Recent content by khalswitz

My livery back in 2012-15 was £200 pcm for 24/7 turnout and access to stable, plus hay/haylage, but all DIY. Always had at least an outdoor if not indoor school and off-road hacking and other facilities. My livery now is £40 a week so ~£175 pcm. So actually cheaper than 10-15 years ago. But now...

As a scientist, there is quite limited things we can actually study when a horse is PTS and home and then transported to us - a lot of things in the body change rapidly after death. Personally, as someone who has gratefully used horses donated for research before, I need to collect samples...

Possibly interesting note - used her thicker pad today, which meant I could get away with using the long waffle girth (just). It’s not anatomical but is a stud girth, and it actually sits further back - the girth gall is further forward than that girth sits so not touched at all when using that...

Ok this is super interesting and hugely helpful. She’s definitely lost a bit of muscle behind the wither over the winter and I’ve been trying to get the saddler rout since January - I tried myself with a narrower gullet which she made clear was not the answer, and have a polite wither pad in...

I want to be clear that this is not my analysis, but that of a collaborator whom I absolutely trust. Obviously analysis of these images hasn’t been validated by publication and peer review. But I think it is interesting to weigh in alongside everything else that is going on in this sphere.

Ok, to be fair, there is a reason scientists have been sceptical about blue tongues. It not necessarily doubt about blue tongues being bad per se, but about being able to even accurately measure. I’m aware of a researcher who tried to collaborate with one of the most vocal togs who was taking...

Hey all. I’ve been having issues with Mary’s girth and would love suggestions. Last summer, I found my smart leather girth kept leaving big rubs on her, so swapped to my cheap rubbish waffle stud girth and they disappeared. All was good. But that girth was 2-4 inches longer, and when she lost...

It took me 9 years to get another one after Geoff died. I started riding a friend’s horse after 2 years, and he was really lovely and I enjoyed it but he wasn’t Geoff and I did cry some days after riding. After 4 years, I started taking occasional lessons with friends. I focused on my riding...

Honestly if Max is anything like Mary (and my husband forwarded me that video because it’s so like her) then it’s not eyesight that’s the issue, but insecurity/anxiety. I could easily make a highlight reel like that for Mary, but 90% of the time she is very laid back, not spooky at all and...

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I am just under 100kg, and ride a slightly arthritic 18 year old, so I do exactly what they’re permitting here. But she’s 16.3hh and over 600kg healthy weight (she’s a mostly-ID ISH) with a lot of bone, her arthritis/bone spavin is well under control with...

I love this! Mary would be Frosty Mistletoe, and my old boys Geoff and Fitzroy would be Merry Sleigh and Merry Rudolph respectively. Mary’s current pals would be Jolly Angel, Merry Cookie and Jolly Tinsel. Actually weirdly suits them!

A nice post today from Patrick Pollock, at Glasgow Vet School: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C52rsAHAU/?mibextid=wwXIfr

This is actually really concerning if only dial hats will be available. I teach vet students, and we’ve had major H&S issues with dial hats and tail hair catching in dials when working with hind limbs. We’ve thus banned students using hats with dials as PPE. CO was our go to for our own work hats.

If saddle is checked and fine, as are teeth, and pony is so unhappy under saddle (including heavy sweating it sounds like), I’d be talking to the vet. Could be bilateral lameness, ulcers, kissing spines - a whole bunch of things can lead to this type of behaviour if the horse is in pain.

All these things. Mine was a nappy sod when I first got her - she's still spooky and a bit insecure on her own compared to a bombproof rock in company but she's a different horse now. What I did was a combination of: a) hacking the same 20 min circular route in company repeatedly, ideally in...