Foxhill Livery Yard

Sleep tight special boy. Humphrey, Humpers, Humpty, Humpty Dumpty. Such a gent and a gorgeous hunk of a horse. You had such character and made us all smile. We were blessed to know you. Sending much love to Danni & Sam 💔🌈

The shoulder-in is often referred to as the “aspirin of dressage” because it has many benefits for the gymnastic training of the horse. It is a lateral movement in which the horse is bending against the direction of travel and the inside hind leg steps closer to the front legs and closer to the outside hind leg when the angle is relatively shallow. When the angle is steeper it steps in front of the outside hind leg.

It is a highly effective tool for bringing the inside hind leg closer to the center of gravity and more underneath the rider’s seat. Once the inside hind leg has arrived under our seat, we can flex it with the help of the combined weight of the horse’s forehand and the rider. This is why it is a great stepping stone in compound exercises.

The shoulder-in helps to bring both hind legs closer together, which is a prerequisite for collection, as the Duke of Newcastle discovered.

It improves the lateral bend and supples the horse’s hips and shoulders.

However, it can only be truly effective as a gymnastic tool when the outside hind leg does not swing to the outside and away from the body mass. It has to step forward towards the center of gravity and support the body mass so that the horse’s back is able to lift and rotate in order to produce the correct lateral bend. When the angle between the horse’s body and the line of travel gets too steep, the outside hind leg no longer steps under the center of gravity, which results in a loss of balance and a loss of bend. �From a practical riding point of view it is therefore better to focus on feeling the outside hind leg underneath our outside seat bone as well as the correct lateral bend, rather than the crossing of the inside hind leg.

There are specific uses of the shoulder-in to to solve specific training problems and develop the horse.

It is both a movement and a component of exercises. �

Wide medial branch shoe for a horse with moderate desmopathy of the medial suspensory branch and medial oblique sesamoidean ligament.

📢 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠’𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 (𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏 𝐅𝐞𝐛 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔) 🐴

Boehringer Ingelheim is updating its Care About Cushing’s initiative, which provides free diagnostic testing for Equine Cushing’s (PPID). Here’s what horse owners and vets need to know:

🔬 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
Free annual ACTH lab tests will now be available during these periods only:
• Spring (March–April) – ideal for assessing laminitis risk.
• Autumn (September–October) – when diagnostic accuracy peaks.

💊 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 “𝐃𝐨𝐬𝐞-𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫” 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭
A new 4–6 week post-treatment test will be available to help check medication doses early on.

🐎 𝐎𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬
The scheme will still offer:
• One free monitoring test per year for diagnosed & treated horses available in Spring or Autumn
• Digital tracking tools
• Educational resources
• Reminder alerts

📝 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐕𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬
Horse owners must work with a participating veterinary practice, which will generate a voucher code for the lab tests. Make sure the voucher is requested before or during your appointment and is submitted alongside the blood sample. As always this voucher code will cover the laboratory fees only, not the visit or cost of taking the sample.

For full details, visit the Care About Cushing’s website.

Such a beautiful sunrise this morning 🐴❤️🦊

Such a beautiful sunrise this morning ❄️🌅

Any equestrian knows... this is the RIGHT idea !