Thursday, January 1, 2009

Find The Lameness




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)

Contact helyn@scienceofmotion.com
http://www.scienceofmotion.com




7 comments:

maarit said...

Hi,
I have just had a "stab in the dark", and I think the lameness is in the nearside back.
Thank You Maarit

Linda in Walnut Creek, CA said...

My stab in the dark: Sore is the right front, problem is in shoulder, the few good steps due to bend and slight haunches-in.

DragonHarte said...

As an equine myotherapist I can tell you that the lameness begins in the lumbar muscles and extends downward and rearward. Also he is blocked directly in front of the scapula just under the top line of the neck.
If you wish to email me for more information my address is spiritbridle@yahoo.com

Respectfully
Rev. Edward Allan Buck

Rose said...

I will be very interested to learn what the 'riding adjustment' consisted of, it looks like the neck and shoulders were being worked on and the horse appeared to me to be having trouble with his right hind.

Helyn said...

for the correct answer to the lameness send your guess to helyn@scienceofmotion.com

scienceofmotion.com

Helyn said...

We have published this video to encourage everyone to go beyond usual approaches and explore new perspectives. In this case as well as the cases that we are going to present later, the science of motion was the horses' last resort. Before been presented to us the horses have been treated by all available conventional and alternative therapies. The situation presented here is complex. Most of the apparent problems are in fact compensations. We are impressed by the volume and the accuracy of your responses. We have already received 142 suggestions and 8 persons were right on the problem.
We will published the correct response with illustrated explanations and a video of the horse three month later in our newsletter. Visit our website and join our e-mail. You will know if you were close or even may be right on the problem. scienceofmotion.com

Unknown said...

Hi,
My guess is the lameness is in the near hind?
Thanks
Linda