This is Max, he is an 18 yo Appendix QH. He has been here with us for most of this week, and we are working hard to locate the right person to enjoy him and learn from his experience in the show ring. He is very well preserved, very straightforward and easy to ride, and has good miles left on him.

He is well priced at under $5,000. His owner will  take him back and give him a good home when/if he is ready to retire from a riding career. Having watched him very carefully for the past week, I don’t think that will be anytime soon. He reminds me of a horse I once had, Dexter. Dexter was sold to me as a 15 yo, but upon inspecting and referencing his lip tattoo, he was more like 22!! Nevertheless, I showed Dexter through 3rd level in dressage, and even played with him at a couple of H/J shows in the low hunter division. He happily carried my students and was a fantastic schoolmaster and a true asset to our program. Dexter taught up until the day before he passed away, stayed sound, and never, ever backed off or became lame or sour. Max reminds me of Dexter both in his build and his character, he is a very solid citizen.

He is presented by Beaver Ranch, so for more information contact Mike Beaver at (410) 490-7384.

Quick Frankie update – he did very well at Pine Top last week, he was just out of the ribbons with one rail down in SJ and clear XC. Ryan raved that he was completely professional over the very challenging prelim level course! Go Frankie! My old buddy Ned Kelly did great as well, winning third place at Training Level also at Pine Top last weekend. <3 Ned Kelly, he’s my kind of horse! Big and uber-talented!

So, Gilda came to me as a long yearling in Jan 2010. We started her under saddle in fall of 2010, but only lightly, then we backed off and let her finish growing. In 2011, Gilda had the opportunity to go under different riders, and this has been very good for her “sense of humor”, she tries very hard to please, and is all around a pleasure to work around and to ride. She is four, so she is still green, but she has an excellent foundation already and as the season unfolds, I’m sure she will be very successful in USDF, USHJA, and maybe even an event. Gilda is for sale, her price will go up as her resume supports it.

Gilda Schooling Footage

It always makes my day to get good iphone footage of Frankie while he’s training in Aiken, I put some things together and here he is with Ryan, as they are preparing for Pine Top this weekend. Go get ‘em Frankie!!

Frankie in Aiken

A team at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine conducted several
studies (endnotes 1 & 2) to determine if vaccines can cause changes in the
immune system of dogs that might lead to life-threatening immune-mediated
diseases. They obviously conducted this research because concern already
existed. It was sponsored by the Haywood Foundation which itself was looking
for evidence that such changes in the human immune system might also be
vaccine induced. It found the evidence.

The vaccinated, but not the non-vaccinated, dogs in the Purdue studies
developed autoantibo dies to many of their own biochemicals, including
fibronectin, laminin, DNA, albumin, cytochrome C, cardiolipin and collagen.

This means that the vaccinated dogs – “but not the non-vaccinated dogs”-
were attacking their own fibronectin, which is involved in tissue repair,
cell multiplication and growth, and differentiation between tissues and
organs in a living organism.

The vaccinated Purdue dogs also developed autoantibodies to laminin, which
is involved in many cellular activities including the adhesion, spreading,
differentiation, proliferation and movement of cells. Vaccines thus appear
to be capable of removing the natural intelligence of cells.

Autoantibodies to cardiolipin are frequently found in patients with the
serious disease systemic lupus erythematosus and also in individuals with
other autoimmune diseases. The presence of elevated anti-cardiolipin
antibodies is significantly associated with clots within the heart or blood
vessels, in poor blood clotting, haemorrhage, bleeding into the skin, foetal
loss and neurological conditions.

The Purdue studies also found that vaccinated dogs were developing
autoantibodies to their own collagen. About one quarter of all the protein
in the body is collagen. Collagen provides structure to our bodies,
protecting and supporting the softer tissues and connecting them with the
skeleton. It is no wonder that Canine Health Concern’s (Great Britain) 1997
study of 4,000 dogs showed a high number of dogs developing mobility
problems shortly after they were vaccinated (noted in my 1997 book, What
Vets Don’t Tell You About Vaccines).

Perhaps most worryingly, the Purdue studies found that the vaccinated dogs
had developed autoantibodies to their own DNA. Did the alarm bells sound?
Did the scientific community call a halt to the vaccination program? No.
Instead, they stuck their fingers in the air, saying more research i s needed
to ascertain whether vaccines can cause genetic damage. Meanwhile, the study
dogs were found good homes, but no long-term follow-up has been conducted.

At around the same time, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force initiated several studies to
find out why 160,000 cats each year in the USA develop terminal cancer at
their vaccine injection sites.(3) The fact that cats can get vaccine-induced
cancer has been acknowledged by veterinary bodies around the world, and even
the British Government acknowledged it through its Working Group charged
with the task of looking into canine and feline vaccines(4) following
pressure from Canine Health Concern. What do you imagine was the advice of
the AVMA Task Force, veterinary bodies and governments? “Carry on
vaccinating until we find out why vaccines are killing cats, and which cats
are most likely to die.”

In America, in an att empt to mitigate the problem, they’re vaccinating cats
in the tail or leg so they can amputate when cancer appears. Great advice if
it’s not your cat amongst the hundreds of thousands on the “oops” list.

But other species are okay, right? Wrong. In August 2003, the Journal of
Veterinary Medicine carried an Italian study which showed that dogs also
develop vaccine-induced cancers at their injection sites.(5) We already know
that vaccine-site cancer is a possible sequel to human vaccines, too, since
the Salk polio vaccine was said to carry a monkey retrovirus (from
cultivating the vaccine on monkey organs) that produces inheritable cancer.
The monkey retrovirus SV40 keeps turning up in human cancer sites.

It is also widely acknowledged that vaccines can cause a fast-acting,
usually fatal, disease called autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA). Without
treatment, and frequently with treatment, individuals can die in agony
within a matter of days. Merck, itself a multinational vaccine manufacturer,
states in The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy that autoimmune
haemolytic anaemia may be caused by modified live-virus vaccines, as do
Tizard’s Veterinary Immunology (4th edition) and the Journal of Veterinary
Internal Medicine.(6) The British Government’s Working Group, despite being
staffed by vaccine-industry consultants who say they are independent, also
acknowledged this fact. However, no one warns the pet owners before their
animals are subjected to an unnecessary booster, and very few owners are
told why after their pets die of AIHA.

A Wide Range of Vaccine-induced Diseases
We also found some worrying correlations between vaccine events and the
onset of arthritis in our 1997 survey. Our concerns were compounded by
research in the human field.

The New England Journal of Medicine, for example, reported that it is
possible to isolate the rubella virus from affected j oints in children
vaccinated against rubella. It also told of the isolation of viruses from
the peripheral blood of women with prolonged arthritis following
vaccination.(7)

Then, in 2000, CHC’s findings were confirmed by research which showed that
polyarthritis and other diseases like amyloidosis, which affects organs in
dogs, were linked to the combined vaccine given to dogs.(8) There is a huge
body of research, despite the paucity of funding from the vaccine industry,
to confirm that vaccines can cause a wide range of brain and central nervous
system damage. Merck itself states in its Manual that vaccines (i.e., its
own products) can cause encephalitis: brain inflammation/damage. In some
cases, encephalitis involves lesions in the brain and throughout the central
nervous system. Merck states that “examples are the encephalitides following
measles, chickenpox, rubella, smallpox vaccination, vaccinia, and many other
less well defined viral infections”.

When the dog owners who took part in the CHC survey reported that their dogs
developed short attention spans, 73.1% of the dogs did so within three
months of a vaccine event. The same percentage of dogs was diagnosed with
epilepsy within three months of a shot (but usually within days). We also
found that 72.5% of dogs that were considered by their owners to be nervous
and of a worrying disposition, first exhibited these traits within the
three-month post-vaccination period.

I would like to add for the sake of Oliver, my friend who suffered from
paralysed rear legs and death shortly after a vaccine shot, that “paresis”
is listed in Merck’s Manual as a symptom of encephalitis. This is defined as
muscular weakness of a neural (brain) origin which involves partial or
incomplete paralysis, resulting from lesions at any level of the descending
pathway from the brain. Hind limb paralysis is one of the potential
consequences. Encephalitis, incidentally, is a disease that can manifest
across the scale from mild to severe and can also cause sudden death.

Organ failure must also be suspected when it occurs shortly after a vaccine
event. Dr. Larry Glickman, who spearheaded the Purdue research into
post-vaccination biochemical changes in dogs, wrote in a letter to Cavalier
Spaniel breeder Bet Hargreaves:

“Our ongoing studies of dogs show that following routine vaccination, there
is a significant rise in the level of antibodies dogs produce against their
own tissues. Some of these antibodies have been shown to target the thyroid
gland, connective tissue such as that found in the valves of the heart, red
blood cells, DNA, etc. I do believe that the heart conditions in Cavalier
King Charles Spaniels could be the end result of repeated immunisations by
vaccines containing tissue culture contaminants that cause a progressive
immune response directed at connective tissue in the heart valves. The
clinical manifestations would be more pronounced in dogs that have a genetic
predisposition [although] the findings should be generally applicable to all
dogs regardless of their breed.”

I must mention here that Dr. Glickman believes that vaccines are a necessary
evil, but that safer vaccines need to be developed.

Meanwhile, please join the queue to place your dog, cat, horse and child on
the Russian roulette wheel because a scientist says you should.

Vaccines Stimulate an Inflammatory Response
The word “allergy” is synonymous with “sensitivity” and “inflammation.” It
should, by rights, also be synonymous with the word “vaccination.” This is
what vaccines do: they sensitize (render allergic) an individual in the
process of forcing them to develop antibodies to fight a disease threat. In
other words, as is acknowledged and accepted, as part of the vaccine process
the body will respond with inflammation. This may be apparently temporary or
it may be longstanding.

Holistic doctors and veterinarians have known this for at least 100 years.
They talk about a wide range of inflammatory or “-itis” diseases which arise
shortly after a vaccine event. Vaccines, in fact, plunge many individuals
into an allergic state. Again, this is a disorder that ranges from mild all
the way through to the suddenly fatal. Anaphylactic shock is the
culmination: it’s where an individual has a massive allergic reaction to a
vaccine and will die within minutes if adrenaline or its equivalent is not
administered.

There are some individuals who are genetically not well placed to withstand
the vaccine challenge. These are the people (and animals are “people,” too)
who have inherited faulty B and T cell function. B and T cells are
components within the immune system which identify foreign invaders and
destroy them, and hold the invader in memory so that they cannot cause
future harm. However, where inflammatory responses are concerned, the immune
system overreacts and causes unwanted effects such as allergies and other
inflammatory conditions.

Merck warns in its Manual that patients with, or from families with, B
and/or T cell immunodeficiencies should not receive live-virus vaccines due
to the risk of severe or fatal infection. Elsewhere, it lists features of B
and T cell immunodeficiencies as food allergies, inhalant allergies, eczema,
dermatitis, neurological deterioration and heart disease. To translate,
people with these conditions can die if they receive live-virus vaccines.
Their immune systems are simply not competent enough to guarantee a healthy
reaction to the viral assault from modified live-virus vaccines.

Modified live-virus (MLV) vaccines replicate in the patient until an immune
response is provoked. If a defence isn’t stimulated, then the vaccine
con tinues to replicate until it gives the patient the very disease it was
intending to prevent.

Alternatively, a deranged immune response will lead to inflammatory
conditions such as arthritis, pancreatitis, colitis, encephalitis and any
number of autoimmune diseases such as cancer and leukaemia, where the body
attacks its own cells.

A new theory, stumbled upon by Open University student Gary Smith, explains
what holistic practitioners have been saying for a very long time. Here is
what a few of the holistic vets have said in relation to their patients:

Dr. Jean Dodds: “Many veterinarians trace the present problems with allergic
and immunologic diseases to the introduction of MLV vaccines…” (9)
Christina Chambreau, DVM: “Routine vaccinations are probably the worst thing
that we do for our animals. They cause all types of illnesses, but not
directly to where we would relate them definitely to be caused by the
vaccine.” (10)

Martin Goldstein, DVM: “I think that vaccines…are leading killers of dogs
and cats in America today.”
Dr Charles E. Loops, DVM: “Homoeopathic veterinarians and other holistic
practitioners have maintained for some time that vaccinations do more harm
than they provide benefits.” (12)

Mike Kohn, DVM: “In response to this [vaccine] violation, there have been
increased autoimmune diseases (allergies being one component), epilepsy,
neoplasia [tumours], as well as behavioural problems in small animals.” (13)

A Theory on Inflammation
Gary Smith explains what observant healthcare practitioners have been saying
for a very long time, but perhaps they’ve not understood why their
observations led them to say it. His theory, incidentally, is causing a huge
stir within the inner scientific sanctum. Some believe that his theory could
lead to a cure for many diseases including cancer. For me, it explains why
the vaccine process is inherently que stionable.

Gary was learning about inflammation as part of his studies when he struck
upon a theory so extraordinary that it could have implications for the
treatment of almost every inflammatory disease – including Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s, rheumatoid arthritis and even HIV and AIDS.

Gary’s theory questions the received wisdom that when a person gets ill, the
inflammation that occurs around the infected area helps it to heal. He
claims that, in reality, inflammation prevents the body from recognising a
foreign substance and therefore serves as a hiding place for invaders. The
inflammation occurs when at-risk cells produce receptors called All (known
as angiotensin II type I receptors). He says that while At1 has a balancing
receptor, At2, which is supposed to switch off the inflammation, in most
diseases this does not happen.

“Cancer has been described as the wound that never heals,” he says. “All
successful cancers are surroun ded by inflammation. Commonly this is thought
to be the body’s reaction to try to fight the cancer, but this is not the
case.

“The inflammation is not the body trying to fight the infection. It is
actually the virus or bacteria deliberately causing inflammation in order to
hide from the immune system.” (14)

If Gary is right, then the inflammatory process so commonly stimulated by
vaccines is not, as hitherto assumed, a necessarily acceptable sign.
Instead, it could be a sign that the viral or bacterial component, or the
adjuvant (which, containing foreign protein, is seen as an invader by the
immune system), in the vaccine is winning by stealth.

If Gary is correct in believing that the inflammatory response is not
protective but a sign that invasion is taking place under cover of darkness,
vaccines are certainly not the friends we thought they were. They are
undercover assassins working on behalf of the enemy, and vets and medic al
doctors are unwittingly acting as collaborators. Worse, we animal guardians
and parents are actually paying doctors and vets to unwittingly betray our
loved ones.

Stalls are available from Fri-Sat, for those who would like to let their horses see the venue, have a school the night before, etc.. Those are $25/day, first come, first serve, self-care. I can recommend a good hotel in the area if you are coming from the lower Eastern Shore or the Western Shore. Hope to see you here on March 11th!

After Gilda, we pulled out Tango, he just a touch off on his right hind, the hoof is a little warm, he may be working on an abscess. So, Julia longed him and we watched him go both directions. I suggested she tack walk him and just stretch him out – the thoroughbreds don’t really understand “rest”, they start to become fretful and worried if they are not in work, they need the stimulation and the connection to their people. They are truly the dobermans of the whole equine species. They are  VERY loyal, add to that expressive and pure athletes, and wow, I love Thoroughbreds, always have. So Tango looked not too bad, we will see how he is feeling tomorrow.

Next was Big Gandy, “Silver Maestro” is his show name. He is a 16.3-17.ohh white TB gelding, Julia has owned him and trained him, another TB. So, Gandy’s feeling really good and looks like he’s putting on weight and settling in finally. He’s getting more relaxed all the time in his work, Julia is very patient with him, she does a good job with both of her horses, and I am enjoying watching them all progress as a team. Gandy is a hunter through and through. He is learning to really engage his hindquarters, and as Julia is learning, this is not easy on a big long thoroughbred!! They will get there, I have complete faith.

Next was Big Duell. He was a rock star – he’s always a rock star. I think he’s a little jealous of BB lately, so I”m making more time for him. He knows he has my heart, but that’s only about half  as good as my time and being the Top Horse. He seems a little depressed, but perked up when I rode him. Duell is absolutely one of the most noble horses I have ever met. I love riding him even more now because we are old friends and always tries so hard.

Becky got here early today and brought with her an absolutely FABULOUS 4 yo Dutch Warmblood gelding who is in training with her, and whom she will compete. He has droolworthy movement, he’s black, about 16.0 or 16.1hh, still growing. This was the first time she had ridden him away from her place, and he was great.

Becky rode Big Bird, she actually used the word “impressed” (referring to the horse of course…). It is coming together slowly, but he is happy, and he is trying very hard while staying relaxed. He has really made a shift in his personality and I am very happy that we are coming together more and more every day as a team.

Next, Hannah Irons hauled in for her first lesson with Becky, hopefully that went well, as always Hannah and her pony were impeccably turned out. Hannah’s mom, Polly, runs the Queenstown Pony Club Chapter, it’s pretty new, but they are doing a fantastic job and I look forward to Colt being old enough to get involved. Hannah and Paella had fantastic 2011 Season and represented our PVDA Bayside Chapter at Training Level at The Chapter Challenge last fall.

Still to go - local hunter trainer, Hilary Gibbons-Neff is teaching here tonight, so four ponies…and the newest addition to our community Teresa Martinoli, DVM, Year End Training Level AA Champion for MCTA in 2011 (USEA). Yes, we have lucked out  here, we have really wonderful people all very talented and competitive! Teresa’s horse Emrys is with us now, and she is helping me out by riding Bluff’s Mellay (thank you!), and we are hopeful they will get along famously so Teresa can ride her at the events and the dressage shows in 2012! How psyched am I to have another big trailer going to the shows?? Super psyched. Welcome Teresa and Emrys, we are glad that you are here! Teresa has been one of our vets since moving to the area two years ago. She works at Veterinary Medical Center here in Easton. In that short time, we have already amassed a good friendship and alot of memories helping horses.

Frankie and Ryan have made it to Aiken, as has Jules Ennis. We wish them both a great early Spring season, and I can’t wait to go get media at Sporting Days in early March.

A warm welcome to Julia Jesu, a local rider/trainer who will be working out of Hundred Acre Wood with her horses and lesson program. Julia is a very hard worker, and a talented rider, we are very happy to have her here!

Gilda and Pressed For Time (Jen Searfoss) went to a local schooling show on Saturday just to get them out. Gilda has not left the farm other than to go to Marty for 30 days in late August of 2010. She loaded up like a champ both at home and at the show, came off the trailer sane, and then like a little professional, showed off all the right moves in front of the judge and WON her class! I was very proud of my horses and my riders on Saturday, and Richard Cooper came out to help us show some Team Spirit. It was a great day! Time did not show, he took a funky fence in the warm-up and we erred on the side of caution and scratched him from his classes. Julia did a fantastic job with Gilda, and the whole day was an excellent confidence builder.

Sea Lord and Duell continue to be amazing, more amazing every day, in fact. I think Duell is well aware of his competition, and while he is being a complete gentleman as a schoolmaster in lessons (not many), he is also really stepping it up in his work under me. He shows off like crazy – spooking over imaginary monsters in the woods when he comes in from his paddock, then using this as an excuse to passage all the way through the barn to his stall. He is a happy horse, and it shows. BB has put on close to 100 pounds according to my weight tape, he is looking stronger than I’ve seen him. Yesterday we really had a breakthrough in the morning, and to be sure it wasn’t just luck, I rode him again briefly last night. He was even better last night than he was in the morning! He also seems very happy lately, and while we still have a long way to go in our work, Becky assures me that we are on the right track.

Mellie is doing well, Emily, Julia and I share her, so we all ride her on different days. She is a beautiful horse, I hope that she finds an owner/rider who will bring out her best early on in the season, I am sure that she will easily go through Prelim before season’s end this year under the right rider. She likes to GO, and that can be intimidating if you’re thinking SLOW. Most of the eventers I know and work with like that she is forward thinking, whereas hunter riders are a little put off by her speed and scope. Mellie has very good “Eventing Dressage” training, she would be hopelessly bored with a life of only dressage, but she is still talented and obedient enough to get around. I will show her through second level if she is still here during the local show season.

Gen and Phantom are hanging out, my pets. They are fat and happy and I get enjoyment just seeing them out my window, and knowing that they are happy. Phantom just turned 20, and Gen is 14 this year.

Stormy, the Horse Lover’s United standardbred that we fostered for a month here has gone to trainer Jess Walter to get him confirmed under saddle. He really was looking fantastic, and I look forward to posting hopefully pictures and updates from Jess about how he is doing with her.

That’s everybody, Julia and I are looking for horses to sell, so if you have one for sale that would be a good match for our program – or want to learn more, give me a call. Going to enjoy this rare warm day in January now – have great rides! Charish

I left late for Pennsylvania to go and check in with Ryan and Frankie, and somewhere along the short stretch of 213N, I accepted the fact that I felt like ***. Not good. Nonetheless, I drove on up, got to the barn just in time to catch Frankie on the cross-ties, went over him carefully but quickly, and then Ryan hopped on him and had a really solid school.

Frankie has never looked better, and with every jump he manouvered, he was licking his lips and hunting for the next. He has a neck that goes on forever, and for a 16hh horse, his legs are proportionate to my horse, Sea Lord – they go on forever. I really hope one of these days Ryan will let me ride him at a USDF show, he would make a FINE dressage horse. It made me very happy to see Frankie, it had been too long.

So, on the way home, I felt even worse, but had been reminded of a possible protocol that might hault whatever was working on me in its tracks. Back in April, I think the last weekend of April, at Plantation HT, Ryan had just come back from Ireland and had picked up a nasty bug. He rode through it, being tougher than nails and logging respectable results on every one of 6 horses, all day long. In the pouring rain…. I called Jeffra, and she recommended a blend of essential oils that I had in my bag. I instructed Ryan to put the oils on the “bubbling waters” of his feet (look it up, it is an actual point…) and put on some socks and sleep in them.

The second day of Plantation was cancelled due to weather, but I stopped by True Prospect before heading home. Ryan said he felt great, and that he had really sweated alot during the night (burning at the stake…?). He looked like he felt alot better. I came home, and over the past 7 months or so since then, forgot all about the protocol until yesterday. I decided to try it, and I FEEL AMAZING today – not just better from illness – but AMAZING.

Sometimes I don’t really understand why things work I just know they work. Essential Oils are well documented for their anti-viral and anti-bacterial qualities. They are quickly absorbed through the skin, and cross the blood-brain barrier within about 10 seconds. If you’ve ever tried a drop of peppermint oil for a headache you know this to be true! The most important thing is to use only THERAPEUTIC GRADE Essential Oils, and read up on their safety as well. They are simply super-concentrated plant medicine. Sometimes there are better options, but like Homeopathy, the right protocol can make all the difference in short order.  Homeopathy and Essential Oils work well on animals – placebos do not work well on animals – therefore, I argue that they do actually work. I have had good experience with both.

Here is a short clip of me and Big Bird schooling. I-phone footage courtesy of Julia Jesu. Thanks, Julia!

Sea Lord and Charish 1.16.12

You see a little bit of everything at a show. You see horses who are very out of shape, you see sour, you see bad behaviors - and horses who glow with health and who win because they find joy in their work. Horses who never back off from a challenge, whether it is the judge staring at them from C, or the huge drop into the water on the XC.

It is my opinion that time off never hurts a horse, normally my horses come back eager to work after a break. As I plan out the show season, I remember very well how it feels to be strung out and exhausted from travelling so much, and the adrenal burnout – I build in breaks from competing, and during those times will focus on keeping the horses going and keeping them strong, but backing down to maybe 3 rides a week instead of 6. It’s a fine line, especially during show season. If they sit too long – well, a thoroughbred will waste away, and the WB’s just get very fat and sometimes stiff. Those are the extremes, you see everything in the middle as well – it all depends on the horse’s unique constitution. Some horses do best in a conservative training program, for instance, a schoolmaster who has many miles on him, and can ride an FEI test at a moment’s notice, without missing a beat – he doesn’t need to be “drilled”. Some horses do best if they are ridden 6 days a week.

Just like any other athlete that works out 6 days a week, they will get sore, sometimes stiff, and they will have days when it is obvious they just need a good stretching out, and not to be challenged.

Competition is the ultimate test of a horse’s constitution. We load them up, haul them sometimes 12 or more hours from home, and then we expect them to perform at their peak for sometimes 3 days in a row. Horses were not made for this, and even just the travelling and no grazing or turnout can drive a good horse over the edge with worry.

In my experience, a horse’s performance level comes and goes in cycles, in direct relationship to whether or not he has the energy in reserve he needs to overcome the many complex challenges of being a show horse. This year, we have purposely chosen 3 shows/events in each cycle, then scheduled in breaks for the horses to rebuild their reserves, and let down a bit. Bodywork and an alkalizing diet are helpful, as is tailoring the work to strengthen the weakest areas of the horse, and asking him to use himself in a way that will keep him sound.

If you notice your horse becoming sour or cranky, maybe ask yourself why and if he’s in pain anywhere. If your good-as-gold horse is not thriving in his work or in competition, then maybe he is strung out and just needs a break. Our competition horses are still ridden during breaks, I aim for 3x week. The thoroughbreds, so Frankie and Sea Lord, are happiest when they are ridden every day. So even on breaks, while the work may be remedial, they still need the stimulation and the connection each day in order to feel good. They are both very expressive horses, so when they are not happy, it is plainly obvious. The ego that goes with being a top horse is a subject for another post. Our horses are very intelligent, and when they are not challenged, they simply are not as happy.

I feel strongly that if you allow your horse to lose his muscling while he is on break, you dropped the ball. Then you have to rebuild him, which takes longer – and when he is out of balance in his work (i.e. “heavy on the forehand”) he is at a higher risk for injuries. A great exercise to strengthen and gymnasticize your horse is shoulder-fore and later shoulder-in. De la Guerniere was the first dressage trainer to write about the benefits of shoulder-in for making the horse straight and also for building core muscling and balance. Good stuff!