Monday 17 October 2016

Is this the breakthrough for barefoot horse owners?

"The Megasus Horse Runner is the first clippable plastic horse shoe. It is non-permanent and easy to fit and remove."

The transition to barefoot for horse owners can be a tough one. Hoof boots seem to be the answer, with brands such as Cavallo, Easy Boot and Scoot Boot all offering solutions for horse owners wanting to go barefoot. But hoof boots can be problematic for some horses, with owners struggling to find hoof boots which don't rub, are easy to fit and remove and stay on in all terrains.

Could Megasus Horse Runners be the answer?

Charly Forstner, Founder, Megasus HorseRunners
We have recently discovered a company in Austria foundered by Charly Forstner, a previous animal welfare inspector for horses in Austria. Charly has developed a product that he says will "Take the horse out of the Iron Age". The Megasus Horse Runner is the first clippable plastic horse shoe and the result of 20 years of research into horse hooves. It is non-permanent and easy to fit and remove. The 'Horserunners' are flexible and supportive for the horse, unlike steel horseshoes, which do not allow for foot flexion and natural shock absorption. Sounds great!



 So what makes them different?

High-Vis Mega-Pro tape protects the Mega-Lock velcro
The Horserunners are plastic horse shoes which velcro onto your horse's hoof . The velcro (Meg-Lock Tape) is extremely strong, which is stuck to your horse's hoof, even when the runners are not in use, i.e. in the paddock.. When you aren't using the runners you cover the velcro with a high vis tape (Mega-Pro Tape) to keep the velcro clean. 

When you tack up to ride you simply take the protective (Mega-Pro Tape) covers off the velcro and fix the runners in place. You will of course need to remove and replace the velcro as your horse's hooves grow.  Megasus say "The Mega-Lock tape remains approximately 3 weeks on the hoof and is protected with a protection foil during the time the hoof goes bare. The foil has a sealing lip similar to swimming goggles, so that the Mega-Lock tape is prevented from water and dirt intrusion."

But will it work in the UK?

Well let's hope so! UK horse owners battle with mud every year. Will the velcro strips hold up to horses stood in mud? Are they mega enough for our mud? The mud that can suck loose horse shoes off, not to mention our wellies! Have Magesasus accounted for this?  According to Megasus, "Mega-Lock tape remains to the hoof and is protected by the Mega-Pro tape (foil with sealing lips)". Sounds good in theory, but we expect some hesitation from UK horse owners, who will no doubt want to sit back and wait to see how the Megasus Horserunners fare in soggy Britain.

Back Megasus HorseRunners

I for one am excited about this new innovation and hope that they do the job over here as well as they clearly do in Austria and the U.S. And others agree, after just 6 days of their Kickstarter campaign, Megasus reached their funding target of £100,000 on Kickstarter.  If you believe that these could be the solution for your horse going barefoot, you can get a special pre-production price of  £94 per pair when you buy through Kickstarter.  saving you £28. Megasus HorseRunners are set to be available from July 2017.

Watch this space for a possible Megasus Horserunner tried and tested coming up, where we put the Megasus Horserunners to the test in the Great British mud. If you would like to become an Equine Compare product tester, put your name down here.

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Revolutionary headcollar could save your horse's life

The 'Nightwatch' horse headcollar was revealed as being in the late stage of development by biomedical company, Proteguus in Texas.

This 'smart headcollar' is the first innovation to incorporate biometric technology into horse wear. The sensors built into the headcollar to constantly monitor and analyse your horse's biometrics. Any abnormalities or signs of distress will be reported back to the horse owner's smart phone, alerting them to a potential problem with their horse.



For the first time, horse owners can remotely monitor their horse's health, reassured by the 24/7 alert which could detect early signs of colic or other serious conditions. For horses turned out, the horse can wear a safety collar instead of the headcollar.



'Nightwatch' is set to launch in the U.S. and Canada in summer 2016. Watch the product video here.

Tuesday 1 April 2014

£100 off Derby House footwear TODAY ONLY BEFORE 2pm

Fancy a nice new pair of boots? Check out these three pairs with a genuine £100 off!

Simply input the code: THSP at the checkout to get the discount.




Monday 17 February 2014

How to make an easy fill hay feeder

Hate filling hay nets? 

This is the one job I don't enjoy. It is dusty, laborious and time consuming. If you have more than one horse, it will take a big chunk of your time. So I decided that I would make an easy fill, super quick hay net feeder for our horses.

This feeder gives you the equivalent volume of 6 large hay nets, but only takes seconds to fill. 
Important Note - All of our horses are barefoot, which is why our nets can hang low. If your horse is shod, please hang the nets higher so that shoes don't get caught in the net.

What you need

  • 2 x metal posts - these could be curtain poles or whatever you have to hand. We bought 1.8m / 6ft oval poles from B&Q something like this. 
  • Fixings: Our hay feeder is secured with bolts and wing nuts. I have since found this a little fiddly to align to fasten the feeder. I recommend that you use a couple of old straps or some brackets to fasten your poles back up again. I will add to the blog soon to show you my modifications.
  • Large haynets x 6 or 6ft x 6ft of hockey net.
  • I cut up my old haynets and tied them together. If you find it fiddly to tie them you could use small tie wraps.
  • A drill / electric screwdriver

What you do

1) Drill two holes in your poles, each 2 inch away from the end. 

2) If you are using old hay nets, you need to cut the nets so that they are flat. Remove the metal rings and any tie rope. Tie together 4 nets so that they are side ways on, giving you more width than height. They should sit together in a grid of 2 x 2, to make a large rectangle.

3) Thread the top of the net net over one of the poles so that it is hanging down. Secure the ends with tie wraps through the drilled holes. This stops the net from moving.

3) Thread the other end of the net (the bottom) through the other pole and secure with tie wraps as before.

4) Take your other two haynets and cut them open so that they lay flat. These are the sides of your hay feeder. Put your poles together so that the net  hanging down forms a bag. You will see that hay will escape from the sides. You need to attach your remaining nets to each end so that the hay stays in the net. Attach the nets length ways so that they give plenty of width so you can open your feeder wide to fill.
You should now have a purse shaped, very large hay net attached to two poles.

5) Take the back / furthest away pole and bolt it to your stable wall / barn wall / field shelter wall.

6) Secure the pole nearest to you with your fixings.

7) The side nets can have rope from your old hay nets threaded through them to tighten up the slack.



There you go, simply unfasten the front bar, open and pile in the hay. Fasten up again and voilĂ ! Your horses will have lots of hay to munch and you will hay to munch and you will save oodles of time every day.





Friday 12 April 2013

New Healthy Horse Licks

Rockies have launched a new range of flavoured salt licks, which provide a range of vitamins and minerals to supplement the horse's diet. The new 'Health Lick' comes in a choice of 5 flavours:

Tasty treats


Flavours:

Carrot, Cherry, Mint, Apple and Garlic.

Ingredients

Calcium and Phosphorus - for healthy bones and teeth
Sodium and Chloride for body fluid regulation
Iron is for strength
Cobalt required for vitamin B12 synthesis
Copper is needed for connective tissue and iron utilisation
Iodine is a component of the thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism and growth
Manganese is needed for cartilage development as well as for proper utilisation of other trace elements
Selenium deficiency can lead to gait abnormalities and stumbling
Zinc is very important for healthy skin, bone, hoof and connective tissue and for breeding mares

2kg blocks
Retail for around £3 Find a stockist

Horse licks can have advantages as horses in theory take as much as they need, when they need it. It is however, important to read the ingredients on horse licks to make sure that it isn't packed with sweet ingredients such as molasses, especially when you have a greedy horse or pony. Rockies are primarily salt and minerals, unlike many licks which contain molasses. We are awaiting comment from Rockies for sugar content of these new products. Watch this space.

For more information visit Rockies