Charlotte Field- Equine Sports Massage Therapist

🦠 Lockdown Update🦠

The latest guidance from ESMA & AHPR state that appointments for maintenance treatments cannot currently go ahead.
Clients with welfare and pain management concerns please contact me to discuss, and we can put a plan in place until I can organise an appointment.

I am currently off work looking after our toddler until the Coronavirus situation improves and she can go back to nursery safely. Thank you to all my clients who have been so understanding. As soon as I can get out to you I’ll be there!

I hope you all stay safe and well. Please send me a message if you need any support.

Charlotte

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How Posture Impacts Your Horse’s Movement, Front and Back.

In-hand work (and riding) helps organize the horse’s body: his posture and alignment from nose to hocks, and the freedom, regularity and even-ness with which his limbs move in pair or alone.

When working in-hand (and riding), Manolo pays attention to several factors:

- Where the head and nose of the horse is, in relationship to his sternum and shoulders, which will have an impact on how much or little the horse will be able to move his shoulders and as a result, how much or little, how well or not, his hind legs can engage.

In a nutshell, the backend can only do as well as the front end allows it to.

Training that insists on driving the hind legs under while blocking the horse in front may lead to serious back, pelvis, stifle and tendons breakdowns because the horse’s body is not able to work as a whole. (See our article on the importance of riding the whole horse, link below).

As Manolo explains: “the position of the nose impacts the action of the shoulder, impacts the action of the hindlegs” he adds: “If you shorten the neck (by pulling the head and nose behind the vertical) it comes out the back. “

- How much bend and flexion the horse’s whole body can offer at this stage.

- How well or not the horse is able to stay through in the bended lines or needs to move his haunches in or out of alignment.

- How much or little the horse is able to flex the joints of his inside hindleg and step and push.

- Where the foot lands: too much underneath the body? not enough? Outside the body?

The handler/rider must observe the horse constantly and carefully calibrate his/her actions according to the feedback they receive to facilitate the whole horse moving harmoniously.

They want to pay particular attention to the contact on the lungeline (and reins) and the horse’s spinal alignment and be careful not to bring the horse’s nose backward and shortening the neck causing the nose to block the shoulders which blocks the hind legs from coming through.

Equally problematic is positioning the nose sideways which disconnects the horse’s body and make it impossible for him to travel in balance.

Great attention should be paid to the geometry of figures and exercices and not creating detrimental postures by asking for too much angle in the body, for example riding neck-ins instead of shoulder- in.

Do you have a horse that is not as straight, balanced and supple as would be good for him? Is your horse's movement, rhythm and gait quality standing in the way of better performance? Adding in-hand work can help your horse develop a better posture resulting in better performance, health and behavior.

To make a difference in your horse's health, behavior and performance, simply click on the link below.

https://www.manolomendezdressage.com/product/in-hand-lessons-with-manolo-mendez/

Have good wifi and want to save on shipping? Go to:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/inhandlessonswithmanolo

And for free downloadable articles on In-Hand Work and Riding The Whole Horse go to:

https://www.manolomendezdressage.com/manolo-mendez/manolo-mendez-dressage/articles-by-manolo-mendez/

Johnny enjoying having his poll released yesterday. I do love my job 🥰

A post about posture....
I thought it would be quite handy for people to see a comparison between two ridden postures seeing as I talk about it constantly 😂 but I’ll try keep it fairly short and simple!
So Sunday morning I picked on John and Paddy to help me get some pictures.
On the left - John is asking Paddy to work “into a contact”. This term is commonly heard but although Paddy stays nice and active behind, he is being blocked with the hand and therefore can’t lift the rib cage and come through, creating a downhill appearance. He therefore can’t lift from the base of the neck so comes behind the vertical. Consistent riding in this posture will cause various areas of tension including the lumbars and over C3 in the neck.
On the right - John straightens Paddy to the outside rein by opening it and allows him to find his own balance on the turn. By always allowing with the hand and riding in vertical balance, Paddy is able to come through from behind and isn’t blocked so can lift his rib cage and shoulders (if you compare his back in both pictures you’ll see the difference in the amount of lift).
The neck is allowed to lift from the base and telescope out to seek the contact, creating more space for ever more reach with the forelegs.
This posture enables the horse to use itself correctly and efficiently and creates a strong foundation for all further work 😍

Many thanks to all my clients for being patient during this crazy time.
We are still a way off from having real control over this virus and therefore John and I are keeping our toddler at home with me for now. Without nursery or family to help with childcare I am more limited at the moment - but I would prefer to see how the stats look over the forthcoming weeks anyway, and then all being well I aim to have some appointments available in June.
Many thanks for your understanding
Charlotte

Teach them how to improve their own balance and posture and the results are beautiful 💕 I’ll pop some vids up of some groundwork bits we work on when I get a chance to shorten them!

I can’t believe he’s 19 in a few weeks 💔 where has the time gone 😢 He hasn’t done anything all week and comes out like this - nice and relaxed in a lovely “forward, down and out” position but with engagement through the core and lifting the wither. Not bad for an old man 💕

Interesting article into the affects of different bits on the frequency of swallowing in cantering horses. Supporting the presence of a bit does not affect, but the type of bit should always be taken into consideration. All the more reason why we should always be looking at each piece of equipment we use on our horses and the cause and affect these may have.

Effects of different bits and bridles on frequency of induced swallowing in cantering horses Effects of different bits and bridles on frequency of induced swallowing in cantering horses