Partners in Soundness

I spent the past weekend at the Partners in Soundness clinic at the beautiful Cashel Farms in Stouffville, Ontario. It was beautiful to be a part of a gathering of like minded professionals and horse owners all working together for a common cause: soundness. Day 1 was listening to each clinician present their area of expertise and what it is they do and Day 2 was seeing this in action as multiple horses were assessed and participants could see how the group collaboration worked.

It takes a team to help keep a horse happy and sound and this workshop drove that message home. The clinicians consisted of a trainer, farrier/barefoot trimmer, bodyworker, saddle fitter, an equine biomechanics/movement specialist and a vet who practices chiropractic and acupuncture and even though they were looking at the horses through their own unique lens, it was fascinating to see them all come to the same conclusions.

Everything works together. Hoof imbalances can cause imbalance elsewhere in the body, affecting saddle fit, how the rider sits (and the rider’s body), and body asymmetry and imbalance (in both horse and rider) can affect the hooves, how the saddle fits and moves, how the horse moves, etc. Everything is so interconnected. This is also where the reoccurring theme of “treat vs heal” kept coming up in every discussion and every horse assessment. Do we want to just treat the issue/symptom or do we want to heal the body? Treating may have quicker results and relieve symptoms but they are not always long lasting because whatever factors caused the issue in the first place may still be there. By taking the time to heal the body, we are setting our horses up for long term success and healthiness.

How can we do that? We can start by paying attention to the subtle signs that our horse is experiencing discomfort. Swishing the tail while being groomed, walking away or pinning the ears when the saddle goes on, being less responsive to our aids, not wanting to be caught. We often say we wish horses could talk and tell us what is wrong but they are trying, we just aren’t always paying that close of attention.

Rider fitness plays a huge role in this as well. We expect our horses to be athletes and we should expect the same of ourselves. Fueling our body with the best nutrition we can, increasing our strength and balance so we can be of as little of a hindrance as possible when we are on their backs, getting bodywork done on ourselves to ensure we are as balanced as we can be.

There is no one size fits all solution for each horse and rider as every body is different but doing what we can to be our best selves and helping our horses be their best selves will help minimize injury in our bodies and our horse’s bodies and keep us happy and healthy for longer.

Ride Like An Athlete is here to help you with that. Book your consult with Coach Sarah to help identify and work through rider fitness challenges and collaborate with her network of professionals to help the rider. I am always available for conversations around horse fitness and bodywork and have my network of professionals as a resource to help you help your horse be their best self. Send us an email at ridelikeanathlete@gmail today with any of your questions or concerns and we are happy to help you wherever you may be on your rider or horse fitness journey.

Cheers!
Ashley