The Art of Natural Dressage

Can someone give me some nice exersices for my horses who just cured from laminitis.
I have to start to exersice them, but would like to make it a bit interesting for them and myself.

Love,

Helene

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without the bad, good would not exist

For now, Helene, the only recommendation I can make is that you not push her hard to move about but that you do seek to move her and exercise her. Foundered horses, once they can move, need that exercise to help keep their metabolism working properly and their digestive system moving material along.

The caution you find at ECushings about the need for exercise but the careful restriction has to do with the compromised connective hoof tissue between the wall of the hoof and the hoof capsule itself.

Abscessing too is often the case with recovering founder/laminitis and that may compromise the integrity, the wholeness and health, of the entire hoof and it's connections to the end of the pastern and related bone and tendons.

You can assume much about what is going on internally by heat in the hoof (This you know about I believe), a pounding pulse in the veins/arteries of the pastern, and especially the separation of hoof wall from sole at the very toe point of the hoof. The larger the separation the greater the problem.

This is why a laminitic therapeutic trim includes fairly drastic rasping back of the point of the toe, and a slight bevel under the toe and helps the hoof, as it rotates coming out of a stride, to break free of the ground early before the toe can experience pressure of the horse's weight upon the surface of the ground.

I think that in fact this is where veterinarians and even farriers of the past have a conflict with what I've just written about the new method. They feel the weight should have a completely even distribution, if I understand them correctly, and the newer method is to take weight off the toe, since that is where the separation is going to likely begin and be most severe and push on into other portions of the hoof.

Understand, I am a lay person in hoof care, and I defer to the people on ECushings, and EChoof because I know they are expert in this method I'm trying to describe. So what I'm saying is second hand, my understanding of their work and expertise.

At present I urge you press your questions more energetically at ECushings. We here at AND have a great deal of knowledge but I can't recall any one here being a professional specialist in either field, veterinary nutritionist, or equine podiatrist.

My bet is your current trimmer veterinarian would have very good advice on this question of exercise, but until you can find out from him, and or the ECushings folks, please stick with very light in hand exercise that keeps your Symphony on straight lines, or broad sweeping curves with no turns at the standstill, or sharp angles even when moving.

Twisting the hoof can have terrible consequences and even loss of the entire foot capsule. I've seen photos of hoofless horses, and yes they can recover, but it's a horror show and entails a very long commitment of near total attendance of the horse and is usually done much in hospital, a very expensive procedure.

A suggestion about using ECushings and EChoof. It's writing rule my professional editor publisher wife taught me, and forget too often: Ask a single question. Give a only facts directly related to that question. Wait for an answer before you continue the conversation.

It happens that the "responders," ECushings, those folks with the expertise, many of them professionals, or with many years of working with many foundered horses (some are in Horse Rescue work) are right now at the crises season.

Hay crops are being bought and people are clamoring for analysis and help with balancing the hay to a supplement formulation, Cushings horses are starting into a severe seasonal rise of their condition and at risk of more serious reactions to their problem, these same horses also very very at risk from founder or laminitis too because of their problem.

So everything you can do to make the job of the "responders," easier will help you get your answers sooner. I see that Mandy has started a conversation with you. This lady is a rock, steady, careful, dedicated to whoever she accepts to help, and she will be there the whole time as long as you need her.

She will point you to what you need, explain what you need to do, help you understand what she means when you need clarification, consult (often quietly behind the scenes) with other experts on the different parts of the health challenge for your Sym.

I am one of those people, and while I'm not at liberty to discuss their exact words in private consultation I can tell you that your situation has Mandy at the point of a whole team, veterinarians, endocrine research specialists, nutritional experts, equine trimmers, and those folks that have done this through hundreds of horses successfully.

They do not do much flag waving, but I know what I've seen and what was done for Altea, and thus too for her Bonnie. I'd trust them with the lives of my horses, and I have.

This isn't because I like them individually (though it happens there are a few I do).

This is because I've seen what they can do. If you get to having any doubts look in the files where there is a list of success stories. Horses far more damaged by founder and other health crises than Sym have been pulled out of it by their hard work and guidance - over ten years of it, under the guidance of a premier veterinarian.

Hugs,
Donald, Altea, and Bonnie Cupcake

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Love is Trust, trust is All
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So say Don, Altea, and Bonnie the Wonder Filly.

If you wanna do something with your horse you can start with clickertraining.
Let the horse know that a click is good a reward after an exercise or assesment.

you can learn to push with the nose agains an object then click and give a treat or scratch.
then put the object one step further and ask again. When the horse do not move, no force just do something else or wait for a while.
Never push, just be patient.

You can ask to lift up one feet and do it also for all other ones.

Kissing their humans is also a quiet trick to learn.

You can also put some little hay on several places in a paddock so if the horse wanted to eat he have to walk. You don't force him, he can walk in his own speed.

When you are further and the horse walks by himself without problems go for a small hike outside the fields. To a place where he can eat something and then go back again.
Make these trips longer and longer...