Hoof to Heart - H2H VETS INC

21/03/2025

The OG 👑

21/03/2025

Who's ready for another VIRTUAL 6 Feet on the Ground OPEN SHOW!
https://www.sommerstrides.com/6fotg

20/03/2025

When girthing up a horse, it’s important not to over-tighten the girth. An over-tightened girth may pinch or bruise the muscles, especially those in the chest (pectorals), the neck (trapezius), the side of the ribcage (serratus ventralis), and the lower back (latissimus dorsi), which are shown in red on the diagram bel. Similar to how a tight belt can cause discomfort or bruising in a human, an overly tight girth can cause soreness in these areas. It may also lead to bruising of the ribs and the intercostal muscles (the muscles between the ribs), restricting movement and causing pain. Additionally, the tightness will cause the saddle to put more pressure on the horse’s back muscles, leading to further discomfort.

Think of it like wearing a belt that’s too tight around your waist: it presses into your skin and muscles, causing discomfort, restricting movement, and potentially causing bruising. Just as you wouldn’t wear a belt so tight that it hurts, it’s crucial not to over-tighten the girth to avoid these issues for the horse. Always ensure the girth is snug, but not excessively tight, to keep the horse comfortable and prevent injury.

20/03/2025

Absolutely a Fantastic day to get back into the swing of lessons !! After an icy cold winter! Awesome trot work tonite💗

17/03/2025

This!!

I ran a lesson program years ago, and got really burned out. My horses did too.

I did a lot of things wrong and I am trying to learn from those now -

A big part of what went wrong was not controlling the general attitude people took to riding and horses. The horses became a vehicle for people, or a tool, and as tools are used, they become used up. As horses respond to the poor feel they are offered, students describe these objections as the horses personality - “hes so stubborn, so ornery!” And so on - and this is how the cycle of poor feel, over aiding, and handling horses like a rock deepens, and continues.

Of course there will always be some “taking from” a horse we all do when learning how to post, how to steer, or how to manage problem solving issues. Mistakes will be made, horses will be bumped, thumped or accidentally pulled.

But the attitude makes up for a lot I believe. If the school insists on the general spirit being not just riding but riding even the school horse with feel, Handling the gentle horse with respect and tact, assuming nothing about their tolerance and being fair and smooth in our handling, that goes a very very long way.

Horsemanship is the art of managing the horse: from haltering to picking hooves to feeding to good riding - not just to get those tasks done, but to get them done in a way that can make a horse feel safe, feel good, feel honored. And even if an amateur makes mistakes here, the intention matters.

Slow down, pay attention, do all things with care and respect. Acknowledge your mistakes but don’t beat yourself up about them. Acknowledge when you get something right, you’ve made a horse feel better, move better, live better. That’s something to be proud of, and take back into the world away from the school.

That’s what riding schools should be teaching - and I believe if we could manage that, if we could insist on that, school horses and instructors both would last a lot longer.

Pictured is Tressa Boulden from Traditions Farm Classical Dressage explaining how to guide the horse with the whole body

17/03/2025

When the baby pony if finally starting to look grown up!! Lunge line lessons for her and mounting block with laying over her refresher! 🔮

17/03/2025

When the weather is almost perfect. And it’s a lungeline lesson kind of nite. 💜

10/03/2025

04/03/2025

When you can finally at least lunge your ponies……… 🔮💗🔮💗

But next week 7p sunsets!!!! 🙌🏼

03/03/2025

🍀 For Spring! 🍀

🍀 open lesson slot available!

🌿 ON farm half lease option for an intermediate - advanced rider PM for details.

🍀🍃🌿 come check out Hoof To Heart

28/02/2025

This!!!

“Horses regularly trained with ground work are more relaxed when ridden”

A recent study of dressage horses in Germany that looked at rein length and tension revealed a surprising finding: horses who were regularly trained in ground work/in-hand work had lower heart rates during ridden work than all of the other participating horses. This wasn’t what the researchers were investigating, but it was clear in the results. From this, the researchers concluded that, “Perhaps horses trained in ground work had more trust in their rider.”

So why would it be true that horses who regularly learn via ground work/in-hand work are more relaxed? There are a few possibilities.

1) Horses trained regularly with ground work are more relaxed because their trainers are more relaxed. It’s possible that humans who take the time to teach their horses from the ground are less goal oriented and more concerned with the process. They may be more relaxed in general and foster this same relaxation in their horses. As you are, so is your horse.

2) Horses trained regularly with ground work have trainers who are more educated about a horse’s balance.

Their horses learn to move in correct balance which allows them to be healthy and sound in their bodies and, therefore, more relaxed. Physical balance is emotional balance.

3) Horses trained regularly with ground work understand the trainer’s criteria better. They have mastered the response to an aid before the rider mounts and know the “right answer” already once under saddle. They don’t experience any conflict when the rider asks for a behavior because the neural pathway has already been installed. They are more relaxed about being ridden because it rarely has caused confusion for them.

For us highly visual humans I think that ground work is often a better way to begin exercises because we are much better at seeing our horse doing the right thing than feeling it from the saddle. Often, my feel in the saddle is enhanced by the fact that I have watched my horse perform an exercise over and over in our in-hand work. It feels how it looks. In-hand work is also a good way to teach our horses because our own bodies are often more in balance when we are walking beside our horses. With the ground under our feet we are able to be more relaxed if something goes wrong and less likely to be so busy wrapped up in our own balance that we give our horses conflicting or confusing aids. It’s a good place to figure things out. I am a huge fan of in-hand work.

I’m glad to learn research revealed ground work is good for horses. Horses with a low heart rate are relaxed and relaxed horses perform better and live longer. In this day and age of people starting horses under saddle in under an hour and increasing monetary rewards for the “young horse dressage program“, everything seems to be done in a hurry. The entire horse culture seems to privilege “getting up there and riding your horse”. But as one of my favorite writers and accomplished horsewoman, Teresa Tsimmu Martino writes, “In today’s horse culture there are clinics that brag about starting a c**t in a day, as if the quickness of it was the miracle. But old horse people know it takes years to create art. Horses as great masterpieces are not created in a day. An artist does not need to rush.” We need more scientific studies like this one to encourage us to slow down and take our time with our horses.

So why were the horses in the study more relaxed? Likely it was a combination of all three factors – a relaxed trainer, better overall balance and clear understanding of criteria.

These are things that matter to your horse, and yes, will allow him to trust you when you ride. Take some time to slow down and work from the ground, learn a bit more about equine balance and teach new things in-hand before asking for them under saddle. You can take your riding to a whole new level and help your horse become more healthy and relaxed in the process.” - from the article by Jen of Spellbound Horses https://spellboundhorses.com/2013/03/07/horses-regularly-trained-with-ground-work-are-more-relaxed-when-ridden/

27/02/2025

20/02/2025