A lot of the clients I see have issue with the horse not being straight.  Horses, like people being left or right handed, tend to favour one rein over the other and without working to maintain straightness in the horse's work, this can lead to issues that I then pick up on during treatments.

Horses that have continuously been working crookedly start to show stiffness, sometimes leading to unlevelness, bridle lameness, incorrect strike offs in canter transitions, objecting to leg aids, cramping up when asked to go forwards. 

In terms of what I feel when assessing the horses, they can have bulges of muscle on one side of their body, areas of spasm, poor flexibility and poor joint rotation (mainly one way to the other).  The assessment of the back and pelvis can highlight soreness & weakness as the horse has been compensating his movement to make life easier for himself.

In a previous blog, on my website I wrote about muscle memory and how this can benefit the rider by good correct regular practice, making competition easier as you are well prepared and functioning on instinct.

Muscle memory is also a major part in straightness for the horse.  If the horse & rider have steadily become more crooked, the muscles of both horse & rider start to feel the crookedness as the 'norm' and when asked to straighten up the feeling is alien.

This is where reconditioning the body (horse and rider!) and re-learning the correct positioning is so important.  And I won't lie… it’s not that easy. What can slip into bad habits so easily for you both, can take twice as long to undo! That's the bad news out of the way.

Following the recent 2014 International Eventing Forum (which sadly I couldn't go to but enjoyed reading Alexis Ross' report for Eventing WorldWide) I read with interest that a lot of the speakers were discussing straightness & this involved control of the shoulders to achieve this & create a body position that the horse was able to use it's whole body to achieve highest levels of performance.

I have been working with some of my clients over the winter to achieve this - from my perspective, I want the horse to hold itself and the rider in the most economical & most effective way possible. I also want the horse to work in a way that it's body can go on to improve in muscle tone, suppleness and strength, because at the end of the day, it makes my life as a therapist so much easier!

Straightness really is the key for me - this is not to say that you can't bend and flex your horse when riding, but if you are not controlling the body while you do this, all your efforts disappear out the side door! 

Riding your horse into a soft & forward outline needs to come from behind.  The horse has to be forwards and straight & to do this he needs to be in front of your leg so you can sit and enjoy this! None of this is new information to you, I'm sure… but how aware are you of exactly how straight you are & the horse is underneath you?  How aware are you exactly of where each leg is as you go into halt (without cheating and looking down!), the positioning of the horse's in walk, trot and canter, and when jumping? Do you always ride on a circle or around the track of the school, can you ride off the track in a straight line & be even in both reins?

Being able to ride the horse from behind, forward & straight and then being able to control that with your seat, weight & legs is the key.  Then instead of steering with your reins, you start to steer with your body & leg pressure. Control of the shoulders then starts to come easier as you suddenly have a whole heap more neck in front of you as the front end is not being pulled around by the hand.

If you can learn to control the shoulder in this way, imagine how much easier that XC combination will be as you can keep your hand still & in the neck whilst your body & leg sends the horse as straight as a die over that tricky angled skinny on the exit. 

In terms of the contact you have, I am not suggesting we all drop our reins & fly about forwards & straight, throwing the shoulders of our horses about with their heads in the air! Your contact needs to be level and this is where we think about how crooked we are as riders. Don't know about you, but I have a stronger hand, which is my right one.  I call it my 'Tourettes Hand' as it tends to flail about of it's own accord despite my own efforts of me trying to keep it as still as possible.  I tend to hook a bit on the hand too so have to make a constant effort to encourage my horse to take more in the left rein to keep the contact even and keep the right hand forwards to stop pulling on it! 

A truly even steady contact isn't the easiest thing to achieve, but with control of the straightness & the shoulder, it's a hell of a lot more easy! Watching Charlotte Dujardin is a great example - she is really brave at putting her hands bang forward in front of her and having control of her horses shoulder neck with her body positioning. 

Now… this is Charlotte & Valegro… so sadly, we can't all ride like her or be sat on a horse like him, but we can pretend we are. If we can emulate a small amount of this 'brave hand' and control of shoulders and horse's straightness with our bodies & legs, then there's a chance our horses will give that extra bit of performance that we all know them to be capable of, but were just inhibiting them from producing. 

Following on from last month I'm pleased to say I was asked to write another article for Everything Horse UK in the December Edition which is out now!  Again based on one of my blogs it covers some of my thoughts on winter motivation and muscle memory.  Why not take a look!

I'm very pleased to say I am now a published author after being asked to contribute to a new online magazine - Everything Horse UK.  My article titled The Horse and It's Saddle was published in the November edition which can be found online.  My article is on page 50 and below are a couple of photos of the pages.  Please do check out the magazine as its new and reader support would be really good!  Hopefully I'll be writing more soon but in the meantime don't forget my blogs.

Welcome to winter.....the clocks have changed, the nights are now seriously long, you get up in the dark & it seems like its getting dark by 3pm.  This is the time of year when you question exactly why you thought it was such a great idea to own a horse, or in my case, two (which is foolish).

To go with the dark, the weather has decided to unleash every possible combination of weather on you in a single week, mud covers everything you own & your motivation to do much except drink hot chocolate & curl up on the sofa in front of a fire is slim.

However.....this is actually the time of year to reflect on what you have achieved during the summer months and what it is you want to achieve next year.  I mainly focus on the event horse, but this stands true for any horse that competes in any discipline or is just a pleasure horse.

Sit down (with that hot chocolate) and ask yourself – what can you do better? What has let you down this year? What has held you back from getting placed or winning? What do you wish you could improve? But also – what have you really nailed this year? What happened on your best days out? What did you do differently? Writing these things down helps to focus you on what you want to achieve and really see in black and white what issues you want to resolve.

No matter what job your horse does, you rarely meet a rider who doesn’t want to get better and improve. Be this moving up through the levels, taking the plunge and going out to compete for the first time or being brave enough for that canter across the field. As well as wanting to improve, if you ask any rider, they will have another rider or riders that they admire and look up to and want to (or dream of!) be as good as. I could give you a long list here, but probably my biggest hero in Equestrian sport is Sir Mark Todd. When I was younger, watching him on Charisma was the reason I wanted to event. But if it’s possible, he gets better and better each year. For me, he instils the horse with a huge amount of confidence; they have total trust in him & try their guts out for him.

But when watching these professionals ride, what do we really learn from them? As amateurs, can we realistically aim to be as good as them, to emulate their skills, for our ‘normal’ horses to be as good as these elite athletes? Well, quite rightly, no. There is a reason they are the best in the world – but there is also no reason why we shouldn’t strive to improve.

But what makes them & their horses so much better? As a professional rider, they are riding a huge amount more times a day than the average one horse owner/rider. Even if you are riding your horse 6 days a week, the practice you can put in is limited; a professional may be riding 10 horses a day. They will be fitter, better, more instinctive and more tuned than you.  This is where the term ‘muscle memory’ comes into play.

‘Muscle Memory’ is the body’s method of learning instinct or ‘Motor Learning’.  This can be you entering your pin number, tying your shoe laces, driving your car. You don’t need to think about these movements as your body and brain are so used to doing this, it acts on instinct. To get to this instinct level, the key is repetitive CORRECT practice.  When you are first learning, the reactions of the body can be slow and stiff and the brain can get easily distracted due to a lack of focus. It feels bad or too difficult and the emotional side of the brain can take over. ‘It’s too hard, I can’t do it’.  However, by changing the attitude, and recognizing what happens when it is good and repeating that feeling...the body starts to memorize that and finds it easier to repeat the action.  The greatest thing about muscle memory is that even with a break of work, the function remains.  Ever got on a bike after not riding one for years? You’re a bit rusty, but soon pedalling away happily!

A great non-horsey example of this is the rugby player, Jonny Wilkinson. He famously, spends hours and hours practicing his kicking of the rugby ball. He now has pin-point accuracy and it is that skill that lead him to become one of the worlds best ever rugby players and Fly-Half’s.  In the most crucial moments of matches, his instinct takes over and this is why he can produce match winning moments and appear to do so with total ease.

So, back to us – sitting in front of the fire, feeling like we better get motivated. First we have to focus on what winter holds for us. If you’ve just finished the Eventing season, you are probably going to kind enough to give your horse a bit of a holiday. But then, you will be getting ready to start improvements. The winter is generally time to work on dressage and show jumping for the event horses.  Remember, there will be a period of time where it snows & the ground is frozen solid. Unless you are lucky enough to have an indoor school to ride in, there is a chance of your horse needing a bit of enforced time off! Factoring this in to your fitness regime is important.

Have a think about what you do with your horse each week – variety is very important. This is not only for fitness, but also strength, stamina and soundness.  Spending every day working in the school on dressage is not healthy for horse or rider. Not only is the work variation important, but also the surface variation. Continuous work on one surface type will not benefit the horse, especially for Eventing. How is that horse meant to cope when the weather dictates less than perfect conditions during your competition season?

Of course, flat work is important – but is what you do working for you? This could be a good time to experiment with your usual routine. Does the horse go better after a short hack before doing a short session of schooling? Are you better to lunge for 10 minutes first? Remember, its winter and who wants to be slogging away for hours on end? Coming up with an effective and easy routine is also the quickest way to get back to the warm and dry!

Incorporating lungeing into your weekly routine is a great way to keep your time down, but give you chance to work your horse from the ground. There are many ‘gadgets’ to use nowadays – side reins, Pessoa’s, bungees etc. Find what IMPROVES your horse – this may be totally different to someone else’s horse. Use lungeing to improve your horse’s weaknesses. Does he tend to be lazy in trot? Are your trot-canter transitions difficult? Remember what was said about ‘muscle memory’. This is your chance to assess your horse from the ground & see what happens when you are not riding. Correct, positive, repetition is the key.

Of course, jumping is great exercise during the winter. Course jumping has probably been the main focus during the summer months, so this a great time to work on grids as well to improve technique. Pole work can be used to give the horse a great work out without leaving the ground. Trot and canter poles can be used to great effect to improve the horse. There are many books available that have great exercises to give you variety. Don’t stick to the same thing each week – live a little!

Hacking will always be hugely important in conditioning your horse – I am a really believer in letting the horse use this time to relax. They should be forward, straight and on a contact but let them enjoy the hacking rather than keeping them in an outline. Some trotting on the roads is fine, but do choose the road surface carefully. Sadly, many of our roads are slippy and it’s not worth risking injury! Lots of us, me included, might struggle to hack in the winter with the light, but try to make time for it.

Now our basic week’s work consists of schooling, lungeing, hacking, jumping, pole work and of course, a well deserved day off. Many factors may alter what you do each week – weather, winter competing, lessons, Christmas! With one horse to ride, you need to make the best of the sessions you do.  These sessions can be on your own or when you are having instruction. Try to enter each session with a positive frame of mind.  It’s all too easy to inwardly groan as you have to do some more flat work with a horse that really isn’t playing ball today. Try not to beat yourself up if it goes wrong, it doesn’t matter that much. Remember, we are the only sport that works with 2 brains so not only do we have to be on form, but so does our horse! Taking the good bits and re-enforcing them is what we’re aiming to do this winter.

Think back to your favourite professional rider and how their horses go. The dressage test that you ride in your BE100, they will ride 4 or 5 times at one competition. That’s half your season to ride 5 tests! They know it instinctively & can then use that to their advantage to show their horse off to its best. By practicing dressage tests at home, they become easier for both horse and rider and you will start to be able to work on instinct.

Sir Clive Woodward once said (I like my rugby, apologies)that if the England Rugby team lost a match, that was the time for them to go and have a drink and forget about it, not beat yourself up about why it all went wrong. However, when they won – that was when they analysed everything they had done to see exactly why it went so well.

‘Muscle memory’ is really important for both horse and rider, making the job at hand easier for those important competitions so you are ready when it counts.  Do keep in mind that the action performed need to be positive and correct – muscle memory works in both ways, incorrect training can lead to the horse instinctively reverting back to what he knows.

By using the winter to your benefit, you can come out in the spring and be ready to show all the positive reinforcement you have achieved, regardless of what you have focused on.  This could be more accurate dressage test riding, your horse working in a better outline, your personal fitness levels improved. Choose what direction you want to take your riding and strive to be better. This might not win you the next Olympic Gold medal but it will give you more purpose and direction with your horse.  This can only benefit both of you and you never know, you might be surprised at the results. 

All eventing photos courtesy of MDR Photo.  The others are mine (except the gratuitous one I put in of Jonny Wilkinson)!

Every exciting news, I now have a Facebook page - Equine Spinal - please do like it to keep up to date with my latest goings on.  I am also on Twitter - @EquineSpinal so feel free to post a message or tweet at anytime.

Below you can see my promotional video made by MDR Photo, which shows me conducting an assessment and then some treatments to Tradition, one of my clients horses.  You can also view the video and find out more on my treatment page.

For those of you that are unaware, I have a normal day job as well as doing the Equine Spinal Therapy. However, this day job goes hand in hand with my therapy work and has been an invaluable learning tool for me.

I work for a Master Saddler & Saddle fitter as his diary manager, organising the 2 fitters on the road who are usually at least 2 weeks booked in advance. It's a tricky job, dealing with clients over the phone, saddlers on the road, working permanently in the future & I have become very good at multi-tasking!  However, I have grown to really like my job and have noticed several patterns occurring regarding the horses that we see.

I have to admit before working here, I never had my saddles correctly fitted. I did a bit of a DIY job, had enough horse sense to see what looked alright and what didn't seem to cause too much harm. When I first started my new job, one of the first things to be done was to get my own horse's saddles checked. Safe to say both of Cat's saddles were.....well, not good. Both saddles were far too narrow & totally the wrong shape for her back.

2 saddle replacements later, I can safely say Cat has never gone better. She is 18 1/2 years old now, but jumping and ‘dressaging’ like a spring chicken and finally feels like she is working over her back.

I get my saddles checked very regularly now; obviously this is much easier for me as I control the saddler’s diary! But I now get her seen every 3-6 months and pay close attention to her weight and shape changing & any minor issues of movement or hair being rubbed.

I have quite a good eye for horses changing shape; working with event horses most of my horsey life means I am used to see the difference. However, many horse owners don't keep an eye on fluctuations in weight and shape. Those fatty horses that balloon in summer on all that lovely green grass & longer spells in the field.....adding up to 75kg in weight means their profile changes and that lovely new saddle you bought in a medium fitting, is now squished on a horse that could really do with a wide! The reverse happens in winter......as the summer pounds shed off in the cold, horses coming out of a hard winter can look vastly different to the horse in autumn.

Buying yourself a weight tape is the easiest way to keep an eye on your horse. No need to get a bit weight obsessed, but a fortnightly measurement will ensure your horses weight stays regular and there are no major fluctuations through the year. A £7 weight tape can literally save you hundreds of pounds in Head Plate changes & new saddles! Any Society registered saddle fitter should weight tape your horse on your appointment, so you can always call & ask the horse’s last weight.

A huge amount of clients we see have horses that have changed shape and are now having issues with their saddle. As the horse widens and the saddle becomes too narrow, you can get issues with movement & the saddle tipping back. With my therapist head on, this is where I would see horses that are very tight and sore in the lumbar region, right where all the riders’ weight is being tipped back on to.

When the horses get narrower, the saddle flattens down onto the wither and can start to shift to one side. The saddle then lifts at the back, putting huge pressure on the withers and behind the shoulder. I can often see swollen areas of muscle that is damaged around the withers and into the longissimus dorsi region.

You need to remember that your saddler really has to fit what he or she sees on the day.  Good saddlers will be able to predict or allow for shape change, especially with young horses but this is only a prediction.  Width is slightly easier to predict when saddle fitting, but a horse changing shape through a side-on profile is almost impossible to predict!

One of the things I never really thought about with saddle fitting were the huge variation on the shape of the trees that are made. It's pretty much common sense, but some saddles come on very flat trees, for your low withered, flat back types, while others have a huge amount of curve in a tree - often to be fitted on horses with high withers and a rising top line. It's basically a case of not being able to put a square peg in a round hole! By putting a flat saddle on a 'curvy' horse, you end up with bridging, where the panel of the saddle is not in contact with the horses back evenly all the way along the back. Then huge amounts of pressure are found at the front & back of the saddle and exerted on to the horse.

Saddle fitting is one of the fundamentals in keeping your horse in tip top shape - this should be held in conjunction with all the other areas: farrier, dentist, vet, trainer, therapist and saddler. All these professionals need to work together to gain the maximum from the horse. Then of course, as the rider, you are responsible for ensuring your balance and control when riding cause minimal effect on the horse.

Asymmetry is a huge topic in the equine press at the moment. Both for the horse AND the rider! This can be quite minor - animals like humans will favour one side to another. Just like us being left or right handed. However, it can become more severe and result in a horse being quite 'wonky'. This leads to the rider and saddle tipping over to one side and the horses’ asymmetry getting worse as the rider & saddle inhibits any potential strengthening.

It starts to sound like a bit of a minefield... So many things can go wrong! However, once you have found the right saddle - regular checks & keeping an eye on any changes in the horse will keep you ahead of the game. If you are aware of asymmetry issues, working closely with your team of professionals will ensure your horse is kept at their best.

Of course, for many people finding a good reliable saddler is often a huge issue. Going off recommendations from people you know, is a great start. If they are Society Registered (SMS) - look out for both a Master saddler & registered Saddle fitter. This means they will be able to do the work to your saddle as well as fit it correctly.

Horses were not meant to have humans sitting on them in leather saddles, asking them to carry us for long periods of time - let alone jump, gallop, dressage, hack..... Ensuring that the saddle you use is the best possible fit will ensure that you can get the best work out of your horse. This is regardless of whether you want to compete at the highest level or just enjoy riding out across the countryside.

To find out more try these links:

• The Society of Master Saddlers 
  
• Animal Health Trust Research
  
• The Saddle Research Trust
  

I really love these videos from Land Rover UK showing behind the scenes of Eventing, Show Jumping and Dressage.

As part of being a McTimoney-Corley practitioner, and the same for any other therapist, animal or human, one of the most important things we do each year is Continuing Professional Development (CPD).  This means taking yourself off on courses, doing research, writing papers - however you like to ensure that you are keeping yourself up to date with new & improved methods & techniques for your clients.
 
This August, I have been to Rose Therapies, (www.rose-therapy.co.uk) based just outside of Chinnor, Oxfordshire to take part in a Myofascial release course for 2 days with Dawn McCaig.  This is specifically aimed at Equine Physical therapists of all types.
 
I have to say it was like being back at school - I get quite nervous about meeting new people & worry abit that I might be the least experienced or do something stupid!  However, Jo Rose & Dawn made us all really welcome & it was actually brilliant to meet different therapists from all different spheres of the Equine world. There were all sorts of therapists there - Mctimoney-Corley therapist like myself, but also Physiotherapists, Reiki Masters, Equine Body Workers.
 
The first morning involved us doing some background work & class room knowledge - aka 'The Science Bit' and then we went into the therapy room in the afternoon to learn the new techniques, which we were going to practice on each other first before we were let loose on the horses!
 
The myofascial release procedure is a form of soft tissue manipulation used to treat somatic dysfunction and resulting pain and restriction of motion. The fascia is the soft tissue component of the connective tissue that provides support and protection for most structures within the body, including muscle.
 
The idea behind the therapy is maintaining light contact the fascia with relaxed hands. The therapist then slowly stretches the fascia until reaching a barrier/restriction. A light pressure is maintained to stretch the barrier for approximately 3–5 minutes. Prior to release, the therapist will feel a therapeutic pulse (e.g., heat). As the barrier releases, the hand will feel the motion and softening of the tissue. The key is sustained pressure over time.
 
Trying these techniques on each other had some surprising results - we were told about 'emotional unwinding' that can occur during treatment.  Often the tissue is restricted or tense when there has been an injury, impact or strain placed upon the body through repeated exercises.  When the 'stuck' fascia starts to release, it often reverts to the last remembered position it was in when this restriction first occurred.  This can release emotional memories in the patient and trigger muscle memories from particular 'incidents'.
 
I have to say at this point in the lecture, I was wondering what course I had come on! I am a pretty straight forward person but thought I'd paid my money, so to just go with it and see what happened!
 
As we were practicing the 'sinking in' techniques on each other, one of the girls who was having her shoulder worked on started to twitch through her shoulder. The therapist & I kinda giggled to start with as she continued treating.  The twitching continued down her arm & before we knew it, her whole arm was shaking, twitching & releasing. The poor girl being treated started to panic a little & Dawn came and took over from the girl treating to slow the 'unwinding' down and bring things back to stability! Both patient & therapist were in tears by this stage!
 
It was pretty intense, but revealed that the patient had had a very nasty fall from a young horse, that flipped over on her and trapped her, crushing this arm.  The horse never fully recovered from the fall, but the patient shrugged off the fall as most horsey people do & got on as normal. Just showing us that the body compensates so quickly to injury & damage to allow us to continue with our normal life!
 
Dawn told us that that is highly unusual to happen on a first day, but was a real eye opener! Both patient & therapist were with me in the 'somewhat sceptic' group after the mornings lecture, so just woke us up to a total new way of thinking!
 
We then continued on the second day to working on horses at a local competition yard.  There was a real mixed bunch of show jumpers & racehorses which had a variety of tensions & stiffness as busy competition horses would have.  There was also some horses with vices on the yard too, so interesting to see what these techniques would result in.
 
We got some really good results from the horses - a huge amount of relaxation, unlocking tension & stiffness's. One particular mare who we assessed heavily for her static & dynamic conformation in the morning, improved hugely with the work done on her.  She had quite an awkward gait in walk & obvious pelvis asymmetry. With work, she came out much straighter & had real swing in her walk.
 
It was a hugely beneficial course to take & I have incorporated the new techniques straight away into my usual treatments. The horses really like it & when you start to 'sink in' to the fascia, you can literally feel the tension disperse under you hands.  It just takes alot of patience & sometimes looks like you aren't doing much to the owner!