Hands On Horses

24/05/2022

Horses sleep in three different positions: standing, semi-recumbent, and fully recumbent.

Each of these positions allow the horse to reach different levels of sleep.

1. Standing, which is the safest position for a prey animal, offers the lightest level of sleep.

This allows the horse to wake and run away quickly if in danger.

2. Semi-recumbent, as shown in the picture, is where the horse lays down, but with their legs underneath them.

This allows for a deeper sleep than standing, but their legs are still underneath them for a quick stand up and run away.

3. Fully recumbent is where a horse is laid flat out on their sides. This is the only position in which a horse can get to REM sleep - deep, restful sleep.

However due to the horse's body size, they can only lay fully out for 45 minutes a time or risk crushing internal organs.

In total, horses need anywhere from 30 min to 3 hours of REM sleep a day.

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04/05/2022

Love this

03/05/2022

Tuesday tip - Stretching the neck muscles

This is a great exercise to incorporate into your schooling warm up or try it when you're out hacking.

Ask your horse for lateral flexion in his neck to one side, then ride straight, then ask for lateral flexion to the other side, then straight.

Pick a number of steps for each, for example, 10 steps with left lateral flexion - 10 steps straight - 10 steps with right lateral flexion.

As you ask for the bend it’s important that your horse maintains his rhythm, balance, and impulsion. If he struggles reduce the number of steps you ask for.

Try this exercise in walk first once you’re both happy and confident you can try it in trot and even canter.

Lateral flexion in the neck is good for:

✅ Core stability and balance

✅ Coordination and proprioception

✅ Developing straightness and symmetry

✅ Forelimb movement and expression

✅ Reducing tension and restriction in the neck muscles

✅ Muscular strength, control and suppleness

✅ Neck joint flexibility

For more exercises to do while you're out hacking?
Read our blog 👇
https://www.horsesinsideout.com/post/make-your-hacking-count

21/04/2022

Spring is finally here and, sadly, as the grass begins to grow many dangerous plants do too. At this time of year, we need to be extra vigilant for poisonous plants beginning to emerge or trees coming into leaf. Amongst others, it's important to be aware of deadly nightshade, foxgloves, hemlock, ragwort and laburnum growing in or near our paddocks.

However, this list isn’t exhaustive. You can find our full guide to poisonous plants here - https://bit.ly/3OumLti

13/04/2022

Tired and achy muscles make you feel miserable let alone feeling stiff, uncomfortable and generally lacking energy. Your horse will feel the same if his muscles are sore, but he doesn’t always have the option to take it easy for a few days. He’ll have to put up with it or communicate his discomf...

23/03/2022

Watched another great webinar from World Horse Welfare on Why Gut Bugs Matter. Learnt
loads about why gut health is important for so many health reasons and even behaviour. Definitely recommend watching it on their fb page or YouTube

16/03/2022

Although laminitis is a year-round concern, with the spring grass making its way through, owners need to be vigilant they spot the first signs of this extremely painful condition. Here are the signs you should be looking out for 👇

When it comes to laminitis, prevention is most definitely better than cure. For more information on how you can prevent and treat laminitis, please visit our website now - https://bit.ly/3JdOr2v

23/02/2022

With spring just around the corner and with the temperatures becoming warmer, those who have rugged their horses over the winter will need to consider the differing range of temperatures that the spring months can bring.

Checking the weather forecast regularly will give you a rough indication of what temperatures and weather lies ahead and just remember that the temperatures at 6am can be a lot different to the temperature at midday, so if you are feeling cold when at the yard before work, this may not be the case for the rest of the day! Consider changing weights of rug for day vs night, or even removing rugs completely during the day.

Just remember, the ambient temperature range in which a healthy unclipped adult horse can easily maintain their body temperature is between 5 and 25 degrees Celsius, which is a lot wider than humans!

18/02/2022

"Massage can not only treat musculoskeletal issues in horses, but also improve their general health and wellbeing. After the treatment, the ‘feel-good’ sensation relieves the horse of anxiety and nervous tension; and conveys a sense of satisfaction; and reconnection with life that subconsciously promotes recovery and improvement.”

Who has experienced improved mood and relaxation after a massage session, either in themself or their horse?

09/02/2022

Just watched a brilliant webinar on wound care by the World Horse Welfare The take away message was to clean wounds thoroughly ASAP but don't use chemicals (like hibiscrub) Salt water is best, just water is the next best. I recommend a watch on their YouTube channel from around 2130 tonight.

World Horse Welfare is an international horse charity that improves the lives of horses in the UK and around the world through education, campaigning, and ha...

20/01/2022

Really enjoyed doing this course and a bit chuffed to get 100% on each assessment.