Sunshine :)

What an amazing bank holiday weekend!

 

 

 

Have you seen this week's video 'My Autumn Horsey Healthcheck'  on my You Tube channel?   
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Autumn Health check

The nights are getting longer now, and colder.  It is dark when I get up in the morning :(  So I have decided it is time to change the horses back so that they are in the field during the day and in their stables at night again.  I think they are ready too as they are standing at the gate when I arrive in the mornings now ... usually a sign.

Autumn seems to start in September and some leaves are definitely starting to turn yellow and fall.  The fields around us have been harvested so I will start on my Autumn clean up in the next few weeks.  So check out my You Tube channel for more on this.

I also generally have a bit of a tidy up and health check of the horses in the Autumn.  They have just had their tails washed and trimmed a bit shorter in case we have a lot of rain and end up with mud everywhere (hopefully not)!  I find spraying conditioner in the tails also helps to stop the mud sticking to their tails so much.  In the next week or so I am planning to pull Basil's mane and trim Chesney's and Tommy's with the 'solo' comb I have.  Chesney hates having his mane pulled so I find this is a good compromise.  Tommy's mane I am leaving longer and just keeping it from getting too scruffy at the moment.  I am still not sure whether he would look better with it neatly trimmed but it doesn't really matter!

During August they had their last Worm Egg Count of the year and as usual just Tommy needed worming.  They will have a Tapeworm test at the end of September and that will be it until their annual worming for Small Encysted Redworm nearer Christmas.

Annual vaccinations and dentist visit is due in October.  As my horses don't mix with others at all and don't get out and about I only vaccinate for Tetanus and Flu.  The vet generally gives them a quick heart rate and respiratory rate check too while here and also sedates Chesney for his teeth to be done.  I have had annual dentist checks for many years and definitely recommend it to reduce the chance of problems.  Older horses can have more issues and with a 23 year old and 16 year old it is  even more important now that I get it done.  As Basil is missing a tooth his teeth won't wear evenly so that is another reason for him to have regular checks.

I check the horses over each and every day for any injuries throughout the year, although this is much more tricky in the winter when it is dark when I am there in the week.  It is important to know what is 'normal' for each of them so that I can quickly identify a problem.  Basil is very slightly lame at the moment and if you didn't know him you probably wouldn't notice but I know him so well.  He has a new tiny little soft lump on the fetlock and I think this is related so he is having some time off!  He and Chesney have quite a few lumps and bumps now so I have to be able to tell which are new and which have been there for a long time so that I can quickly identify a problem.

Laminitis can still claim victims at this time of year so I am still careful about the horses grazing.  In some ways this time of year is more tricky because of the lush grass and the colder mornings, when there is dew and frost the fructans are higher in the grass.

Fly Bites are still something I try to look out for too.  Basil was stung by a wasp this time last year which gave him a big swelling on his back and made him go totally loopy.

The summer seems to have gone by so quickly, I am hoping for a few more good weather days in September to enjoy and have lots of things planned!

Have you seen last week's video 'Tail Washing and Brave Tommy' on my You Tube channel?   
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

All About ... TENS Therapy

TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) machines are used as pain suppressors.  The machines deliver low voltage electrical pulses to the nervous system to help relieve pain.  

 
This type of therapy has been used on humans for many years but is relatively new to the horse world.  There is little research so this should probably not be your first choice of therapy.  There also seems to be people claiming to be qualified after little training but as I said there is not much research on horses and TENS treatment.  It is important to bear in mind that humans can easily tell us if something is causing more pain than before - it is more difficult for a horse.

However the principal is that the electrical pulses block or confuse the pain signals before they reach the brain.  It is important to know where and why there is pain in the first place or the treatment will purely mask the problem.

In humans it is used for:

·         Post operative pain

·         Osteoarthritis

·         Musculoskeletal pain

I have used it myself for lower back pain but would not consider using it on my horse until there is more research.  There are contraindications too, TENS must not be used when suffering from Sepsis!

As with other therapies I would recommend that treatment should only be given on the advice of a vet.

Have you seen Wednesday's video 'Tail Washing & Brave Tommy'  on my You Tube channel?   
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

Greatest Horses - Toytown

Toytown was a big chestnut gelding who evented with Zara Phillips in the noughties.  Together they took eventing to a much wider audience.
 

Born in 1992, his sire was an Irish Draught called Tipperary Grey.

Zara's father bought Toytown (known as Noddy) in 1999 when he was a novice eventer, Zara bought him a few months later. 

In 2002 they won the Young Riders section at Bramham and then individual silver at the Europeans.  In 2003 they stepped up to 4 star level at Burghley where they came 2nd.  Unfortunately Toytown was off injured for most of 2004 so missed the Olympics but he was back on form in 2005 when they won the individual and team gold at the Europeans and were 2nd at Luhmuhlen.

In 2006 they again won individual gold at the World Equestrian Games and a team silver.  Followed by another team gold at the Europeans in 2007.  Sadly, the Olympics in 2008 were another disappointment as a last minute injury meant Toytown could not go :(

Toytown was not a very consistent showjumper which made the last day of 3 day events very tense to watch.  He could also be very naughty as he demonstrated in 2007 at the Festival of Eventing when he started rearing in the dressage arena!

He retired in 2011 at Gatcombe and sadly had to be put to sleep this June.

Did you see last week's video 'It's August!' on my You Tube channel?   
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo

All About ... Ultrasound Therapy

Ultrasound can be used as a therapy as well as a diagnostic technique.   Ultrasound are sound waves with a pitch above the level of human hearing.  When used as a therapy the frequency (rate of repetition of the waves) is different to that used for diagnostic ultrasound.  As I explained in my ultrasound diagnostic blog these high frequency waves create an echo (which is what gives the picture).  
 

However, the ultrasonic waves also stimulate blood flow and cell activity, which aids healing.  This is because the sound waves are able to raise the temperature of deep tissues which means there is much more potential in therapy than just applying heat to the skin surface.  It will not heat the temperature of the skin surface whilst doing this!

The increased activity in the cells causes an increase in oxygen to the area which then again increases the blood flow.  Therefore, further increasing oxygen travelling to the area, and the increase in blood also brings more nutrients to the cells.  The increased cell activity also causes an increase in waste removal from the area, many of the waste products contribute to pain felt.

Ultrasound was first used in 1938 to treat sciatica.  It has now been used in hospitals for over 50 years.

Used for:

·         Improving joint mobility

·         Tendonitis or ligament damage

·         Muscle spasm

·         Bursitis

·         Scar tissue

·         Splints or other bony growths

·         Oedema

·         Pain relief in some circumstances

·         Wound healing

IMPORTANT:

·         Treatment should only be given on the advice of a vet.

·         If used incorrectly ultrasound can cause damage and harm.

·         Ultrasound therapy should not be used in cases of acute sepsis because it increases the spread of infection.  It also should not be used in tumour treatment, on pregnant mares or horses with heart problems.

Have you seen this week's video 'It's August!' on my You Tube channel?   
Horse Life and Love.  Please check it out and SUBSCRIBE.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on Chesney, Basil, Tommy and Daisy.

Until next time!

Jo