Hartley Animal Wellness

01/03/2026

Fantastic weekend to kick off the endurance season at Windeyer Training Weekend!

I took both Ace and Anahme so that it wouldn't be as daunting for Anahme to navigate the ride base and vetting on his own. Turns out, something set Ace right off and he was a complete menAce, while Anahme was cool as a cucumber.

We walked for the first couple of KMs in hand to let the boys settle, as Ace's lovely rider hadn't ridden him before and we wanted to make sure everyone was calm and confident.

We took the ride super slow and gave heaps of processing time with cars/firetrucks/riders passing from behind and in front.

I'm so grateful to Ace's rider for piloting him so well and unlocking his little canter (as well as putting up with his embarrassing shenanigans in the vet ring).

One thing that made the ride super special was having Anahme's owners, Hazel and Marty, there at the end to greet us and help strap. It's a huge privilege to lease their last foal, and to have such an athletic horse to work with. Thank you, Hazel McCort ❤️🐎

I'm so excited to plan the next steps for him. Currently thinking 40 at Watagans in 4 weeks time.

Congratulations also to Kate for managing Pio well when he wasn't feeling 100% and vetting through for a successful 20km ride.

Huge thanks to the ride organisers, vets and volunteers for making it such a lovely training weekend.

14/02/2026

Glorious morning ride!

10/02/2026

Scoping day on-site at Agnes Banks on Thursday 5th March.

If you're concerned about ulcers, this is a great opportunity to have your horse scoped!

Do you suspect your horse may have stomach ulcers?
Gastric ulcers are extremely common in horses and can affect performance, behaviour, appetite and overall wellbeing. Signs aren’t always obvious, and many horses continue working while quietly uncomfortable.
The only way to know for certain is by having a look with a gastroscope. Gastroscopy allows us to directly visualise the stomach lining and determine whether ulcers are present, how severe they are, and the best course of treatment moving forward.
Call the clinic today to book 45885200

06/02/2026

Due to cancellations, I have some space for a few horses anywhere between Blayney and Woodstock on Monday.

Show season has kicked off, endurance season is beginning, camp drafting, barrel racing and rodeo are ticking along.

It's a great time to have your horse checked and prevention is key!

Get in touch to book in a session ❤️🐎

31/01/2026

The femoral nerve is so important for hind limb function. Dysfunction can look quite varied. Thankfully there are some fantastic manual therapies for helping improve function, some of which I've been doing and others I'm keen to learn more about!

31/01/2026

Working on the diaphragm and attachments onto the tuber coxae certainly does have a huge impact on the hind limbs!

Have you ever noticed your horse being sore when you palpate the tuber coxae?

30/01/2026

Super interesting findings!
The stress-reducing benefit of PEMF blankets appears to be due to the weight of the blanket rather than the PEMF function.

The Prosix bands are something I'd like to have a look at. And obviously, the impact of massage/bodywork is huge!

27/01/2026

Another hot day tomorrow.
We will be:
✅ Feeding extra salt (on top of the 10g/kg bodyweight they get each day)
✅ Providing access to fresh, clean water
✅ Putting hay nets in the shade
✅ Feeding soaked fibre mash (Fibre Safe) for brekky
✅ Hosing horses down (or letting them wallow in the dam like a couple did today)

27/01/2026

Prevention, not pampering!

Bodywork is so important!

20/01/2026

More great insights from Integrated Veterinary Therapeutics about hind leg dragging, potential causes and some exercises to improve the hind end function!

14/01/2026

School holidays are difficult for me, trying to juggle having the kids home with working.

Please get in touch if you need horses seen. I'm trying to prioritise my regulars but also trying to make room for new clients.

10/01/2026

Some really helpful things to think about when taking horses out and about.

While directly speaking about showing, there are so many take-aways applicable to clinics, endurance rides and even taking your horse off-property for lessons or trail rides.

I'll be considering these things as I keep working on Ace's exposure and start taking Anahme out and about.