Former show jumper Chris Orchard, who is now a top level scurry driver with her own Orchard Scurry Team recently contacted SPILLERS® to sing the praises of SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF®. She uses the feed as a complete hay replacer for her elderly retired show jumpers and as a daily bucket feed for her four 12hh scurry ponies and both she and her vet believe the horses and the ponies couldn’t be in better shape.
Chris explains: “My two 33 year old retired show jumpers can’t chew hay very well because of their lack of teeth but SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® is a great replacement. I feed it ad lib and also give them a mash of soaked SPILLERS® High Fibre Cubes every day. My vet checked them both over the winter and said they look fantastic!”
Welsh Section A Scurry pony pairs Carriagehouse Insurance Touch and Go and Rough and Tumble are renowned for being exceptionally good doers. They can easily pile on the pounds if their diets aren’t carefully monitored, despite all the driving exercise Chris gives them. She says: “Native ponies have an extraordinary capacity to put on weight by just looking at a blade of grass and there’s always the risk of laminitis to worry about too! SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® is safe and easy to feed, it gives them everything they need and saves me worrying about their waistlines!”
SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® has also helped Chris to avoid a frightening repetition of a major drama that occurred with her ancient ex-show jumper Jimmy last year. The 33-year-old Anglo Arab who suffers from arthritis was kept in during a period of bad weather last winter and decided to have a lie down in the stable. A quick kip turned into a nightmare when his stiff limbs prevented him from getting up, even with veterinary help.
Desperate to save her beloved horse, quick-thinking Chris called the fire brigade animal rescue services. A team of 14 specially trained firemen saved the day. They carefully manoeuvred Jimmy out of the stable, lifted him to his feet and fitted a sling so that a crane could take his weight until he regained the full use of his tired and wobbly limbs!
“Thanks to my discovery of SPILLERS HAPPY HOOF® I have been able to winter Jimmy out with confidence this year. It provides him with the ad lib fibre he needs and that he can eat, when the grass has lost its goodness. Meanwhile staying in the field means he can move around freely and doesn’t stiffen up like he would in the stable. I fill up two big rubber bins in the paddock for Jim and his Pal Beau during the day and then at night I move the bins into the big field shelter so they have protection from the weather overnight. This winter Jimmy seems healthier than ever.”
For friendly feeding advice on how to keep your horse or pony safe from laminitis please telephone the SPILLERS® Care-Line on + 44 (0)1908 226626 or send an email to
