Autumnal greetings to one and all - hope you’ve all got your hay in and are looking forward to a cozy winter. Here’s a few tips for the winter months:

Some horses, especially chestnuts, are very prone to Rain Scald. This happens when the horse gets wet through to its skin, then with the cold weather, takes too long to dry off, allowing bacteria to fester at the roots of the hair. Most common sites therefore are along the back and rump, where the water can’t run away. If not dealt with, scabs become oozing sores, the horse loses all hair on its back. The only way to deal effectively with it is to rug the horse up. I’ve found the Horseware Rhino range are durable and not too warm for an unclipped animal. Keep a tight eye on your horse’s back - the only way to detect whether scabs are starting to form is to run your hand through to the skin. Any scabs can be treated with Sudocrem, which also helps keep water away. But Sudocrem on its own will not get you through the winter - treat scabs, then cover - its ok to rug up over the Sudocrem - it doesn’t blister the skin, and it washes off the rug.

Horses with white legs are especially prone to the same bug on their legs, where it is known as Mud Fever. Again, repeated wettings causes skin, especially heels to crack, then split, causing severe lameness which can take many months to heal. There are Barrier products on the market which are supposed to waterproof the legs. I find the most cost effective way is to apply Sudocrem to the back of the heels, and on any white bits which are showing signs of soreness. Any lanolin-based cream will do. Some also swear by liquid parrafin, baby oil etc, although the most vital thing whatever you use is to reapply daily.

Very few are fortunate to have enough land that the horses can stay out all year and still have grazing in the spring. So some form of confinement is necessary to get through the winter months. From the horse’s point of view, he is happiest when he can mooch in & out of shelter according to the weather. A barn or large shed which has been bedded down is a good way to keep a number of animals together - it also saves on bedding, as they will designate one area as toilet and leave the rest relatively dry. However, it is vitally important that there is more than one exit from the shed, or else some poor animal is going to be afraid to go in for fear of being pinned against a wall. Care should be taken that no horse can control all the exits or food from one position, or you’ll end up with one fat warm horse and the rest will be standing outside with empty bellies.

Individual stables are nice if you have them, but don’t leave horses isolated in them for long periods - the stress and boredom this causes results in weaving, crib-biting etc, all of which will devalue your horse when you come to sell. Horses need company, but keep an eye that no one is being excessively bullied. In order to cut down on competition at feed times, observe a few simple rules:

- feed everyone at the same time

- feed them in the same order each time. For your own safety if you’re feeding in a communal area, feed the head of the herd first, then the Second in Command, down to the lowliest member of the herd. Stand with the one that gets bullied the most, or the slowest eater. If the herd bully eats quickly, or won’t settle to eat from one bucket, feed them on the other side of the gate and keep them there until everyone’s finished.

- when leaving out hay, leave more piles than there are horses, and leave them in a circular pattern, or well spaced out along a hedge, so that as each horse is bullied along the line, they can easily reach an unattended pile without coming into range of other hooves.

- feed for warmth. Sugar beet releases its energy slowly, keeping horses warmer for longer. The best of all is hay - as the bacteria digests, a large amount of heat is released.

- pregnant mares will need a higher level of protein during the last three months of their term. Weanlings & yearlings also benefit from a higher protein hard ration. Horse & Pony nuts are sufficient for everyone else

- a herbal or mineral lick will keep stock entertained as well as supplement the winter diet..

- give the largest feed at night, when most heating is needed. If you feed just once daily, make it an evening feed.

We are running a dance in the Lakeside Hotel, Monaghan on Sunday night, 29th October. Dancing will be to C’est la Vie, Gene Ormiston’s band. Tickets in advance are £6, £8 on the door. Everyone is welcome.

This is a fundraiser to help us clear the last of our debt incurred in running the MOT scheme - we have approximately £2,500 to find to clear the decks, so if you know of any generous sponsors, please let us know. Despite the worry and responsibility of running the scheme, we believe what we have done to be worthwhile, and we hope that the industry will take the scheme, learn from it, and start a national scheme under LEADER Plus, which should kick in early next year.

With all the bills now paid, we are preparing a full run-down of the scheme’s cost. This will be available at our AGM in December, when you are welcome to ask any questions you may have over the last scheme, or what comes next.

Just a few facts about the Scheme’s finances:

Each applicant paid a £20 fee to enter into the Scheme. Out of this, we has to pay LEADER a 2% admin fee for each grant given out to owners, as well as on our own costs. This meant that for every £400 grant given out, the Horse Breeders had to pay LEADER £8, leaving only £12 to cover the administration cost of the Scheme. We made our calculations on having 300 horses apply to the Scheme - 118 applied, 87 showed up to be inspected and 58 of these were passed onto the Scheme.

So, from the start, the income from the scheme fell short of expected due to a lower than expected number of applicants, and one or two poorly supported events, most notably the bus tours. The independent evaluation of the Scheme carried out by LEADER puts this down to the fact that a large number of horse owners in the area have to pay professionals just to lead their horses for them, and also there was uncertainty over the Tax Man. Both of these must be taken into account in any new Scheme.

The Annual General Meeting of the North Eastern Horse Breeders will take place in John Joe Cunningham’s in Carrickmacross on Tuesday night, December 5th at 9pm sharp. The agenda is:

1. Minutes of AGM 1999
2. Matters Arising
3. Chairman’s Address
4. Treasurer’s Report
5. Secretary’s Report
6. Presentation on LEADER Scheme
7. Launch of new Marketing Plan
8. Programme for 2001
9. Election of Officers
10. Election of Directors
11. Any other business

Still can be accessed through Monaghan Saddlery Workshop. One title worth anyone’s time taking out is Mary Wanless: "For the Good of the Horse". It goes through every aspect of horsemanship, and gives you ways of knowing who actually knows what they’re talking about and who is talking B***ks. For example, it looks at teeth rasping - if the job takes less than 30 minutes, and if it’s done with one implement only, it’s not done at all. Also goes through shoeing, hoof balance, lameness, what can and can’t be done by chiros, physios etc. Saddle fitting was a revelation. A definite must read for anyone trying to find honest good advice in an industry with few qualifications or standards for customers to rely on.

Internal & External wooden stabling * Gates & fencing * Showjumps, cups, fillers made to order * Arenas erected * Wide range of stable fittings. * Standard range or made to your specification * Repairs also carried out *
Tel 087 9967687