When we reach out of our comfort zone, we sometimes find a place we love to be...

So as many of you who follow us on insta will know, I’m super passionate about bitless riding! I made the transition with Drift a long time ago, whilst I was questioning a lot of aspects of my horsemanship. We tried it one day, and I can honestly say there was a noticeable difference in Drift’s way of going. I wasn’t sure at first, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t perfect. He was trying to get used to the different feel and on the flat, he wasn’t great to start with. But when I popped him over a small cross pole in the menage, we literally had lift off! It was like bitless gave him a freedom with his jumping. I was completely sold. He hasn’t worn a bit since and we like to do everything from schooling to cross country. 

So how do you get started?

The main difference between riding bitless, to riding with a bit, is the pressure. A question I often get asked; “Do you have enough control?!” Some  horses will take to it straight away, finding it more comfortable and therefore responding better, and I have since broken my two young horses Joli and Hope completely bitless. But others need some training. So it’s all really about responsiveness. A good way to start is to try is with your bit on and a bitless rein attached to the noseband. You can work on the bitless cues, with the safety blanket of having a normal rein if needed. 

You have to ask the question, Does my horse respond to my seat? If the answer is yes, you’ll probably find the transition to bitless pretty straightforward. As you’ll be using the same weight shifts bitless, you’ll just be changing the ‘refinement’ cues. So I would try some basic transitions to start with- in a confined area to get them listening and responding well to the different aids. 

It can also be really useful to long rein bitless first. This will give them some exposure to the different pressure used with bitless bridles before you even getting on board. Once you make sure you have a good ‘emergency stop’ (when you stop riding the horses stops) and have given them chance to learn what you are asking by the change in pressure then your set.

Bitless riding should be no different to riding with a bit in that- we engage the horse through our legs and seat, the hands are soft and just a conversation with the front end. 

Then is the more tricky part! Which bitless?!

My favourite hands down is the sidepull/side cue.

It is by far the softest of all bitless bridles, with the only pressure being two rings on the side of the noseband. This would be my first choice and if your horse is responsive, this is a great bridle. I started Hope in this bridle and my plan is to keep her in it. We’d done a fair bit of groundwork- so she’s fairly responsive. You can attach reins to a normal headcollar for a similar type of pressure to try. 

My second choice would be the orbitless. It has very little pressure, other than mild poll pressure on certain rings. It is also very soft and it is the one we started Jol in. 

If you need slightly more pressure to start the transition, a short hack is a good option. It has slightly more poll pressure than the orbitless, but far less than a long shank standard hackamore. Drift and Joli both respond really well to this bridle.

Then finally is the Dr cook. This is the one I transitioned Drift in, and still use from time to time. Drift absolutely loves this bridle and I have never had an issue with the releasing of it- but I know others who have. For me, it was a great bridle to transition him, as I still had a fair amount of control.

So it can be a bit of trial and error to find the right one. I have tried lots of others too, but there’s far too many to mention! I would definitely try each for a few sessions before making a judgement, as it obviously takes some time for them to learn the different cues! 

So my top tips for transitioning to bitless successfully would be:

- Do it in a safe environment where both you and your horse feel comfortable and confident 

- Try a bitless rein with your normal set up to start to help the horse to learn the cues 

- Long reining can also be a great way to teach the rein cues from the ground safely

- Try a couple of bridles to see which one works for you and your horse, there may be someone locally who will lend you a couple to try- I’d be more than happy to!

- Make sure your horse is responding to your seat and voice and that you are not relying on your hands/bit to stop your horse; it should be from your seat

- Get the fit right! As with a bit, it is so important to make sure the bitless is sitting right and there are lots of online groups which can help you with this

 - Most of all enjoy your horses and we hope that if more riders try bitless with their horses, the more ‘normal’ it will become and we can get it dressage legal! 

Always follow your heart, it knows the way...

July round up!!!

July has been so busy with work commitments and events that we haven’t done as much competing with the horses. 

So it’s been a good training month for them all! We’ve been out on the roads with the young ones a lot, giving their feet some good stimulation and showing them lots of the world. Lia and Joli like to prance about and show off because they know they’re special!!

Joli, we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on walk and getting her to yield and bend properly around my legs. She’s so big that it’s crucial for us to get the basics right for her. The most important thing is that she’s working with us, not against us, so we’ve done lots of bareback and liberty work too, to make sure she’s on board and comfortable! She’s also had a couple of short jumping sessions and the ground work is definitely helping with her strength and confidence!

Drift has been having an easy time of it; as we haven’t been competing as usual, so he’s been putting his feet up, hacking out and doing the odd farm ride! His schooling has also improved drastically probably due to us spending a lot more time on it.. so much so that I even said to Kate we should pop him in for a dressage test in August.. watch this space!! 

 

Hope has been progressing slowly but surely, she’s starting to accept the contact a little better and we are just having to take it slow and gentle with her as she’s super sensitive. She is getting braver out hacking again but her thing is definitely jumping, I’m over the moon to say! Her ears fly forward and she gives her all when the jumps go up; my dream of her becoming an eventer is starting to feel a lot closer! 

Lia, just like Joli has been enjoying her time mainly on the roads in July. She’s tall and I think she’s in need of a little more time to develop before we ask too much of her in the school. She’s so uphill and balanced; when the time is right. I’m sure I’m doing her justice by being patient. I’ve developed a special connection with this horse. As Haylz has mentioned, July has been busy, but also really tough - our aimless wanders together have been a god send. 

Rush hasn’t been in the arena much at all. We qualified for regionals, but we’ve been battling a few training issues in the school and I felt it wasn’t our time to go out at championship level. We have all the time in the world and he really is a superstar. We’ve been working on transitions, getting out on the bridlepaths and responsiveness. Watch this space we’ve some exciting competitions and training sessions coming up in September! 

Bizzie is happy. The areas where we’ve treated sarcoids have healed and she’s been happier without the Liverpool cream. She does have more sarcoids growing and we’re trying something new. I’ll update you soon. In the meantime, we’ve been back at the groundwork. Biz loves it, it’s great for our relationship and just because I can’t ride my little powerhouse, doesn’t mean we can’t work together. 

July although short of competitions hasn’t been short of training and progress for the EL herd. Sometimes being too busy to compete takes us back to the things we love doing the most...

What we couldn’t live without...

There’s a few things that are a must have at EquiLateral HQ - they make our lives easier and without them we wouldn’t be where we are now. 

So we wanted to share these with you 🙂

Our supps:

Forage plus are our go to for supplementing our Horses diets as they have so much knowledge and the quality of the products is second to none.

We could not live without these because: it’s what keeps our minerals as balanced as possible, since in the uk were often short on magnesium in the grazing, and they don’t get enough vitamin E when they aren’t grazing. We also use yea sacc to aid their digestion. These are crucial to helping keep our horses calm and happy. Drift needs lots of supplementation due to his pssm, he literally couldn’t live without his super supps. We have recently been trialling him on the amino acids, and he feels better than ever 😄

Our saddles:

We both sat in a Voltaire saddle several years ago at Olympia, and after several champagnes, it’s safe to say we were won over, but it wasn’t the right time! But this year we took the plunge, I bought a Lexington for Jol and I, as a happy birthday present to us 😂 (we’re both July babies so it seemed a good enough reason! I loved it the minute it came, it’s like sitting in an armchair (no more sore butts after a long ride!). They are so flexible, they have so much give, but since Jol has been growing at a rate of knots, mine has just gone for a holiday in France to be adjusted. The beauty of them is, you never need to change saddle- you just change panel. The comfort for the horse is of course paramount and Jol is so much happier when she’s wearing it!

Kate:: My Adelaide is the best investment I’ve made for the horses and my butt. I also love it 😂 It truly is the Rolls Royce of saddles. Rush has improved significantly working over his back since we made the change, his lift through his shoulder is far more fluid and he’s all in all very happy. Lia, well it’s the only dressage saddle that holds me in place when she has a rodeo moment! Hats off Voltaire, I’m well and truely converted. 

We couldn’t live without them because: they keep us onboard, our horses love them, and of course our butts would never forgive us if we changed!

Our stirrups:

Freejumps for Haylz: I absolutely adore my freejumps. They really help to secure your foot which is fantastic on the young horses. I also struggle with strength in my left leg due to previous back issues, so they really help my stability on this side! 

I couldn’t live without them because: the one time I rode Jol without them, I fell off!! 

Kate opts for Sprenger: some of you will know an accident 10 years back saw my knee being pieced back together - it’s bloody fagile and normal stirrups are just not an option. I opt for Sprenger Bow Balance, not once since having them have I had any knee pain, they come up in a smaller size which I need and give me a lot of stability. 

I couldn’t live without them because they do just what they’re meant to. Help my balance, but most importantly allow me to ride pain free. 

So there you have it! These are our top 3 equestrian products we couldn’t live without 💙 

 

Not for the faint hearted.

For us equestrians; horses mend our soul, give us daily therapy and let us reach for our dreams. They really do. They also break our hearts; push us over the edge and seriously make us question our mentality. 

It’s not easy, we all have times where nothing is going right, our beloved four legged isn’t well and we just can’t seem to get on top of working, looking after our neds and being competition ready. Being an equestrian is tough...not enough of us are so open to that. We should be. 

It’s ok to not be ok some days, we all have those days but it’s really important you’re able to tell someone about them. Tell you’re family, have a great trainer to talk to or even better some horsey friends who know all about it. 

Remember the good, the achievements and most importantly failure can never be, if you never give up. Keep those goals in mind. 

The bad times, lameness, injuries and ailments they shape us. They make us stronger horse people; better at our jobs and better at recognising the path we need to take. Importantly it makes us tougher than anything that’s thrown our way. 

Our horses are our everything, with them and a great team we can achieve our dreams no matter how far from reach we think they are. Go and smash them...because that’s what we’re going to do as well! 

PSSM : Our miracle diet

So this year with Drift we made it through the Winter/Spring and Autumn/Winter transition without too much trouble. The seasonal changes in the weather and therefore the grass seem to have brought on his two major episodes of azoturia. He has PSSM and the chronic nature of it means his AST and CK levels only have to be slightly elevated for him to be pretty poorly. 

The unpredictability of the weather is a nightmare at the change of seasons; one minute it can be quite warm in the sun, the next a bit of rain and it can feel absolutely freezing! So we’ve managed him really carefully this year, we’ve been monitoring him constantly and he has a rug collection that outdoes my coat collection (and I love coats, I’m always feeezing!)

Keeping him warm is absolutely crucial in preventing and episode occurring and he has to have a long warm up and equally long cool down after a session. 

But mostly what is the magic to keeping him right?!

 

Diet diet diet.

Drifter has a bare minimum diet- we have to keep his sugar and starch intake as low as possible! He doesn’t get carrots and apples or anything with molasses in and we try to be careful with lush grass. Realistically he’d be better off only having grass at night when the sugars are lower but it isn’t viable for us at the moment as the other option would be to stable him daily which I won’t do. He’s a horse and being outside with his herd is his happy place. In future I’m hoping to get a track system in place like Kate’s, so he has the best of both worlds!

LET US OUT!!

Now he has a very specialised hard feed too. I choose to get my supplements from Forage Plus. They are incredibly knowledgable, helpful and the supplement quality is the best we’ve had by far. 

So Drifts diet breaks down like this:

1 scoop simple system Lucie nuts

1 cup micronised linseed 

1 tbs Forage plus Magnesium oxide

1 10g scoop Forage plus Natural Vitamin E oil equivalent to 5000iu.

1 tsp salt 

He also loves a treat of course and for these we rely on Agrobs!

When I was having on going issues with Drift it took a while to figure out what was causing the issue. Once we transitioned his diet, in just seven days he had significantly improved and within six weeks he was back to the old drift who we know and love. We are always tweaking his diet and we’ve found what works for him through trial and error! And you know what, that’s okay. 

Drift has to have a diet of high protein which is provided by the Lucie nuts but in recent reading it has been documented that an amino acid supplement can also significantly help horses suffering with pssm. So we’ll be trialing this over the coming weeks once our order arrives from forage plus, and we’ll keep you all updated!

Flying a whopping 1m25

 

Now he is fit and healthy and he feels fabulous! We try and do our absolute best for him, but I’m sure we have lots of further challenges ahead, but for now we are just enjoying him :) He’s had a couple of months off competing before we have slowly brought him back and he kicked back off a few weeks ago with a lovely double clear at Southview. Now onwards and upwards to get him back out to BS again over the next few weeks.

 

Lia’s (barefoot) dancing shoes...

When Lia arrived we knew she was in extremely poor condition, but what we hadn’t anticipated was the state of her feet. You’ll know from previous posts, I FREAKED OUT and poor Haylz had to deal with me, going on and on and on... 

‘What are we going to do?’ 

‘Her feet are clubbed! Well I think they’re clubbed!’

‘Hayl, those feet are not ok!’ 

‘Kate, they’re not clubbed. You know we will be able to sort them, don’t worry.’

Then came one of the worse abscesses we’ve had to deal with; two months of determination, trying not to panic as my next dressage horse hopped around on three legs. Eventually it burst EVERYWHERE - the sole, the coronet band in two places, taking half the hoof wall with it (she didn’t have much to start with!!). That was the start of Lia’s hoof rehab journey. 

At 16’2 she had pony sized feet,  heals that would give my stilettos a run for their money, decent lateral flare, two great hoof cracks and worryingly a nearly toe first landing. But she wasn’t lame, so we had a positive start. 

16 months later, we are not there, but the improvement has been incredible. Lia now has a heal first landing, her feet have balance, the cracks have gone and her heals are lowered meaning they’ve become less contracted. She’s still got some lateral flare, which may or may not go, time will tell. 

So we wanted to share with you our approach to giving Lia her barefoot dancing shoes; 

1. DIET - we keep this simple; adlib hay and haylage, along with a low sugar and starch diet. We opt for Alfalfa Nuts & Micronised Linseed in equal amount. 
2. Vits & Mins - thanks to Forage Plus, we’ve been able to balance her diet perfectly with Natural Vitamin E, Copper and Zinc which has created a huge improvement in the strength of her hoof wall and over all condition. 
3. Movement - this is key, the more the horse moves the healthier they are. We are lucky enough to have a track system, so Lia spends equal amounts of time of hard terrains, gravel and grass to stimulate her feet. She’s on 24 hour turnout. 
4. Trimming - the right trim helps the horse. We’ve got an excellent trimmer who has helped balance her feet which I assure you is not an easy task. The view from the sole is not the view when the foot is on the floor. 

Does Lia have story book picture hooves, no! But they work. She’s comfortable, she can go dancing and hack out with no hoof boots on any surface, which we’re pretty proud of. 

‘Don’t try to make the hooves match - try to make the horse move in a more balanced way.’  Pete Ramey 

New year; new goals...

So 2018 was a year of ups and downs. 

We’ve had accidents, abscesses and ailments galore. I think it’s fair to say we’ve shared them out equally between the two and four leggeds! So some of our dreams were put on hold; however we mustn’t forget what we have achieved. 

So here’s a look back at what we made happen in 2018 and our targets for 2019. We’re so excited looking towards our goals for the next 12 months. We are starting this year with all six horses in the herd sound, happy and in work, for the first time..EVER. 

Thanks to Drifter’s tip top diet from Forage plus, keeping his pssm at bay, he has started to compete in affiliated showjumping and he gained a couple of placings and qualified for second rounds.

Drifts goals: our main aim for him each year is to keep his muscles healthy. If we can achieve this and prevent his pssm from taking hold, I would like to continue his affiliated showjumping career. It is my goal for him to get 5 double clears so he can go the national amateur champs at Aintree in November!

Rush is working Medium and is fitter than he’s ever been. He competed a few times, with over 70% in every test - we’ve even managed our first 9!! 

Rush’s goals: the main aim this year is for him to compete affiliated at elementary. I’d love to qualify for regionals with him, so we’ll need some high percentages with consistency. At home we’re going to continue his dressage career by teaching him the advanced work. Starting by adding changes on each rein over the next few weeks! 

 Biz, is now lightly ridden, her second round of sarcoid treatment has appeared to work and she finally trusts enough to start her work. 

Biz goals: for Biz this year we want her to be happy under saddle and confident in herself. I hope to get her out to do some lower level dressage and around a course of Showjumps. The most important this is we crack her sarcoid condition and ensure she’s comfortable to continue her work. Lastly, I’m hoping to increase my own confidence with Biz, she’s not been easy, but I’m sure she’ll be my biggest teacher. 

Lia is broken and went out to do her first intro test. She’s the sanest baby I’ve ever known and has taken to work like it’s always been part of her life. 

Lia’s goals: the aim for Princess Lia is to register her affiliated dressage this year. She’ll be 5 this year. To do this we’ll work on her strength and ability to carry herself through her back.  She’ll progress slowly at her pace, she’s got a lot more growing to do, but elementary at home is our goal. We’re also off to horse camp in March! 

 Joli is now properly riding away, she has had a few successful trips in the trailer since her accident and she has popped her first jump under saddle. 

Joli’s goals: this year for her is all about gaining strength, balance and suppleness. She is 5 this year and she is enormous and still growing. She has done very little so far as she is so gangly! So this year she needs to build strength through her frame so she is able to carry herself properly. She will be going to some dressage competitions and by the end of this year, hopefully be popping a course of showjumps. We also really need to build her confidence with travelling and get her out to see lots of the world. We are aiming her for a horse camp in March! 

6. Hope has been very lightly started and has hacked to the pub and had a little walk, trot and canter on each rein and is taking to it all like a duck to water.

Hope’s goals: for Hope this is a year of learning the basics. She has a great head on her shoulders and is so bold, which we hope will also carry through onto the cross country field as we are aiming to event her. So we need to get her dressage right. She will go out to some dressage competitions this year and we will also take her out on some farm rides and cross country rides, with a lead horse to build her confidence and to show her some natural fences. Thanks to the wise words of Will FP, we will be showing her the solid fences first. As young event horse, we don’t want her to assume that all jumps fall down if you get it wrong!

So there you have it. Six horses, some big goals and a whole lot of fun to come for Team EL I’m 2019. 

Whatever you plan to do this year, we’d love to know! Aim high, enjoy your horses and remember to hug them everyday!