Martta Roach Dressage

08/03/2023

To help your horse become lighter in front …

Imagine your horse’s haunches and forehand as sprocket wheels inside a machine. Your leg and seat control the back sprocket wheel, which turns and brings the hind end under. Your hand controls the front one, which keeps the front end aligned with the hind end, creating energy into the bridle. The horse lifts his front end by shifting weight rearward through his whole body; that’s what makes him lighten in front.
—Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel

🎨 Illustration by Sandy Rabinowitz

03/03/2023

REGISTRATION CLOSING SOON!

If you are interested in taking our Equine Massage & Bodywork for Owners & Trainers class next month, don't wait to sign up! Registration closes March 28th.

This 3-day class is packed full of valuable information. Learn to determine whether your horse is safely handling an increase in workload, pinpoint common areas of stress and train your eye in conformation and gait analysis.

Register today: https://www.eli-us.com/class/eq75-equine-massage-and-bodywork-for-owners-and-trainers/

02/03/2023

02/03/2023

Sabine Schut-Kery sometimes struggled to hold back tears while reflecting on the recent retirement of Sanceo, her partner of 14 years and a breakout star of the Tokyo Olympic Games. In many ways, she explained, the decision to transition the 17-year-...

08/02/2023

Ah, the perfect sitting trot, when horse and rider move as one, and there’s nary a bounce in sight. Though it seems like it would be simple, all riders know there’s much more to it than just, well, sitting there. It takes special skills, fitness ...

02/02/2023

Good

US Equestrian is pleased to announce the return of Debbie McDonald to the U.S. Dressage Program in the role of Technical Advisor to lead and oversee training preparation for Elite combinations through the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

01/02/2023

Sounds about right 🙈🤣

30/01/2023

🌟🌟

29/01/2023

Horses are more than smart enough. It’s the humans who need work.

Read the full book here:
http://milestoneequestrian.ca/my-book

27/01/2023

Question: I know a horse that I would typically call brave. The mare is excellent at horse shows, on roads, in parades, and most other settings. However, she is petrified of one spot at the far end of the indoor arena. It isn’t by a door and doesn’t have a funny shadow—I can’t for the …

18/01/2023

11/01/2023

Don't forget about our FREE online classes - the perfect thing to cozy up with during the cold winter months!

When to Call Your Vet
Learn the difference between urgency and emergency, how to read vital signs, and what to do in the case of sudden illness or injury.
https://www.eli-us.com/class/when-to-call-your-vet/

The EquiBand System: What, Why & How
Learn the science behind the bands, as well as examples of use in movement retraining and rehabilitation
https://www.eli-us.com/class/the-equiband-system-what-why-how/

06/01/2023

Lottie Fry, world No. 1 rider, wins Exloo CDI3* Grand Prix Freestyle for first Big Tour victory on Don Joe after capturing Special on Dark Legend

03/01/2023

✨Starting the year with my favorite boy ✨💞 owned by Alice Womble and Dr Mike Heitmann of Horsegateranch 📸 by the talented

23/12/2022

Equestrian biomechanics expert Susanne von Dietze recommends an exercise to improve balance and self-carriage in the extended trot.

21/12/2022

17/12/2022

At the 2022 CDI-W London International Horse Show, reigning World Champions Charlotte Fry and the 11-year old KWPN stallion Glamourdale easily picked up where they left off, winning another Grand Prix on grandiose form.

17/12/2022

With their best-ever Freestyle score of 90.995%, Great Britain’s Lottie Fry and the KWPN stallion Glamourdale stormed to victory in front of their home crowd at the fifth leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 Western European League in London (GBR) on Friday 16 November 2022.

16/12/2022

16/12/2022

Ready for the future!

Lottie Fry rode Valegro’s four-year-old nephew in a demo at the London Horse Show, while her trainer Anne van Olst spoke about what makes Lottie special

15/12/2022

Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale, Britain’s world championships double gold medal winning partnership, dominated the London World Cup short Grand Prix with team mate Gareth Hughes on Classic Bri…

11/12/2022

True

Wisdom for all riders from Carl Hester: “Self-carriage is really easy to see. It’s that tension into the hand that we were just talking about with Valegro the first place you see it is through the whole of the top line of the horse. The best thing you can do for self-carriage is the give and re-take of the reins. It is amazing how you forget to do that when you ride on your own. That constant giving the hand, taking, giving, taking, making sure that the outline is stable, the mouth is soft. You only have to look at the mouth to know how it is working, the horse is carrying its own head and neck.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/02/balance-self-carriage-and-the-importance-of-rider-position/

10/12/2022

Insight into Carl Hester.

Missed the Carl Hester Masterclass? 🥹

Don't worry! Read all the best insights from our wonderful Gold Program Members and a fantastic masterclass overview from our member Joanne Hughes 💡🤩

Find it all here ⬇️
https://www.performanceriders.com/blog/carl-hester-clinic-insights

Pictured is rider Isabella Wilkinson-McIntyre aboard Glencoe Torino Photo copyright © Picture the Moment Photography

07/12/2022

What a great explanation.

The radiographic diagnosis of kissing spines has become so prevalent that some veterinarians are making the assumption that it only matters if the horse is clinical. I’m assuming ’clinical’ means painful in the area that’s abnormal on the radiograph.
How does the body respond when things are rubbing against each other and it hurts ? It tries to stop the rubbing by contracting around the area and adding in more tension to the soft tissue structures. These will then start to pull on other areas as they work to stabilize the area that hurts.
This creates compensation.
When a horse tries to stabilize the withers they will contract lots of muscles. I just named a few on the picture - but these muscles will pull on other muscles. Soon the fascia around the lower part of the neck gets involved and the lower cervical vertebrae start to move a little ( red bones at base of neck). That movement causes the muscles in that area to contract as they must stabilize these vertebrae. Pretty soon those 1st couple of ribs also feel a tug - the second rib is red, you cannot see first. What’s in that area ? Well a giant nerve plexus. As the horse starts to press his leg into the side of his body to stabilize and he presses on this plexus and it gets inflamed and the horse starts acting girthy and short striding. At this point the withers feel fine but the horse has compensated creating other areas of pain.
This is the problem with making assumptions about how a horse feels about something. They prioritize, they compensate, they internalize and shut down, they act out.
Kissing spines are the result of too much tension in the system. Treat the whole horse when treating kissing spine.