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?
I wanted to wish everyone the very best of the holiday season but also give you some tips for keep your dogs safe from all the festivities. Be aware that pointsettas are toxic to dogs, as well as chocolate, which can be very dangerous as a dog’s liver cannot metabolize it, sometimes causing irreversable damage. Please contact your Vet if your dog gets into either of those. Be aware of the wonder of tinsel and ribbon and how dogs and cats are quite facinated with it. Eating it could cause blockage and other very serious issues. One last reminder, we all love to share our turkey dinner with our our legged family members. Gravy and the rich meat from turkey can cause severe gasrtointestinal upset as well as pancreatitis. Have a safe and happy holiday.
A Comparative Look Between Equine/Canine and Human Therapy
Over the past three and a half years I have been recovering from a number of injuies. This process has really made me appreciate and rethink therapy as a whole. It amazes me how much the body, human or animal, can compensate to be “ok.” Animals, like humans, need time and specific tools to recover, just as I needed therapy to excel and ensure my recovery.
Many of the ailments and weaknesses I have experienced during my recovery process have been directly comparable to a number of horses and dogs that I have seen. For example, for weeks after my accident my body seemed “fine;” but as soon as I wanted and expected more from it, I realized that there were many weaknesses present. My body started to shut down, as do animal’s bodies in the same situation.
One of the main compensations that I see is in movement and stride; inability to track up or to carry themselves. If there is a weakness present, the body does all that it can to try and be normal. I saw a horse with a weak lower back and hind end. To compensate and balance its movement, this horse stepped medially/diagonally towards the body, which has a domino effect on the horse’s overall wellness. After my accident, I was walking crooked to try and compensate for my own lower limb weakness and within weeks my whole body ached and my lower back became quite painful. To help strengthen and balance myself, my physiotherapist asked me to try move my arms slightly medially when I walked in order to help with my balance. In doing this, my balance was better, but I still needed other tools to correct other problems that were becoming apparent due to me compensating. Although this horse was trying to correct its own balance issues, with increased time had it not had therapy, many other problems would have started to present themselves. Therapy helped to balance the horse.
Another much less obvious problem is chronic pain. The memory and nervous system is amazing. If pain is present for an extended period of time and left untreated, the body starts to believe that the chronic pain will in fact always be present. Due to the nerve damage and chronic pain in my situation, even after the healing occurred, I still believed that the unbearable pain was present. We had to teach my body that the pain was subsiding, that with time and treatment it would no longer be an issue. I have seen many horses that have had increased pain and trauma to an area that may have been left untreated. Once the treatment process and healing had started and the pain had subsided, this horse still believed the area was quite painful. As with my injury, we had to remind the horse by touching and rubbing the area frequently that the pain was no longer an issue. With time this horse regained the confidence that the area was staring to progressively heal.
These are just a few of the similarities between human and horse/dog therapy. The main difference is in our defense mechanisms and our ability to communicate. Every body needs time to heal and the tools to enable it to do so. Therapy is the best way to heal.
How many of you have a horse or dogs recovering from an injury or surgery? Recovery is proven to effectively help inflammed muscles and improve the healing of damaged tissue. Recovery assists in improving the stabilty of your animals’ muscle membrane therefore increasing the rate of healing and decreasing chronic pain caused by joint and muscle weakness.
http://www.recoverysa.com/recovery_sa.htm
We all search for the ideal fitness and nutritional program for our horses, but is it enough?
Selenium deficiency has been a reoccurring problem with horses, but is becoming more prominent that any of us ever really realized. The assumption that an adequate feeding program will give our horse the internal balance that they require to carry out their day to day work programs is proving to be somewhat harder than we, as horse owners, imagined.
Selenium, in conjunction with Vitamin E, is necessary for the immune system to function normally. Selenium is found naturally in most soil. However, not all foliage carries adequate amounts of selenium and our soil seems to be proving to be somewhat deficient. Without proper amounts of selenium intake, significant problems are becoming present.
Insufficient selenium intake can cause multiple problems such as:
* Muscle cramping/swelling/fatigue
* Affects the muscles of the heart used for respiration
* Causes an irregular pulse
* Brown or discoloured urine
* Lack of muscle tone in the horse’s back and hind limbs
These are just a few of the symptoms commonly noted with selenium deficiency.
The normal daily selenium intake is recorded as 1-3mg per day. In the last year, I have noticed an increase in selenium deficient horses throughout my work.
One particular incident that comes to mind is a barn that has had an increase of new horses over the past year from other barns and areas of British Columbia. The barn now consists of nine horses, all of which are now out on pasture, given good quality hay and are fed both a grain and supplement with selenium added. Only two of these horses have been living there throughout their life with this feeding program. Four of these horses had been given quality hay with beet pulp and supplements with very limited pasture time and mostly remained in stalls or paddocks prior to coming to live at this barn. The remaining three horses’ prior living situation was out on pasture without any grain or supplements added to their daily feeding schedule. Of these nine horses, only the two horses with the grain and supplements both containing selenium and consistent pasture access were tested within normal limits. The horses without any supplements or grain were experiencing a multitude of symptoms consistent with selenium deficiency; problems muscling up, decrease in energy level, muscle tremors and general irritability.
After owning these new horses over a period of time and they were settled into their new environment, the problems persisted. Other avenues were looked into and numerous professionals looked at the horses, as they all showed different signs depending on each individual horse. No two horses showed the same clinical signs. Their teeth were floated, ill-fitting tack was ruled out by a professional saddler and I was called to give them an overview. Although the horses did show improvement after each visit by every professional, the original concern always seemed to reappear. The Vet then did blood work with each group of horses to check their selenium levels as that seemed to be the only other possible problem. The two groups without the added grain and supplements tested very low. Since May, all of the horses have been given added selenium to their diets and a significant improvement has been noted.
Is your horse showing any combination of these symptoms;
* Acting “off” continually throughout your school
* Hitched movement
* Random unprovoked behaviour
* Muscle tremors
* Excessive sweats
* Problems getting muscle tone
Selenium deficiency may be your problem. Double check your horse’s feed schedule to make sure that your horse is getting adequate amounts of selenium and speak to your Vet.
Yesterday I attended a Canine Rehabilitation Seminar put on by Dr. Janet B. Van Dyke, DVM, CCRT, CEO http://www.caninerehabilitation.com/. She was a great speaker with a lot of knowledge along with benficial treatments and rehab protocols. Dr.VanDykean is an accomplished Vet and has been practicing orthopedics and sports medicine for many years. She stressed the importance of rehab and preventive therapy in Veterinary Medicine to dogs with any type of ailments from post surgical rehab to aging weaknesses . She had great ideas for passive and active rehab exercises that help to strengthen, tone and improve the body’s overall balance. Like myself, Dr.Van Dyke believes that this type of therapy is imperative for any dog’s lifestyle to help improve their quality of life.
