Deon Landman Farrier

Deon Landman Farrier I offer exceptional hoof care for equine athletes ,based on the requirements of the individual horse
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16/11/2023

Late reminder if you haven’t done so yet 😉

04/10/2023

I Love My Brother :)

15/08/2023

04/06/2023

Rest in peace Andy Mac, till we meet again.

02/05/2023

Il Silenzio (Trumpet Solo) in Bb MajorComposer by Nini Rosso and Guglielmo BrezzaArrangements by Milton IsejimaPerformances:Drums, Bass, Piano, Guitar, Strin...

03/07/2022
06/03/2022

A majorly overlooked physiological occurrence in the equine field- WHY is it not being discussed!

All too often I hear “he’s had his back checked, all OK so it’s not that”- especially now spring is on the horizon. People are riding more and pushing their horses ready for competing all summer. Especially since a lot of us in the UK have had to use our wheelbarrows as boats to do our horses recently- we are really catching up on lost time! But, following on from my post about why horse’s cant fake pain, there is something that I am still not seeing being put out there when there are behavioural shifts in a horse’s work mentality.
First, let me give you a scenario:
Day 1- horse is generally happy and does his best and you are very pleased.
Day 2- Horse has cracked it today and you are a very happy rider.
Day 3- Horse wasn’t too keen on being ridden today so he got a stern telling and told to get on because he was a tad behind the leg.
Day 4- Horse WILL NOT do as he is told and you end up getting off annoyed and a bit confused.
Day 5- Horse is given a 2-3 day break
Day 7 – Horse is ridden and back to being OK again

This happens repeatedly until you end up concerned.

So what could it be? Firstly, we need to know how muscles are made.

The muscular system is composed of specialised cells called muscle fibres. They encompass every muscle in the body, from the tiny ones responsible for ear movement, to the biggest muscle in the body (gluteus maximus), they ALL are made up the same way. Their predominant function (for skeletal muscles) is contractility. Muscles, attached to bones or internal organs and blood vessels, are responsible for movement. Nearly all movement in the body is the result of muscle contraction; other than a few focused exceptions of course. The integrated action of joints, bones, and skeletal muscles produce obvious movements such as walking and running. They are live and have nerve endings, they can break, and they are extremely sensitive to exercise- ESPECIALLY in a new athletic regime.

For this reason, delayed onset muscle soreness (D.O.M.S) is so immensely overlooked in the working horse in 2020.

D.O.M.S is that feeling that most of us have experienced usually 24-48 hours after a hard workout and usually lasts for up to 2-4 days. It’s that feeling of acute aching pain, tenderness, and stiffness. The severity of the soreness that we experience is a direct result of a number of factors, including familiarity with the exercises used during a workout, the intensity of exercise, loading of the muscles, how much a muscle has been stretched under resistance, preparation/ warming up and the angle of muscle contraction. It is caused by a number of small myofibril tears (what muscle fibres are made of!). The micro trauma results in an inflammatory response with intramuscular fluid and electrolyte shifts (also known as lactic acid build up, a by-product of muscular contractions). When not acknowledged and treated accordingly, the DOMS can continue to grow and more tears occur creating more pain and stiffness and the muscle becomes susceptible to genuine injury. DOMS should be treated initially with active rest (light work) and anti-inflammatory measures such as ice.. Gentle massage (this is where i come in!) and pressure garments have been shown in research studies to provide a reduction in the duration and severity of DOMS. However, deep tissue massage should be avoided during the first 24 hours. Excessive muscle stretching in this early phase should also be avoided due to ease of furthering muscle ruptures.

This is the key to this post, though-
You should avoid aggressive exercise during the recovery phase. This is due to muscles reduced capacity to cope with shock absorption, coordination, altered muscle recruitment patterns, reduced strength balance and contraction intensity. (Zainuddin et al 2005) In less words, when suffering the DOMS, your horse will struggle to perform basic tasks he was doing the day before because he could well potentially be aching from his nose to his toes! Therefore, he is not naughty, he is not confused, he is aching and cannot perform what is being asked.
So-
1. Take it slow and gradually build up the amount of exercise you do in your program – remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.
2. Be aware of the amount of high intensity exercises you are including in your rides without breaks between to allow the muscles to relax.
3. Ensure you do a thorough cool down following your workout – many of us would have seen sportspeople doing gentle running and cool down drills after their games – this is one of the reasons why.

Photo to show muscle fibres under microscope which really highlights the delicacy of this tissue!

(Black et al 2008, Cleak et al 1992, Bleakley et al 2012, MacIntyre et al 2001, Cheung et al 2003, Valle et al 2014, Hill et al 2013, Nelson N. 2014, Dutto and Braun 2004, Paschalis 2007).

19/02/2022
Just in case
09/02/2022

Just in case

Activated charcoal is a strange term that sounds like nothing related to horses or horse care. The reality is, it may be a viable substance to keep your horse alive in an emergency – but not just any emergency. Equine atypical myopathy is a fatal affliction that comes from horses […]

30/01/2022

Surely you’ve heard of neurologic examinations in horses, but do you actually know what they are and how they are performed?

Our friends at UC Davis Center for Equine Health dedicated their latest issue of “Horse Report” to the topic of equine neurology. Below is what they have to say about the neurological examination in the horse:

Equine neurological examinations evaluate horses from head to tail. They are performed to evaluate signs consistent with neurologic disease or to establish that a horse is neurologically normal, such as during a pre-purchase exam.

A neurological exam can be divided into two parts:

• A static examination, which occurs while the horse is standing still; the animal is observed and palpated to determine its behavior, posture, any abnormal reflexes or pain, loss of muscle, numbness, localized heat and swelling.
• A dynamic examination, which occurs while the horse is in motion on the ground but not while riding. The horse is asked to perform some specific steps (see photos below) to determine if the animal knows where its feet are and can control its limbs without, for example, stepping on itself, misplacing its feet, dragging its toes, losing balance or exhibiting other gait abnormalities.
Please note that these steps outline a general neurological examination, and individual veterinarians may favor slight modifications.

If you’d like to read more about equine neurologic conditions, the full issue of UC Davis’s “Horse Report” dedicated to equine neurology is available athttps://cehhorsereport.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk9021/files/inline-files/Horse_Report_Fall_21_web.pdf

04/11/2021

An appreciation to horses and what we see.

Gumba lodgeWe are glad to have shod your horse in ErmeloEnjoy the ride Leonóra
14/07/2021

Gumba lodge
We are glad to have shod your horse in Ermelo
Enjoy the ride Leonóra

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