Horse&Rider Magazine – September 2017

TRAINING WITH GARETH HUGHES + FEED FOR A YEAR !

N I W The UK’s best-selling equestrian monthly

TEST

with Lucinda Fredericks

PROBLEM-BUSTER OBLEM-BUSTER PR

SAYING GOODBYE

With super-judge Sandy Phillips

SUSPENSORY

Dealing with bereavement

INJURIES EXPLAINED

WIN!

FALPRO RUG WARDROBE

WHAT’S IN YOUR HORSE’S FEED?

SPOOKY JUMPER?

CUSHING’S? PROBLEM

✓ DIAGNOSIS-BUST ER ✓ TREATMENT ✓ MANAGEMENT

Exercises to focus his mind and body

SHOPPING

First-aid essentials

Buyer’s guide to balancers

Sept 2017

On test: long girths

£4.20

Issue number 570 September 2017 n Dressage test problems solved n Vet’s guide to suspensory injuries n Managing horses with Cushing’s n On test: long girths n Jumping exercises for spooky horses

Dressage

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In this feature. . .

Our model

Photos: Bob Atkins. As told to Tilly Berendt

Katie Bailey competed at the 2005 and 2006 Junior European Championships before gaining a full scholarship to train at the Talland School of Equitation. She was then based with Carl Hester for five years before setting up her own business. Katie rides Sandy’s seven-yearold gelding, Design Time.

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➤ Fix

common test mistakes ➤ Maximise

In the saddle

your scores ➤ Make the most of your time in the ring

REVOLUTIONISE your schooling sessions Scores not up to scratch? Dressage coach and FEI judge Sandy Phillips shares her competition pet peeves and explains how to get back on track

D

ressage is a complicated sport with many layers that impact on each other.

The quality and success of an entire movement can be undone by one minor error in execution. In addition to this, horses and riders each have their own strengths and weaknesses, which is why it’s misleading to make sweeping statements about the right or wrong way to do things. However, there are exceptions to every rule and there are a few common errors that come up in many tests that consistently rob riders of points. Here are a few of the common mistakes I see when I’m judging and what you can do to avoid or fix them.

Dressage rider Sandy Phillips rode for Team USA at two World Equestrian Games and one Olympics before changing to British nationality, after which she competed at the 1998 and 2006 World Equestrian Games and the 1999 European Championships. She was a senior selector for the British Dressage team from 2008–2012, and part of the Eventing Ground Jury at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Sandy is an FEI judge for eventing and dressage, and trains horses and riders of all levels.

Our expert

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Saying goodbye It’s something no one wants to think about, but at some point every owner experiences the pain of losing their beloved horse. H&R helps you make sense of moving forward

I

“

t’s only a horse.” As riders and owners, we’ve all been on the receiving end of this sentiment. We’ve heard it when we’ve missed a social engagement to change a poultice or when we’ve spoken fondly of our horses’ achievements, as though they’re members of the family.

But this is because to us, they are members of the family, and the emotional, physical and financial investments we put into them run deep.

When they inevitably leave us, either because they’ve reached the natural end of their full and active lives or because an accident or injury foreshortens their time, it’s not ‘only a horse’ that we have to learn to live without. It’s a bond built

54 HORSE&RIDER

up over time and with great patience, a reliable comfort that we’ve grown to depend on and, in many cases, the crumbling of future plans. Losing a horse can also mean a momentous change in lifestyle, as horse ownership not only takes up a lot of time, but is often the root of important friendships and social circles.

The weight of grief can often seem too heavy to lift, especially in the early stages. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel – the day will come when you can look back on the memory of your horse with fond remembrance, rather than with pain, but the way in which you grieve and how long you need to feel like yourself again is personal to you.

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Mind matters

They’re members of the family, and the emotional, physical and financial investments we put into them run deep

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In

suspense Suspensory injuries are notoriously difficult to heal successfully, but there could be a new treatment on the horizon, as vet Dr Sue Dyson from the Animal Health Trust explains

A

ny injury to your horse is devastating, but particularly a diagnosis of suspensory ligament injury, because they often take a long time to heal and can be prone to reinjury. How well your horse will recover from suspensory damage depends on which part of the ligament is injured and how bad the damage is, but severe injuries are often career limiting.

However, if you’re clued up on signs of potential injury and can target a problem early, the chances of your horse making a good recovery are significantly increased.

With thanks to the Animal Health Trust for their help with this feature, aht.org.uk

Upper third of the suspensory ligament Body of the suspensory ligament Branches of the suspensory ligament

Where is the suspensory ligament?

It sits at the back of the leg and starts at the top of the cannon bone in both the forelegs and hindlegs.

About two thirds of the way down the cannon bone, it divides into two branches that run to the inside and outside sesamoid bones.

Different types of injury

Suspensory ligament injuries fall into three main categories, depending on the area that’s injured... the upper third of the ligament, which is known as proximal suspensory desmopathy (PSD) and may include damage where the ligament attaches to the cannon bone the body of the ligament, which is the middle third of the suspensory ligament the branches, which can involve a small lesion that’s contained locally or more widespread tears.

These injuries may also include damage where the ligament attaches to the sesamoid bones There’s a close relationship between the branches and the splint bones, and with some injuries there may also be a fracture of the lower part of the bone.

The fetlock joint is sometimes involved, too, and enlargement of the joint capsule with excess synovial fluid may indicate tearing of fibres involving the joint.

PSD and injuries to the branches are common in sports and leisure horses, and may occur in one or both forelimbs, or one or both hindlimbs. These injuries may be the result of a single traumatic event – for example, a horse jumping onto the side of a bank and pulling a front shoe off, resulting in abnormal loading of the suspensory ligament – or due to repetitive overload.

Injury to the body of the ligament is unusual in sports and leisure horses, although it can occur as a result of PSD or branch injuries. Suspensory body injuries are usually seen in racehorses.

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Ask a vet

Who’s at risk?

Suspensory injury is a common cause of lameness in all types of horse, however there are certain risk factors...

Our expert Sue Dyson MA VetMB PhD DEO FRCVS is a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Specialist in equine orthopaedics and Associate of the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging. She is Head of Clinical Orthopaedics at the Animal Health Trust, and has a particular interest in lameness and poor performance in sport horses.

Signs of injury

The signs of a suspensory injury depend on which part of the ligament is injured, but there are a few things to look out for... heat and swelling A recent injury may cause heat at the site of injury, pain and swelling. However, with PSD, because the suspensory ligament lies against the back of the cannon bone and is overlaid by the check ligament and flexor tendons, these signs are difficult to detect. When the body of the ligament is damaged, the swelling is obvious. Swelling on the inside or outside of the fetlock is a sign of a possible branch injury, and when firm pressure is applied to the branch and the fetlock is flexed, it may cause pain. inconsistent ligament thickness In a normal horse who is standing bearing even weight, the front and back edges of the suspensory body and branch should be parallel. This can be assessed by facing the side

Proximal suspensory desmopathy in a forelimb

young, extravagant-moving horses who lack strength and co-ordination may be more at risk of forelimb PSD than older, stronger, better balanced horses upper level dressage horses are particularly prone to hindlimb PSD straight hock conformation excessive extension (sinking) of the fetlocks foot imbalance inconsistent work surfaces fatigue Occasionally, young horses develop suspensory injuries in more than one limb, despite having done little work. These horses may be genetically predisposed to injury.

of your horse’s leg, placing your thumbs on the sides of the ligament and running them down his leg – they should remain equidistant. If they get pushed further apart in the lower part of the limb, this usually reflects enlargement of the branch. lameness With PSD there’s usually lameness, or reduced step length or lack of hindlimb impulsion if both forelimbs or both hindlimbs are affected, and when both hindlegs are injured, horses may become unwilling to work.

Forelimb PSD is usually characterised by a lameness that’s at its worst when the affected limb is on the outside of a circle on a soft surface.

In the early stages, the lameness may improve quickly with rest, but recur when work is resumed. Branch injuries and hindlimb injuries have less consistent patterns of lameness.

Branch injuries can occur without detectable lameness in some horses, but in other horses the lameness is obvious. However, when the body of the ligament is injured, lameness is usually clear to see.

Lesion in suspensory branch

Pinpointing the problem

Because there are often no definitive signs, your vet will need to perform nerve blocks to determine the source of the pain. Once the area has been pinpointed, it can be assessed using ultrasound and X-rays. If the severity of the lameness is disproportionate to the amount of ligament damage identified on the ultrasound scan, it may be necessary to perform a bone scan or MRI to check the cannon bone hasn’t been damaged where the ligament attaches to it. If it has, the injury will normally take longer to heal.

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