Cwm Derwen Riding club demo at furzehill

A great thanks to everyone for coming to the demo yesterday even though the weather wasn't on our side, hope you all enjoyed the afternoon and found it informative.

Thank you to Quita for organising it and to Val and Paul for the use of their facilities and of course to the horses who were very interesting subjects.

If you have any questions or queries please call or email me. Photos of a painted bozo will follow!!!

Wales

Hi everyone

I thought I was going to have more time to blog but that has not been the case, life in Wales has been great so far, really nice to with my family again and I am feeling much better for it!

The horses traveled over in the spring and apart from a bout of colic everyone has settled in well, I think that is due to cooler temperatures and lots of lush green grass!!

Moving

Hi Everyone, Sorry I haven't had the time to blog recently.
Some of you know I haven't been very well for the past few years and the problem continues......
So I have decided to move back to my dads in Wales for some rest and TLC, I will go the in beginning of December, my horses will stay here for the time being and I hope to continue treating horses out here.

I would like to thank you all for your support and its not good bye just a bientot.......

Don't forget any questions about your horses and I am just at the end of an email I will hopefully be able to give more time to blogging.

School

I am having another great weekend at school. We have finished all the muscles bones and ligaments, we have just to learn them off by heart now!

This afternoon we have been working on our skills of touch, by trying to feel the cranial rhythm, most of us could and wow was it amazing. A very subtle movement which once you were in tune with it, you could feel you hands being moved as well, the art was to feel with out inflicting your own respiration or heart beat on to the patient and also to be feeling the cranial rhythm and not their heart beat or respiration.
The movement changed from person to person and seeing as we had done range of motion in the vertebrae the day before we could see how this corresponded to their stiff / problem side.

As the patient we could feel the movement too, followed by a sense of relief or emotion some reported having headaches including me!.

We were amazing that such a small movement could cause these feelings, of course the occiput is a highly nerved area, but if our hands can create such feelings what sort of feelings would a trauma induce?

The head teacher is sure that horses experience "headaches" but has no way of proving it.

I also found time to look up the archives of the previous thesis and yes some one had done one on bridles and bits, but no comparison between bit less and with bit.

So the thesis talked at length about the different bits their effect on the horse mainly from a riders point of view then the osteopathy view.

20 horses were used for the study at different stages of education and by ridden by different levels of rider.
As I had said in my post answer to Di, both cause tension in the TMJ this was confirmed. 10 of the horses had pathologies but only 8 out of the 20 had pathologies caused by the bit its self.
Showing Tension in the TMJ and pathologies of c0/c1 and the withers, this she felt was caused directly by the bit how ever she also stated in her conclusion it was due to lack of relationship between rider and the bit that caused this problem. ( in other words in-experienced hands followed by a lack of understanding by the rider of the horses bio mechanics).
Also in her conclusion she went on to state that few of the riders had tried more than 2 bits for their horse or worked with dentist to find the best biting for their horse.
The study was carried out in France in 2007.

An interesting study but as we thought open to many other factors but also confirming what we already knew, that the key to a happy pathology free horse is good hands and an independent seat and a thorough understanding of the horses bio mechanics.

Valerie Fratellini

What an amazing lady, We got there to watch the young Stagier from the riding school doing shoulder in contre shoulder in then followed by Half pass and then teaching the basic's of flying changes, you could really see the young girl improve from beginning to end and her confidence boosted.

But what really impressed me was when a young girl on the riding school pony came in, she started of with shoulder in on the right rein ok but left was getting tough the pony was just not listening to her, so Valerie got on, ha the pony didn't know what hit him a few tickles with the dressage whip and legs on!!!! wow you could see his back round outline formed, her legs were so strong he started to passage and very little contact with his mouth in fact I would have said she had washing lines for reins, but it was clearly enough.
And what Valerie explain to the young girl was that even if you don't know what you are doing you have to convince you horse that you do other wise he will never give, precise movements require precise aids and she showed us exactly that.
Valerie then lesson the continued teaching the young girl how her weight turns the horse showing her an open rein the horse barely turned and then she dropped the reins and used her upper body to turn.
The funny thing was I had been doing this exact lesson with my friend Marielle only a few weeks ago when she was having problems turning her just broken mare.

Even though this was work done on the basic's, I came away inspired and motivated and although I know my faults and my horses, but it made me realise the best trainers/riders, are the best because they know how to ask and they don't ask horse for it, they tell the horse that's what they want and that's when they get "Submission" for want of a better word and that only comes from Respect and no horse will respect you if you confused it and your self in your aids.

There is a famous American horse trainer who once said, would you trust a pilote who landed his plane sucessfully 60% of the time 80% of the time or 98% , so why should your horse trust\respect you, if you don't ask with consistency?
It is soo true.

Valerie will be at the ridding school today giving lessons anyone can watch for free!
Domaine de Beaurecueil, st Sulpice de Mareuil 0553609984

Will let you all know when the next it on, its normally every 3 months.

Sarciods

Apple has been receiving treatment for her sarcoid, this involves the sarcoid being injected every 2 weeks with a form of chemotherapy ( to kill of the cancer cells) she has had 2 treatments and will need a third and it is looking very good. (totally forgot to take photo's)

The nice vet who came to inject her was telling me about the latest research on sarciods done at Liverpool, they have found that cows have a similar problem and they found the same virus of the sacroid in the RDNA of the cow and the horse, Break though they thought, ha not that simple, they then took sacoid from a horse to a cow, no it didn't transmit nor the other way around so they know it is a virus based but then something happens to make it turn into a tumor, its this bit that they are having problems with, finding the link! At least they are trying!

The sun chaps have arrived and are really doing their job, her summer Mud fever has gone!!!!

This afternoon I am off to watch sadly not take part (lolo has missed too much work) Valerie Fratellini, who as a student of the late Sue Oliveira has continued the stages that Sue Oliveira held at the local riding school. It is great that in the depths of the Dordogne we have access to such talented Trainers.

Answer to Di's comment bit or bitless

It's a really difficult one Di, but we could say anything used with bad hands will cause problems!

We have to look at what we are trying to achieve (if it is flexion, why? Flexion is not a natural position for the horse either and the average horse does not carry himself like this. For greater control? then our basic work needs to be revised)

My choice is for a bit, but I would not rule out using bitless if I felt the horse was really much more comfortable in a bitless bridle.

One of the reasons I chose to stay with a bit is a few months ago we had a lesson on a head disection using photos, I was shocked at how superficial the thick nerves were on the nasal bone just where the nose band sits. The nerves are really important and anything pressing will relay a message further down the line ( spinal cord).

For me the pressure put on the mandible by the bit is more "humane" than on the nasal bone but again generally when we use pressure it is because we want flexion this in it's self is the cause of many a tight neck!

Both methods will cause tension in the poll, the bit if over used will cause tension in the TMJ and the bitless presses on the nerves!

So really the answer to your question would be try and find the balance that you and your horse are happy with, it you want flexion follow it with extension, if you need greater control, why? what is causing the resistance?

I have to admit all my horses go off my voice so I have little use for their bits, However for my stallion I do occasionally use a double bridle,(for a finer feel and more exact work) but Sue oliviera's words never leave my mind
"you want to feel as if you are holding a little bird in your hand, you don't want to squash it but at the same time you don't want to let it go!"