I can surely say that even if we use the most serious approach in choosing our horses, even if we put an incredible amount of reliance on the hippological, veterinary, behavioral and bio expertise advice, the “main” horses in our lives are not “chosen”, they just “happen”.

This rule applies even when we must choose a horse specifically for professional work in the cinema, show or for television and photography, even if we are to teach him only the basics or the whole Haute Ecole.

I understood this long ago, accepted the rule and I am confident in my destiny to choose horses for myself. And I should say that my destiny has not made a mistake in these choices at any time.

Amazing circumstances and strange feelings were always the foundation for a particular choice of horse. These feelings and circumstances always appeared during the very first meeting with our “main” horses and occurred in a mysterious way. Please try not to understand this very literally like, when I am seeing somebody’s eyes or tail in the midst of a herd, I am suddenly crying: “Oooh!”- and the next minute I am catching the horse.

One must realize that only horses of special well-defined advantages and certain age and color could catch a professional’s eye. Clearly, at first, coldly and without emotion we evaluate a horse’s body composition, correctness of the body, head-position, shoulders, neck plane, legs integration, joint spaciousness and so on … All these assessments are determined by us during the first several seconds.

The blood origin and the bloodline have ridiculous meaning. It is not good if there is bad English blood, but many breeds have already been spoiled by it, so we cannot usually avoid it.

If the external characteristics correspond to that of a School horse’s type, that is to say “ideal” or “close to ideal” body composition, external integrity of bones, ligaments, tendons… We can then allow ourselves “to feel”.

But I still cannot set my feelings free as I know that the computer thermography is ahead of me – the best and the fastest kind of diagnostics.

I cannot let myself just “have” a horse. I choose a horse for professional and very difficult work, and its health is the most important factor.

The thermographic process, grimly demonstrates all the inner, hidden problems of the horse. Computer thermography is a rather fast process: a horse is fully inspected within 30 or 40 minutes, and if your feelings for the horse have already manifested, then this is the time you are nervously awaiting the thermographic verdict.

Thermography shows hidden problems of the back, neck and legs. If everything that Lydia has found can be healed and repaired, I can begin to feel with all my heart.

There is a list of the hidden traumas of very young horses. As a rule, these are traumas of the lower jaw bone caused by the bit, which do not have weighty meaning for me. I am not afraid of these types of traumas as my horses will never know the feeling of the bit in their mouths. Even serious problems of the mouth will be gone without a trace after 3 or 4 months of the correct work – without a bit. That’s why the inspection of the mouth, jaws, roof and tongue (in the case if a feeling for the horse has already appeared) does not make me nervous.

As for injuries of the paratoid gland that are caused by forced collection, that would be hard and it will take too much time to heal, if, of course, they have not become chronic. Though very young horses usually don’t have serious problems with this, as the equestrian sportsmen have not had enough time to cripple them thoroughly.

The verdict about the horse’s back I await tremblingly. Russian horsemen are phenomenally ignorant. As a rule, they wreck the horse’s back within the first months of training. This is easily done by the wrong work and poorly fitted saddles. There could be different traumas, mild to moderate, and if the healing process is correct, by working only on the ground and free, these injuries would go away without problems in approximately 3 months.

Serious injuries will stay forever and they will prevent the horse from ever becoming a School-horse and performing difficult school elements.

If hidden chronic injuries are discovered, I must tend my heart and find strength to refuse the horse honestly, even if I have discovered in myself strong feelings for her. I will not be able to teach her in NHE-way as it will not be honest to her. Natural collection, School jumps (airs above the ground) and difficult elements would cause suffering for her.

But, if there are no serious injuries of the horse’s back, I will wait impatiently for the last verdict – the verdict about the neck and legs. If those reading this text are not professionals, I guess I should mention that the neck is more important than legs. I cannot find an exact word for its importance. The neck is more enigmatic, the processes within it are mysterious. These can only be clearly seen with the help of the most technologically advanced stationary x-ray devices, which are not in Russia.

All inflammatory and painful processes in the neck are diagnosed very cautiously, as ultrasound cannot see the neck completely. Even thermography in this instance, can only locate the existence of inflammation but I can only guess if the nuchal atlas membranes are already torn.

Besides that, almost all problems with the legs can be solved with a half a year of rest, this is with exception to very serious traumas that do not need thermography – the ones that can be seen with eyes. As for serious problems with the legs, they will stay forever.

At the same time during the pre-sales training, the horse-sellers and their helpers, as a rule, are aware of many stupid ways to work a horse’s neck with every trick possible which leads to life-long pathology and invalidity. And who will say that those people do this with harmful thoughts?

Now I will try to explain the reason of my sacred attitude to the neck and its integrity.

Natural collection at liberty (this is the obligatory condition in Nevzorov Haute Ecole) is easily learned by a horse who has never known “equestrian sport” or forced collection, or more rightly named, false collection.

If a horse knows false collection, if the horse has already felt it, it has guaranteed reverse flexion of the column. Muscles and nerves will remember pain that was caused by forced direct bending and the column forced backward with the help of a bit and spurs, until death. Even the slightest thought about collection will make the horse agitated. Moreover, injuries of the nuchal atlas membranes, paratoid and mandibular gland – without any exception, will always stop the “counting down” to getting the horse. That is why, when Lydia is doing thermography of the neck and the column, I am in a flap.

 

You can comment on this article by clicking –>HorseConscious Forum