Grass Sickness

Grass sickness is a disease which is seen in horses, donkeys and ponies and is thought to be due to the eating of toxins which are present in grass. The disease causes damage to the nervous system and this leads ultimately to the main symptom of gut paralysis.

Grass sickness can occue in horses at any age but the greatest number of cases occur in two to seven year olds however it is not known why this is the case.

Many people think that high nitrogen levels and soil disturbance could be contributing factors for the disease, as well as the presence of Clostridium botulinum which is a soil associated bacterium.

Grass sickness occurs in three forms. Acute, Subacute and chronic. The major symptoms are partial or total paralysis of the digestive tract. With acute grass sickness the horse will die or be required to be put down within two days of the onset of the disease. The vet that I was with told me that severe gut paralysis can lead to signs of colic, with the horse rolling, looking at the flanks, drooling and pawing at the ground.

With the acute disease, the stomach may become distended with foul smelling liquid which can, in cases, pour down the nose. There is also sweating and muscle tremors.

The horse that I was seeing with the vet was suffering from chronic grass sickness and as such had lost large amounts of weight and was now extremely thin. This was evident in the clearly protruding ribs and thin neck. The owner said that this weight had been lost in a week of onset. The horse was finding it hard to swallow and so could not eat particualrly well, but, positively he was still eating which with this disease is always a good sign.

The vet told the owner to ensure that the horse was getting a food which was high in energy, and this was already being done, in this case high energy concentrates with molasses was being given and continual human stimulation is extremely important with grooming regularly a essential part of this to prevent the coat from becoming wet and sticky with sweat.

This treatment will have to continue for long periods of time allowing the horse to gain weight once more and requires large amounts of time; in many cases really encouraging the horse to eat. If the horse is doing well after a period of about 6-8 weeks after the onset then there is a very good chance of survival and relapses are very rare, but it does not nessessarily mean that the horse will survive.

It is important to remember that the welfare of the animal must always be kept in mind. Is it right to carry on treating the animal if we know that the chances of its survival are already low and it is in pain? These are all questions which a vet in practise must regularly address, whether it is with equine, farm or small animals.

'Join Up'.

Today I learnt about the art of Join Up which is a method which was devised by Monty Roberts.
It is often used by those who practise intelligent horsemanship as a means of establishing trust, respect, as well as creating a bond with the horse.


Join Up is the art of getting a horse to want to be with the handler and choose to stay with them as they walk around.
Firstly I was told that it is advised that the enclosure used to carry out Join Up is circular which prevents the horse from becoming 'stuck' in any corners.

The next step in the process is to send the horse away from you. Geoff told me that when doing Join Up, he prefers to use a proactive approach in asking the horse to go away. This is done by looking the horse in the eye as you unclip the long line, and back off slowly with the body positioned square at his head, holding the line between outstretched arms. Next you must move the arms up and down alternately and move towards the back of the horse.
Once you reach the back, Monty Roberts method of Join up says that you are justified in gently throwing the lead line at the horse.

When this has been done the horse must be kept moving at a brisk trot for a good few circuits of the enclosure. If the horse is moving too slowly then the line can be thrown behind it to encourage it to pick up its pace. As well as this the trainer may need to make movements more aggressive and jerky to increase the speed of the animal.


A very important part of this process is changing the horses direction. The horse must know that you are in control of his direction as well as the speed at which he moves round the enclosure. This changing of direction is important also to allow the horse to see the trainer with both eyes and help it to get used to seeing the trainer coming into view and then going back out of view.
To change a horses direction, the forward direction that the horse is moving in must be blocked by moving in front of him. Throughout this process it is important that eye contact and aggressive body language is maintained.

The horse should be allowed to explore the new direction for about 6 circuits before being moved back into its original direction.


After this step the horse can be invited in. This involves the horse making the decision whether or not it wants to be with the trainer. When the trainer feels that the moment is right he or she can drop eye contact completely and move away from the horse ending up about 45 degrees in front of him so he can easily see you. At this point rounded shoulders and a turned body are important so the horse sees you side on. Geoff then told me that when doing this the trainer must keep still and give the horse the chance to walk up towards you.

If the horse approaches straight away then that is good, but if he faces you it does not mean that join up will not work. The trainer can encourage steps towards themselves by moving in small semi circles about the horses head in one direction and then the next.

If the horse starts to move towards you, wait for him. The purpose now is to try and get the horse to take a few voluntary steps towards you. The join up is confirmed if the horse reaches out with his nose and touches your shoulders.

When you are close to the horses head give him a rub to show that this is what you wanted him to do. Then, walk away in circles. Geoff told me that he starts circling on the right hand and this is because the majority of horses find it easier to go in this direction. It is important to walk in a smooth fashion and with purpose. Once one direction has been successfully accomplished the circle can be made in the opposite direction, rewarding the horse with a rub each time this is successful-he should follow you round in both directions.

There are a few clear signals that the horse would like to join up. When a horse turns the inside ear towards you it is a clear sign that he is giving his attention. The outer ear may be pointing to the outside of the enclosure. This is usually the first sign you will observe after sending the horse away from you. Another clear signal is when the horse makes the circles around you smaller showing that he wants to come in as he realises that it is better, and more secure for him if he is close to you. It is important as Geoff told me to ensure that the making circles smaller is not because the horse has a problem with the enclosure and is why it is recommended to ensure that the horse is acclimatised to the enclosure before join up begins. If it were the case that the horse had a issue with the enclosure he may not be necessarily ready to join up. Another sign to look out for is the lowering of the head. This could be a dramatic movement or simply nod. This is a submissive gesture-it makes the horse very venerable and according to Geoff is effectively the horse giving you his trust.

Another signal is licking and chewing which will be more noticeable in horses when it is the first time that join up has been attempted. This is thought by many to be a submissive gesture indicating that the horse does not mean any harm and a horse will often perform this behaviour when he is anxious. This however is obviously a signal that the trainer does not want to force.

It is very important to remember in this process that the clearer the trainer is in communication, the easier it is for the horse to be clear with the trainer. Geoff told me that regardless of whether the signals are noted, the process should not be pushed for too long-6 minutes is usually a good time, and he reminded me to always try to finish on a positive note with the horse.

This is a process that I have really enjoyed learning about and will explore its ins and out further in the future.