HENRIETTA

It's nearly 40 years old but Bamix publicity says that is no problem. However, they don't say, and I can't find out, how to get it done.

NB Both Bamix in the UK and their head office in Switzerland won't reply to or even acknowledge emails or letters.

I was sitting in the kitchen this afternoon cleaning tack and thinking, as one does. It occurred to me to wonder what your attitude is to cleaning tack? Do you do it every time you ride? Every week? When you think about it? Never?

Come on, 'fess up now.

I have to admit that I actually enjoy doing it. Very satisfying and much more enjoyable that housework. On the yard we support a charity (The Mare and Foal Sanctuary in Devon, England) with a show every summer and events through the year. I'm thinking of offering a tack cleaning service on the yard over a week in the spring in aid of the charity. Not sure what to charge yet and I'd be interested to know what you would be prepared to pay to have your tack cleaned if it was a charity fund-raiser. I'm talking about a thorough cleaning and oiling if necessary to bring it as near show condition as possible (obviously the finished result depends on the original condition of the tack - I'm not good at turning sow's ears into silk purses!)

I was sitting in the kitchen this afternoon cleaning tack and thinking, as one does. It occurred to me to wonder what your attitude is to cleaning tack? Do you do it every time you ride? Every week? When you think about it? Never?

Come on, 'fess up now.

I have to admit that I actually enjoy doing it. Very satisfying and much more enjoyable that housework. On the yard we support a charity (The Mare and Foal Sanctuary in Devon, England) with a show every summer and events through the year. I'm thinking of offering a tack cleaning service on the yard over a week in the spring in aid of the charity. Not sure what to charge yet and I'd be interested to know what you would be prepared to pay to have your tack cleaned if it was a charity fund-raiser. I'm talking about a thorough cleaning and oiling if necessary to bring it as near show condition as possible (obviously the finished result depends on the original condition of the tack - I'm not good at turning sow's ears into silk purses!)

I'm based in the UK as some of you may know and I'm thinking of joining the Horseboating Society.(For the uninitiated this is a society dedicated to keep alive the use of horse-drawn narrow boats on the canal system. These boats were still in use commercially until the early 1950s). Apparently they have lots of members who are keen on the boats but only two of them will go near the horses! When I enquired about membership they nearly bit my hand off!

My question is, have any of you had any experience of this? I'd be interested to get some input before I go to the first meeting so I don't look the complete idiot

I keep my horse on a large teaching yard ( over a hundred horses on site) and every year the livery clients organise a show to raise money for charity. The show attracts competitors from a wide area and we usually raise about £2000 on that event alone and we have other activities throughout the year to support the charity we have chosen for that years show. This year we are supporting the Mare and Foal Sanctuary in Devon.

One of the livery clients has come up with the idea of collecting all the "spent" shoes after the farriers have been and selling them for scrap. As we go through dozens of shoes a month this looks like being a good scheme.

What other ideas have you used for fund-raising for charity on your yards/barns?

We've done the ordinary things like barbecues and raffles and craft sales and we want some original ideas - horse-related of course!

My horses had a mild virus about 10 days ago. It was going the rounds - snotty nose and cough. He wasn't ill in himself, eating fine, drinking normally, faeces and urine normal, mildly raised temperature - basically a cold.. Vet gave advice over the phone - effecively that the best thing to do was nothing - and everything went well.

Only problem is the cough has been hanging on for 10 days. Vet came today to do vaccinations and gave Horse a good check up and said that he's fine but that his throat is a bit irritated as a result of the original cough and just to rest him. No probs - I'm happy with that.

Does anyone have any ideas about cough medicines (shop-bought or home-made) that would soothe poor old Horse's throat? In the past I've used Hilton Herbs "Hackaway" with some success but it doesn't seem to be available anymore.

I'm English so bear with me.

I keep seeing references on here to Appendix Horses. What does this term mean? Nothing like it on this side of the pond.

Many years ago ( in the 1960s) I was given a book on different horse breeds. In it it said that Tennessee Walking Horses and similar breeds with the same type of exaggerated tail carriage had their docks nicked surgically to enhance the tail carriage.

Was this true then and is it still done?

If it is still done what is the American Humane Society's view on this practice?

I have just seen a question on the above and thought it might be useful to post my experiences with this disease as it is so rarely diagnosed properly.

Coronet Band Dystrophy (CBD) is NOT greasy heels, mud rash/fever, a shoeing problem, mites or any of the relatively minor conditions mentioned on a number of equine forums. It is a serious auto-immune condition in which the body is effectively rejecting the feet. It is incurable but is not in itself terminal although the effects of it may lead to euthanasia.

In addition to the feet the chestnuts and ergots may flake and bleed, the coat may be affected and in really unfortunate cases the liver may be seriously damaged. In my elderly mare her coat becomes scurvy and staring and her chestnuts are severely affected when she is suffering a flare up but fortunately blood tests have shown no liver damage.

It is unclear whether it is a rare condition or whether it is not widely known so it is not diagnosed correctly. Prior to her retirement (which was when I bought her), she had been treated for many years for incurable thrush by her previous vet. My vet had never heard of it and her boss, a very respected vet in the north west of England, had heard of it but never seen a case. It was diagnosed with the help of a very experienced horse-woman friend who suggested CBD to the vet, having seen it in a veterinary text book..

It is common for treatments to be successful for a few weeks and just as you think you are getting somewhere the treatment ceases to have any effect. We had reached this stage with my horse when co-incidentally my vet met Professor Knottenbolt of Liverpool University who is running a study into CBD. She showed him photographs of the Old Girl's feet and described her condition and he confirmed that it was a classic presentation.

We were given some of the medication which Liverpool are trialing but in the way of these things, despite a brief improvement, it didn't work in the long term (ie 3 weeks!). Shortly afterwards the Old Girl had gone so severely down hill and was so ill and in great pain and we had arrived at the hard decision. However, our vet persuaded us to give her a last chance with steroids, on the principle that they couldn't make things worse and might help - at least giving her a few months more of good quality life.

This was six months ago and the old girl hasn't looked back. We are aware that steroids cannot be a long term answer as they cause damage themselves but the Old Girl is healthy and happy and enjoying life as a field ornament and companion to a friend's nervy gelding.

I know that it's a long time since the original post in this thread but I hope the poster is still watching. If so it might be worth consulting your vet about the possibility of steroids. They don't always work and they are expensive* but definitely worth discussing. It may also be a good idea to have a joint consultation with a good remedial farrier and your vet to decide on the best way to proceed with hoof trimming and shoeing. Do not go down the route of unothodox foot "care" such as Cytek, Strasser, etc.

There is a suggestion that selenium poisoning may be implicated in CBD. Large amounts of naturally occurring selenium are not usually present in grazing or equine forage in

the UK, but if you are in the USA or elsewhere in the world it may be worth having your horse tested if he or she is diagnosed with CBD

* the medication costs around £200 for 30 days supply in the UK!

Hope this proves useful