McTimoney therapy is a holistic therapy that looks at the whole horse, paying special attention to the spine and pelvis. Following a detailed assessment of the horse, including a full history, an examination of the horse in the stable and seeing him move (lunged, trotted up and/ or ridden), the McTimoney practitioner will feel the horse all over, looking for areas of skeletal misalignment, where a joint is out of line, or restricted in movement. They will also look for muscle tension and pain. These can compromise the normal movement of the horse, leading to a drop off in performance and possible behavioural changes. Signs that your horse may have a problem are varied, things like stiffness, wrong canter leads, bucking, disunited Do you have a question for our experts? Let us know by emailing admin@redpin.co.uk canter, irregular action and changes in personality can all indicate a potential problem. Once problem areas have been identified they are treated using only the hands to apply a precise and rapid adjustment. This allows the muscles and surrounding tissues to contract and relax and removes any spasm, the joints are then able to return to their normal movement and the misalignment can be corrected. By relieving muscle spasm, and returning joints back to normal function, pain is relieved and the horse is able to work more easily. It is the speed of the adjustment rather than the force which is key to releasing muscle spasm, as a result McTimoney treatment is very gentle for the horse to receive. McTimoney Practitioners are graduates of the Masters Degree in Animal Manipulation from the McTimoney College of Chiropractic. This is the only animal manipulation qualification that is university validated in Europe and North America. For details of a qualified practitioner in your area visit the McTimoney Animal Association website www.mctimoneyanimal. org.uk.

The symptoms are wide ranging and not all are always present. These include:

• Flank watching-craning the head round to look at their belly.
• Sweating-patchy or all over.
• Pawing the ground with the fore feet.
• Rolling / lying down more than usual.
• Kicking at their stomach.
• 'Flehmen' - curling the upper lip.
• Not passing faeces.
• Louder than normal sounds from the abdomen.

All of these signs are not unique to colic, but a horse with colic will show two or three of them in varying degrees of severity.

About 95% of colic cases are medical (i.e. do not need surgery) so do not panic if you do see these symptoms in your horse.

Each case is different and the severity of symptoms does not necessarily correspond to the severity of the problem, so, because the most important factor in survival rates for surgical cases of colic is the time between starting to colic and surgery, if in doubt call your vet sooner rather than later.

Dalehead Vets answers. A splint is a swelling of the ligament that joins the third metacarpal and metatarsal bones (the 'cannon' bones) to the smaller second and fourth metacarpal/metatarsal bones (the 'splint' bones) that lie on either side. This ligament helps to spread the forces that act on the splint bones and movement can cause small tears and damage to the ligament.

Initially this causes heat, pain and swelling, that gradually turns to fibrous tissue and is then mineralised to produce the mature 'splint'. In the acute phase the horse may show a mild lameness, but many are completely sound. If given time to settle, these lumps are usually only a cosmetic blemish, but if the horse is not given adequate rest, or is returned to exercise too quickly, then the process is repeated and the lump can increase in size.

This problem is more common in younger horses. This is because as the horse ages the ligament naturally mineralises and turns to bone, so it is less likely to tear and swell. Splints can only be removed by surgery. This is only necessary for cosmetic reasons or if the lump has become large enough to impinge on the suspensory ligament, which then causes lameness.

Millions of years ago as horses moved out of the forests and swamps they had to evolve to allow them to eat a wider variety of plants. As they adapted to the changing conditions their head and neck grew longer, the incisors moved forwards in the skull and the eyes altered position to allow them to view the horizon whilst grazing.

Originally horses had seven molars on each archade, but to be able to chew and digest drier matter the molars needed to increase in size to provide them with a larger grinding surface and longer tooth life. To do this the horses dropped the first pre-molar out. This molar is known as the "Wolf Tooth".

Generally the "Wolf Teeth" are small bud like teeth with no function. Due to the positioning in most cases it is recommended they are extracted before a horse is bitted. As they are a small tooth with sometimes very little root they can be easily loosened by the pressure of a bit. This can lead to inflammation of the tooth socket and soreness and can cause behavioural and contact problems with the bitted horse.

For more information, advice or to book an appointment please contact Samantha Martin EqDT on 07793404724 or samanthamartin-edt@hotmail.co.uk