Recent content by Smogul

Inflamed aural plaques? The fact that she does it when you are putting the headcollar on might mean she is uncomfortable having ears touched.

Not necessarily. My pony's weight has ballooned out since being out 24/7 on what we thought was lousy grazing. Back to restricted grazing time. I see lots of other people have pointed out that this is NOT a good idea.

My pony has been on it now for several years after vet recommended it. Made a big difference. Now also had Cartrophen injections so possibly catching on in UK?

What exactly do you mean by "use the minimum of reins"? Slopping along with no contact isn't safe or sensible.

Totally agree. We have one pony who is perfectly polite and has never had a weight problem. We have another pony who has had laminitis and can be nippy. I do not want someone else randomly feeding them anything.

Why can't she ride bareback and have fun with the pony? She doesn't have to go to pony club and compete. OH as an adult rode his big Welsh Cob bareback a lot as it was so difficult to find a saddle that fitted him and the horse.

Worth every penny. My Shetland adored hers. As soon as we took her harness off, she would look for her Boett rug and dive into it as soon as it was presented to her.

Totally agree. OH's Welsh cob loathed the treeless saddles we tried on him. Patronising fitter said "he will get used to them, it is like being ridden bareback". OH pointed out horse was regularly ridden bareback as he was so difficult to find a saddle for.

More useless advice. My shod sure-footed pony copes far better with ice than the rather clumsy barefoot cob at the yard. Please don't fall for the "barefoot solves everything" mantra. You do not want a broken leg. You or the horse.

Yes ,definitely. See above.

Two real life scenarios: you are bringing two horses. Your horse is stung by a horse fly and kicks out, injuring the other horse. Who pays for veterinary bill? Public liability won't cover this. You are bringing two horses in. Windy day, spooky horses, one gets away from you, gets out onto...

Maybe. Our vet commented that he sees far fewer horses with "the heaves" as it was known, with the move away from straw. Also, fewer impaction colics from horses eating their bedding.

Check everyone's insurance.

Yes, but horses were considered veterans at 16 and were usually past work by 20! Horses that were turned away frequently didn't come sound and were shot. People forget that side of things when they idealise the "good old days". We started riding as adults and were shown this amazing horse that...

Think people may have misread my thread. Wasn't even thinking of changing farrier. Definitely not laminitis as horses are off grass for winter. Just amazed that someone would react like that for a one-off incident.