Competition Groom

By Your Horse

28 September 2010 16:31

Zanie Tanswell was Pippa Funnell’s head girl for four years and is a former Groom of the Year. She’s now based with international event rider Chris King and manages a team of competition horses ranging from raw novices to top-level eventers.

How does Zanie guard against the development of stereotypies in a busy yard?

"Our horses are turned out a lot, especially the very stressy ones, it’s the best boredom breaker," she says. "Stable mirrors are useful for reducing the feeling of isolation. We also provide stable licks, and feed balls are good for horses on box rest.

"All of our horses are bedded on shavings, but we feed them three times a day and provide haylage more or less ad lib," she continues. "We make sure we feed as quickly as possible to reduce frustration and door banging."

How about the horses with established habits?

"We always check that cribbers or weavers are not sick or sorry," explains Zanie. "If the problem is health-induced we’d rather treat the cause, so we’d have them gastroscoped for signs of problems such as gastric ulcers."

Zanie advises breaking the day up for a stabled horse with plenty of ridden exercise and time on a horse walker where possible.

"A lot of big yards aren’t well staffed, so the horses are shut in for long periods and not given much attention," she says. "There’s a lot going on at our yard and we’re always there for our horses’ needs. We try to treat them as individuals."