barnstorming - horsefabulous products & equipment - Essential, Innovative Equine Safety Products & Equipment

Hazards and Heartaches

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -1000

I have touched on hay nets as a pet aversion of mine somewhere else on this website. We must be forever vigilant to the omnipresent dangers in the guise of the simple hay net or the various other inclusions and protrusions we sometimes unwarily allow our stabled horses to come into contact with.

I have seen many instances of awful injuries to the mouth, jaw and limbs of the horse, all the result of becoming entangled in the common old hay net. Same goes for hay racks, equally hazardous to a cast horse, so make sure they are installed at a sensible height. Hay bags are a much safer option for you to consider.

Which brings me to another stall accessory that should be barred for all time, the hoop iron water bucket holder. I can't begin to tell you the number of horrific injuries I have seen involving a cast and upside down horse getting a leg through one of these implements of torture, with or without a water bucket in place. If you have such equipment installed, do yourself a favour and get rid of them, PRONTO!

I should have known

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -1000

In have recently been meeting with many people working across a range of areas within the Thoroughbred Horse Racing and Breeding industries. It seems that everyone I talk with has a story to tell about an incident involving a cast horse that has a disastrous outcome. The stallion unable to serve mares due to a cast related injury, the yearling withdrawn from a sale due to a cast related injury, the racehorse incapable of taking it's place in a race due to a cast related injury.

Such a waste, a tragic, irresponsible, expensive waste. The stories just go on and on. And yet these same people are waiting for the next disaster to occur so they can do as they have always done, react to the situation and then maybe do something about it. Makes me feel sad, angry and frustrated.

The saying,"Shut the gate, the horse has bolted" must have been coined by someone closely associated with one of the reactionary, health and safety bereft industries I mentioned at the top of this post.

And by the way

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -1000

And while I am at it ----- (See Safety around the Barn) One of the many positive aspects of building larger stalls is that horses are less likely to "box walk" and act agitated when housed in stalls measuring from around 15'x15' upwards.

Have you ever noticed

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -1000

In a previous life as a Thoroughbred Horse Trainer, and over the last couple of years completely immersed in the development and testing of the Up-Right® Anti-Cast Safety Strips, I have made many measured assessments regarding the "living room" of the stabled horse.

Over the years barn and stall manufacturers have by design been constructing enclosures of much larger dimensions, primarily with horse comfort in mind, and all power to them.

But my experience, supported by many years of experiment and observation, have lead me to record this most telling realisation, contrary to the accepted belief.

Bigger is not necessary safer. Chances are horses are just as likely to get themselves cast in a walled enclosure measuring 20'x20' as they are in one measuring 12'x12'.