Weekend Update - Pimms, Polo and Poles!

Morning readers, I hope you all had a lovely horsey weekend?

I did and thought i'd do a little update for you all, as that is what this blog is for afterall!

Saturday I had a lovely lay in and feel so much better for it. I was starting to get drained so a good lay in did me the world of good!
I then forced myself out of bed early afternoon and headed down to the gorgeous Hare Park for the Pimms and Polo afternoon.

Really well plays chukkas and match! Really impressed to see some great horses and their riders. Very close match but the White team came away victorious!

I managed to get some photos on my phone of the action. They're nothing special but they're also not too bad!

Sunday I made my way over to my parents house to go with Mum and Georgie over to  Prestige Equestrian Centre down the road from us in Castle Camps, where we hired their beautiful school for an hour to get the rust off B's jumping and vary his work. We already know he is very well schooled, and that he can fly over cross country jumps, but wanted to remind him that not all jumps are immobile and that he needs to pick his little legs up! 

He did really well, as I said he is a little rusty but he did do well. He's learning that not all poles are flimsy plastic and he needs to tuck his toes up on avoid clonking a hard wooden pole and they hurt! 
He had one such clonk but quick as you like he then learnt, keep his toes up and no lagging!

Here's a little video!

So overall, very happy Sophie. Lovely family, lovely new friends, lovely horses and just over all nice times! Bring on my weekends like this 

We're visiting a smaller show this weekend for Georgie to have a go at some more jumping and then not long until Houghton Hall!
I'm sorting my lead rein outfit out as Frankie and I are going to do our first lead rein class, i'm excited!! 

Look out for a post on that, i'm gonna try and scrub up well!

Sophie x

Centaur Bio-mechanics Lesson

Yesterday we had a lovely sunny morning which was perfect to watch Georgie have a lesson with Russell Guire from Centaur Biomechanics over at Fenning Farm in Ely

We couldn't have asked for better weather! Gorgeous blue skies, nice cooling breeze, and not too hot! Since Sunday we've been leaving B out in the field at night and it seems to be working. He was very chilled... See?

The clinic was very kindly organised by our Retraining of Racehorses Eastern Region representative Colleen Salmon with some subsidy from ROR which was very kind of them! 

The aim of the lesson was to watch the rider ride naturally and watch for any quirks, problems or mistakes that they make and then analyse them. The rider is required to wear a black jacket, which has green lines down the spine, shoulder blades, the length of the arms, across the collar bones and down the sternum. The use of these lines is to look if any part of the torso is wonky, off balance, weaker etc and watch it back through footage taken on a slow motion camera.

Some white motion capture dots were placed on the back of the saddle and at the very top of the horses tail to capture the straightness of the riders position.

By the rider having the ability to watch themselves back, up close and in slow motion it makes it really easy to see the problem(s) that they have and then spend the latter half of the lesson working on correcting it.

As mentioned in my blog post from Sunday, Georgie has a problem with her right shoulder. It is wonky and means she does not sit straight in her position. Her strong shoulder is pushed forward from muscle memory and 'leads' over the weaker left shoulder. Due to this Georgie also has been found to sit much more right on Beanie, rather than central.

A side effect of this stronger right shoulder problem is that is causes Georgie to look into her inside when riding, instead of looking straight and in the direction she is going. This is a lot more prominent when schooling in circles as you'll see from the videos.
It's not a huge problem, it does not drastically affect Beanie's going and performance, but for a small problem it does cause some little knock on effects that Russell pointed out to us. 

Once this shoulder issue is sorted and Georgie stops her right shoulder muscles from being stronger than the other, all the little things will fix themselves.

Once the analytics part of the lesson was completed it came to Russell giving Georgie a lesson and helping her work on different aspects of her riding. 
Beanie is quite behind the leg when it comes to schooling. Georgie will agree that Beanie is a bit of a lazy horse somewhat and will be a bit dead to the leg at times. Russell picked up on this and helped Georgie work on getting him moving forward and without having to continually be kicking him on. As you can see B is a little naughty, even if you tap him ever so slightly with the whip to remind him, he bucks. Not big, but he protests to actually have to work harder! He was however very impressed with Beanie's self carriage while schooling. Since we've had Beanie G has worked really hard to get him off the forehand and leaning on her all the time. I think that will have come from building up Beanie's back and neck muscles over time with lot's of schooling and lunging, thus allowing him to carry himself.

B has also really gained strength all over and with this it allows him to really use his hocks and have a nice powerful gaits which today really showed through and was impressive to look at. I know I am bias but it was commented on quite a lot and I think Georgie should be really proud of that!

As well as working on Beanie, Russell helped Georgie work on correcting her position while schooling and therefore creating a much more balanced picture overall. As you can hear from the video Russell states to Georgie about flashlight and chair. He used these example that when Georgie moves, she should invision a flashlight on her tummy and that she should move her whole torso, not just her head to the direction she'd like to go. So with turning she needs to be more fluid in her turns and turn with Beanie, rather than just moving her head. With that it will encourage Beanie to move around Georgie's inside leg and round off. As he says, Beanie needs to be a bit more round in his turns.

We went away from the lesson seriously impressed with both how Beanie and Georgie got on, but also how quickly and how well Russell picked up on Georgie's faults, he has a very keen eye for what is correct in riding. He has a wealth of knowledge which really shows through, no wonder Centaur Biomechanics work with Team GB! We also noticed and appreciated just how much Russell understood retrained racehorses. A lot of instructors either don't expect much from an ex racehorse or simply do not get that they are made, act and work completely differently to a warm blood dressage horse specifically bred for dressage. 
Russell commented on just how much thoroughbreds are a really underrated breed and that they, when retrained properly fit extremely well into their new careers and are extremely versatile.  
Colleen is looking to organise some more of these lessons through her Speech Partnership page so do join the group and mention that you'd like to try a lesson.  

Georgie is now going to put steps into action to adjust her muscle faults. Russell recommended seeing a chiropractor to check there isn't an injury to Georgie's shoulder, and also help with movement and exercises which will lengthen the shortened muscle, allowing it to line up with her left shoulder. 

I must say that I am very proud of Georgie, she does incredibly well with the time and resources available to her. We don't have our own school and have to borrow one, most of G&B's schooling is while out hacking, or lunging in the field. She also does not have regular lessons, in fact I cannot remember the last time she had a proper lesson from someone with a lot more knowledge than our Mum and I. 

I hope this post and the videos helped you and if you have the opportunity to have a lesson with Russell and Centaur Biomechanics, snap it up quick!

Over and Out, Sophie x

Smart Grooming Product Review - Leg and Body Whitening Powder

A couple of weeks ago the lovely people over at Smart Grooming and Clippersharp sent me some things to try out. Obviously I've been dying to try them but until today we've been jumping in the mud, but I finally got to try them yesterday. 

The first thing I tried was this pot of Leg and Body Whitening Powder. B has 3 white socks that we wash before competitions, and usually use chalk to finish them off before going into the show ring.

I must admit that I have used other leg whiteners before but wasn't all that impressed. I've used spray on whiteners but that was just very sticky and clumped all the hair together which didn't look natural. We usually use chalk which works well but covers you, the horse and everything else in a thin layer of dust! Not what you want with a nice clean horse now covered in fine chalk dust. So with an open mind I was keen to try this powder out. 

Firstly I off washed B's legs with whitening shampoo to remove the ingrained dirt and mud (B does love to wade in muddy puddles) and start with a 'blank canvas' as it were. His nice clean legs below -

I then dampened a sponge as suggested and lightly dipped one end into the powder. I wasn't quite sure how much to use so I just covered about a quarter of the sponge with a thin layer of powder. I then began gently rubbing it over B's white legs. He has quite a straight transition into his chestnut fur into his white socks so I used a square sponge so that I could really make sure I accurately covered only the white sock and didn't get any of the powder onto the rest of his legs. Its good to use the corners of the sponge to get into corners and little edges accurately without smudging.

The powder goes a long way so use sparingly to avoid caking the fur. It will stick together a little, but don't worry that will go once it's dry.

B's legs after applying the powder to slightly dam legs.

I then left it to dry out slightly, then put clean travel boots over the top to avoid getting any dirt, poo or anything else on his now immaculate white socks. This saved time at the show as this job was already done!

Once at the show and B was unloaded and his boots taken off, his legs had completely dried. I brushed the excess powder off, which will also de-clump the hair making it look nice and natural, and slightly fluffy.

Ta Dah! Look how white they are! I was honestly really shocked with how good the results are.

Unlike chalk which goes EVERYWHERE, this whitening powder doesn't at all. Because you dampen the sponge slightly and apply it, it creates a very light paste which easily and thinly spreads over the horses coat.

Well I am absolutely converted and will loath to use chalk ever again. This pot will last for ages as you only have to use a small amount, a little goes a long way. It also slightly coats the skin under the coat lightly making the area looks super white! 

This product does exactly what it says on the tin (well tub, but you know what I mean) and the instructions are spot on. It's easy to accurately apply so you can get it exactly where you need to without making the dark fur stained with white. It makes the coat 'dazzling' white, and doesn't become cakey and sticky.

It also won't break the bank, at only £11.95 for a 1KG tub!  (Now at a special price of £9.95 on 22/4/15) Compared to other high end showing products this is really reasonable! 

If you have a horse who is either a white grey, has white socks or any other white patches you want to whiten for competitions then stop what you're doing and buy some! Link above

I have another Smart Grooming product to review when we have B's full summer coat we watch out for that! 

Really pleased with yesterdays result and qualified for Thoroughbred and Retired Racehorse Championship at Aintree Racecourse. Thanks for the help on making B look gorgeous Smart Grooming 

Sophie x

First Show of the Season

As you'll know, if you've been reading the blog for a while, Beanie has had a lovely time this winter drag hunting and eventing with lot's of fun galloping and jumping, but today we had our first outing of the show season to a small show in Fordham, Suffolk for the Worlington Riding Club Show. They were holding a Thoroughbred and Retired Racehorse Association (TARRA for short) qualifier for their championships that this year are due to be held at Aintree Racecourse in August 2015.

As well as drag hunting, and now Cross country we have been schooling B at our local Riding School which has a lovely ménage as we do not have our own and it is somewhere we've been going since we are very little girls and really enjoy visiting.

I spent the Saturday morning in the sun cleaning and polishing boots, then followed by lunging Millie the Shetland while Georgie lunged B. We've found it really helpful as as well as responding to Georgie's physical commands while being ridden, it has helped Beanie really listen to Georgie's vocal commands while working on the ground and on the lunge.

I do polish a pair of long boots rather well, if I do say so myself! I find it rather therapeutic.

The up early today to plait and spruce. Mummy P the pro plaitter below! 

I also got to try out some new pressie's this morning too so watch out for those posts coming soon!

The turn out was good with about 6 or 7 competitors in each class which is good for the very start of the season and braving the cold weather. It was freezing and even spat a bit of rain at times. Not the spring weather we would have liked!

Admittedly Georgie was a bit tense and rusty. Her shoulder was playing up from an old injury today so lot of reminders to stretch and relax. Looking forward to Tuesdays Bio mechanics lesson with the ROR to see what they say about it! (look out for that post later this week)

Beanie is also very very fit. He was quite tense but was forward and active in the ring, and was listening to Georgie.

After a slightly disappointing individual show with a car starting up and moving off next to the ring just as Georgie asked for canter, it made B lose focus for a second and strike off on the wrong lead. Despite that it had it's lovely moments and was good. B did a gorgeous square halt at the end which we were really pleased about. Carl Hester would have been pleased! 

We were pleased to be pulled into second, behind the lovely Purple Moon and our friend Chantal Wooton who took the first spot. And a second placing meant we had qualified for the championship up in Aintree! Not too shabby for our very first show!

George and Beanie sharing a little kiss in the ring. Very  lovely ginger boys!

B scrubbed up very well and overall we're pleased. We've decided to make a few changes to B's feed and routine as he is really fresh at the moment being so fit and well, we are going to turn him out in the field the night before a show, rather than stable him all night. It will really help him relax so he can graze and mooch about. B is a very clever horse so nice relaxing situations keep his mind calm and occupied, helping him keep chilled.

We have some lessons coming up, and then onto some big shows so looking forward to seeing how Georgie and Beanie do this season. Everything we do with horses is a learning experience of trial and error. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, it's just learning from your experiences and making changes for the better. B is a lovely boy, who does try really hard but like all horses he gets a bit rusty. It's hard to change between galloping and jumping big cross country courses to then slow right down and gather back up to then go showing. The more we do, the better we'll get.

See you at Aintree!

Sophie x

The Strong Bond Between a Horse and It's Rider - Studies and Articles

If you've owned or regularly ridden a horse you'll know that you form a strong bond, sometimes a very strong bond, with that horse.
Horses are herd animals and stick together, so it's no surprise when I read both of these Discovery channel articles that it's been shown that firstly horses remember people even after long periods away from each other and second that horse and rider enter a state of 'co-being'. Both very interesting and I'm sure as horse riders you'd would say "we already knew that" but now we have the science to prove it!

You can read the full articles here - Never forget human friends and State of co-being

A study done by Ethologist Sankey of the University of Rennes did a 41 step programme on basic grooming and medical care and how well the horses responded to a female trainer when performing the task and being rewarded with a treat. Those horses licked and sniffed which are signs that a horse is comfortable and affectionate.
Horses responded more positively that had been given a food reward and treated well than horses who had done the tasks but we not rewarded.  Those without a reward responded 4 to 6 times more with negative behaviour such as biting and kicking out. 
So it pays to be nice to your horse!

Don't get me wrong, I can be guilty of being short tempered and exasperated with Millie and B. For example when trying to catch Millie on Sunday she was eating a yummy patch of grass she was not prepared to give up so she started walking away from me. When I tried to dodge her and catch up she'd whip round and away from me in walk. It annoyed me no end so I threw the head collar at her and told Georgie to attempt to catch her. After she buggered off for a minute she stood still and let Georgie catch her. Bloody typical! I was not best pleased.
I am a bit of a strict one myself and like good behaviour and get annoyed or cross with bad manners, pushy-ness etc so I need to remember to step back and remember that horses remember what I do with them, so I must be nice aye!

Lankey shows that horses remember verbal commands often time better than dogs do. It's extremely important to not just use physical aids but also vocal aids. 
Remember to tell your horse he's a good boy/she's a good girl when doing something good, or when they are doing something they don't like or are frightened of, that they're behaving how you'd like them to. That will reward them and they'll remember that. 
Often when horses don't want to jump something that scares them such as a ditch or going into water we must verbally tell them they've done well while they're leading up the that obstacle and after they've completed it, to overcome that fear to carry out the physical command asked of them is a big deal. Horses are flight animals after all so for them to willingly obey that command, even doing something that terrifies them is a really big deal.

Which links in nicely to my next point. -

Horse and rider who regularly spend time together and ride together form a sort of co-being it has been found by a study recently published by The journal Social Anthropology. Now I am sure those of you who ride the same horse day in day out will already know this and feel that bond. You move together, he knows when you're going to do something, and that your horse picks up on the most subtle of movements, signals or cues you give off whether consciously or subconsciously.

I truly think that Charlotte Dujardin has this sort of bond with Valegro and that is what makes them so successful. And I personally think it's wonderful to see 

As I wrote just above about a horse doing something despite it frightening them, well -

Anita Maurstad of the University of Tromso's Department of Cultural Sciences  "The rider is often in charge, expressing, through body kinetics, what he or she wants the horse to do, but unless the rider attunes to the horse's body and mind, the horse will not understand, and unless the horse attunes to the rider, the horse will not manage to perform the requirements of the rider."

The Co-Existing bond in action. B follows, turns and stops just by following Georgie

Pretty spot on right? They go on to say that horses pick up on the smallest of movements so that is why it's so important to move gently while on the horse, and be soft with your hands, legs and seat. My mother always used to say my pony Icy could pick up on when I was nervous before an event and I never really believed her. It wasn't until I was older and understood that when being nervous your body doesn't just respond to that adrenalin in your brain but also physically in your body. Your muscles tense up, your heart beats faster etc and all of those things your horse can feel and it makes them nervous too.
Lot's of deep breathes, it will help relax you...

Dona Davis of the University of South Dakota’s Department of Anthropology and Sociology also talks about how we speak to our horses and the tone we use - "The term "motherese" is used to refer to the way many humans talk to their horses, It is not 'baby talk,' but a controlled and calming tone of voice. People use this language tone so as not to excite the horse. I see it as a kind of verbal stroking." 
True right? We use that certain tone to help calm a horse but also reassure it. It's extremely  important to talk to and around a horse calmly. Not only do they pick up on your vibes mentioned above, they pick up on how to speak as well.
No shouting at or around a horse unless you have to right!

With all that information, what shall we as equestrians do going forward. Well, treat your horse how you'd like to be treated and they'll reciprocate that to you. Talk to them calmly and nicely, reward them and make a fuss of them when they do something you wanted them to do. The psychological term is operant conditioning aka instrumental learning which is a method of learning that occurs through reinforcements and punishments for behavior. It encourages the animal to associate desirable or undesirable outcomes with certain behaviors." That way they'll learn that is how you want them to behave. 
Spend quality time with them to create that strong bond. Groom them often and they'll groom you back, and spend time with them in the field like they would if they were in a pack and they'll start to see them as their herd leader. 

I hope you found this advice and the articles helpful. Now go and hug your horse!

Sophie x

Horseheath Cross Country - Lovely day in the sun!

Well Georgie and I have had a lovely weekend in the sun. First thing Saturday we came over to our Parents house to lunge and exercise B. He was a very good boy schooling and listening to Georgies vocal aids while is a real positive, seeing as he used to play silly buggers bucking and squeeling.

The passoa really helps him to engage his behind and use his back and neck. 

Then off we went to go and walk the 3 ft+ cross country course at Horseheath. The course was lovely and well put together. Nice gallops with combinations, hedges and skinnies. 

1- Nice palisade for the first.

2 - Barrels leading into number 3, an open gate in the woods 

4 - Rails packed with foliage

5- Skinny log in the woods

6- Hedge out back into the open field 

7 - Onto a larger hedge

8 - Barrels downhill into a drop at A and B

8 C - a big 3'3" skinny barrels out 

9 A, B and C big tiger trap, to ditch, onto another tiger trap

B - Ditch leading into another tiger trap at  C

10 - A big table top

11 - An open gate

12 - A big zig zag palisade. (Sorry my phone ran out of battery) 

13 A and B - Upright with a brush top onto a Skinny roll top 

14 A,B and C. Two big step ups then onto a skinny flower bed fence 

C - Arrowhead skinny flower bed

15 - 3'6" hedge with a rail and ditch in front 

16 - Corner 

17 A, B and C. 3 chairs. A and B had 1 stride between and between B and C had 2 strides.

18 - Big roll top skinny

19 - Hay trough (Dogs are convenient size comparison)

20 - Brush into the water, splash through and another brush out 

21 - Tiger trap to finish 

The dogs liked walking the course too https://instagram.com/p/1aSLwYQJLn/

Well now you've seen the course. I think it flows well, some big questions and complex triples but B loved it.

We arrived with quite a lot of time to spare, so B and I just chilled while he grazed and Georgie went off to get her number and hat check.
After a quick studding up, Georgie got ready and we tacked Beanie up. 
Safe to say he was very chilled... Ahem, fast asleep. 

But he soon knew his job once Georgie was on. 

It was a busy class with the packed warm up arena. Unfortunately there was an accident on course which did delay the course for quite some time. Georgie jumped off B to take the weight off him and keep him walking to keep his muscles warm.

Once the poor girl has been looked after my paramedics the class commenced again and with just 4 people in front of her Georgie and B got their game faces on!
It's been super windy today so G didn't hear the starter, thinking she had 2 minutes left, but was in fact ready to go! They set off and B was very frisky, annoyingly going a bit side ways but G soon straightened him off and he popped over fence 1 no problem! Off to a good rhythm they popped every single fence, even scary ditches! 
Completing the course in about 4 minutes 15 seconds or so which is a good time, seeing as the ground wasn't as forgiving in places as it should have been.

Sadly we had to leave so still no word on how they did, but fingers crossed as it was a strong clear.

I've had an absolutely lovely weekend outside in the sun doing various horsey activities. More weekends like this please!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Sophie x

Bandages and Boots - How much protection for tendons do they offer?

I've read a couple of really good articles recently regarding boots and bandages to help support tendons, but also note the downsides of using them and how it can potentially damaged and degrade the tissue if not used properly.

They can be found here - Bandages or Tendon Boots?  and Boots and Bandages: To Support and Protect

We all know that most horses brush together, or need boots to avoid injury. All aspects of equestrianism use boots to protect from knocks, scrapes and even to maybe prevent injury. We always, without fail, boot B up for when he is jumping just in case he knocks a jump or even knocks himself when he gets tired. We also pop some front brushing boots on when riding out to support his tendons when doing road work. But do they really help?

I'm sure for experienced equestrians that it goes without saying that boots and bandages should never be too tight. But often new or inexperienced riders won't always know this without guidance from someone with more knowledge.
Horses can and have suffered from irreparable damage to their legs due to wearing bandages wrapped too tightly, or from being wrapped unevenly, causing pressure points. 

To quote NFEquimassage -

"What they can do is provide irreparable harm to nerves and other tissues when they are unevenly or too tightly wrapped. When the core temperature in a tendon reaches a certain level, the tissue begins to degenerate and therefore means that the tissue cells begin to die. If this happens the tendon is weakened, and therefore are more vulnerable to further injury such as major tears. It also allows the fibres to stretch beyond their normal range until it finally snaps."

So when working your horse, does it make sense to use bandages? If you're using thick, cotton type banadages then they're going to raise the temperature of the legs, and therefore tendons just by being wrapped around the leg. 
Cal Rei make bandages out of their wonderful breathable fabric, we're really hoping to try some of those out soon now that the showing season is starting and we use bandages when warming up before entering the ring. 
Due to their breathable 3D fabric technology it allows air to flow between the fabric and onto the tendons which subsequently helps keep the tendons cool, but also supported.

They look pretty darn smart too don't they?













Brushing and tendon boots, what is the deal with them also? 
Well, as with bandages they can also damaged the tendons and legs due to being done up too tight. Obviously they need to be tight enough not to fall down, but not too tight that they're going to impede blood flow which as mentioned, would damage the leg.

So when you're jumping, what type of boots do you need? Well some people use only brushing boots, while others use tendon boots which only protect the back of the legs if the horse were to strike itself. They both have their uses and you can make your mind up on which bests suits your horses needs when doing different activities with them.
Horse & Hound did a list recently with the top 10 boots  and a lot of those have air flow and mesh fabric used to help keep the tendons cool and protected at the same time.

It was noted in The Horse article that boots must not be left on, as it will not allow the tendons to cool properly. After strenuous work it is really recommended to hose the leg afterward working the horse to allow the tendon to cool more quickly.

An example that comes to mind also with the importance of wearing boots for protection is the gorgeous race horse Master Minded. A quote from Paul Nicholls in this article stated that by MM wearing boots helped minimise the damage to his career ending injury -

"Master Minded clearly injured himself during the race, but two things immediately helped minimise the damage at that point; the first is that Daryl was quick to recognise there was a problem and promptly pulled him up and, secondly, Master Minded was wearing protective boots."

In summary, by all means continue to use bandages and boots, but i'd also recommend keeping an eye out for new technologies. Innovation in horses leg protection is on going and helpful. As mention, have a look into Cal Rei's bandages, I cannot recommend this brand enough as the numnah we use is seriously good at keeping the supported but cool.
But also look into new boots - The Horse article stated that new boot technologies have moved away from plastics and leather and onto more breathable and supportive materials which help cooling but also reduce the chances of rubbing to the skin or injury to the tendons and ligaments. 

Horses legs cannot be repaired like human legs, so keep them sound while you can!