Intelligent Horsemanship

Started today by learning that since a horses eyes are positioned on the side of its head it has a blind spot directly in front of its head. Although they are able to see you when you stand near them, they cannot focus on you unless you are more than 6 feet away. It also has another blind spot directly behind it. I was told by Geoff that horses are not particularly good at anticipating where a handler will appear. For example if you disappear from one of its eye sight lines it will think you have gone as it cannot see you in the other eye. Therefore many horses get frightened if a handler appears on the opposite side as this was for them unexpected. Therefore with a horse that Geoff knows (i.e one that he feels safe with) he will gently stroke its rear as he walks past so that the horse knows that he is still there, so as not to startle the horse. However it is important to remember that with a horse that you are not confident with, you should, if you have to walk behind it, stay out of range of a well placed kick.
I started with some more leading work, and then Geoff suggested using a invisible leader. Here I held the leader in the outside hand and held my arm that was nearest the horse across my stomach. This was to prevent my arm from swinging and knocking the horses nose, with the possibility of the horse taking this as a punishment and moving off. I behaved in the same way as with a leader, ensuring that when I stopped, and the horse stopped at my shoulder he was praised.
Horses learn very quickly and it only takes three times for something to happen before this becomes learned behaviour and so it is important to avoid bad habits forming as it will take so much longer for these habits to be undone than they were initially learnt.
When attempting to lead with a leader it is important that it remains in the outer hand, the hand furthest from the horse as you approach so that it is not the first thing that the horse sees as you approach. This is particularly important with mistreated horses who could have been hit with leaders, and so it is much more calming for the horse to have a comforting hand approaching first rather than something that the horse could see as a weapon. However once more we must remember to do this in stages. It is important to ensure that you put pressure onto the horse by walking up non threateningly, but then release this pressure again by walking away. This can be done many times, depending on the horse, to ensure that they know that you are not going to harm them with the leader. The more you do this the more confident the horse should become with the leader and will therefore more likely tolerate being lead.
When speaking to Geoff he told me that he will always ask the vet or farrier who may be working with a particular foot on a horse where they would like him to stand.
He usually likes to stand on the opposite side to that which the vet or farrier is working on. For example if the vet is working on a abscess on a horses front right foot, he would stand on the opposite side at the front left foot, allowing him to pull the horses head towards him if there is a problem and thereby taking the front foot that could kick out at the vet away from the vet so that he is now out of harms way.
Another important point that Geoff told me was that if you are having to do work on the foot of a horse, to always ensure that your legs are positioned so that if the horse kicks out, your knees will bend in the direction that they are supposed to and legs will not break.
Once more it all comes down to the Intelligent Horsemanship rule that everything is done with safety in mind.

Dairy.

Learnt today that the dark patches on many of the cows teats when milking are not always pigment but more often damaged blood vessels with the suction from the milking bits. This is much the same as with us if something such as the hoover is pressed against the arm for a length of time. This does not have an affect on milking performance, instead simply making the teat have dark patches in certain areas.
I also asked today about the process of putting the numbers onto the milking cows rears. This, I was told, is done in a process called freeze branding. This is carried out with number brands being dipped into liquid nitrogen and pressed onto a area on the cows rear that has coloured hair. Then after a while the scab that forms will drop off. The hair that grows back to replace it will grow back white, thereby showing up on the cows coloured rump. This can be a problem when the rump is entirely white, but I was told that the majority of farmers, unless they have a particularly large herd will be able to identify and come to recognise these cows from both their behaviour and their general appearance.

Dairy Work Experience

When the heifer that had mastitis was checked on today, it was noticed that the teat and the udder on the infected teat side were very hard when compared to the other side. When the teat was massaged to remove any fluid, very little emerged and blood began to appear. As I said in my last post this means that the teat will almost definitely be unable to be used in terms of milking and it is now necessary to try as much as possible to limit the risk of the mastitis spreading to the other teats. If this were to be the case, the heifer would loose her value as a milking cow as less teats could be used and therefore less milk produced.

When calving today I asked the farmer about twins in cattle. Interestingly, which I had not known, if a cow has twins, and one is female and one is male, the female will be useless in terms of both going into calf and milking. This is because the female has male hormones, and this will occur in most if not all cases with cattle and is something that I would now like to know more about in terms of why this happens and how.

A cow that I helped to deliver a bull calf this morning was milked today, but, it is essential that the milk does not get passed through the system with the rest of the milk and is instead milked into a separate container. This is due to the fact that the milk contains high levels of colostrum to help make the calf strong and healthy but is not required for humans. Therefore the milk is collected and is used to raise the calf once it is separated from the cow so that the calf can make use of the colostrum in the milk. generally the cow will be able to be milked for human consumption after the fourth milking after the birth to ensure that these high levels of colostrum have passed from her system.

Dairy Work Experience

On our rounds today the farmer pointed out a cow that had had tetanus previously. This can cause a cow to have lock jaw meaning that they are unable to eat. Cows remove excess methane through their mouths and so without the mouth being able to open the methane cannot be released and this can lead to the methane accumulating, making the cow bloated. In this case the vet performed a operation to remove the methane by going into the cows flank where the rumen is easily accessible. This allowed the methane to slowly be released and although the wound took a long time to close up, it is now only visible by a light line on the cows flank.

On the rounds in the fields we noticed a young heifer that had a very swollen teat. The heifer was herded up and brought into a small bull pen where two of us were able to hold her down by pinning her head back over her shoulder and with her on her side, holding a leg up to her stomach to prevent her kicking to get herself upright. The quarter could now be examined. It was clearly infected and felt slightly hard at the top of the teat. When this teat was squeezed a thick cream fluid emerged. This was followed by a spell of milk and then the thick fluid once more. If blood were to be seen at this point then the quarter will not be able to be used and the heifer would milk on 3 teats. Blood was, at present not seen and so this action was not needed as the symptoms had been spotted early giving maximum time for treatment to take place.
The udder was cleaned with a sterile wipe, specifically the teat showing mastitis. A cream was then applied which acts as a sort of 'deep heat' to lessen the swelling, before Cobactan (a antibiotic) was inserted from a syringe into the teat canal. Cobactan is for the treatment of clinical mastitis in lactating cows. The treatment has a with drawl period of 84 hours or 7 milkings. This means that the cow cannot be milked for this time period, to allow the drugs to clear from the system before the milk could come into contact with humans.
Treatment will proceed as necessary with the heifer being checked on regularly and Cobactan being administered if and when it is needed.
This case has really raised my awareness of mastitis and it is something that I would now like to know more about.

Dairy Work Experience - Bulling and Calving

Today I learnt about the process of bulling. We can tell when a cow is ready to be bulled if she is mounted by other cows, since she is still and stationary which is evolutionary behaviour to allow the bull to mate with her. Another way we can tell is if the farmer or dairy worker can smell the hormones that are released at this point in the cows reproductive cycle. Another factor to look out for is other cows curling up their lips to smell the hormones that are being released by the cow ready for bulling since other cos can sense when a cow is ready to bull. Therefore, chances are that a cow that is showing this curling of lips behaviour is smelling the hormones of a cow nearby, allowing the search for the particular cow to be narrowed down. The farmer can then double check that the bulling is due by checking the cycle of that particular cow and when it last bulled.
These behavioural characteristics stemmed from days gone by when female cows would signal to the males of the herd that they were ready to mate.
These useful things to look out for give the farmer the maximum chance of getting a cow into calf if it is bulled around the time that these behaviours are noted.

On arrival to the farm this morning I was told that a cow was calving but she needed help as she was delivering backwards. I was able to get the two back legs out allowing the farmer to fit the calving aids, which are effectively little lassos, attached around the legs. A metal bar is looped through these to give a handle on each aid to pull the calf out. The calf came out relatively easily, however, just before the head emerges it is important to support the calf's body to ensure that it does not fall from a significant height if the cow is tall.
I noticed, after ensuring that the calf had taken its first breath (this is done in much the same way as with lambs), that the feet are extremely soft and are almost like silk to touch. This is to ensure that there is no injury to the cow as the calf is being delivered such as tearing the uterus or vaginal opening.
I then applied iodine to the remains of the umbilical cord and the surrounding belly area ensuring that it was fully covered to prevent infection.
Unfortunately the calf was a bull and so is of no real use in the dairy industry. It will be kept with the cow until the following day and will then be shot by staff from the local hunt kennels on the premises who will butcher the young bull and feed it to the hounds. In this way the farm gets rid of unwanted stock and the dogs at the kennel get fresh meat. This is all due to economics and the fact that it is not economically viable to keep bulls when they obviously do not produce milk and cannot go into calf. Occasionally, if both the mother and the father are good pedigrees then the bull could be shown, but this only occurs in rare cases as a bull simply costs too much to rear.

Intelligent Horsemanship-Handling

Spent today with a trainer who deals with difficult and injured horses with Intelligent horsemanship which was developed by Monty Roberts who is better known as the Horse Whisperer.
We began with him telling me why, according to BHS (British Horse Society), we mount the horse from the near side as opposed to the offside. This is because the society was set up with army horses in mind and so, with the majority of soldiers being right handed, their swords would be on their left hip meaning that by mounting from the near side the sword will not get caught up in their legs. However he told me that this is not always the best side to mount a horse. For example it may have had a injury on its near side and so it is important that one can train a horse so that it can be mounted from both the near side or the offside (also often called the Indian side). The horse will then not see it as a threat or something against the ordinary when someone approaches from a different side.
One of the important points that Geoff teaches is not to lead at the shoulder, as effectively it is not you doing the leading but the horse, as its neck is in front of you meaning that you have less control.
I was then shown the lead rope that he uses. Where the majority of other horse owners use a 6 foot leading rope, he uses a 12 foot rope. This has many benefits which I was able to notice first hand when walking the horses.
If you are leading from the horses shoulder and something behind the horse spooks it, you have no time to react and the only option is to let go of the leading rope. However if you are a step or two in front of the horse and you can feel it making a move, on a longer leading rope, there is time to take a step aside and brace yourself for the rope going taught. The horses momentum will then turn it back towards you and you will still be in control. The step aside is important to ensure that as the horse comes past if it cow kicks out sideways it will not catch the legs.
Also on a longer leading rope, if the horse rears, the rope lengths can be released, allowing the horse to make the movement without pulling you under the front legs, which would occur with a shorter rope. When the horse is back in contact with the ground the rope can be recollected and the horse is back in the handlers control, allowing him to make the decisions.
Geoff then introduced me to the 'Dually' which is a head collar devised by Monty Roberts. He uses them for training purposes on difficult horses. When the head collar is on the bit across the nose sits much higher than a normal head collar and has a rope section which tightens. If the horse makes a sudden movement to run, this section will tighten, giving the horse a slight jolt. If the dually is fitted correctly with the rope section across the boney part of the nose, this will cause no pain.
Geoff then told me, when approaching a horse, to never give it direct eye contact as this is considered by the horse as threatening. Body language is also important and it is essential to have a relaxed posture and not to be tense, as the horse senses this fear which can put it on edge.
A horse which is relaxed will have upright ears, soft eyes and its head will be lowered slightly, whereas it is important to look out for the signs that a horse is aggressive or angry, before close contact is made. Examples of this are ears flat back, head held high, and, occasionally teeth are bared.
I was then shown the process of mirroring with regard to catching the horse to allow the head collar and lead rope to be attached. This involves not approaching the horse directly, but mirroring its moves and approaching gradually. Even if the horse starts to trot or canter away it is important not to run after it, as this will distress it. When one is close enough to the horse contact can be made by stroking with the back of the hand. Geoff told me that he never puts the head collar on immediately, instead gently stroking and then stepping away. This is repeated until the horse is open to the contact of the head collar, and prevents it from becoming stressed by urgency. He also told me that he never pats the horses that he works with, as many of them are unable to tell a pat from a aggressive slap.
After watching Geoff lead the horse it was my turn. He told me to keep slightly in front of the horse and to ensure that there was a smile in the rope, i.e a loop hanging down, which in theory should not go taught. I then practised leading from both sides, ensuring that my head was slightly bowed and I was aware of the horse in my peripheral vision, allowing me to act should the horse make a move. I then practised stopping with the horse, ensuring that it remained just behind my shoulder in a steady stance. If the horse did not stop behind my shoulder I was told to halt it and take it back a step to show that it that it was not the one making the decisions. When the horse performed a action well it was important to gently rub its nose between the eyes to reward it.
Next I was taught how to lift the leg to pick out the feet. The horses I was working with were trained to lift their foot off of the ground with a gentle touch on the back of the leg. The foot could then be supported whilst the mud was picked out. It is important to start from the top to the bottom of the hoove, being firm to remove the clumps of mud but being extremely careful to avoid the frog which is the area of the foot which cushions the foot as the horse moves, and so it is important that this area (a V shape from the open end of the U shaped hoove) is not picked out as this could cause serious damage to the horse.
Another thing I was told is that it is important that you as the handler are always in control. For example if the horse wanted to put its foot down when you still hadn't finished picking it out, the handler must support the foot and prevent the horse putting its foot down, thus showing that the handler is in full control. If this was not done the horse would come to learn that this was acceptable behaviour and it would become increasingly difficult to pick out feet, which would be a real problem, as it is a important job in the caring of a horse.
I was then introduced to a horse that has not been ridden for many years. Geoff is currently working to get her back to being ridden. He is having to ensure that the shoulders and back of the neck are regularly touched and that the belly is regularly rubbed to ensure that she will be comfortable with a saddle again. She is currently wearing a coat so that she gets used to a buckle like the girth touching her belly. He told me that it is a long process but really worth it when you can make a difference to the horses temperament or general behaviour.
He told me that the problems in 99% of the horses he deals with are as a result of humans-either from a lack of knowledge or maltreating them which is a real shame.
I now understand that the main reason for using the Intelligent Horsemanship method is to ensure the safety of the handler as well as the horse as brute force is not used at all. It will therefore be a useful skill to have with myself wishing to do veterinary as a basic knowledge of the principles of Intelligent Horsemanship, will I feel, allow me to work with the horses much more confidently and effectively.

Animal Health and Welfare

Today was spent in the office department of Animal Health.
I watched the AMLs being put on the computer database so that the department has a record of each movement. Each AML takes about 3 days to come through from when the movement was performed and they are each kept and filled for reference. This has enabled me to see the animal movement process from beginning to end, and I now realise its real importance in disease prevention and management.

I also discussed with the Senior animal Health Inspector about the Animal Welfare Regulations 2006 and the Welfare of farmed animals 2007, both of which are important from a veterinary point of view. After discussing these I was shown a number of videos of cases that occurred, and we discussed the issues that arose from each one, which I found very interesting. One case involved a hobble, which is a device, with straps attached onto each back leg and linked by a chain. This helps to provide support for a cow which has a weak pelvis or other muscular defect, which prevents them from slipping and ending up doing the splits which can be dangerous for the animal. The hobble chain had broken and the strapping was digging into the leg of the cow and had rubbed through the skin, through the muscle and the Achilles tendon leaving the bone visible with the animal clearly in pain and lame. Appropriate action was then taken.

We also discussed the By-Products law which acts to ensure that dead animals are removed from a farm or holding area as soon as is reasonably achievable, and are not buried or incinerated on site- instead at a registered site which will do this which is something that I was already aware of from my period lambing at Shipley.

Simply by talking to the inspectors I now know the full process that occurs, from a initial complaint, the inspection and then the action taken with the possibility of a court case.
I have also learnt how the Inspectors rely on the DEFRA vets to help them in their cases as they are not veterinary professionals. They therefore work closely with these vets and often use them as professional witnesses to back up statements regarding the welfare and possible suffering of animals which have been brought to the attention of the Inspectors.
I noticed today as well as my other days with the department, the importance of making note of everything significant that happens throughout the day. This allows the Inspectors to have a record of what occurred during the day so that there is evidence that a action was performed. For example if, 3 weeks down the line, it becomes apparent that a number of the sheep which had been seen by the Inspector at the mart have a disease, the inspector will have a note of this, and be able to say he looked at the sheep and no disease symptoms were noticed. This would either mean that the animals had the disease but were not showing signs, or that the disease was not contracted until after the mart that the inspector was at. This would allow the location that the disease was contracted in to be identified.

Having seen the work that the inspectors do, I feel that being a vet on this side of the profession is something that would really interest me, and, I hope to be able to get some further experience with the Health Inspectors or DEFRA vets in the future.