Flo Therapy & Wellness

14/03/2022

Before backing your young horse, please read -

I wrote the first version of this post many many years ago now, every spring I tweak it, update it and reshare as owners are beginning to think about starting their youngsters. It has been stolen thousands of times, usually without the image, which irritates me as Naomi’s image was my inspiration to write this piece and I feel the words lose a lot without it, so please share rather than steal.

There are strange tables around that lead the reader to think horses age more quickly when they are young and slower as they get older. There is no evidence to support this. Why would the horse be the only animal in the world that ages in a non-linear manner? It doesn’t even make sense. It is an excuse for impatient owners to justify working their immature horses.

Sitting on a horse before they are mature is risking kissing spine, especially if the horse is not conditioned slowly. Sending a horse away as a 3 year old to go from unbacked to ridden daily in 6-8 weeks is a recipe for disaster. Riding in circles on 3 year olds damages the hocks. Jumping large jumps on 4 year olds is asking for stifle injuries. Pounding the roads pulling traps with 2 year olds damages every joint in their legs. Any joints asked to take excess pressure before maturity increases the risk of irreparable damage. Perhaps a young horse puts down more long bone in response to work, but a child heals quicker than an adult, it’s no excuse to cause them damage. An adult is still fully capable of adapting to the work load, just slower, without the collateral damage to the rest of the body.

For every horse that is backed at 3 and lives a long working life until they are 30, I can show you thousands, tens of thousands that are euthanised before they hit their teens because their bodies are broken. The exception makes the rule.

Now for the post -

A horse ages roughly 3 times faster than a human.

So a 90 year old human is a 30 year old horse. Both very old, usually arthritic, don’t have many of their original teeth left, and very likely retired and enjoying the finer things in life.

A 25 year old horse is a 75 year old human. Some are still happily working but some prefer retirement and an easier life. Often depending on just how hard a life they’ve lived.

A 20 year old horse is a 60 year old human. At that point where the body doesn’t work like it use to but the brain is all there and wants to be active.

A 13 year old horse is a 39 year old human. Middle aged, prime of their life where their knowledge and physical ability are about equal.

So let’s get down to the babies and work our way up.

A 1-1.5 year old horse is getting their first adult tooth, this happens at 6 years old in a human child.

A 3 year old horse is a 9 year old child. A child. Not ready for work by a long stretch. We have moved past sending children down the mines.

A 4 year old horse is a 12 year old child. Often will do odd jobs for pocket money, maybe a paper round, mowing lawns etc. Basically a 4 year old horse can start a bit of light work experience to learn the ropes.

A 5 year old horse is a 15 year old teenager. Think they know it all, cocky, and ready to up their work and responsibilities. Still quite weak and not fully developed so shouldn’t be at their physical limit but can start building strength.

A 5.5 year old horse has just cut their final adult tooth, this happens at 17 years of age in a human.

A 6 year old horse is an 18 year old human. An adult. Ready to work.

An 8 year old horse has achieved full fusion of their final growth plates. This happens at 24 years of age in a human. This is the age it is safe to push a horse for their optimal performance.

Pushing your youngster too hard too young will result in the failure of many body parts. Joints, spine, tendons, ligaments as well as their brains. Waiting another year or two at the beginning could give your horse an extra 10 years of useful working life. Be patient with your pride and joy!

Written by Vikki Fowler BVetMed BAEDT MRCVS

Graphic credit to Naomi Tavian , check her out on Pinterest

01/03/2022

Horse owners please note! This subject is back! I heard a very disturbing tale some time ago now from a dental colleague (a BAEDT member) who had been treating the same horse for a number of years with no problems; this year, the owner decided to use a 'dentist' new to the area (not BAEDT) who 'diagnosed' various problems, but recommended to 'exercise' the tongue by pulling it out from side to side at full extension to help 'realign' the hyoid apparatus (see pic). Since this treatment (and one session of tongue pulling) the horse was unrideable due to violent evasive head movements under saddle and the owner was left distraught and wondering what had happened.

The hyoid apparatus is a set of delicate bones, one of which (no.3 in the diagram) is attached to the base of the tongue. The bones, delicate joints or the tongue itself could easily be potentially irreversibly damaged by such 'treatment' 😔

We have heard a few tales of tongue pulling to 'realign' the hyoid apparatus, and there seem to be a growing number of videos on Youtube, Facebook etc of persons performing this 'technique'. Some appear to be very credible professional looking people that I can only assume are doing as they have been taught by someone else. No disrespect to you, but please think again before performing or recommending this technique. Mostly it was Australia but it appears to be spreading like a disease around the globe. The first person attributed to this was Dr Kerry Ridgeway in USA, however he did not publish any scientific evidence or research about it and there are reports of it doing more harm than any possible good.

The hyoid is not a 'gyroscope' for the horse as stated in one video, and to attempt to realign the hyoid through tongue pulling, manipulation or any other method is in our view potentially damaging, and a potential welfare issue. Also, logically if the hyoid was ‘displaced’ or ‘out of alignment’ you would 100% know about it as your horse would be in marked distress and no amount of tongue pulling would help.

It is really important that all professionals whether they are body workers, physiotherapists, dental technicians or vets work together as a team for the good of the horse - we must all follow the science - there is none for this. Please, do not let anyone attempt to manipulate your horse's hyoid apparatus.

25/02/2022

Horse & Human

13/02/2022

Plenty of paddock time can actually reduce soft-tissue injury risk, say NJ researchers studying six years of data.

28/01/2022

23/01/2022

https://youtu.be/LAiYBmCj4pU

“Do you know how a proper cool down after exercise benefits your horse’s wellbeing?”As part of the campaign together with Ingelh...

03/01/2022

For those of you who couldn't attend Celeste-Leilani Lazaris masterclass this evening, here are a few things I couldn't NOT share!

30/12/2021

21/12/2021

10/11/2021

What are the implications of mismatched front feet?

Many horses have high/low front feet, where one foot has a steeper angle then it’s opposite.
But do we realise how much effect this can have on the entire musculoskeletal system!?

We can have different types of high/low.
A boxy foot and an ideal foot.
An ideal foot and a flat foot.
A flat foot and a boxy foot.
Studies have shown that that amount of difference in angle between the two is proportional to the effects on the horses biomechanics.

These horses may require much more regular physiotherapy or chiropractic due to the profound compensations which are akin to sub clinical unilateral lameness. Especially in the back as Gomez Alvarez et al. (2007) measured the majority of compensations for lameness are seen in the spine.

This is a great example of how the hoof and the horse are inextricably linked as the hoof conformation is created by physiological influences. Below is a comprehensive graphic of the effects of high/low.

Read more…

https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/high-low-hoof-conformation-farriery-and-whole-horse-relevance

More information and discussion in our webinars with Dr Kilmartin and Dr Clifford where we delve into the two way relationship of the hoof/horse connection at this link..

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/Conformation

https://equineeducationhub.thinkific.com/courses/Hoofhorse

26/10/2021

Tuesday tip...... try BACKING UP

This low impact exercise can be done in-hand and has many benefits for your horse. When done correctly it will:

✅ Help to lift and flex the back
✅ Condition the core muscles
✅ Strengthen the muscles and structures involved in engagement and carrying the weight of the rider
✅ Stimulate the sacroiliac area
✅ Stretch the topline muscles
✅ Increase flexion of the hindlimb joints

HOW TO DO IT
For maximum benefit ask your horse to back up daily.
1. From halt apply gentle pressure on your horse’s chest and head collar to encourage him to step back. (With practise you’ll find you will need less pressure).
2. Keep his head as low as possible – this helps him to lift his back. If he hollows, use a carrot to encourage him to lower his head.
3. Aim for long, marching backward steps
4. To help your horse get into a rhythm ask for a minimum of 10 steps building up to 20 steps.

Give it a go and let us know how you get on.

For more info on this check out the top tips on backing up video in our Academy www.horsesinsideout.com/academy

29/09/2021

15/09/2021

Rider weight is a hotly debated topic. How heavy can riders be and when is there too much weight on the horse's back? In this article we discuss the ratio between rider and horse weight. When is a rider too big? How much weight can different horse breeds carry on average and what are the percentages...

02/08/2021

https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2019/02/25/muscle-atrophy-definition-saddle/

Muscle atrophy can occur when an unbalanced saddle puts too much pressure on a particular muscle, and the horse tries to remove or avoid this pressure.

10/07/2021

https://youtu.be/YgfjhjV3DO8

This week we are super lucky to take you behind the scenes to see what are the benefits of osteo on horses.We take a look at Wessel and the importance of kee...