Review of Februarys Products from my wonderful Sponsors Nettex;

My 1^st Product was Nettex gut Balancer:

Having a horse on box rest as I did, it is paramount that the gut remains in a healthy working order to prevent impactions and the dreaded colic.

The Gut Balancer was introduced after a few days of box rest, when a noticeably reduced amount of gut function was clearly beginning, even though feed was kept to a minimum and ad lib good quality hay was provided.

After just 24hrs on the Gut Balancer, the droppings returned to their usual colour and frequency, and Maisie appeared noticeably happier.

 The Gut balancer is also very palatable, unlike some gut balancers.

My 2^nd product was the Nettex Calmer Maintenance powder: 

Being on box rest can be a stressful time for a horse, so to keep stress levels reduced, the maintenance powder was added to the feed, not to “dope” Maisie, purely to help keep stress at bay.

The powder contains 2 types of magnesium to achieve a rapid but long lasting effect, but what I liked about it was didn’t “dope” Maisie, it just took any edge off that may have built up.

A superb calmer that really works.

My 3^rd Product was Nettex Seven Day Mud Away:

Well, what can I say about this?!! It is simply amazing!

I used this on Rocky, as he was out (Maisie on box rest!), Rocky being the hairy welsh who likes to imitate a mud wallowing pig!

I sprayed his head and extremities with this spray once, and to be honest, was a little sceptical, given all the rain and the amount of mud, I thought it would maybe last a few hours. How wrong was I!
I brought Rocky in that night and quite simply couldn’t believe my eyes, not a scrap of mud on his head, legs or belly! (Other parts covered by rugs).

The only mud was on his feathers where I had not sprayed. Having used other sprays, i.e. coat sprays made from silicone (mane and tail detangler types), and not had any success, I can honestly say, Seven Day Mud Away WORKS!

Rocky has only needed 2 applications of the spray, unlike other products, so this is not only a brilliant product, it is economical too!

When the spray is coming to its renewal, the mud begins to stick a little, but literally falls off with the lightest brushing.

I shall never go back to using any other products now, having found the best, why would I need to?

Box rest, rain, abscesses and frustration…

2014 so far has been anything but a good year!

January began with lots of training and progress with Maisie, so much so, I took the plunge and fully affiliated her with British Dressage, hoping to make our debut in February, however the weather gods decided to put the proverbial spanner in the works and after a deluge of rain, Maisie succumbed to a foot abscess.

Although Maisie is in at night, I prefer my horses to be horses and be out as often as possible, keeping them mobile and letting them relax, unfortunately this does risk abscesses forming when the rain comes.

The abscess was found and immediate action taken farrier called, shoe off, poulticing, bandaging, box rest.

As mentioned, I prefer my horses out as often as possible, but this is clearly not an option for Maisie, so to ensure Maisie is kept occupied, comfortable  and stress free while Rocky and Dinky were out, I made sure the following was adhered to:

• Ad lib hay
• Treat ball filled with high fibre nuts
• Himalayan salt licks hung in the box
• Swedes with holes drilled through the middle to hang up as toys (the healthy option!)
• Plenty of succulents added to her feed i.e. carrots, apples, sugarbeet
• Ensured her hard feed was reduced to help prevent colic
• Rugs applied suitable for the weather
• Grooming her to keep the circulation going
• Her opposite leg bandaged to aid circulation
• Hay that was put out for Rocky and Dinky was close to the stables so Maisie had company

As Maisie is used to being out, all these things are helping keep her happy during, what must be a very boring time for her!

As a natural trickle feeder, the ad lib hay is important to allow her guts to stay healthy and active, but to add to this I also added Gut Balancer from  my

super sponsors Nettex ,  which along with many other benefits, enhances digestibility and helps prevent acid levels rising during her time of stress.

Read all about Nettex Gut Balancer here, and see for yourself what a great addition to your horse’s diet this is.

Another addition to her diet is Maintenance Calmer, again from Nettex, which has helped reduce any box rest induced stress.

Two products which work together perfectly in these circumstances!!

So while Maisie is recovering, it should be an ideal time to get Rocky going, but considering that our arena resembles a lake and the fields are river like, he has been left to be a horse, he has a long time ahead of him, so there is no rush for him yet.

So far 2014 has been incredibly frustrating, but at least the season is not yet in full swing and an abscess is curable, all we need is for it to stop raining and then we can at least get going!

If we all do a sun dance together, do you think we could make the rain stop so we can all get out and do what we love to do – ride?!