The lovely Danke
I thought I would follow up with my own observations of the experience with Danke and the massage therapist.
As you may recall (and if you missed it you can read about it here) Danke was not OK with having Heather standing on the hay bale while she worked on her croup area. This was the first time she had attempted to work with her like this. In the past if Danke needed to move Heather would just stay with her till she settled. But, since Danke is so tall (17+hands) it was [more...]
The author, Heather Davis, with Cheyenne
By Heather Davis
I am a certified equine “massage” therapist, applying principles of touch to encourage horses to release old neuromuscular strain patterns and relearn how to exist without previously held pain and resistance. Much of my work is informed by the work of Ida Rolf (known as “Rolfing” or Structural Integration), osteopathy, shiatsu, and myofascial release. Many horses, when asked to “let go” of old tension and memory stored within the body’s vastly intelligent network of innervated structural soft tissue, will take some time to relax into the willingness to release. [more...]
On the DressageDisgrace.com site there is a discussion about some videos which have been posted as representatives of the ‘right way’ to do dressage. The idea is to identify riders who are not using rollkur as a regular part of their training program and support them. Interestingly, one of the videos posted was of a rider who has taken a stand against rollkur. YET, the horse still showed signs of the same disconnection seen in the rollkured horses. What gives?
This is my theory. What really is the difference between “deep and round” and “hyperflexion”? [more...]
Gerd Heuschmann is a German veterinarian who is also a dressage rider. After years of seeing the damage inflicted on horses as a result if incorrect riding he began to change his own riding methods and starting ‘treating’ horses by first asking owners to change the way they ride. He does clinics around the world now helping people to help horses become more supple and move more freely.
A member of the Ultimate Dressage forum posted her notes from a recent symposium. Let me just say that I agree 100% with everything he says.
Check out the full report [more...]
Dix, Lauren’s 13 year old Lippizan, is on the “20 year plan”. It has taken some years, and a lot of changes, for Dix to finally get healthy and happy. But (do we need to knock on wood?) it seems to be happening.
When I first met Dix at Lauren’s place in Florida he was one UN-happy camper. He was not well, physically, and he seemed pretty miserable as a result. Try as she might to analyze and improve every aspect of his diet, care and training things were still not right in his world. [more...]
We are so excited about the progress that Joey has made, especially in the last 2 or 3 months. Joey was given to Lauren in Florida as a navicular rehab case. The previous owners had come to the end of their emotional and financial rope when the vet and farrier declared Joey a lost cause due to Navicular disease. They had already spent thousands of dollars on treatment and special shoeing when Lauren entered the picture with a story of hope. Looking at the condition of Joey’s feet, Lauren was sure that she could fix him. [more...]
