02/03/2024
I highly recommend joining any of the Science of Motion online studies. Once you add science to your training and your horse will thank you too!
A New Body of Knowledge.
A change of tension anywhere within our physique is instantly signaled to everywhere else in the body, both mechanically and chemically. The horse’s physique reacts to hoof adjustment, but not necessarily as the theory expects. The horse’s primary survival reflex is to protect his body state. The horse’s initial reaction will likely protect his physique from the change. The ones who can help the horse benefit from hoof adjustment are the rider and the trainer who live with the horse and know his habits, reactions, and mental processing. Only this deep relationship with the horse permits us to follow the horse’s adaptation to hoof change. In case of mild discomfort, there is no lameness or inflammation. It does not mean that the hoof adjustment works. If the discomfort is on the forelegs, the horse might try to reduce the impact forces, lessening the hind legs’ propulsive thrust. The horse might try to shift the weight on the toes, contracting and lowering the neck. A horse can express discomfort in many subtle ways that only the rider and the trainer can identify.
A hoof adjustment could be beneficial, but the horse’s physique might not be coordinated to benefit from the hoof correction. Expectations theorize that the horse will adapt to the corrective shoeing. The reality is that the horse will compromise to protect his familiar dysfunction. The compromise might convert logical corrective shoeing into more severer dysfunction.
For instance, the horse in the picture carries excessive weight on the forelegs. The right foreleg should be off the ground into the swing phase in this stride sequence. The left hind legs should remain on the ground, ending the propulsive phase. All the weight is on the right front leg with a knee no longer in stable alignment. Corrective shoeing rounding the front shoes to improve the brake over would worsen the dysfunction.
A mild discomfort of the front hooves might not cause lameness, but the horse will try to please the rider while protecting the discomfort. A common strategy for the horse is holding the thoracic spine in isometric contraction. The movement does not go through the thoracic spine, reducing the foreleg’s load. A few months ago, I referred to the case of a horse who had extreme fetlock dorsiflexion due to isometric holding of the thoracic spine. Recreating proper thoracic spine function returned the fetlock dorsi and palmar flexions within the safe norms. In a matter of months, proper training did what corrective shoeing was unable to achieve through years. The reason is that the thoracic spine dysfunction canceled the expected benefits of the corrective shoeing.
It is unlikely that a hoof adjustment would benefit the horse’s gaits and performances without the trainer’s experience and the rider’s work. Dr. Gian Piero Brigati restores soundness and competitive activities on Jumper horses in Italy through specific hoof adjustments. Dr. Brigati does not decide the adjustment based on the hoof structure and deformation only. Dr Brigati analyzes the horse’s motion and performance over the jump and advises the rider on necessary riding and training adjustments.
The horse’s physique does not always follow the rules, and only the rider and the trainer who live with the horse have enough understanding of the horse’s mental processing to pick up the signs that could prevent irreversible damage.
Today, a large body of knowledge allows riders to efficiently coordinate the horse’s physique for the athletic demands of performances. Properly using this knowledge can prevent injuries. Arthritis is irreversible, and prevention is more efficient than drugs such as Hyaluronic acid, which accelerates the development of arthritis. I have helped horses benefit from the hoof work, reducing the load on the forelegs a thousand times, and a thousand times, I have helped horses from improper hoof work, reducing the load on the forelegs. The main teaching of new knowledge is the capacity to protect the horse from expectation. The expected response to an adjustment is just a hypothesis, and if the horse expresses discomfort, we need to reconsider the hypothesis before lameness occurs.
The new body of knowledge is new. It cannot be integrated into classical literature as it often contradicts beliefs created when understanding the horse’s body function was elementary. Approaching the problem from advanced education of the thoracolumbar spine expanding to the hooves is more effective but demands more knowledge than theorizing the mastery of spine function from the hoof capsule.
Jean Luc
Science of Motion 2024 Programs
Simple upgrades our understanding of the horse’s physiology and body function to actual knowledge. The purpose of knowledge is to be applied, and to succeed in the practical application, riding, and training principles need to evolve with knowledge.
https://www.scienceofmotion.com/documents/simple24.html
Master One studies human and equine bodies at a deeper level. The horse’s physique and human physiques have previously unknown capacities. The term fascia, for instance, has been known for decades, but understanding how fascia connects the whole physique and how to train fascia opens the door to sounder gaits and performances. https://www.scienceofmotion.com/documents/masterone.html.
Master Two explains the athletic demand for superior dressage movements. Master Two is the course that everyone should enter. Knowing about the athletic difficulty of higher-level movements allows one to distinguish riding and training techniques, preparing the horse’s physique for the effort or hampering the horse’s ability to perform at his utmost potential. Not every horse can execute Piaffe, Passage, Canter Pirouette, and Tempi Changes, but every horse deserves an education supporting the horse’s potential and preventing injury.
https://www.scienceofmotion.com/documents/mastertwo.html
