Fayes Horse Page

26/02/2024

Riding on the gallops isn't just for racehorses and competition horses — any horse and rider will benefit from using them

26/02/2024

Horse lunging exercises will use and develop the right muscles, which will make a difference to the horse's way of going when you ride them

26/02/2024

25/02/2024

MONEY 💰 SAVING TIP

do you have a gray horse or one with lots of chrome?

Buy this instead of the expensive purple shampoo, has done the trick so well. You can also use it for your white boots.

21/02/2024

14/02/2024

Marques - Lusitano Stallion - working a basic diagonal pattern to improve straightness and Building the Arc in a subtle fashion.www.tinalegno.com Virtual Co...

14/02/2024

Never neglect to perfect the art of standing still. It is vitally important that your horse can shut down and stand in one spot.

12/02/2024

12/02/2024

This research highlights the advantages of consistent nutrient intake that may be offered by strip grazing.

27/01/2024

Finding the time to exercise your horse over the colder months can be tough, but with a little organisation fitting work in really is doable.

23/01/2024

8 Top Tips for Equestrians from Dr. Temple Grandin

18/01/2024

Being patted is not in a horse's ethogram. This means that they are never patted (let alone repeatedly slapped) in their natural environment.

Wither area scratching and rubbing mimics mutual grooming, and is inherently rewarding for a horse, so choose a reward that is instantly lovely for your horse.

If you watch their demeanour as you do it, you'll see them relax into it.

So good to see that the Australian Pony Club is embracing lesrning theory into their teaching.

Now everyone else needs to catch up!

One interesting point raised from a commenter is that she desensitises her horses to patting, in case a well-meaning person approached and pats them. Good point!

16/01/2024

The Mystery Behind the Dressage Letters by Eitan of Cowboy Dressage - Markings found on the walls of the Royal Manstall (Stables) of the Imperial German Court in Berlin (prior to 1918) suggest that they indicated where each courtier or rider’s horse was to stand awaiting their riders. The Manstallstabled 300 of the Kaiser’s horses. The ‘Hof’ ( stable yard) was large enough for the horses and their riders to parade for ‘morning exercise’ or assemble for ceremonial parades. The ‘Hof’ was three times longer than the width, namely: 20m x 60m.

The markings on the walls of the Manstall were:A Ausgang (Exit).K Kaiser (Emperor).F Fürst (Prince).P Pferknecht (Ostler or Groom).V Vassal (Servant/Squire/Equerry).E Edeling/ Ehrengast (Chieftain or Honoured Guest).B Bannertrager (Standard Bearer).S Schzkanzler (Chancellor of the Exchequer).R Ritter (Knight).M Meier (Steward).H Hofsmarshall (Lord Chancellor).

14/01/2024

11/01/2024

The *more leg* debate

Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of posts talking about instructors telling their students to “use more leg” and that this is wrong or it’s not being done properly, etc. However, not one post then says how to do it properly. They just criticize.

Also it seems that they forget that a lot of people that ride don’t use their legs hardly at all to steer and ride their horse and use just primarily rein aids.

Shouldn’t we be trying to instruct our students to ride more with their seat and leg aids than their reins?

Also most students do not use enough of their lower leg to support or communicate to their horse properly. The use of the leg must be taught through repetition and feel.

Now I get that overuse of the leg will result in a dull horse but sometimes a student truly is not using enough of their lower leg to effectively communicate because they just don’t know how to effectively and correctly use their leg in relationship to what they are requesting their horse to do.

And the message of using too much leg is confusing to new horse riders. It sends the message of telling them to not use their leg at all which causes a whole slew of issues in itself.

I tell my students that their neutral leg on their horse’s sides should be about the same pressure as their arms resting relaxed at their sides. The leg should not engage more unless they want more energy from the horse or for direction and steering purposes. The leg should be like a gentle hug. Reassuring, giving and feeling for feedback at the same time.

The leg should be held with relaxation with only enough pressure in the stirrup to barely hold a dollar bill in between the ball of your foot and the stirrup.

There should be flexibility in the hip, knee and ankle. This allows for movement and feel for cueing purposes. Soft legs allow for flexibility in the seat and lower back which travels up into the shoulders and the arms and hands. In essence, the status of the leg influences the entire body.

Tight and tense legs cause tension in the thighs, hips and lower back which cause the rider to actually move against their horse. If you are bouncing a lot in the saddle, you might be riding with a tight and tense leg. Tight legs cause riders to put too much pressure in their stirrups which causes them to ride stiff up through their hips and lowers back. It also causes the rider to keep their legs off the horse. This causes lack of communication between the horse and rider and also causes the rider to be more unstable.

We must have balance in our legs and seat. We must learn to wait and feel our horse underneath us and then respond accordingly to them after giving them time to respond to the request. A solid and quiet leg takes time to build but keeping your leg completely off your horse only causes more harm than good.

The use of leg in communicating to a horse and for the importance of balance and position in the saddle is one of the most important things to teach. So rather than poopoo-ing the use of leg, encourage correct leg position and contact.

06/01/2024

Does freezing weather turn urine and water in your stalls’ runs into pee-filled ice rinks? There’s no perfect solution, but here are some tips that might help.

03/01/2024

In this exclusive excerpt from "Relaxation Exercises For Horses", Guillaume Henry describes how to perform these beneficial exercises.

02/01/2024

31/12/2023

Cold, inclement weather and poor footing can cause challenges for exercising horses during the winter. Here are some things to keep in mind.

29/12/2023

Horses are not just for riding, as hacking in-hand proves. Read on to be inspired to take to your feet alongside your equine companion.

29/12/2023

A complete warm up is arguably one of the most important things you can do for your horse. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗴.

This is more than loping for 45 minutes.

This is more than making one sweat.

This is 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸.

Walk, walk & walk some more. In fact, the more the better.

Let’s briefly compare to the relevance with athletes — human athletes. A proper warm up is rarely an overlooked step in the pre-work routine. In fact, the warm up is not taken lightly. Our horses are no different.

The warm up, pre-competition or not, is a form of injury prevention. This is similar to gum. An unused piece of gum is firm, stiff, and easy to break. One wrong move and we snapped the piece of gum. However, after the piece is chewed for a few minutes mobility is added. Now, the gum is flexible and easily moveable. Our body is very comparable.

A horse’s frog plays a valuable role in the circulation of the entire limb, injury prevention, and preparing the body for work. This process of sending blood up through the leg is known as the pumping mechanism.

“Blood is pumped from the heart through arteries to the hoof and is assisted in its return through a ‘pumping mechanism’ in the hoof,” said Craig Wood, University of Kentucky. “This mechanism is necessary due to the position of the hoof in relation to the heart. There are no muscles in the lower leg or hoof to aid in the return of venous blood to the heart. Thus, the hoof has to pump venous blood back to the heart.”
https://horses.extension.org/blood-pumping-mechanism-of-the-hoof/

One of the major jobs of the frog is aiding as a “pump” to push blood out of the hoof and back up the limb. The frog makes contact with the ground activating the pump to send the blood from the hoof up the leg.

The healthier, wider frog sends the more blood flow through the limb and a develops a stronger hoof. Likewise, the smaller, more contracted frog results in decreased circulation through the leg. The legs that may tend to stock up easier.

“When the horse puts a foot down, this dissipates concussion and the blood squishes out of it with that impact and goes back up the leg,” said Tia Nelson, DVM, farrier and veterinarian with Valley Veterinary Hospital. “It’s a brilliant multipurpose structure. Thus, a horse with a healthy frog won’t be stocking up as much, and the feet and legs are healthier. It affects the whole body.”
https://thehorse.com/136542/equine-hoof-care-the-flourishing-frog/

Increased walking = Increased circulation through the limb (pumping mechanism) = Decreased likelihood of distal limb injury

Let’s circle back around to the physical warm up. Besides circulation up the leg, why is walking and a slow warm up so important?
1. 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝘂𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥?
Walking without restriction for a 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 of 8-10 minutes. But, always keep in mind 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. This goes back to the gum analogy. We are warming the body and increasing mobility preparing it to withstand the duties of work.

2. 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘅𝘆𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱
When you first pull your horse out of their pen, the muscles are not fully supplied with appropriate amounts of oxygen and blood flow required for contraction-relaxation cycle of the muscle fibers. We have to spend the time and prepare the body — give the body the tools.
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 15% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥?
While in a parasympathetic state the body is going through “rest and digest.” So, the remaining circulatory blood is dedicated to the digestive system and organs. However, during work 85% of the circulatory blood is delivered to muscles. That critical time spent walking is where this transition from 15% to 85% occurs. This is when the body resupplies the body with the fuel necessary to work.

3. 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱
10 minutes of relaxed walking does more than physically prepare your horse for work. Allow the mind 10 minutes to have a break and release tension. Give your horse 10 minutes to themselves.

🌟Spend the extra time now, to increase the chances at a long-lasting career.🌟

Here’s your key to treating their bodies like the athletes they are. 🔑🤍

29/12/2023

These exercises involving poles will help improve your control and accuracy, as well as finessing your horse's paces

28/12/2023

Dressage rider and trainer Emma Woolley explains why spending time working on the walk is so important.