Equine Head to Tail by Billie Morris

13/10/2025

Wind Ops.

Over the years I spent in racing in National
Hunt, flat and point-to-point yards, it was always drummed into us riders, to get our horses as fit as we possibly could. After all, isn’t that the purpose of the job?

At the beginning of my riding career, there were very few and I mean just the odd horse who required a wind op. As I neared the end, it seemed to be the go to method to improve a horses wind. I often asked myself why was it, that an op was necessary in the first place.

Why do some horses have noisy wind? I was taught that if a horse is making a noise when he is cantering and galloping then he is probably not quite fit enough to run in a race. But then there are the exceptions, the horses who just cannot get their breath, one minute they are travelling and the next it feels like they have hit a brick wall.

Horses can’t function if they cannot draw enough air into their lungs. They also need to be able to breathe out, ridding the lungs of carbon dioxide. When the horse is exercising, the larynx opens up to allow the horse to breathe, but in some horses the left side of the larynx isn’t able to stay open. This can become worse as the horse gets tired. This is why some horses make a noise whilst cantering and galloping. That whistling sound is the larynx struggling to stay open.

Another reason why a horse can struggle to breathe when tired, is the soft palate at the back of the roof of the mouth. As it weakens it drops down and can cover the oral and nasal passages so that the horse has to breath through his mouth. This results in a gurgling sound.

So this brings me back to getting horses properly fit for the job you are intending to do with them. Take the extra time, put in the work and maybe the horse can be spared having surgery.

10/10/2025

Interesting. I hate to see riders slouching riding their horses. Is it that hard to sit up properly and support yourself?

28/09/2025

A rather stylish exit. 10/10 👍🤣

'The Pheasant Space Program'

©️Emily Cole Illustrations

From the 2026 Calendar and Diary which is now available to pre-order! 🎉 Stock is expected to arrive at ECI HQ on October 4th! Just around the corner! 🙌

28/09/2025

What does it really mean to "let them go on a good day?"

It means it will be your hardest day. It won't matter if you've never done it before, or if you're gifted a dozen good days, each good day is always the hardest one.

It means they won't know what the fuss is about, why they're getting so many treats and extra belly scratches and hugs.

It means you will second guess your decision right up to the very last moment, the very last breath. You'll second guess yourself afterwards.

They'll knicker at you when you arrive, just like any other day.

The weather, perfect. They are content. They look sound today. They are breathing well, eating well, they get up easily enough from a nap in the sun....the list goes on. Whatever issue they struggle with, today they aren't.

Today you euthanize them.

This is what going on a good day means: sending them out while they are happy, while they are healthy, while they are eating well, walking well, etc. You make the choice to do it before an emergency takes the choice away from you, before your horse has to experience any more trauma or pain.

Their last memory will be filled with love.

It'll rip your heart out every time.

We can see the patterns and the increasing trends. We can predict it a little. We can obsess over the past and worry about the future.

Fortunately, horses, all animals, live in the moment. They don't worry about those things. They aren't worried about winter. They aren't worried about July, or allergies, or progressive diseases like cushings or dsld. They don't think about the close calls they've had before, and they certainly aren't thinking about the close calls that are destined to come, as their body continues to age and break down. They just are. They are happy and healthy, or fearful and in pain, on that day, in that moment.

It is the most difficult, most loving gift we are blessed to be able to give.

And that first ice storm will come, that first deep snow, that first heat wave....and you will find a little relief, no longer doubting the choice you made.

They were happy, and safe, and loved. That is all that matters.

It is never easy. ~Kelly Meister, author

25/09/2025

This👇

❤️ There will come a time...When you ride them for the last time.
When you buy their feed and cringe at the price, not knowing it’s the last bag you’ll ever buy.

When you scrub the dirt from beneath your nails, their hair from your clothes...unaware that soon, you’ll miss the mess.

When you text the vet about a mystery lameness, dreading the bill...never realizing it's the final call.

When you clean their sweat from the saddle pad, pick the wads of hair from the washing machine, and don’t think twice about the routine.

When you send their blankets off for repair, frustrated by the baseball sized holes, never imagining they won’t need it next season.

When you cancel a ride because they found the only muddy spot in a ten acre pasture and rolled until they were unrecognizable...just as they always do.

And then, the time will come when you hang up their bridle.
When you clean their halter and tuck it away into a shadowbox, a silent tribute in the hallway.

When you carefully store the tail you sent them to heaven without, waiting to turn it into something that keeps them close.
When you hold onto their worn horseshoes, knowing you’ll never hear them clinking down the barn aisle again.

It never happens the way you expect.
You always think there will be more time.
You’ll wish life had slowed down, just enough for you to be there more, to appreciate them longer.

And then, one morning, you’ll wake up...just as I did...and realize the horse that raised you is tired.
That they need you to be strong one last time.

Maybe, somewhere down the road, another horse will come along and leave their mark upon your heart.

But it won’t be them...they wove themselves into your soul...
And nothing...or no one can take that away.

🩷 Michelle | Born In The Barn

23/09/2025

So true

The 13 Second Rule - Learn It

When a horse startles, their orienting reflex kicks in - they shoot up to 18hh, lock onto the source, and you swear you can feel their heart pounding through your saddle. Then comes the investigatory reflex - ears, eyes, nostrils all screaming: “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!”

Here’s the important risk management bit: horses are actually brilliant at working out if something’s a real threat. What usually screws it up is us. Riders grab, yank, panic, and - congratulations - you’ve just turned a startle into a full-blown rodeo or bolting freak out. That is because your response made the startled horse feel 10000% more threatened.

Dr Andrew McLean showed that if we stay calm, a horse’s heart rate can start lowering in about 13 seconds. That’s it. Thirteen measly seconds. So breathe and start counting, wait for the ear flick or head shift, and only then step in.

Because your calm buys recovery. Your panic buys chaos.

This is Collectable Advice 31/365 – Save it or Share it (no copying and pasting).

IMAGE📸: Incredible image captured by the amazing Lynn Jenkin.

18/09/2025

Yes!!!!!

Train Long to Grow Strong: What Science Says About Muscle Length and Performance

Did you know that training muscles at longer lengths leads to greater strength, growth, and athletic performance?

Research shows that when muscles are loaded in their lengthened position — rather than short and compressed — they experience:
• More mechanical tension
• Greater muscle fiber remodeling
• Stronger signals for growth and performance

🏇 What does this mean for horse training?
Exercises that encourage a full range of motion — like hill work, cavalletti, and long-and-low frames — promote:
• Stronger, more resilient muscles
• Better stride length and joint stability
• Improved dynamic performance in sports like dressage, jumping, and barrels

⚠️ Short, choppy movements or always working in a collected frame can limit muscle development by avoiding these lengthened positions.

✅ Want to build strength that transfers to real performance?
Encourage your horse to move in full, fluid ranges — not just for fitness, but for long-term soundness and athleticism.

Follow this link for more interesting info -
https://koperequine.com/articles/

10/09/2025

07/09/2025

Good posture and core strength from both horse and rider can help to prevent kissing spine in some horses. We need to ask ourselves, WHY are so many of our horses affected either way kissing spine.

🤓 Did you know?
In a study of 310 horses with back pain, 68% were diagnosed with kissing spine. Not that surprising, right?

🤯Well here's the shocking part…In the same study they found that out of 70 horses with NO history of back pain, 39% still showed signs of kissing spine on X-rays....

👉So, kissing spine doesn't have to be a career ending diagnosis. With proper, treatment (medical and non-medical) and training, a lot of horses can go on to be successful riding horses.

🧐It is my personal opinion, and the longer I do movement training the more certain I become, that kissing spine is frequently a posture problem.

Posture can be changed but what affects it goes way beyond just conformation.

Mental and emotional state are the big and often times overlooked influencers of posture, and changing that takes time and patience. Which is probably why so many people fail at retraining their horses.

❤️It requires you to look deeper at your horse but it also requires you to step back and take a look at yourself...

07/09/2025

Well I think I’m on my way to being blocked from the Tennessee Walking Horses pages that keep popping up on my page. But if I’m not. Then I shall endeavour to do better. Absolute s**t show of so-called horsemanship.