ReBalance Expert

12/07/2024

Our saddles are crafted to balance comfort and function, ensuring a safe and enjoyable ride. Each saddle is designed to meet the demands of different riding styles and offers reliable support, comfort, and flexible fitting options.

12/06/2024

Read the list of signs and symptoms.

There has been so much going on around the topic of ECVM, this congenital malformation is one we are diagnosing, managing and studying at Denali Equine in partnership with Rexos Inc, under the guidance of the legendary Dr. Sharon May-Davis. We wanted to give you the top ten points on ECVM facts. (Sorry this is long- Well worth the full read!)

1. ECVM is a congenital condition, meaning they are born with it. We suspect it is a recessive genetic disorder because two unaffected adults can produce offspring with it. There are several groups racing to find the genetics behind this condition. More information on the horizon.

2. ECVM is not a fatal diagnosis. However, it can be. It depends on the severity of the malformation and how well the horse can functionally compensate.

3. Radiographs of the lower neck are necessary to diagnose the condition. These radiographs must be clear lateral and obliques of C6, C7 and ideally T1. These can be done in the field for most horses. However larger generators do get better images.

4. Variability: Horses can be either a bilateral or unilateral malformation of C6, which in 52% of C6 cases can transpose either bilaterally or unilaterally. To C7; T1 and the first ribs are variably affected.

5. Studies show horses with transposition of the ventral lamina to C7 are more likely to suffer from clinical neck pain than horses with normal anatomy. In our experience horses with rib malformations have more severe clinical signs than those with normal ribs (no clear studies yet).

6. The bones absolutely do not tell the whole story. However, bones do not lie. They often indicate the level of soft tissue malformations present. The more severe the boney changes- the more severe the soft tissue is altered around them.

7. Clinical picture: all horses are not lame, but they do all have subtle clinical signs. Most often the clinical signs are not limb related lameness (but can be). These horses can show signs of the pain ethogram, rearing, sporadic behavior, abnormal front limb flight patterns (especially with equipment), girthiness, resistance to go forward, doesn’t like physical touch (brushing, blanketing ex). The signs are so variable for every horse!

8. The common things heard from owners/trainers:
* The horse was always bad from the start (this is concerning for the more severe cases)
* The horse was fine until it wasn’t. We find this is from something changed in the program. i.e., was imported, switched barns, changed jobs.
* They don’t understand why the horse is failing quicker than usual as it gets older. As the horse ages the clinical signs become more apparent. The body can only manage for so long. Think of it this way- the foundation was built wrong from the beginning. Therefore, it takes time for the cracks in your walls or floors to show, it then takes those cracks a while before they become a structural problem in your house.
* A minor incident happened and now they’re not ok. Suspect an injury can cause the horse to spiral out of stabilization or have the ability to compensate. An example could be getting cast or trailering event then the horse was never the same. Example, you do not know your house wasn’t built well until the storm blows it over.

9. These horses have significant soft tissue pathology on necropsies. Therefore, no matter what the data is showing us: If the horse has ECVM, is clinical, and other differentials have been ruled out these horses are clinically affected by the ECVM.

10. On necropsies we have found:
* Missing, malformed and fractured ribs
* Abnormal nerve patterns, these nerves can be totally entrapped and compressed by abnormal muscle patterns. The dorsal scalene can trap the large nerves of the brachial plexus within its abnormal paths. The phrenic nerve can get pulled inappropriately and leave impressions within the ventral scalene.
* Abnormal muscles: dorsal scalene, ventral scalene, iliocostalis, longus coli, re**us abdominal, intercostal muscles, serratus ventails cervicis. All these muscles have critical roles in stability, proprioception, and biomechanics.
* Abnormal vascular patterns
* Trachea abnormalities
* Fascial changes

ECVM is currently a controversial and sensitive topic so we thought we would share a few known quick facts to help you understand this issue better. Please go to our website (www.DenaliEquine.com) to find more information and links to the current studies on this disease. We are researching and studying these horses! We are working on several angles of research right now throughout Non-Profit Rexos Inc. If you would like more information on how you can help, please reach out!

DeClue Equine saddlefitting.us

12/06/2024

YOU DECIDE - RIDING WITH A CLEAR CONSCIENCE!

Now available in English:

⚜️“You Decide - Riding with a clear conscience.” ⚜️
by Christin Krischke, director of Germany's only Princely Riding School, the Fürstliche Hofreitschule in Bückeburg.

📕 A book that provides solidly documented alternatives for riding, in-hand work, handling and equipment, based on the experience and the wisdom of the old masters of equestrian art.

📕 Can a riding style that was popular 250 years ago be transferred to the present day?
How would the grand masters of historical horsemanship, such as Antoine de Pluvinel or Francois Robichon de la Guérinière, view today’s equestrianism? Is it still in keeping with today’s times and animal welfare?

📕 Christin answers these and many other interesting questions with anecdote-rich expertise, clearing up prejudices and dusty conventions. For more than 25 years, Christin and her husband have been researching the background of historical equestrianism on their horses. Together with historians, museum curators and experimental archaeologists, they uncover forgotten exercises, equipment and incidents and bring to light the most astonishing and plausible explanations. The knowledge that is capable of turning modern equestrianism on its head!

📕 224 pages, 24 x 27cm bound hardcover book, rich in illustrative and photographic imagery.

🛒🇬🇧 Best purchase options for UK residents:
You can purchase your copy by emailing [email protected] – Your book will be dispatched from the UK.
If you’re in the area, visit our trade stand at this year’s Festival of the Iberian Horse in Exeter , Devon, UK, between the 31st of August and the 3rd of September.

🛒 🇪🇺 Purchase options for EU countries:
From our Germany based Webshop https://shop.hofreitschule.de/collections/buecher/products/you-decide-riding-with-a-clear-conscience
Alternatively, if you visit us in Germany, you can get your copy at the souvenir shop inside our museum in Bückeburg.

Our Webshop:
https://shop.hofreitschule.de/

______________________

Jetzt auch in Englisch erhältlich:

⚜️“Du entscheidest, Reiten mit gutem Gewissen” ⚜️
von Christin Krischke, Direktorin der Fürstlichen Hofreitschule in Bückeburg – Deutschlands einzige Hofreitschule.

📕 Kann eine Reitweise, die vor 250 Jahren populär war, in die heutige Zeit transportiert werden? Wie sähen die Großmeister historischer Reitkunst wie Antoine de Pluvinel oder Francois Robichon de la Guérinière das Vorwärts-Abwärts? Ist Reitsport überhaupt noch zeit- und tierschutzgemäß?

📕 Die Direktorin der Fürstlichen Hofreitschule in Bückeburg, Christin Krischke, beantwortet diese und viele andere interessante Fragen mit anekdotenreichem Fachwissen und räumt mit Vorurteilen und angestaubten Konventionen auf.

📕 224 Seiten, 24 x 27 cm gebundenes Sachbuch, reich an illustrativen und fotografischen Abbildungen. Ab sofort kann die 2. überarbeitete Auflage des Bestsellers bestellt werden!

🛒 Erhältlich im Webshop oder vor Ort am Souvenirshop der Hofreitschule.
(Sehr gerne versieht die Autorin das Buch mit einer Widmung.)

Webshop
Buch: https://shop.hofreitschule.de/collections/buecher/products/buch-du-entscheidest-reiten-mit-gutem-gewissen

Hörbuch: https://shop.hofreitschule.de/collections/buecher/products/horbuch-du-entscheidest-reiten-mit-gutem-gewissen

__________________

12/06/2024

12/06/2024

I write educational posts, story posts, history posts and more but today my post is a plea. It's about understanding change in the horse world. I hope it will cause readers to do something or say something about how horsemanship has been diminished. We have experienced a shift away from the innate physicality of horses and riding to an emotionally centered idea of relationship with horses that often becomes dysfunctional.

Human thoughts and feelings are vastly different from equine thoughts and feelings. The biggest difference is that we humans are carnivore predators and horses are prey animals. This difference is denied, opposed and rejected by many riders and horse owners today. We predators are scary to horses. We are unpredictable, have hidden agendas and are demanding. Horses are none of these. They are very predictable, incapable of hidden agendas and accommodating.

I find it offensive and cruel how humans assume that horses are like us. So many humans impose and demand that horses act more like humans. On a recent post of mine someone commented, "They're Big, Strong, Personable Friends. They're not machines to be trained." This was on a post with a video of someone who felt this way and got kicked in the face by a horse because they completely misunderstood when the horse was telling her to back off with her invasive relationship demands.

Not long ago life in general was more physical on all levels. People were required to have so many more physical skills in every part of life. Diapering a baby was challenging with pins that could stick an infant, or if pinned poorly the diaper would come off causing an unfortunate mess. Today, anyone can safely and successfully diaper a baby thanks to Velcro. People could cook. There were no microwave ovens to heat pre packaged meals. And people didn't drug horses so they could ride them. They trained them to be safe and rideable. The summary impact of all of these examples of change and more is that today people are much less physical.

Horses need physicality. I see so many horses that are overweight and under worked. They are kept like birds in a cage. They suffer from the nonphysical human lifestyle imposed on them. Their owners feel they are very good owners because they give all the right supplements, call the vet over a scratch and buy their horse treats and presents that have little or no meaning for the horse.

We have bred horses for thousands of years to do work for us. This purpose is in their genes, yet today owners deny horses the work and exercise they desperately need. We expect these prey animals to be companion animals and demand they act like dogs or cats, which are both predators and better suited to be human companion animals. Worst of all, the compliance and adaptability humans have bred into horses over centuries is mistaken for friendship. Human expectations of horses today are devoid of understanding of the authentic nature of the horse.

My friend Mary said something recently that really got to me. She pointed out that in the horse world, we have lost our sense of honor as a community. Today people feel entitled to relate to their horses as "personable friends ... not machines to be trained" and social correctness supports this painful illusion. Social correctness and authentic horsemanship have almost nothing in common. If you think otherwise, you are probably abusing your horse with phony "kindness". Stop doing that.

12/06/2024

How to know if your horse’s shoes are the correct size.

12/05/2024

Is this horse fat?

12/05/2024

As pet owners, we strive to provide the best care for our furry companions, ensuring their health and happiness. However, one aspect of pet care that often goes unquestioned is the quality of food we feed them. Kibble, the convenient and widely available option, has long been a staple in many househ...

12/04/2024

12/04/2024

Explore the beauty of our saddle tooling options, bringing a custom touch to every ride. Each detail showcases expert craftsmanship and lets your unique style stand out. Make your saddle truly yours with personalized elegance.

12/03/2024

When people think of horses as pets, their perception of everything they do with horses changes from the established way of seeing horses in authentic horsemanship. Humans enjoy hanging out with their pets. They cuddle with pets and have very few physical boundaries with them. Pets are safe, they won't hurt you is their belief.

Therefore, because pets are safe and cuddly there is no need to impose or otherwise demand that horses learn boundaries and other safe standards of behavior. Furthermore, the use of any equipment to control horses that might aid in training them to have standards and boundaries of behavior are not needed, and anyone who uses such things is an abuser. This is the narrative from the horses as pets crowd.

Someone commented a while back that sometimes I "poke the bear" with my posts. I liked that comment. The images at the bottom are there to poke the bear. All the pictured objects are there for the horses-are-pets hiveminds. They think these things should be banned. The left image is of a ring gag bit, something they think is one of the worst tools of torture. Do the horses-are-pets folks know how it works or why? Have they ever used one? No. It's just bad and it needs to be gone is their simple thought. Some say all bits need to be banned.

The ring gag is an unusual bit in that it works primarily on the poll. As the rider applies the reins, the rounds or cords that go through the rings rotate the rings. This allows the mouthpiece to slide, thus releasing any buildup of rein pressure on the tongue. This is how a ring gag isolates the pressure on the poll and makes it the primary pressure.

Leverage bits also apply poll pressure, but because they have a chin strap or chain any increased rein pressure is applied equally to both the poll and the mouthpiece. Ring gags are therefore less impactful than leveraged bits due to the reduced mouthpiece pressure on the tongue and mouth.

Anyone who has seen a tied horse pulling against the poll pressure from the tied halter can imagine how the ring gag works with its isolated poll pressure. For those who haven't, it lifts the head. Why do we want to lift the head on some horses? To improve a horse's balance, ring gags do it with the greatest precision in the right hands. Why do we improve balance? To make a horse safer but that is thought to be unnecessary because some believe pet horses are already safe.

The center images are of draw reins, another tool of torture for the horses-are-pets crowd wants to ban. Draw reins are a very useful training tool for showing a horse a different balance. Yes, people apply draw rein pressure for sustained periods, but that is like trying to hammer a nail with a wrench. Draw reins multiply the pressure from the reins with their pulley-like function. Why do we want multiplied rein pressure? Because the less strength required of a task that involves the hands, the more precise the hands can be. Draw reins allow a rider to briefly, delicately and precisely show a horse a different balance better than their own.
habitual balance.

Lastly, let's ban the twitch. This cruel and unusual device must go, they think. Why have them at all when drugs will accomplish the same desired result of making a horse more still? Why? Because drugs, once administered, cannot be adjusted. The horse is drugged until the drug wears off. With a twitch, a horse trainer can vary the impact of the twitch's distraction on a horse up or down every moment. When a horse begins to relax while being twitched, the twitching can be lessened or removed and the horse can learn from the experience. With drugs there is no learning, only repeated drug use.

Most importantly, in emergency situations a skilled twitch user and quickly and safely still a horse to improve a dangerous situation. By comparison, in an emergency a person who uses only drugs to stil a horse must find a syringe and drugs, and then they face a dangerous task of the injection that can break the needle, injure the person or otherwise delay a solution to the emergency.

12/01/2024

Love the classic Western Saddle but need something lighter? Our unique Western Saddle on an English tree is perfect for you! Built on an Ultra-Flex tree with adjustable gullet and wool-flocked panels, it’s designed for ultimate comfort on long rides. Ideal for trail, gaited, and endurance riders!

12/01/2024

All lined up 😍

12/01/2024