Rugging for winter – is it so necessary?
Posted on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 by Sasha Melia
As winter approaches horse owners in UK will be digging out rugs ready to keep their charges warm as temperatures drop. At the same time, those changes in day length will have triggered the horse’s body to start growing a longer, thicker coat with more oil to help keep it warm and dry in cold and wet weather. Horses have a remarkably wide thermoneutral zone, which is the breadth of temperatures in which they will feel comfortable. While their core temperature is 38°C, it’s only when air temperatures exceed 25°C or drop below 0°C that they will experience physical discomfort.
Horses can tolerate a wider range of temperature than humans can thanks to thermoregulation, which is the physical and anatomical processes that help them maintain their body temperature. These include the lifting of their coat using pile erector muscles to trap warm air next to the skin and the generation of heat from digesting feed, in particularly the long stems in forage. Given that horses have evolved to trickle feed for 17 hours a day, the heat from forage is incredibly important to keep them warm in winter.
If a horse does get cold, their body will divert blood flow to their internal organs, meaning extremities such as their ears might feel cold to touch. That’s normal for a horse in winter and doesn’t mean that they need to wear extra rugs. If you want to find out how warm a horse is, place a hand in their ‘armpit’ or behind their withers. It should go without saying that if they are sweaty, they need fewer rugs!
If horses have evolved to stay comfortable in everything bar extreme weather conditions, why do we rug horses as soon as there’s a nip in the air when they are turned out in the morning? We anthropomorphise horses and love seeing them wrapped in rugs when we’re feeling cold, but over-rugging has a negative impact on them. Rugging too early will inhibit the growth of a protective winter coat and may stop the pile erector muscles from functioning properly. Excess energy from food that doesn’t get used heating or for movement will be laid down as fat. Horses have evolved to lose condition during winter so that they are less susceptible to conditions caused by getting fat on the richer grass in spring, therefore heading out of winter overweight isn’t ideal.
If you can, minimise the rugs you use this winter and feed ad lib forage instead. It’s a great way to combat vices, stave off stomach ulcers and keep horses warm naturally. There’s just one thing to note if you do feed more forage this winter. Even good quality hay can contain dust, bacteria and spores which trigger respiratory disease in horses, so it’s important to manage exposure to them. Recent research found 88% of the horses examined were suffering from inflammatory airway disease (IAD), even though many showed no outward sign. Steaming hay with a Haygain Steamer reduces the risk of a horse developing an IAD by 66% and has the added benefit of making hay far more palatable for horses.
Take a closer look at the Haygain Steamer and the huge range of benefits for horses of steaming hay here: https://haygain.co.uk/pages/benefits-of-hay-steaming-1
horse,animal,nature,rural,autumn
Celebration Week marks 50 years of enriching lives through horses
Posted on Thursday, September 26, 2019 by Sasha Melia
Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) groups around the UK are celebrating the charity’s 50th anniversary with events and celebrations throughout the first week of October. The date coincides with the official formation of RDA the same week in 1969.
Throughout 2019, RDA has been using the anniversary to raise awareness of its work. Highlights have already included a Parliamentary reception and a dedicated episode on BBC1s Countryfile. The launch of Clare Balding’s new children’s book, The Racehorse who Learned to Dance, which features a character who goes to RDA, has further boosted support for the charity.
Celebration Week, which runs from 30 September to 6 October brings a focus for RDA groups to come together and join the festivities. A special gold rosette has been produced to help groups celebrate in their own ways, with over 3000 sent out so far since the beginning of the year.
Events taking place include a gold themed musical pageant at Green Cottage RDA in Dorset; a blessing of the horse at Forde Abbey, Somerset; ‘carriage driving through the ages’ at Brook Cottage in Hertfordshire and a Pony Angel party at Kesteven, Derbyshire. Many groups are marking the occasion with open days, teas and picnics, and no RDA celebration would be complete without cake!
“We want all our groups to be able to celebrate in their own way,” explains RDA UK Communications Manager, Caroline Ward. “Our groups have been free to celebrate throughout the year, but celebration week is a way of bringing everyone together in a shared recognition of this important milestone, as we acknowledge just how far we have come in the last 50 years.”
RDA UK will also be holding its annual gala awards that week. This year the evening welcomes regulars Clare Balding and Alastair Stewart, as well as newcomers motor racing legend Damon Hill; W Series’ British racing driver Alice Powell and jockey Bryony Frost.
How it all began
After the Second World War, people started noticing the therapeutic benefit of riding, particularly for people with Muscular dystrophy and polio.
The idea took hold, especially when the inspirational Danish rider, Lis Hartel caused a sensation by winning Silver medals for dressage in both the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, despite having no muscle function in her lower legs. Lis’s success inspired a fledgling movement which spread to the UK. Early pioneers included the Winford Orthopaedic Hospital near Bristol, the Pony Riding for the Disabled Trust in Chigwell, Essex, and the British Polio Fellowship.
The benefits of riding for children and adults with disabilities were increasingly being realised during the 1960s. In 1963 those involved started getting together for the exchange of ideas and knowledge and in 1964 a loose organisation was formed called the ‘Advisory Council on Riding for the Disabled’ (ACRD).
By 1966 there were already 23 known disabled riding groups around the UK and the disabled riding ‘movement’ was growing. In 1969, at the ACRD AGM, a revised constitution was presented to the Committee to create what would be known as Riding for the Disabled Association or RDA.
Our first President was Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk, and Her Royal Highness, The Princess Anne was our Patron. The Princess became our President in 1976, a position she still holds today.
Early pioneers:
Lis Hartel – Danish Olympian
Elsebet Bodtker – Rider and Physiotherapist. Inspired by Hartel to provide pony rides to young patients
Stella Saywell – Brought Bodtker’s ideas to her work as a Physiotherapist at Winford Orthopaedic Hospital near Bristol
Mrs Jacques – brought Bodtker’s ideas to the Pony Riding for the Disabled Trust in Chigwell, Essex
Norah Strang – member of British Polio Fellowship who, in 1959, thought some of the children disabled by polio might benefit from riding (by 1977 her Tyne & Wear RDA Group had 500 riders each week).
Jane Wykeham-Musgrave – One of Great Britain’s top International riders during the 1960s, Field officer for ACRD and on the first committee of RDA.
Sheila Shaw – Inspired to bring the benefits of riding to those that needed it, Sheila pioneered riding for disabled people at Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon, West Stowell House, Burton Hill House School and the Ponds Home.
1969 – RDA formed
1975 – Carriage Driving becomes an RDA activity. The first Blue Peter Appeal buys ‘Rags’ the pony.
1976 – HRH the Princess Royal becomes RDA President, a position she still holds today
1981 – The first RDA National RDA Dressage Championships
1988 – introduction of assessment and exams for RDA coaches
1989 – RDA’s second Blue Peter Appeal buys ‘Jet’
1994 – The RDA National Championships held at Hartpury College for the first time. The Championships have now grown to become the biggest event in the world for disabled riders. ‘Challenge Anneka’ builds indoor riding arena at Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre
1995 – RDA celebrates Jubilee anniversary. Spirit of RDA is published
1996 – Para Dressage is included in the Paralympics for the first time, with team members Anne Dunham (who won gold in four consecutive Games), Liz Stone, Di Tubbs and Pat Straughan
1999 – RDA becomes a federation of member groups
2002 – RDA drivers take part in the first World Driving Championships
2005 – RDA becomes a member of the British Equestrian Federation, leading on all matters relating to equestrianism and disability.
2006 – RDA is official charity of Badminton Horse Trials and uses the event to raise more money than any charity before or since.
2010 – Showjumping is introduced as a new activity
2012 – At the Paralympic Games, held in London, all 5 of the Team GB Para riders started out with RDA
2013 – The RDA Tracker is launched to track and record the impact of RDA activities. ‘RDA Accessibility Mark’ is introduced to support commercial riding centres. Endurance becomes a new activity. Carriage driving is included at the National Championships for the first time. Head of Sport England, Jennie Price, acknowledges RDA as ‘an example of excellence in disability sport’
2014 – RDA features on a collection of Royal Mail stamps called ‘Working Horses’.
2017 – RDA buys ‘Lowlands Farm’ to develop a National Training Centre, to train and inspire volunteers and coaches from around the UK
2018 – New coaching pathway launched
2019 – 50th anniversary! Launch of National Training Centre
