With the announcement that mounted games and polocrosse have been given the green light to resume in England, now is the best time to invest in extra care for your horses. While daily patterns, including exercise routines, have been disrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic, keeping your horses well is a task that never ends. As the leading supplier of horse bedding across the country, P.H Winterton understands the importance of maintaining your horse’s throughout these challenging times. Here we are going to share all you need to know about the return of mounted games and polocrosse. Guidelines for Equestrian Team Sports Equestrian team sports were stopped in March because of the pandemic, but the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport released guidance last month which contained guidance to minimise transmission of the virus. British Equestrian has worked with the Mounted Games Association of Great Britain, the United Kingdom Polocrosse Association and The Pony Club to put together action plans and risk assessments for mounted games and polocrosse. Risk assessments identified ways to lower the risk of transmission and lower the number of people in the vicinity of the field of play. Event organisers can now make modifications to the activity or rules of the sports when required. This action plan works alongside the DCMS’s return fo Recreational Sport Framework which also needs to implemented by organisers with social distancing guidelines from the government. Talk to the Horse Bedding Specialists As we return to a new normal for equestrian mounted games and polocrosse, P.H Winterton can offer three different types of equine bedding to suit any requirements. Our economy bale bedding is a cost-effective solution, whilst our Cheshire Choice bedding has excellent absorbency levels and our newest range Zebra Fibre Animal Bedding can be used for horses as well as cattle. Get in touch now if you have any questions about our bedding...
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The best way to create the ideal rest area for your horses is by investing in horse shavings from P.H Winterton and Son. For our latest blog, we are going to share some essential maintenance tips to keep your horse’s stable clean and safe plus some advice for composting used shavings. 6 Way to Maintain Your Stables 1. Horses need to be removed from their stable if possible while mucking out 2. Droppings also need to be removed as quickly as possible using a shavings fork 3. Shake your fork gently to loosen any clean shavings back onto the surface and avoid waste 4. Loosen the surface of the bed with the shavings fork when you have finished mucking out 5. Every 2-3 days, heap loosened surface shavings into banks at the sides then remove any concentrated areas of wet shavings and pull banks into the main area of the bed 6. Finally, add fresh equine bedding to maintain optimum depth. How to Compost Used Horse Shavings P.H Winterton recommends that the simplest and most environmentally friendly way to dispose of used shavings is to compost them and return to the soil. Industry specialists have commissioned scientific studies to confirm that the best conditions for composting horse bedding successfully. Results showed that used shavings plus manure turn them into excellent compost in just a matter of months. Here are some composting tips – Have a rough ratio of 3 parts shavings and one part dung or green matter Make sure the heap is on the wet side of damp but ensure it is not waterlogged Keep the heap uncovered Turn the heap monthly if possible as air is essential Under these conditions we would predict horse shavings will compost on between 4 and 8 months, depending on the season. Get in Touch for More Information If you would like to know more about P.H Winterton’s range of equine bedding, please contact us...
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If you are one of a number of riders that are looking to get their horses fit with competition (hopefully) on the horizon we have some tips to help. P.H Winterton and Son is the only choice for horse bedding, having served equestrian customers for many years, giving us unique knowledge about this sector. We understand that upping your horse’s fitness comes with challenges but reading our latest post will help prepare you for this. Relish the Return to Fitness Bringing your horse back into competitive fitness work is an exciting prospect, which helps to provide some normalcy for you and your horses. A lot will depend on whether your horse is familiar with his back-to-work routine or he is more of a stranger to extended breaks. Organising frequent visits from your saddler and physio is a vital part of bringing your horse back up to full fitness. As their physique starts to change you will need to keep a close on him to make sure his saddle fits and is not getting sore. Starting with weeks of walk hacks and straight lines will have them raring to go and ready for action. It is now time to starting working on the canter regime for your horse, but remember it will be difficult for him to remember all of that dressage training you had worked on months ago. Whether it is hacking in straight lines and flatwork or a leg-yield, chances are you will need to start from scratch on a lot of these activities. A gradual return to fitness is the best way to approach this, without making it too easy for your horse. You will need plenty of patience and a sense of humour to manage your equine buddies antics. Get in Touch for More Advice If you need any more advice about getting back into a routine, please contact P.H Winterton and Son. We provide three different ranges of horse bedding that will suit your budget and specific...
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As the leading provider of equine bedding across the country, P.H Winterton understands the importance of your horses getting their 40 winks. A recent study from Nottingham Trent University has looked into the sleep patterns of horses and how they could provide early warning signs of ill health. We will explore this in greater detail during this blog below. Horse Sleep Study Explained This fascinating study identifies patterns of rest for horses plus reasons they require rest such as temperature, age, temperament and exercise. Monitoring night-time sleep, the researchers are looking to establish regular rest patterns for different types of the horse which allows owners to spot any early warning signs of something amiss. Horses experience slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, with the SWS phase of the cycle, only achieved standing up whereas they must lie down for REM sleep. There is some evidence from this study that suggests horses unable to achieve REM sleep suffer from sleep deprivation. This could be due to injury or illness that makes lying down too painful or stress. Most horse owners are unable to monitor their horses’ sleep patterns throughout the night which means these changes can go unnoticed. The study from Nottingham Trent University involves the analysis of videos that display healthy riding horses’ night-time behaviour with details recorded for each horse. Accelerometers were also employed to automatically record movement and remotely monitor the horses during the night. How Equine Bedding Helps Horses Relax Equine bedding from P.H Winterton is available in three different ranges, to suit any requirements and budget. Cheshire Choice is our premium brand of horse bedding made from 100% softwood shavings with a long-life guarantee. As suggested by its title, Economy Bale is our budget range is a mixture of hardwood and softwood, making it easy to clean out with the use of rubber mats. Our newest range of equine bedding is the Zebra Fibre animal bedding, which can be used for horses and cattle with excellent absorbency qualities which means less abrasions for your animals. Talk to the Horse Bedding Specialists If you would like to know more about guaranteeing a good night’s sleep for your horses, contact P.H Winterton and Son...
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With a local lockdown issued for Leicester, advice has been provided to horse riding schools to help manage the situation. As the leading provider of equine bedding across the country, P.H Winterton and Son have been in constant contact with our equestrian customers to help as much as we can. Guidance from the British Horse Society Oonagh Meyer from the British Horse Society (BHS) commented, regarding the localised lockdown of Leicester, “The restrictions apply to the city and parts of Leicestershire that ‘touch on the city’s boundaries’. “There is now a local lockdown in Leicestershire, the council has published a map and we are waiting to confirm specific postcodes that will be affected.” “Currently, this doesn’t affect any of our BHS approved centres in Leicestershire, however, we have two that are very close to the map the council has provided so far, meaning that when the list of postcodes is published they may fall into the area. “At this stage, it appears that Leicester city is affected, rather than outlying rural areas. “We would advise any riding school in the Leicestershire area to check the Leicestershire.Gov.UK website and follow the local authority guidance.” The Importance of Equine Bedding With some riders restricted regarding taking their horse out riding, keeping them comfortable in their stables has become even more important. PH Winterton has three types of equine bedding to suit your budget and requirements. Cheshire Choice bedding is our premium product made from 100% wood shavings, whereas our Economy Bale bedding is a cost-effective solution. Our newest range is the Zebra Fibre Animal bedding has excellent absorbency qualities and is available in 48-60 bales per pallet. Get in Touch for More Information If you would like to know more about P.H Winterton’s range of equine bedding, please contact us today. We also offer the leading sawmill waste collection plus biomass fuel, which is a renewable heating source for domestic and commercial...
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