Work experience...equestrian style

Hello again!

With a long summer looming before me and the prospect of undetaking several placements in a range of different animal establishments in the final bid before applying to UCAS, I thought I'd use this post to talk about the previous work experience I've had with horses at a local stables that I've been riding at since I was 10, have loaned a few different horses from in summer holidays and of course spent countless weekends helping around the yard with every aspect of horse care from the less glamourous tasks such as mucking out, to grooming the riding school horses, helping with their worming programmes, bandaging, feeding and turning out!

In relation to veterinary, whilst down at the stables I dealt with a pony who suffered from sweet itch, a condition that about 5% of the equine population suffer from. Symptoms of the disease included bald patches which on this pony were present on the dock of the tail and the crest of the mane as a result of constantly rubbing against the paddock fencing which became more vigorous during the summer months. Sweet itch is a hypersensitive allergic reaction to a midge bite and although currently there is no cure there are ways of managing the condition. The stables I helped out at treated this pony in several ways- firstly, the pony was regularly sprayed with insect repellent, wore a specially designed  turnout rug to prevent the midges being able to bite the pony further and also stabled the pony during dusk.

Another pony at the stables was prone to chronic laminitis, meaning that the laminitis was a continuous problem throughout the pony's life. The main cause of laminitis is poor digestion and over eating rich grass (rich in fructan sugars)  especially in spring and summer. If these fructans are not broken down properly acids are produced in the body that can damage blood vessels. If the blood vessels in the laminae of the hooves are damaged in this way inflamation occurs. Damage to the laminae means that the pedal bone cannot be held in place properly and it begins to move position causing pain. Treatment usually includes anti-inflammatorities and a diet change. The condition can be managed in a few ways... One approach is corrective shoeing with the most popular type of shoe being the heart-shaped bar. Another is to restrict the pony's intake of the high fructan source food, on my placement the pony in question was kept in a restricted grazing area where only a limited amount of grass coule be eaten and was only allowed out to graze for a few hours (usually about 2-3) a day.

During the winter months, another common problem I often saw the riding school horses have was mud fever. Around the fetlock area, sores appeared often caused by a mixture of bacteria obtained from muddy fields. This condition can often lead to lameness. The stables I was at dealt with mud fever by regularly washing the horses hooves during the winter months with an antiseptic solution and then drying them thoroughly. Long fetlocks were also cut shorter to prevent them picking up as much mud, especially on the cob breeds that were present.

                                                                               The first picture is of myself riding a horse called Buddie about two years ago. Due to the pinking on his nose, I learnt the need for sun cream to be applied on hot days to prevent burning as grey horses are particularly prone! He also taught me a lot about horse management, as I was responsible for keeping him groomed, washed, fed, watered during the hot summer months. Bonny was another horse who taught me a lot in terms of animal handling, especially as when I first started working with her she was young at only four and quite nervous if separated from her herd. From her I learnt how to handle partially nervous horses both on the ground and whilst being ridden, as at first she did not like to be caught from the field nor did she enjoy hacking out alone, often spooking and napping. However with a bit of work, Bonny was happily walking around the village on her own whilst on hacks and would allow me to bring her in from the field without throwing a tantrum, just proving that patience really does work!