Experts discussed how to choose the right ammunition for a horse

The horse’s well-being depends on a large number of factors, among which its equipment plays an important role. At the Session «Influence of Ammunition on Quality of Movement and the Horse’s Health When Building Efficient Training» held as part of the 25th International Equestrian Exhibition «Hipposphere 2024», the experts told what needs to be paid attention to, when organizing the comfortable training.

As explained by Oksana Kuzmina, Head of the School of Equestrian Osteopathy, a lecturer at the Northwestern Academy of Osteopathy and Medical Psychology, in case of a horse having health problems, an equestrian osteopath is often able to identify the problems that cannot be coped with by a veterinarian.

«There was a case when people contacted to report that, having suffered a disease, a 30-year-old horse stopped eating. The veterinarian visited the horse and prescribed prednisolone, and only the drug helped. They left on this hormone and went away. After three sessions with the osteopath, the horse was able to eat without prednisolone and normally sleep», gave Oksana Kuzmina an example.

People often seek an equestrian osteopath’s medical attention because of horse lameness, when ultrasound and X-rays do not help find the cause, as well as if there are breathing problems to appear after injuries or if the animal has behavioral problems that it did not have before, complements Arina Mezhennaya, the senior lecturer at the School of Equestrian Osteopathy, an equestrian osteopath, an equestrian masseur, a trainer and riding master.

«An osteopath helps adjust movements, myofascial chains, and even solve intestinal and respiratory problems. A lot of horses come from abroad injured, just because of long transportation. This is the case when osteopathy works», added Vera Byalobzheskaya, an instructor at the School of Equestrian Osteopathy.

It is important for the horse owner to carefully select and use ammunition, as it can harm the animal. Olga Arkhipova, a specialist in selecting and correcting saddles, a student of the saddler David Yan, a zootechnician, Head of the stud farm of St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine, drew attention to the fact that, following the results of German veterinarians’ experiment, this leads to blocking of joints of the hind limbs.

«I always have at least six horses to be regularly trained, and in relation to almost all of them, I switched from capsule to anatomical soft iron. Horses obey perfectly, so someone is better without a capsule. Once I dealt with a horse that started at an average speed, but as soon as it was put on a headband, his eyes immediately closed and the tight transparent saliva began flowing. As a result, this superbly trained horse perfectly runs with no capsule and is very happy with its life», explained Arina Mezhennaya. «Due to this, it is easier to organize a successful training session, since horses, like people, strive for comfort. When your head hurts, you don’t want to tighten it in straps, but want to touch something soft», she noted.

For calming the horse, many people abandon the trenzel bridles in favor of the kaptzung, Arina Mezhennaya added.

«But when used, it affects the fascial line, which gathers the whole body, and overstraining in this area can lead to rupture of the interosseous in the hind legs. Therefore, it is better not to tighten the kaptsung too much, because this is a rather harsh way of influencing», she explained.

The saddle is of great importance for quality of horse training, as well. As Olga Arkhipova explained, it can visually lie correctly, but there are nuances inside, and they need to be paid much attention to. The main detail to affect the saddle position is the archak located in its inner part. It can be made of wood, plastic and other materials.

«It should amortize, so as not to bounce like a ball, but, on the contrary, to quench the shock. It is also important that it does not dig into the back, otherwise it will greatly interfere with the horse. 70% of the saddle position depends on the archak, the remaining 30% – on the padding, which should not be rigid», she said.

On June 5, as part of the SPIEF-2024 Business Program, the annual discussion track «Equestrian Discovery», organized by the Roscongress Foundation, started, with two unique discussion sessions on horses’ welfare and reproduction to be held today. The equestrian world is experiencing the economic shake-up, switching to import substitution. We invite experts to the annual discussion track, which, we hope, will finish with objective and practical solutions at the SPIEF-2025. The materials of the sessions will be available in recordings, as well as the recordings from major events of «Roscongress».

More

Experts discussed how to choose the right ammunition for a horse

The horse’s well-being depends on a large number of factors, among which its equipment plays an important role. At the Session «Influence of Ammunition on Quality of Movement and the Horse’s Health When Building Efficient Training» held as part of the 25th International Equestrian Exhibition «Hipposphere 2024», the experts told what needs to be paid attention to, when organizing the comfortable training.

As explained by Oksana Kuzmina, Head of the School of Equestrian Osteopathy, a lecturer at the Northwestern Academy of Osteopathy and Medical Psychology, in case of a horse having health problems, an equestrian osteopath is often able to identify the problems that cannot be coped with by a veterinarian.

«There was a case when people contacted to report that, having suffered a disease, a 30-year-old horse stopped eating. The veterinarian visited the horse and prescribed prednisolone, and only the drug helped. They left on this hormone and went away. After three sessions with the osteopath, the horse was able to eat without prednisolone and normally sleep», gave Oksana Kuzmina an example.

People often seek an equestrian osteopath’s medical attention because of horse lameness, when ultrasound and X-rays do not help find the cause, as well as if there are breathing problems to appear after injuries or if the animal has behavioral problems that it did not have before, complements Arina Mezhennaya, the senior lecturer at the School of Equestrian Osteopathy, an equestrian osteopath, an equestrian masseur, a trainer and riding master.

«An osteopath helps adjust movements, myofascial chains, and even solve intestinal and respiratory problems. A lot of horses come from abroad injured, just because of long transportation. This is the case when osteopathy works», added Vera Byalobzheskaya, an instructor at the School of Equestrian Osteopathy.

It is important for the horse owner to carefully select and use ammunition, as it can harm the animal. Olga Arkhipova, a specialist in selecting and correcting saddles, a student of the saddler David Yan, a zootechnician, Head of the stud farm of St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine, drew attention to the fact that, following the results of German veterinarians’ experiment, this leads to blocking of joints of the hind limbs.

«I always have at least six horses to be regularly trained, and in relation to almost all of them, I switched from capsule to anatomical soft iron. Horses obey perfectly, so someone is better without a capsule. Once I dealt with a horse that started at an average speed, but as soon as it was put on a headband, his eyes immediately closed and the tight transparent saliva began flowing. As a result, this superbly trained horse perfectly runs with no capsule and is very happy with its life», explained Arina Mezhennaya. «Due to this, it is easier to organize a successful training session, since horses, like people, strive for comfort. When your head hurts, you don’t want to tighten it in straps, but want to touch something soft», she noted.

For calming the horse, many people abandon the trenzel bridles in favor of the kaptzung, Arina Mezhennaya added.

«But when used, it affects the fascial line, which gathers the whole body, and overstraining in this area can lead to rupture of the interosseous in the hind legs. Therefore, it is better not to tighten the kaptsung too much, because this is a rather harsh way of influencing», she explained.

The saddle is of great importance for quality of horse training, as well. As Olga Arkhipova explained, it can visually lie correctly, but there are nuances inside, and they need to be paid much attention to. The main detail to affect the saddle position is the archak located in its inner part. It can be made of wood, plastic and other materials.

«It should amortize, so as not to bounce like a ball, but, on the contrary, to quench the shock. It is also important that it does not dig into the back, otherwise it will greatly interfere with the horse. 70% of the saddle position depends on the archak, the remaining 30% – on the padding, which should not be rigid», she said.

On June 5, as part of the SPIEF-2024 Business Program, the annual discussion track «Equestrian Discovery», organized by the Roscongress Foundation, started, with two unique discussion sessions on horses’ welfare and reproduction to be held today. The equestrian world is experiencing the economic shake-up, switching to import substitution. We invite experts to the annual discussion track, which, we hope, will finish with objective and practical solutions at the SPIEF-2025. The materials of the sessions will be available in recordings, as well as the recordings from major events of «Roscongress».

More