Straightness and symmetry

I bunked off on Saturday as soon as I had done the horses here, as I had the opportunity to go and see Marijke de Jong giving a clinic near Bridgewater.  Unfortunately the organisers didn't want photos taken, so this is a photo from her Facebook page which I hope she won't mind me borrowing for the day!

I've been interested for a long time in how horses move and how patterns of movement can be changed and improved.  In 2008-2009 I spent 6 months studying with Mary Bromiley, which gave me a fascinating and essential introduction to anatomy and biomechanics.  I am always trying to find ways of improving the rehab of the horses here and Mary's equine sports massage course has proved a useful addition to the toolbox but I wanted more :-)

Last year Patrice Edwards came up to Rockley for a few days and really opened my eyes to the possibilities of improving horses through classical rehabilitation exercises and what Marijke de Jong teaches is based on the same principles.

Of course all horses are asymmetric to a greater or lesser extent but I've seen with the rehab horses that long term lameness can also fix horses into patterns of crooked movement that can be quite persistent.  Once horses have healthier feet and are able to start moving in a better way, then it can be very helpful to use the sorts of exercises that both Patrice and Marijke teach as a way of kick-starting more correct, balanced movement.

Its something I am only in the early stages of using and I would love to spend a lot more time taking it to the next level  - maybe something for next year ;-)