Ramsden Equine Service

11/07/2024

"New HORSE Syndrome”🆕🐴

Yesterday, I wrote about a new term I have coined called “New Home Syndrome.” The post has gone viral, and I am really glad about that because what horses experience when they move homes is incredibly significant and poorly understood. It sets off a pattern of behaviour due to the psychological and physiological impact of completely changing their environment and routines.

I wish to introduce you to my next term, which I hope is also accepted as widely because it is just as significant and goes hand in hand with “New Home Syndrome.” The term is “New HORSE Syndrome,” and it is to bring recognition, respect, and appreciation to what can happen to many PEOPLE when they get a new horse. I personally got stuck in the vortex of “New HORSE Syndrome” for nearly eight years after I bought a flashy young warmblood. I believe if I had known about “New HORSE Syndrome,” things could have been very different and I would have been better at identify better help and solutions.

I am calling it a syndrome because the psychological turmoil, loss of confidence, and sense of hopelessness that can manifest in an individual connected to the event of getting a new horse are common and predictable. The things that resolve “New HORSE Syndrome” are also predictable.

Let me explain.

When you get familiar with something, you perceive it as predictable and reliable. Your nervous system down-regulates, and you can relax. Familiar things are all part of our comfort zones. Familiar places, people, activities, and tasks are easy to be around, engage with, and navigate. The familiarity of these things makes you feel a sense of certainty and hence security.

Think about a horse you got on with really well. It might not have been perfectly behaved, but you were familiar with them, so you found them predictable.

If you are like me, before I got my warmblood, I was the typical amateur rider. Horses were my hobby, and although I had ridden for most of my life, it was only on a very small number of horses. I was always surrounded by people that helped me out, and the small number of horses I experienced were kind and, as I discovered, forgiving of me.

When my flashy young warmblood was delivered by the trucking company after a four-day trip across Australia, I had no concept of what he was being confronted with. I gave him a single day off before I eagerly jumped on board.

As soon as I got on him, I felt weird. He was taller than the other horse I had been riding and moved differently. His movement was so big and ground-covering. This is significant for our nervous system and proprioception, as the movement of horses we ride regularly gets locked into our proprioceptive circuits. If we don’t ride many horses, as I didn’t back then, feeling a new horse is confronting to our sense of balance in the saddle. Not only this, but I vividly remember him abruptly stopping and turning his head right around as if to eyeball me. It was most likely because I was hanging onto his mouth and giving him go-stop aids at the same time. He would have been completely confused and confronted by how I was communicating with him and how unbalanced I was on his back. It felt like he growled at me; what I probably felt was his tension lift. He then proceeded to spook and shy around the arena because I had just added an alarming and uncomfortable experience to what he was already dealing with. I had never had a horse spook so many times over nothing. It was not fun. After a week of this spooking and shying, my nerves were shot, and I started dreading getting on him. And so began my seven-year battle with “New HORSE Syndrome” as I became obsessed with trying to fix my “sensitive,” unpredictable, and unreliable horse. It took me that long to identify that I was causing him trouble. But when you are stuck in “New HORSE Syndrome” you cannot see this.

What is “New HORSE Syndrome”?

I define “New HORSE Syndrome” as what happens to a person when the way a new horse behaves, responds, and feels is different from what is known or expected. This difference and shattering of expectations creates a sense of distrust and lack of reliability and safety. The rider then becomes overly preoccupied with risk management, emotionally monitoring the horse, and finding solutions to fix them. When efforts to resolve the behaviour or gain a sense of harmony in encounters continue to fail, feelings of guilt, shame, and a sense of hopelessness can be overwhelming.

This can lead to the person experiencing anxiety and a destruction of confidence as a rider; prone to lashing out aggressively towards the horse; riding recklessly in an effort to push through fear; or creating excuses or distractions to avoid riding altogether.

Sometimes the horse might be sold and another new horse acquired, where the same issues will surface. However, other times to resolve the discomfort caused by the conflict between their desire to ride and their fear, they might change their expectations and activities with the horse, opting not to ride it for various reasons. This reframing is a coping mechanism that helps them deal with the perceived failure and alleviates the psychological discomfort of not feeling safe riding their horse.

“New HORSE Syndrome” can be overcome.

It can be solved by helping people understand how to help a horse adjust to a new environment, routines, and rider. By showing people how to introduce themselves to the horse's mind and body through imprinting what I call their signature. Everyone is a different height, weight, and will do things slightly differently. Therefore, the horse has to learn about you and be given time to develop and practice responding to how you handle them and ride. This includes how you sit, hold the reins, use your leg, and communicate direction and transitions. You need to allow your and the horse’s mind and body to adapt and grow proprioceptive circuits to allow the physical connection between horse and rider to feel familiar, for the communication to be familiar, and for the routines to become familiar. All so everyone feels a sense of security and healthy stress regulation can occur. It is important to respect that a sense of trust is built by time and experience, and it needs to be strategically approached.

“New HORSE Syndrome” may be a transient hiccup when the horse and rider can adjust to each other and trust is built. But for others, it can be a long suffering that is mentally, emotionally, and financially devastating. Not to mention all the horse accidents that happen when non-trusting riders make bad choices with non-trusting horses.

If this has struck a cord with you, please ask for some guidance, there are those of us out there that understand this very common yet poorly understood experience of what is really going on❤

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‼However, please do not copy and paste and plagiarise my work as it happens all the time and it is really not cool. ‼
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04/03/2024

02/02/2024

Did you know? Horses maintain their body temperature within a narrow range (like us!) which can change over time to adapt to their environment. The thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is the outside temperature range a horse can tolerate without having to expend energy to maintain core body temperature.

The low end of the TNZ is called the Lower Critical Temperature (LCT), and varies from horse to horse based on age, coat length, body condition, health status, etc. When the weather dips below a horse’s LCT, they begin to make physical changes like shivering, turning their hind end toward the wind, seeking shelter, or eating more. In fact, digestible energy requirements increase about 1.25% for every 1°F drop below the LCT. So for an 1,100lb maintenance horse, that's approximately a 200 calories increase per degree drop below LCT.

Forage is crucial for keeping a horse warm. Fermentation of fiber produces significantly more internal heat than digestion of grains or fats. For a horse to get the maximum benefit from the warming calories in forage, feed free-choice hay. In the case of a horse that can stand to lose a few pounds 😉, slow down consumption with slow feeders instead of offering more hay to avoid adding unnecessary calories. The more time the horse spends chewing, the more heat is produced. It takes 2x as many chews per bite of hay than grain and so it takes much longer to eat. Another benefit of feeding hay is that more chewing means more saliva, which acts as a natural buffer to gastric acid and can help prevent ulcers.

20/01/2024

**It’s not all about hole size! **

There is a post circulating widely on Facebook suggesting that small hole haynets are directly responsible for causing significant gum damage in equines. Whilst this might occur under some circumstances, unfortunately it is not as simple as blaming just the haynet hole size.

Are you considering how easily your forage breaks before selecting the net you are going to provide it in?

The fracture properties of hay and haylage (e.g., how easily it breaks when pulled) has a strong influence on the pressures used to extract the forage from nets (regardless of the size of the hole) and ultimately therefore the risk the equine is exposed to regarding the potential for dental or gum damage.

Hodgson et al., (2022) demonstrated that equines pull harder to extract haylage (average 300 Newtons) from small hole nets when compared to hay (average 74 Newtons), even if the hay is in a double net (average 156 Newtons). This is because the fracture properties between the hay and haylage in this study were different, with the hay fracturing much easier than the haylage.

Hodgson et al (2022) also demonstrated that pull pressures were significantly higher when nets were hung low, compared to high (30cm above the withers) and that pull pressure was significantly higher if nets were fixed at two points.

So, it’s not ALL about the hole size of your net which is important. When considering the right net, you must first consider how easy it is to fracture the forage you intend to feed and the height you are providing the forage noting that even some hay is hard to fracture.

Putting a small hole net on easy to fracture forage which is somewhat elevated off the ground with wide accessibility will require the equine to exert significantly less forces to extract the forage, than putting a small hole net on difficult to fracture forage provided lower to the ground with limited points to access.

Indeed, in a study published in May this year, Johnson et al., showed that the use of relatively small hole hay nets (4.45cm openings) on large round bales did not have any negative impacts on dental and gum health over a one-year period of time.

Worth noting:
Because of the higher pressure needed to pull forage with low “fractureability”, counter-intuitively more of this type of forage will be extracted per bite (when compared to high fracture forage) and therefore more grams per minute consumed, despite less bites per minute.

In contrast, because of the lower pressure needed to pull forage with high “fractureability”, less of this type of forage is extracted per bite and less grams per minute consumed, despite higher bites per minute.
So equines observed to be taking lots of little successful bites from a small hole haynet are not necessarily consuming more than those observed to take less bites.

In the photo you can see a small hole haynet with easy to fracture hay tied in a position slightly above the wither.

Hodgson S, Bennett-Skinner P, Lancaster B, Upton S, Harris P, Ellis AD. Posture and Pull Pressure by Horses When Eating Hay or Haylage from a Hay Net Hung at Various Positions. Animals (Basel). 2022 Oct 31;12(21):2999. doi: 10.3390/ani12212999. PMID: 36359123; PMCID: PMC9659009.

Johnson L, Martiinson K, Keener L, DeBoer M. A preliminary study: Effect of hay nets on horse hay usage, dental wear, and dental conditions in mature adult horses. 2023 May 124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2023.104366

12/01/2024

12/01/2024

10/01/2024

A complete warm up is arguably one of the most important things you can do for your horse. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗴.

This is more than loping for 45 minutes.

This is more than making one sweat.

This is 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸.

Walk, walk & walk some more. In fact, the more the better.

Let’s briefly compare to the relevance with athletes — human athletes. A proper warm up is rarely an overlooked step in the pre-work routine. In fact, the warm up is not taken lightly. Our horses are no different.

The warm up, pre-competition or not, is a form of injury prevention. This is similar to gum. An unused piece of gum is firm, stiff, and easy to break. One wrong move and we snapped the piece of gum. However, after the piece is chewed for a few minutes mobility is added. Now, the gum is flexible and easily moveable. Our body is very comparable.

A horse’s frog plays a valuable role in the circulation of the entire limb, injury prevention, and preparing the body for work. This process of sending blood up through the leg is known as the pumping mechanism.

“Blood is pumped from the heart through arteries to the hoof and is assisted in its return through a ‘pumping mechanism’ in the hoof,” said Craig Wood, University of Kentucky. “This mechanism is necessary due to the position of the hoof in relation to the heart. There are no muscles in the lower leg or hoof to aid in the return of venous blood to the heart. Thus, the hoof has to pump venous blood back to the heart.”
https://horses.extension.org/blood-pumping-mechanism-of-the-hoof/

One of the major jobs of the frog is aiding as a “pump” to push blood out of the hoof and back up the limb. The frog makes contact with the ground activating the pump to send the blood from the hoof up the leg.

The healthier, wider frog sends the more blood flow through the limb and a develops a stronger hoof. Likewise, the smaller, more contracted frog results in decreased circulation through the leg. The legs that may tend to stock up easier.

“When the horse puts a foot down, this dissipates concussion and the blood squishes out of it with that impact and goes back up the leg,” said Tia Nelson, DVM, farrier and veterinarian with Valley Veterinary Hospital. “It’s a brilliant multipurpose structure. Thus, a horse with a healthy frog won’t be stocking up as much, and the feet and legs are healthier. It affects the whole body.”
https://thehorse.com/136542/equine-hoof-care-the-flourishing-frog/

Increased walking = Increased circulation through the limb (pumping mechanism) = Decreased likelihood of distal limb injury

Let’s circle back around to the physical warm up. Besides circulation up the leg, why is walking and a slow warm up so important?
1. 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝘂𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥?
Walking without restriction for a 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮 of 8-10 minutes. But, always keep in mind 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. This goes back to the gum analogy. We are warming the body and increasing mobility preparing it to withstand the duties of work.

2. 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘅𝘆𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱
When you first pull your horse out of their pen, the muscles are not fully supplied with appropriate amounts of oxygen and blood flow required for contraction-relaxation cycle of the muscle fibers. We have to spend the time and prepare the body — give the body the tools.
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 15% 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥?
While in a parasympathetic state the body is going through “rest and digest.” So, the remaining circulatory blood is dedicated to the digestive system and organs. However, during work 85% of the circulatory blood is delivered to muscles. That critical time spent walking is where this transition from 15% to 85% occurs. This is when the body resupplies the body with the fuel necessary to work.

3. 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱
10 minutes of relaxed walking does more than physically prepare your horse for work. Allow the mind 10 minutes to have a break and release tension. Give your horse 10 minutes to themselves.

🌟Spend the extra time now, to increase the chances at a long-lasting career.🌟

Here’s your key to treating their bodies like the athletes they are. 🔑🤍

31/07/2023

25/07/2023

You can always tell how many years of practice a horseman has just by looking at their posture and how they ride. It seems that the more experienced we become, the less evasive we try to be.

The question was brought up, why are we so abrupt with our hands? Not just leisure riders, but some folks who train/compete as well. Truth is, probably 99% of folks could get better with this. As my thoughts pondered, I thought of the days of teaching kids to ride. It's very much a point and shoot structure. Pull on this rein to turn the horse and use leg to get the gas going. Like riding a bike right?

So if these group of children never took horses seriously in the form of "refinement" they become adults who think this is the way things are done. And that's when problems arise. They never get their horse to connect the feet to their hands. They can't compress a horse with lightness in the fingers. And they don't understand what your seat and legs can do for the hands....

-Lucia Clemetson

📸 fourthelovephoto