30/ FEBRUARY 2024 THE RIDER The Science of how Horses Think & Learn


Horses, lead shanks and New Year’s resolutions - testing what we believe.


By Lindsay Grice. Equestrian Canada coach, horse show judge and specialist in equine behaviour.


It was a showstopper - a horse, firing backward off a trailer, snapping the


lead shank and prancing, tail flagging, on a tour of the show grounds. Her owner had dutifully checked that she was tied… and then went around to un- fasten the tail bar…. You never know the strength of a shank when it’s hanging on the tack


room wall – only when it’s tested. What I believe about horses has been tested over the years I’ve trained


them professionally… • Tested by those horses who didn’t fit the mold (you’ve had them, too). •


Tested by inquisitive riding students who stretched me, as a coach, to explain things more clearly.


• And tested by listening to horse people who held different viewpoints. Some training methods I adopted as a young trainer by trial and error,


haven’t stood up to current research. Some horse management practices I followed haven’t stood the test of time – shoeing, feeding, turnout – stronger evidence has persuaded me to let go of a few long-held traditions. Other theories I’ve studied, haven’t stood up practically – in the real world


of real horses and real bills to pay. No doubt what’s truly tested me, shaken my confidence over the years, is


when a horse has done something unexpected, out of character. No horse is bullet proof. In our Instagram age I wince at the photos, how-


ever adorable, of a horse nuzzling a toddler in a stroller. Or a little kid patting a horse, loose in a pasture group of herd mates. Or anyone sitting on the ground in front of a horse – or worse, seated, while holding two horses. With horses, expect the unexpected. As we head into a new year and new show season, our resolutions will be


tested by February. Red ribbons and class disqualifications, successes and fail- ures will test our program and our goals. Even more, these ups and downs, changing world events and the changing seasons of life will test our “faith” – you know, what we believe, expect and hope in. “You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or


falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it?” C.S. Lewis, wrestling to make sense of grief through his writing, in the heartache of losing his “Joy”. (his wife).


This quote by C.S. Lewis reminds me that though I can hang some hope


in the next horse prospect, show season or qualifying for the championships, if the unexpected happens I need a “nevertheless” – a hope that won’t leave me dangling.


Don’t miss our next issue.


Deadline is March 5th!


Come and ride the horse


with the


smoothest ride in the world.


• Horses for sale • Boarding horses


• Riding lessons • Breeding services


905-624-8388 • 8712 Wellington Rd 50, Erin, ON N0B 2K0 The best Paso Fino horses in Canada


You never know the strength of a shank when it’s hanging on the tack room wall – only when it’s tested.


About Lindsay Grice.


“Is it me or my horse?” Horse show judge, coach, trainer and specialist in equine be-


havior, Lindsay Grice helps riders solve their “horse puzzles”, sharing keys from the science and research of how horses think and learn. She loves to help riders prepare for competition and just


enjoy the process of riding, not just the results! Lindsay enjoys teaching clinics and travelling to Ontario


farms as a freelance coach. She’s taught the science of equine behavior and learning for horse associations, courses for Univer- sity of Guelph and therapeutic riding facilities. Lindsay judges multiple disciplines and breeds, holding judging certifications with • AQHA • Equestrian Canada • Extreme Cowboy • Ontario Working Equitation • OE provincial Hunter/Jumper • OE provincial dressage She loves to share her own insights and stories learned from 25 years as a competitor and horse trainer.


“Why do horses do what they do?” Lindsay says, “In the horse world, our traditions and the evidence sometimes collide. I love to communicate the WHYs behind the HOWs of riding. “Equitation Science” – it makes life better for horses when we speak in a language they understand!”


A New Approach for Treating Kissing Spine


Guelph, ON Nov. 29, 2023- Overriding Spinous Process, otherwise known as Kissing Spine can cause back pain and poor performance, espe- cially when two or more vertebrae touch or overlap. Assistant Professor Dr. Nathalie Cote in the depart- ment of Large Animal Sur- gery at Ontario Veterinary College recently presented a new less invasive surgical approach to treat this issue that is showing great prelim- inary results. While there is very lit-


tle movement in the lumbar area of a horse’s spine, the thoracic area just in front of it has a slightly wider range. Thoracic vertebrae allow side-to-side flexion, a little rotation and flexion and ex- tension which allow the back to move up and down. Impingement most


fre-


quently occurs under the saddle area between tho- racic vertebrae T13 to T18 with T14 to 16 (right where the rider sits) being the most common. Not all riding horses


with kissing spine will pres- ent with clinical signs. In fact, it is not uncommon to find Kissing Spine, post- mortem in riding horses that have not shown obvious signs of pain. Kissing Spine has also been found in post- mortems of extinct and un- domesticated horses which leads to conclusions that in some cases conformation plays a role. In horses with spinal


impingement that do present with back pain and behav- ioural signs (bucking, rear- ing, refusing jumps, being


girthy or sensitive to brush etc.), there are typically more than one vertebrae af- fected and the severity of impingement is greater. A grading system of one to four is assigned when diag- nostic radiographs are per- formed. In grade one, there is narrowing of the space between


the spinous


process, in grade two, that loss of space is significant, in grade three, bone remod- elling has begun and in grade four, malformation will be significant and the space is almost impossible to go in between in past sur- gical options. Cote explains, desmo-


tomy (ligaments are severed and potentially redistrib- uted) with a scissor tool proves challenging when it comes to grade four cases and treatments involving partial removal are costly and invasive. The modified proce-


dure of surgical desmotomy of the interspinous ligament uses a tool much smaller than scissors allowing a smaller incision to be made


and resulting in improved cosmetic appearance. The modified procedure makes it easier to work with the minimal spaces seen in grade four cases. It is a quicker, less invasive proce- dure which begins with in- serting needles into the interspinous spaces. X-rays are then taken, and the nee- dles are removed for the areas that will not be oper- ated on and left in for those that will be worked on. A one-centimetre incision is made using a narrow teno- tome tool to dissect the identified ligaments which restores space between the thoracic vertebrae. So far, clients adher-


ing to a six-week rehabilita- tion program of stall rest and hand-walking (3 weeks) followed by lunging, core strengthening and mobiliz- ing exercises generally re- ceive a very good prognosis for the scar tissue to heal well and mobility to be re- stored. Some clients re- ported going back into full training as early as four months after the surgery.


Dr. Nathalie Cote pre-


sented, modified procedure of surgical desmotomy of the interspinous ligament, findings to a group of On- tario Association of Equine Practitioners (OAEP) on Feb 15, 2023 at the Univer- sity of Guelph.


About Equine Guelph: Equine Guelph is the


horse owners’ and care givers’ Centre at the Univer- sity of Guelph in Canada. It is a unique partnership ded- icated to the health and well-being of horses, sup- ported and overseen by equine industry groups. Equine Guelph is the epi- centre for academia, indus- try and government - for the good of the equine industry as a whole. For further in- formation,


visit


www.equineguelph.ca. Equine Guelph sup-


ports a number of high-qual- ity projects at the University of Guelph, by virtue of funding provided largely by the racing industry (Stan- dardbred, Thoroughbred and Quarter horse organiza- tions): the Horse Improve- ment Program from the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and the E.P. Taylor Foundation, started by veterinarians in the Thoroughbred industry, and now maintained in trust by the University and Equine Guelph.


Story by: Jackie Bellamy- Zions, Equine Guelph com- munications.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43