Understanding Horse Performance E-Book

Sue Palmer

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Whatever level you ride at, the inability to solve a ridden, groundwork or behavioural problem causes frustration and can leave you feeling powerless. Chartered veterinary physiotherapist Sue Palmer reveals how you can determine whether your horse's performance is affected by his behaviour (brain), health (pain) or training, and she explains clearly how to overcome difficulties through tried and tested techniques. The emphasis is on creating a comfortable, trusting and rewarding relationship between horse and rider, which ultimately will lead to greater success and more good times with your horse. Sue Says: 'You will be inspired by the results you can achieve, and encouraged towards achieving your dreams with your horse'.

Leseprobe

UNDERSTANDINGHORSE PERFORMANCE

Brain, Pain Or Training?

SUE PALMER

Foreword by RICHARD DAVISON

J. A. ALLEN

First published in 2016 by

J. A. Allen

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

J. A. Allen is an imprint of The Crowood Press

© Sue Palmer 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

The majority of the photographs in this book are by and © Simon Palmer. Those of the following guest contributors: Vanessa Bee, Faith Fisher-Atack, Lucinda Green, Juliet Lock, Jackie Lockett, Kelly Marks, Tony Nevin, Pam Neill, Chris Pearce and Dr Renee Tucker were supplied by and are property of themselves. The following photographs were supplied by: Robert Kneschke, page 27 (Pippin) Lisa Chappell, page 27 (Bailey) Alison Buttery, page 28 (William 009) Steve Galloway, page 31 (Brain) Alexander Mitiuc, page 32 (Back pain) T-REX, page 85 (Bernie) Amanda McCaig, page 86 (Lola) Milena Feucht, page 87 (Sylvan) Nichola Garratt, page 114 (Sue Devereux) EVP Photography, page 118 (Lisa and Bluebell) Bill Parrott, page 118 (Fay)Alison Hall and page 120 (Krissie) Trafford Photography. Thanks also to the following horses and their owners for being photographic models for the book: Karen Goulding with Star Edition and Mighells Carob, and Siân Nichols with Orsceno.

Disclaimer of Liability

The author and publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. While the book is as accurate as the author can make it, there may be errors, omissions, and inaccuracies.

ISBN 978 1 90880 951 3

I’d like to dedicate this book to my mum and dad, because without the

many opportunities they have given me, and their support in the bad times

as well as the good, I would never have had the knowledge, experience,

or confidence to write this book for the good of the horse.

Thanks mum and dad xxx

The author with Star Edition.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Richard Davison

Preface

1.How to Use This Book

2.Making the Most of Your Time with Your Horse

3.Is Your Horse ‘Naughty’ or ‘Nice’?

4.Case Studies: in the Beginning

5.Explaining ‘Brain, Pain and Training’

6.Sports Specific

7.What’s the Story?

8.Brain

9.Pain

10.Training

11.Case Studies: the Answers

12.Does Your Horse Score 10/10 for Comfort?

13.Treatment Options

14.Case Studies: Conclusions

15.Finding the Fix

16.And Finally…

The Horse’s Prayer

Further Information

Contributors

Acknowledgements

Index

FOREWORD

Richard Davison

I consider myself fortunate that I have had the opportunity of competing ponies and horses for more than fifty years. I still love competing but my true fascination has always been the training of the horses.

Learning how to check for discomfort in your horse is important in improving performance.

Horses are among the most willing and compliant animals on the planet. Through the passage of time they have allowed us to use them for so many different purposes.

I have learned that, while being handled, ridden or driven, their behaviour is entirely our responsibility, and is a reflection of the strengths or weaknesses of our horsemanship skills and knowledge. In order to ride and train horses humanely and effectively we need to understand why horses behave and react as they do, including why, at times, they demonstrate undesired behaviour, movements and reactions. Acquiring this understanding involves, among other things, studying how the horse’s natural flight instinct manifests itself, discovering how their learning processes differ from those of humans, and how they function both physiologically and biomechanically.

Whenever a horse demonstrates a difficulty or reluctance to perform what we ask of him – whether that be a dressage movement, a jumping exercise, or simply not going where we want to go whilst out on a hack – a good horseman or horsewoman will instinctively question whether the behaviour is connected to discomfort or even pain; whether it could be a result of the horse’s natural fear and flight instinct; or whether, perhaps, the horse is simply testing the rider’s skills, timing or determination.

Deciding which of these factors contribute to the behaviour and therefore how to react, always creates a dilemma, even for experienced riders. But Sue Palmer has provided a simple road map to help steer the reader towards a practical evaluation, to pinpoint the possible causes and suggest appropriate action, including deciding upon whom to call upon for further advice and help. She has also provided fascinating anecdotes and input from many eminent horsemen and horsewomen, as well as other experts, and the reader is bound to find their experiences both reassuring and helpful.

I would like to congratulate Sue on tackling this subject and providing a simple guide, which I hope will help to make the journey of training even more enjoyable for both horses and humans.

RICHARD DAVISON

Olympic rider and trainer, former Performance

Manager Great Britain Dressage Team

PREFACE

Horses have been a part of my family for many years. My granddad was a milkman who used a pony and trap to deliver the milk, and my mum was pony mad from an early age. I have ridden since I was three years old, been on the committee of South Oxfordshire Pony Club and South Oxfordshire Riding Club, and have worked with horses since before I left school. At home we bred Welsh Cobs and my brother, sister and I spent most weekends at shows with our ponies. My jobs have included working in private yards, livery yards, point-to-point yards, dealers’ yards, competition yards, a polo yard, and a riding school, amongst others. I have been a groom, rider and instructor before qualifying as a physiotherapist, and handled everything from Shires to Shetlands, with racehorses, showjumpers, eventers and dressage horses in between.

For several years I had a reputation for riding ‘dangerous’ horses, and at some point I realized that this was not what I wanted to be doing when I was fifty. It was around then that I decided to qualify as a riding instructor (BHSAI), and to study the Monty Roberts Preliminary Certificate in Horsemanship and become an Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate (IHRA). When I was working with horses with problematical behaviours, I could often see that there was some kind of physical problem – perhaps the horse was stiffer on one rein than the other, one hip was lower than the other, or he didn’t seem quite sound. I would advise people to call someone to fix the physical problem, then to let me know it was fixed so that I could come back to work with the problematical behaviour. The trouble was that, when I went back, it often looked to me as though the physical problem was still there. I decided to follow the maxim that if you want a job done properly, do it yourself, so I went back to university as a mature student to study physiotherapy at King’s College, London. I then worked in the National Health Service for a couple of years as a physiotherapist, and then did a master’s degree in veterinary physiotherapy at the Royal Veterinary College, London. I count myself incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to do all of this, and also to be a mum and to have the support of my loving and talented husband, Simon, who took most of the pictures that you will see in this book.

This combination of knowledge, experience and qualifications has given me a unique approach to assessing physical, performance and behavioural problems. Did you know that, at the time of writing, only one person in the world holds qualifications as a chartered veterinary physiotherapist, intelligent horsemanship recommended associate and BHSAI? I work to help owners make the most of their time with their horses, and to promote welfare, safety and enjoyment of horses. In my experience, owners want the best for their animals and I aim as far as possible to help them to listen to their horse – to interpret for him to the best of my ability – particularly when he’s communicating pain or discomfort.

I feel incredibly honoured to have received contributions to this book from eminent horsemen and horsewomen from many parts of the equestrian world, and also from clients who have agreed to share their horse’s story for the benefit of others. I am eternally grateful for the willingness of these people to stand up and be counted, to speak up on behalf of the horses, and for their support and encouragement in the writing of this book and of my goal to make a difference. I wanted there to be a message within this book that would speak to you, the reader, whatever your interest in horses and whatever your specialism. I wanted the message to be written in many different ways, so that for every reader there would be something that would strike a chord. I am so incredibly excited that, with such a network of like-minded people, I believe we have been able to achieve this.

My goal is to make a difference to the lives of horses throughout the world. You may have bought this book to help you make the most of your time with your own horse, to help you overcome a ‘sticking point’ in your training, or to help you offer that ‘something extra’ in your work as a professional in the equestrian field. I know I can help with each of these ambitions. This book is part of my effort towards making that difference and twenty-seven incredible horsemen and horsewomen have joined me, lending their voices as guest contributors to spread the message that horses can only communicate pain or lack of understanding through their behaviour or performance. If you believe this message and would like to join us in improving the lives of horses, please use your sphere of influence to let your friends and colleagues know about the concepts that form the subtitle of this book – Brain, Pain or Training? – so that, if they so wish, then they too can apply these concepts in their efforts to be the best owners they can be.

CHAPTER ONE

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride, friendship without envy, or beauty without vanity?

Here, where grace is laced with muscle and strength by gentleness confined.

He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.

There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent, there is nothin so quick, nothing more patient.

England’s past has been borne on his back. All our history is in his industry; we are his heirs, he is our inheritance.

— RONALD DUNCAN

The Horse, © the Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation