Mac and Me

Tag: Rider Fitness

  • Improving Your Horse’s Wellbeing: A Journey of Progress

    We’ve been ticking along through the winter. Lindsay continues to fill my head (and heart) with knowledge about riding in true harmony with Mac. Every new lesson begins on the ground, giving Mac the chance to learn without the added complication of a rider on his back. We focus on building his strength gradually, making sure he’s physically capable of what we’re asking.

    We forage – it’s great to see what they pick to eat

    Alongside Mac’s progress, we work on me, the bent shoulders, the crookedness through my body, and a whole set of Pilates exercises that really do make a difference. Slowly but surely, some of the old riding habits that don’t serve the horse begin to fall away. (It’s definitely still a work in progress.) Mac seems to approve. He’s brighter, more willing, and just… happier.

    We’re still following the supplement regime for PSSM2, and the signs are good. In our lessons, he now powers straight down the long sides. We no longer have to stop halfway through for a snooze (yes, really, that was a regular thing in the early months). We’ve reintroduced canter, first from the ground, and now from the saddle. It’s stronger, more confident. He’s no longer ‘Eeyore’ around the yard, he moves with purpose. We hack for longer. He flies around the Somerford Farm Ride like he owns it.

    Rachel Chadfield, Mac’s physio, continues to visit regularly. She assesses Mac’s musculoskeletal health, treats areas of tension with Indiba therapy, and tracks how his body is adapting to the work we’re doing. At her most recent visit, she could feel real improvement, but noted he’s still carrying a lot of tightness through his shoulders. One issue I can’t seem to get on top of is his persistent cough.

    We attend a training session across the 80 acres at Somerford. It’s like riding another pony. Mac coughs through the entire session and feels like he’s wading through treacle, heavy, stuck, lacking spark, we have to put him behind another lead horse to encourage him forward. The trainer isn’t impressed and strongly recommends we get him scoped.

    So, we do. The scope doesn’t show anything obvious, but when the tube goes down, Mac coughs, hard, and the vet is surprised. She prescribes steroids. I’m sceptical, as always of the route that leads to big pharma. But of course, I follow my instructions…

  • Signs of Struggle: Understanding Horse Fitness and Wellbeing

    Year 5 – Down to the bottom and back again – The Restart: Signs We Couldn’t Ignore

    Mac had the winter of 2022/2023 off, time to rest, grow, and hopefully come back stronger. We brought him slowly back into work in the spring of 2023, starting with plenty of roadwork and gentle hacking.

    In hindsight, he was noticeably worse, steadier, stiffer, and less forward than before. But I pushed on, thinking maybe he just needed to rebuild fitness.

    About 8 to 12 weeks after we restarted, Mac went for his first proper lesson.

    At first, he managed to canter, just about, on the right rein. He got around the arena and even pulled off a 20-metre circle, though it was hard work. On the left rein, though, the canter was barely there. Disjointed, weak, unbalanced, like he simply couldn’t get his body to do it.

    For the next few months, we returned to hacking and strength work. I was under no illusion, at five, Mac simply wasn’t ready to work consistently in the arena. So, we focused on what he could manage, and what we both enjoyed.

    We hacked out with friends, took our time, and began to rebuild confidence. Mac even competed in a TREC competition with a friend and her horse. He was brilliant with the obstacles, especially the gate, the bridge, and the rein back. Calm, clever, and focused.

    But there were still signs of discomfort. During Day 2, particularly while completing the PTV (Parcours en Terrain Varié) phase, an obstacle course designed to test control, obedience, and partnership over varied terrain, we noticed a lot of tail swishing, we were now riding in his third tree’d saddle. Something still wasn’t right.

    That weekend, I was introduced to SMART Saddles, they are treeless but look like a traditional tree’d saddle, and I brought home an ex-demo to try. It was a game changer. Mac moved better almost immediately, straighter, freer, and noticeably more comfortable. For the first time, I felt like the saddle was helping, not hindering him.

    On the first day of TREC, he did run out of energy toward the end of the 12km ride. We finished the last section mostly at walk, and our scores reflected the slower pace. Still, we came away with a very respectable second place, and a quiet sense that we were finally starting to piece the puzzle together.

    Just as I was beginning to accept that Mac might never be the pony I’d hoped for, everything changed. I met Lindsay, the founder of Equipilates® and LWR Dressage & Equitation Science Training, a brilliant dressage trainer and coach who uses Pilates-based techniques to help riders become more balanced, aware, and effective in the saddle.

    It was the beginning of something completely different, not just for Mac, but for me too. Lindsay didn’t see a difficult pony. She saw a body that was struggling, and a rider who wanted to help. Her approach, insight, and empathy opened a door that changed everything for us……………………….

    mac in his trec gear