Peak Performance Equine

04/21/2025

The left image is from an old dressage book and the right is a top modern dressage rider. Both images are supposed to be what is called "in a frame of self carriage". Self carriage is when a horse is carrying itself without significant intervention of the rider and the aids in an equilibrium of balanced movement. But are they both in self carriage?

I think not. Look at the hind quarters in the older image and then look at the modern dressage rider. The left horse's hind is under himself and engaged. The back is straight, not hollowed. The poll is the highest point of the left horse, while the modern horse is being ridden with the crest of the neck as the highest point.

The older image shows a vibrant horse that has rebalanced itself into self carriage under the rider's direction. The illustrator shows us four steps to getting there. The modern rider has cranked down her horse's forehand into a false frame with the pressure of a trash compactor. She is using her body weight to force her horse, as demonstrated by her shoulders leaned back beyond the saddle's cantle. The authentic dressage rider maintains his upper body within the traditional five degree horizontal limit, which does not affect the horse's balance.

These two riders could not be more different. One rider is working with their horse, the other is working against their horse. One horse is raising its center of balance to meet and join the rider's center of balance, while the other hollows his back away from the rider.

The difference here is what many modern riders call "evolution". I call it decline. Horses have not changed. Riders have changed. Today in so many disciplines what matters is "the look", and back when dressage was "the authentic training of the horse and rider" what mattered was shared balance and movement without force.

Today in dressage we see bloody mouths and blue tongues from torturous riding. The way forward out of this abuse is to go back. Some people want to ban equipment or even competitions. The answer is to ban riders like the one on the right for life.

04/19/2025

04/16/2025

 So this is how“THE SCIENCE “ works !
“A key official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) responsible for monitoring vaccine safety and reports of vaccine injuries may have mishandled or deleted official records subpoenaed by Congress, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) alleged earlier this week. The New York Post first reported the story on Thursday.

Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, director of the CDC Immunization Safety Office, maintained the records in question. Shimabukuro previously authored a key paper and participated in public messaging claiming the COVID-19 vaccines were safe and effective for pregnant women.

https://tdefender.substack.com/p/head-cdc-vaccine-safety-office-delete-covid-vaccine-injury-records

04/03/2025

Might be a great time to get that new F250.

🔥Ford has decided to give Americans employee pricing on all vehicles through June of this year.

This comes as Trump's tariffs are starting to hit.

03/30/2025

Secretariat’s mother, Somethingroyal, was a remarkable Thoroughbred mare born on July 16, 1952, at The Meadow in Virginia, owned by Christopher Chenery. Sired by Princequillo, a stamina-rich stallion, and out of Imperatrice, a speedy mare, she blended endurance and pace in her pedigree—traits that would define her legendary son. Somethingroyal raced lightly, running six times at ages two and three with modest results: one win, two seconds, and a third. Her true legacy emerged as a broodmare. Over 20 years, she produced 18 foals, including four stakes winners, with Secretariat, born March 30, 1970, as her crowning achievement.

Her role in Secretariat’s story began with a coin toss in 1969 between Chenery’s daughter, Penny, and Ogden Phipps. Phipps won, choosing a filly from Hasty Matelda, leaving Penny with Somethingroyal’s unborn foal by Bold Ruler—Secretariat. Known for her strong build and calm demeanor, Somethingroyal nurtured Secretariat’s early days at The Meadow, where he stood out as a robust, eager c**t. She lived until January 8, 1983, dying at 30 from a ruptured intestine, having left an indelible mark on racing history through her Triple Crown-winning son. 🐎🏆

03/13/2025

At last someone finally stands up and says “enough!” We need an overhaul of the mess and a return to classical, correct horsemanship in all disciplines.

‘It’s decisive for the future of the sport’: a top stud has decided to withdraw its horses from dressage competitions while it awaits welfare reforms – read full story via link below

03/07/2025

If you can’t ride without using contraptions, find another “sport”.

03/04/2025

This is a permanent jumping lane. The US Cavalry used lanes like this to teach recruits the Fort Riley Seat, which in America became the Balanced Seat for civilians. Cavalrymen were trained in Troops of 32 riders. Imagine a large, fenced on both sides, oval jumping lane with several Cavalrymen riding around in it and jumping.

As the recruits progressed in their riding ability the lane was used in different ways. At the end of their training a Cavalryman was blindfolded and sent through the lane. He couldn't see so he had to feel when his horse came under their hind to set up to jump and riders used that cue to quickly get into a jumping position.

To make it even more difficult for the blindfolded riders in the jumping lane other men on the ground would set up new and different jumps in the lane to change the rhythm or timing of the jumps. A blindfolded rider had to be very alert for the changes in the jumps.

The point of this training was to prepare Cavalrymen for nighttime reconnaissance. A small squad was often sent on a mission to probe the lines of an enemy. If they were discovered, they would have to flee at top speed over terrain. In the dark of night, they could not see every obstacle that they had to jump. This blindfolded jump training gave them the ability to gallop off in complete darkness without fear of a sudden jump coming up in front of them.

If you share this post only the video gets shared, not the text about the Cavalry training. To share that info, you can cut and paste the text at the "Say something about this..." prompt.

www.facebook.com/harrywhittingtonracing/videos/1178226343867899

02/23/2025

02/21/2025

OK, so I agree with this theory, but I can’t claim that I came up with it because I heard it and read it lots of times---

The theory goes that one of the best but also riskiest ways to raise young horses to be able to deal with anything other than flat and manicured terrain is to raise them in big open places like Montana (where this horse came from), letting them basically deal or don’t over steep hills, rocks, roots, mud, ice, water, figuring out from the get-go where to put their feet so as not to flip.

And, yes, you don’t want to watch as a bunch of horses come flying down some rock strewn bluff, but if they CAN learn how to deal with that, and survive, then dealing later with something like this Radnor drop fence is no biggie.

Thoughts?

https://www.pedigreequery.com/king+oscar