Horse Hero Guru answers forum questions

Question: Can anyone suggest any potions or lotions to help with lumps in the saddle area? It seems to come up on my horse in the summer only. I have had a brand new saddle fitted and wash him off after exercise every time. But they get sore and therefore I am unable to ride. He is a coloured and the lumps happen more on the white hair and pink skin side of his back than the brown hair black skin area. It has been diagnosed by the vet as nodular skin disease.

HHG: These lumps are usually caused by a reaction to insect bites. I believe that when a particular insect bites your horse and injects it with some of its saliva and there is an allergic reaction which causes some of the collagen producing cells to die. Pressure from your saddle (or rugs) then leads to a slow inflammatory reaction in the skin that produces small lumps of granulation (dead collagen) - which is why the condition is also called collagen granuloma.

The best way to treat the lumps is to prevent them happening in the first place. Make sure that your horse wears an effective insect repellent both in an out of the stable and I would also invest in a good insect rug such as those used for sweet itch.

Question: We have just bought a fantastic little cob from Ireland who is very timid and had a severe reaction to his right ear being touched which made me think that he could have been ear twitched. I thought that we no longer indulged in this barbaric practice?! The little guy is a Christian who has lost his faith in humans and I don't blame him. We will restore his trust but it should never have been lost in the first place.

HHG: I agree that using a rope twitch on a horse’s ear is unnecessarily painful and cruel. It is worth remembering, however, that not all horses that are shy about their ears have actually been twitched – sometimes the problem can be caused by ear problems or from being badly bridled. I am sure that we have all watched as someone puts a bridle on by dragging it over the ears rather than by manipulating it carefully in to place.

Dealing with a horse that is sensitive about his ears, for whatever reason, is a problem. Not only that, it can become a vicious circle when you cannot groom the top of their head properly and the bridle then rubs, making them sore so their ears hurt when they are touched…

The way to cure the problem is to use a form of rapid advance and retreat. Stroke your horse’s face or cheek where he is happy for you to touch him, then stroke up and over his ears and down his neck as fast as you can. At first he may shoot his head up but you should be over his ear so quickly he hardy has time to notice you have done it. If you do this two or three times every day you should find that within a few days you can actually do it much slower and within a couple of weeks he is far happier about the ear handling process.

Question: My 16.1hh warmblood is a great loader and traveller in a horsebox. However I own a trailer! I have taken out the partition and cross-tie her, and with someone to fasten the breaching straps she is a doll. My problem is loading her alone. I understand that one shouldn't tie a horse until the breaching straps are secure, to which end I have sent her in alone and stayed back to do just this. Molly has other ideas and tries to back out at speed, or turn around and exit, which has left me with injuries and shaken confidence. Can anyone tell me where I might be going wrong? To clarify, she is fine walking on and I have fed her in the trailer in the morning and evening for weeks, then leading her out through the front. Would be so grateful for your suggestions!

HHG: I can understand why you are having problems. When you lead your horse in to the trailer you should tie her up properly then go back and sort out the breaching straps and ramp. I am sure that when you travel on a lorry you do not load her, shut the partitions and then tie her up. I am also certain that at no other time do you put your horse somewhere then expect her to stand unsecured while you leave her alone. Not many dogs are trained to stay when their owner disappears, let alone horses!

On the subject of tying horses in trailers, do remember to use a breakable link between your horse and the trailer (or anything else you tie it to). A horse’s neck will break before its nylon head collar does, and most lead ropes are thick and very strong. Many people use a loop of baler twine, either tied to the tying ring or as a link between the head collar and lead rope. I find that many bits of baler twine are far too strong and a horse falling in the trailer may not come free in an emergency. I either split the twine to give a weaker piece or use a specialist breakaway tie. I have also used a loop of knicker elastic (the stuff that is about ¼ inch wide). That breaks nicely, looks tidy and has a little bit of give in it, which tends to stop a horse from pulling back.

Anyway, to return to loading procedure, I do the following (I have added in bits about front ramps and breast bars although I rarely open these for loading):

1. Hitch on the towing vehicle.
2. Check lights, brakes, and safety breakaway device.
3. Load everything but horse and ensure it is all properly secured. Open all windows
4. Move trailer to level place suitable for loading
5. Open ramps, groom’s door, breast and breaching bars. Secure partition across to side that horse will not be standing.
6. Boot and bandage horse. Put back in stable for a few minutes to allow it to have a pee and a pooh (much better there rather than in the trailer). He knows he is off so will nearly always oblige.
7. Walk horse to trailer and on the way, back him up a couple of steps so that he knows you are actually going to ask him to do something. Walk him in to the trailer. Tie him to a safety loop with a rope long enough for him to be able to move (and lower) his head and neck freely but not long enough to loop around anything else.
8. Secure the breast bar(s).
9. Go out the trailer and secure breaching straps and rear ramp.
10. Raise front ramp and close front ramp door.
11. Double check the hitch, that the jockey wheel is up properly, that all the doors and ramps are secured properly, tell your horse he is wonderful, close the grooms door, get in car and drive off.

A few years ago someone was marketing a device that allowed you to raise/lower the rear and front bars on an Ifor Williams trailer at the same time. You might want to look into this if you are still feeling unsafe.

In any case, I hope this helps – travelling your horse should be something that you both enjoy as it means that you are going somewhere new and exciting – so you need to establish a straightforward loading routine and make loading part of normal safe handling.

Question: In considering purchasing a Sprenger Dynamic double jointed bit, do I go up a size because of the curve? I have trialled 2 sizes, one fits the width of mouth, end to end, but is actually smaller than I would normally purchase and the same sized one, sticks out, but kind of curves around the edges of the mouth. Should that be the way this design of bit fits?

HHG: In the first instance, if you are unsure then ask an expert to advise you. It is far better to feel silly by asking for help, than for your horse to be uncomfortable.

However, I can give you some guidance. To get the correct size of bit you should measure your horse’s mouth. The easiest way to do this is with a bit of (smooth) wooden dowling or a bit of rubber hose. Put it in like a bit then mark it each side of his mouth to give you the width. Add ½ an inch (1.25cm) and this should be the bit size you need.

Remember, just because two people have the same size feet it does not mean that they can wear the same shoes as this depends on the shape of the feet as well as their length. Having decided on your bit size you need to look at your horse’s tongue to determine how thick a mouthpiece is appropriate – a thick bit may be considered milder, but if there is not space for bit and tongue in your horse’s mouth he is going to be uncomfortable.

Now you have the bit, fit it to the bridle and adjust it in the mouth (one wrinkle each side). Next you need to check that the bit is actually lying on the bars of the mouth (open the mouth and have a look, or use your fingers to feel). If necessary, adjust the size of the bit or the fitting of the bridle to get this.

When the bit is fitted you need to make sure that the horse’s lips are not going to get caught in the joint with the rings. Rubber bit spacers work well as protection, but do remember that when they are used they will add a further ½ inch to your horse’s mouth and the bit you use will need to be that much bigger.

Question: Please could someone out there help me?! Back in September last year I bought my dream come true Friesian veteran gelding, perfect mannered and a total pleasure to ride and own. Since May he has tuned into a moody, irritable big monster! He has become difficult to handle and when I recently tried to get on him for a hack he would not stand still and then when I mounted he reared up so high and seemed to stay in the air for some time - luckily stayed on and continued to ride out for a short distance, he was like a steam train slamming his feet down. I felt anxious for my safety and got back home and untacked him, put in back in the field with his boett rug on, not making any eye contact with him as I have lost my confidence.

He is fed a scoop of happy hoof with garlic and cider vinegar and some home dry nettles once a day, he is turned out on limited grazing and has a field shelter and wears his boett rug day and night.
He is in good condition, and no sign of excessive sweetitch except a little on his legs. Has anyone else got a big bad monster with sweetitch? please let me know of any tips on how to manage it as I have lost my trust in my lovely gelding which I thought the world of before this rearing and bad behaviour started.

HHG: First, your horse kicks you twice and rears when you lead him, and you ask whether it is bad behaviour? You know that this is inexcusable bad behaviour even if he is being plagued by sweet itch. He is destroying your confidence and I imagine that you are starting to dread having to go down to the stables to look after him or ride. Remember why you bought a horse ad why you pay out a lot of money each week to keep him – you wanted to enjoy it, not fear it.

You say that he suddenly changed in temperament in May and blame it on sweet itch. Is there anything else that could be to blame for a sudden change? Was he getting more feed (especially spring grass) and less work? Did he put on weight so that his saddle got tight? Did he have a fall and hurt his back? Had he rubbed himself and developed any sores? In any case of behaviour or performance change I would always recommend getting a proper check of back, teeth, tack and general health.

Now the question is, what can you do about it, particularly since you have become scared of him? If you really have reached the end of your tether, particularly if you do not have time, confidence or ability to sort out the problem, would be to say sell him and get something else that you do feel happy with. If you are really scared of him then sending him to someone else to work with may provide a temporary solution, but it will always be in the back of your mind that he might change again.

If you decide that you want to really solve the problem yourself then start by watching a the Richard Maxwell videos on here, buy or make yourself a training halter and start rope circling to get him listening to you and respecting you, your space and your requests. Once you have him behaving properly in hand you can start work on the riding problems. Good luck and please keep me posted of developments.

Question: My friend has just bought a 17 hand 5 year old Dutch warmblood. He arrived at our yard about 2 weeks ago. He was put out with a couple of horses in a field then after a few days, turned out with about 12 horses-all geldings. About 3 days later he cornered a small pony against the fence, battered him to the ground and bit him badly on the neck. The injury required 48 stitches and 2 hours of surgery. The pony is unfortunately quite severely injured and the vet fees will inevitably run to 4 figures. The pony's owner and my friend have had discussions as to who is liable for the costs. My friend has insurance on her horse and as far as we know so do the pony's owners. Any thoughts on how my friend should proceed?

HHG: I am sorry to hear about the problems at your yard – it just goes to show how important it is to be careful when introducing new horses in to an established herd. However, I think that he first thing that both your friend and the pony’s owner should do is to contact their insurance companies. The insurers are (hopefully) going to be the ones paying the majority of the costs and will have established systems for determining the ‘blame’ and who should be paying what. Even if the pony is not covered by insurance your friend needs to contact her insurers as they will be able to advise her on how to proceed.

Question: I sold my Section D filly as a yearling, now she is two and out at grass. I had email from new owner. She has symptoms which include being unable to lower head for the bucket feed, wobbly on her feet, running a temperature and a blood sample diagnoses liver damage. I am so glad they got a vet in quickly and found the problem. Has anyone experienced this, we assume she has eaten something (the field is ragwort free).

HHG: Liver damage is most commonly caused by ragwort poisoning – and even though horses usually avoid ragwort in their field if possible, they seem to eat it happily when it is dried and hidden in their hay. This is why it is so important to obtain clean hay from a trusted supplier.

Damage can also be caused by bacterial or viral infections. Unfortunately a blood test can only determine that there is liver damage, not what is causing it, Apparently the only way to actually get a proper diagnosis is by taking a small biopsy and examining some of the liver microscopically.

Because the liver has so many functions in the body (producing energy and protein for body building, producing the chemicals needed for digestion, filtering poisons from the gut), damage to it can be serious. However, the liver does regenerate itself rapidly and every cell making it up is replaced within a few weeks. This means that if the problem can be identified and removed the damage may be repairable. I will keep my fingers crossed for your filly

Question: The estate I keep my pony on is having a wind-farm installed, it seems a new road is needed and the lorries will be using tracks used by horses, users are warned to beware of construction traffic, but I do not see that construction traffic is warned to beware of horses. How do I stand vis a vis my contract with the yard. I brought the horse here because it was supposed to have safe hacking, now it seems I have to deal with lorry drivers, with no experience of horses and possibly in a hurry, there are other vehicles on the roads that were never there before. The estate is taking no action. What should I do? The general attitude round here is, if you don't like it go somewhere else (I have moved 3 times!)

HHG: You have my sympathies if you moved to a yard to get safe hacking and now find that everything has changed. I am not sure that there is anything you can do unless the contract you have with the yard specifies safe hacking or you can prove that you were promised it when you moved in (trading standards might be able to make some sort of case on your behalf). Obviously it is too late to make an objection to the planning applications that must have been made.

I suggest that you have a word with the construction manager and ask for their help in explaining the dangers of fast vehicles and horses to the lorry drivers. Other than that you will either have to find another yard while the work takes place or count the traffic as extra training for your horse.

Question: When I bought my 13 year old Hanoverian gelding he could do flying changes. But most times he changed fore first then hind. My first trainer not only fail to improve that, but the horse started to "buck" at the flying change. I found a new rider and a new trainer for him and he quit bucking. Then the girl left the yard and another chap is riding him now. The horse has improved a lot, now most of changes left to right are correct, and so are a few of right to left changes. I wonder how it is that a horse that is supple (his lateral work is very good), well ridden, with a good trainer, cannot get his flying changes correct all the time. What do you think? Are there any physical conditions that could be the cause of it?

HHG: I watched your two videos with interest and agree with the advice you have already been given about how to achieve flying changes. My comments are related more to what I saw in the videos.

Conformation-wise, your horse is definitely stronger in front than he is behind, and also seems to favour the left hind leg to his right. He also carries his tail very much to one side, indicating that he is somewhat one sided. This is going to make it harder for him to work through from behind. I presume that you have had his back checked thoroughly. If so, I would concentrate on building up the muscles in his quarters making it easier for him to work from behind. I would suggest that you horse would benefit from lots of gentle hill work and gridwork to help develop strength and power in his quarters so that he can push himself forward rather than pull himself from the front.

It is also apparent that you and the second rider have completely different styles of riding, which is going to lead to confusion – one rider is strong and, to my mind at least is keeping the horse more over bent than I would like, and appears to be pulling the horse back to the shape he wants rather than working him forward in to it. When you are riding him he is much longer and less stable in his carriage. The changes in riding style are not going to help your horse sort out exactly what he is being asked to do with his legs, although he doe appear to be willing to try to do what is asked. I am sure that with just one rider or at least with two riders working in the same way he will learn far more easily than when he is being asked in such different ways.

Having said so much that could be taken as critical, I do think he is a lovely horse and I am sure that with effort you will help him to sort out his problems.

Question: My horse keeps catching herself on the inside of her back legs, just above her pasterns and below her fetlocks when schooling. I use pastern wraps which help but why does she do it and what exercises can I do to help stop her doing it?

HHG: When a horse hits one hind leg with the other there can be more than one cause. You need to look critically at your horse and to stand behind him and watch him move. Often, as the hoof hits the ground the hock will move outwards, which shows that there is weakness in that leg.

The most common causes can be considered as temporary as they can be solved by time or simple actions:

• The horse is young and uncoordinated
• The horse is tired
• The horse is unfit
• The horse is working in a deep surface which makes clean movement difficult
• The horse has been poorly shod – quite often due to the shoes being too small which reduces the ground surface area so makes the feet more likely to move

More difficult to sort out, but still able to be treated by a good farrier are conformational faults, particularly if the horse’s hind legs are too close together (does he stand with his hooves together?) Even so, good farriery should help to change the path of the foot if there are conformational problems.

Exercises that will help sort out the problem are the usual ones which help the horse to move in a more balanced way and, by so doing, to build up the strength in his legs – steady work with lots of transitions, turns and lateral work. Trotting poles carefully placed will also help to encourage him to use himself better. And of course, it goes without saying that he should be ridden in a balanced manner and not allowed to trot as fast as possible over deep or uneven ground.

Whilst all these exercises are improving his way of going, make sure that you use good boots so that he does not cause himself any damage.

Question: I'm a Parelli student but I also like the old fashion way of working a horse is it confusing for the horse? Is it ridiculous to train a horse the natural way and then lunge him with side reins?

HHG: About as stupid as putting a lump of metal in its mouth and expecting it to understand that one sort of tug means stop, another means slow down – or was that turn? Perhaps it was bend your neck and take small steps…!