As we in the far north enjoy a fantastic spell of weather, it does bring its own problems. The temperatures within the Inishowen peninsula have been well above average for the past few weeks or so it seems. It is amazing how soon we forget the wet and windy winter months and it is a joy to see the fields so busy and farmers smiling! Long may it last as I am married to one and as the cows make the most of the after grass so my 31-old-gelding looks super in the sunlight.

However a couple of weeks ago I was asked by a client to have a look at his daughter’s young mare. The mare is only four and is a light cob and a really nice horse to work with. The young lady had been riding her and everything had been going well until we had an exceptionally hot day. The owner noticed that the mare had been standing in the same place for most of the afternoon and she thought this a bit odd. She went down into the field and found that the mare was unwilling to move at all and was very dopey and unresponsive.