Jean Luc Cornille studies the movement of horses. He is a previous contributor to the Dressage & CT magazine.
About the video:
The horse is three years old turning four. He has been backed four, maybe five times at the date of this video recording. Therefore, it is not a training issue. At three years old, the horse is so lame that he is not capable of trotting with a rider on his back.
Can you figure out which limb is hurt. In the next newsletter we will show you where the lameness started, why it shows the way it does and how it was possible to restore soundness.
The lameness was not identified until the backing process commenced. It became apparent with the horses adaptation to the riders weight. It should be borne in mind that the weight of the rider will increase two- or three-fold during locomotion and also that more energy is required by a mounted horse. This energy must be obtained by increasing the stance phase as to recover more energy during the swing. (Jose Morales)
After a large amount of money spent in photographing, scanning, and injecting every joint of the suspect limb, it was decided that it was a behavior issue since nothing wrong appeared on the medical examination.
As it is the case in 90% of the case studies, it was not a behavior issue but rather the expression of pain. Once we addressed the source of the problem, the horse became sound and perfectly willing to move forward. The reeducation lasted three months.
At the end of the session under saddle, the horse is somewhat better during a few steps. It was the result of a riding adjustment. This detail may help you to figure out where the lameness originates.
Tell us which leg is the source of the problem. E-mail your thoughts at: helyn@scienceofmotion.com
This case is extreme but it illustrates a process which, to a lesser degree, limits many horses ability to perform at their fullest potential.
Almost all horses enter life with a morphological flaw, back muscle imbalance, limb kinematics abnormality, or other imperfection that the horses brain learns to protect or compensate for, but does not have the intellectual capacity to analyze and therefore to correct. If a horse is exploited in the show ring without addressing the imperfection, sooner more than later, lameness will be the likely outcome. The gait abnormality created by a specific lesion is the gait abnormality that will cause the lesion. (James R. Rooney)
TWH and Trail Skills
-
Tennessee Walker: Here's a very nice video showing a Tennessee Walking
Horse practicing a trail skill.
The horse is TWH Chief's Fancy Blue Eyes and rider i...
Icelandic Horse, Heavy Contact
-
The telltale bridle drop, and the mouthpiece of the bit peeking out of the
mouth of the Icelandic Horse are hints that the hands are heavy and that
ther...
Halter Training Icelandic Horse / Islandpferd
-
From the video poster: "Foal in Germany learning about a halter. It
eventually gave up and layed down."
There are different ways to train foals to halte...
Parelli Level 3 Horse Having Fun
-
The owners learn "horsemanship" by going through the levels of PNH (Parelli
Natural Horsemanship) and build good relationships and two-way
communication ...
Bits or Bitless?
-
"In the hands of a master horseman who has learned to ride with seat and
legs and who hardly uses the reins when riding a fully trained horse, the
most sev...
New Study of DNA in Horses
-
From Cornell:
We are researchers looking at the genetics of body size in the domestic
horse. Horses come in a range of sizes, shapes, and temperaments. Th...