A horse owner is encouraging others to clip a semi-colon onto their horse to show solidarity with those suffering mental illness and addiction.

Project Semicolon, a suicide prevention charity, was founded in the US in 2013, and sparked a trend for its supporters to have tattoos of the punctuation mark.

Team-chase competitor Liffie Fowler said she had been struck by the prevalence of suicide within rural communities, and had been contemplating having the tattoo when she came up with the idea for the clip.

“There has been the Blow for Bradley anti-bullying campaign, and also the images of empty wellies published recently [by the DPJ Foundation] representing the number of farmers lost this year to suicide,” Liffie said.

“It’s not just rural communities, it’s through every community, and since I first shared images of the clip, I have had a lot of people message me and say how it touches home.”

Liffie said she considers the symbol a sign of support and if anyone spots it on her horse, they are welcome to “pull her to one side” to talk to her.

“I want it to be seen that I am supportive of anything and it would be great if other people could also take it on board,” she said.

“Sometimes it can be easier to talk to a stranger than it can friends and family and I know that myself — I bottled things up for years as I was scared of judgment.

“I would hate to think there were people out there when I am team chasing, show jumping or hunting who are struggling and I hope that if they recognise the symbol, they know they can reach out.”

Liffie has clipped the semi-colon onto her Irish sport horse Zach, whom she rides in intermediate level team chases with the Fox Grant Thrusters 1.

“The image has had a reach of about 12,000 people so far and I have had a lot of people say they will leave a semi-colon on when they do their next clip,” Liffie said.

“It only takes five minutes with a pair of face clippers. I usually use stencils but I was able to quickly do it freehand.”

She added that one of her motivations for the campaign was having suffered “drops” in her own mental health, and that she had learned it was often better to offload than bottle things up.

“At 16, I went down a really bad path, I was addicted to alcohol and drugs, which I had sorted by the time I was 17, when I became a mother,” she said.

Continues below…

Pony’s zebra haircut aims to raise awareness of rare condition

‘It’s been great to raise some awareness and give my pony a cool haircut in the process!’

#GoRacingGreen: how horses have helped tackle mental health issues

Debbie Matthews’ #GoRacingGreen idea to welcome all people to racing and equestrian events has received much support

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“I still have remnants of depression and anxiety and I do struggle sometimes, but my life has changed completely — I have my own home and own horses, I’m team chasing at intermediate where we are top of the league and I never envisioned myself doing that four or five years ago.

“The equine world has really helped me and I hope this is something that people take up.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

In this week’s issue of Horse & Hound (out now, issue dated 31 October), National Hunt jockey Harry Skelton talks about why coming second isn’t an option in his competitive family — “It’s not allowed!” he says.

He also gave us an insight into which of the Lodge Hill horses, trained by his brother Dan, he’s most excited about riding this season — as well as the team’s quest to find the Big Star (pictured top) of the racing world.

Here, he shares his thoughts about five of the yard’s top horses he reckons could be finding their way to the winner’s enclosure in due course.

1. Roksana — seven-year-old bay mare by Dubai Destination, owned by Mrs Sarah Faulks, bred by John O’Leary

The stable star of last season took Harry on his second visit to the winner’s enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival in March — and gave the yard their first taste of Grade One success — when first past the post in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle.

Harry says: “She was really progressive last year — her best run was actually probably finishing second in the Grade One hurdle at Aintree [in April] when she progressed from her Grade One win at the Festival and ran even better. She’s been doing really well at home.”

2. Beakstown — six-year-old bay gelding by Stowaway, owned by Bryan Drew, bred by Geoffrey Thompson

This giant of a horse, standing well over 17hh, won a point-to-point in Ireland before joining the Skelton yard, where he has been lightly raced but has racked up a brace of wins over hurdles, including breaking the track record when claiming victory in a Grade Two race at Warwick. The gelding finished second to the classy Sam Spinner in his debut over fences at Wetherby recently.

Harry says: “He’s a future chaser — we probably won’t see the best of him for a couple of years.”

3. Generation Text — four-year-old bay gelding by Getaway, owned by Highclere Racing

Has yet to race under rules but came to Britain after finishing second in a point-to-point in Ireland.

Harry says: “ We’ll start him in Bumpers then go from there.”

4. Maire Bainrae — seven-year-old bay mare by King’s Theatre, owned by the Hales family and Jon Diver, bred by Donhead Stud

She made a record price for a mare from the point-to-point field when sold out of Ireland for £320,000 as a five-year-old. She has remained unbeaten since the start of last year, including in her chasing debut at Stratford at the beginning of October, where she looked a very exciting proposition.

Harry says: “The Hales family have been great supporters and Maire Bainrae has won her last three races — she looks a very progressive mare.”

Continued below…

The National Hunt season is here! 9 reasons to get excited about it

The National Hunt season is upon us, so here are some reasons why we’re getting excited…

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5. Interconnected — five-year-old brown gelding by Network, owned by the Yates, bred by MJ Tuckey

Previously trained by Nicky Henderson, where he raced once over hurdles. Darren Yates paid a record-breaking £620,000 for the horse at Doncaster Sales in May and while Interconnected has yet to make his debut for the Skelton yard, it will surely be a race watched with great interest.

Harry says: “He cost a lot of money at the sales, but is very much a big baby so we’re talking long-term with him — we can see the bigger picture and it’s much further down the line, but he really seems a really nice one to look forward to.”

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

When Lorraine Twigg competed Whippletree Jupiter at the 2018 Team Quest national championships as part of the Cheshire Cats team, she had no idea that the following year would prove the most harrowing of her life.

Shortly after the championships in October 2018, the 18hh grey gelding was kicked in the field at home, fracturing the radius bone in his off foreleg.

“I saw a cut on his leg when I brought him in, but didn’t realise how bad it was until I started hosing him,” explained Lorraine.

“He had to spend 14 weeks standing still in his stable, with a splint up the back of his leg and another up the side, almost as high as his withers, so he couldn’t move the leg at all.

“I put my life on hold — I or someone else was always in the stable so he was never really alone. He coped really well — he has a very sane head on his shoulders and seemed to accept that he just had to stand there. He never messed about, never fought it. I can only put it down to the Cleveland Bay attitude to life.”

After nearly four months, the splints and bandaging were able to come off, but Jupiter was far from being out of danger.

“I was warned by the vet that if the fracture hadn’t healed properly and Jupiter lay down in his stable, his leg could snap, and if that happened it would never heal,” Lorraine recalled. “When I went out to him the first morning after the splints had come off I didn’t know what I was going to find. But then I saw his head over the door and I just knew he was going to be OK.”

But the ordeal was far from over, with Jupiter developing grade three ulcers afterwards and requiring treatment, followed by another freak accident.

“At the second scoping, Jupiter spotted some grass while on the ramp of the lorry and suddenly moved sideways. He stepped too far and slipped off the ramp, tearing the skin off the inside of his leg in a huge flap,” says Lorraine, who was finally able to bring her horse back into work in May this year.

“He had lost a lot of muscle, and we had to get his saddle refitted as he was a different shape. We had to work so hard to bring him back, but Jupiter worked his socks off. When I first took him out competing after everything he was scoring 75%. I just can’t believe this horse — he is an absolute star, and so precious.”

Continued below…

25 signs you’re an incurable dressage diva/divo

Does seeing female competitors without hairnets make your stomach do a little flip? And is all your kit patent or

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Lorraine and Jupiter joined Lucy Allen and Rena Roberts on the Cheshire Cats Team Quest team for a fourth year — wearing pink and white striped onesies — and the trio finished 13^th out of 22 teams at the championships.

Lorraine is now aiming to compete Jupiter at elementary and novice freestyle over the winter.

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

A “scraggly and forlorn” rescue pony who has undergone a remarkable transformation has taken to a career in driving like a “duck to water”.

Graham, an 11.2hh part-bred Welsh pony, was taken into the care of World Horse Welfare as a two-year-old in 2017 with three other horses who had all been found in poor condition and living in filthy stables.

A spokesman for the charity said Graham “flourished” thanks to the staff at the Penny Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre and at four years old started his education in “earnest”.

“His potential as a future driving pony quickly shone through,” he said.

“Once he was ready, the team put him in a carriage and he took to it like a duck to water.”

In January 2018 Graham was rehomed by Nichola and Amelia Waddicor, who compete in driving as part of Team Khoja, after they saw his potential “straight away”.

“Graham’s absolutely full of it – he’s so inquisitive and bold, which is always good for driving. He’s always into the wheelbarrows, the poop scoop, the rugs – everything. He’s so lovable, and adorable,” said Nichola.

“He’s up for it and willing, and that’s what you want in a driving pony. They’ve got to want to do it and he absolutely loves it; his ears are always forward looking for the next thing and we’ve got high hopes for him.”

Article continued below…

Abandoned elderly horse undergoes ‘miraculous transformation’

‘It looks to me that as poor Jack was getting older, someone thought he wasn’t good enough any more and

Arabs ‘unrecognisable’ a year after being rescued from horrifying conditions

A spokesman for the charity said the rehabilitation of the Arabs had been some of the “most challenging” work it

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The spokesman said Graham “grew into his role” with the lead of his team-mate, Nichola’s Dartmoor hill pony Cosmo, and the partnership have gone from strength to strength.

“Nichola and Amelia had initially planned that Graham would partner up with Amelia’s star pony Khoja, but the ponies’ paces proved too different for that partnership to work. Amelia realised that Graham worked really well alongside Nichola’s pony Cosmo, at which point Nichola ended up handing over her pony and the dynamic duo was born,” said the spokesman.

“Competing in the distinctive yellow colours of Team Khoja, Graham is thriving as a competitive driving pony and the team have high hopes for his future career.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

I thought this was perfect for a Sunday… Thank you, kind reader, for submitting these photos!

HERE WE GO!

Original article linked here.

Wild horses and wild tulips.

There is a small island on Lake Manych-Gudilo that is within Chernye Zemli Nature Reserve in the south of Russia. It is home to wild tulips and wild horses. I have spend several days in the end of April watching those horses and I can tell you wild horses behave very different from domesticated ones…

Original story can be found here: http://shpilenok.livejournal.com/182339.html
Read more about these protected steppes here: http://www.wild-russia.org/bioregion3/Rostovsky/3_rostov.htm

Posted by Unknown at 8:50 PM

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A dressage rider and coach, Richard Davison has represented Great Britain at four Olympic Games, including at London 2012 riding Hiscox Artemis. He is also a European medallist, former World Class performance manager and British Dressage team captain.

Training the stars

My horse, Hiscox Artemis, was short-coupled and, in the early days, he would tend to contract and tighten the wrong muscle groups, so I would do exercises to improve his flexibility and range of movement.

He was quick to understand that he needed to multi-task with his neck and hindquarters. Soon, he was flexing with me only using the lightest of leg and rein aids.

Tackling the issue

Instead of suppleness, I focus on flexibility. If you flex and mobilise joints effectively, your horse’s muscle tone improves. Here is my four-point plan…

1. Learn about horse anatomy, especially which parts of the horse have the most and the least flexibility. There is no point trying to flex a part that won’t.

2. Responsiveness is best achieved through the pressure-release system. Start by checking your horse’s forward response to your leg. The important thing here is to remove your leg pressure when the horse responds.

3. Work on the sideways response to your leg by leg-yielding your horse towards and away from the side of the arena. Then ride down the long side and apply your outside leg slightly further back until he moves his hindquarters on to the inside track, while remaining on the outside track with his front legs (see diagram, above). Avoid flexing your horse’s neck too much at this stage — you are not trying to ride travers. After approximately 15 metres, use your inside leg to straighten him.

Repeat this exercise two or three times on the same long side, depending on the length of your school. Work on both reins and eventually anywhere in the arena, varying the direction in which you mobilise the hindquarters.

4. Ride in a straight line and use your inside rein to flex your horse’s neck to the inside, ensuring he stays straight with his legs. After 15 metres, straighten up using your outside rein and repeat, then move to the inside track and flex to the outside for 15 metres. Straighten up and repeat in different places around the arena. This will mobilise your horse’s neck joints.

Continued below…

#SundaySchool: perfecting pirouettes with Rebecca Hughes

The international dressage rider and young horse producer explains how walk pirouettes can improve engagement for medium trot

#SundaySchool: How do I maintain impulsion in downward transitions?

Dressage rider Alice Oppenheimer explains how to keep a horse energetic and forward, even when slowing down

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Consider this…

• Begin the exercises in walk and progress gradually. It is easier for your horse to mobilise all parts of his body in a slower pace.
• Minimise the pressure of your leg or hand as soon as your horse responds to the aids.
• This isn’t about ‘holding the bend’, but about getting your horse to respond to the pressure-release system. The more you hold your leg around him, the less he will respond, making him appear inflexible because he can’t find a way of relieving the pressure.

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

Blessed are the cobs! I gave a presentation at the recent British Horse Society (BHS) convention in Surrey and had some anxiety over which students I would be given. But I was in luck with two riders on wonderful cobs. However, the sad truth is that riders may struggle to find cobs or small horses, as they are under threat from a breeding industry focused on high-value elite performers — usually big horses with big paces.

This is market forces, but it’s not good for the sport or the industry. Ours is a sport in which the vast majority of riders are female and of novice level, both adults and children, and it’s an industry that has huge untapped potential, given the right horses.

When I was young, the values of different types of equines varied less. When I sold my first £1,000 pony out of Cornwall, a good hunter or sound thoroughbred was a similar price. Most competition horses were bought cheaply as youngsters. As a result, all types of horses were bred for all types of activities. Now, however, there is an emphasis on breeding a pan-European type that can jump, but with decreased genetic diversity.

‘Lottery trap’

These breeders are falling into the lottery dream trap. Of the millions of people buying lottery tickets, only a very few win big, and the same is true of breeding horses. Elite horses are rare. This dream results in the production of thousands of horses that are often unsuited to the general market. We need fewer of these horses, and more smaller, sound and sensible horses, which have more performance options; plus a greater likelihood of a fair and regular profit. This can become a reality with a little positive marketing around the following points:

• Saving money: based on a horse consuming 2.5% of its bodyweight per day, a smaller horse cuts feeding costs.
• Improving soundness and longevity: force equals mass multiplied by acceleration, so reducing mass is a major factor in reducing stress on feet and limbs. In addition, as a body grows in size, its volume grows exponentially and bigger horses struggle because of this. Generally, as with dogs, smaller animals live longer.
• Safety: if our horses fit us better, we are more secure in the saddle. Plus the genetic diversity and brain of ponies, and breeds that have developed over millennia, helps with both good health and survival instincts that look after a rider.
• Elite performance: many grand prix showjumping champions are 16hh or under, such as Itot Du Chateau, Hickstead and Stroller. In eventing, small stars include Lenamore and Charisma; in racing there is Grand National hero Tiger Roll at 15.3hh, and super sires Sadler’s Wells and Hyperion at 15.2hh. And in dressage there is Charlotte Dujardin’s recent national inter II champion Gio, who is just 16hh.

Commercial breeding has become a tail that is wagging the sport horse industry, but change is possible.

Ref Horse & Hound; 31 October 2019

Rooster is a very good boy.  He is a 12 year-old gelding with a horrible injury that has not healed in a year – even with daily treatment.  (Rooster went through a fence.  He didn’t hurt the bone, but there isn’t enough tissue to regrow.)

Rooster’s owner had no hope … Rooster was given to Strawberry Mountain Mustangs to take to OSU for a final, analysis.  OSU offered the below scenarios (not much hope):

1 ) Leave the wound as is and bandage for eternity. <—- (this was a no) The changes in bone mean this wound would likely never close on its own.

2 ) Surgery to scrape away excess bone growth (*not to be confused with sequestrum) in the hope that the wound would then close on its own. Possible complications were : destabilizing the leg resulting in a fracture, and risk of stimulating the bone so it grows right back. A long recovery in a cast with a sketchy prognosis didn’t sound appealing.

3 ) Skin grafting. If you’ve followed us for long, you know we’ve done successful skin grafting in the past, but this wound has little to no healthy tissue for a graft to adhere to. It’s almost bare bone. OSU didn’t think it would work.

Luckily, Strawberry Mountain Mustangs scoured the internet and found a new, ground breaking possibility for Rooster.  Enter KERECIS.  And Kerecis (intact fish skin) is willing to help!

All donations are 100% tax deductible!  Thank you in advance for helping SMM help Rooster (and potentially many, many others…) with this new, life-saving protocol!

If you receive this post via email, click here to donate!

The wound seems clean and healthy enough… except it has not healed at all in a year because the bone is exposed and because of the constant growth of proud flesh.

NEXT IMAGE IS GRAPHIC – I’ve made it very small.  This is the constant battle with Rooster’s proud flesh and never ending debridement.

WHAT IS KERECIS AND WHY IS IT BE GROUND BREAKING AND HOW CAN IT HELP?! – Intact fish skin!

.

(from the website) Why Kerecis®?

Kerecis Omega3 is intact fish skin rich in naturally occurring Omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. When grafted onto damaged human tissue such as a burn or a diabetic wound, the material recruits the body’s own cells and is ultimately converted into living tissue.

Compared to mammalian-based skin substitutes, Kerecis Omega3 offers improved economics and clinical performance, as well as reduced disease transfer risk and no cultural constraints on usage.

Other tissue-transplant products are based on tissues of human and porcine origin. These are not ideal substitutes because heavy processing is needed to eliminate the risk of disease transmission. This harsh, anti-viral treatment removes most of the material’s natural components, making it dissimilar to human skin.

GROUNDBREAKING KERECIS WAS APPLIED TO ROOSTER’S LEG ON SATURDAY!

This is so exciting!  The people at Kerecis are very willing to help a horse and sent instructions and the first round of product to the veterinarians caring for Rooster.

They stitched in the Kerecis patch and we are now waiting 5 days until the first check.  Rooster is being cared for and watched over by SMM.

CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MANY HORSES/ANIMALS WILL BE SAVED if this works?!  I think this is very, very exciting and brave and fortuitous.

Let’s Please help Strawberry Mountain Mustangs in this groundbreaking endeavor to save Rooster (and others after him)!

Imagine the good this will do for others?!  Please spread the word!  All donations are 100% tax deductible.  Thank you, Thank you!

   If you receive this post via email, click here to donate!

This is sweet Rooster. He’s only 12!

This is what the Kerecis fish patch looks like.

This is the packaging.

This is the Kerecis patch stitched into place over Rooster’s wound.

This is Rooster after being bandaged and the bandage sprayed with an anti-chew remedy.

NOW WE WAIT… Please, let’s help take the stress off of trying a new protocol and help SMM and Rooster – for all of us!  Thank you!

Provided by CoolFundraisingIdeas.net

Good boy, Rooster

The post GROUNDBREAKING Skin/Tissue substitute being tested on our NOVEMBER BUCKET FUND HORSE: MEET ROOSTER with his history-making, life threatening wound! appeared first on Horse and Man.

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The elephant in the room this season was the call for the remeasuring of two prominent 148cm show ponies just before the Royal International (RIHS) in July.

The 2018 RIHS show pony champion, Moluccas Bengal Beauty, measured out nine days before the Hickstead final.Small-Land Dream Maker’s absence was also noted. However, Dream Maker did measure in the following week and went on to stand supreme show pony at the British Show Pony Society (BSPS) summer championships.

This scenario conjures up more questions than answers. Were the objections made by an exhibitor, a judge, a society or a Joint Measurement Board (JMB) steward? It seems unlikely this information will be released, and so the objector will remain anonymous.

I believe there must be a rule to allow objections to take place during the showing season, in extreme circumstances.

On the other hand, should there also be an immunity period, similar to the football transfer window, before RIHS and the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) to stop a possible tactical move to derail the opposition by a rival competitor?

It would also be healthier to return to the old days when the objector was out in the open. This would eradicate the false accusations and malicious finger pointing which have created a bad atmosphere in the second half of 2019.

Weight watchers

The debate on rider weight in pony ranks continued to make headlines this term. The Great Yorkshire Show has been unkindly dubbed “Weight Watchers week” since introducing a regulation in 2016 that anyone of an inappropriate size for their equine would be asked to dismount.

This season Royal Windsor Horse Show pioneered its own rule that only children under 16 years of age could ride-in mini ponies 122cm or under, which was considered easier to monitor. Perhaps a height alternative should be thrown into the mix after I recently read a sign outside an all-day buffet eatery that stated children (5ft 4in and under) were only charged half the full price!

On a lighter note, it always amuses me to see horse competitors at HOYS wearing their full regalia at silly o’clock, resembling a Hollywood film set. That said, was I the only person to instantly recognise Oli Hood, sporting top hat and tails, in last winter’s BBC costume drama Vanity Fair?

And although an official of this year’s National Pony Society (NPS) Area 4 show assured me this had not been done intentionally, the Olympia judging duo of Mesdames Ann Bigley and Claire Smalley caused some merriment at the ring side, when guessing which type they would prefer!

A bright future?

The future of pony showing bodes well based on two of my 2019 judging experiences alone. At Royal Windsor, Lizzie Briant’s son Freddie, Robert Walker’s daughter Izzy and Simon Charlesworth’s son Jac all fared well in the leading-rein show hunter class.

And the legendary Holly Of Spring’s great-granddaughter Rowden Holly Go Lightly was novice champion at the BSPS Championships, trumping her stablemate Stretcholt New Dimension, who went on to claim the riding pony championship at HOYS.

Ref Horse & Hound; 31 October 2019

Brian Hughes

The rider is hot on the heels of champion jockey Richard Johnson, who is hoping to claim his fifth title. Brian’s partnership with Donald McCain is paying off as the trainer continues to show his resilience, having rebuilt his string after owners Paul and Clare Rooney removed their horses from his yard. If Donald has 100 winners this season and both Richard and Brian stay injury free, it might be a close fight.

Jonjo O’Neill Jnr

The young jockey looked a chip off the old block in his breakthrough season last winter. Rides from his father — trainer Jonjo O’Neill — look like being supplemented with a few from Colin Tizzard, so he should keep progressing.

Paul Nicholls

The champion trainer looks to be in a strong position to hold onto his title. Among his stars, he has Cyrname and Clan Des Obeaux. The latter has started off in the JW Wine Chase at Down Royal before defending his King George title. With Altior vacating the two-mile ranks, Politologue — runner-up in the Champion Chase — should pick up a good prize this season.

Nicky Henderson

The Lambourn handler’s top horses include Altior and Buveur D’Air. The latter may benefit from a small back surgery, which he underwent in the summer, and a third Champion Hurdle may not be beyond him after all.

Emma Lavelle… and Colin Tizzard

The trainer made a strong start to the season. She can rule the staying hurdle scene once again with Paisley Park, while the pick of Colin Tizzard’s novice hurdlers could be Master Debonair, who was a smart bumper horse last season.

Jamie Snowden

Over the summer, the trainer has enjoyed a 28% strike rate with 20 summer horses. With double that number due to be in the yard over the winter, and if he can maintain that great form over the next few months, he is well on the way to his best season ever. Thebannerkingrebel, runner-up to McFabulous at Aintree, took to hurdles like a duck to water in the spring and should be Jamie’s flagship horse.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

The National Hunt season is here! 9 reasons to get excited about it

The National Hunt season is upon us, so here are some reasons why we’re getting excited…

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Races not to miss this season…

The Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot (23 November): Nicky Henderson has decided to step Altior up in trip to see what he is capable of. This race is the starting point that could lead to the King George and who knows what else.

The Randox Health Grand National at Aintree (4 April): can Tiger Roll win a third National to match the legendary Red Rum? The horse standing between him and victory could be One For Arthur — given how he ran last year when the ground was too quick and he kept unseating in his races, before finishing an outstanding sixth in the National. Lucinda Russell had him back earlier this year and is very happy with him.

Don’t miss our National Hunt special (31 October) in Horse & Hound magazine — on sale now.