Virginia Creek Farm

09/06/2024

27/01/2024

Interesting…

Kheiron Biotech, owned by Argentine Polo Player Adolfo Cambiaso clones about 100 horses each year — more than just about any company in the world — including about 10 clones of his deceased mare 'Dolfina Cuartetera'.

Next year, the company expects to double its output. Although clones are still not permitted in horse racing, cloned horses sell for upward of $1 million to the best polo clubs in Argentina, to endurance riders in the Middle East and to show-jumping equestrians around the world.

What began as an effort to immortalize champions has now become a massive, multimillion-dollar industry with Argentina imposing few rules on cloning, and polo association leaders placing no restrictions on how many cloned horses can play in a game, leaving it up to the companies and the teams to define their own limits.

Kheiron Biotech have also now begun combining cloning with gene editing.

In mid-December, they successfully implanted seven cloned, genetically modified embryos. If the pregnancies are successful, the world’s first genetically designed horse will be born next year — a horse whose genes have been edited to be stronger and faster, a sort of polo superhorse.

If he gets the green light from Argentine regulatory authorities, the company hopes to take this technology to the next level — changing the s*x of a clone, for breeding purposes or perhaps to make an even better animal - asking the question, if an elite stallion was cloned, could that same horse be even more powerful as a mare?

The possibilities of this experiment — and its long-term risks — are yet to be fully understood. What are your thoughts on cloning and genetically editing horses?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/29/horse-cloning-polo-argentina/

09/01/2024

07/01/2024

📸 Look at this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/p/W4BaMXsQMc9kMNU9/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Is posture a fundamental factor in the clinical relevance of kissing spine?

This image is powerful! We can clearly see the effects of spinal posture on the proximity of the spinal processes!

But what we might not be aware of is just how much horses live in a “hollow back” posture!

This spinal posture is created by biomechanics, the functional link between the entire topline from the position of the head and neck to the position of the pelvic region.

But also this posture is perpetuated by horses living in a constant sympathetic state and many other factors of domestication, feeding, confinement, hoof balance and human interference on major proprioception centres!

Join Dr Neidhart and myself as we delve into understanding kissing spines

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/kissing-spines

Thanks to Tuskey Dressage for the image 🙌

13/12/2023

The average age for a race horse to be broken in is 12-18 months old, thoroughbred and standardbred.

That being said it is common in Standardbreds to have older weanlings in harness. You can see from the photo below the uncomfortable posture and distress this weanling is in. Because of two year old racing the age of breaking in must be before hand. Some stables wait longer but the average age in my experience is 12-18months.

I have looked inside a 14 month old standardbred and you can find those photos on this page of every growth plate fully open above the knees on the caudal and cranial aspects. Studies that have been conducted focused on lower leg limbs while ignoring the hundreds of other growth plates and bones present in a young horses body.

Setting industry welfare standards are pointless if the horses body is being exploited on a fundamental level and not legislated against. When I was given this photo a few years ago, it was passed on to the industry body who sent “a stern email”. Since then stakes for 2 year old harness racing in New Zealand have been increased, making it the most profitable age group. Because of the echo chamber racing operates in the trainer felt safe to have posted this in a public racing page.

That echo chamber is done!

The internet will show the industry how disgusting this practice is. I have sat on this image for years feeling disgusted in myself for not sharing it sooner but I wanted to wait until I had the reach worthy of sharing it. I have been told of trainers who put foals on the jogging frame with their mothers. If the industry won’t set standards to protect the horses then the pressure will have to come from the outside! In a time where social licence is important to operate these things matter.

There are great racing people out there who are waiting and are treating their horses with kindness but you will be judged and accountable by your worst members because they make up the majority of racing in my opinion. I expect to get allot of flak for this post and I’m fine with that.

16/10/2023

The Omentum is thinner than the mesentery and see through in appearance. It attaches to the stomach. Whereas the mesentery is much larger, thicker (varies a lot in appearance depending on the horse’s health and condition) and in simple terms, connects intestines.

The most common internal affliction that gets talked about is ulcers (stomach and hindgut) but we often see varying degrees of health and issues with omentum and mesentery too! These complex structures can be damaged, of poor quality due to health problems or even adhered to things they shouldn’t be.

20/09/2023

Good education here.

11/09/2023

07/09/2023

Merck Animal Health is voluntarily recalling three batches of Banamine/Banamine-S (flunixin meglumine injection) 50 mg/mL in the United States, used for injection in cattle, swine and horses to the consumer level due to the presence of particulate matter. Banamine/Banamine-S (flunixin meglumine inje...

10/08/2023

10/08/2023

SOLD

Lincoln 7yr old 16 hand OTTB gelding by Uncle Mo

Linc is a straightforward, intelligent, willing partner who is capable of taking care of an adult amateur, young rider, or beginner in a program. His first 6 months post-track with me in the spring of 2021 were spent moving cattle, doing clinics and schooling shows, and trail riding. Since being sent back to me the beginning of this year (rehab from kissing spine surgery) Linc has participated in xc schooling, trail riding, dressage and jumping lessons, hound walking, obstacle training, and has been ridden sidesaddle. He is also the horse I tack up for guests to ride over the others I have in the barn. We would like to see him in a home where he can be turned out 24/7 and have a job that focuses on flatwork/sidesaddle, hunting, and fence work under 2'. Lincoln has excellent stall, field, ground, trailering, and grooming manners. He is currently barefoot and wears renegade boots when ridden over hard ground. He will wind suck at feeding time, but this can be controlled by a collar if need be. Xrays are available to interested parties. Priced in the high 4 figures, but a forever home is the owners biggest concern. Located in Trenton, SC.

Videos:
https://youtu.be/0JeHC8PKJLw
https://youtu.be/Dx10oNLrJqg

10/08/2023

21/07/2023

16/07/2023

27/06/2023

27/06/2023

A little twist on training aids

I will first preface this by saying rehab should not be judged on how quickly it takes your horse to recover, tendon, ligaments and muscles have their own timeline of recovery, and we cannot hurry the process.

I once read a claim that this certain product used twice a day for 14 weeks miraculously cured a horse with laminitis, my first thought wouldn't you expect the horse to better just with correct management in 14 weeks as with all recovery we need to see improvement yet often companies will lay claim to only their product produced the positive result, when often it's just the natural healing process of the body

Most training aids however lightly applied will always rely on a push or pull system, we often relate pressure or force in human terms as something harsh or against our will, we are made to do something yet in the equine world pressure or force can be so lightly applied yet still have a profound effect, and when we consider the word choice the horse cannot get away from a device placed upon it

We then have the item applied incorrectly because no matter how good the how-to videos are you will see owners struggling to make it sit right often you will see pictures of a bands slipping, or restricting and in the grand scheme of rehab one mistake can often be a setback in the process

Cost, if you are purchasing one then you do get what you pay for, cheaper materials mean less research into the materials because like in anything the minute you come up with someone there will always be someone ready to do a cheaper version, forgetting the expense that may have gone into researching the use and material of the product so if you want cheap then skip the rubbish versions and just get yourself two tail bandages and ask your rehab provider how to use the items

Proprioception, (body awareness and placement), the downfall in the use of these is we simply use them for too long and they then become ineffective, if I was to explain it think of putting sunglasses on your head or a new watch on your wrist in the first few minutes you are completely aware of this new item touching your body but how long does it take for you to forget where you put your glasses when all the time they are sat on your head, and I heard a quote that it's like just touching the horses hair, so basically it's an irritant almost like for me a label stuck in the back of your neck so will the horse facilitate a correct movement pattern or will the brain then focus on the one part that is irritated and move accordingly to get it off, is that creating a better moving body???

Humans have a tendency to over do something, we are programmed to push through pain (which is never a good thing as your body is trying to stop you suffering a micro trauma), we are taught no pain no gain, and I am surprised at how much my human clients think that they need pain during a massage to facilitate healing (horses would never stand for this lol)

We are programmed to believe that fast healing is good healing without allowing the body to do its thing and take care of itself, we think that the training aid was the catalyst to healing when often with any type of rehab it’s the mere fact that you allowed time off from their normal routine, I often say the mere fact you get off their back can lead to a huge leap in their rehab

For me personally there is no training aid that can replace some good lessons with a trainer that will teach you the basics of how to correctly train the horses body from the ground, for they will teach you how to watch foot placement, how to read the horses movement and the most important factor when to stop and when the horse is no longer getting a positive outcome, healing bodies will tire more quicker than a healthy body a 10 minute exercise with a training aid going over some poles could lead to fatigue in say the hocks which if you are not trained to watch for you may not even notice

We know circles are the enemy of a healthy horse so why are owners advised in the first stages of rehab to place their horse in a circle with a pulley system training aid???

Like I say I am a therapist that lives in the real world, and I know people will use gadgets, but we have to remember to force what we think is a beneficial frame for the horse when the horse is not ready to facilitate that frame could lead to further breakdown in the next few years and if you are going to use them then seek a few lessons with a professional who can show you how, when and when not to use them. But for me they never replace that trainer who will teach you how to allow the horses body to work to its advantage in the process of rehab

26/06/2023

Things to think about.

LAZINESS IS A HORSE’S NATURAL STATE

Just about every time I look out across the paddock at home, I see seven horses grazing lazily, snoozing under a tree, laying in the sun or just standing around staring at nothing. My horses certainly don’t appear to be workaholics. Even when they are told crossly to clear the way by another horse, there is usually just enough effort being expended to create the minimum amount of space to avoid an even sterner warning. Occasionally there will see a burst of enthusiasm as they blast across the 30-acre paddock at high speed when they are feeling particularly good on a cool-ish day. But even then it seems to take such a serious toll on my horses daily allocation of effort that they spend the rest of the day doing nothing but eating to recover from that crazed 30 seconds of strain.

In a nutshell, my horses are incredibly lazy in their natural habitat. But I don’t think this is unusual. I see the same behaviour in other people’s horses. In my experience, most horses spend most of their time doing very little. The exception seems to be when a horse carries a lot of emotional baggage with them 24 hours a day. Those types of horses often flip from doing nothing to explosive bursts of energy and back to doing nothing many times a day. It’s like they suddenly wake up and realize the ghost of their ancestors is chasing them, and then it's over. But that’s a discussion for another time. For the most part, the average horse is pretty much a minimalist when it comes to putting out an effort. It’s usually only anxiety that provokes them to have a surge of energy when they are left to their own thoughts.

With that being said, the question that comes to my mind is can we ask a horse to put out a lot of effort without feeling anxious or worried? Can a horse approach its physical limit of output and still feel okay?

This question has important consequences for how we view the ethics of competition or extreme horse activities.

Competition and the nature of humans to push the limits have led to the breeding and training of horses to perform outside their normal limitations. The desire for horses to jump higher, run faster, endure 1000 km races, perform exaggerated gaits and extreme postures, etc has caused us to want horses to work at levels they were never physically or mentally evolved to do. But humans are an inventive species and we find ways to outsmart evolution.

If you examine the things we ask horses to do, it is easy to conclude that these are things a horse would never choose to do of its own volition. A horse would not jump over a 2m fence if it didn’t feel it had to. No horse would choose to piaffe if anxiety did not create it. No horse would enter a skirmish with other horses bumping and stumbling around it just to chase a polo ball if it didn’t feel it had to. No horse would volunteer to stay in the arena with a raging bull charging at it. No horse would choose to spin around and around at a fast speed unless it had a brain aneurysm. Yet, these are things we breed and train horses to do.

I recall an interview with a racehorse trainer in Hong Kong. He was asked what made the horses run so fast. He replied they ran fast because of their fear. He said horses are basically lazy and it is only by exploiting their need to run when they are afraid that we can make them run so fast.

But it is not just about competition that I am referring to (although the desire to compete is one of the biggest culprits). We see the same issue when we apply any form of pressure to produce a lot of effort from a horse. For example, asking a horse to suddenly take off at high speed to run down a cow or pull a very heavy load or perform ‘airs above the ground’ like a capriole.

When we ask a horse to perform beyond its own normal limits, I think there is probably always an element of anxiety associated with that. Sometimes this is not just about provoking a horse to put out a large amount of energy. Sometimes it is to suppress that energy. For example, no horse evolved to not react when a crowd throws firecrackers under its feet, as in the case of Police horses. Yet we suppress their natural flight instinct in order to train them not to react by shutting them down. In the process of training this, we teach horses the futility of expressing their fear. We hardly ever eradicate the anxiety we just hide it away.

I’m not making judgments about the right and wrong of this. I’m just trying to point out that when we ask a horse to operate outside normal limits, there is inevitably a fair degree of anxiety associated with it. You never see a horse performing at the top level that feels completely relaxed. It is the nature of performing at an elite level. In fact, many people try to bring out the anxiety to make the performance even more exaggerated and expressive.

If you love horses and want to perform at that level you have to make peace with the fact that your horse is probably not going to ever feel good about it. It is what it is and we all make choices that we feel come closest to suit our needs.

Photo: Freddy Wettach on his horse King's Own, 8 feet 3-1/2 inches - an unofficial American high jump record at the time.

23/06/2023

20/06/2023

20/06/2023

👉 The Importance of Spinal Alignment!

When I posted these drone pictures 2 years ago, it reached more than 87,000 people and was shared almost 400 times!

The problem with Facebook is that it disappears after a couple of days...😊.

It was also 2 years ago that I fell of my horse and had a herniated disk in my lower neck. That's why I was (and still am) so passionate about spinal alignment. I knew from my own experience how painful it can be when nerves are compromised...

Today someone asked me a question about shoulder in and how to solve the main problem (which is overbending the neck). Since this is such an important issue I looked up the post and decided to add this topic to my LIVE webinar this week!

Sign up for my free class "How Balanced is Your Horse" and learn the 3 main reasons why spinal alignment is so important and why you should NOT ask for bending from the inside rein (and what you should do instead)

Click the link to sign up (more than 400 people already did😊)
https://event.webinarjam.com/register/46/k3z55t2o

19/06/2023

Great video looking at the lower limb of the equine hoof. Now think about how the tissues and the joint spaces would be injured from an unbalanced trim or shoeing.

A computer-generated movie that accompanied my PhD thesis.The movie shows many of the major tendons and ligaments in the equine distal forelimb.The models of...

15/06/2023

We were in Canyon for years and never saw this picture!

This awesome photo comes from the Panhandle Plains Museum in Canyon, Texas. The description reads as follows:

"Equestrienne in bowler hat, stylish gauntlets, and with horsehair quirt, stands beside her horse, which has a horsehair bridle and cowgirl-style, double-rigged, heavily carved sidesaddle, c. 1900."

Definitely eye candy!

02/03/2023

The first unified concussion guidelines designed specifically for riders across all equestrian disciplines are unveiled by British Equestrian