AnnMarie's Blog

Just finished doing a portrait of “Teenatoo”, my chestnut thoroughbred mare. The digital painting is produced in oils and has soft pencil remarks around the mount. You can see a small version by clicking the image below:

She’s quite a character and this was a fun piece of artwork to do. Now I just have to decide where to hang it.

There are many ways to photograph a horse, one classic composition is the facial portrait. Whilst it is possible to use flash lighting & artificial back drops, this is not necessary; rewarding portraits can be achieved with just natural light. This does of course require some patience, waiting for the desired lighting. Today was just such an occasion, the low freezing  murk cleared at lunchtime, leaving a brief sunny spell that was ideal for purpose. Here are some example images, all taken today.

  Click image for a larger view …

The key in each of these shots was to encourage the horse to make a characterful expression. Sometimes it is easier to do this with an assistant but here I was on my own. Of course there are other points to consider as well, such as:

• Direction of light
• Background positioning
• Fast enough shutter speed to freeze any motion
• Large aperture to reduce depth of field & blur background
• Suitable focal length for horse’s confidence / nervousness (all above were taken at 150mm)

The opportunity can also be taken to do some close detail shots of the horse, like below:

Finishing can include the production of Black & White images, colour variations, the addition of vignettes and many other things; its great to experiment & explore.

I’ve been in need of a longer focal length macro lens for a while. Today I took delivery of a Sigma 150mm f2.8 APO Macro DG EX; that’s quite a name! Now I usually stick to Canon L series lenses but this Sigma EX has a very good reputation and is quite a bargain at the moment. Anyway took the lens for an afternoon stroll in today’s dull, cloudy and sub zero weather. The lens seems promisingly versatile being suitable for portraiture as well as macro work. Tamsin & her pony, Snowy, seemed like good subjects to take trial portrait shots of. The gloomy afternoon would ensure the use of higher ISO & open aperture, I used only natural light for these shots. Here’s an image of Snowy, taken with the Sigma lens on a Canon 5D:

I am very pleased with the nice bokeh that this lens produces; it is also acceptably sharp from wide open and gives a pleasant feel to the picture. The build quality appears good but perhaps not up to the rock solid build that Canon L series lenses give you. Focusing is quiet and of an acceptable speed for a macro lens but the AF doesn’t feel as accurate as a discerning photographer might wish for. Here’s a sample shot of Tamsin:

Overall, I am very pleased with the lens and look forward to taking more images with it. I expect to use it for macro, portrait (animal & human) and wedding photography. A brief test with both extension tubes & a x1.4 extender promises well for achieving good macro shots with magnification in excess of life size (1:1).

Last weekend saw the culmination of the Gatcombe Park Festival of British Eventing presented by BETA. We were fortunate enough to be press photographers at the event. The first thing that I must say is that it was a pleasure to be working there, the organisation was excellent and it would be an enjoyable outing for anybody.

We concentrated on the intermediate section, this is where tomorrow’s equine Eventing stars are to be seen. That said, the highlight of the day was undoubtedly the British Open.

Show Jumping

There were plenty of eye catching performances here, with 7 clear rounds. Crucially Oliver Townend, Ruth Edge and Brook Staples all went clear, whilst Lucy Wiegersma had 4 faults. This kept the competition close going into the cross country phase where time was going to be tight on the undulating Gatcombe course. Here are 3 photos from the show jumping (open & intermediate) – click on a picture to see it larger …

Cross Country – Intermediate

The Gatcombe course was looking wonderful and the ground in good order. As you might expect there were plenty of thrills & spills, at one point I even had to abandon the camera, to catch a loose horse. Some had problems with the Gatcombe water monsters but it rode well for others …

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Lucy Wiegersma had a sturdy clear round on French Leave with 6 time faults, she rode confidently through the water, as below …

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This was good enough for 5th overall, with Andrew Nicholson & Brook Staples also having only time faults to go 4th & 3rd respectively. The spills kept on coming at the water, with some spectacular falls {I won’t post the identifiable one’s for now }  …

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Yes there’s a horse & rider in amongst the water, happily all were fine, just a little wet & muddy. Ruth Edge had no problems on the cross country but did incur 8.4 time penalties, which would prove decisive; leaving her in a final 2nd place. This left Oliver Townend with an opportunity or two. ODT Tivoli gave him  damp feet at the water

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whilst ODT Master Rose looked to risk a bath but recovered well to finish with only time faults. It was ODT Land Vision who put in an outstanding round, one of the quickest, with only 1.6 time faults and thus taking the win.

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In the open competition Ruth Edge went one better with Mayhem III to take the win on an excellent final score of 27.1. Nicola Wilson & Opposition Buzz were 2nd and Oliver Townend & Flint Curtis were 3rd.

Supporting Entertainment

The main ring provided a place for many more carry ons, some are detailed below:

The dressage to music was informative and a sublime relief from the excitement of the cross country.   Click image for a larger view …

Next:

	Next up was Ye Olde Red Tail Falconry display, which was simply wondrous, as well as funny! I love birds of prey and it was fantastic to see Peregrine Falcons, Harris Hawk, Black Kite, a Vulture & an Eagle Owl.   Click an image for a larger view …

Then we were treated to an amazing performance by The Devil’s Horseman as they carried out a Cossack style display.   Click on any image for a larger view …

Their performance had the press box full of cheers & yells, many coming from the supposedly quiet & invisible Tamsin. A really exciting display that I recommend you to go & see.

The closing finale was provided by the Shetland Grand National, which pretty much speaks for itself …

An excellent day at a great venue, but boy was I tired by the time we arrived home.

Shameless Plug

If any editors require images of Gatcombe or need a commission fulfilling, please get in touch with either Jane or I.

Equally so event organisers & individuals should feel free to call on us for our photographic services, see more by visiting to our web hub and following the appropriate links.

My apologies for having failed to post in over a month, I’ve been a little busy with work. I do however have several posts in the pipe line, so watch this space.

Now down to business, Early in May I had my first proper chance to try out the modified Fuji camera in bright sunshine with fresh foliage. The session was brief & all from home but here are 3 of the resulting pictures:

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This first picture is a classic use for IR photography, bright foliage with dark skies & shadows. This type of photography can produce high contrast output, although noise control can be something of an issue.

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Next is a portrait of “Hob Nogglin” one of our youngsters, he’s a 50/50 cross between TB & Welsh Section D. Oh and he loves cameras, he just can’t wait to give the lens a big smeary lick! This picture has a light sepia toning applied to it.

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This final picture was taken as I was walking back up to our house, the sun had disappeared behind some evening cloud and the high contrast of IR imaging picked up the ‘ray’ effect beautifully. This final picture has been give a duotone effect.

Tamsin has a new pony, Eyarth Tarragon. It was almost dusk when we got home, but I just had to rattle a few pics off in the evening gloom   (ie. excuse the slow shutter speed of the first picture!)

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He’s a 4 year old gelding, just ready to learn together with Tamsin. Lovely people that we bought him from and a beautiful collection of Welsh Section B’s on their stud. Tarragon, well he’s a very friendly & intelligent character. he appears to be taking everything happily in his stride,

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I expect that Jane will post a more detailed entry on her blog, with breeding & wotnot but I’m going to leave it all for my final picture of the day …

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I hope they have lots of fun together.

You can read Tamsin’s initial post about Tarragon, here.

Technorati tags: Section B, Welsh Pony, Eyarth

It’s a dark, wet & windy night outside tonight; last few nights too. No astrophotography then, and I’m almost up to date with my standard photo processing – that means I’ve had a little time to indulge myself in a hobby that I keep meaning to learn but never get around too – computer aided 3D artwork. I had in mind a beautiful woman who comes to save a stranded Unicorn. The image was to be set in daylight with a rainbow background; I did that but then I changed it (fickle aren’t I). This is what I’ve ended up with …

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I  settled on simply calling it “Friends” because that’s what we should be with creatures of all kinds. It’s not a complex image but then I’m only a beginner at this. The Lady represents the spirit of Mother Nature that we all have, somewhere within us.

I hope you enjoy the image. Maybe I’ll get chance this winter to practice my artwork some more; if so I’ll post some here.

The other day we took some time out to do one of our educational trips. Such a variety of things and just on our doorstep so I thought that I should post about it.

We started off by journeying up towards Clocaenog, a nice trip via Dolgellau & Bala, always inspiring whatever the weather. Just as we neared our first destination we spotted a beautiful little lake, so on with the anchors and enjoy the scenery.

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After watching the ducks for a while we moved on to our main event – looking for the wild horses in the forestry. After a bit of a trek & a search, we found them; or should I say they found us …

  Cute huh! Click on me for my bigger portrait …

These are in fact Przewalski’s horses. They are in excess to the needs of the current UK breeding programs and so they have been released into an area of ancient woodland that they appear to manage better than humans can. Przewalski’s became extinct in the wild due to pressure from mankind but a breeding program has seen the transfer of several groups from UK zoos to be released back into the wild in Hungary. There have also been several smaller releases in a few suitable areas of the UK. Others have also been released in Mongolia, where it is thought that they are now breeding wild. There’s some interesting info about Przewalski’s on the ARKive website.

  Click on my picture, if you’ll risk it …

Przewalski’s are members of the species Equus Ferus (The Wild Horse) and not of Equus Caballus (The Domesticated Horse). They have 66 chromosomes, 2 more than the domestic horse but they can interbreed with domestic horses. As you can see in the picture above, they like to keep a strict herd order. They did however seem to be quite unfussed by our presence. You can read more about this group here.  Przewalski’s are known to have roamed in Britain around 2000BC which is around the time that people were using the archaeological site that we visited next.

Click image for larger view …

A short drive around Llyn Brenig brought us to this fascinating site. The image above shows “The Platform Cairn”. Initially built around 2000BC as an open ring of stones marking the burial place of an adult & a child; it was later filled entirely with stone and an urn of ashes buried beneath. This is not the only archeologically interesting structure here, there are several burial monuments & an ancient structure for mourners to congregate in. All date from 1000-2000BC. Regarding more modern history there are the remains of a medieval welsh long house & enclosure, from perhaps the 14th Century. We stood and shared the sunset with the hillside cattle, wondering what it was like all those years ago.

Click image for larger view …

Our day was coming to an end; night was falling and we needed to return home to check our own horses and have some much needed supper. As we walked back to the car along the shores of Llyn Brenig we watched the sunset intensify, right over Snowdon.

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All in all a very enjoyable & educational day. You’ll be able to read more about the archaeology on Tamsin’s Blog & watch a video of the Przewalski’s on Jane’s site.

I’d like to include a few videos on my Blog so this is a short one for starters. Tamsin & Snowy were practicing some jumping earlier on this year (March), this is a clip of the video.  Click more to view.

(more…)

{Editorial: I wrote this review in the late 80′s but the points are still relevant, so I am republishing it here, in full.}

Introduction

The aim of this study is to compare & contrast various types of hay, both single species & mixed crops, with regards to their suitability for performance horses. British & European grasses & legumes have been the main areas of this study, although some predominantly North American species have been included. The comparison has been made via several factors such as: Quality, Palatability, Availability, Cost, Adverse effects, Compatibility with other foodstuffs and “Home” Production.

Alternatives

Although concentrating on “straight hay” a brief reference must be made to the questions of silage & treated hays. Silage has not been popular with horse owners, but good quality silage is a suitable feed. Problems occur with silage of poor quality; if the pH of a made silage crop is not below 5.5 the bacterium Botulinum Clostridium, which is endemic in soils, is able to produce an endotoxin that causes Botulism. Each year several horses die in the UK due to Botulism. This can often be traced back to “Big Bale Silage” that has not been treated with a preservative and whose pH is circa 6. Interest has arisen in treating hay with a mixture of volatile fatty acids, to act as a preservative. Illinois & Cornell Universities carried out a study treating hay with a mixture of 80% propionic acid, 20% acetic acid (details as in Table 1). Horses given a choice preferred the untreated hay, however when given no alternative, they ate their full ration in treated hay & with no adverse effects.

Thus, not only was preservation of the hay improved but also since the hay could be harvested with a higher moisture content, this may be an extremely useful technique in poor summers as an alternative to barn drying. An alternative treatment yielding similar results is Cider Apple vinegar.

Major Species involved during hay conservation.

The following groups may be considered as the major contributors towards hay production : Ryegrasses, Fescues, Timothy, Cocksfoot, Meadow Grass, Legumes, Cereals. For a typical analysis of hay made from these, please see Table 2.
The basic characteristics of the main species chosen for horse pasture are as follows :

[a] Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne)

is very persistent in good rich soils but tends to decline after 2 to 3 years on poor light soils unless it is kept well fertilised. Since it is a useful base for seed mixtures, it is found worldwide.

[b] Red Fescues (Festuca Rubra)

have a large variation of quality but the best are palatable & have good nutritional quality. They have poor establishment ability but are hard wearing. For this reason they are popular for sports fields & the seed is appropriately expensive.

[c] Rough Stalked Meadow Grass [Poa Trivialis]

has a close growing habit. It is best grown on moist soils & in sheltered conditions. Due to its close growing habit it fills the bottom of the pasture & thereby keeps out weed species.

[d] Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass

probably best known as Kentucky Blue Grass, is useful on light & sandy soils since it is stoloniferous and resistant to severe drought.

[e] Timothy (Phleum Pratense)

produces possibly the most palatable hay for horses. It’s seed is relatively cheap due to the abundant seed production of each plant. Moist soils are preferred, such as : heavy loams, clays & peat soils.

[f] Wild White Clover (Trifolium Repens)

Deep rooted & drought resistant. Low levels of clover inclusion are often required but high inclusion rates may provide an excess of protein. This wild white clover is to be generally preferred over the more vigorous cultivated varieties.

Cost & Availability

Both of these factors vary widely with season & weather during that year. There are only a few specialist growers who cater specifically for equine needs; most forage must therefore be purchased from farmers & dealers whose main concern is for other agricultural animals. It is often the case that the most available & cheapest hays have a high meadow grass content. More specific ryegrass / timothy hays tend to command a significantly higher price. In order to obtain lucerne, fenugreek or other specialist crops one may be able to buy the prepacked & chopped product from the local feed merchant. If not, the crop may be obtained by fostering a relationship with a specialist producer; for example. Lucerne hay may be purchased by the bale in the Newmarket district, straight from the producer.

Palatability

Despite the importance of this characteristic [if a horse will not eat the hay, then the hay is of no use] very little research has been carried out to study this. In fact, to my knowledge, no grasses have yet been bred with this specific characteristic in mind. However, in 1980, Mrs M. Archer published a paper on her preliminary findings carried out at the Equine Research Centre, Newmarket, England. The work was carried out with grazing horses, the results being summarised as follows :

However, 3 points should be noted when considering the results :

[i] all grasses were grazed at a fixed height and thus at different growing stages, yet palatability is known to vary with growing stage.
[ii] Palatability and therefore the horses preference will probably vary between the growing crop & hay. Could this explain why Timothy is not favoured here but is considered favourably as hay.
[iii] A further variation may be caused by exogenous factors such as soil type or climatic variation.

Adverse Effects

Providing that the hay to be fed is free from toxic plants such as Ragwort (Senecio Jacobeae) then few adverse effects are normally noted when feeding good quality hay. However, a few points should be made :

[A] If contamination with fungal spores is suspected then hay may be soaked in water or a water/molasses mix, in order to reduce any respiratory risk. The reasoning is as follows; soaking will swell any spores to a greater diameter than that of the bronchioles within the horse’s respiratory tract. The cilia {fine hairs} within this region can then remove the spores before they can causes blockages within the lungs. To swell the spores sufficiently, soaking should be carried out for at least 12 hours. It appears that leafy hays made from meadow grass are more susceptible to this problem than are the coarser ryegrass hays.

[B] Photosensitisation of predominantly chestnut horses has been noted as below : A susceptible horse {perhaps carrying a gene predisposing him to the condition} is fed upon hay containing high levels of trifoliates [esp. clover, alfalfa & fenugreek]. The horse is then wormed with a thiobenzadole wormer. Shortly afterwards the horse may break out in sores that secrete pus, particularly on the lower leg & face. Even treatment with cortisone creams will not cure the sores yet 2-3 days after removal of the trifoliate forage, the sores dry up & heal. While not common this condition may be severe and is therefore worth noting.

[C] The inclusion of herbs that broaden a horse’s diet [e.g.. wild garlic] is considered beneficial; thus a hay lacking in herbs may not provide the best possible forage for the horse. However it may in certain cases be helpful to have a straight monoculture hay. For example, when tracking down possible allergies.

[D] Fescues are commonly used to give “bottom” to a sward & to increase its drought resistance, however, high levels of Fescue encourage an increase in its associated parasitic fungus, Epichloe Typina. This is toxic to horses, if eaten. Its mode of action is two fold; firstly it depresses the release of prolactin, thereby inhibiting mares in their production of milk. Furthermore, it also produces a chemical, Chonoclarine I, this depresses levels of cortisol and inhibits mammary gland development. Thus foals can suffer or even die due to lack of nourishment from their mothers.

[E] Photosensitisation has also been noted due to Aslike clover being fed, particularly in areas with high copper or selenium levels. Aslike contains a toxin which damages the liver so that it does not drain correctly into the intestinal tract. The obstruction causes the metabolic by-products of chlorophyll to build up in the bloodstream. When exposed to light in the less pigmented areas of a horse e.g.. a white sock , the activated residues cause skin cells to die in large numbers.

[F] Alfalfa & certain clovers have oestrogenic activity, there is no specific evidence that this causes problems, however it is possible that high levels may be associated with abnormal oestrus in mare’s breeding cycles.

[G] Where home production of a conservation crop is to be practised, it should be noticed that care must be taken with artificial fertilisers. High levels [partic. of Nitrogen fertilisers] have been noted to cause metabolic disorders in grazing horses. It is also suspected that high nitrogen levels in forage may adversely effect the development of bone in young horses. Having decided upon which fields to conserve pH should be considered.

pH

The pH of ones soil will effect which grasses are most successful at growing on your land, see table 4 below.

* Below this pH growth is restricted.
Control of species within the sward may be assisted by pH control, such as the addition of lime to the land.

Feeding Characteristics

A brief comment about hay & equine nutrition. As the general level of physical performance required from a horse increases then so should the energy density of the horses feed ration. This normally means a move away from hay, towards concentrate. The following table demonstrates typical energy & protein requirements of a 500kg Thoroughbred mare, daily.

DE = Digestible Energy – DP = Digestible Protein
An adult horse requires between 7 & 8.5% Crude Protein per day and can thus receive his entire quota from hay. However due to the high energy levels required by a performance horse, much protein is actually supplied by the concentrate and hay @ 7% CP is quite sufficient.
Contrastingly the lactating broodmare & the growing foal will need higher levels of protein, as above and in general :

Foals: 18% CP dropping to 16% CP @ 6 months

Weaned foals : 16% CP dropping to 13.5%CP @ 1 year

Yearlings : 13.5% CP dropping to 10% CP @ 2 years

Initially the CP is provided by concentrate since the foal cannot consume large quantities of hay, but by 2 years of age most can be supplied by a suitable high protein hay. Thus referring back to Table 2 one can select the correct sward type according to the requirements of the stock to be fed.
If looked at in slightly more detail then; on a Dry Matter basis yearlings require 0.4% Phosphorous at a Ca to P ratio of 1.7 : 1. This is similar to the requirements of lactating broodmares. Now compare back to table 2 again; it should become clear how Legume/grass mix hays may provide a good balanced basis for the diet of many stud horses. Also note how partly conserved ryegrass hay could be used as a substitute {its DM content of circa 55% is slightly drier than that of haylage hence the term “part conserved”}.

Conclusion

Horses performing via physical endeavour will perform quite acceptably when fed on top quality meadow hay though I would in preference choose an Italian ryegrass / Timothy mix. In selecting a meadow hay particular attention should be paid to the actual grass varieties within the crop a mixture of ryegrasses and meadow grasses with some clover being typical of a good example. However, Broodmares & youngstock could benefit from receiving a different type of hay from the competition horses above. Grass / Legume mixes are traditionally the most suited however the use of partly conserved forages must also be seriously considered.
Below are two typical seed mixes {by weight} to provide a good quality multipurpose sward for both equine grazing & conservation.

Mix A
50% late perennial ryegrass – multiple varieties
25% standard perennial ryegrass
10% Creeping Red Fescue
5% each – Crested Dogstail, Rough Stalked Meadow Grass, and herb mix incl. white clover

Mix B
20% Italian Ryegrass
20% Hybrid Ryegrass
20% Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass
10% Late Variety Ryegrass
15% Creeping Red Fescue
10% Timothy
3% General Herb mix
2% Wild White Clover

Bibliography

Pasture Management – Gillian Mcarthy
Equine Nutrition – AC Leighton Hardman
Horse/Stable Management – J Houghton-Brown & V Powell-Smith
Equine Injury & Therapy – Mary Bromley
Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock – various
The Thoroughbred Breeders Association
M Archer – Equine Research Centre