An open letter to the British Horse Society (below) -  Anyone who owns a horse should read this, and please, feel free to write your own letter to the BHS in support.  As you read, and come to the information on the study, bare in mind the Australians were trained using the BHS system.

Flooding was a new terminology to me, but I already have experience of horses who have suffered this.  Having had a couple of horses come to me after being shut down and suffering learned helplessness due to the training of a local Natural Horse person :(

http://www.horseconscious.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BHS-letter-January-2014.pdf

To my lovelies who remember the beginning of last year I had another brain wave.  Or more precisely put in my case, a tsunami!  Fish were subsequently introduced into our water troughs as a result of this storm in a tea cup.  Fish have been keeping down the wiggly red worms ever since.  Just had a trough cleaning session this morning and, although you can´t see clearly and have no reference, the fish are over 3 times bigger than when they first came to work for our horses.  So we are obviously doing something right ;) We still get that green furry gunk.  Just one day of sunshine starts the production of that.  But that doesn´t affect the horses.  If you remember, I did toy with the idea of aquatic snails to keep the sides clean, and subsequently  keep on top of the green gunk, but apparently one kind is illegal now (not that I knew there were more than one!), and there would be nothing to stop them crawling up the sides and out, off on an adventure.  So that put the kibosh on that idea.  Anyway, fish work!  Providing your water isn´t loaded with bleach and fluoride - which is not good for horses either.

Slapped wrists for me today.  I am one of the first to repeatedly say that Endurance riding is about it´s motto, To Finish is To Win.  A sport that you ride with your head, not with your horses feet.  A sport your ride smart, not fast.  Well, today that all went out the window!  Definitely in line for a nice prize today.  The White Bullet and I came in first after the first phase of the 60km competition we were entered in - 60km´s of real endurance circuit up (and down!) a mountain, with lots of curves, switch-backs almost, lots of undulating terrain and some serious climbs - We were first in, and out of, the Vet Gate with a pulse of 46 and all A´s on the card.  Second phase and TWB was just loving it.  Again we came in first, entered the Vet Gate in seconds, this time with a pulse of 40 bpm and all A´s on the card, to then learn we crossed the finish line 25 seconds too quickly.  Yep, 25 seconds!  Shame on me.  No excuses - except stoopidity.  I checked the minutes and not the seconds.

But I wasn´t alone.  Three other riders were also eliminated for coming in too fast.  Only apparently it was my fault.  Hey ho, my shoulders are broad.  They said as I´m English and we are renowned for our punctuality, and knowing they should enter 1 minute after me, they followed my lead and subsequently followed me to early across the finish line.   Now the fact that they entered over 1 minute inside time doesn´t enter into their equations.  They are Andalucians and as such known to always be late - they say - so it´s still my fault..... This was all in good humor.  The accusations weren´t real.  We all had a laugh about our stupidity today.   But hey, I lost out on a great prize today!  Very happy to say the rider that took it (a Podium Saddle) is a great sportsman and he deserved it.

Just saw another persons blog talking of gadgets and gizmo´s to get your horse to box, causing me to put pen to paper.  He spoke about wrapping the horse up like the Christmas turkey and various ropes/pulleys (?) to get a reluctant horse into a box.

Apuff - seriously - there is no replacement for groundwork.  Be it 10 minutes or 10 days, take the time it takes.  Then, whenever you want to travel with your horse there is no stress, no trauma, no possible damage to him or yourself, and it will only take as long as the two steps up the ramp!  Use blackmail if necessary - put a hay net in the trailer, leave it open, allow the horse to enter of their own free will to eat and leave again as they please.  If your trailer has a ramp, have them walk ´across´ the ramp, not into the trailer, so they become accustomed to the sound and possible movement without the additional stress of going into a confined space.  Make the trailer as open and light as possible.  If you have an exit door, open it.  Windows, same thing.  Light, turn it on.  If it is a step-up trailer, put some food just a reach away, so they need to step up with their fores.  Don´t ask for them to reach the top of the mountain the first try, or 5th if necessary.  Reward every positive move, ignore everything else.

As for protection.  My experience is that, for long journeys leave your horse as naked as the day he was born.  He will be (should be) traveling in a vehicle with air-suspension, air-conditioning and a hay net under his nose.  He will have regular breaks to drink and un-load to stretch his legs.  The shorter journeys require some protection.  They are usually in a trailer or small lorry.  But use proper travel boots, not constrictive polo wraps, and don´t, but don´t, wrap their tails.  The photos show what happened to the tail of a friends horse, wrapped by a "professional"  horse transport company.  He arrived at his new destination with a necrotic tail which fell off when they removed the wrap.  Even constantly wrapping too tight for numerous short journey´s will eventually cause a cut in circulation and the same results.  If they are prone to "sitting" on the rear bar, you can get quarter guards, which are held on with a surcingle.