Jane Hart - Targeted Training

25/08/2024

This is a really good visualisation of the anatomical features of the cervical spine …. Training styles should take into consideration the actions of the musculoskeletal system in this area.

19/04/2023

Some very worthy thoughts to take on board …..

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26/02/2023

French showjumper Grégory Cottard, 44, has been enjoying a winning streak recently, most notably winning the five-star grand prix at Bordeaux, France, with the striking mare Co***ne Du Val

12/01/2023

In loving rememberance of Kerry Ridgway, an exceptional veterinarian and a very good man.

Through his research and papers on Fascia, the "High Heel and Low Heel Syndrome" , the "Equine Gastrointestinal Syndrome" and the "Crooked Horse Syndrome" Kerry significantly advanced the current understanding on equine soundness biomechanics and developed innovative acupuncture based diagnostiquing and treating protocols.

Kerry was a pioneer in the field of integrative medecine and his work's influence can be noticed in the posts, articles and courses offered by many equine health experts, even today.

His sense of humor, his boundless curiosity and his impeccable ethics are missed by all who knew him.

To learn more about his work, visit:
drkerryridgway.com

Photography: Lisa Hermes

11/12/2022

This is such a valuable post and description of ‘self carriage’ from Carl Hester …..
It also goes a long way to help understand ‘rider influence’ and the difference between ‘back movers’ and ‘leg movers’.

Only a contact created with soft ‘feeling’ fingers, and elbows that offer and allow the horse to go forward to the bridle, can create supple, elastic back muscles in the horse.
Within this elastic ‘buffer zone’ of working together, both rider and horse can have soft back muscles, be balanced, stabilise the power through the core, and lift into ‘self carriage’.
Riders who ‘take back’ on the contact will lock the wrist or elbow and brace their back…. they will be riding ‘backwards’ … this subsequently ‘locks’ the horse in, creates tension, blocks any elasticity in the chain of back muscles, and ‘breaks the neck at C3’ …. thus creating ‘leg movers’.

Thought for the day ……
The rider has options, but the horse has no choice but to ‘live with’ what the rider allows.

Wisdom for all riders from Carl Hester: “Self-carriage is really easy to see. It’s that tension into the hand that we were just talking about with Valegro the first place you see it is through the whole of the top line of the horse. The best thing you can do for self-carriage is the give and re-take of the reins. It is amazing how you forget to do that when you ride on your own. That constant giving the hand, taking, giving, taking, making sure that the outline is stable, the mouth is soft. You only have to look at the mouth to know how it is working, the horse is carrying its own head and neck.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/02/balance-self-carriage-and-the-importance-of-rider-position/

30/10/2022

Every Body Tells A Story!
I love a case study, and this is a perfect example, showing how changes are possible if the training is targeted correctly to the individual needs of the horse!

The ‘before and after’ photos below are of a 12 year old show jumper.
The warmblood gelding was out jumping 1.20s and was bought by one of my Academy riders in order to gain experience on an ‘educated’ horse.

In November 2021, the horse arrived.

The first set of images labelled November 2021, show a general lack of condition, weak musculoskeletal development and lack of ‘top line’. On evaluation, the compensatory muscle groups had a feel of tonicity and tension, with most having a pain response, especially along the supporting spinal muscles.
The primary area of concern was the weak thoracic and lumbar musculature and this suggests how the horse had been ridden over time …probably with a shortened and ‘too high’ head carriage which consequently shortens the back profile and stride pattern .. thus raising the potential for thoracolumbar pain and kissing spines … potentially resulting in poor performance and ultimately probable injury.

The priority was to stop this downward spiral so as to limit the ‘negative bio mechanical stress sequence’. Fortunately for the horse, as a fourth year veterinary physiotherapy student, my academy rider understood the need to ‘un-pick and re-build’ …… so she was on board to follow a ‘targeted training’ programme …. which was upgraded as his body responded.

Following this individualised training plan and adjusting the management accordingly (foot balance especially!), the horse changed radically as shown in the October 2022 images.

By identifying the issues and understanding muscle response to specific ‘targeted training’, the transformation of this horse is undeniable!

27/10/2022

01/10/2022

‘The Half Halt’ …. What does it mean to you?
This is a riding term I personally don’t like much … to me it sounds ‘stuffy’, ‘backward’ and ‘limiting’.

Whilst discussing this phrase with a group of second year degree students, it became clear that each had a different interpretation of the word ‘half halt’ … and it very was dependant on when it was used in various training situations.
We realised it comes in many different ‘flavours’.
It can be used to:
balance … lighten …. regroup ….. contain …. create … maintain….. soften….. relax … calm ….. lift …settle…. sharpen … reinvigorate …. energise … pre-warn … etc etc.
Consider which ‘flavour’ half halt you need - and when - and what it means to your horse at the time.
But the key to all the options, and to add value, is ‘timing’. Training is all about timing.
Btw, my favourite interpretation and use of the word ‘half halt’, is ‘prepare and position’.

Working with riders and training each horse as an individual, is what it’s all about, and it’s been invigorating having my Writtle Academy riders back on site and having the barn full and active once again!
The last couple of weeks have given me the chance to look at the returning horses and new squad members with ‘fresh eyes’ …. Today was a great start to getting the training underway!

05/08/2022

The shared post below is so true!
It is only possible to ‘paper over the cracks’ to a certain level before you can’t get past that point!
Attention to detail should be considered not only to promote developmental and competition potential, but perhaps more importantly, this should be a priority from a longevity perspective!

05/08/2022

At clinics, rarely do I get to help people with advanced work (even if they think they are ready for it) because usually the basics are “ok”. When you try to build advanced movements out of “ok” basics you end up with trouble in that movement.

Basics are hard, mostly because they can seem ok, but it’s the details that matter.

I was recently chatting with a friend who is an Olympic showjumping coach. He has competed at 3 Olympic Games and has coached his National team at 3 others.

I said to him “ you do lots of clinics around the world, do you ever run into people that can jump say, a metre, but want to jump higher, but in order to jump higher you have to take them back to the start, back to ground rails ?”

“All the time”, he said. “I rarely encounter anyone who wants to jump higher and is ready for it.”

Once you get the basics really good, the “hard” things are actually easy. It sounds completely backwards to most people, but once you get your head around it, the game changes completely.

25/06/2022

The end of this academic year was wrapped up really productively this week, with Lauren Hunt and I having the pleasure of being included in a speakers panel, initiated by Mark Strong and Pioneer Vets at the British Veterinary Association annual conference.
The message we took forward, was the importance of owners/riders working with qualified practitioners (ideally under veterinary guidance), when utilising any therapeutic modalites or electrotherapies, especially laser.
Different lasers have different power outages and potentials, and in the correct hands, research suggests it can be a really useful adjunct in pre-habilitiation, maintenance and re-habilitation ......... But there are also potential contraindications which need to be acknowledged and taken into account.
Laser technology has not been developed like mobile phones, where the higher 'class' number indicates the latest and most effective model. Often the higher the classification, the more potential for harm. Therefore, the key message in laser therapy is, the dose and application must be relevant to the condition and modality, include the variables for each individual animal and be calculated by a qualified paraprofessional.
Therapeutic interventions are becoming commonplace in the equine industry, and can help achieve great results through photobiomodulation at a cellular level .......... but it is imperative that modalities such as laser are handled by a qualified practitioner, using education, understanding and clinical reasoning!