Ryley Miller Team and Java at Grand Oaks CDE, photo courtesy of picsofyou. Nothing sidelines a horse faster than a leg injury. Whether you're training for competition or enjoying long rides, keeping their legs healthy...

Based on the information in my last blog, How the Equine Shoulders Affect Performance, it’s obvious that the thoracic sling is an important component in the quest for collection. Lifting the withers by activating the sling is...

In this blog, I will describe the horse’s chest and shoulder region focusing on how they differ from our own and the implications this has for locomotion and performance. Locomotion is defined for humans. People...

Have you ever asked yourself, “how do I properly sit on my horse?” Today we’ll look at where we sit on the horse’s back and how the horse’s conformation affects our leg position. In previous...

Welcome to part three of the deep dive into the reality of kissing spines.   Horses afflicted by kissing spines become more painful when ridden because the rider’s weight causes their back to hollow and...

Part two of the deep dive into the reality of kissing spines.   We learned last time that kissing spines is a potentially painful disease in which the spines of the vertebrae rub against each other. Let’s...

Kissing Spines in Horses Last time I described the structure and mechanics of the horse’s back. In this blog, we’ll explore the most common vertebrae disease in the trunk region: kissing spines. Let’s dive into...

Each part of the locomotor apparatus plays a distinct and different role in locomotion. The horse’s trunk is the central part that unites and coordinates the haunches with the forehand. In addition to transmitting propulsion...

Winston Churchill said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” While appreciating the outer beauty of horses, I’ve always been fascinated by what’s on...