Below is before and after footage of horses that have been affected by a variety of issues such as grass and feed related issues. After footage shows improvements in all horses after successfully transitioning to the ProVide It Plan.
Millie Before. Millie was turned out for a spell over Christmas 2007, but when brought back into work a couple of months later she was not the same horse she had been previously. For some unknown reason she could not even maintain canter and would 'bunny hop' with both back legs together and she had lost the ability to jump, taking rails at 70cms with her hind legs.
Millie had lost a considerable amount of condition. The vet suspected a fractured pelvis or serious damage to the sacroiliac joint. Read Millie's story, How a Suspected Fractured Pelvis turned out to be a "Grass" Issue.
Millie After. Millie has improved over a period of a month to where she can now canter properly each direction and feels comfortable and calm again. Millie's symptoms had become extreme. For every extreme case there are many more mild to moderate cases. In August of 2009, Carmel had started jumping Millie again and is clearing 80cm with ease.
Millie's flat work is fantastic and almost seems better now than when she was purchased. Read Millie's story, How a Suspected Fractured Pelvis turned out to be a "Grass" Issue.
Dimples. This has always intrigued me. My sister Tracey had a small pony called Sweetie. Unfortunately she was one of those founder prone ponies who was a nightmare to keep. Her paddock had been chewed down to where all that grew was Subterranean Clover.
She was not fat but she would get stiff, have sore feet overnight and was always accompanied by raspy breathing. Within twenty four hours she would be very laminitic, in agony and unable to move at all, requiring intensive care to rehabilitate. Read Dimple's story, Ever Wondered why your Horse gets Laminitis when he is not Fat?
Casper Before. All went well for the first three months then one day out of the blue he started biting at himself whilst being ridden. The first time he did it I thought he had been bitten by something as it was so violent. I got off to inspect gear and see if there were any insect bites. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary so I got back on and asked him forward, he did it again and this time it was so bad I thought he would rear if I asked him forward.
He did it the next ride so I called in the vet, chiropractor, dentist, etc. From then on it was an exhaustive and expensive investigation process. New saddle, different types of saddles, new bits, bridles, different riders, saddle cloths, riding bareback, girths, new farrier, the list was endless... I did extensive searching on the internet but couldn't find out why he did this. Read Casper's story, Casper Couldn't Canter (Can Safely Canter Now).
Casper After. The happiest part of this story is that he no longer bites at himself when being ridden... and WE CAN CANTER. We have cantered more in the past four months than we have in the four years since he was started. He just gets better with each ride. Rugging him now is not an issue, even in a storm he doesn't bat an eyelid.
All his crazy behaviours have completely gone. I can't thank Jenny Paterson (Horsemanship New Zealand/Calm Healthy Horses) and Lucy Prior (Gotcha Equine) enough for the support and hand holding through this and Casper says thank you. Read Casper's story, Casper Couldn't Canter (Can Safely Canter Now).
Casper After. Then came Prep 3. This was in the indoor arena, a place he has only been once maybe twice before, probably about three years ago. He took it in his stride and we scored 57% in this test. I was so proud of his calmness, he was relaxed and happy to do as asked.
We still need work on a lot of things but I was aiming for calm and relaxed. We got both those. Casper is back in action. Without the ProVide It Plan I doubt we would have even been riding now let alone competing. He is my dream horse again. Read Casper's story, Casper Couldn't Canter (Can Safely Canter Now).
Lucky Before. Most of our troubles have been with his body, joints and lameness. Also the nervousness was a little unsettling at times, things that he had seen one hundred times before, became like the big bad monster all over again. We also went through a period where he would take off through his paddock gate, kicking up his legs which was becoming very dangerous.
He would nearly knock you over to get through the gate. I couldn't understand it as he was normally quiet, only having the occasional outburst but it was getting worse and happening more frequently. I have had many many months of Lucky being turned out because he was stiff or lame and have had every horse professional you can think of to see him. He has seen vets, chiropractors, masseurs, farriers and the amount of money paid out for results that didn't last was unbelievable. Read Lucky's story, Lucky's Story - Time to Retire a Gentleman?
Lucky After. My lovely boy is now back into training and we are going to our first western show in eleven months in November. To finish off I just want to say when you have the dosage right DO NOT change it. Lucky had his dose rate cut back recently and within two days was short stepping and looking uncomfortable in the back end.
I went back to the normal rate and all was great. He is on the full ProVide It Plan. So I am very happy, my Lucky has gone from near retirement to full enjoyment and I am over the moon. Read Lucky's story, Lucky's Story - Time to Retire a Gentleman?
Prudence Before. Des noticed her mare Prudence starting to get stiffer in her gate, not wanting to walk down hills, spooking at nothing, swishing her tail a lot in discomfort and then became reluctant to strike off into canter, particularly on the left lead. As you will see in this video, Des is having to put a lot of pressure on her mare just to keep her moving forward.
Prudence After. After approximately two weeks on the ProVide It Plan, Des started to notice improvements in Prudence. Slowly over the following six months she could see her moving out much better, not swishing her tail as much, happier to walk down hills and no where near as spooky.
You can see in this video Prudence is even willing to pop into canter on her own without lots of pressure from Des. Notice in this video Des is not carrying a whip as in the 'before' video.
Shire Horse with Shivers/EPSM. View YouTube footage of five year old Shire horse with Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (EPSM) and Shivers.
Head flicking and head shaking syndrome in horses. Pictured left is a horse showing signs of head flicking/head shaking syndrome. NB. It is important to note that not all horses flick the same way. For some it looks more like a nodding, others it will appear like they have just got some sort of shock and jerk their head up whilst some will only do it under saddle or when they get warmed up in work.
See more head flicking video footage and learn about head flicking/head shaking syndrome.
ABC's Catalyst - Thunderstorm Asthma. "Cenk Suphioglu identified the role Rye Grass plays in Melbourne's thunderstorm asthma epidemics. You can see the anther popped out to release the pollen, so on days like this, during hay-fever season, they actually pop out and they release the pollen which gets picked up by winds and taken for long distances. In fact, during a thunderstorm, half a tonne of pollen per hectare can take flight. But while it may inflict hay-fever in urban areas, something else is needed to trigger thunderstorm asthma. So what are these smaller particles and how are they released into the air? Cenk's team answered that by studying what happened when Rye Grass pollen was exposed to the moisture in thunderstorms."
Kaya Femerling. Kaya Femerling is a bare foot trimmer and distributor in Mullumbimby, New South Wales. Kaya is pictured here with one of her happy clients.
Kaya Femerling. Kaya Femerling pictured with her Haflingers.
