Marple Equine Services - Professional Groom

08/06/2025

Massive recommendation for for coming at short notice tonight to remove this blighter from one of our horses 🍆 No real performance issues but just to ensure all the checks were done I called Jo out to give him the once over and this is what she found.

06/06/2025

A few mane & tail pics from this week, in between the non stop chaos of clips, sheath cleans, mare beans and baths 😏 it's been a busy one!

02/06/2025

Congratulations to my fellow finalists! I hope to see you all in November 🥰😬🤩

02/06/2025

I've had a night to sleep on it & I'm honestly overwhelmed that you lovely people have gone to the time & trouble to even nominate me, never mind the fact I'm a finalist! An absolutely enormous thank you to every single one of you that voted for me.
I still can't quite believe it 🥹
I'm really looking forward to the next part of this journey & meeting my fellow finalist grooms, who by our very nature tend to be working incredibly hard, mostly in the background. Recognition is so greatly appreciated 🙏

01/06/2025

Omg I actually can't believe this 🥹 Congratulation's to all the other finalists too !!

31/05/2025

So oddly enough, I read this article yesterday afternoon.
I noted that it talked specifically about the vet or professional being knocked or kicked over & then sustaining a head injury.

It's something that thankfully had never happened to me, but I've always been highly conscious of it, and it's on my website and in my T&Cs that I have a safe space to work in, with good footing & light, and that no-one else is in the stable with me when I'm clipping (so i don't back into them & we both end up on the floor).

Sometimes these conditions are not met, and in all honesty, I'm a bit rubbish at being assertive enough to say the area isn't suitable, or to tell people to go out of the stable. I have on occasions asked & been met with hostility and even refusal.
And, as I just want to do my job, keep everyone happy and not cause any friction, I take the risk and carry on regardless.

Today I went to do a sheath clean on a horse thats been done many times before. The horse was tied up, outside his stable, but there was a channel about 2 foot wide of deep mud all along where his hind quarters were.
I did an initial feel and all was fine. I then went to get some l**e and the horse suddenly spooked. His owner was at his head and quickly tried to calm him. I was stood close to his stifle, and put my hand on his side to stop him swinging round, whilst also trying to calm him with my voice, but it was a really severe reaction to something and he pulled right back in a complete panic.
As I went to move out the way, I found I was stuck in the mud and couldn't go anywhere, so I fell backwards, banging my head hard on the fence. The horse then proceeded to panic dance into my head & face on the left side, and a wheelbarrow that was leaning on the fence on my right side, also fell onto my face.

The horse eventually snapped his head collar and broke free.
A completely freak accident. We still don't know what upset the horse. I hadn't even started & wasn't touching him at the time so it wasn't me. I hadn't realised the depth of the mud and how fast I was stuck.

The owner was fantastic at getting immediate help, patching me up and providing spare clothes for me. Neither her or the horse were to blame.

So I've spent the afternoon at A&E. I needed a CT scan with dye and thankfully nothing is broken but my cheek, nose and inner lip are all still bleeding now & I'm very sore.

I'm going to start posting my instructions for owners when they make an appointment, and I'm also going to try and speak up more when conditions such as the workspace are dangerous. I will consider wearing a hat going forwards, not because your horse is a problem or because I'm not competent, but because horses are big animals with minds of their own and i'd quite like to stay alive.

Please help me by reading the instructions when you book and adhering to them. They're also available
on the Equigate app

ALL CVS Equine vets and vet nurses are now wearing safety helmets when dealing with horses to reduce injury risk – and bring the profession into line with others. The company, which owns 22 practices across the country, introduced the rule as a result of a three-year research project undertaken wi...

28/05/2025

Statistics:

I've been looking at some trends & stats around hygiene cleaning recently, and thought some of you may be interested. Especially those people that think sheath or hygiene cleaning is unnecessary

The figures are calculated from the last 1,000 horses I've examined, as Marple Equine Services, so it's a totally random sample. (Figures rounded to nearest whole number).

S*x of horses cleaned:
Geldings 87%
Mares 12%
Stallions 1%

Tolerance:
Fully tolerated 69%
Some difficulty, but completed the clean 29%
Wouldn't tolerate 2%

Notes:
"Fully tolerated" includes many horses who actively enjoy the process, and all those that stood completely still for the entire procedure.

"Some difficulty" can be anything to slight leg lifting to kicking out or being evasive. Some were ok until they got water on their legs, but all were successfully cleaned, without sedation in this category.
"Wouldn't tolerate" were either becoming stressed or were dangerous.

Beans:
(All 1,000 horses)
1 or more beans 69%
No beans 29%
Couldn't check 2%

Notes:
"Beans" refers to anything bigger than a large grain of rice to the size of a hens egg!

"No beans" will have been recorded for horses that did have gritty particles (the beginning of a bean) within the urethral fossa.

Abnormalities:
No abnormalities 89%
Abnormality found 10%
Unable to check 1%

Notes:
"No abnormalities" as far as I could ascertain. This includes horses with physical changes due to fully recovered surgery, e.g partial amputations.

"Abnormality present" refers to a newly discovered growth, lump, blistering, texture or pigment change in the sheath or p***s.

So, in conclusion, 7 out of 10 horses I examine have a bean.
I will break this down further when I get time, but i suspect the number will be higher if I just look at male horses.

And worryingly, 1 in 10 have some form of growth or abnormality - often unbeknown to the owner.

Please look after your horses ge***al health. They can't do it themselves.

27/05/2025

Wow... Just seen another sheath cleaners price list 😳

Now I'm really not happy about knocking the competition, however, I'm even less happy about people being ripped off!

Absolutely no way in the world could I justify charging those sorts of prices. And I use new cloths & sponges, all top quality products, offer optional fly cream FOC, utilise the best quality branded disinfection products & protocols between every yard, subscribe to an appointment & reporting system so my clients have their records & payments accessable at all times on an App, including copies of any photos or diagrams I take, and I offer my hygiene clients branded discounts.
No expense is spared & I don't cut corners.

Not to mention, travelling to you, with the upkeep of a reliable vehicle, providing my own hot water from a hot box in my van, so you literally have to do NOTHING for your appointment other than be there with your horse ready at the right time.

I'm tax registered, fully insured & a paid up member of a number of professional organisations like the BHS, BGA & Equinnect. And I'm continually paying for CPD & further education on an ongoing basis.

So if i can do all that, and run a successful, profit making business, with almost 11 years of professional experience in this specific area of expertise for £30 per horse (and even less for groups) why does it cost £65 for someone else to do the same job?
That's MORE THAN DOUBLE the price!!!

What is going on?? 🤔

I'm not suggesting everyone should use me, not at all... and I only cover the North West anyway, but please, shop around.
See what you get for your money.

I am considering a small price increase at the end of the season, in line with my increase in overheads, but this is totally off the scale, and no surprise people don't want to get their horses cleaned.

And BTW, why would it cost more to clean a stallion compared to a gelding???
Mares I could understand, but stallions???
I'm confused by that one 😕

26/05/2025

Sheath Cleaning &
Mare Hygiene Cleans

Appts can be made for just one horse, up to 20 horses at the same address.

☆Current business est' over 10 years.
☆Fully insured.
☆100% Reliable
☆Strict bio-security measures followed.
☆Highly experienced, qualified professional
☆1,000's of long term clients, including many from vet referrals
☆Written report for every horse, including photos & diagrams where applicable.
☆Fixed price from just £28 - no hidden extras & no deposit required.

I provide kind & efficient cleaning of your horses intimate areas, male or female, plus a basic health check, ongoing monitoring of any growths or abnormalities & a full written report afterwards.

Working daily in Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Buxton, Glossop & the High Peak, but also regularly travelling a bit further afield to Lancashire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire & the surrounding areas for larger yard visits.

I limit my geographical area, as I strongly believe it's important to get to know my clients & their vet practices, and be able to carry out the necessary follow ups at the right time, for continuity of care.
Theres no waiting till I'm "in your postcode".
And i always work on the basis of quality over quantity.

Check my 100% positive reviews for reassurance.

Taking bookings now for June onwards. Appts' are available over 7 days a week.

Get in touch via the page or message me on WhatsApp
07800 524 914

Alternatively, if.you have Equigate, you can add me as a practitioner using code V44894 & request an appointment through the app.

22/05/2025

Highly recommended Equine Vet Dentist if anyone is in need

I got some business cards printed because quite a few people kept asking for them. Then I get a few people who can’t find me…so I’m here 😀 on this number and having a lovely time helping horses live their best lives 🐴😀

20/05/2025

Summer Tidy Up!
🐴😎🌡🌞🏖🐴

Pick the areas you want tidied & only pay for what you need:

Pick your first body area for just £10:

☆Mane
☆Tail
☆Head
☆Legs (non-feathered breeds)

Add on additional areas for just £5 each.

Feathered Horses:
lower leg clip £25.
Then any body area from the menu above is just £5 each.

And of course all my usual services are still available, all year round, including body clips, hot baths, sheath & hygiene cleans.

*Min call out £20*
(mileage may apply)

✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️

Details:
Manes - Humane tidying, evening out of any thick areas, shortening if required or hogging.
Brush & condition.

Tails - Humane thinning out & weight reduction, with or without shaping. Brush & condition.

Legs - wispy fetlock hair removed, heels & lower leg tidy. Tidy around coronet band.

Head - includes removing facial cat hairs, under the jawline, ear trim & bridle path if required.

Feathered horses (even those previously clipped) will have the lower leg clipped & blended in at the knees & hocks where possible.

20/05/2025

This gorgeous little mare is approaching 40 years of age!
With her old age health conditions, her coat has a mind of its own and, as she lives out, she produces lots & lots of waterproofing grease. This does a great job in many respects, during the cold wet weather, but it also clogs up the pores & makes her skin heavy & claggy in the hot sunshine.
So, once a year, when it gets too hot for her, the coat gets clipped off and she gets a good hot bath, so her skin can breathe and she can start the waterproofing process off again from fresh. She also got a little mane thin & tidy too.
Doesn't she look amazing! And she must feel so much better.

Her brother from another mother, is actually a few years older! He had the same treatment, but i didn't get any after pictures, so i'll update with his before & after photos when I pop over to see him in a few days, although I expect he won't be so clean now!