Back in the Saddle

Update: Hi everyone! I hope your summer has been good!

There will be a limited amount of saddle fitting appointments available starting from the second half of October.

Going forward I will try to plan a few days every month to book in consultations.
I’m juggling my busy full-time airline schedule and my own 2 horses, so I have very limited time available. That’s not to say that I don’t want to make myself available for fitting consultations, but I do need to be efficient with my time.
Details on how I’ll work this out will follow. 👌

Thank you all for your understanding and looking forward to seeing you and your horses very soon!

This is one of my favourite things to do. It’s super easy, and super quick but makes a massive difference.

This is plaque build up on a horses canine. The plaque is mineral deposits that build up over time and it is not removed as these teeth are not used to eat. It has been proposed that the build up is due to saliva running over the lower canines and depositing minerals. Normally eating provides mechanical cleaning of the teeth with the horses dietary roughage but canines are fighting teeth, not eating teeth.

It is my personal experience that these build ups are predominantly (although not exclusively) in horses given natural water rather than mains water. Bore holes, springs, streams or rain water appear to have larger amounts of the minerals. This is only based on my own observations however.

Left in situ, this plaque build up causes localised gingivitis and can lead to gum recession. When it becomes as large as this one, it pushes into the tongue and can affect the bit placement too.

Interesting facts
- Usually only male horses have canines.
- Although in some rare cases we can see tiny ones in mares too. These mares have a historic reputation for being difficult to deal with.
- Canines and wolf teeth are not the same thing. Wolf teeth are further back, closer to the molars.
- Canines are like ice bergs, what you see on the surface is only a fraction of their full size.
- When the bit is in the correct position, the canines do not affect the bit. Make sure your bit isn’t too low and touching the canines.
- Rough handling of the bit when being put in and taken out can chip the canine teeth and cause pain. Often resulting in the horse showing avoidance behaviour during bitting or unbridling. Always take care that the bit doesn’t hook over the canines upon removal, especially if the horse throws its head up.
- The canines don’t have baby teeth predecessors. This means they must cut through the gum to erupt, this can be very uncomfortable and can also result in avoidance behaviour when bitting.
- The canines erupt between 5-5.5 year of age although they don’t often stick to the textbooks. Be understanding if your horse suddenly becomes a little bridle shy around this time. A bit of bongela over the erupting teeth can help.

A little more on bit fitting as I also find many bits that don’t fit during my saddle fitting consultations.

It also becomes even more clear that equine professionals should work together so the best choice can be made for the particular horse.
You can’t fit any piece of tack properly unless you understand the anatomy and biomechanics of the part of the animal that you’re trying to fit..

Oral Dimensions Related to Bit Size in Adult Horses and Ponies A bit that fits is essential for horse welfare and good communication with the ridden, driven or led horses. The bit causes pressure on the sensitive structures of the horse mouth. The aim of this study was to investigate variation in oral dimensions related to bit fit in adult horses and ponies and...

Are Ground Poles Really Effective?? 💈🐎

STUDY DEMONSTRATES EFFECTIVENESS OF GROUND & RAISED POLES IN TRAINING & REHAB

Walking over poles is a commonly employed training and rehabilitation tool- but how effective are they really? Researchers set out to understand the effect of ground poles on equine locomotion, particularly joint range of motion.

A recent study assessed the effect of ground poles and raised poles on limb kinematics and poll, wither, and pelvic range of motion at the walk. Researchers hypothesized that walking over poles would increase joint range of motion but have no effect on poll, wither and pelvic range of motion compared to no poles.

41 horses were walked in-hand over no poles, ground poles and raised poles in a crossover design. Limb kinematics were determined via motion capture (240Hz). Poll, wither, and other aspects of range of motion range of motion were determined by inertial motion units.

The study determined that walking over both ground poles and raised poles increased limb-joint range of motion and increased poll range of motion, through increased swing flexion, compared to no poles.

In summary, walking poles appear to be effective at increasing joint range of motion via an increase in mid swing flexion, without vertical excursion of the trunk, compared to normal locomotion.

Given that this is a key early rehabilitation and training goal for many horses it supports the use of poles for these purposes.

Reference: V.A. Walker, C.A. Tranquillle, R. MacKechnie-Guire, J Spear, R. Newton, R.C. Murray,
Effect of ground and raised poles on kinematics of the walk,
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 2022.