Straight From the Horse's Mouth

My Peggy the Polo Pony post appears to have resurfaced somewhere as there have been thousands of new visitors to this page in the last few days. There continues to be a lot of shock and anger and sadness that a horse could ever get to that point physically, let alone still be used in some kind of work.

There also have been quite a few people expressing a sentiment I understand entirely too well.

When your radius of awareness is wider than your sphere of influence, you are going to feel powerless and like affecting change is impossible.

There is also a growing population of horse people who feel more than a bit despondent about the fact that there is SO MUCH we don't know about how horses work, what drives disease and physical deterioration, and how to pick through hundreds of data points for any given horse to try and determine the root cause of their struggles. We have an ever-increasing radius of awareness, and a lot of that awareness is around the fact that there is so much we AREN'T aware of.

That tends to leave many asking themselves why we do what we do with horses. Should we even ride? Is it ethical to sit on an animal that was never designed to be sat on?

I'm not interested in that debate. The reality is that the paths of horses and human merged thousands of years ago, and no one is going to be able to undue all that history. We are not going to debate, legislate or otherwise change the fact that the horse's role in the human world is here to stay.

What I am greatly interested in is discussing how we can make that role a better deal for the horse. And sometimes, that means being willing to acknowledge and accept that seemingly opposing ideas can both be true at the same time.

I do not think one should ride obviously lame horses, AND YET there are times where doing so is necessary and in the best interests of the horse in order to try and diagnose and treat the problem.

I do not think one should ride horses that are physically uncomfortable, AND YET I recognize that discomfort exists on a spectrum and there are times where asking the horse to use his body in a certain way is actually the best long-term solution to issue causing the discomfort.

I sometimes question whether riding is ethical, AND YET I know that my sphere of influence does not include changing nearly 6,000 years of history between hominids and horses. But, it certainly includes talking-the-talk and walking-the-walk in regards to the one tool that, above all else, is most likely to succeed in attaining long term physical and mental soundness in our equine partners, and that's good riding.
. . .

Pictured is Whiskey, my stock gelding. At fourteen, his diagnoses include a fused right hock, active degenerative joint disease in the left hock, insufficient (also sometimes called "negative") palmar angles in the right and left hind hooves, and significant bilateral navicular changes in both front hooves, with the right being worse than the left. He has a host of compensatory physical patterns in his muscling and movement that don't share one particular "diagnosis". I am fairly certain he has brachial plexus nerve impingement in his thoracic sling, especially in the right shoulder, but this cannot be diagnosed definitively. He also is very defensive and tends toward intense worrying, and is one of the toughest horses I've come across in terms of his willingness to hold onto his ideas.

He sounds like a pretty awful riding candidate on paper, and certainly doesn't sound like he should be sound...and yet here I am, sitting on him, because it's the best thing I can do for him to improve his soundness in the long term. And he improves every. single. ride.

I'm not asking him to perform to my level of expectation. I'm not demanding he do something he isn't physically or mentally ready to do. I'm not placing unreasonable or unfair asks unto him because of what I think he needs (even if I'm pretty sure he does need it).

I'm acting the way a good physical therapist would: I'm asking questions of his body, listening to the answers and respecting whatever boundaries he sets. I'm helping him find ease, balance and comfort in movement, instead of relying on long-standing compensations that are ultimately continuing to drive his discomfort. I'm helping him develop a body that will support his long term soundness instead of speeding up the process of deterioration.

I'm also acting the way a good counselor does: I'm asking questions of his mind, listening to the answers and respecting whatever boundaries he sets. I'm helping him find ease, balance and comfort in working with me and others, instead of feeling like being worried, defensive and triggered all the time is the way he has to live. I'm helping him develop a mind that will support a lifetime of improved resilience and contentedness instead of one that sets him up for a lifetime of tension, resistance and fear.

Looking at how he improves from day to day, I'm satisfied with 1%, grateful for 2% and ecstatic with 3%.

This is how we make it a better deal for horses, even those who come with baggage. Ask much, expect little and be grateful for what is offered, and then build on that as often as you can. There will inevitably still be those who simply cannot get past a certain level of dis-ease, and decisions sometimes have to be made about quality of life or suitability of use. Euthanasia is never a wrong choice for these horses: quality of life is much more important than quantity, and a horse's best insurance for a good life in the human world is to be able to do some sort of job, and do it comfortably and well. That's just reality.

What's also reality is that, like Whiskey, most horses with even significant levels of wear and tear ARE capable of doing a comfortable job provided they have the right support and the road to getting them there is compassionate, considerate and without a set expectation of how far they'll be able to go.

It is possible to affect great change, even though our spheres of influence may be small. Don't underestimate how much it means to your horses to know that someone is willing to listen, even if you don't have all the answers.

This is especially true for our seasoned horses who already know their jobs!

*** LENGTH OF SCHOOLING SESSIONS ***

Following my post from this morning, about Johnnie only working for 15 minutes, as he worked so well, I thought I’d give my opinion on how long horses should be worked for. This is my opinion. It is based on both my experience and understanding as a rider and horsewoman, and my knowledge as an equine vet with 12 years’ experience.

My horses are never, ever, schooled for longer than 30 minutes. This is more than enough time to achieve something, and if you haven’t achieved your goal after 30 minutes, it’s unlikely that you will by plugging on for longer. This 30 minutes includes my warm up, and a couple of short walk breaks.

I haven’t really had lessons for many years, but when I trained with Jennie Loriston-Clarke, and then more recently with Olly Barrs, their lesson times are 40 minutes. This includes warming up and warming down. Frequently, they wouldn’t go on past 30 minutes. Horses learn by repetition, not by grilling them for an hour at a time.

Horses also break easily. They damage ligaments and tendons. Yes, this is often unlucky and frequently caused by a sudden twist in the field. But it’s also frequently caused by too much schooling, especially if the surface is deep, or uneven. Proximal suspensory ligaments are not designed to take the weight of a horse in collected work for hours. Once a PSL is damaged, you are often looking at a lengthy rehab, or surgery to cut the nerve that supplies it (neurectomy). That is not to say that every horse with PSD has been overworked, before I offend anyone!

Horses break more easily when they are tired. A tired horse is more likely to trip, possibly resulting in ligament or tendon damage. Muscle needs some degree of fatigue to condition it, but not to the point of exhaustion.

A horse’s brain also breaks easily. Fatigue can also be mental. Granted, some horses’ brains don’t take much to break, but if a horse becomes stressed or can’t work out what you are asking him that day, then take a 24 hour break, and go for a hack, or just lunge the next day. Or give him a day off.

Most horses will be fit enough for their job, without being ridden 6 days a week. The main issue with lower level competition horses, is that many are fat. Exercise is a great way to get horses to lose weight, true, but not without reducing the amount of grass or hard feed they are receiving. Schooling a fat horse for an hour, will cause joint, tendon, and ligament problems in the long term. Find hills to slowly jog them up, or even walk them up, if you are wanting to exercise more to help with fitness and/or weight loss. Don’t school them more. Trotting endlessly around a flat arena isn’t really going to help with fitness.

If you are going to school, then add plenty of variety. Make sure the horse is working from behind, and not dragging himself along on his forehand. If you don’t enjoy schooling, you will be more inclined to switch off and trot endless 20m circles. So go for a hack first, and then just do ten minutes of intense schooling when you get home. That will keep both human and horse brains fresh!

This is an enormous topic, and it would take me days to cover it all, so this is really a brief summary. Keep schooling sessions short and productive, and if the session is going wrong, take a break!

Photo is of my wonderful Harold, on his lap of honour for winning the Advanced Medium Regionals, to qualify for the National Dressage Championships, a good few years ago now!

Feel free to share.

I see a lot of people recommending chiropractors and pemf and excluding massage therapists. I want to give you a few reasons why I believe a massage therapist should be used regularly at times in a horse’s life:

We all have different skills to contribute to your horse’s care. Bodies need different kinds of help at different times.

Remember that it’s the muscles that create tensile strength and hold the bones and organs in place. They are also what pulls the body out of optimum, by strength or weakness, which combine to create imbalance and potential unsoundness. This is especially true and important when a horse is coming into increased work, coming back into fitness, or when a horse is older and needs a little help staying loose and comfortable. You can be a great trainer, your horse will still build strength unevenly, it’s simply what happens when out of shape horses are put into exercise. It’s natural, normal and expected.

By being proactive and working with a great massage therapist you can help your horse be more balanced and comfortable and so sounder, more mentally balanced and train more easily. We can help the horse through the process by manually suppling, helping him learn his body, improving awareness and letting him use himself the best he can while he works to build and become, hopefully, the best version of himself.

Learn more here - https://koperequine.com/why-hands-on-massage-is-the-best-way-to-for-sore-care-muscles/

Massage Speeds Exercise Recovery - https://koperequine.com/massage-speeds-muscle-recovery/

Hahaha that's about us 😂
credits: Pinterest

Finding and developing the horses that are available, a discussion.

In 2024, for those with the means, the entire planet is a horse shopping mart. The internet allows someone in Fryeburg, Maine to get to see a horse in Australia perform, and with air transportation, that horse can be moved from one far reach of the globe to another far reach in a matter of days.

Before the internet, before what we now think of as modern air transportation, before warmbloods, riders in the USA, riders in Great Britain, riders in Australia were still ABLE to “earth-shop,” but were far far more likely to sift through the horses that were fairly local, find horses with talent, and take the time to develop that talent,

The photo here from Showjumping Hub is of a Thoroughbred named Fleet Apple with Diann Langer in 1969. He was a foal of 1959, by Sweet Apple x Fleetlee, by Easton, and he was a nation’s cup grand prix jumper and a member of the silver medal USET squad in the 1972 Olympics.

He’d been unsuccessful in racing, earned only $600 in 19 starts, but was hugely athletic in other ways.

Fleet Apple is an example. No matter the type of riding you might do or the breed you prefer, the chances are high that somewhere, within a 100 mile radius or so from where you live, there is a Fleet Apple waiting to be found and developed. But not if few people are looking. Not if most people are relying on someone else. Not if the grass is considered greener in some place far away from where you are right now. Not if fewer and fewer riders have the skills to develop a green horse. Because Fleet Apple was once a green apple, but someone took the time and had the skills to transform him.

The riders still exist who can do that, and so do the horses, now, in 2024. Maybe within an hour’s drive. Look closer to home, perhaps, before you start looking hundreds or thousands of miles away on your computer for a horse like the one in this photo. Someone did that once upon a time, and it can still be done, but not if you don’t get out there and look.

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/fleet+apple

Take a horse who has been living out in a paddock, saddle it up, climb on, and then make it do what you want. This is all too common. But why?
The horse has no desire to be ridden. Horses prefer to wander freely with their buddies and graze. Competing and winning ribbons are human ambitions, that horses couldn't give a $h!t about.
Thinking otherwise is naive or fanciful.
If we want the horse to do what we want, we need a gradual approach that doesn't cause anxiety or discomfort.
Think about these words: anxiety and discomfort.
When our demands create anxiety or discomfort, the horse will resist to protect itself. This resistance is often seen as bad behaviour and met with more force.
There is no such thing as a ‘naughty horse.’ There are just confused, hurt, frightened, tired, overwhelmed, hungry, and underprepared horses expressing how they feel. They can't speak any other way. You must learn to listen!
Every day, riders get into this confrontational mindset with their horses, leading to more struggle, force, and coercion. Get a bigger bit, crank the mouth shut, shorten the reins, tie the head down, use the whip.... Why is anyone surprised that whipping a scared horse does not make it less scared?
Horses and humans have different goals. Childhood notions of ponies that "love to jump" or "love their riders" don't change this fact.

So, what can we do?
Many things:
- Teach rather than force. Riders must know how to teach—if you don’t know how, learn.
- Ensure the tack is appropriate—less is more—and that it fits well.
- Maintain the horse’s health, including hoofcare, teeth, worming, diet, exercising in healthy posture, and know how to monitor their vital signs—if you don't know how, learn.
- Ensure the horse is fit, as fatigue causes anxiety and discomfort.
- Use a long, gradual warm-up to transition from rest to work, rather than demanding immediate performance.
- Train to educate, not to coerce. Take your time. Progress in small steps, layer upon layer. This may take years.

Poor riding and horsemanship create problems.
Good riding and horsemanship lead to success.
When things go wrong, it’s our fault, not the horse’s. If you can’t accept this, you’re not ready to train horses.

Good Morning! 😂
Temperament/Disposition/Conformation/Genetic should all come before color. Color is the icing on the cake 🍰

Hahaha so true 😂
credits: Performance

Mutual respect must be established between pony and rider

So true 🤩
credits: Pinterest

Hahaha TRUE 😅
credits: Pro Horse

Good idea 😅
credits: Pinterest

Hahaha so true 😂
credits: With Rhythm

Very inspiring quote from the one and only 🤩👊

Mindset is everything 💪🧠

Saturday morning funny!

Hahaha horses always do that 😅
credits: Pinterest

Happy Easter! He has risen! 🐣🌷🙏🏻

Superior care. Superior performance. Supremacy.

We’ve all been there! .com

An older, but thought inducing article on Safesport, for your reading pleasure