Preventing Injuries in the FEI horse/ alternative therapies

[PSGdressage]

Hi Coth forum!

New user here. I made the switch to Dressage from H/J land awhile back and I am just getting ready to enter the FEI levels next season. My horse and I showed very successfully at 4th this year, and plan for our PSG debut in the winter. Knock on wood, my horse is very sound…Age 12, he gets very high quality hay, small amount of grain and platinum CJ and Osteon. I also give monthly Pentosan.

Aside from daily turn out and trail riding, correct riding and not over schooling the movements…does anyone have any advice on any “extra” things I could do. Do people ice their horse’s legs often? After every ride? Magnetic boots? BOT products?

I am just curious to see what additional support I might be able to offer my horse and I would rather spend a little extra money/time on prevention versus treatment.

Thanks in advance!

[Scribbler]

Honestly I think correct riding, not over drilling, and lots of good long slow trail miles plus scrupulous attention to hoof angles are all key. And turnout.

Icing has pretty much been debunked as a therapy in human medicine except for acute injuries with swelling. And honestly I have seen no real studies on BOT therapy, and magnets are just totally bogus.

I would add that sport boots that heat up the tendons can’t be good news.

I think alot of dressage horses get over drilled in the arena but don’t get the legging up and basic fitness work outside the arena that eventers do.

[XXS]

Avoid ‘empty miles’ on your horse. Don’t focus on one part, always think of the bigger picture because one problem leads to other problems.

[Guyot]

Regular chiropractic and good PT work if you can find a Equine PT. Lots of turnout.

Our horses have PT monthly and chiro a minimum of 4-6 times a year. If something is going on, like horse does a chartwheel in turnout, they are seen immediately. (Acupuncture, laser, magnawave, etc and other alternative therapies if Chiro or PT think relevant, we let our team of experts know when or what these extras are appropriate; mostly for acute issues like horse broke cross ties and goes down or something like that)

We do ice and back on track before and after hard workouts. We do not wrap legs (unless there is interference) and we hack out walking hills.

Loading doses of adequan twice year, more frequently for the FEI horses.

Saddle fit, saddle fit, saddle fit.

Excellent farrier who works with vet and other professionals well… yearly xrays to check Palmer angles etc.

Best preventative care is creating a team that works together for the health of the athlete, the horse.

[2tempe]

Have a 17 yr old Lusitano showing I-1, etc. I do not boot for a number of reasons. Careful workload and schedule. Hack outs Did some hock injections starting around 16. The most recent didn’t seem to totally “fix” him so on recommendation of someone I trust, called an accupuncture vet in. She described his primary issue as restricted muscles in hindquarters.
Several treatments later and I went from skeptic to a believer. He’s been feeling great.

[Scribbler]

@Salo

Avoid ‘empty miles’ on your horse. Don’t focus on one part, always think of the bigger picture because one problem leads to other problems.

Yes, avoid empty miles in the arena like the plague. You do not need to drill extended or collected trot for half an hour. Lots of transitions.

“Empty miles” on the trail is totally different. Hack out as much as you can. Use these rides to instill good muscle memory in yourself for position so don’t slouch. Get the horse going at a brisk marching walk, these aren’t cool down walks. Have him on light contact, stretched to the bit, working. You can also practice a bit of lateral work on trails if you feel like it. If the footing and the horse’s feet and the horse’s personality allow, you can also do trot sets and even canter sets on the trails, following the kind of schedule eventers use.

Many dressage horses only get exercise in the arena going in circles, and honestly I think it is hard to do enough work in the arena to be really fit without overtstraining things with all the corners and circles. I see many dressage horses that could really benefit by some actual fitness work outside of the arena, where they can develop muscle and lung capacity without overweighting the joints.

I realize that many dressage riders want to bubble wrap their horses, and fear that they will be injured riding on gravel roads, or will be too spooky, or will pull something in turnout if they run around. But horses that do these things regularly build up strength and stamina.

[SonnysMom]

My trainer has a couple of FEI dressage horses. Her warm ups for all of her horses consist of a few trips up/down the hill and a spin around the outside of one of the fields. They normally get one day of a longer hack around the property for a mental break.
.
Her horses get regular chiro and massage. Good consistent farrier work.

She uses dressage boots on all of her horses. Especially with lateral work she does not want to risk a stupid injury due to interference. For young horses she uses the boots since they are learning new things and don’t always know where to put their legs.

One of her FEI horse loves a lot of turn-out so he gets a lot. One hates turn-out so he rarely gets turned out. Another one of her horses only likes being out a few hours at a time. She tries to give all of the horses as much turn out as possible but only as much as they like.

[beowulf]

Correct riding, and actual 24/7 turnout. Good nutrition, long-slow-distance warm ups, and good farriery.

You want a sound horse? Avoid a stall.

[Mersidoats]

Spend money on a good farrier - good shoeing that is right for YOUR horse will save you time and money. Saddle fit - so important. Spend your money on that, too. No wraps - just boots, and bells if necessary.

We do hill work, pasture riding, hacking - no drilling, lots of working on the basics appropriate for the horses current training level. Always stretch and adequately cool out.

I used to be very pro-turnout for all horses all the time. I’ve now learned that some horses cannot handle that. You have to know how YOUR horse handles his turnout.

We manage the turnout of the big boys here. Running like an idiot in turnout is NOT allowed - I’ve seen too many suspensory and tendon injuries from panicked running in turnout. The hothouse flower (GP) gets two hours at the moment - it is all he can handle with the heat and bugs - very very thin skinned. He prefers his stall with fans right now. The PSG Andalusian can handle all night turnout because he is sane and tolerant.

A lot of issues can be caught or prevented with good horsemanship - paying attention to little hitches and changes in attitude and carriage, good thorough grooming, empathy during training. Horses get hurt when we stop listening and push them too far.