New Horizons Equine Therapy

10/14/2022

* BUT PRESSURE AND PUNISHEMENT ARE NATURAL WAYS OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HORSES *

This argument is very popular amongst people who chose to use negative reinforcement /punishment as the main way to get the desired behaviours from horses.

This statement is partially right - but it's not just horses who adjust their behaviour in a response to aversive stimuli, every single living being does. Part of survival is to be able to detect and avoid /escape from threatening stimuli.

Here is the thing: the aversive pressure used in communication between horses is only used for NEGATIVE interactions.

The agonistic interactions communicate that one horse is not happy with whatever the other horse is doing and wants to create in another horse distance (distance increasing behaviours) .

And that's all - it's not there to look for particular behaviours, it's not there for prolonged times, it's not there to control every movement. It's only there as a swift action to say "hey, get out of my way!". It doesn't create strong bonds or positive relationships - right the opposite. It doesn't trap a horse at the end of a lead rope, in the roundpen, in the school or between the whips. It's not even a big part of a daily life (unless the horse's needs are not being met) as in healthy groups of horses positive interactions dominate because horses are peaceful animals.

And most importantly it doesn't take the autonomy away.

A horse on the receiving end is free to move away from the oppressor and not engaged with him again but within the human -horse interactions this freedom is taken away .

A horse is made to endure the escalation of pressure and/or punishment multiple times often for an hour or longer. It's not natural for a horse to keep on reengaging with something that sends threatening signals to his nervous systems and activates avoidance and escape behaviours.

10/13/2022

Can you guess which side I've already worked on in this picture?

This is my clients newest 1D mare, and the owners biggest complaint?
She is a violent head tosser undersaddle.
Like, whack-you-in-the-face level.

Hmmmm wonder why. 🤓

This little lady presented with significant TMJ/poll discomfort, among other things going on in her body.
Aside from the dramatic release in her muzzle, it is worth noting her eye is much more relaxed and rounded, the deep wrinkles above the eye are minimized, and her ear has relaxed away from the midline.
I'm certain this girl had quite the headache, and it's a privilege to be able to help alleviate this discomfort for her.

We'll have this girl right as rain in no time! 🥰

10/10/2022

A Message from Milo, the horse many people would have labelled “naughty” when he is just an incredibly expressive horse who would rather fight you than get shut down.

Every time we try to justify our actions based upon our horse intentionally being bad, we fail both ourselves and our horse by being dishonest.

If it’s “never the horse’s fault” then we quite literally cannot say they’re being naughty or even justify spanking horses with the whip or punishing them for “being bad” in the first.

Use of physical force as a repeated method of training IS assigning blame. Positive punishment is punishing for a perceived wrong. Using it repeatedly is repeatedly blaming your horse, again and again, while saying the exact opposite and being told the same by trainers and role models.

It’s one thing to do something in the moment to protect yourself from imminent danger and an entirely different thing to repeatedly use it as a means of behavioural prevention and training.

We have gaslit ourselves and continue to lie on an industry wide scale because if we can never blame the horse and stand by that mentality as much as what is claimed, we cannot justify a whole lot of normalized training methods and equipment.

Just some food for thought.

An anthropomorphic aside — if Milo, a horse, does have ego, it’s in his appreciation for himself and his right to autonomy and fair treatment. It isn’t in the sense of impressing or upsetting anyone. His ego is rooted in advocating for himself.

I think all horses make that choice, to either continue screaming to advocate for themselves in the face of mistreatment or to try to shutdown so they can whether the storm without being as distraught.

We, as humans, label their internal conflict and confusion as naughtiness.

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You can support my work for as little as $1 a month by subscribing to my Patreon. You can get free access to behind the scenes, early video uploads, training help, tutorials and more: http://Patreon.com/sdequus

You can also see my website for more about me, my horses & free learning resources: http://milestoneequestrian.ca

10/10/2022

Sometimes it's not ulcers.

Sometimes it's not kissing spine.

Sometimes it's not EPM.

Sometimes it's not the bit.

Sometimes it's not the saddle.

Sometimes it's not the trainer.

Sometimes it's the fact you're a crazy human who continues to anthropomorphise these behaviours and insist that it couldn’t possibly be a pain related issue or anything related to you.

Sometimes it’s the fact that your horse was designed for the purpose of moving 20+ kilometres per day with their head down grazing and is now confined to a box stall and fed up on high energy grain whilst going without hay for hours each day, creating a sore tummy and a greater likelihood of having ulcers as a domestic horse than not in addition to being chronically understimulated and largely unable to exercise unless they have a human on their back playing puppeteer.

Sometimes it's the fact that you dress your horse in a variety of equipment with the purpose of restricting the movement of their mouth (flash) or creating more leverage for you to be able to ride and direct them easier by using a number of different harsher bits or gadgets like draw reins. This effectively removes any ability for quiet communication, so when your horse can’t take it anymore, they must get louder.

Sometimes it’s the fact that way too many unqualified trainers play saddle fitter and tell students their tack fits when it actually does not.

Sometimes it's the fact that your horse absolutely adores running away from you because it is one of the few things that brings them relief from the otherwise high pressure, high stress lifestyle that can be rides, especially when their communication of stress and/or discomfort is being labelled as personality and otherwise viewed through an anthropomorphic lens.

Sometimes it's the fact that you think your horse will wait for you while you mount or dismount but your horse is chronically stressed and cannot fathom the idea of standing still for a couple of seconds while they’re in fight or flight mode so they instead use the opportunity for relief by moving.

Sometimes it's the fact that the majority of the stress and avoidance behaviours we see ARE correlated with mental and/or physical discomfort and have shown consistent correlation in extensive equine behaviours studies.

Sometimes it’s the fact that we have a 70-90% rate of stomach ulceration in domesticated horses so your horse is more likely to have them than not.

Sometimes, the issue is that we as humans are really great at denying anything that would push us to self reflect and see the gravity of what is an industry wide issue of ignoring the horse and then when they finally get loud so we have to notice, blaming their loud behaviours once again on them.

Horses do not lie, their behaviour is honest. Humans, on the other hand, DO lie. Especially to themselves. To protect from having to sit information that is hard to hear.

It’s taking the easy way out to anthropomorphise your horse. But, I can promise you that if you actually put the time, money and belief into diagnostic work, you will have a very good chance of finding out what physical issue is causing their behaviour. Many who claim it can’t be pain related just don’t actually put the work in to find out because the real truth is often expensive and could be painful. For years, I avoided the truth for the same reason, all without knowing that was why.

If you learn to look for the reason behind their unwanted behaviour instead of just looking at the behaviour at face value, you also may find what situations, equipment and other factors contribute to it.

If you consider ruling out pain first and honestly looking at your horse’s living situation from a welfare standpoint, you may just realize how often pain and inadequate management cause behavioural issues, because these factors are behind the vast majority of issues we run into with horses.

After all, I thought it was “never the horse’s fault” or are we just saying that to sound good?

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You can support my work for as little as $1 a month by subscribing to my Patreon. You can get free access to behind the scenes, early video uploads, training help, tutorials and more: http://Patreon.com/sdequus

You can also see my website for more about me, my horses & free learning resources: http://milestoneequestrian.ca

10/09/2022

Photos from Equine Balance by Shea Stewart's post

10/09/2022

Little Darlings
The man approached me, saying, “You need an Olympic-level horse, but you don’t have the money to buy one.” I agreed. The man was an Olympic jumper rider, and we had friendly professional relations. The man added, “I have an Olympic-level horse, but he is crazy. We are so scared that we always drug him with Ace before we ride him. In fact, we lunge him during the week and ride him only in the show ring with a dose of acepromazine. You might be the guy who could deal with the horse. If you are interested, I will sell it for a low price. He is a world-class athlete if you can deal with his violence and madness.” This is how I became Atoll 2 owner.
The horse became an International Three Day Event horse. He was a phenomenal athlete, but he was incredibly difficult. I often received unsolicited advice. The man who sold me Atoll was often at the Fontainebleau Olympic Center, where I worked. He heard “experts” giving me advice and commented with a big smile, “These little darlings have no idea what they are talking about. They have no clue of how difficult and unconventional this horse is.“ It was no computers at this time. These “Little Darlings” were the earliest version of the “Keyboard Riders.”
Horses adapt to what we do, even if the adaptation leads to suffering, injury, and death. Atoll was so difficult to in the jumping course that I tried to ride him with draw reins. I gained some control, but I noticed that he started to flex the upper neck at the level of the third cervical vertebrae. I knew the expression “broken at the third vertebrae,” but I did not know what caused the problem. Intuition warned me of a problem. I removed the draw reins, and Atoll returned to a proper neck flexion. It took longer for Atoll to return to a proper cervical alignment than to develop the defect. I was amazed at how fast the problem developed. It was a matter of one week or two.
Decades later, in 2002, Karen Gellman and J. E. A. Bertram posted a very comprehensive study about the nuchal ligament, talking about the line of function. “Therefore, the line of function of the nuchal ligament is from the wither to C2, not from the wither to the skull.” Karen Gellman explained earlier in her study that the most cranial portions of the funicular and the caudal portion of the lamellar ligament have little tissue volume and consequently underwent limited strain. For this reason, Karen Gellman and J.A.E. Bertram neglected these portions of the nuchal ligament in their analysis because “It is doubtful that they store a useful quantity of elastic energy.” In a previous study, I quoted Gellman and Bertrand explaining that the vertebral nuchal ligament “is an elastic structure on the dorsal midline between the occiput, the cervical vertebrae, and the cranial thoracic processes.” (The equine nuchal ligament: structural and material properties) and of course, a “Keyboard Little Darling Rider” posted a nasty statement affirming that the nuchal ligament was attached on C2 and not the occiput. “Little Darling” was wrong. The nuchal ligament is attached on the occiput, but the line of function is between C2 and the cranial thoracic processes.
Reading Gellman and Bertrand’s study, I wondered if Atoll’s reaction to the draw reins was related to the line of function of the nuchal ligament. Later. As I was in the necropsy room with Elizabeth Uhl, DVM, Ph.D., Dip, ACVP. A specimen came with an upright orientation of the cervical vertebrae, as was Atoll. Elizabeth Uhl pulled the upper cervical vertebrae down to show the tension of the nuchal ligament, and as Elizabeth increased the pressure, the cervical vertebrae showed a broken angle at the level of the third cervical vertebrae. Elizabeth Uhl had to exert intense pressure to create the broken angle at the level of the third cervical vertebrae.
Even if it was four decades earlier and I never used draw reins after the Atoll experience, I felt guilty about having overstressed my horse because I wanted control instead of learning how to become a better rider and taking the time to coordinate my horse efficiently for the athletic demand of the performance.
Jean Luc

10/08/2022

Excellent example of how ECVM is NOT just a vertebral malformation, but a SYSTEMIC one, affecting visceral, vascular and nerve pathways!!

This week India Woods from Valmont Farms and I held a dissection, thanks (and condolences) to a wonderful owner for making the very hard but best decision for this pony.

This wonderful pony had a lot of stories to tell us and much learning to provide.

This was the first pony we have dissected that had ECVM, and the fourth ECVM dissection we've done.
This gives us the opportunity to send a hair sample to our colleagues (Pamela Blades Eckelbarger) in the US to be part of the research to try and isolate the gene that is responsible for ECVM.

This pony would be so proud to be part of something so big and the owners, although understandably very sad, is glad he could help to educate and be part of something bigger. 🙏

Thankyou to all who came to join in the learning ❤️🦄❤️

10/07/2022

Photos from The Equine Documentalist's post

10/04/2022

Timeline photos

Riding through it.

Most riders can think back to a coach or trainer who was heavy handed and believed in riding a horse through it, or using increasing force to get their way with horses. Be it riding a horse harder to a jump after a refusal, or swapping out tack to exert force and control, to belittling the rider and saying they're not strong/tough enough on the horse and they're being "walked all over".

What these supposed coaches and trainers fail to understand is that coercion and force are not part of proper riding, neither is inflicting pain, physical or psychological. That all falls into another category which is miles away from compassionate, correct, proper riding.

When a horse is ridden through what some deem as bad behavior, we're telling the horse that we don't care about their physical and psychological well-being, and that they had just better do what they're told or face the consequences. If I were to swap out the horse for a child, or even a spouse, those same people would now say that it's abusive, but strangely enough it's not when it's inflicted on an animal.

That pinning of the ears, rooting at the bit, running away from the leg, biting at the girth, that is ALL communication. A horse can't exactly sit you down and have a chat about what's bothering them, so they communicate it in the only way they know how, and depend on us to listen.

10/04/2022

Did you know that the hoof is a major neuro-sensory organ?

The hoof is the horses primary source of proprioceptive feedback from the ground. This feedback dictates limb orientation, changing posture. This feedback also enables smooth transitions between movements of the joints and limbs during a performance (Bowker 2012).

This fact helps us to understand how cyclic relationships are formed. The hoof is the horses point of contact with the ground, as such it’s morphology and the resultant proprioceptive feedback directly affects the biomechanics of this interaction. Therefore the physiological implications of movement. Conversely the hoof is a highly deformable structure between the weight of the horse and the ground and it’s morphology is therefore subject to the forces arising from the horses’ physiology.

Watch these webinars for further discussion on this fluid relationship..

With Dr Tabor on what influences posture and objective postural measurements

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/quantifying-posture-webinar-2-hours

With Dr Gellman on proprioception and posture

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/proandpos

With Dr Tabor on how the physio and farrier can work together to address posture

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/team-approach-to-posture

09/30/2022

Copied the caption, but love the sentiment:

"It can be an uphill battle getting people to recognise their horse is in pain, because to them, their horse is doing everything they want to do.

It's a narrative that many professionals are guilty of taking ownership of;

"He's winning competitions, so what's the problem"

There are literal groups on social media that laugh at their horses being "sh*te", when their body language is absolutely screaming.

This is not acceptable.

Please watch and circulate this documentary, on the 24 Behaviours of a Ridden Horse in Pain. It's very important; so much so that the producers have made it free for everyone.

https://youtu.be/hrZgtrqbMVI "

It can be an uphill battle getting people to recognise their horse is in pain, because to them, their horse is doing everything they want to do.

It's a narrative that many professionals are guilty of taking ownership of;

"He's winning competitions, so what's the problem"

There are literal groups on social media that laugh at their horses being "sh*te", when their body language is absolutely screaming.

This is not acceptable.

Please watch and circulate this documentary, on the 24 Behaviours of a Ridden Horse in Pain. It's very important; so much so that the producers have made it free for everyone.

https://youtu.be/hrZgtrqbMVI

09/26/2022

Incredible photo!

Sciatic nerve
N. ischiadicus is the largest nerve in the body. It is derived from (L5), L6, S1, (S2) spinal roots. It emerges through the great sciatic foramen as a flat band. It bends around the hip joint and then descends in the thigh to split into tibial and peroneal nerve.

For more pictures and learning material you can follow me on my Patreon platform: https://www.patreon.com/equineanatomyinlayers

09/22/2022

Timeline photos

09/22/2022

What happens when your fascia is unhealthy?

When fascia is well hydrated and healthy everything runs smoothly inside your body. It is housed throughout the entire body and is in charge of many major tasks. However, when areas become stiff, tense and inflamed there can be major consequences. Think of your fascia as a major highway system. When issues arise, it acts like a traffic jam and affects the entire system.

Injury, inflammatory processes, limited mobility, deficiencies, stress, surgery, scar tissue formation and much more can wreak havoc on the fascia. Diet has also been linked to play a major role in your fascia health.

Unhealthy fascia has been linked to pain, discomfort, stiffness, limited range of motion and even debilitating disease, including cancer. Make sure you take care of your fascia by staying hydrated, staying active, exercising, stretching and eating right. Your body will thank you!

https://fasciaguide.com/problems-linked-to-fascia/

09/21/2022

I love nothing more then to watch my clients transform. Just a year or so ago I could hardly get near this mare.
She was extremely protective over her body and drawing any attention to any sore spots immediately resulted in defensive behavior. Kicking, biting, rearing... this girl's got a big toolbox of defensive maneuvers and she knows how to use 'em!

We've been getting progressively further and further and just the other day I was able to work on her ENTIRE body for the first time EVER. And she was HAPPY!
Without knowing this mare, it's hard to understand just how BIG this is!

Huge props to mom Krista for always listening to her horse first. I am so immensely impressed by their progress together! ❤️

09/21/2022

What makes a good saddle?
To reiterate from the previous post, long tree points are integral to preventing atrophy and injury to the spinalis, rhomboid and trapezius as their length (combined with correct width and angle) allow the weight to be carried by the longissimus. What happens when the points are too short? The pressure is localized at the end of the points, whether the tree angle and width are correct or not.
Think of the tree as a bridge, and the gullet plate as the supporting structure to prevent it from simply flattening. On either side of the dorsal spinous processes near the withers are the thoracic trapezius, rhomboid, spinalis and deeper in at the juncture of the transverse processes sits the multifidus. This is your "river". Further out you have the superficial muscles such as the latissimus, and underneath is the longissimus. This is your land on either side of your river.
In order to bypass the river, the tree points need to be long enough to extend beyond the river, while also taking into consideration the required space at both the top and sides of the wither with the rider in the saddle.
In the area behind the scapula where a saddle should always be positioned, if the tree points do not extend beyond these muscles you will have most of the pressure land directly on, or at the edge of those non-weight bearing muscles. What does this mean for the horse? Tripping, moving out of the elbow instead of shoulder, reduced forelimb mobility, atrophy behind the scapula (very common to see horses with huge shoulder holes from saddles with short points).
How do you tell how long your saddles tree points are?
Gently bend your panel inward and the wrinkle is where the tree ends. Mark it with chalk or even a piece of tape and place the saddle back on your horse. From the edge of the withers to 4" down, does that wrinkle in the panel fall within those 4" or lower? If they fall within, the tree points are too short.
The key here is length *for the horse*. If you ride a tiny pony, "short" tree points may not be that short for them. Always always always consider your horse first. Their physique will tell you exactly what you need in a saddle.
What sets our certified equine and saddle ergonomists apart is that they don't try and fit the horse to the saddle.
They evaluate the horse and rider, understand the needs set out by the anatomy of that particular animal and human, and then go about finding a suitable saddle based on those requirements.
Many other fitters do it the other way around - fit the horse to the saddle. They find a saddle, and try to fit the horse to it.
Would you buy an insole and then try to fit it to your foot afterwards?
Absolutely not! You would have your foot measured, gait analyzed and posture assessed and THEN find an insole that is suitable to your physique, movement and needs.
Once you understand the difference, saddle fitting becomes a lot clearer.
While it's difficult to get away from the questions like:
"Will this brand fit?"
"How about this model?"
"What do you think about this used saddle?"
When you begin to look to the horse first for your answers, the right saddles will be so much easier to find, without having to spend a not-so-small fortune on 30 different saddles by 40 different reps and fitters.

09/19/2022

And that's a wrap!
25 horses done this week. I'm toast! 😴

Tomorrow, I fly down to TX for another week at school. This module: the sacrum!
Very excited to see you all once I'm home! 😄

09/18/2022

The equine thoracic sling is a hot topic at the moment, but what exactly is it and what is all the fuss really about?

Unlike us humans; horses (and many other quadrupeds) lack any bony attachment (collar bone) between the forelegs and the thorax (body). Instead, the thorax is suspended between the forelimbs by a ‘sling’ of muscles, known as the ‘thoracic sling’. Exactly which muscles should be included under this term is an area of some debate. In future articles I will take a more detailed look at the most commonly discussed structures; how they should function to aid efficient and healthy locomotion, and how disfunction may be impacting our horses.

The thoracic sling is made up of various muscle groups, these include:
• Muscles of the chest including deep and superficial pectoral muscles
• Muscles of the shoulder including omotransversarius, subscapularis and subclavian
• Muscles of the ribs including ventral Serratus and latissimus dorsi
• Muscles of the wither and upper neck including rhomboid and trapezius
• Muscles of the lower neck including the brachiocephalic and sternomandibular

When conditioned effectively these muscles enable the horse to elevate the thorax (body) independently within the shoulder girdle. This much coveted phenomenon can make the difference between a horse who appears croup high / ‘on the forehand’, and one who floats effortlessly with their withers and back raised, and freedom through the shoulders.

While for some horses this may seem to come naturally, conditioning of the thoracic sling requires regular activation of the correct muscles. Many horses develop poor or weak posture from a young age, this may be due to conformational weaknesses or injury; but I believe that lack of active engagement of the thoracic sling muscles in daily movement is also a significant factor.

Modern management practices often leave horses stood for prolonged periods in stables or small paddocks, with limited variation of terrane and forage. This can result in horses who no longer use their bodies as nature intended; to balance up and down hills, stretch to reach browse nor walk for vast distances in search of food.

Over time muscles which are not regularly used will weaken and atrophy, resulting in overall postural changes and reduced performance. It is therefore essential that we assess the impact modern husbandry may be having on the development of our horses, and consider the implementation of environmental enrichment where ever possible; as these can have a greatly beneficial impact on long term movement patterns and postural development.

The muscles of the thoracic sling enable the forelimbs to move inwards or outwards from the body, shifting the centre of mass or balance from one forelimb to the other. This allows the horse to turn and manoeuvre efficiently at speed and when effectively conditioned, enables the horse to perform lateral movements from a basic leg yield, to the canter half-pass and pirouette.

In addition, these muscles control the movement of the scapula; both forwards and back, up and down (as well as towards and away from the body), while maintaining the integrity of its connection at the wither, absorbing concussive forces from limb impact and (in the case of the thoracic serratus ventralis) storing and returning elastic energy to aid efficient movement. It is therefore of vital importance that the thoracic sling is able to work effectively; without restriction or discomfort.

Regular assessments from a qualified body worker can help pick up any tension or restrictions which may be occurring through the muscles of the thoracic sling. Addressing issues early on will reduce the risk of injury occurring, and enable the horse to build healthy posture and maintain long term soundness.

09/14/2022

Photos from Online Learning for Equine Vet Rehab Therapists's post

09/12/2022

Photos from Equine Training For Wellness's post

09/12/2022

Blessed to have another full day of work! 🙌

This week is slammed in preparation for my trip back to TX next week, so thankful! ❤️