Heart and Hoof

11/09/2024

Yes!

The “problem horse” 🐴

There is such a recurring theme in the clients I’m seeing that I really feel the need to talk about this more. Time and time again I am seeing horses displaying significant signs of pain, who have been to the vet to have some diagnostics and been told there is nothing wrong, the horse definitely isn’t in pain and they need to send the horse to a trainer. It is incredibly frustrating and upsetting as an owner when you really feel something isn’t right but are being told by professionals that the issue is you and you’re overthinking it or being soft.

The idea that a problem is purely behavioural is a fallacy in and of itself. Behaviour is a manifestation of how the horse is experiencing life, whether that be pain/discomfort in the body, the environment, the people, the training, the diet, trauma, past experiences etc. It is unfortunately not packed into two neat little boxes of either pain or behaviour and, even if it was, the idea that we could easily rule out pain with the limited diagnostics available is unrealistic.

When we have a horse that is displaying concerning behaviour, beyond the usual joint, back x-rays and scoping for ulcers, we need to consider hind gut issues, liver issues, hormonal issues, muscle myopathies, congenital defects, old injuries, compensatory patterns, the list goes on. Often we do find pathology, medicate it and declare the horse pain-free and ready to crack on without considering the other factors at play.

I cannot emphasise enough the role of environmental factors. Sometimes we are chasing pathology, buying expensive supplements, paying every professional under the sun to fit our horse’s tack, train them, give them bodywork and hoof care while entirely missing the fact the horse’s basic needs are not being met. If your horse is stressed in his living environment you are setting yourselves up to fail. Horses that are living in a chronic state of stress and have very little ability to down-regulate their nervous system are unable to thrive and develop healthy bodies.

So many horses have poor posture which is causing tension and soreness in their bodies, it is so normalised that it seems to be rarely recognised as an issue as horses can still perform at high levels even when their bodies are compromised, we’re used to seeing horses with poor muscle development. Winning trophies does not necessarily mean the horse is comfortable, it means the horse is compliant. A lot of training views compliance as the main measure of success without really seeing how the horse is feeling both emotionally and physically, with the training itself often contributing to more tension, stress and strain on the body.

All of these things together create the “problem horse”.

I feel really strongly that we need to start looking at things differently if we want to train ethically and also increase longevity for our horses. What if instead of just medicating the horse then sending the horse to the trainer to be “fixed”, we took a step back and really looked at the whole horse and maybe why this happened in the first place.

I genuinely think we’d have much more long term success if we took the pressure off, made sure their living environment was the best we could get it, learned to help our horses down-regulate their nervous system and train at the horse’s pace in an environment they’re comfortable in. In doing so we can really help their bodies and support them as best we can with their issues.

Watching horses find relaxation in their bodies, find peace around people and start to find joy in movement through slow, low-pressure training doesn’t make very exciting videos but it does transform horse’s (and people’s) lives.

If you take anything away from this just know that you absolutely CAN train pain, people are doing it every day and getting 100k views on their reels, so don’t disregard your horse’s voice just because he is somewhat compliant or someone told you to. Behaviour is communication, not something to be fixed. There are people out here who will help you and your horse and not dismiss your concerns. 🐴

www.lshorsemanship.co.uk

09/09/2024

I recently had the opportunity to join in an online lesson/question-answer session with Nahshon Cook Horsemanship- an incredibly knowledgeable and kind horseman. Nahshon made the suggestion to use the bit as a therapeutic tool for Roo, and I've started using it with my other horses too. By hanging the bit low in the mouth you can stimulate the hyoid apparatus in the horses jaw while the horse plays with the bit and uses they tongue (especially with some honey or molasses on it). The hyoid is connected to 3 significant muscle and fascia chains in the horse, and engagement of the hyoid can release tension in the jaw, neck and engage the back and pelvis through the connected muscles and fascia.
This is a video of Dundee holding the bit up in his mouth- you can see me showing how low its actually hanging. Dundee came with a history of an old jaw fracture and emotional trauma connected to the bit. We use this as an exercise to relax his jaw, engage his deep fascia and muscle chains and slowly reduce his worries related to the bit. You can see that he is processing worries here and releasing tension later in the video.

01/09/2024

Coming Tuesday, Little Roo will have been with me for 3 weeks. This early time together has been a bit more turbulent for him that I'd have liked, as I discovered he had lice hidden in his thick winter coat causing him a huge amount of itchiness. We clipped his coat (a bit scary for a not-much-handled 3-year old) and had to undergo multiple lice shampoo-ing sessions targeting the creepy crawlers in his mane and forelock. I started teaching him to pick up feet (without falling over!) early on as he was developing gnarly cracks in his front hooves.
Meanwhile we were able to slowly build on a relationship, focusing on being together and doing fun exercises with positive reinforcement. 3-4 times a week we go through a number of exercises in-hand; using a pedestal to stretch his shoulders and back, [scattered] poles to improve the awareness and control of where he places his feet, we walk gentle hills and have started on backwards movement. Its amazing to see how much he has already changed since his arrival. He is on 3.5ha of grass pasture 24/7 which really helps him to stretch his spine, strengthen the topline and neck muscles. Its interesting to compare the photos taken 3 weeks ago with today- you can see how he has gained weight and his shoulders are becoming softer.

29/08/2024

Hello readers, welcome to my page Heart and Hoof. This is a place where I share thoughts, heart-centered horse training snippets, interesting reading and the journeys of my horses Captain, Dundee and Roo. They are all three Off-the-Track Thoroughbreds, each with their own baggage that they are carrying along. They are fortunate that their retirement home has breakfast with an ocean view and endless pastures. Let me introduce you to each one of them.

Roo is a 3 year-old thoroughbred and still a baby at heart. He has a congenital (born-with) roach back affecting his lumbar and thoracic spine, affecting his balance, gaits and spinal mobility. Roo however doesn't realize anything is wrong with him and is not in pain. He's here so that we can figure out together if we can bring more mobility in his body, develop supporting musculature and help him to become a more balanced and stronger horse as he matures. Roo's journey will feature frequently here, as he is a recent addition to the herd and the one that sparked this page to share his progress.

Dundee came off the track as a 3-year old in January, with a huge backpack full of worries and stored emotional trauma. On top of that, he also had remnants of a fractured lower jaw. Dundee's journey has been focusing on learning that people can be ok, and sometimes even fun to be with. I am helping him to release stress from his body and slowly develop appropriate musculature. When we ride its often low and slow, and we practice for gold at the Standing-Still Olympics (Thank you ).

Captain Morisco kept part of his name and stayed Captain- as he really is the Captain of the ship [farm]. While only turning 7 this year, he has the soul of an old, wise man. A big and stocky boy, he retired as a racehorse at the end of 2023 with pain in his front feet. After much searching, he was diagnosed with pain in the podotrochlear apparatus of his front hooves and is on a long path towards healing. We do a lot of stationary physio exercises, in-hand work and the occasional low-intensity ride together.

We would love to have you along in our journey!