Recent content by unicorndreams

Considering swapping my car/trailer for a small horsebox. Mostly only my own horse to transport - 15.3hh So looking at 3.5t ideally Coach built vs van conversion? Reasonably local to me are Equisport, EquiBabe and Hanson Busby - anyone got one of these they can share experiences of? Anyone else...

I currently have my TB mare with shoes on behind and hoof boots on in front which is working OK for us. She is paddock comfortable without shoes but needed boots for riding as our tracks are very rocky/stony however booting her hinds was not successful as the twisted off. I tried front shoes but...

I had a made to measure saddle from one mentioned here (pm me for more info, if you want) and despite having the person do the measurements themselves rather than me doing them, its still did not fit right - very tight behind the shoulders and my horse was virtually shuffling along. Had person...

Swollen eyes can also be an early warning sign of laminitis which seems to be worse this year with our warm wet spring and lush grass growth.

The farm where we keep our horses has a round concrete base that used to have a big slurry tank on top, its about 20m across and we were wondering if it might be possible to turn it into a round pen to play with the horses in. It is not entirely level and rainwater does seem to sit on the...

For that reason I chose to use the farrier the vet recommended rather than my previous farrier :) I didn't necessarily agree with needing to put shoes on for protection when I had a perfectly good set of boots that worked but decided to stick to the vets advice as I wanted to be sure I could...

I wasn't going to put front shoes on as it was only her back feet I was having probs with but the vet and farrier said best to do all - clearly my horsey doesn't think so! I can see me not putting them back on next time the farrier is due :)

Following a couple of rumbling abscesses that the vet dug out and attributed to overlaid bars, I followed the vet's advice and got my TB mare shod after 18mths of being barefoot. Within 24hrs she'd pulled one front shoe off, the next day i rode her and she stumbled badly, same again the day...

Although my mare only has one nodular sarcoid so not as severe as your friend's loan horse, I have been treating using essential oils. They are usually applied in a clay base but Mel's is rit between her back legs and no way will she let me apply anything directly so we have mixed the oils in a...

Try Preloved

Have a look at clicker training - in particular look up Maxine Easey who is really good at remedial issues using these 'positive reinforcement' techniques. i don't think you'd have much luck with natural horsemanship aka parelli as they tend to use negative reinforcement which might turn your...

Fransurrey - Boots are such a great option now and work brilliantly on her front feet but she has 'twisty' action with her hind feet which is tricky. Best I've found is the new renegade Vipers for her hind feet but even these twist by about 2cm! The heel captivator rubbed her due to the pressure...

Poor Mel has had it all this winter - mud fever for the first time in the 4yrs I've owned her and thrush in the hind feet for the first time. We battled thrush in the fronts last winter as her heels were way too long and weak but this is now resolved. The back feet do look longer than they were...

Thanks for the words of support folks, her feet look so lovely naked that it seems a shame to hammer nails back through them :-( but lovely is not the same as functional and she has struggled much more this winter than she did earlier in the transition. She is fed copra, oats, linseed and...

My TB mare has been BF for 18mths and for the first year did really well. She was hacking out fully BF after 6mths and front boots were only occasionally needed. This winter however has been a nightmare with one deep seated sub solar abscess leaving her foot sore for ages until the sole...