Please think do your research before buying a puppy or any animal. In supporting a rescue you are saving a life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrycVcJghqI
Please think do your research before buying a puppy or any animal. In supporting a rescue you are saving a life.
Spunky the Donkey update: “He is doing GREAT! All stretches being done with good effort and for the most part, enjoyment. Perky, eating, moving really well, naughty, and a little more vocal again!” – an update from his owner.
Spunky has now has 3 treatments and after each day he is progressing in a positive direction. I have learnt quite a bit from this amazing boy. Unlike dogs and horses he communicates to me with his ears. Something I discovered after the first treatment of trying to figure him out. He is very sensitive and expressive and now I understand his language. I absolutely adore Spunky and am so grateful for his teachings.
From talking to many horse professionals, I have come to one conclusion. Although we are aware that we start our horses too young, it tends to be the nature of a competitive sport. If a horse is kept on a slow and gradual training program at a barn that thrives on training and selling horses, the income loss is quite substantial. There is much pressure to produce a competitive athlete at a young age, even if long term damage is a risk. There are many sports that promote young horses for competition, although there are some that encourage a slow growth from a young age before they are at the higher levels.
One competition is the Canadian Young Horse Jumper Development series. This series supports the development of young show jumping talent and allows entry level competition as early as four years of age. The purpose of this series is to promote young horses and riders, to give them the opportunity to compete in the Grand Prix ring at high level shows to display young talent, which also encourages the sales of Canadian horses.
The jumping levels are as follows:
4 years – 3‘0” – 3’5
5 years – 3’6” – 4’0”
6 years – 3’9” – 4’3”
7/8 years – 4’3” – 4’6”
With racing horses, the starting age to race is as 2-3 year old. This is why so many horses which are “off the track” and are usually quite cheap. Most of them have suffered the hard impact of race track pressure that is placed upon such young horses. Their bodies are often broken at this point, depending on their career as a track horse. In some cases although everything may seem ok, their weaknesses and imbalances present themselves at a later point when they are asked to continue perform.
When I went to school in the interior I worked with many competitive Western Reiners, referred to as Western Dressage. Horses over the age of fives years old in this competition are considered to be “seniors.” This sport along with racing and jumping are quite hard any horses body. Because there are many fast moving patterns and sliding stops, fused hocks are acceptable and are considered a good thing. This enables the horse to move quickly and slide without any movement of the hock joint. Since they start their training at such a young age fused hocks are quite common and happen because of the strain place upon this particular joint. The long term damage caused by this is premature arthritis and chronic lameness.
Dressage horse competitors must be eight years of age to compete at the Grand Prix level, however they do have lower level tests for horse that are five to six years of age.
Although Equine Canada supports humane treatment to all horses, there are very few age limitations and restrictions with horses, only with the human competitors. Because of this I believe that as horse owners, trainers and professionals we must be cautious and use common sense with our training protocol. If we ask too much too soon we may be causing long term damage to our horses. Once joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments become damaged because they are not mature enough to handle the workload and pressure expected of them, they may never correct themselves. The damage may not be noted right away but the long term affects are irreversible. I have seen horses broken at six years of age, not only their bodies but their spirit, and it is heartbreaking and preventable. We just need to remember to take our time and be patient with the progression and training of our young hoses today.
Did you know that a horse is not considered physically or mentally mature until they are 8 years old?
As people involved in the development, and training of horses, we must remember the importance of allowing their bodies and minds to mature before we expect too much of them. The long term affects of starting a horse too young can cause irreversible damage, and in some cases shorten the life of your horse. Some of negative these affects are:
These are to list just some of the few common problems noted in horse that are started too young. These problems can begin as early as 5 years of age, and can cause chronic pain and debilating weaknesses. However, they may not show up until later in the horse career when it may be too late to treat. The best prevention is to be pace your horse’s training regime according to its age.
Basic groundwork is sometimes overlooked, as we see such potential in our young horses that we want them to excel and carry out a career job before they are physically ready to do so. Ground work can be done in many stages and builds the foundation of a trusting and willing horse.
Here is a basic outline that is recommended by trainers and other professionals to help prevent these harmful occurrences.
From birth to two years of age, it is recommended to handle your young horse, rather than wait until to can begin a “proper” training schedule. Groundwork is essential to give any horse a foundation to mature and grow from. Very slowly introduce your horse to basic tack. As it matures, hand walking and ponying will allow your horse to respect you and other horses. In turn this will make your horse easier to work with and train. In the later stages of two years of age, you may also do very simple ground driving and light lounging. This will help your horse to establish respect, and introduce balance.
Three to four years of age, a mount light can be introduced periodically so it can accept the weight of a rider. As that progresses and your horse it confident, comfortable, and has accepted a rider, walking with light/basic leg aids will be your next step. Very light and limited trotting can be introduced, when your horse seems to have a solid foundation with a rider and the basic legs aids. This will aid them in the development of their own balance. The introduction of a rider asking too much, too fast, will strain your horse’s joints, bones and muscles. Towards to later portion of the four year mark, and if balance, confidence and trust is acquired, very limited cantering steps can be introduced.
Once your horse’s foundation is established, around the five to six years of age your may start to ask more of your horse and begin the baseline training for their career discipline, whatever that may be. It is very important when training a horse, that slower progressive training is better. We wouldn’t expect our children to run a marathon before they are physically and mentally ready. Why should our horses be any different?
With the end of the show season I have been called out to see quite a few horses for preventive therapy. Although owners are not seeing or feeling any imbalances with their horses, they want to keep them in optimal riding condition. This is a very good idea, as horses quite often have imbalances present before they become visible to the human eye.
A horse that I was called out to see was a 16year old thoroughbred mare being worked in a higher-level dressage program. The only real complaint that was noted by her owner was that on occasion she tossed her head up during her right canter lead. But this was nothing that the owner felt to be a real concern or issue.
Upon my assessment, I found her large intestine and kidney shu point to be reactive. The large intestine meridians which, if over active, (which both meridians were) can be a major cause of overall muscle tightness, especially in the neck. The main muscle that corresponds with this meridian is the tensor muscle of the fascia latta, the origin is the tuber coxae (point of the hip) and insertion point is to the stifle. The kidney meridian if over active can cause agitated behavior, which the owner had said was actually a problem, but did not really think much of it, as she is an energetic and somewhat high strung horse. The muscle that corresponds with the kidney meridian is the iliopsoas, a deep pelvic muscle. I cleared both meridians through ting point stimulation.
When checking her range of motion, all four limbs were somewhat stiff and did not carry out their full movement, especially those muscles of the hind limbs, which were limited for both protraction and retraction muscles. Her right shoulder when assessing her protraction muscles was resistant to carry out its full range of motion as well. Her hind end movement was somewhat short and choppy. Her lower back was also sore and sensitive to any pressure. Both hind end and lower back weakness most likely were attributing to her high neck carriage, this would help avoid using these muscles and evade rounding her back. I also noted that her back had slightly dropped, another sign that she was avoiding using her back and hind end.
I focussed mainly on her lower back and hind end, as in relieving those areas I believed her head carriage would correct itself. And in increasing her comfort and opening her muscles to allow a greater range of motion, she would have increased, smoother movement of all four limbs. Her range of motion of all four limbs after treatment had significantly increased, and there was no longer a sensitivity to her lower back As routine stretching exercises before and after work, I recommended belly lifts, pelvic tilts/flexes and stretching all four limbs; both protraction and retraction muscles. I was to follow this treatment up in one week.
After a week of being more balanced and daily stretching, her owner had noticed a remarkable improvement, as did I. She was calmer, able to carry out the full range of motion of all four limbs with increased flexibility and her movement was smoother. Her back no longer showed any reaction to pressure and her head carriage was no longer an issue. Her owner also noticed that her canter was easier to sit to. This occurred because she was now able to round her back comfortably, rather than have it stiff and sore.
All this improvement with a horse that was already carrying out it’s job and gave no indication of discomfort. Doesn’t it make you wonder what your horse may be keeping from you?
A horse that I was called out to see was a 16year old thoroughbred mare being worked in a higher-level dressage program. The only real complaint that was noted by her owner was that on occasion she tossed her head up during her right canter lead. But this was nothing that the owner felt to be a real concern or issue.
Upon my assessment, I found her large intestine and kidney shu point to be reactive. The large intestine meridians which, if over active, (which both meridians were) can be a major cause of overall muscle tightness, especially in the neck. The main muscle that corresponds with this meridian is the tensor muscle of the fascia latta, the origin is the tuber coxae (point of the hip) and insertion point is to the stifle. The kidney meridian if over active can cause agitated behavior, which the owner had said was actually a problem, but did not really think much of it, as she is an energetic and somewhat high strung horse. The muscle that corresponds with the kidney meridian is the iliopsoas, a deep pelvic muscle. I cleared both meridians through ting point stimulation.
When checking her range of motion, all four limbs were somewhat stiff and did not carry out their full movement, especially those muscles of the hind limbs, which were limited for both protraction and retraction muscles. Her right shoulder when assessing her protraction muscles was resistant to carry out its full range of motion as well. Her hind end movement was somewhat short and choppy. Her lower back was also sore and sensitive to any pressure. Both hind end and lower back weakness most likely were attributing to her high neck carriage, this would help avoid using these muscles and evade rounding her back. I also noted that her back had slightly dropped, another sign that she was avoiding using her back and hind end.
I focussed mainly on her lower back and hind end, as in relieving those areas I believed her head carriage would correct itself. And in increasing her comfort and opening her muscles to allow a greater range of motion, she would have increased, smoother movement of all four limbs. Her range of motion of all four limbs after treatment had significantly increased, and there was no longer a sensitivity to her lower back As routine stretching exercises before and after work, I recommended belly lifts, pelvic tilts/flexes and stretching all four limbs; both protraction and retraction muscles. I was to follow this treatment up in one week.
After a week of being more balanced and daily stretching, her owner had noticed a remarkable improvement, as did I. She was calmer, able to carry out the full range of motion of all four limbs with increased flexibility and her movement was smoother. Her back no longer showed any reaction to pressure and her head carriage was no longer an issue. Her owner also noticed that her canter was easier to sit to. This occurred because she was now able to round her back comfortably, rather than have it stiff and sore.
All this improvement with a horse that was already carrying out it’s job and gave no indication of discomfort. Doesn’t it make you wonder what your horse may be keeping from you?
