Stunning imported Irish Sport Horse, grandson of King of Diamonds, elastic supple movement, excels in dressage and jumping, super eventing prospect, talent to go advanced, a wonderful personality, easy to work with, you want him in your family
Cosmo was the star of the clinic last weekend demonstrating his super temperament and athletic ability. His eye catching movement was noticed by all. Contact cari@cariswanson to schedule an appointment to try him.
Did you know that horses have around 56 vertebrae which form a supporting framework for the neck, back and tail? There are 7 cervical (neck), 18 thoracic (withers and saddle region), 6 lumbar (loin region), 5 sacral (croup region) and about 20 caudal (tail region) vertebrae. The degree of movement varies greatly in different regions.
Consider the degree of range of motion in flexion and extension of the following joints;
90 degrees the atlantaoccipital joint which is between the skull and the first cervical vertebrae
15-35 degrees in the remaining cervical vertabrae
10 degrees in the first interthoracic joint, just in front of the withers
1 degee in joint at withers
3-4 degrees in joints under the saddle
30 degrees of motion in lumbosacral joint, between the last lumbar vertebra and the fused sacral vertebrae
This image demonstrates RJ/Hidalgo rounding his back, activating his abdominal muscles as he extends his back extends. Studies prove that the movements between the vertabrae are created by the forces of locomotion and are controlled by the horse’s back muscles. Thus, the back muscles do not cause the spine to round and hollow, the forces of locomotion do. The back muscles control the amount of rounding and flexing.
These findings are fascinating, allowing us to better understand our horses ability to move while training. You can find more information from Hilary Clayton at her web site www.cvm.msu.edu/dressage
Over a dozen horses and riders turned out for an informative clinic at Oakendale on a beautiful February day. The focus was on how to effectively communicate with your horse. This photo is an example of how the riders learned to bend the neck of their horses while mounted. Essentially a carrot stretch from the saddle, this is a wonderful way to demonstrate to the rider that the horse can bend and flex his neck.
Some of the problems we solved included control the haunches, keeping a respectable distance from the horse, placing the head down, maintaining the attention of the horse, and learning to read the horse’s body language. Every horse improved after learning the new excercises. In fact the horses were much calmer and attentive to their owner after the work.
Although RJ is very particular about his footing, he romped around in the snow to show off his favorite trick, standing on his hind legs. He always lights up when a camera is around, always aware of where the camera is located.
RJ playing up for the camera, racing around in the snow showing us all his tricks, this image was captured by Kaitlyn Schultz.