Debbie Biles - Equestrian Performance Coach

Let's talk Lameness - Part Four - Training

STRAIGHTNESS

As one of the fundamental principles of effective training, Straightness is alarming overlooked and misunderstood. As one of the MAIN FACTORS that will contribute to your performance and your horse's soundness, this piece of the puzzle is something you CANNOT afford to ignore.

In simple terms, straightness is when the horse is carrying an equal amount of load through his limbs on the left and the right, and an even amount of contact into both reins.

Visually, straightness is when the horse's shoulders are directly in front of his hindlegs.

Reasons why straightness is so critical:

1. Balance- A straight horse is a balanced horse. A balanced horse loads his limbs EVENLY. By distributing load evenly, you don't over stress one limb more than another - an important consideration for wear and tear lamenesses.
2. Suppleness - it is impossible for your horse to be supple if he is not balanced. You will know this if your horse is very heavy in one rein; how easy is it to create flexion that way..?
3. Connection - contrary to many beliefs, connection is not about holding the horse's head up with your hands. Connection is about having an EVEN and ELASTIC contact with the horse's mouth. And this can ONLY occur if you have an even amount of push and carry coming from both hindlegs....which can only happen if the horse is STRAIGHT.

The topic of straightness requires its own book...but for now, make this the focus of your training - move the shoulders to be in front of the hindlegs and if you're not sure, get some eyes on the ground to tell you when its right. Straightness is something you will train EVERY TIME YOU RIDE. It is not a far flung destination on a training scale. Straightness is the journey! Go put your horse's straight and let me know how you get on.

Are you tired of unsatisfactory results? Maybe you are confused and frustrated because you don't feel like you are making progress?

Most of the time, the answer to progress lies in having better information than you currently have. Just a bit more knowledge and a bit more guidance and support can take you from struggle city to happy valley!

I have been supporting riders and their horses for over two decades to make sense of how to train for soundness and performance - and it starts with understanding the story of your horse's body shape.

Looking at the muscular development of your horse gives you amazing insight into how he is using his body - and what might need to be adjusted in training/management to avoid poor performance or unsoundness.

If you would like to get key information on how to train better to improve performance and soundness, I am now providing online equine postural assessments and a 'mini audit' for riding/training.

If you are ready to elevate your performance, train for soundness and create a riding journey you love, send me an email at [email protected], or drop me a DM for all the details.

Happy riding!
D x

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas ! Thank you to all my wonderful clients for your support and entrusting me with your 🦄. Have a wonderful festive season and here’s to a healthy and successful 2024 🤩💖🥂

Let’s Talk Lameness - Part 3

F E E T

I know you know how important feet are to your horse’s soundness. I also know that incorrectly balanced feet are still often a primary cause of lameness.

Foot balance is a supremely complex subject and not one that I am suitably qualified to educate on- there are lots of resources available from reputable professionals that can support your learning and I would encourage you to take some time to understand what to be looking for.

HOWEVER - the external appearance of the foot may not accurately represent what’s going on inside.

My recommendation would be to prioritise spend and get hoof radiographs (x-rays) done so you and your farrier can see exactly what’s going on.

3 priorities for optimal foot balance health:

🐎X-rays
🐎qualified farrier
🐎vet and farrier collaboration

Let’s Talk Lameness - Part 2

T E E T H
It may sound strange to be talking about teeth in relation to lameness, but dental abnormalities can manifest as dysfunction anywhere in the body.

The TMJ (temporomandibular joint) is the junction between the top and bottom jaw and is one of the most complex and highly innervated joints in the horse’s body. The TMJ is constantly evaluating its own movement and through its neurological connections, it monitors its position relative to the skull and upper cervical vertebrae.

And it doesn’t end there….

The nerves involved with the TMJ feed signals to the connective tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord - which means TMJ positioning has an affect along the spine to the sacrum and pelvis.

💡Hindlimb traumas can create dental asymmetries.
💡Dental asymmetries can have multiple effects on structure and function of the entire body.

The health of the TMJ relies upon the correct alignment of the horse’s teeth. Our domesticated horses tend to eat food that is soft/chopped/grass that is all the same length, so the teeth don’t get worn evenly, as they would in the wild. This means WE are responsible for keeping their teeth in the correct alignment.

The importance of teeth, TMJ and upper cervical health on the posture of the horse cannot be overstated - and because it is such a complex area, it requires highly skilled dental practitioners to keep things working correctly.

Things to think about
😬when were your horses teeth last checked… and who by
😬do the buckles of your bridle sit over the TMJ ..? Remember it is a highly innervated joint, with the nerves speaking to the entire spinal cord - it’s best to remove any external pressure.
😬what level are you feeding at? If you look up to the ceiling your bottom jaw will move backwards. If you look down to the floor, your bottom jaw will move forwards. The anatomy of the horses jaw supports a lowered head for eating.

Let’s talk Lameness….Part One

Most* lameness that is visible to our eye has not occurred spontaneously, or overnight.
*some lamenesses can be attributed to acute trauma which means they do occur ‘in the moment’.

As a general rule, lameness occurs over time due to
abnormal postural compensations.. which can arise from:
🐎asymmetrical loading patterns
🐎hoof imbalance
🐎training and management
🐎dentistry

The posture of your horse will determine how far down the road you will get before you experience a loss of performance, unwanted behaviour and ultimately, lameness.

Looking at the list above, it’s clear we are responsible for our horse’s posture - domestication means that humans are responsible for everything nature would’ve taken care of, and the rate of lameness we see would suggest that we are not always getting things right.

Where to start?
For me, feet and teeth should be your priority. If there is an imbalance in either, your training will be severely compromised (I will explain why in the coming days!).
Both teeth and foot management require skilled practitioners - it’s worth the investment. Where possible, have foot balance radiographs done for your farrier and use a fully qualified dental technician for teeth… it’s not just a quick rasp once a year 😉

If you are familiar with the Tortoise and the Hare parable, you will know that trying to get somewhere as fast as you can often results in errors of judgement that ultimately slow you down, and may mean that you never get to your destination.

Being in the world of equestrian sport, you are responsible for building an athlete (your horse) that is capable of doing the job you want it to do… and building an equestrian athlete that is sound, capable, comfortable and happy can only happen over time.

We are in a world where racing to the top and external accomplishments are glorified and envied. There can be a tendency to forget why we are in it and to start chasing results - often at the expense of our horses.

Let’s, instead, take time to consider what our horses need as an athlete, take a pause to evaluate how they are progressing; what’s working, what isn’t working. Where are the struggles and the weaknesses. Where are the gaps in training, fitness, nutrition and management.

Whilst it may feel slow to go step by step and give your horse the time it needs… its much slower to fix a problem or rehab an injury……

Let’s celebrate slow and steady progress and remember to enjoy the journey 😎

The mistake I see happen with a lot of riders is the lack of a clear training system.

So how do you know if you are the midst of the black squiggle, or on the winding path towards your goal?

Here’s 3 signs your ‘system’ may not be a system at all…

1. If you don’t have a clear idea of what you are aiming to achieve and you don’t know exactly what you need to do to move you in the right direction in each training session, it’s likely your system is off-track

2. If you are focusing on skill acquisition (eg dressage movements/higher jumps etc) rather than building a horses body that is capable of doing the skill, it might be time to examine and question your system.

3. If your horse’s behaviour/soundness/posture/development/performance is deteriorating, it may be time to examine your system and the work you are doing.

Training and progress are not linear - the path to your goals will be winding, with good and bad days, improvements and setbacks. In order to cope with the bad days, it’s necessary to have confidence in a SYSTEM, so you know that even when you can’t see results, you can trust that the small steps are moving you in the right direction.

I thought it might be time for a re-introduction as I haven’t been showing up here for a while! I’m Debbie Biles – equestrian performance consultant, business coach, author, rider, educator, dreamer and wannabe fixer of all things….
I’m also an eternal optimist, peanut butter lover and amateur adventurer (I stayed in a cow-shed in Wales. It had no phone signal = ADVENTURER)

BUT, this is actually a post about YOU. I haven’t been showing up here for a while -I’ve been doing other things (see adventures above) but I am entering into a rebranding phase and a focus on bringing you valuable content around all things horse and rider performance; training for success (including some performance psychology), biomechanics of horse and rider, health and wellness of you and your horse and performance strategies to help you achieve your riding goals.

There is so much information that can be misleading or confusing – however well intentioned, and I see a lot of horses and riders getting into sticky spots that could be avoided if they had been given better information. None of us have all the answers, which is why I am a firm believer in collaboration, research and productive discussions. The information I give you on all topics will be from trusted researchers with robust methodology and peer reviewed work.

I have been involved with equestrian sport from grassroots to the very highest level and my focus has always been the same – to help people build a happy athlete. To me, it doesn’t matter if you are aiming for the world stage or your local show – ‘performance’ and ‘success’ lies in the ability of your horse to do what you have asked it with comfort and confidence. I believe we can get much further by focusing on biomechanics and applying these rules of movement to training and management systems.

I am a lover of performance – always looking for ways to do things better both professionally and personally, from a physical and mental point of view - which is why I take both horse and rider into account. I believe those of us who are involved in horses have a responsibility and a duty of care to be vigilant, self-reflective and engage in critical thinking about how things are done - and a 'could things be done better' perspective. Curiosity is the always the best place to start!

My aim is to help you on your journey, to guide you where I can and support you to have the riding journey you desire.

I look forward to building a supportive and encouraging community. My nature is to avoid social media...but I know, when done right it can be a powerful tool for progress. With that in mind if you want to be mean - please do it somewhere else 😀 and for everyone else, welcome!

Onwards we go ! D xx

Hey NZ! Always good to be back 😍😎😎🤩🤩

Fantastic afternoon with the incredible … more to come soon but this is a game changer for rider performance 🔥🔥🔥