Horseheath Cross Country - Lovely day in the sun!

Well Georgie and I have had a lovely weekend in the sun. First thing Saturday we came over to our Parents house to lunge and exercise B. He was a very good boy schooling and listening to Georgies vocal aids while is a real positive, seeing as he used to play silly buggers bucking and squeeling.

The passoa really helps him to engage his behind and use his back and neck. 

Then off we went to go and walk the 3 ft+ cross country course at Horseheath. The course was lovely and well put together. Nice gallops with combinations, hedges and skinnies. 

1- Nice palisade for the first.

2 - Barrels leading into number 3, an open gate in the woods 

4 - Rails packed with foliage

5- Skinny log in the woods

6- Hedge out back into the open field 

7 - Onto a larger hedge

8 - Barrels downhill into a drop at A and B

8 C - a big 3'3" skinny barrels out 

9 A, B and C big tiger trap, to ditch, onto another tiger trap

B - Ditch leading into another tiger trap at  C

10 - A big table top

11 - An open gate

12 - A big zig zag palisade. (Sorry my phone ran out of battery) 

13 A and B - Upright with a brush top onto a Skinny roll top 

14 A,B and C. Two big step ups then onto a skinny flower bed fence 

C - Arrowhead skinny flower bed

15 - 3'6" hedge with a rail and ditch in front 

16 - Corner 

17 A, B and C. 3 chairs. A and B had 1 stride between and between B and C had 2 strides.

18 - Big roll top skinny

19 - Hay trough (Dogs are convenient size comparison)

20 - Brush into the water, splash through and another brush out 

21 - Tiger trap to finish 

The dogs liked walking the course too https://instagram.com/p/1aSLwYQJLn/

Well now you've seen the course. I think it flows well, some big questions and complex triples but B loved it.

We arrived with quite a lot of time to spare, so B and I just chilled while he grazed and Georgie went off to get her number and hat check.
After a quick studding up, Georgie got ready and we tacked Beanie up. 
Safe to say he was very chilled... Ahem, fast asleep. 

But he soon knew his job once Georgie was on. 

It was a busy class with the packed warm up arena. Unfortunately there was an accident on course which did delay the course for quite some time. Georgie jumped off B to take the weight off him and keep him walking to keep his muscles warm.

Once the poor girl has been looked after my paramedics the class commenced again and with just 4 people in front of her Georgie and B got their game faces on!
It's been super windy today so G didn't hear the starter, thinking she had 2 minutes left, but was in fact ready to go! They set off and B was very frisky, annoyingly going a bit side ways but G soon straightened him off and he popped over fence 1 no problem! Off to a good rhythm they popped every single fence, even scary ditches! 
Completing the course in about 4 minutes 15 seconds or so which is a good time, seeing as the ground wasn't as forgiving in places as it should have been.

Sadly we had to leave so still no word on how they did, but fingers crossed as it was a strong clear.

I've had an absolutely lovely weekend outside in the sun doing various horsey activities. More weekends like this please!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Sophie x

Bandages and Boots - How much protection for tendons do they offer?

I've read a couple of really good articles recently regarding boots and bandages to help support tendons, but also note the downsides of using them and how it can potentially damaged and degrade the tissue if not used properly.

They can be found here - Bandages or Tendon Boots?  and Boots and Bandages: To Support and Protect

We all know that most horses brush together, or need boots to avoid injury. All aspects of equestrianism use boots to protect from knocks, scrapes and even to maybe prevent injury. We always, without fail, boot B up for when he is jumping just in case he knocks a jump or even knocks himself when he gets tired. We also pop some front brushing boots on when riding out to support his tendons when doing road work. But do they really help?

I'm sure for experienced equestrians that it goes without saying that boots and bandages should never be too tight. But often new or inexperienced riders won't always know this without guidance from someone with more knowledge.
Horses can and have suffered from irreparable damage to their legs due to wearing bandages wrapped too tightly, or from being wrapped unevenly, causing pressure points. 

To quote NFEquimassage -

"What they can do is provide irreparable harm to nerves and other tissues when they are unevenly or too tightly wrapped. When the core temperature in a tendon reaches a certain level, the tissue begins to degenerate and therefore means that the tissue cells begin to die. If this happens the tendon is weakened, and therefore are more vulnerable to further injury such as major tears. It also allows the fibres to stretch beyond their normal range until it finally snaps."

So when working your horse, does it make sense to use bandages? If you're using thick, cotton type banadages then they're going to raise the temperature of the legs, and therefore tendons just by being wrapped around the leg. 
Cal Rei make bandages out of their wonderful breathable fabric, we're really hoping to try some of those out soon now that the showing season is starting and we use bandages when warming up before entering the ring. 
Due to their breathable 3D fabric technology it allows air to flow between the fabric and onto the tendons which subsequently helps keep the tendons cool, but also supported.

They look pretty darn smart too don't they?













Brushing and tendon boots, what is the deal with them also? 
Well, as with bandages they can also damaged the tendons and legs due to being done up too tight. Obviously they need to be tight enough not to fall down, but not too tight that they're going to impede blood flow which as mentioned, would damage the leg.

So when you're jumping, what type of boots do you need? Well some people use only brushing boots, while others use tendon boots which only protect the back of the legs if the horse were to strike itself. They both have their uses and you can make your mind up on which bests suits your horses needs when doing different activities with them.
Horse & Hound did a list recently with the top 10 boots  and a lot of those have air flow and mesh fabric used to help keep the tendons cool and protected at the same time.

It was noted in The Horse article that boots must not be left on, as it will not allow the tendons to cool properly. After strenuous work it is really recommended to hose the leg afterward working the horse to allow the tendon to cool more quickly.

An example that comes to mind also with the importance of wearing boots for protection is the gorgeous race horse Master Minded. A quote from Paul Nicholls in this article stated that by MM wearing boots helped minimise the damage to his career ending injury -

"Master Minded clearly injured himself during the race, but two things immediately helped minimise the damage at that point; the first is that Daryl was quick to recognise there was a problem and promptly pulled him up and, secondly, Master Minded was wearing protective boots."

In summary, by all means continue to use bandages and boots, but i'd also recommend keeping an eye out for new technologies. Innovation in horses leg protection is on going and helpful. As mention, have a look into Cal Rei's bandages, I cannot recommend this brand enough as the numnah we use is seriously good at keeping the supported but cool.
But also look into new boots - The Horse article stated that new boot technologies have moved away from plastics and leather and onto more breathable and supportive materials which help cooling but also reduce the chances of rubbing to the skin or injury to the tendons and ligaments. 

Horses legs cannot be repaired like human legs, so keep them sound while you can!

Introducing Cal Rei - Impressive Equestrian Equipment

B looking handsome in his new Cal Rei Numnah Pad

Georgie and I are extremely lucky to have been sent these lovely pads by Louise at Cal Rei UK to try out. Thank you so much!

I first saw Cal Rei on High Fashion Equine and was extremely intrigued in this new and exciting brand.

I work for a Breakthrough Innovation company in Cambridge, so when we first saw Cal Rei we instantly wanted to see what it was all about! 

Working in Innovation it's about finding the next big breakthrough technology, and I believe Cal Rei is just that in equestrian products and one that will benefit the health and performance of horses.

What makes Cal Rei different from other saddle clothes and boots companies is that the fabric is super breathable and is made so that air can flow and circulate between the skin of the horse and the saddle. Due to this the skin can breath, and the fabric allows sweat to be drawn away from the skin, keeping the skin dry and none sweaty. 

Athletes use breathable fabrics for when they train and compete, and this is just what Cal Rei does for horses!

 We tried out the saddle cloth yesterday when taking Beanie out for a schooling session. He'd done a intense session for about 45 minutes or so and with his usual cotton saddle cloth he would have needed to be hosed and washed off. But just look at how dry his back is. The results really do speak for themselves 

This is taken just moments after taking the saddle off. Its in the bottom left of the photo

His back is completely dry. You can see a little lower down where his girth was is sweaty, but his back and withers. Dry!

This is a really big deal! We were absolutely blown away. Horses muscles, just like our muscles, can get sore and damaged when they get too hot when being ridden so by allowing those important back muscles to remain cool and supported makes a really big difference.

As well as being breathable the pad is also really cushioned and squidgy, meaning you don't have to put sheepskin saddle pads underneath which defeats the object of the breathable Cal Rei pad.

You can see from this photo the honeycomb 3D fabric and how it allows air to flow freely

Check out this video from Cal Rei demonstrating just how much breathable these pads are:

As well as being breathable and cushioning they're also extremely easy to clean as the fabric, unlike cotton and sheep skin numnahs don't cling onto the dirty which becomes embedded in pad and can allow bacteria to grow. You wouldn't want to put a dirty pad on your horses back and end up with a skin infection right?!

We washed the pad off yesterday with a hose and it's is easy, really quick (as the dirt slides out of the 3D fabric) and dries super quick as the pad allows airflow through out, thus drying it off in minutes.

Imagine how good that is when you have a whole string of horses to exercise e.g. racehorses or event horses at a yard, and you can wash the pads off and leave them drying while you groom another horse and they're dry and ready to use when you have to tack up after brushing your horse!

This is a racing pad, super light but still breathable! 

I'd seriously recommend Cal Rei! They have numnah pads for a variety of equine disciplines such as dressage, jumping, eventing, endurance as well as one you can use for everyday hacking, and they even have pony size pads.
They also make bandages, exercise boots, travelling boots, tail guards and even dog beds! 

You can buy Cal Rei from the list of distributors below and I suggest you buy one ASAP as this brand is hot!

High Fashion Equine
Equispire Emporium 
Cal Rei Bedford 
Cal Rei Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire
Equissentials
First Saddlery 
Wylde Equestrian