Clear Shot Equine Services, LLC

28/10/2024

14/10/2024

Hunters bump? Watch this video.

12/10/2024

Great information from PSU! Take advantage of these free opportunities.

11/10/2024

11/10/2024

Still time to register for this webinar! Every horse owner should have a solid understanding of good hoof care for their ponies.

https://www.facebook.com/share/QfGbWnJTx8iXtNH5/?mibextid=WC7FNe

09/10/2024

This was an interesting video!

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

I often encourage my clients to do a little ground work with their horses, even if it’s only 15 minutes 2 times a week. I’m a firm believer that ground work can help promote a better top line, balance, symmetry, and connection. Today, I proved it to myself with my own body. Last week I started a 15 minute workout routine between getting my middle schooler off and my elementary schooler up. This morning I noticed that I wasn’t hurting like last week, wasn’t as out of breath, and was able to stretch further at the end of the workout without pain. This workout is not very long and not super intense but it’s something and I feel much better today. So take the extra few minutes a week and allow your horse these benefits!

09/09/2024

Calling all my OTTB lovers out there. This is a good read.

Retraining an ex-racehorse requires a deep understanding of the horse's previous training, their unique anatomy and biomechanics.

06/09/2024

06/09/2024

Anyone up for some light reading? I found the Animal Management 1933 book in an online archive and will be diving into Chapter VII tonight. I hear all the time, "saddle fitting was never a thing growing up, we just put a saddle on and off we go".

Source: Digital Library of IndiaScanning Centre: C-DAC, NoidaSource Library: Lbs National Academy Of AdministrationDate Accessioned: 7/10/2015 21:56The Digital...

15/08/2024

Today the weather is perfect and I’m feeling so blessed! Blessed and grateful to have this little business and all my amazing clients both horse and human. Here are a few pictures of the last couple days and the things I’m super grateful for!

11/08/2024

Following up on my saddlefitting post (gullets, angles and widths) from yesterday, here is a western saddle set on the horse showing a problem with an angle that is too wide (red line). The saddle sits on or near the withers (no clearance) and pinches the horse at the top of the shoulder. It doesn’t have a base of support at the bottom, so under rider weight it will hang on the horse’s withers and shoulders creating pain and performance problems.

🐎 Now, someone is going to point out- but there’s no saddle pad! Correct, and in the case of Western saddles, a proper pad can absolutely make a big difference to fit! However, if the ANGLE 📐 is wrong, even though the pad can lift the saddle up off the horse’s withers and shoulders, the vector force is still the same and eventually creates pressure and pain.

🥕 Fun fact- Have you ever wondered why you or someone you know felt their horse did much better after a pad change, even if the saddle didn’t fit? Yes, because the pad often moves the pressure point….BUT, it doesn’t eliminate it! It just moves it. So the old rub heals and a new one forms. This can take days, weeks, or months, and then it’s often on to the next pad, rather than changing the saddle.

🥾 Have you had a pair of shoes/boots that were too big? You might have found comfort wearing a thicker pair of socks, or even double socks. This can fill up extra room. But if those boots give you a painful heel rub, thicker socks may make it worse, and will just move your blister to a new spot.

🍎 Point being, if the angle is good but the saddle is too wide, a thicker pad can often fix the issue or buy time by filling in space (thicker socks) and lifting the saddle. But if the angle is wrong, a pad might make things better for a bit, but the pressure point forms in a new spot and pain will return.

🖊️ A simple check is to take a pen between your saddle (and pad) and your horse’s shoulder- if you can’t slide the pen down, your saddle is pinching at the top, like in these photos.