Core Conditioning for Horses

19/09/2024

18/09/2024

More wisdom from Christoph Hess for all riders:
"Give the horse the feeling of freedom when you sit on it, always the feeling that it can move forward. Most riders all over the world use their hands to try and shorten the horse, the neck starts to shorten and it all starts to go wrong."
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2020/07/christoph-hess-talks-about-the-basics/

18/09/2024

🐴 The Tail Tells the Story

The horse's tail is connected to its spine. And because of that, it really tells the story of the state of the horse's back. While attempting to judge the true carriage of the horse by looking at his head and neck can be deceptive and difficult to discern, the tail does not lie.

By watching the horses tail, you can tell whether his back muscles are relaxed and swinging with his movement, or if instead they are tight and tense. You can also tell how true the lateral bend is throughout the body.

When you see a horse with what appears to be a correct head and neck "position", and are not sure if what you see is the result of the horse well engaged behind and using his back correctly, or if the horse is being held in this position by the rider's strong hands - look to the horse's tail for the telltale signs.

Click on the link below to learn what to look for 👇👇👇

https://www.myvirtualeventingcoach.com/articles/the_tail_tells_the_story

13/09/2024

12/09/2024

Ride Straighter, Deeper, Taller in just 5 Days

12/09/2024

Below, two lumbars and sacrums with two very different stories.

The top specimen is from a standardbred/welsh 13.2hh pony who despite having ECVM made it to 25 with only a few minor symptoms. She was put down for laminitis and arthritis getting the better of her. Her lumbar and sacrum are the normal anatomy for this area.

The bottom specimen a 8 year old Thoroughbred returned from racing in Hong Kong shows a very common finding among my dissections. 60 percent based on my dissections across breeds but very common in mainly thoroughbreds. This guy has what’s known as a sacralised lumbar aswell as sacral spurs. The sacralised lumbar I believe is a heritable trait although there has been no study it is in humans inherited through genetics from parentage. In my opinion the sacral bone spurs are from early hard work when the growth plates between S1 and S2 are still open. The sacroiliac joint is made of two parts and if under load grows osseous bone to strengthen the area and can fuse to the pelvis.

In my opinion sacralised lumbar is a major limiting factor for performance as it appears to compromise the function and mobility in the hind end. These horses are very stiff and do not track up. They can’t take weight through the hind end joints well and have trouble engaging the pelvis. Secondary compensation is often an issue that goes along with this.

I’ve heard multiple stories now that insurance companies are not paying out on horses diagnosed with ECVM because it’s not an injury but an inherited trait that can limit performance. So it leads me to ponder….. how many heritable traits will strike off insurance claims in the future with further study into skeletal variations/malformations. Will this push breeders to think more seriously about skeletal conformation? Will insurance companies lead the charge on researching the limitations of these skeletal variations? Will genetic testing for heritable skeletal traits be the future of breeding horses for optimal soundness? Don’t forget that the gene for kissing spines has recently been found, will horses with kissing spines now be considered a heritable trait and not an injury.

Will this void insurance claims?

I have put together a video on my patreon page to explain further.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/skeletal-in-hind-111909060?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

11/09/2024

Snaffle GP, noses in front of the vertical, optional spurs...all on the horizon 🤞

Charlotte Dujardin. Cesar Parra. Andreas Helgstrand. Blue tongues and hyperflexion. The dressage world has been hit by a series of controversies and scandals that have caused concern far beyond the confines of the horse community, leading riders and the general public alike to question just how high...

10/09/2024

Double bridles in FEI dressage are considered a 'sport' matter and not a 'welfare' one, which makes them ineligible for review until 2026.

10/09/2024

❤️

“Nature gave the horse’s core some truly amazing skills. To be able to gallop off without lifting the head, to ‘sit down’ and go without skidding, and to be able to jump in any direction—the horse has all the skills needed for evading the many predators he has faced over time. It is these Core Powers that give the horse his incredible agility, his prance…and also his ability to dance.” Visconte Simon Cocozza in his bestselling book CORE CONDITIONING FOR HORSES, proudly published by TSB. ❤️🐴📕

📷 by Paul Barber

08/09/2024

It really is our pleasure to present the merits of retraining horses' postures to such an illustrious crowd. We are humbled by the support, from the world class professionals and riders alike. Special thanks to Mikala Münter, Susan Collins, and Megan Shea for making this wonderful evening possible!

05/09/2024

Bend = relaxation, balance and power 👇

05/09/2024

04/09/2024

Nothing like it!