Heal Clinic

Best way to learn from them, is to spend time with them. Grateful.

Looking forward to being back in Northland June 7th - 9th. Limited spaces available.

See you soon

Harley

Accurate

No more words needed 👏🏽

Lucy Olphert Showjumping Showjumping rider and coach based in Chatto Creek, New Zealand. Co founder of the Global Amateur Tour

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Liv 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Class 22: Mainland Coachwork Junior Rider Series Article 238 2.2 in conjunction with Burmester Realty
1 - Liv Teixeira (Kerikeri) Yalambi's Cassini Rosso
2 - Bailey Benshaw (Waitoki) Amorcito
3 - Anna Wade (Te Aroha) Capitano
4 - Charlie Ullrich (Auckland) Sabine MS
5 - Keira Featherston (Kerikeri) Capatino GNZ
6 - Maya Hegh (Taupaki, Auckland) Corfu

Well deserved Liv ⚡️🥇⚜️

Horse GP Super Series Overall Winners

1st Liv Teixeira on Lafayet Ego Z
2nd Michelle Wakeling BMW Chaccolilli
3rd Maddison Greatorex on Groove Girls PSH
4th Vicki Ridley on Mosaic II
5th Natalia Lammers on Puro Chaccola
6th Edward Bullock on Kiwi Sundance
6th Paula Mussen on Deja Vu NZPH

It’s amazing how many ‘people’ I see on the table with more challenges than their horse. Maybe the ‘people’ are one of the horses biggest challenges?!

SERVICEABLY SOUND

Bear with me as I share some rambling thoughts that are rolling through my head (think Indiana Jones cave ball scenario) due to delving deeper into the world of horse dissections.

Serviceably sound. What is it? And why do we need to know about it?
More to the point, is it ethical?

Serviceably sound is that situation where a horse has known injuries but is kept and worked in such a way that they can remain sound despite the injuries but continue to have limitations to their abilities.

Serviceably sound is NOT a horse that bucks, rears, bites, trips, stumbles, wobbles, etc and carries on schooling or jumping because the rider pushes them through. THAT is ignorance, negligence and, I’d even go so far as to say, abuse, in action. Sorry, not sorry.

A horse that does any of the above is screaming in pain. They can’t scream, of course, but if any of you have had a child of yours break a bone and you hear that blood curdling scream ring out…imagine that’s what your horse is doing. How anyone can ignore this so blatantly beggars belief.

Serviceably sound is a horse with known injuries that have been assessed by a relevant professional, and you know what the problem is, and you do the rehabilitation work and continue to work within the parameters of the horse’s ability, being sure to listen out for any signs that say you’re going beyond the limit and ensuring you’re dialling it back to work within that, giving the horse the time off when their body hurts and providing them with the extra care and supplementation to keep them comfortable

Now, whether or not that’s worth your time and energy is an entirely subjective matter. If he’s your heart horse and you can’t bare to part with him or turn him out forever, then perhaps it’s worth your time. But if it’s just another horse that’s passing through, perhaps they don’t show significant talent toward your choice of sport or perhaps you have higher ambitions than the horse will ever be capable of; then you owe it to yourself and the horse to make an ETHICAL WELFARE decision. Perhaps that is turning the horse out as a paddock mate or babysitter, or maybe you would choose to euthanise the horse.
What is NOT an ethical welfare decision is passing the horse on to someone else dishonestly and making it someone else’s problem.

Wiggle is Serviceably sound. As am I. And perhaps it is due to this personal matter of my own soundness that I feel such an affliction towards the concept of Serviceably sound. I have a long list of injuries that I contend with daily. Some days I can run and jump comfortably, other days getting out of bed is a battle and I’ll spend the day hobbling everywhere. I don’t think any of that means I’m a write off though, but I do need to choose my path more carefully.

Wiggle has more sound days than I do to be fair. He almost definitely has a sprung pelvis as is evidenced by his slight hock wobble, he’s over at the knee, has high-low syndrome and a list of other quirks and foibles that make him an interesting character to say the least. It’s likely that he also has kissing spine and a myriad of other issues from his racing career.
He does not buck, rear, bolt or show any particular obvious signs. In fact he seems to outwardly show enjoyment at being able to move and strut his stuff.

I keep working away quietly with him because 1) he’s the coolest dude I know, 2) I find it interesting and rewarding and 3) I don’t have particularly high aspirations for him.
Truth is, it’s unlikely he will ever achieve anything higher than first level dressage and being a CTR mount, if that. For the current phase of my horsemanship journey, that is enough. I have a young horse waiting in the winds to come through when we’re all ready.

For now, he and I remain Serviceably sound together. And if the day comes when we are not, or I gather new information that makes me change my mind, I’ll assess that too.

Do you have a Serviceably sound horse?

Simple proprioceptive exercises to improve performance.

Proprioceptive Exercises — Heal Simple proprioceptive exercises to improve performance and healing