Aeon Dressage

11/17/2025

Much against popular belief - turnout is absolutely necessary for horses!!!

Your horse’s skeleton is built for impact — not confinement.

Three decades of equine bone research makes one thing painfully clear: Horses kept in box stalls lose bone density.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

Confinement triggers the same biological process humans call osteoporosis — and it starts fast.

Key findings from the research:

- Horses moved from pasture into stalls and worked only at slow speeds began losing bone mineral content within weeks.
- A single short sprint per week (50–80 m) dramatically strengthened bone.
- Corticosteroids mask pain and increase risk of further injury
- Good nutrition cannot override a lack of mechanical loading.
- A skeleton that doesn’t experience impact simply cannot stay strong.

All of this is drawn from:
Nielsen, B.D. (2023). A Review of Three Decades of Research Dedicated to Making Equine Bones Stronger. Animals, 13(5), 789.

So what does this mean for our modern domesticated horses?

It means bone weakness is not inevitable.

It’s a management problem.

It means many “mysterious” pathologies — stress fractures, suspensory injuries, joint degeneration, chronic compensation, recurrent lameness — are downstream consequences of bone that never had the chance to adapt to the forces nature designed it for.

Box stalls create osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis creates a whole lot of other pathology.

Your horse doesn’t need to be an athlete. But their bones require impact. Free movement. The ability to respond to their own nervous system’s cues to trot, canter, play, stretch, and even sprint.

Turnout is not enrichment.

Movement is biology.

Bone health is built — or lost — every single day.

A question I encourage every owner to sit with:

If you knew your horse’s bones were weakening in silence every day they stood still, would you keep managing them the same way?

Because in the end, it’s not confinement that keeps a horse safe.

It’s a resilient skeleton.

And only you can give them the environment their biology requires.

Change begins with us.

11/15/2025

Stopped over at the barn for a Jockey Club Soda - they’re on site for the Royal Riders IEA Team Walk/Run Fundraiser!!! 🤩

11/13/2025

♥️

11/12/2025

My ride on Delphi last night was exactly what I needed after the day I had at work. Lol. She was a perfect angel regardless of the COLD and WIND.

11/11/2025

With only 2 recognized shows under our belt this year, Dezi & I achieved some more things!!

National Dressage Pony Cup Small Horse Division
7th Place: Open Third Level
Dezdemona (De Luxe x Amber Flame/Megatron)
2010 AWSSR Mare, my only homebred to date.

We had been sidelined in September 2022 due to EPM - this is our first year back in the show ring and I couldn’t be happier with my girl.

11/09/2025

Activate Osteoblasts Naturally for Healthier, More Resilient Equine Bones

How It Works & What Actually Helps

Osteoblasts are the bone-building cells responsible for adding new mineral, repairing micro-damage, and strengthening bone in response to the forces your horse experiences. They don’t activate from supplements alone — they respond primarily to mechanical signals, meaning movement, pressure, vibration, and load.

Below are the most effective, science-supported ways to stimulate them naturally:

**1. Varied, rhythmic movement

(especially walking and slow work)**
Steady motion increases fluid movement through bone (yes, bone has a fluid system), which “wakes up” mechanosensors that tell osteoblasts to start laying down material.
Great choices:
• Long, relaxed walking
• Groundwork
• Hacking out
• Large circles instead of repetitive small ones

2. Low-impact, controlled loading

Bone strengthens when it experiences gentle compression and release, not pounding.
Examples:
• Hill walking
• Raised poles
• Transitions in balance
• Cavaletti at the walk/trot

This type of loading tells osteoblasts where to reinforce bone.

3. Terrain changes

Hard → soft → uneven → slight inclines → declines.
Every footing shift changes how force travels through the limbs. The more variety, the more signals bones receive to adapt and strengthen.

Walking and jogging a moderately hard ground, such as packed dirt, provides beneficial concussion and vibration that travel through the bones, gently stimulating osteoblast activity and supporting healthy bone remodeling.

Together these varied footing’s act like nature’s bone gym.

4. Adequate soft tissue mobility

Tight fascia or restricted muscle patterns alter loading and can reduce healthy bone signaling.
When the soft tissues move freely, forces distribute correctly and more evenly — giving osteoblasts the exact mechanical input they rely on.

This is where massage, myofascial work, stretching-through-movement, and ribcage/spinal mobility play a huge supporting role.

5. Balanced nutrition that supports bone turnover

Osteoblasts need the right building blocks. Key nutrients include:
• Minerals: calcium, phosphorus (correct ratio), magnesium
• Trace minerals: copper, zinc, manganese
• Vitamin D (sunshine is powerful)
• Adequate protein for collagen matrix

Nutrition doesn’t activate osteoblasts but ensures they can respond properly to the mechanical cues you’re giving them.

6. Micro-rest cycles

Bones repair during short rest windows, not during long layoffs.
The pattern that stimulates osteoblasts best is:
Work → tiny rest period → work again
Example: a hill set, then a few minutes of walk, then another set.
This supports better bone remodeling and adaptation.

7. Hoof balance

Uneven feet create uneven loading.
Even the best exercise won’t activate osteoblasts effectively if the hoof capsule is distorting force patterns. Balanced trimming/shoeing = better bone signal.

8. Age-appropriate and sport-appropriate progression

Gradual increases in workload strengthen bone far more reliably than sudden jumps in intensity.
Osteoblasts love progressive stimuli. They shut down under abrupt overload.

Read another fascinating article on connective tissue here - https://koperequine.com/mechanotransduction-in-bones/

11/08/2025

Baby girl had a warm water shower today!!! We find the water to be more sanitary if the hose does not have the sprayer on & water must be warm. We watched Kita have a nice relaxing shower to prove that it’s maybe ok to do. Lol. Thank goodness for one last warm day to work on wash stall training 😂

11/03/2025

Moonlight riding in the front field as the barn changed over to daytime turnout. As much as I loathe the early darkness, having the peace of the pond water fountain is my favorite part of our winter riding. Dezi and I worked on our changes literally up the hill in the pasture. Much harder than anticipated but we had fun! 🤩

11/02/2025

Noses ♥️

11/01/2025

The canter is probably the trickiest gait for a young horse to master in the confines of the dressage arena, as the engagement and balance are still being established.

However, it’s in the competitive dressage rider’s best interest to focus on the quality of this gait since so many test movements are based on the canter, such as canter pirouettes, tempi changes, half-passes, and zig-zags.

When transitioning into canter, from trot or walk, emphasis should be on the horse ‘pushing from the hind legs that are placed under the body, rather than launching off the shoulders. This is vital as it educates and enables the horse to develop incremental levels of engagement.

The best way to improve the horse’s canter is to not keep cantering. Instead, ride frequent transitions into and out of the canter (e.g. canter-trot-canter or canter-walk-canter) as well as transitions within the canter pace itself (e.g. working canter – medium canter – collected canter). During the upward transitions, the horse is encouraged to ‘push’ more from the hind legs, and during the downward transitions, the horse is encouraged to ‘sit’ more on the hind legs. Both of these qualities will improve the horse’s balance and carrying capacity, and add quality to the overall frame and canter gait.

- For more help with the canter, we have linked to a post in the comments.

- Check out our newest book on Amazon (which is currently on sale until 4th November). Link also in the comments.

Illustrations created and copyrighted by How To Dressage. Do not copy.

10/30/2025

Delphi girl!!! We played games today, mostly working without contact to see if we can. Moving solely off the leg for turning, leg yields and halting. Many improvements were had 😂 we also inspected the fogged up mirrors, made horse nose art & went for a walk down the driveway for our collective mental health. HACKING IS SO IMPORTANT!!!

10/26/2025

Klaus Balkenhol, the renowned dressage master. Shares several words of wisdom .

1. On horsemanship:
“Good riding is about doing as little as possible, but as much as necessary.”

2. On training:
“You cannot force a horse to do anything, but you can teach him through patience, consistency, and fairness.”

3. On respect for the horse:
“The horse is always willing to give us its best; it is our responsibility to treat it with the respect it deserves.”

4. On balance and harmony:
“Dressage is about harmony, not domination. The horse must be willing to offer you what you ask for without force.”

5. On a rider’s approach:
“True dressage is not just about technical skill; it’s about understanding the horse and building a partnership where you are both equal partners in the dance."