EARLY JUNE, a beautiful Saturday and what do we meet out walking at the top of the Tarmachan Ridge north of the western end of Loch Tay?

But a mottled female Ptarmigan!

A fitting encounter that led me to reflect on how 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. One of the six ways that Scottish Natural Heritage is currently promoting this initiative is by encouraging us to experience nature on our doorstep. There has never been a better summer for nature by horseback and there can hardly be a more intimate way of encountering Scotland’s wildlife.

The bright breezy days and dry underfoot lend themselves to horse riders, while the camouflaged and elevated mobile view point that is the horse could hardly be designed even by the clever cameramen of spring watch. We have seen the Kingfisher, Canada goslings and the Osprey feeding at the river this month and without doubt these chance encounters are a wonderful bonus for riders who are enjoying the great outdoors and learning about their localities in the company of their best equine friends.

While all this riding is going on, BHS never stops educating and recently we held one training event that covered a theme that everyone who rides and works with horses should try and catch. Catriona Goulding presented two painted equines; Highland pony ‘Dougal ‘and sports horse ‘Mills’ with their muscles colourfully drawn on one side and the main bones of the skeleton on the other, in a biomechanics demonstration. The horses were then assessed while moving and standing and even jumping. It was a memorable way to learn and Catriona’s choices of equine guinea pigs did a great job in exhibiting the difference between the heavier footed draft native pony and the elegant middle weight small riding horse.

We will be running the same course again at Cabin EC in Grampian region on September 29 and everyone is invited to attend!

It’s just as well that BHS fulfils its educational function as it was with pride that we attended the Vet Trust Stirling Conference 2010 to hear the plenary lecture which was dedicated to the memory of Fife practitioner Sam Duff. In the last five years Sam freely gave so much of his time and energy to BHS campaigns as we lobbied for and helped produce The Scottish Government Guidance on ‘How to Prevent the Spread of Ragwort’ and the ‘Code of Practice for the Welfare of Equidae’.

The lecture was delivered by Peter C Jinman OBE who practices in Herefordshire and has a long history of dedicated service to the RCVS and the BVA.

Arguing that the evolution of our modern veterinary profession is inextricably linked to the creation of a nation that places animal welfare, ethical production, public health and ultimately the saneness of our people (his argument being that pets keep people sane and vets keep pets healthy!). It was a wide ranging and entertaining presentation on the importance of the vet to us all and a wonderful testament to Sam’s long professional life in service. Vets are so important to all us horse owners and you should value your vet as you value your farrier!

I think that on the whole, our industry in Scotland is in extremely good heart when it comes to equine welfare and that we have, thankfully, remarkably few instances of cruelty and neglect. That has to be party due to the omnipresent acting locally but being global BHS Scotland which is so busy all over the place. In turn our small efforts combine and contribute to a happy, healthy Scottish nation. The title of the lecture was “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated – Gandhi” which is aptly titled.