Myerscough Research Conference

Good evening, dear readers. How are we all?

For those of you who follow me on social media, you'll probably have noticed a couple of posts about the annual research conference hosted at my university on Friday.

A post shared by EquiHolly (@equiholly.blog) on Nov 10, 2017 at 9:37am PST

The conference plays host to a variety of speakers, from experts in their respective fields to recent graduates and members of staff. It's a great way to learn a little bit more about the research going on in the industry, as well as a chance to get inspired with dissertation ideas. There were a couple of equine speakers that really stood out to me, but the one I want to talk to you about is making waves in the industry.

Heather Cameron-Whytock is a year 2 PhD student. Her undergraduate dissertation focused on horse falls in one-day eventing. After presenting her findings at a conference, her work got media attention from some leading equine magazines and she event presented her findings to the FEI.

Her PhD is focused on the same topic, but going into greater depths as to why these falls happen using data and field analysis. Her undergraduate dissertation had 2000ish data sets, but her current work has 850,000 sets, which contains millions of data point. The results will determine if her undergraduate findings are applicable to one-day British Eventing as a whole, and to an extent three-day events.

Heather's work has highlighted a few interesting things so far. Preliminary results indicate that riders ranked more highly before the cross-country phase (i.e. they have completed their dressage and showjumping rounds) are more likely to fall in the cross country phase. Furthermore, the riders that completed questionnaires for her work have indicated that they rarely make note of where frangible pins are located so that aspect doesn't significantly play a role in the psychology of the rider when approaching the jumps. The questionnaires also highlighted the fact that most people, particularly those involved with horses in some way, are more likely to place the blame on the rider when a fall does occur.

Not only has she identified potential causes of the fall - physiology, psychology, ground conditions, rider experience etc - but her PhD includes profiling of the riders as well as recording their heart rate to measure stress. A record is being kept of how the psychology of the rider is influenced by different factors and whether this affects the likelihood of the fall - e.g. is a parent/partner's presence going to increase the rider's stress level enough to impact the way they ride?

This research will go a long way in identifying the main risk factors for riders in the cross-country phase of the one-day event, as well as providing a guideline for British Eventing as to where the accidents are most likely to happen. Hopefully this will reduce the number of fatalities being reported in this discipline and provide riders with the knowledge of how to keep themselves and their horse safe.

If you are interested in reading about Heather's work, please visit Research Gate (click here) or find her/Myerscough College on social media.

Until next time~

James Moffat Racing Yard

Hello, readers!

It's been a long while since I last posted, for which I apologise. I've not been up to much in the past few months. In fact, it wasn't until August that I started riding regularly again. I do, however, have a couple of musical theatre trips that I plan to upload soon so keep an eye out for them! Better late than never, right? I've not yet decided whether I'll change the date of upload so that it better ties in with when the trips actually happened - I'll keep you posted!

Since my last post, I've started my second year of university. Honestly, I have no idea where the time has gone. Sometimes it feels like I could easily slip back into sixth form, and other times it feels like I've been up here at Myerscough for a long while. 

One of the horses (Smart Ruler if memory serves
me right) loving the attention!

One of my modules this semester is Equine Exercise Physiology, affectionately dubbed as Ex Phys to save breath. As part of this module, we went on a trip to Cartmel a couple of weeks ago, a beautiful little village which plays host to a race course as well as a few race yards. One of these is owned by James Moffat, who is one of the top National Hunt trainers in the country. To put it into context, one of his horses had a recent win at the Cheltenham Festival. 

I was a bit hesitant about what to expect. I don't exactly keep my distaste for racing a secret, and I wasn't sure about whether I would feel comfortable in a race yard environment. My fears were for nought, however, because I actually loved the yard. 

The atmosphere was so relaxed and the staff so friendly and close-knit that it was possible to just see how much the horses meant to everyone there. The grooms and riders are one in the same, so any problems with the horses are easily picked up. One anecdote James shared with us was about one of the girls on the yard. She could feel that one of the horse's (I think it was Iddder, but I could be wrong!) she rode wasn't feeling quite right. This carried on for a few weeks, and she was adamant that something was wrong. Three farrier checks later, a corn was found on the horse's hoof. As soon as it was treated, she noticed the improvement straight away. The best part? James was totally on board with what the stable lass was saying. The respect he has for the girls working on the yard is incredible, and it was easy to tell that it went both ways.

Another thing that I really loved about the yard was that the horses aren't hammered all the time. In fact, there's almost no gallop work done on the yard. The 'gallops' are actually only used for canter work, which helps reduce injury rates in the horses. This was an aspect that I really liked because Jimmy was so receptive to research and tweaking his management practices so that the horses welfare always came first. He even gave a couple a second chance at a career. One of the horses has a dropped pelvis, and another had gone down in worth by several thousands of pounds when he bought it because of a previous leg injury, corrected with surgery and the implementation of screws. He takes these horses in, and then gets them placing at races. They really respond to what he does, which is great. It's no wonder he's in the top 20 out of 600 trainers!

The track used at the yard

- it was hard work just

to walk on this so the horses

definitely get a work out!

James and his wife, Nadine, were brilliant hosts and they answered all the questions we threw at them from topics ranging to nutrition to jump training. It was so informative that I wouldn't be surprised if a better industrial relationship formed between Myerscough College and the racing yard. As it is, a former graduate works there and it doing well. If you want to check her out, just search the news for Charlotte Jones! Also keep an eye out for Polly Steele, who is working her way towards being a jockey as well.

Racing will never be my favourite sport, but with trainers like James I can make my peace with it, especially when the horse's welfare always comes first. Not only does he look after these horses during their careers, he keeps up to date with them when they retire from racing. The receptiveness to new research and the consideration for the ways in which to reduce injury was brilliant, and the complete lack of stereotypical behaviours was astounding. 

Many thanks go to James, Nadine and all the staff at the race yard who interacted with us and answered our questions. Best of luck for the future and good luck with the stable expansion!

P. S. For those interested and for a very limited time, there is a clip of Jimmy and his yard on BBC North West Inside Out, aired on the 23/10/2017. 

Until next time~

I Challenge YOU

It's that time of year where some people seem to be in a mad rush to get their summer bodies perfected. For myself, I've never really bothered about that. I pretty much maintain a consistent figure all year round. Recently though, I decided to make a change and be a little bit healthier. I'm not so much aiming for a summer body, but rather aiming for a level of fitness more suitable for someone my age.

I don't think regular exercise has been part of my routine since I was in Year 11 - three to four years ago. In sixth form, sport and P. E. was optional and so I didn't do it. Occasionally I'd go for a run with my Dad, but I'd get annoyed with how unfit I had become and so give up because I couldn't go as far as I would have liked. My attitude toward any sport that wasn't horse riding was pretty dismal, and when I switched to Pony Club and ended up riding only on a fortnightly basis, my fitness took another hit.

Even though my runs would be in public, I lived in such a quiet area that I never had to worry about people seeing me. Sport is one of the times where I get quite self-conscious, so the gym is a very daunting prospect for me. In spite of having a free gym membership at university, I've yet to use it. It doesn't help that a lot of the people that use the gym here are doing things like football and basketball. The thought of going to the gym and being surrounded by people who are quite fit just makes me want to curl up and watch Netflix with a slice of cake and a tub of ice cream. 

It might be how Spring like it feels at the moment, or maybe I just have a better attitude regarding health and fitness - particularly after binge watching Supersize vs Superskinny, but I figured that it was time I add a bit more exercise into my daily routine, and so I downloaded a fitness app onto my phone. I prefer being able to work out in privacy, so that if I become a sweaty mess after a few squats I won't feel like I'm being judged for it.

There are five different work out options. I'm doing all of them except for one, because I honestly don't think I could deal with a butt work out and a leg work out - there's only so many squats and lunges a girl can do at the start of a fitness regime! Each work out section can be completed in under 5 minutes (this may be different for harder work out plans - I'm sticking to Easy Plan 1 for now) so it's really easy to slip into day-to-day life. The app also incorporates rest days, so when your thighs demand a respite come day 4, they do get one. 

But why bother? Well rider fitness is actually super important. Core strength allows for a better position, stronger legs also improve position but also allow for harder work to be completed because the muscle is better able to recover. Before downloading this app, the most exercise I had was mucking out during yard duty on Thursdays, which really isn't enough to live a healthy lifestyle. Exercise has also been shown to improve mood, and I have to say I have actually been feeling a lot better mentally with just doing the exercises provided by the app. 

You might be healthier and fitter than me, but I'm going to throw down the gauntlet anyway. I challenge you to download the app and follow at least ONE of the fitness workouts. I don't mind which plan you select, but I would love to hear that after 30 days you have stuck with it. It's definitely easier to find motivation if you can get the support from someone, and if you'd like to be able to survive riding around in light seat for longer then this will definitely help. What are you waiting for? Let's do this!

Until next time~

Stable Bedding & Bedmax

I'd like to say straight of the bat that this post is in no way, shape, or form endorsed by Bedmax. I'm not a horse owner. I simply found the talk really interesting, as welfare is something I am quite keen on. Whilst this blog may seem quite pro-Bedmax, I have never encountered some of the bedding types before and my knowledge is a little limited as a consequence. If you disagree with something I say, I'd love to hear your opinion and the reasons for it. Please don't hesitate to get in touch!

---

Image courtesy of bedmaxshavings.com

The bedding you use for your horse is chosen for a variety of reasons: cost, quality, quantity, accessibility etc. Not being a horse owner myself, I've never had to even think about the expense of buying shavings/straw/pellets to fill a stable, let alone some of the sneaky shortcuts some owners will use. One thing I do know from yard duty, however, is that opening a bale of shavings can be very sneeze-inducing. A recent talk from Bedmax at my university brought into focus this very aspect, and I thought I'd share with you some of the things discussed.

Ventilation is an important point to consider when selecting/building a stables. Horses breathe in a lot more air than we do, so 'stale' air is going to be a lot worse for a horse that is kept in 24/7. By stale air, I mean when you're breathing in the same air constantly, like if you sit in a room with the windows and door shut for an extended period of time. When you leave that room, the freshness of the air on the other side of the door is going to hit you. Aside from improving the quality of air in a stable block, ventilation also helps with the removal of moisture and odours.

We've all experienced it. That one horse which always has a wet bed, which when mucking out causes our eyes to water just a little and our nostril hairs to burn. Ammonia is enough to make you want to leave the stables. And we can. But the horse can't. This is why it's important to thoroughly muck out your horse every day, so that wet bedding can be removed. Ventilation will only go so far into removing the ammonia from the air, but natural air flow is not going to get rid of the build up under rubber mats (if you use those) or from a wet bed left too long. 

I can't honestly say that I've mucked out a straw bed (not that I remember anyway - I did volunteer at a stables as a child, but all I really remember from that experience is poo picking the fields), so perhaps I am a little biased in my preference to shavings but I just prefer the ease with which one can usually detect the wet bedding. Straw does change colour, but I don't feel it's to the same extent and it's also harder to sift through. Shavings make it quite easy to throw the dry to the side and remove the wet, unless you have a dirty horse. In this case, the bedding may all be one colour and it can be a bit of a pickle and you have to rely on the weight at the end of the shavings fork.

Bedmax shavings seem to me like a brilliant invention. Not only does the urine and wet naturally sift down to the bottom layer, like with other shavings bedding, but it is specifically designed for this to always happen. Large flakes make up the top layer, and smaller flakes make up the bottom and the bed will always want to settle this way. It's like when you bake and need to use the rubbing in method. If you shake the bowl, the larger clumps will rise to the top while the bread crumb like mixture will settle at the bottom. There is a recommended minimum bedding size for this to be most effective, but even so even with a run down bed it should still work reasonably well. 

The main thing I really like about Bedmax is that they remove all the dust from the product, and then use that dust to make another product (Hot max). The fact that it's a green company only sweetens the deal as far as I am concerned. I've never been one to suffer from hay fever, but even I find that spreading out a new bale of shavings a chore simply because it does make me want to cough. As mentioned before, we can leave that stable but the horse that is kept in is constantly breathing all that dust in so a dust free product can never go amiss when animal welfare is concerned, especially when said animal has such a large olfactory system - I've done the dissection, and the nasal cavity is very impressive. 

There are other reasons to consider using a deeper bed too. With a thick bed, the horse's hooves will be protected. Wet bed can weaken their hooves and cause problems - think of what happens to your leather boots if you spend a regular amount of time mucking out a wet bed - so Bedmax's researched formula of ensuring the urine seeping down to the bottom of the bedding is certainly an added bonus in keeping your horse happy and healthy. It is also easy to trace the batch source with Bedmax, so if there ever is an issue it can be sorted almost immediately. If you use straw bedding, there's no guarantee that you're going to get the same quality each time and you probably won't even be able to track down the origin of the plant anyway. 

During the talk, we also discussed other types of bedding such as wooden pellets and a flax/hemp mixture. For me these bedding types seem like a lot of work - a specific ration is needed, and the fact you have to keep it watered seem to me a like a lot of hassle. A couple of people I know do swear by wooden pellets though, so it could just be the fact that I've never interacted with it that I'm so sceptical. The main reason why I wanted to talk about wood pellets though is because there is a way of buying it at a cheaper price, and that is by going to your local supermarket and buying the cat-litter equivalent. You may look like a crazy cat person but hey, our industry is expensive enough. Am I right? 

Before the talk from Bedmax, I'd never really considered bedding to have such an impact on welfare. A survey by the company showed that I'm not really alone in this; most people prioritise cost the most and value the least. It definitely makes you reconsider what's really best for your horse, and whether or not a change should be made.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Have you used Bedmax? What did you think?

Until next time~

My Top 5 Favourite Apps

As those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram know, I've been back at home for a few days and only returned to university yesterday. I'm still pretty tired from the long journey, although my thanks does go to National Express for the service, so my creative juices weren't flowing massively for today's post. Then I figured seen as two of my blog descriptions are 'student' and 'lifestyle' I may as well share some further insight. What better than the apps I use most often? 

1. Twitter/Instagram

Okay, okay. I get that this is kind of cheating to have these two tied for first but they kind of go hand in hand as far as I'm concerned. My instragram automatically posts onto Twitter but I also find people to follow on instagram because of twitter so it really is helpful having both. Instagram allows me to connect with some of my former Pony Club friends whilst I generally use Twitter to connect with those I don't know irl. Having said that, follow me on either and if you talk to me I will reply :)

2. Gardenscapes/Fishdom

I promise that is the last one where two apps are tied but I couldn't pick between them! They are both made by the same company, and so are very similar. Sometimes I prefer Fishdom, but then I'll get stuck on a hard level and go over to Gardenscapes. The latter has a story line and I feel like you can do more things - like have a dog, plant trees, create fountains - but it very much relies on said story line. There isn't a store like in Fishdom, in which you can decorate the tanks very easily. At the moment I think Gardenscapes is more of a favourite just because I'm getting in the mood for summer and the garden is looking pretty good! Best part of these two apps is that no internet connection is required at all, which is great because it meant that I could play them on the coach without using lots of data. 

3. Disney's Magic Kingdoms

19 years old or not, Disney will always hold a place in my heart. This game I actually found on the Windows Store. Whilst the game itself is free, it does definitely try to get you spend real money. Not really that surprising considering the fact that is Disney. Have you seen ticket prices for their theme parks? Anyways, it is totally possible to play this game without spending a penny and I love seeing all the characters that formulated bits of my childhood. It's also such an easy game to play. I'll get notified when characters have finished an activity, so I don't spend masses amount of time just watching the screen. I can still do other things on my laptop before seeing that Woody has finished 'taking a break' etc. 

4. Choices: Stories You Play

This is a recent download but omg, I'm addicted. Currently, I'm focusing on "The Freshman" series of books, basically follows a story line of a girl through her freshman year at college, and you get to choose who your relationship is with through the choices you make. It's great for the mushy feelings, but if that isn't your cup of tea there are a couple of non-romance books. There are a few things I dislike about the app. You only get 2 keys (which I guess could be considered lives) and they take 2 and a half hours to recharge, At the end of each new chapter - i.e, one you haven't completed before - you get one diamond, and these diamonds can be used to unlock outfits and extra scenes. This, I find, is quite frustrating as there are times where I would do a certain action but it requires 20+ diamonds, so I can't. Spending money on games is not something I plan to ever do, so I think I've only seen two or three of the 'premium' parts. The graphics are good though, so it is worth looking at. If you can handle waiting for the keys, then there is plenty of drama waiting at your fingertips! 

5. Netflix

Ahh, Netflix. Every student finds something that aids in their procrastination, and I am certainly no different. I use the app on my laptop, but I did have it on my phone for a while. The only reason I deleted it off my phone was because I had very little space left. There are some great shows and films on Netflix, but the reason I haven't put this higher up my list is because there are a lot of shows I would love to watch but can't because they either aren't on Netflix at all or they are only available on the American service. I appreciate that there's probably licensing issues at play here, but this girl would love to be able to watch NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds and Supernatural. This can be applied to other things too - Sky box sets for example are sorely lacking in every crime drama I'd like to watch. Another issue with Netflix is that some series aren't up to date. 'Jane the Virgin', for example, only has one season available so now I'm hooked without a completely legal means of watching later series. Having said that, Netflix is home to BBC's Merlin and Doctor Who as well as Shadowhunters so credit must be given where credit is due for good programme choices!

And that just about makes my top five list. There are a couple of others that just missed out, such as the Despicable Me: Minion Rush game which I also have on my laptop but some of the areas cause the game to lag way too much for me to consider it a top five choice, even if I do still play it pretty much every day.

If you have any app suggestions please feel free to comment or get in touch via social media. I'd probably need to get a new SD card to fit them on my phone, but I will definitely make a note of them! Alternatively, if you have any suggestions for further top five blog posts, I would love to hear them ♥

Until next time~

Product Review: Caldene Westfield Wellingtons

Image courtesy of Caldene.co.uk

This weekend I was quite busy because of  yard duty. This is part of the requirement of a first year student at my college. Every Thursday morning and afternoon the other equine students in my year and I will muck out, groom and prepare the hay/haylage for the horses. Four weekends are also required, which is much the same but with the addition of turning out and catching horses. Having brought a horse in, I was rinsing off my wellies to get rid of the mud. When I went to walk away I realised very quickly that my sock was wet. On a cold, windy day my boot had managed to get a hole - thankfully this was about 4pm so I only had another half an hour left! Because of that, I decided to write a review about the wellies I've been using so here goes. 

Knowing since August that I would have yard duty, I decided to get a pair of wellingtons as they offer a bit more coverage and water proofing than ankle-high boots. The nearest Go Outdoors to me doesn't have a massive selection of shoes, and the Caldene Westfield Wellingtons (shown at the top of the page) were the only ones to actually fit my calves. Even though the choice was taken away from me, I did actually quite like the way they looked - which, considering the cost, is quite a good thing! The colour appealed to me, as well as the matte finish.

I started wearing these wellies in September. Given the expense of these shoes (£60 with the discount card at Go Outdoors, otherwise they retail at £70), I was really disappointed that they have already ripped. The work I do in them is ultimately quite minimal, and as the rip is above where the balls my feet are, I'm disappointed that the quality is poor enough for this to happen - I haven't been stood on, stabbed with a shavings fork or any other number of things that usually cause a hole in a shoe, particularly when said hole is basically on the top of the welly. 

"Keep your feet warm & dry this winter!
The Westfield wellingtons are designed for ultimate comfort and warmth.
These unisex neoprene wellingtons have a 3mm neoprene lining and a textured embossed matt finish.
They also feature a steel shank for durability and support." 

That is the description on the Caldene website. The wellies are quite weighty, but I did actually find them quite comfortable and my feet were always nice and warm. They just aren't durable, and the fasteners on the side are forever needing to be clipped back down. If Caldene were cheaper I think I would sort of expect them to rip, but because of the cost of them I expected better quality in the longevity of the product. I read some other reviews on the Go Outdoors website, and a few other people have had them rip quite quickly but these were dog walkers who travelled miles on foot frequently; for mucking out stables I am a little annoyed that they've died on me so soon. I fully expected them to last me to the end of the year, which for me is around April/May. 

As I have another eleven weeks at university yet, these wellies have to survive for another eleven Thursday yard duties and another weekend. Hopefully the rip won't get any bigger or I'll get a very cold foot! In the mean time, I will definitely be on the lookout for a cheaper, new pair (as I won't have yard duty next year I can get away with not actively seeking a long-lasting wellington unless my current pair completely fall apart in shreds). 

Overall, I can only give the Caldene Westfield Wellington ★★★ stars (three out of five is also quite generous - if I'd needed more use out of them they probably would have ripped last month at best). I wouldn't buy them again, and they certainly wouldn't be my go-to walking shoe no matter how muddy it is - they are just too heavy. Having said that, if you are only occasionally on a yard then I'm sure they are quite good and will certainly last longer than mine have. Nevertheless, I don't think I would go out of my way to recommend them. 

Have you ever owned/worn a pair of these wellies? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or get in contact via social media. Also let me know of some good wellington/yard boot brands - I'm in the market for a pair!

Until next time~

Blackpool Zoo

Visiting the zoo is a past time I have fond memories of from my childhood, but it's been years since I've actually visited one. I love seeing all the animals (although I do have issues with enclosure sizes) and what's better than getting a bit of VIP treatment when you go with university? Yes, you heard right! As part of the equine behaviour module, my class went to Blackpool Zoo this week.

One of the giraffes from the zoo, as you may have seen on Instagram
(@equiholly.blog)

Part of the module involves providing some form of enrichment for one of the college horses. In order to better appreciate the aims and objectives of enrichment, we went to Blackpool because they're in the process of building a new elephant enclosure, in the hopes that the elephant they have will take to a new herd. Kate is currently the only elephant, so enrichment is really important to keep her stimulated and happy.

This isn't something restricted to Blackpool by any means. Anyone who has seen any sort of TV show relating to zoos has probably seen some sort of enrichment activity. You can probably find clips from Chester's "The Secret Life of the Zoo" and similar programmes which show treats being put in balls for the animals to play with etc. Enrichment activities encourage the animals to think, as well as allowing them to use a greater repertoire of their inherent natural behaviour.

Can we take a moment to appreciate how cute penguins are? ♥

My fellow classmates and I received a talk from one of the keepers at the zoo, who explained that the main purpose of enrichment is to prevent abnormal behaviours. If we think back to horses for a minute, crib biting and weaving would be an example of this. For zoo animals, wall-licking and pacing are common stereotypical behaviours that the keepers try to prevent. This isn't an easy thing to do. The keeper told us about a zoo where the elephant kept nodding its head. That zoo responded by giving the elephant food to try and get it to stop, but of course the elephant then associated nodding its head with food, so ended up doing it constantly! As Blackpool use positive reinforcement across the board, they have to be careful to ensure they only reward the good behaviour and ignore the bad. 

Enrichment isn't just about treats for the animals though. It consists of nearly every aspect, from feeding and training to safe handling for vet checks; it's both mental and physical stimulation. Kate, for example, has lots of branches in her enclosure which she has to break up herself to eat, and there are hay nets in some rocks beyond one of the barriers. This is to encourage her to use all the muscles in her trunk, as some captive elephants only use a small proportion of the muscles in their trunk, which results in what the keeper called "lazy trunk" (this is the term used at Blackpool Zoo, but if anyone knows the actual term I'd love to know!). 

Kate has been trained to lift her feet up so that she can
have a pedicure! This helps keep her sound.

Something I found really interesting was the reasoning behind the displays for the sea lions. Blackpool does have shows with their sea lions, some of which does involve them jumping through hoops. Turns out that this is actually to encourage natural behaviour. In the wild, sea lions are a bit like dolphins in that they do that porpoising action. They do it so they can maintain a fast pace, breaching the water to breathe before going back under. In captivity, this isn't necessary as they can hold their breath in order to swim from one side of the pool to the other, so the trainers introduce hoops to encourage more natural behaviour. As training is part of enrichment any way, if you can teach an animal to exhibit more natural behaviours then it is definitely worth it - especially as they start to do it in their day to day lives. We saw the sea lions porpoising frequently of their own accord as they swam together around the pool.

So how can all of this be applied to horses? Well, for my module in particular we are looking to create an enrichment activity that will encourage whichever horse we have to display some new behaviours. This might be something as simple as using more of the stable or going some way to reducing stereotypical behaviours (we have one horse which crib bites and wind sucks constantly), but it might even stimulate the horse mentally if it has to work something else. For day to day life, however, it definitely makes us question the quality for the life of horses who are nearly always kept inside, and what can be done to improve the time they are in the box. One of my lecturers recently talked about how for horses on box rest, sometimes they will take a square of turf into the stable. The horse grazes naturally, and can then have a bit of fun with the soil if it so chooses. 

Likit's Snak-a-Ball is an example of an equine enrichment activity.
Photo courtesy of Likit 

If you have a specific enrichment activity for your horse, or any other animal really, I would love to know about it! Maybe you even have a video of your horse using a product like the one from Likit shown above? You can get in touch using the social media icons in the sidebar. Make sure you go check out Blackpool Zoo on social media as well, and if you get a chance definitely go and visit. Don't be afraid to ask questions as all the staff we met were really friendly.

Special thank you to everyone at Blackpool Zoo who answered our questions and talked to us whilst we were there. It was a great day and we learnt a lot about the life of the animals at the zoo, and we came away very, very satisfied. It's not everyday you see an elephant getting a pedicure or find out how good orangutans are at escaping haha!

Until next time~