Laminitis research published

Laminitis research published

British Dressage Convention 2012

Taken from the Horse & Hound Twitter Account 

Carl Hester: "There's no such thing as dressage for eventers and dressage for dressage riders. It's all just dressage"

Carl Hester: "Half-halts are invisible - or should be - that's why they're so hard to explain. It's what works for you."

Carl Hester: "You often have to ask a mare, not tell them - as you wives out there will understand"

Carl Hester: "Use lots of forwards and back transitions within the canter to spice up the hindleg"

Carl Hester: "When flying changes were introduced in eventing it was one of the most spectacularly amusing days"

Carl Hester: "Escapado took three years to learn - it was all flying and no changing"

Carl Hester: "Straightness is more difficult than piaffe/passage." 

Carl Hester: "Everybody should have to ride quarter lines - they show if the horse is contained in the outside aids."

Carl Hester: "To teach horses to land from changes in uphill way, ride fwds into them then collect straight afterwards."

Carl Hester: "Riders blame saddles when the problem is usually that the horse isn't straight and throws them off to side."

Carl Hester: "Valegro's so special because if you ask for nothing you get nothing, he moves normally & looks after himself"

Carl Hester: "Charlotte calls me Grandad and I call her Edwina Scissorhands as she had to learn to soften her hands & arms"

Carl Hester on Valegro: "He is gorgeous. Anyone says he isn't come and see me afterwards! He only ever wants to please"

Carl Hester: "In tempi changes let the wall help do the work of keeping the horse straight rather than always on diagonals"

Carl Hester: "Totilas proved that the lack of bond between horse and rider when compared with Charlotte and Valegro matters"

Carl Hester: "You should ride about 200 transitions per session - fwd & back to make the horse rideable & on the aids"

Carl Hester: "In the trot you have the piaffe/passage to get them light in front, in the canter you have the pirouettes."

Carl Hester: "Nip Tuck would love to be a front leg mover so we do lots of 10m circles and shoulder-in to engage hindlegs"

Carl Hester: "If Sam [Thurman-Baker] survives this session she'll be a star," - Dances With Wolves is super hot today!

Carl Hester: "With big young horses let the upper body and the corner do the work, not the rein

Carl Hester: "If you're doing young horse classes, take a box of tissues- not all judges will agree with you about yr horse"

Carl Hester: "Obedience to the hand and leg must start in the warm-up"

Carl Hester: "If a horse won't stretch at the beginning of session, work on a contact sooner then stretch when he is ready"

Carl Hester: "Walking for just 2 mins and sitting trot too early on in a session is not future-making for horses"

Carl Hester: "If you carry a whip just to make your horse go, you shouldn't carry one. They are just for small corrections."

Carl Hester: "I use the outside leg not the inside to give aid to canter because that's the aid in the tempi changes later"

Carl Hester: "Teach and practice flying changes on lines that aren't in tests, like the R-C line"

Carl Hester: "Don't panic if horse makes a mistake in changes, it's repetition repetition until he gets the hang of it."

Carl Hester: "A tense horse's lateral suppleness can be improved by very forward canter leg yields."

Carl Hester: "The only way to improve/influence horses' paces is to ride forward in a balanced way."

Carl Hester: "If horse isn't even in both reins don't keep pulling the heavy one - work to put the weight in the empty rein"

Carl Hester: "If horse is stiff on outside rein, use renvers to soften them up and add weight to other rein."

Carl Hester: "Horses in self-carriage will get tired esp if not used to holding themselves so intersperse with stretching"

Carl Hester: "Horses shouldn't be in box for 23 hrs/day & just ridden - it isn't fair. To keep healthy they must keep moving"

Carl Hester: "The trot is the easiest page to change & improve but you need to buy a good walk and a good canter"

Carl Hester: "Use half transitions to bring a horse back in trot and teach him to wait in balance rather than full half-halt"

Carl Hester: "I don't care what they say in young horse classes but Charlotte still thinks it's My Little Pony & gets upset."

Next up the hot boys, Dances With Wolves and Nip Tuck, whom Carl tried to sell but accidentally mixed up passports

Carl Hester: "It doesn't matter what type of horse you have, you can teach it square halts - they're 'free' marks."

Carl Hester: "If horse is strong, don't go in straight lines, circle & circle until he's not pulling & is balancing himself"

Carl Hester: "Valegro is the professor of dressage and has taught both Charlotte and I so so much."

Carl Hester: "Valegro has the best ability of all the horses in the world now to show a good hindleg."

Carl Hester: "Teach suspension in the trot and there in that moment you'll find the beautiful picture."

Carl Hester: "For lateral work always remember to sit on your inside seatbone."

Carl Hester: "Even with a straight horse like Valegro we keep the tempi changes on the long side to keep the straightness."

Today's scan

well the good news there is progress but not enough that I'll be cantering for Christmas :-(

This is partially a bind of my own making; 99.9% of people have stopped scanning at this stage post injury and would now be on a progressive rehab program, but of course me being me, he is being scanned as though he is an Olympic horse (which of course to me he is and as I have an Olympic vet ;~} )

 Like the physio she is really pleased with how he is trotting up so we are making clear, measurable and solid progress.

 I am especially pleased with how he is doing under saddle, the slow leg progress is a shame as it means more pen turn out but I can at least start increasing the trot work. Visually the legs are looking good, I think helped by use of the Equissage boot

 Vet was amused at my disbelief re the magnetic rug and Fred and has suggested I try it on Chorrie too

Bay boys both looking better :-)

So farrier noticed Wednesday that Fred is more comfortable so maybe the magnetic rug is working so will carry on carrying on.

Fred is now flapper pad less and back into ordinary shoes with Equi-Pak,

I was absolutely shattered post not sleeping last night and stress of talk to CMT so on Wednesday SueB rode the whole session. He looked fab from the get go, walk much improved SueB said he was much easier to get to unload his right shoulder and load left; presumably after Nicky freed off his left caudal shoulder? So if this is a training response to his getting straighter then I assume it will start to tighten with time, so may need Nicky earlier?

 Watching him I have a hope that he'll come ok.

Next steps

1/ Can increase time in trot
2/ Continue with Equissage on leg
3/ Pulsed mag on poll twice weekly 15 minutes
4/ Caudal shoulder left area of concern, probably training response to being asked to weight right less 5/ Carrot stretches daily
6/ Labyrinth in hand/under saddle
7/ As part of increased trot shallow loops, serpentine off track, wide sweeping figure of eight.
8/ Walk 10m circles leg yield in/out

Physio 12th Nov

This morning was the physio for Chorister, overall things are good and going the right way.

 The best thing was though his getting straighter in the trot up this is IMO no small thanks to SueB who pays attention to this, other than SFO so few pay real attention to this.

 Going back to SFO is one good thing that came out of his injuring himself. I should be there now but we had a complete power failure last week and the UPS failed too so I'm babysitting an engineer as my colleague is out (normally I'd provide remote cover if we both want leave)

 Use of the Equissage leg boot has made a difference to his posture Scan on Monday 19th