Author: sophiehulmeeventing

Kirsten and I have arrived in Norway! It is FREEZING! It is 16 degrees Fahrenheit here and with a low of 12! But having said that it is beautiful! Today is just meeting the other nations and looking at the schedule of the competion. Then tomorrow the competition starts! Very excited and will keep posting updates and photos! 

Well the International Eventing Forum has started up! It is halfway through and there are some really interesting teaching methods and ideas being presented! I will post an overview later! 

Hello!

Well I thought this would be a very interesting topic to talk about. So Body Condition Scoring and the difference between body weight will be the topic of this post. 

Body Weight – is the horses actual weight 

Body weight can be measured by a weight tape, weigh bridge, or calculated using a formula. Although out of all of these methods the weigh bridge is the most accurate. But you need to take care as to when you weigh your horse as if you weigh soon after exercise it can skew the results as it depends how much the horse has sweat when exercising. 

Body condition scoring : Is a visual assessment, based on measurements in peer reviewed research, of adipose deposits on specific areas of the horse.

Body condition scoring does not tell us about fitness of the horse. It only tells the rider/owners whether the weight is appropriate for the horse or not. 

You can not determine fat unless you feel and run your hands over fat deposits , it is also very easy to mistake muscle for fat as well as the other way around, you are also not taking muscle condition into account when you are body condition scoring.

When Body condition scoring the key areas to look at are:  Neck, back , hips and tail head.

Body condition scoring can help with welfare as obesity is a big problem in horses, it  also helps look at  skinny malnourished horses and where the line is.

There are 2 main different Body Condition Scoring methods: 

Carroll and Huntington (1988) 

0-5 scale

Neck, back and ribs, pelvis 

Optimum 3-3 1/2

More of a generic scale

Henneke et al (1983) 

1-9 scale 

Neck, withers, loin, tail head, ribs, shoulder 

Optimum is 4-6

Developed with quarter horses 
A key thing to remember is it very much depends on the breed with the different scales and it also depends on how the breed puts down their fat deposits. If you are ever concerned about the health of your horse and their body condition score it is always best to either call your vet or consult a nutritionist. 

References:

Equine Nutrition lecture by Dr. Heike Brown and google for images. 

Well January is almost in the books! I can’t believe it! It feels like it was the other day when New Years was happening and 2017 welcomed us. Now we are almost into February and getting ready to get going.

The horses have been going really well! Been getting some jump schooling in and playing with different exercises. I am now also fully into my lecture schedule and timetable which is hectic but really interesting! I will post updates on interesting topics that I encounter while studying! I also got the opportunity to go to BETA this last week which is the British Equestrian Trade Association fair. It is just like AETA in the states but its in England. The companies do vary a bit from back home but not too much. I got the chance to say hello to Finish Line Horse Products UK which is an amazing company that if you haven’t checked out you need too! Has all your horse supplement and care needs! I also said hello to HRP Equestrian who are the creators of the amazing WING saddle pads. These saddle pads do not exert any pressure on the spinous processes of the horses back, for the non scientific people out there that means no pressure on the back. A square saddle pad exerts pressure on the horses back. It is a great pad and product and I really encourage you to look into them if you haven’t! The links to these awesome companies are on my sponsors page. I also spoke to numerous other companies that where there and it was really interesting to see everything that will be launching this year! It’s very exciting!

Now there are a few exciting things coming up in the month of February. The International Eventing Forum is on the 6th and is being hosted by Hartpury. Then the 7th I am off on a school trip to Norway! There is also a nutrition talk  on the 18th that I will be going to as well!  We will also do some more cross country schooling and schooling shows before the season picks up in March. I will post updates as to how everything goes! I have attached some videos of the horses from training sessions over the weekend, until next time!

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Well today was amazing! I took all four to cross country school at Pontispool and they were super! Everyone is feeling good and ready for the upcoming season! I can not wait to start! I have posted below video of ainle and fintan. Didn’t really get video of the girls but happy to have some from today! A massive thank you to our sponsors for all of their support! We would not be where we are without them! 2017 here we come! 

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Merry Christmas from the Horses and I!

Merry Christmas! I hope all is well with all of you. The horses and I are doing very well! I am now in California for the Holidays enjoying some sun and warmer weather then England! Although I think that the weather has followed me here as we just had a LOT of rain here… But apart from that it has been lovely being at home. I have already had mexican food, dim sum, fresh bagels, a caramel brûlée late and lots of cuddles with my dogs. So I am very happy! I still have other things on my list to do before I go back to England but I have gotten a good start on it!

Anyways, back to the horses! Ainle is over in England now at Nicks with my other three and has settled in like a pro! I now have the whole herd of 4 at Nicks with me. Next season is going to be amazing and VERY busy! I already have planned out my competition schedule for 2017, but I am under no illusions that with horses nothing is set in stone! So I am using it more as a “set of guidelines” 😉 (Whoever gets that reference, I am very proud). Sorry letting out my inner nerd there… So back to the horses! Annabelle, Feyre, and Fintan are all very well and enjoying their holiday time. Annabelle is loving ruling the other three as usual. Fintan is always calling to the other three whenever they leave and come back to their stalls. Feyre is always calling to me for treats and cuddling me to search my pockets and play with my jacket hood. And Ainle is always patiently waiting for a cuddle and cookies with his head over his door and ears forward. They all have been super and good with each other which is all I can ask for…! They each have gotten carrots, apples, polo mints and candy canes to celebrate Christmas. They deserve it and I love treating them with a festive treat like Candy Canes which they all gobble up greedily. We also got an amazing new shipment of Finishline Total Control before christmas and HRP Wing Saddle Pads are also on the way! Very lucky ponies and me! 

We will be starting our season up around end of March as the weather in England is normally too wet to start any earlier… The opposite of California when we start mid February! But our season will run through summer with events going on every weekend. I am planning on going to Europe to compete again so that will be exciting! I am looking forward to those new experiences and opportunities. So lots to look forward too in the New Year! I will be doing some dressage and show jumping schooling shows in January and February to get us all communicating and rust free. It will be a fun way to start!

University next semester also starts to kick up a bit as well! I go to 5 modules instead of the 3 I was taking this last semester. I will be taking Equine Exercise Physiology, Equine Nutrition, Equine Biomechanics, Equine Diagnostics and Therapy as well as Undergraduate Research Process. I am really looking forward to all of the new modules and what we will cover, even though it is going to be busy! My student rep and ambassadorship positions are also busy but going well. I get some great insight into what’s going on at Hartpury as well as potential new courses that they are thinking of implementing. It also gives you cool ideas about dissertation because you are always the first to be recruited to help with dissertation research or research in general for Hartpury. So I have really been enjoying it and I am looking forward to continuing helping out.
Merry Christmas to you all from Annabelle , Fintan, Feyre and Ainle! I hope you have a wonderful time with friends and family. Until next time! 

So it is progressively getting colder and more overcast here in gloucester… But apart from that it has been tolerable! The Gloucester Christmas market is now open as well and it is absolutely beautiful! There are over 250 stalls, a big christmas tree and a ice skating rink in the Gloucester Quays. The stalls range from food that serves delicious hot chocolate, baked goods, cheeses, jams, hot pasties as well as many other yummy foods. There are also lots of craft, candle, clothing and jewelry stalls. It just feels and smells like christmas when you walk around. I find it very comforting and special. I have to admit all I bought was food when I was there… granted it was really delicious food! But I actually didn’t buy anything else apart from food… even though I was supposed to be christmas shopping. I guess that shows where my priorities are! 

This week I also celebrated Thanksgiving! Eventhough I am accross the pond! Tiana and Annabelle where lovely and invited me to theirs for Thanksgiving dinner. Petey and John also joined us as well as some of Tiana and Anabelle’s friends. It was a riot of an evening which I thoroughly enjoyed! Surrounded by good people and good food always makes you appreciate what you have. I am thankful for so many things in my life and I am under no illusions that I am extremely lucky to have the horses I have as well as get to study what I love at Hartpury while competing my horses full time. I am a very lucky girl and I like to remind myself of that every day especially when times get tough. It is always hard when things get tough to remember to focus on the good things in life. I like to always remind myself that I am doing what I love every single day and that not everyone is lucky enough to get to do that. So even though I have numerous things to be thankful for I will focus on that this Thanksgiving. So on that note I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and were able to celebrate what they are thankful for! 

Moving onto a less emotional note… The horses are doing super and I am so pleased with how they have handled not being able to go out as much as they used too. Feyre was a little star this week and did a BS show jumping demo for a new app that is being produced to help with coaching. The demo was in Hartpury’s big indoor which has a lot of atmosphere. I was so pleased with her as she handled everything like an absolute pro! She did not care at all that when people where coming in and out of classrooms and walking along the side of the arena! We worked on straightness and suppleness in the session and it was very interesting to see the different view points. I will hopefully get some of the video from the session to be able to show!

On another note I also got to help with a rider psychology and coaching study this week. I was interviewed about my experience as a rider and how I have been coached in the past as well as currently. The study also looked at what drives people to ride and be competitive, and at what goals certain individuals have. So I got to have a discussion about everything during my interview as well as give my experiences. It was very interesting and I really enjoyed discussing everything. This study is not just limited to event riders, show jumpers and dressage riders as well as other disciplines are being looked at in it as well. I am very interested to see the results of the study when they come out and I am quite excited that I get to be apart of that. That is one thing I love about Hartpury, you get so many opportunities that aren’t just limited to your degree. I have helped with numerous studies so far that don’t have anything to do with my degree. But getting to be involved with the research helps me to decide which route I want to go for dissertation but also just gives me even more knowledge and experience within the equine industry. 

I have some assignments due in the next week so things are starting to get even more busy! But that is a part of Uni life and horses! You just go with the flow! So on that note I am going to return to working on my Advanced Equitation paper!

Until next time!

Sophie, Annabelle, Fintan, Ainle, and Feyre 

These last few weeks have literally flown by! I have also really started to miss writing, so I thought lets get back to blogging consistently! Since September it really has been go go go! I started my second year at Hartpury, did my first CIC two star in Poland at Strzegom, riding and maintaining my three horses, been reading equine exercise physiology and working on upcoming assignments which will be due before the christmas break, as well as working as a Hartpury ambassador and other bits and bobs in between all that. So you could say it has been busy, but you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think even though it has been busy, it has been with things I truly enjoy and have fun with.

Starting my second year at Hartpury is scary! Exciting and fun but scary… I can’t believe that I am 1. a second year university student, 2. almost halfway through that year, and 3. Dissertation proposal hand in is next spring! That is a very real and scary truth… Many of my friends are still in the denial phase that dissertation isn’t that close and we still have loads of time until we need to know what we want to do. I have now hit the “oh man I need to start moving or I won’t be prepared” stage. I don’t know if that counts as a stage but it does in my book so we will just roll with it. But overall second year has been really fun and I am loving my classes. I am currently taking Equine Exercise Physiology, New Venture Creation and Advanced Equitation this semester. They are all really interesting and will help me with my career goals and knowledge. I will post any interesting findings or info I come across in my studies!

I will do a separate blog about my trip to Poland which was AMAZING and I want to do it justice so I will cover that at another time. So moving on… having Annabelle, Fintan and Feyre at Nick Gauntlets has been great. It is a lovely environment for the horses. They have been loving going out in the field and we have been lucky to have decent weather to leave them out, until the last few days… The joys of english rain and overcast skies… The fields have gotten a bit wet and chewed up, in order to hopefully be able to use them later in the month we are resting them so they don’t turn into mud baths. Although Fintan and Feyre both seemed to have found the muddy patches while they were out last and roll thoroughly in them… Let’s just say I was not a happy chappy when I had to bring them in from the field! But we are lucky enough to have an all weather school as well as gallops so even if we get some rain its still possible to ride outside and let them have a change of scenery. Our season is now over and we are looking to do some show jumping and dressage competitions over winter to keep us sharp and get us ready for the 2017 show season. So I have that to look forward too in between training and school. I am also hoping it will stop Annabelle from killing me over winter because she doesn’t get to go cross country or eventing until February/March. My fingers and toes are crossed that’s the case, and if you don’t hear from me for awhile, you can assume she has indeed killed me because I am not doing enough with her to keep her happy. Those of you who know Annabelle know this is definitely a real possibility with this passionate, dominant, and feisty mare. I am very grateful that Fintan and Feyre are a lot more laid back about competitions and their schedules than Annabelle. I will keep the blog up to date on how the winter training is going and whats coming up!  

Lastly being a Hartpury Ambassador has been really fun. I get to go to events and talk to future students or students and families that are interested in Hartpury. I also just help with tours of campus and if anyone wants information on what its like to be an international student as well as an equine student. If you are reading this and you do have any questions I am more than happy to answer them! Just shoot me an email at cooper1910@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer your questions!

Until next time! 🙂 

Sophie, Annabelle, Fintan, Feyre, and Ainle (in spirit since he is still in Cali)