Holistic Equitation

We take a holistic approach to our work with horses, that is, we believe that every aspect of their lifestyle and care is equally important and is reflected in their performance, and their social and physiological needs should not be sacrificed for that end. In asking for their co-operation in training, we feel we have a duty to look after these other requirements which allow them to live a happy and rounded life

Training

If training is done in the right way, on the basis of engagement, it should be like physiotherapy for the horse. It makes the joints flexible and strong, the musculature supple, the spine stretched and lifted, and is always bringing the horse’s natural crookedness towards straightness.

The physical yielding that occurs from the most basic level of good training makes the horse naturally calm and secure, as opposed to work in tension - whether physical or mental - which results when this yielding is not attained. If one observes horses in the herd environment, they have more physical contact with each other when calm and less when tense or aggressive, responding more to threats and signals. Hence the fact that this way of training horses, with little pressure/contact and a lot of gesturing and intimidation, breeds tension not the relaxation required for athletic development to take place. Dressage is based on the principle of yielding to pressure as a means of gaining physical submission (not brainwashing), whereas many natural horsemanship techniques use the horses natural apprehension to certain signals to gain results, but as a result often entail physical and mental tension.

We believe the quality of a rider/trainer depends first and foremost on the relationship that they create with the horse.To gain the trust and respect of the horse, the rider must assume the responsibility of the role of teacher while at the same time always listening to the horse's responses. A good teacher always remains calm and patient, and this is the same for a good rider. We take this approach to our pupils as well as the horses, because anger, impatience and frustration are all the result of the teacher's lack of ability to get something across in an effective way, and will never obtain positive results in horse or human. As we never shout at our pupils, neither do we use aggressive aiding with whip, spur or bit. Becoming a good rider and trainer is as much a character forming process as it is a physical one.

Lifestyle

Our horses all spend more than half of their time outside in a herd environment, coming in during the daytime on weekdays. Although we used to keep our horses traditionally in small groups in separate fields, a year ago we changed our field arrangement into a long and varied network of tracks based on Jaime Jackson's 'Paddock Paradise' concept.   Now all fifteen horses are together in one herd, and we have noticed significant improvements in their behaviour. They have a great deal of social interaction within the group, forming relationships that are sometimes very durable, and often dynamic: developing and changing, allowing for the expression of each horse's personality. We were surprised at how quickly the group settled down together when we initially integrated all of the small groups – it was as if there was a general sigh of relief. Having the security of the herd seems to allow them to be more independent rather than less.

The track system is designed to encourage movement, and it was only when we first put the horses onto it that we realised quite how institutionalised they had become in their fields. It took some time before they started to ‘wake-up' and regain the inquisitive, independent and spontaneous attitude that is natural to horses. Now they are happy to go off on their own to find water, to work out different ways of getting around the tracks, and make use of the different resources that are available such as the shelter and shade of woods, areas where food is available etc. It always surprises us how robust and agile they are when given the opportunity: they will confidently gallop up and down steep banks and jump obstacles, and very rarely hurt themselves.

To us it is a great unspoken crime that so many horses are kept in what amounts to a lifetime of solitary confinement, when horses are such utterly social beings.

Hoofcare

All of our horses are barefoot (unshod) and although they have been for almost ten years, in the last few years we have developed considerably our understanding of good trimming technique and hoof management.

We have held clinics with an Australian barefoot expert, and are planning more clinics in the future, concentrating on trimming and hoofcare for performance. The hoof plays an essential role in the movement of the horse, and if not cared for so that it has the right shape and is not causing the horse discomfort, it will seriously interfere with the quality of movement that the horse is able to give. Most domestic horses land every stride toe-first when they should land heel-first, simply because they do not have the structural strength and protection within the hoof to allow them to do so. This interferes with the expression of their movement and puts stress on the joints, limbs, and whole musculature of the horse which has to become tense to compensate.

Happily, more and more horse-owners are become aware of the problems associated with shoeing, and the lack of necessity for it with today's developments in hoof-boots.

Therapy

In the process of gymnasticising the horse, and especially as a result of suppleness and straightening required in engagement, physical problems frequently come to the surface which may have been completely hidden before. These may be in the form of musculo-skeletal restrictions or more profound energetic/systemic blockages from past trauma, but invariably they need to be addressed before training can progress. Cranio-sacral therapy is ideal for this purpose, working at the profound level of the central nervous system.

Nutrition

Becoming aware of the heath of the horse's foot necessitates a re-thinking of good equine nutrition, because a horse's diet has a profound effect on its feet. Although the link is not yet fully understood, it is well known that the sugar present in lush grass, grain and molasses cannot be metabolised properly by the horse, and causes toxins that damage the sensitive laminae in the hoof. Usually this is only recognised when the problem is so acute that it causes obvious lameness, but actually ‘minor' laminitic events are happening all the time with a horse that is fed a high starch diet or is on grass that is either too lush or is overgrazed and constantly producing new shoots which are high in sugar and also contain toxins that result from the plants being stressed. Other metabolic disruptions to the horse such as drugs (including wormers and vaccinations) and sudden changes to the diet also have a damaging effect on the laminae. The only external signs that these events are taking place are the rings that subsequently grow down the hoof wall (often one after the other), blood in the white line that can be seen when the wall is trimmed, and distortion (flaring, slumping etc.) of the hoof wall. Less obvious is the constant sensitivity experienced by horses with damaged laminae. Ironically the numbing effect that shoes have on the healthy circulation of the hoof may prevent the horse feeling this sensitivity in the hoof, but when the shoes are removed and the circulation returns many owners find themselves having to address the horses diet to stop the discomfort.

This is the main reason that we have adopted the ‘Paddock Paradise' system of tracks instead of fields, because horses are not evolved to cope with the short sweet grass that results when grazing animals are contained in a small acreage. Grass that is allowed to mature however does not cause the same problem. We keep our horses on the tracks when the grass is growing, and then allow them into the fields inside the tracks when the grass is mature and the sugar content is no longer a problem. Of course, when they are on the tracks they must receive abundant hay (haylage is also high in sugar).

We have found that with horses in training, and those who are not good do-ers, it can be a difficult balance to strike to maintain condition with a low starch diet. We needed something to replace the carbohydrate, and we discovered that copra (coconut meal) is an excellent alternative, being very low in starch, high in digestible fibre and also containing coconut oil which has many nutritional benefits. We use bee pollen, an extraordinary synergy of vitamins, trace minerals and enzymes, as a supplement. When feeing more hay and less grass it is important to provide a source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, we use lucerne and Chlorella, an algie that is very high in chlorophyll. We still feed a small amount of oats to provide for the energetic demands of horses in training. Since changing our horses diet in these ways we have noticed a huge difference in the health of their feet: they maintain a stable shape with few rings and distortions and the horn quality is tough and resilient.

First day on the tracks: one of the groups going to join the herd.