Kingsley edited to say...

Hello everybody! Let's not be fooled, this blog has never been as popular as when I came along with all my problems. This blatantly suggests I am way more important than any other waffling my auntie puts on here.
With this in mind I thought I would pop in to personally tell you to have a look at a new post about my hooves that Nic made after Wiola put some stupid lines on my perfectly growing feet!

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2011/01/hooves-can-be-deceptive.html

If you look at my hooves closely you will see I am growing more horn on my now shorter side and less on my now longer side. So no more stupid lines. 

Pic: Another photo. Yet another photo. Booorrriiinnnggg. On your knees and take some feet pics!

Kingsley - length of stride. October 2010 vs January 2011

Being a biomechanics geek as I am I had a little play with stills from the video footage.

Photo 1. Top October 2010. Bottom January 8th 2011

Photo 2. Top October 2010. Bottom January 8th 2011

His movement in walk used to have quite a distinctive character. It would be either pottery and short strided or very large and very unbalanced. He had disturbed medio-lateral balance of his feet (that is when the hoof wall on the inside of the leg is a different hight than the hoof wall on the outside of the leg). If you looked at him from the front he would look as if he was "paddling" sideways before allowing his feet to land. It was a peculiar way of going. He is a little croup high but the way he moved would make you think his withers are about a meter beneath the croup line!
One of the things I am watching with him (and there are plenty!) are the changes to the length and evenness of the stride in walk. In October 2010 he made shorter steps with his right fore (although this sometimes changed to the left fore). One fore leg was almost always striding shorter than the other.

A little legend to my creative lines ;)
Yellow Photo 1: Front limb angle
Red Photo 1: Distance in between the knees (within the yellow lines) in a relaxed walk stride
Pink Photo 1: Toe to Toe distance

I measured the above on the January photo (bottom on Photo 1 and 2) and copied the lines onto top image (in Photo 1)

Photo 2 is just a simplified version with lines running down. Now, I know it's not super accurate and hardly a scientific paper but I think the changes are rather great!

Another thing: look at the way the pastern joint and fetlock absorbs the movement on October Photo (rigid joint, not much give) and January (plenty of 'spring').

I'm dying to see the trot footage!

Kingsley Update

Kingsley continues to get better and better! Pauline will visit him this weekend so there will be much more footage to come. For now, the lateral view of his limb placement.
Have a look at Nic's write up about his rehab HERE. She does say that the improvement is much clearer when evaluated on circles and front/back but what I love to see is the proper V in his walk stride where his hind hooves land in the same line as his front feet. So far his walk was always verging on lateral as well as being very crooked. Add to this an odd sequence every time the terrain changed and you might get why I love to see that correct feet placement on this video! It makes me want to see him on the circle right now!!! ;))


Kingsley from Nic Barker on Vimeo.

I've shortlisted two yards that would potentially suit him once he is back with us in March so fingers crossed there will be spaces available when we need them.

If I ever had to be snowed in at a place this is the one I would chose! Merry Xmas Kingsley Boy!

Happy Christmas! from Nic Barker on Vimeo.
I suggest you click on "full screen view" and pop your speakers on full volume and dance with Kingsley's ears ;)
For words visit: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/12/happy-christmas-from-this-blog.html

My early Xmas present - Video of Kingsley

The week before Christmas... from Nic Barker on Vimeo.
Please visit http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/12/post-for-monday-morning.html for the words :)
I can't wait to see little boy again. I'm being busy here looking for a DIY yard we can keep him at where we can continue the lifestyle he seems to enjoy and thrive on.

I CAN trot on a cricle!

Hello guys! It's Kinsgley here. My auntie left me to go to Poland and my mummy is off to Scotland soon so I thought I would sneakly improve some more to give them both an early Christmas present!
Nic has been working me on those damn circles which I really see no sense in but ehmm hmm I must say all this gym is making me a little bit more athletic! Wonder if the mares notice too? What do yout think?


Kingsley - 12th December from Nic Barker on Vimeo.
Have a look at the full write up I got from Nic on her blog: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/12/kingsley-footage-on-circle.html

My fabulous yet very horsey holiday camp now has its Facebook page so please support my resort owners by joining in: Rockley Farm Facebook Page.
If I don't speak to you before Christmas please tell Santa that I would really like to have all four feet and my body doing a good job. I would also really like to prove to all these mares what a cracking little man I really am when I am free from discomfort. I can jump too so if Santa doesn't mind I would also like to go back to that hobby. I saw that Badminton is running Grassroots Championships and I am told there are many mares there...I am only young...Call me a dreamer...
Happy Christmas and please let me know what you think of my hard work?

Exmoor Diaries - December Visit

December, 6th

The road goes up and down, wet from melting snow. Hedges and trees on each side, space just about wide enough to drive Pauline's Audi without worrying about scraping the door.

Exmoor is beautiful and sunny today. Blue sky and patches of snow like sheep scattered all over the fields.

We are lost and totally sure we missed the signs we were suppose to be looking for. Steam Railway. Ehm, what?

Melting snow turns into sheets of white ice where the shade kept everything cool. The road starts twisting and dropping down.

Pauline takes another careful turn, we can't see what's around the corner but whatever it is it must be better than what's already behind us.

We seem to be going on forever. Sat Nav shows a long windy lane with a confident arrow climbing up and even more confident voice cheering us on. Never, ever, EVER listen to the Sat Nav in Exmoor countryside.

- Just don't touch the breaks - Pauline instructs herself quietly.

It's not like we can turn around anyway so the only thing to do is to keep sliding and hoping the road will even up.

For a long while it doesn't. And when it finally does, the fields open before us. Sat Nav still confident about going forwards, this time up the considerable hill. In a matter of seconds the wheels can no longer take the strain. Audi slides sideways, fights for a moment or two, then gives up. Pauline puts hand break on and we sit in silence looking around.

- we're sliding backwards - I say feeling the car descending slowly down the hill. Hand break up a bit more and we grind to a halt at last.

It's so quiet that all you can hear is a playful sound of water meandering around the stones in the ford below. Carefully, we get out of the car. It stays put. We are stuck.

Just 15-20 minutes away from our destination - Rockley Farm.

Just as we look up the road, a big beautiful stag jumps across, stares at us for a second and continues on its own path. I aim my camera at him but as quickly as he appears he is gone. Effortless escape.

Pauline goes up the road to investigate what's around the corner. She comes back laughing.

- OK, basically, there is no road up there. It all disappears under feet of drifted snow. Even if we managed to drive up there there is no chance of going through such amounts of snow.

Brilliant.

We phone Nic at Rockley who arrives to rescue in her 4x4 truck, much more suitable for the

terrain. Impressed Pauline nursed the car that far, she drives past us with a plan to pull the Audi out of the mould.

First things first - we got to find the tow bar...the back one is rather obvious but the one one in front seems non-existent until Pauline consults her Manual ;) I am having grand fun taking photos of this!

Tow bar found, Nic is having a go at pulling Audi out. The truck tries and makes an effort but it only takes a few goes for the wheels to lose the grip on ice. No luck.

We decide to abandon the car and go to see Kingsley.

- He better be pleased to see us - says Pauline when we transfer our stuff to Nic's truck.

Kingsley does seem pleased. He looks like a native pony, hairy in a herd of other hairy "native ponies" ;)

We take him and two other horses, Felix and Angel, in and get ready for a ride.

Kingsley gets a quick brush off, his coat is gleaming under the rug anyway. He looks well and content and very interested in any potential treats that we may have brought with us.

New horn growth:

It's cold but so beautiful. I ride Felix first, he is a fun chap, easy and cheerful. I feel like in a western movie! Felix wants to go everywhere and the only time when I realise we are cantering on the rocks is when I look down.

Pic: What I see from my spot on Felix.

Pic. Kingsley and Pauline rock climbing

Pic. Just before we swapped. Kingsley isn't keen on Felix inching too close to him ;)

We have a great fun and swap half way so we can both have a feel for how Kingsley goes.

I watch him under Pauline. He looks stronger and surer in his steps. The front feet still move in a bit of a waddle but his shoulders are in line with his back end and there is more purpose to the gait. He gets even better the more we go. The trot looks weak in front but powerful behind. He seems to be happier in canter but nevertheless keeps the trot for a considerable distance. The sequence looks correct!

The first thing that hits me when I sit on him is how straight and even he feels. He moves confidently down the hill, no attempt at taking it at an angle as he would have done last time I rode him (August?). He doesn't throw me sideways either as he would have done due to severe one-sideness. He doesn't trip!

We attempt a little canter but Angel decides slow is not in his dictionary...Just to check what happens I put my leg on Kingsley. He responds immediately, third gear in and we have wonderful canter that feels just as it should - happy, straight, bring it on.

We walk them all down in one of the large fields and I try some large circles with Kingsley. At first he tries to push into my leg instead of yield to it. It's not great at first but it feels the same on both sides, second time round he does try to bend! He doesn't hang onto the bit for balance in downwards transitions, he feels so confident about the gradient of the field I barely notice it.

All in all, an amazing improvement all round.

Visually, his gaits still don't look well. But - they look better. And from the saddle the movement has changed 100 %. He is now comfortable enough and happy enough to tolerate some gentle schooling under the saddle. That is once the arena thaws...

To watch a video from our ride visit Rockley Farm's blog at: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/12/alls-well-that-ends-well.html

Pic. Back in his stable. Getting ready to yawn - tired pony.

Ok, I am done yawning, where is my food?

I am already looking forward to my next visit whenever that might be, hopefully end of January/beginning of February. Maybe I could convince Rick to a weekend in Devon for my birthday...Are you there Santa?

About 6.30 pm we go back to the car. It's peach black but when you look up the stars seem so low it feels as though they can be brought down and held like torches. There are thousands of them, big and small, flickering.

We decide to pull the car down the hill from the back. I dig all the snow from under the back wheels, Nic drives the truck up and Pauline takes the driver's seat. Handbreak off. Nic moves forwards and Audi makes a small move. The truck keeps going. I stand half way up the mauld with my hand on Audi so I don't slide underneath it but I can keep pushing it away. Slowly, it slides, At first it seems to want to go up the mould, for a second I consider shouting stop to Nic but decide against it. Audi resigns itself to horizontal position and follows Nic's truck backwards, wheels locked, no steering like a naughty puppy dragged on a leash.

We are free to go :)

Kingsley's Barefoot Rehab update + VIDEO

Kingsley continues to grow a hoof of a very different angle to the one he had while shod.

Below is a screenshot from Rockley Farm's blog so if you would like to enlarge photos please visit Nic's blog: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/11/solomon-and-kingsley.html

One thing I find very interesting with Kingsley's hooves is that they have been changing a lot throughout the year we had him.

Have a look at the below photo (I zoomed the feet but left the full caption too so you can see the entire horse and the position he is in as it does changes the way he weight loads his feet).

The above photo was taken shortly after Kingsley's purchase in September 2009 and while he was already unsound. Although the toes are very long and he already has some event lines (not visible due to blurring of the photo) there are no deep ridges he developed later, possibly due to medications?

I don't want to speculate too much without having the knowledge but it is very fascinating to note how much the shape of his feet has changed. Different trimming and shoeing has certainly influenced those changes but now that the nature takes it turn it seems that the shape and the hoof/pastern angle are changing yet again.

Sometimes I wish we could just fast forward the growing time as I am really anxious to see if this new shape helps with re-educating the movement pattern!

And Video Update - look how much straighter his spine is! When I saw this I almost cried!

I have never before seen him walking with his spine and tail aligned in a straight line, his back has always been rigid and tense as a result. There are some little changes in the confidence in his steps and of course hind limb straightness has improved a lot too but the difference in the spinal column is the best of all to me. This has been my worry all together - that he is so crooked as a result of compensation that he won't be able to move straight again. And here we go...

Kingsley update from Nic Barker on Vimeo.

Another Foot Photo

I've received this photo from Nic today and I think it shows much clearer how different the new horn is: not only the angle of the hoof but the thickness of it:

Kingsley's Feet Growing Own Way...

31st October 2010

You can see a centimeter or so of the new horn growing from the coronet. Note the different angle to the "old" hoof angle...

Kingsley is hairy and furry but seems to be loving his Rehab Retreat! Nic took a longer footage of him walking so I will leave it up to her to draw more conclusions. Keep checking Rockley's blog for more updates: http://www.rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/ :)

From what I see on some videos I watched on Pauline's camera he is moving straighter with his right front and is not moving it outwards as much as he did 3 weeks ago. He also seems to be loading each front leg more equally while in the shoes he landed heavier on his right fore than on the left fore.
His is currently short striding on the hard surfaces which is to be expected but free moving on the grass.
All in all, still too early to say whether the changes are going to improve him as a ridden horse but they are certainly happening.

And here is just a a cheerful photo of Pauline, Kingsley boy and I at Rockley:

Update on Kingsley

Photo: Getting ready for a yawn ;) Kingsley relaxing after his lunch - 24th October. Pauline went to visit him and will be going again this Sunday so hopefully more photos and videos to come.

Kingsley boy is continuing to enjoy his "rehab holiday" in beautiful setting of Rockley Farm. Nic has just posted a short video update on him one her blog:

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/10/kingsley-and-rose.html

Make-Shift Month

October brought many new challenges with it and apart from being rather stressful it's certainly not a boring month. My main mission has been to patch up that large hole in my income caused by the illness of the horses so I've been doing quite a bit of random teaching here and there. I can't wait for things to come back to normal.

The Case Studies work continues and it's very time consuming. I am hoping to finish video editing of the two already finished Case Studies today. There are some fabulous video editing software out there but I am making do with a free one so I doubt I will be very pleased with the result. It will hopefully be informative enough and motivating enough to encourage riders to enquire some more :) Once it's all ready I will first post the videos on my Horse and Country TV Blog as a preview so keep checking their site...

If you have a friend or a family member wanting to learn to ride you might want to send them a link to Academy's new blogger:

Jody Stevenson

Jody is learning to ride with me and as I found out she is also a writer (a film writer but that's just a detail ;) I asked her if she would like to guest blog about her riding experiences. She is funny, eager to learn and a pleasure to teach and I think her writing reflects all these qualities.

Some excerpts from Jody's blog:

“I’m scared!!!”O.K. I was excited before, but now I’m here, I’m just plain scared! There are two big strong horses standing in wait for me and my friend (who’s late as usual…). They’re both crazy beautiful – but soo big!…. So I’m feeling more than a little intimidated right now. As I’m guided onto my horse (his name is William and he’s apparently about 80 in horse years), I suddenly feel immensely privileged that this huge majestic beast is giving me a piggy back. I mean seriously, how many strangers would you just let jump on your back?.. Especially as he knows full well what the next hour holds in store for him! Namely, this slightly crazy girl flapping her arms and legs around in unfathomable patterns and expecting him to “do something”, whilst letting out the occasional excited and fearful squeal. Lucky for me, on top of having a fab trainer in Wiola I also have a fab trainer in William. He’s been doing it for so long that, he is mostly able to interpret my uncoordinated and clumsy movements and save my life by stopping when he knows I’ve lost balance.”

“Without the saddle I can really feel Honey’s movement. I learn to recognise the dip in Honey’s side when she’s raising her back leg off the ground, I also learn that a little kick when she’s doing this will propel her leg further forward and subsequently make us move faster. I’m pretty impressed with myself when this little trick works, until she start’s getting a little too fast, when I hang on for dear life.Now I have to think of my body in two halves, the waist up, which I should be keeping straight and strong at all times, is mine and the bottom half is an extension of Honey’s so should become one with her natural movement. So while my bottom (which really shouldn’t be bouncing all over the place) moves from side to side with her, my chest should move forwards and backwards. And my elbows should be by my side (which they never are). Oh easy peasy!”

Jody's Blog can be found on:

http://www.aspire-equestrian.com/blog/category/guest-blogger-jodi-stevenson/

On a good work note I took on 5 days of work in Banbury next week at a new Dressage/training yard so I am looking forward to seeing the new set up! Although I will probably end up rather knackered at the end of that week ;)

Kingsley Photo Update

Photo by Nic Barker of Rockley Farm: Kingsley 13th October: Basking in the Sun :) More updates on Rockley Farm's blog.

Kingsley Today

Integrated into the group and enjoying lush dinner with stunning views..Lucky Boy! (Kingsley is the first one on the right when you look at the photo)

Kingsley's Day 1 at Rockley Farm: Video Report

Photo: Movement assessment on soft surface: Rockley Farm - Barefoot Performance & Hoof Rehabilitation

After about four hours of journey in a swift little horsebox, Kingsley, Pauline, Annette and I arrived at what I can only describe as one of the most picturesque set ups I have ever seen. It's safe to say I am now totally in love with Devon countryside.

Here is our journey in pictures:

Day 1 at Rockley Farm - slideshow dvd

And here is a little video report from the day. We were greeted at Rockley Farm by Nic, Andy and some stunning Hungarian Vizlas (plus a hound puppy! :)

Kingsley stepped down the ramp as if he was making these sort of journeys every day. He travelled fantastically and was so quiet we even wondered if he was there at all!

We let him have a little look around before taking him for some rest in a large stable with haylage which he promptly started to eat.

After a cup of tea and a chat in Nic's house (which has the views to die for) we went for a walk on the Tracks (to read more on what the Tracks do and how they help in hoof rehab please read Nic's explanation plus photos on here: http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/2010/09/tracks.html)

Once we finished the tour of the fields and Tracks we came back to the stables to put Kingsley through variety of movement evaluations.

1) This one was filmed to observe the general balance, the way the feet land on the ground, length of stride etc I videoed alongside Nic, the proper footage will be available on her website.

2) Trot Up on the hard surface (still in shoes)

3) Movement Assessment on the soft surface: Walk

4) Movement Assessment on the soft surface: Trot

Then the shoes went off:

And Kingsley was allowed to roam free on the Track for the first time:

Once he had a little look and a bit of a sniff around he got to meet Felix, the top man in the herd. They settled well into haylage munching. He was to be introduced to the rest of the herd one by one later and on Sunday morning.

Kingsley didn't just eat - he decided that exploring the surrounding is the ting to do. The water container is situated on top of the undulation covered with peat gravel so the horses have to put some effort into their daily whereabouts. I think he will like this!

We departed totally sure we did the right thing taking little man all this way. I will be updating you all on his progress and I hope to see Kingsley more comfortable on his own feet some time soon.

Even if Kingsley's problems are way beyond the navicular syndrome/disease I am sure rehabilitating his hooves is still the best way to go if he is to ever become sound.

For more videos of Kingsley please visit my You Tube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/equestriancoach1

Kingsley goes to Rockley Farm

Photo: Getting ready to leave and checking my hands for apples/polos/any food

Long journey from Reading to Exmoor done and Kingsley is settled in his new "holiday" home: Rockley Farm. All went well, he travelled perfectly like a pro and settled well too. I'm really sad thinking I won't see him for a long time but equally I am hopeful he will at last become comfortable on his own feet.

A few snapshots below and proper update with all the videos tomorrow as early Sunday morning for me.

Photo: More treats from his mummy

Photo: At Rockley Farm - Nic taking his shoes off...

Full update tomorrow.

Kingsley's Barefoot Rehab Part 1

On the 9th of October Kingsley is going to hit the road. Many thoughts and plenty of educational materials later the decision is made: little man will go to Rockley Farm all the way in Exmoor National Park.

He will also take part in Rockley's rehabilitation research programme - Project Dexter.

From Rockley's Farm website:

"Project Dexter is our research programme into so-called navicular syndrome, deep digital flexor tendonitis and non-specific caudal hoof pain. With the help of Jeremy Hyde, at Eqwest Veterinary Hospital and Professor Peter Clegg at the University of Liverpool, we are running a research project which aims to evidence the effect of our rehabilitation programme, and whether its more successful than traditional treatments, such as remedial shoeing.
The research project started in February 2008 and a short-form table of the results is here:

http://rockleyfarm.blogspot.com/p/research-results.html "

The shoes can come off 2 weeks after latest shoeing. As Kingsley had his aluminium shoes put on at the weekend we chose to wait till second week of October with the journey.

He is much more comfortable in these shoes than in the previous ones - very small shoes + wedges. The theory was to unload the pressure to the DDFT (deep digital flexor tendon) but having read some articles on newest research on the subject it seems that such idea of the action of the wedges is now heavily challenged. Here is a link to a very interesting article by Pete Ramey:

DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT NAVICULAR SYNDROME

To aid Kingsley's comfort and to spoil him completely I got Susanna to massage him.

He loved the experience last time and it was no different today. He is quite uncomfortable throughout all the large muscles in his back and neck with a couple of sore spots. They really get noticed because whilst he looks really relaxed and sleepy when enjoying himself, any pressure on the sore spots cause reaction.

I videoed Susanna trying to massage the bottom left side of his brachiocephalic muscle (his left fore is the one more severely affected). As you can see, he is very clearly showing his opinion:

The very immediate result of this sort of massage is the state of calm in the horse. Kingsley is generally fairly twitchy, fidgety horse which perhaps stems from being uncomfortable in one position for any length of time. He does relax when being groomed but massage makes him very calm and at ease with himself. It looks amazing when he pushes himself against Susanna when she hits the right spot as if he was saying "there you go, keep at it"!

I will try to film him for a bit longer next time as had to work during his massage today so only managed that short clip. I am curious to find out whether this sore spot on the neck will disappear when/if he becomes comfortable barefoot.

I also filmed him after taking him to the field as I thought the way he placed his feet heel first this time was interesting. He was very much toe first for a long time, including the period in the wedges obviously but these shoes do help him to walk better. They are also very light.

However, they are just a cover up and fight the symptom not the cause. His frogs are in bad condition and have soft areas on them that developed under the frog part of the wedges he had on previously.

For now, these shoes will hopefully keep him reasonably pain free until the 9th of October. I will try to arrange for another massage session before he goes - after that, all crossed it works as that's his last chance...