Agape Dressage

Great day of saddle fitting with Connie and Chris from Schleese Saddlery. It’s so nice to get feedback from them every 5-6 months on how the horses are changing and improving. As always, thank you for your expertise and for helping keep the Agape horses in top condition.

How are you spending your time?



📸

This. 100%.

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

Trigo looks so handsome in his new double bridle from Horse by Horse and worked so well in the new Neue Schule bits! Thank you, Stephanie, for helping to make sure all my horses are comfortable, with properly fitted bridles and bits.

UPDATED

You have likely heard of the tragic death of over 70 horses at the Buetler Ranch in Elk City, Oklahoma. Horses that are descendants of over five generations of legendary rodeo horses perished when accidentally fed horse feed that was contaminated with Monensin, an ionophoric antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections in cattle and sometimes mixed with cattle and livestock feeds. In cattle, it can improve feed efficiency and average daily gain.

However, in horses, tiny amounts of monensin causees damage to the mitochondria in horses, and disrupts the sodium potassium ion fluxes in the heart, leading to cardiovascular failure.

Attached is a list of horse feed mills that are ionophore free - no ionophores are on the mill property and risk of contamination is eliminated. Ionophone "safe" mills have separate facilities and equipment for livestock and horse feed production, however, ionophores are present and the risk of contamination is not eliminated.

This list is not exhaustive. In California, Stable Mix made by Elk Grove Milling and Integrity Feeds made by Star Milling are both ionophore free facilities.

If in doubt about a feed manufacturers ionophore status, call or e mail them. Unfortunately, some small local mills may not be able to guarantee ionophore free status.

UPDATE! Dr Rachel Mottet of Legacy Equine Nutrition has updated their list of ionophore free equine feed mills. Her team contacted all the mills listed to verify their ionophore status, a huge task!
Here is the link to that document.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17IVu88GVlLU04C3uitCTPHQ5Q2cB-khka_-eMJaMSCY/edit?fbclid=IwY2xjawE-069leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZsDAwMxkfCeS5Oq4osuGzIi2GXrhepntpC1ObUyxrlHRqjBQTAgPdrLug_aem_-mb63idLfO55NZmTqeKnVw&gid=0 =0

And,Bluebonnet was spelled incorrectly, in the photo - Bluebonnet is named after the flower, not a hat!

This is so horrible and sad. “I will say this: Never buy horse feed from a mill that makes cattle feed. Period. Please quote me on that.” ~Dr. Gregg VeneKlasen

Dozens Of Rodeo Horses Die After Possible Monensin Feed Contamination An investigation is underway into the cause of death for the horses at Beutler & Son Rodeo Company in Elk City, Okla.

Bobbi and Anna looking fly in their ensemble today! They’re also sporting the 3-in-1 Training Breastplate by Correct Connect and it is a game changer. They were both so steady in the connection, creating a soft, fluid feel throughout the ride.

Our horses MUST come first! They did not opt into this life.

Equine veterinarians are put into difficult positions when it comes to advocating for horse welfare. Especially when it comes to competition horses.

Veterinarians, as a whole, have some of the highest su***de rates of any job. Their jobs are very difficult. [2] [3]

Equine veterinarians are a dying breed, people who do go into veterinary largely are not choosing large animal veterinary.

A recent study surveyed a group of equine veterinarians to take a closer look at some of the challenges that they face in their work. [1]

The survey found that many vets experienced challenges when it came to balancing the clients’ competition interests with what was best for the horse.

The most common ethical challenge brought up in the survey was conflicting interests of their human clients and what was best for the horse, which places pressure on the vet.

In many cases, clients may want to do what was needed to keep the horse competing or get the horse back to work as quickly as possible, regardless of what was best for the horse treatment wise.

“Responses included:

‘Finding the correct balance between the horse's welfare and it continuing to compete at the highest level’,
‘managing conflicts of interest between stakeholders' aspirations and the welfare of the horses’,
‘placing horse welfare second to performance’.

A common example of this was conflicts between ongoing competition and the need for rest or retirement:

‘Owners requesting ongoing treatment and management of injuries in order to allow the horse to continue competing at a high level, where it might be more appropriate to drop to a lower level/retire the horse’.”

Some vets commented on client demands about treatment: ‘meeting the needs of the client without allowing them to dictate treatment’ with others noting there was pressure to provide a ‘quick fix’ and to ‘patch up’ a horse for it to compete or be sold.

Others mentioned conflicts with competition integrity: “pressure to accept horses [in competitions] that are not fit to compete’, ‘treating horses to improve performance but adhering to the ethos of clean sport’, ‘ensuring that sports are conducted transparently with the horse's welfare paramount.”

The pressure to administer joint injections was mentioned by 19 veterinarians in the survey.

The high prevalence of lameness or chronic lamensses was mentioned by 10 respondents.

“chronic lameness and owners expecting to continue competing regardless.”

“The possibility of veterinary surgeons losing objectivity around normal function, health and welfare was also mentioned in the context of lameness assessment:

‘I often wonder whether our eye is so skewed by looking at chronically lame racehorses all the time that the balance of judgement on what is acceptable has lost its way somewhat, probably in the most part due to pressure from trainers’.”

The lack of evidence or scientific basis for treatments was brought up by 9 vets: ‘treatments done not always with clinical indication and no real scientific basis’.

“Administering treatments without appropriate prior diagnostic investigations was mentioned by seven respondents. Often this was clarified as a lack of diagnostic investigation of lame horses prior to treatment.”

Veterinarians are often placed in a position where their morals may be in conflict with clients’ desires.

Sources:

1. https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evj.14204

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4266064/

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10421543/

My 🩶

Two clean, drama free, easy, on the aids changes today. 🦄

Thank you, Aida, for letting me ride this beautiful soul.

Interesting. I always give lots of breaks but rarely do I have the horse and rider just stand. I’ll have to try this.

REST PROMOTES LEARNING

A common feedback on my clinics is that participants are amazed by the amount of rest the horses are allowed in between exercising and that it seems to help them make a fast progress.

In fact, rest is important for both the human and the horse. We might have a quick grasp on a task intellectually but we still have to form new neural pathways to perform it well.
A study carried out by Leonardo G. Cohen, M.D, and colleagues of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland USA, shows that the resting brain repeatedly replays compressed memories of what was just practiced. In the study, volunteers were asked to learn a new skill (piano scales) while in a functional MRI, which allows researchers to map brain activity during the learning process. They found that rest seems just as important as practice itself.

“Our results support the idea that wakeful rest plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill. It appears to be the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced.” (Leonardo G. Cohen, M.D)
While horses’ brains show some important differences to human brains, we are both mammals and our brains are similar enough to assume that this is also what happens in horses’ brains when they learn a new skill. As far as I know, it is not possible yet to put horses in a functional MRI while they are alive, just the severed head after death. (But I also remember reading that this might be possible soon).
What does this mean for our training?

We need more breaks.
Now think about a regular dressage training session. From the moment the rider gets on to the moment when the training is finished, often after a very long 45 or 60 mins, the horse is asked to move, move, move, and to perform one exercise or arena pattern after the other. If rest is allowed, the horse needs to keep moving in walk.

How often do you see riders just stand with their horses, without interacting with them, so the brain has time to replay what was just practiced? And to wait until the horse is finished processing?
During my first internship at Bent Branderup’s place in Denmark, I noticed that Bent had a different way of structuring the lessons as I was used to. He asked me to take lots of breaks, actually asked me to “take a break and tell the horse he was good”. While the horse was standing, he continued to talk to me and told me about the biomechanics background of what we just practiced. While I listened, my horse could stand and process. I had never made so fast progress in the training in my life. While it was certainly also due to Bent’s excellent teaching, today I know that taking frequent and long enough breaks is an important factor as well.
Here is the link to the study if you are interested: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(21)00539-8?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124721005398%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

Picture of Weto and I during lessons with Bent. I’m listening and Weto has time to process.

www.academicartofriding.pl

“Horses have the ability to think and plan ahead and are far more intelligent than scientists previously thought, according to a Nottingham Trent University study that analysed the animal’s responses to a reward-based game.

“The horses cannily adapted their approach to the game to get the most treats – while making the least effort.

“Previously, research has suggested that horses simply respond to stimuli in the moment, they don’t proactively look ahead, think ahead and plan their actions – whereas our study shows that they do have an awareness of the consequences and outcomes of their actions,” said the lead researcher, Louise Evans.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/aug/12/horses-can-plan-ahead-and-think-strategically-scientists-find

The actual research paper…

“Whoa, No-Go: Evidence consistent with model-based strategy use in horses during an inhibitory task”
Louise Evans et al.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159124001874?via%3Dihub

Read about Akhal-Teke Foundation programs here…
https://www.akhaltekefoundation.org/programs.html

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The Gold Standard

Christopher Bartle explains collection:
“The freeing of the forehand as the hind leg is engaged and active is dependent on the supporting role of the horse’s topline. The muscles of the neck and back, if stretched and supporting will draw up the base of the neck and lead to the raised and arched appearance which is sought after. This of course must be volunteered by the horse rather than imposed by the rider’s hands. The stretching of the neck upwards will lead to the greater freedom of the forehand, and a rounder action from the shoulder, because the muscle which draws the forearm forward is attached at the poll.” Dr Klimke and Ahlerich demonstrate.
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2017/02/introducing-collection-with-christopher-bartle-part-one/

Bittersweet day at the barn as I gave Autumn and Lyon their last lesson before they head to college at Case Western. I can’t overstate how proud I am of these two. The first time I saw Autumn was when Lyon bucked her off in a warmup arena. Several months later, when I first began teaching them, Lyon could barely turn on a 20m circle in the canter without bolting off in the wrong direction. Three years later, they have earned their USDF Bronze Medal, competed at the National Championships in KY at 1st and 2nd level, and won numerous year end and high point awards at the local, State, and National levels. But more importantly, Autumn has grown up to be a kind, funny, insanely smart young woman. Everyone at Team Agape is going to miss having her at the barn, but we know she will thrive in this next chapter. Looking forward to Christmas and summer break when she can come visit the barn for some lessons and laughter. Good luck, Autumn!! We will miss you and Lyon!! 🩶🦄

This is the best story!

Meet Jewel’s Goldstrike, the $20 dressage horse that scored 70% at the Paris Olympics The Ecuadorean flag-bearer Julio Mendoza Loor has enjoyed a fairytale journey to compete in Olympic dressage, with his bargain-buy horse Jewel’s Goldstrike

One of my favorite riders and teachers. Well deserved retirement. Somehow, I expect he’ll still be quite involved in coaching and training.

Carl Hester announces Olympic retirement after collecting the full set of Medals -
Hester announces that he will not be travelling to the LA Games in 2028
“It’s the perfect way to go out,” he said after he had come sixth in the individual freestyle dressage competition at Versailles. “It was probably the best freestyle I’ve ever done. Why should I not retire after that?
Thanks for the Memories Carl

Does anyone else think Lottie got robbed and should’ve had Silver? And that Isabel, though she had a lovely ride, got “Isabel points?”

I have hesitated in posting anything regarding this because I will undoubtedly receive backlash from people who disagree with me. But I like this article since it offers some strategies for how to avoid these abusive situations in the future.

“Perhaps all of us have selected the wrong option at some point in our lives when cameras weren’t pointed at us. That doesn’t excuse our behavior, but it does give us the opportunity to correct it privately.”

I know I have chosen poorly in the past, both with horses and my kids. I’ve been fortunate to have people in my life call me out when I was wrong. I definitely learned from those mistakes but, sadly, though these moments are rare, I can’t say I’ve had a perfect record since. For this reason, I will not further castigate CDJ, but instead hope to encourage riders of all levels to be more thoughtful and kind in their approach.

Abuse and Executive Function, a Brain Science Analysis of the Charlotte Dujardin Video British equestrian Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the Paris Olympics on Tuesday when a video showed her abusing a horse. The discovery marks a moment of deep sadness for horse lovers everywhere. Fortunately, the international and national associations governing equine events acted immediately to p...

Very cool!

Carl Hester Gets His Own Biopic Veteran UK producers, Drew Curtis & Richard Conway, team up with legendary British dressage rider, trainer and owner, Carl Hester MBE, to produce STRIDE, a theatrical biopic of Hester’s incredible journey from the island of Sark to leading Team GB to equestrian glory at the London 2012 Olympic Gam...