I'm not a great fan of CB - or even CB x - my first horse in England was and he was NOT a very co-operative horse! But he was a comfortable horse to ride when he wasn't on his hind legs, and that ugly one would NOT be! In fact, he's a particularly ugly specimen of his...

An ugly one! One none of your friends' ponies would hack out with, that's for sure.

My Dolly Diamond has had 8 foals, only one by Superstar. She is by Drumrii, who I have a full sister to (Drumbar Pride) Drumbar Pride I originally bought as a hunt horse for my husband - and she was a VERY good hunter. 16.3, up to weight, a good jumper, and good as a Master's horse as she...

As a breeder of Irish Draughts for 15 years, none of my mares or foals were insured - it's just too expensive and with too many exclusions. Natural cover is the riskiest part of breeding - but excluded from both stallion and mare policies. I don't THINK you can cover a foal in-utero - and...

This girl is MUCH older now, but this pic shows her just before starting her first season as hunter for MFH! Not the liveliest ID I've known, but certainly fit enough to do the job! Two seasons of hunting, then'retired' to be a very good brood mare. Now fully retired, at 24.

I disagree. I have known too many horse owners being pressured into using a 'communicator' - and it has caused a LOT more 'trouble' than was fixed. Communicators too busy 'communicating' with the horse - while pocketing the proceeds - when it is the owner who needs help and encouragement and...

Exactly! ANY ex[erienced and competent horse-person, communicates well with horses they see - because they know what to look for. Supposed horse communicators who claim to be able to determine problems from a photo are con-artists! They are just guessing - and hope they guess correctly with...

Yep - the best you can go on is guess work. I've had pure IDs grow 6" from 4 - even more if they go o Exmoor. ALL my abnormally big 'babies' went to Exmoor at 4 years of less. Gelded young, more chance of growing bigger. I had one pure-bred stallion - 17hh at Grading - and still 17 hh after...

I just had a 6yo tested for hormones. He wasn't mounting paddock companions (geldings of similar age) but he was barging through electric fences to 'cuddle' mares. The result was NO hormones - as it should be with a 'proper' gelding. Worth doing - if only so you can consider other causes for...