9 February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 59
HORSEWEEK
Protect your horses
against ies 24/7
FARMWEEK
JUNE 04 2020
59
LOCKDOWN DIARY - WEEK 10
By Bree Rutledge
I
T is coming to the time of year
when ies are always a concern,
however, this year more than in
the past as with visits (to horses
in livery) limited to once a day in
most cases, y control can become
an issue. This is even more of a worry
for those whose horses are aficted
by sweet itch, which is a horrible
condition and distressing for both the
horse and the owner in differing ways.
In order to minimise the effect of
biting ies, different management
strategies can be adopted, including
stabling during risk periods, i.e. dawn
and dusk, utilising y sheets or rugs
that prevent ies landing on the horse
or using y sprays. Stabling is a very
useful technique, but in lockdown
conditions may be difcult for some
people to achieve this year. Fly rugs
can be very effective, as long as you
don’t have a ‘rug thug’, but y sprays
are effective only when applied
regularly, and once a day may not be
enough to be effective in 24/7 turnout.
An alternative approach is to use
nutrition to help.
Garlic, Allium sativum, is a herb with
a pungent odour that has been utilised
by humans for centuries. Horslyx
Garlic Balancer contains pure garlic
oil to help provide a natural, effective
and long-lasting way to help combat
the problem of biting insects. Linseed
oil and antioxidants are also added
to help support the immune system
and skin condition alongside the high
specication balancer package to
balance the nutrient deciencies in
forage and grazing. The free access
lick promotes a natural trickle feeding
pattern that allows the horse to selfregulate and consume Horslyx as and
when they need it. This leads to the
SUNSHINE: ‘Jewel’ and I headed back to arena three at the
Meadows for our first lesson since before lockdown began and
the sun was shining. (FW23-524NN)
COMBAT BITING INSECTS: Horslyx Garlic Balancer contains pure garlic oil
to help provide a natural, effective and long-lasting way to help combat the
problem of biting insects and is currently on offer at your local Fane Valley
Store. (FW23-548NN)
diet being balanced plus a supply of
garlic being available round the clock
and so the y deterrent properties
of Horslyx Garlic Balancer are not
reliant on a person visiting once daily,
but are simply present 24 hours a day
to help reduce the irritation from ies
and other biting insects.
Independent
research,
using
Horslyx Garlic Balancer, conducted
at Aberystwyth University, reported
that horses offered Horslyx Garlic
Balancer had 64.5% less landing
on them compared to control,
unsupplemented horses. A follow up
study, with horses who were already
showing symptoms of sweet itch,
resulted in horses offered Horslyx
Garlic Balancer spending less time on
behaviours associated with sweet itch
relief compared to unsupplemented
horses. This research concluded:
“Feeding Horslyx Garlic Balancer
helped to alleviate irritation caused
by sweet itch, which in turn may
reduce stress, making for a happier,
more responsive and co-operative
horse”.
Horslyx Garlic Balancer 5kg and 15kg
tubs are currently on offer at your local
Fane Valley Store.
Plea for help to find stolen Blue Cross pony
B
STOLEN: ‘Basil’, a 10hh piebald gelding with distinctive
markings has been stolen from his loan home in
Gloucestershire. (FW22-542NN)
LUE Cross is appealing for help from the public to
nd stolen pony, ‘Basil’, who was stolen from his
loan home in Gloucestershire on the evening of
Thursday, May 21.
Please help Blue Cross to make ‘Basil’ too hot to handle.
The charity really wants him back home, safe and sound
with his borrower, who is absolutely devastated, as you
can imagine.
‘Basil’ only has one eye. He is 10hh, piebald (black and
white), is a gelding (neutered) with distinctive markings
and is micro-chipped.
If you see ‘Basil’, or have any information on his theft,
please call Gloucestershire Police/ Avon and Somerset
Police on 101, quoting crime reference number 497.
‘Basil’ can be nervous, so if you think you see him, please
do not approach him but do call the police. You can also
contact Blue Cross on 07827 897255.
Let’s get this lovely boy home as soon as possible. Please
share his photo and information as widely as you can.
More details on https://www. bluecross.org.uk/ pleahelp-nd- stolen-blue- cross-pony
Smile for
the camera
HELLO THERE: This lovely black horse
came up to the gate of a field near
Banbridge to have its photo taken
by Billy Maxwell from Katesbridge.
(FW23-548NN)
PICTURE:
courtesy of Billy Maxwell
YET another week of abnormal
circumstances has now passed,
but for me, week 10 of lockdown
was somewhat easier than
some of the previous weeks,
as I have not only been able to
get back out and about with my
horse, but have also enjoyed
riding in the glorious weather we
have been having recently... In
fact, dare I say it, at times it has
been nearly too hot!
After all these weeks without
any coaching, I was thrilled to
be able to arrange a jumping
lesson with my coach in the past
week. We headed back to arena
three at The Meadows (Lurgan)
again. The space and the variety
of fences there allows for a first
class training experience and,
on a very hot day, periodically
walking through the water
complex was ideal for cooling
down.
‘Jewel’ is a talented jumper, but
she doesn’t always choose to
use her talent... Sometimes she
just says no.
The first warm up jump we
approached during our lesson
was a tiny cross-pole and, you
guessed it, she said no! I could
only laugh, as I had just been
telling my coach about how good
‘Jewel’ was during our schooling
session in the same arena
only a matter of days before!
In hindsight, that was a lesson
for me, in the consequences of
complacency...
‘Jewel’ soon got tuned in
though and, within a short
space of time, we were jumping
many of the fences in the
arena, including logs, show
jumps, skinnies, roller and
the combination through the
water. Much to my surprise and
delight, she flew over a large
log, followed by a rather big and
scary (for me!), wide and solid
roll top cross-country fence,
without even batting an eyelid!
Considering her lack of jumping
for the previous couple of
months, on the whole ‘Jewel’
behaved very well and clearly
enjoyed being out jumping again
- I cooled her down with a big
smile on my face!
Upon hearing that forest parks
were to reopen last week, I was
very keen to get out for a forest
ride in the sunshine. A couple
of friends and I headed over to
Gosford Forest Park (Markethill)
for a wonderful ride in the
beautiful surroundings there.
It was a perfect day weatherwise - sunny and warm, but with
a lovely breeze, which helped to
keep both horses and humans
from over-heating!
We were all surprised at how
quiet the trails were - we had
anticipated meeting lots of
mountain bikes and walkers
on such a gorgeous day. We
concluded that everyone must
have headed to the beach
instead of the forest that day...
Their loss was most definitely
our gain, as we were able to
take full advantage of the trails
through the forest, taking in
the amazing scenery and we
even got to admire the many
deer at close quarters. ‘Jewel’
didn’t seem to mind them at
all - but thankfully, they were all
sunbathing at the time!
At the end of our ride (and
after cleaning our hands!), we
were able to enjoy a (socially
distanced) picnic. It was so
lovely to be able to get out with
our horses and enjoy some level
of normality again after so many
weeks.
Some equestrian centres are
now planning the resumption of
competitions in the very near
future, which is really exciting but it is important to note
that this will be different to
what we are all used to. I do
hope that everyone respects
the rules that are put in
place by each centre, with
regard to placing entries,
parking, social distancing
and so on, as the last thing
we would want, after gaining
a little bit of our freedom
back, is to be told we have to
go back into lockdown... Take
care out there!
SUNBATHING: Left, ‘Jewel’
and I enjoyed a wonderful
ride in the gorgeous
Gosford Forest Park and
got to admire the beautiful
deer, who were sunbathing
at the time! (FW23-525NN)