In the north many of us equestrians struggle to find motivation to be active within our community. Frozen hoses, water buckets, shoveling ice and snow. The discomfort in our bodies from being cold…and likely arthritic from previous injuries. Snow falling off the roof.
We aren’t well in winter. Let’s agree there.
The GMO I belong to, ENYDCTA has been running a winter series for the last few years. I began attending them each year and this year I found myself getting involved. I didn’t have much to do with the actual planning, unfortunately, but they brought me on and gave me orders.
This year we ended up having only 3 events, but they were excellent events. Our local tack store Dover Saddlery graciously hosted each session; Deb the manager is incredibly kind and thoughtful. I’m always thrilled to go in to see her.
In January we welcomed Deb and Julia Fabiani, a mother/daughter duo from Connecticut. These women are incredibly knowledgeable and SMS (Society of Master Saddlers) qualified saddle fitters. Not only were they entertaining but their wisdom is evident with no signs of arrogance; they genuinely were happy to teach us what they know, engaged with us, and honored our questions. They also have different strength areas which make them a powerful dynamic.
Some of the notes I found particularly interesting:
- you have to fit the horse in front of you but also forecast and know the budget
- Any point in the shoeing cycle can alter tracings
- some horses work better with an independent panel versus traditional panels
- there are multiple different types of material used for flocking
We had a lot of laughs but we learned a lot during this talk.
In February we brought in Audrey Paslow of Anchored Seat and Cailin Sanford of Winterwood to discuss rider fitness. They presented in the previous year and this year was a “part 2.” I love this pair because not only are they kind, vibrant, and well-spoken but they are both very good at what they do. Audrey is a physical therapist and owns her own practice outside of the horse world and Cailin has a training program at her family farm educating horses and riders.
During this session they discussed how to stay in shape in and out of the saddle. We discussed breathing, flexibility, strength, balance and coordination.
Some notes I took:
- Shallow breathing leads to tension in the body which affects your horse…tension in hips, choppy strides.
- Breathing from the belly allows movement through the body, longer relaxed strides, more movement forward to back.
- If you want to progress in the saddle you have to progress out of the tack
- Train in the heat and make yourself and your horse prepared
Last weekend we concluded the winter series with Dr . Carol Vischer-Safron a local vet who came to discuss equine mobility and back health. Her talk was really eye-opening in many ways and I learned a lot from it.
A few notes:
- Back pain precedes lameness. Nearly every lame horse has back pain, but not every horse with back pain is lame.
- We learned about how to assess a horse through its posture
- We looked at radiographs showing the different grades of kissing spines
- With enough diligence many horses CAN get better.
- We learned some simple ways to help our horses engage their core to get better posture.
As always, I’m grateful that ENYDCTA creates meaningful programming for the community both for members and non-members. Through the three sessions we engaged with 64 unique people, 5 attended all three, and 13 attended two. Less than half of the people who attended are group members.
All of our presenters are talented, professional, and knowledgeable in their field. They were well spoken and really engaged with the group we had. I love the groups of people who came out to support each event, everyone was open-minded and genuinely came to learn.
During such a tough winter seeing these presenters and attendees each month provided a needed dose of inspiration. We got through winter together, we laughed, learned, enjoyed some snacks, and got some retail therapy afterward by shopping the store! We were able to do “horse events” without the horses and in the comfort and warmth of a tack store we love. Honestly, what more can you ask for?
The Green Horseman 
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