Horseworks - Training for Horse and Rider. Bit & Bridle Consultant

Ah, Harry is worried about his mate. Gerry not feeling so great.. vet on way, obviously he waited till precisely 5.45 to alert us to his feeling crap.. thought he was being a bit mardy, but then took his temp. 39.9 maybe explains it! Harry is the best mate you could have when you feel crap. Well if you don't mind him licking your face!

The best days are where the sun is shining, all 9 of my lesson clients were awesome, the Barbie pony pretty much kept all legs connected to the ground instead of only two, and although stunning, the huge chuffing feathered thing stayed out of the arena.. I don't do feathers!

ETA. When I met the handsome yellow pony, he had walk or bolt upright rear as his options of movement. That was just inhand too! Troubled and insecure, which quite a few gut issues thrown in to upset him further. His mum has done an absolutely awesome job!

I love this.. I meet so many people who feel guilty they didn't know, or have made mistakes. We are all learning, it's a journey that we're all at different stages of.

Worth Reading 👇👇👇

If milk gets bad, it becomes yoghurt. Yoghurt is more valuable than milk. If it gets even worse, it turns to cheese. Cheese is more valuable than both yoghurt and milk.

And if grape juice turns sour, it transforms into wine, which is even more expensive than grape juice. You are not bad because you made mistakes. Mistakes are the experiences that make you more valuable as a person.

Christopher Columbus made a navigational error that made him discover America. Alexander Fleming’s mistake led him to invent Penicillin. Don’t let your mistakes get you down.

It is not practice that makes perfect. It is mistakes we learn from that makes perfect!
Ctto

Boys being wild back on the grass track for first time in a long time!

Had a lovely day teaching yesterday in the SUN at last!

This fab group of people, who I've been teaching for a couple of years, have shown such improvements and it makes my job a pleasure!

Big thanks to Steffi for her wonderful organising of me for dates, it makes my life so much easier!

LE
Space available on this route Thursday 2nd May.
Will be during the day.
DM for details.

I'd be very grateful if anyone in this area can share 😊

I still hear of far too many yards, blanket worming, often with inappropriate
wormers for time of year.
Please test and target. We're really stuffed if worms get any more resistant..

Considering worming? Think before you worm! 🪱

Resistance to wormers is rapidly growing; it comes as a result of routine and over-use of wormers. This is a huge problem as there are no alternative new drugs on the horizon. For this reason, it is recommended to use a targeted approach to worming instead of blanket worming horses at set intervals throughout the year.🐎

Horses can be targeted for treatment on the basis of the levels of worm eggs they excrete onto pasture. Faecal worm egg count (FWEC) testing helps identify the types of worms being shed in dung and gives an estimate of the number of eggs being excreted. Horses shedding eggs above a certain level (usually ≥200 eggs per gram of dung) should be considered for worming.

FWEC tests do not provide information on the level of worm burden within individuals because they do not detect the presence of male or immature worms; however, they are essential tools for identifying which horses will contaminate pasture most with worm eggs and will thus need worming. Leaving some horses with low egg shedding untreated helps protect the effectiveness of the wormers we use.

🌷 Spring is the ideal time to start FWEC testing to inform worming treatments as we enter the time of year when weather conditions favour worm transmission on paddocks. ☀️

It’s important to keep in mind that FWEC tests have poor sensitivity for detecting tapeworm infections, and alternatives such as the EquiSal Tapeworm Test should be used to detect infections with this parasite.✨

When seemingly small things make you happy..
Gerry came into the grooming box tonight after our ride and stood like this. This horse never stands square. It's been improving slowly, but he is normal falling with his front legs slightly angled back. Totally upright tonight.

Harvey (3/4 TB 1/4 Bull..!) He's so wide across his chest and he rarely stands with a leg at each corner. He looks like you could park another horse under him when he does he's so wide!
He's getting it!

# bethechange www.progressiveequinepartnerships.com

Recommendations for Horse trailer insurance and wireless camera for trailer too. Any suggestions? 😊

When I say he's mental, I mean in a happy billy bonkers way. He's been watching everyone else do poles, so he wanted a go!
Message this morning..

"Bertie insisted on coming on the yard this morning. He's now doing poles on his own in the school 🤣"

Horses with choices.. even if his are slightly random at times

You can rely on Bobbin to make you laugh!!

Sarah Edwards-keeling honestly 🤦‍♀️🤣

This is so so true.
I did spend several years asking the wtf Bertie was sent for, as to be honest it took some working out!!

There is no such thing as the “wrong horse”.

Not every horse that comes into your life will be exactly what you want, in fact very few will be, but whether the come temporarily, or stay forever, every horse comes for a reason.

That reason is not always clear. It can feel like all some horses bring is stress, pain and heartache. It can sometimes feel so ‘wrong’ that you can’t see how any good could ever come from it.

But the most valuable lessons come from the ‘wrong’ horses.

When you get up after eating dirt after being thrown for the third time that ride, you’ll find resilience you never knew you had.

When your tired of sitting at the side lines, watching your friends having fun whilst your horse is still chapters behind, you’ll find patience within yourself that you didn’t know was there.

When your sick of spending every ride questioning your ability and second guessing yourself, you’ll dig deep and find the self belief that’s always been hidden inside you.

And when you meet a horse that is so broken, even giving the very best of yourself won’t fix it, you’ll find a selflessness in you to make sure that horse never knows anything but love.

Patience, resilience, determination, selflessness aren’t easy lessons, but we’re better riders for learning them.

You may think you’ve got the “wrong horse”, but you’ve actually got the right horse to teach the hardest lessons.

Learn well.

-

Quote by Kind permission of cromwellandlucy

You can find Lucys book - www.cromwellandlucy.co.uk

📸 Ally Wilson Photography

🐴Edward Doyle

Before I head off on a very long actual journey,New Zealand..!

This is something that I often think about when I'm out working and seeing posts from other horse professionals.
Everyone is on a different journey, and massive part of what I do, is having to figure out where I can help change the route they take, suppport them and not having them just jump, because the road feels too tough to follow all at once..
Horses are my absolute foremost priority, but you can only help them by having the two legged ones on board.
The people who want to jump straight on the road you're travelling and come along for the wild ride, are awesome but it can be a very different journey to the one they thought they were on. Thankfully there are more and more aware they may need to take a sneak peak at where you're going and watch from afar before dipping their toe in. They need to trust the process first and for so many different reasons, that can take time.

I do love that process of working out with them what the reason is..it can be very intriguing!!

As long as the people I work with are looking to the same destination as me.. for the good of their horse. I'm OK with them needing to figure out their way, with a little help from me.
😊

Fantastic visuals. Far far too many horses are being broken down by the obsession with where the head is..😔

As a trainer I find working out where a person is in terms of their learning and understanding is important before going full on with everything I see.
We don't know, what we don't know and sometimes having too much thrown at you in one go can be overwhelming and make people put their shutters up.
Learning to see who can take/want that total stripping back has been a big part of my journey. As someone who can take it, even welcomes it that's not been easy for me. My thoughts were if I was paying for someone to help, I'd take what they said and do it ( as long as my horses agreed)
That doesn't mean people are not interested/don't care for their horses, it's just where the route of their journey is right then. Our journeys all take different paths even if the end destination is the same.
Coming in and showing them all that is wrong with that is more likely to isolate them and make them feel defensive..
We're all human.

As long as your heart is in the right place and your intentions are for the good of the horse, we're on the right path..

It just needs to stop. Stop being normalised and even encouraged. The damage it does is lifelong. Bertie has this scar tissue and he hasn't been ridden that way since he was 6 yrs old.
He has severe kissing spine and fused hock joints all by 6yrs old too..

He's 17 now and the scar tissue is much softer but still present. Such a waste of an intelligent brave little horse who did to much to young and to bloody "round" to get him out competing far younger than he should have.

We need to do better..

As an avid learner of correct biomechanics of the horse I subscribed a while back to Becks Nairn’s Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/Becks_nairn/posts) I cannot recommend it highly enough. It has been such an eye opener and until I can get to an actual dissection, her Patreon has given me so much food for thought.

Becks recently posted a video of a horse’s cervical spine with the nuchal liagament still attached. Seeing the movement aberrations of the neck created by riding horses behind the vertical, is something every rider needs to see for themselves IMHO.

There are numerous studies demonstrating that excessive flexion puts tension on the nuchal ligament, leading to a variety of injuries throughout the horses body. As riders, it’s critical to remember that the nuchal ligament inserts at the withers (its origin is at the external occipital protuberance at the occipital crest and posterior tubercle of the atlas). From its insertion at the withers, it attaches to the supraspinous ligament, which acts much like a suspension bridge and runs the entire length of the horses spine to the tail.

Armed with this important information it makes perfect sense that when the nuchal ligament is over tightened, as it is when riding behind vertical, it results in a host of physiological issues. Riding horses behind vertical does not take into consideration the anatomy of the horses spine and its subsequent supporting structures. This incorrect posture, such as when the horse’s neck shows this unnatural bend around C2/C3, can only lead to stress on these structures. Bones will adapt at attachment and insertion sites to the excessive loading and remodel, creating boney formations which, more often than not, cause our horses further pain and discomfort. (Photos of some of these remodeled bones in comments thanks to Becks!)

Keeping our horses sound and working can be a challenge on a good day. Having this information can help us in ensuring our horses stay sound for many years to come.

A huge thank you to Becks for entertaining my curiosity and being so generous with her knowledge and experience. ❤️

Lunch in bed.
Not many s**ts given that the other 3 horses were up at the top shelter and he was on his own.
Did lay there when he saw me with a barrow of hay and demanded he had some where he was..
Harry doesn't totally trust him as he's a grumpy git! # readytolegit!

Bertie Bob very happy at a mostly rugless winter!
He's had one on for the heaviest prolonged rain but he's always much happier without one.
How does he express this? He just takes it off!
Full clipped he still often got too hot 🔥
Hairy and self regulation is much more to his liking!

Space on Thursday 11th January route.
Please pm me or email to book in. [email protected]

Honestly, the excuses some people will use to get out of lessons when there's a bit of rain... 😂😂
Water schooling anyone?!
🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆😪😪😪😪😪😪😪

FULL

Last minute space in this area due to someone's unfortunate unplanned dismount!

DM me if you'd like it ☺️

Lovely Christmas presents from a great group of people I have the pleasure of helping with their horses throughout the year!
Thanks guys xx