Waterhorse Park Equine Solutions in Blakiston, South Australia, Australia | Local service

Waterhorse Park Equine Solutions

Locality: Blakiston, South Australia, Australia

Phone: +61 481 550 332

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• Local service
• Equestrian centre

20.01.2022 Recently I have tried to set myself the aim of exercising Olive everyday, and slowly start to bring her back into work after about 6 months off. But the problem with setting goals is that it is very easy to become fixated and set in your ways. If horses have taught me anything - it is that being open and flexible is so important and going into any situation involving horses with a fixed mindset will only lead to trouble. Of course there are some situations where horses don't ...get to have a say, but where possible I always like to give my horses a choice or at least listen and acknowledge their choice if it is not possible to honour it. Yesterday evening, after the temperature had dropped, I decided it was a good time to do some exercises with Olive. When I went out to see her, I could tell straight away that she was disinterested in what I wanted to do, but I thought maybe with some coaxing she would come around. After a few minutes, when she did approach me, I had had enough time to reconsider and decided I was not going to exercise her after all. Instead, I put my arms around her neck and gave her a big hug, and then walked off to go and put the halter away. As soon as I had begun to walk away with the halter in hand, I heard her let out a big sigh, which is exactly when I knew I had made the right decision. I could have put her halter on and lead her out to go do something she really wasn't in the mood for - I know that she would have done everything I asked of her but she wouldn't have done it with enthusiasm or excitement. By allowing Olive the choice and respecting it, I am fostering a sense of confidence, both in herself and in my leadership skills, and also a disposition of willingness and a desire to please. And of course, choosing not to exercise her doesn't mean not spending time with her - it just means I get to spend time with her in a different way. Which I think is often just as important as ten minutes of exercise. Spending time with your horse should be relaxing and enjoyable for both parties, if you're finding that it is not - maybe it is time to stop and listen to your horse - as I have no doubt that their intuition and awareness far surpasses ours!

18.01.2022 With Spring in full force, so too is the reproduction of equine parasites. Worms favour the same conditions as grass - so if it's good for grass growth then it's good for worms. But this is bad news for our horses. Now is the time to get all your horses faecal egg counted BEFORE you administer any anthelmintic. This is a valuable test which should be recorded for future reference, as it will give a good indication of the egg shedding status of your horse. Lifestyle management has a big impact on the worm burden of horses - if you're horse is on pasture (especially if they are within a herd) they are more likely to pick up strongyle larvae off of the grass. Get in touch if you'd like to create a worm management strategy for your horses, or start with a faecal egg count. Faecal egg counts are $15 each.

17.01.2022 Hooves are amazing storytellers. The overall health of a horse affects the hoof health - and each ripple in the hoof wall can be traced back to a significant event. This particular hoof is from a client of mine who I recently removed the shoes from. This picture was taken before a trim and is too good not to share! The wall at the bottom half of the hoof tells a story of mineral imbalances, sugar sensitivity and incorrect wear and loading. Three and a half months ago this hor...se received a complete diet overhaul, and it is clear to see his owner is doing something right! The new growth correlates with when this horses diet was amended to follow a low sugar and starch feed regime with balanced minerals. If your horse has hooves that more closely resemble the horn at the bottom of this hoof - the diet may need tweaking. Get in touch if you are unsure of the correct diet to support hoof integrity. Thank you to the owner for allowing me to use your boy as a model to highlight the importance of diet and a whole horse approach.

14.01.2022 Some good advice regarding soaking hay. Unfortunately this spring has seen a lot of equines being fed this way, hopefully soaking hay will be a thing of the past soon as Summer is almost upon us.

13.01.2022 Merry Christmas! Despite the challenges we have faced this year, I hope everyone was able to spend the day spoilt by loved ones as I know I was. Check out the hooves on these horses! This gorgeous print was gifted to me on a mug - and I can't help but study their hooves!! They are very upright with minimal stress rings and flaring. The environment that they are running on looks to be very arid which promotes strong, healthy hooves. Looks perfect to me! Happy Horsey Holidays everyone and lots of love from the Waterhorse Park Crew!

13.01.2022 I hope everyone and their fur babies managed to stay cool today! Olive and I found a way to cool off - a swim in the dam of course! With Summer just around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to highlight some hot weather guidelines I will be following this season. - Trimming in shade is an absolute must on hot days - for properties without access to shade it may be imperative to reschedule the appointment to a cooler day.... - Appointments will be kept to early mornings and late afternoons, with mornings being preferred - this may mean getting up at the crack of dawn for a 6.30am start (which might not be easy but I have to do it too!). - Fly repellant! I will always try and keep fly spray on hand, but if clients could have their horses pre-sprayed before I start this would be a great help. - Keep trimming cycles short and regular to maintain your horses hooves - long hooves are much harder to trim. Thank you - your flexibility and support is most appreciated! Let's all have a safe and enjoyable Summer

13.01.2022 What’s are some of the effects of medio-lateral imbalance? There is a lot of focus on dorso-palmar balance, caudal hoof failure and hoof Pastern angles. But me...dio-lateral imbalance plays just as much role in musculoskeletal health. In the fore limbs, poor medio-lateral balance directly affects structures along the front leg myofascial lines. The protraction and retraction lines (Elbrond and Shultz 2015)This effect on thoracic musculature has been outlined by Kilmartin (2014). Issues in the brachiocephalicus, behind the withers, Over the croup and high tension behind the shoulder blade (Neidhart 2020). The imbalance at the level of the foot can be exacerbated by the time you get to the top creating a rotational force on the shoulder, meaning the horse using muscular effort to compensate. These compensations don’t always correct themselves with the correction of the imbalance, they change landing patterns and often body work is needed afterwards to loosen shoulder and back. These compensations can also extend all the way down the back into the gluteal region. - Neidhart (2020) Some emerging studies show a predisposition to Elbow arthritis - Sharon May Davis Many studies have shown the effects on Collateral ligaments, collateral cartilages and joints all the way up the limbs and Soft tissue dysfunction in the shoulder and neck. In the hinds the effects are transferred along the dorsal line and creates contraction in the ventral lines. In both the fronts and hinds it directly affects posture and biomechanics. In the hinds it can create Rope walking/rope standing where the limbs are moved toward the midline. This creates Imbalanced joint load in the hock and problems in the stifle again affecting collateral ligaments all the way up the limb. This can create compensatory contraction the abductor, contracted ilipsoas and torque in the pelvis, creating issues with the Sciatic nerve, SI and lumbar. (Neidhart 2020). As with my posts on dorso-palmar balance the holistic approach, looking at the feet and the higher issues is so important in resolution of performance issues and pain. Here we have 2 cases of poor medio-lateral imbalance. Although I am a huge advocate for the barefoot horse, one of the cases shows how sometimes these concurrent and cyclic issues mean barefoot isn’t always best. Sometimes we need to give the horse a more balanced base then it is able to give itself when there are other factors at play. Further reading in the captions.

10.01.2022 Bonney is patiently waiting for me to finish up after a big day at work #trimmingdog #hardlife #gooddog #trimminglife

10.01.2022 All the time!!

08.01.2022 Long grass is like a superfood for horses - lower in sugar and higher in fibre when compared to short grass. Grazing horses on long grass is also beneficial for parasite management as they are less likely to pick up worm larvae on the long stems.

06.01.2022 Due to the current covid lockdown I will be rescheduling appointments across the next week. If you have an appointment in this timeframe I will be in touch as soon as possible. Thanks for your continued support and stay safe everyone x

06.01.2022 Even with my handy GPS I still got a little bit lost on my travels today, but I eventually found my way

04.01.2022 Someone getting impatient while waiting for her dinner! #Quizzihorse #unflatteringhorsephotochallenge

01.01.2022 Bonney and I are home after a jam-packed first day of work for 2021. Thanks to everyone who made it a great day! Looking forward (with some trepidation) to what the year will bring

01.01.2022 This year has been particularly bad for weeds, which puts horses at risk of life threatening illnesses. Salvation Jane toxicity should be taken seriously.