E-training

Have you noticed the recent onslaught of e-training, or online training, available? I think in general that it's great news for horses and their owners, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. In particular, who have you signed up to follow, and why? What's your 'top tip' so far? What would you like to see more of, or less of? I must admit that being so very busy producing and marketing Brain, Pain or Training for the past couple of years hasn't give me much time to look elsewhere. It's time now to look to the future though, and I'd very much like to offer some kind of online education in terms of horse behaviour and performance, especially in relation to physical issues. What affects your horse, why, and what can you do about it? I've got plenty of ideas, but yours are more important... so fire away in the comments at the end of this blog!

In the meantime I'd like to share with you some of the online training that I've come across, in case you haven't yet seen any! Firstly the Monty Roberts Online University, which I believe to be one of the most valuable online behavioural training resources available - http://www.montyrobertsuniversity.com/library. Other leaders in this area are Peter Dove (author of Master Dressage), and Mary Wanless (Ride With Your Mind) - anything by Mary gets my vote 10 times over, she's a mine of information! Horse and Hound have recently released a free online training academy (although I have to say I was disappointed that the horse in the Prelim 1 video was ridden in spurs and was overbent the entire time - not my idea of a role model for Prelim competitors). I've watched some interesting videos from Invisible Horse Control (I'd love to know whether any 'ordinary' horse rider can achieve what he makes look so easy in the canter transitions video!), and the TRT method have a couple of free videos on offer.

What catches your interest? What would you like to know more about? What do you like about online training, and what do you dislike about it? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Why we so desperately need “Brain, Pain, or Training?” taught everywhere…

This a quote from a public post on Facebook:

“No it just rears bigger I don’t need any natural stuff bloody thing needs to be told.”

By “natural stuff” I’m assuming the writer means: thought, respect, intelligence, problem solving…the qualities that most people value, which most people aspire to. “Brain, Pain, or Training?” was conceived out of comments such as this. Years of listening to people discussing how they had beaten their horse and then discovered it was in pain, its saddle didn’t fit, it was in foal, the reasons went on, but force or violence had often been used somewhere down the line.

I am reminded of the policing of Gene Hunt in the hit shows “Ashes to Ashes” and “Life of Mars”. This was standard fare in the 70s and 80s, beat up your suspects first and question them later. This was also the era of sexual harassment in the workplace being commonplace and acceptable. This is an era which now seems so outdated it belongs to a different world, and not one that we want to return to.

Whenever I stumble across comments such as this, I am so saddened that in our enlightened times, in an age when the access of knowledge is merely a click of a button away, people still fall into re-acting with violence, rather than considering with thought.

Take a moment and ask yourself – is this behaviour abnormal? Has something changed? Is it in pain?

Personally I will advocate the “natural stuff” every day over spurs, whips, ignorance and violence.

Please share this and help improve the welfare of horses everywhere, one horse at a time.

On publicising our book “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?”

It would appear that writing the book is not the challenging part! Brain, Pain, or Training is the result of years of experience and research, being turned into a concept and put down on paper. Even the DVD, which was hard work, still followed the same pattern of translating thoughts into a visual representation. But publicising it is a whole different matter…

There are nearly 10,000 equestrian books listed on Amazon, that’s a lot of reading. So how do you make your voice heard amongst the shouting, how did we get “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?” listed as one of Horse and Hound’s recommended Christmas books for 2016, and Horse Magazine’s Book of the Month for December 2016?

I think the passion in Sue’s writing, and the sheer depth of knowledge that she has painstakingly accumulated over the years shines through. The clarity of writing and the unique “roadmap” feel of the book, stand out amongst many of the training books. The quality of the contributors also speaks volumes with Richard Davison, Monty Roberts and Kelly Marks to name but a few, all this lends weight to a gain support from journalists.

However, at the end of the day, I think “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?” has had such fantastic coverage, simply because it is a fantastic book. Reviewers share books that speak to them, that they feel engaged by, that they like and that they want other people to read.

So thank you to the reviewers who loved “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?” and we hope that more people will be inspired by the concept of Brain, Pain, or Training.

Lizzie Hopkinson

New Year’s Honours List…and encouraging aspiration.

I was disappointed when reading the report on Hound and Hound about the New Year’s Honours List that the only comment was a negative one.

“With the odd exception like Claire Lomas and Sam Moorshead, these people have done little or nothing for the good of other people. What are honours for these days - getting your name in the papers? It used to be for public service.” Click hereto read the report and comment.

The two exceptions which the writer refers to have both done charity work, which is, I assume, why they have been excluded from the writer’s blanket condemnation of the other equestrians. While I agree that supporting and raising money for charity is indeed a more obvious service to the public than that of winning medals, it is not the only way to do good deeds.

Any athlete that strives to be at the top of their sport, strives to break records, strives to be a better person than they were yesterday is providing a role model for others. Children emulate their heroes. I would far rather my child followed Charlotte Dujardin as a role model, than a drunken rock star falling out of a nightclub at 2am. All success in sport is driven by attributes that we need in our society – hard work, dedication, perseverance. These are the qualities that we want our citizens to aspire to, to work towards. We need successful role models to provide aspiration for the future.

Sporting achievement both in the able-bodied and para disciplines unites people. As a country we feel part of something during events such as the Olympics and Paralympics. Success in competitions such as the Olympics encourages people to take up sport, and given that exercise is the greatest weapon against mental health, what better way to help others than to encourage more people to participate in sport? If that not doing something “for the good of other people,” then I don’t know what is!

Rider Posture Research

The University of Sunderland has been carrying out research into the effect that hip flexion and pelvis rotation has on lower back pain and injury in horse riders. Drawing together on a variety of expertise, the computer science faculty has worked in partnership with sports physiotherapists and the Saddle Research Trust to develop software to evaluate riders’ posture.

The results have been very useful. They have learnt that it is important to consider the rider’s posture dynamically. The presence of asymmetry in the rider’s hip flexion would seem to be indicative of another risk factor for lower back injury. As always any imbalance or misalignment through the body has the potential to cause problems. However any sort of biofeedback can be an excellent tool for riders and coaches to help resolve misalignment issues and help riders to remain healthy and balanced. It is hoped that this will be further developed into an excellent training tool.

A paper from the work achieved so far has been accepted for publication into the Journal of Sports Technology. Gandy, E.A., Bondi, A., Pigott, T.M.C. & Smith, G. “Investigation of the use of inertial sensing equipment for the measurement of hip flexion and pelvic rotation in horse riders”.

Trusted Professionals?

I would like to share with an extract from a case study in the recent Saddle Research Trust newsletter.

“Despite having passed a pre-purchase vetting with flying colours I had been having issues with my recently acquired 8-year-old mare since purchase; primarily napping, grumpiness and showing signs of discomfort being groomed and tacked up, and then progressively difficulty picking up canter in the school. My local equine vet, instructor, and equine physio were not overly concerned with my mare’s behaviour because she looked sound when trotted up, and doing flexion tests etc… my vet thought the horse’s behaviour was most likely her just being a ‘chestnut mare’.”

I hasten to add that the owner then went onto to consult a member of the SRT who helped to resolve the problem!

But it bought home to me that the message in “Understanding Horse Performance Brain, Pain, or Training?” is so very pertinent. We are living in enlightened times, with unlimited access to knowledge and the opportunity to learn and improve ourselves. The vet mentioned here will have had at minimum 5 years training, plus CPD in the following years, and the best he could come up with was – being a chestnut mare!

We talk about surrounding ourselves with professionals, but they must be good professionals, who are prepared to look beyond what is directly in front of them and to dig a little deeper into helping you resolve the problem. Trust your instinct, if you think there is a problem and your professionals don’t, ask around and get a second opinion. You know your horse, make sure you know your professionals too!

A Weighty Issue...

Here is a thought to keep in mind during the festive season, the season of food, and drink and very little exercise! Are you fit to ride?

There have been various occasions this year when the overweight rider debate has surfaced. We are pleased to hear of the formation of a working group under the chairmanship of the British Equestrian Federation, with support from World Horse Welfare to tackle this issue. The Animal Health Trust and the University of Sunderland are both beginning research that explores the optimum loading levels for horses. We are pleased that this issue is being tackled in a scientific manner, with the highlight being on horse welfare, which, after all, is the most important thing.

A recent study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, suggests that the rider should weigh less than 15% of their horse's body weight. This means a 1500-pound horse should be able to carry a rider of 150 lbs or less. It is not to do with the rider’s weight, it is to do with the relationship between the horse and the rider. Since the increase in food availability since the post-war era, our bodies have been getting bigger, while the horses that we ride have by and large remained the same. This is not a debate about our image obsessed society, but merely an observation about ratios. That of the horse and rider.

However it is worth bearing in mind as you reach for another helping of turkey and potatoes that our weight does affect how we ride. So my festive tip to help keep you and your horse healthy is to dismount from your horse (providing it is safe to do so) half a mile from home and walk the rest of the way. This is will give you an extra walk, and your horse a chance to cool down his back muscles. Happy, healthy horse and rider!

Merry Christmas!