Equine care journal

• How often should you shoe your horse? A UK farriery guide — From hoof growth rates to seasonal workload, here's how to set the right shoeing or trimming cycle with your registered farrier.
• Equine dental checks: what to expect from your EDT visit — A calm, no-jargon walkthrough of a routine BAEDT dental visit — gags, power floats, sedation rules and how often to book.
• 5 saddle-fit warning signs every rider should know — Behavioural and physical clues your saddle no longer fits — and when to call an SMS-qualified saddle fitter for a check.
• When to call an equine physio (and when to call your vet first) — Physio is a brilliant tool — but only after lameness has been ruled out. Here's how UK ACPAT and RAMP physios fit into your team.
• The annual vet check: what every UK horse owner should book in — Vaccinations, dental sign-off, weight scoring and a baseline lameness exam — what a good yearly vet visit covers and why it pays for itself.
• Winter yard care: clipping, rugging and keeping condition through a UK winter — A practical winter playbook — clip choices, rug weights by temperature, mud fever prevention and when to call your team.
• Feeding the leisure horse: a no-nonsense UK nutrition guide — Forage first, balancers over mixes, and why most happy hackers are over-fed and under-exercised. A practical guide to getting the basics right.
• Spring grass and laminitis: a UK prevention guide — Why the first warm weeks of the year are the riskiest, and the practical steps that keep good-doers and natives sound through spring.
• Travelling your horse safely: the UK pre-trip checklist — Vehicle checks, paperwork, loading prep and what to pack — a calm, repeatable routine for stress-free journeys.
• Body condition scoring: a visual guide for UK horse owners — The 1–9 system explained in plain English — where to look, what to feel for, and how to use a number that actually means something.
• Hot shoeing vs cold shoeing: which is right for your horse? — The real differences between hot and cold shoeing in UK farriery — when each is appropriate, what it costs, and how to tell which your horse needs.
• Wolf teeth in horses: should they come out? — A clear UK guide to wolf teeth — what they are, when they cause bitting problems, and how a BAEDT-registered EDT or vet handles removal.
• Saddle re-flocking: how often, and why it matters — A UK saddle fitter's guide to re-flocking — how wool flocking changes over time, signs your saddle is due, and what a typical service costs.
• Cold-backed horses: physio, saddle fitter or vet first? — If your horse dips, hollows or napps at mounting, here's the UK decision tree — when to call the vet, when it's saddle fit, and when it's a physio job.