Thoroughbred
Transitions: An Interview with Kirsty Wilson
by Gina McKnight
No duplication without permission.
If you’re looking to purchase a horse, you won’t have any trouble finding one. The key is to find the right horse for the right purpose – to find out what the horse likes to do. Not all horses are barrel or dressage horses. It is important to find out the horse’s niche so the horse (and the horse owner) can live a happy life. This process needs to be applied to ex-racehorses. Reprogramming a horse to stop racing and to begin a career as a riding horse takes patience and finesse.
Recently, I caught up with Kirsty Wilson, a certified veterinary physiotherapist. Kirsty has extensive experience in ex-racehorse rehabilitation. She states, “My experience with thoroughbreds in and out of training has inspired me to set up thoroughbred transitions. A social enterprise company aiming to help ex-racehorse owners understand the physical and mental demands of racing and how to use that knowledge to develop a successful retraining plan to ensure a successful transition from racehorse to riding horse.”
Welcome, Kirsty!
GM:
Supporting and educating ex-racehorse owners to successfully transition and
retain their racehorses for riding horses sounds like a lot of fun, but hard
work! What is the process?
KW: The current process is to open owners’ minds to a new way of retraining racehorses. Traditionally there is a lot of focus on ridden retraining, whereas I focus on a mental and physical wellness to build a partnership and the ridden work is the result of a happy and comfortable horse.
My starting point is to look at a horse’s life in racing. Many owners of ex-racehorses have little knowledge of what their horses lives in racing consisted of. We look at the horse’s daily routine, the feed they are fed and the type of exercise they are likely to do most days.
The reason all of this information is important is it goes a long way to understanding the mental demands of racing and it effects the very initial transition process. If a horse has been kept in a very rigid routine, with no turn out and a gallop on site so the horse rarely leaves the yard except on race day…then we need to manage his transition into a new environment carefully.
Depending on the horse’s temperament, it may not cope with going to a busy DIY livery yard, where lots of horses are being moved around by lots of different owners. They may find themselves being left in a stable alone or even in the field alone. This can cause huge amounts of stress and stress releases hormones and chemicals that can cause an inflammatory response in the tissues as well as instigating the fight or flight instinct. Therefore, having a basic understanding of the day to day running of a racing yard, can give us many clues as to how best to manage these horses in their new environment. Once the owner has their horse in a daily routine and the horse is settled, then we can start to look at other areas.
One other area that I focus on a lot is the physical demands of racing, so I teach people about the biomechanics of racing and the points of the horse that maybe greatly affected. We look at back x-rays and discuss why arthritis in the facet joints and kissing spines is prevalent in racehorses. Also understanding a racehorse’s posture can give you a lot of clues as to how they’ll cope with certain types of work.
Feeding is a big area – many people worry about how sharp a racehorse is, so they knock out the feed. This is a real issue for me, as thoroughbreds have a high percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers, that rely on food for energy. So it’s important to be able to feed correctly, as effectively cutting the fuel line off causes the horse to feel like they can’t do the job you’re asking them to do and then behavioral problems can arise from this.
I
believe once you understand all the physical and mental demands of racing you
can plan a horse’s transition more successfully. Managing their environment and
workload to ensure the right questions are being asked and they are at a level
of which the horse feels they can succeed. This helps you build that bond and
partnership with mutual respect.
GM:
Thinking about the process and your keen ability to transition a horse from
competing and on-the-go to a pleasure horse is mind-boggling! Are there horses
that can't (or won't) make the transition?
KW: Unfortunately, some won’t make it, although you need to weigh up very carefully whether the horse really can’t make the transition or whether they haven’t been matched with the right owner.
The ones that really struggle are the ones with on-going clinical problems, such as kissing spines, ulcers, suspensory injuries etc.…like people, horses can either manage pain or they can’t. I’ve seen some back x-rays that have terrible pathology and prognosis, yet the horse manages well and enjoys their job. Then there are others where the clinical diagnosis is good yet the smallest amount of unbalanced movement in the saddle from a rider can really unsettle them.
The
other group that don’t always transition well are the ones that are aggressive.
Unfortunately, some racehorses hate the experience of racing and have become
very sour. Given the right time and an experienced owner, these problems can be
overcome. But then sometimes the behavior is too set in and the horse has lost
all faith in humankind, which is terribly sad, but these horses can be
dangerous to handle. You still need to rule out any pain related behavioral
problems and once that’s been done and the behavior continues, then some very
serious decisions have to be made regarding these horses.
GM: What discipline, if transitioned to a show horse, will the thoroughbred assume? Does it depend upon the disposition and personality of each horse? Or do you train them in specific disciplines like show jumping or dressage?
KW:
Each horse is different. Some horses have clinical pathologies that will limit
what they can do but have wonderful second careers as hackers and companions.
Others can succeed at any discipline, whether it be endurance, eventing or
riding club. I think from a personality perspective, thoroughbreds love to
work, so they are up to most jobs mentally and it really is the physical
limitations that will decide the career path.
GM: After you have transitioned a horse, do you remain in contact with the horse and the horse owner?
KW:
I don’t re-train the horses myself, I train the owners so they can do the job
themselves and build that partnership. This means that more horses can be retrained
without it all being done by me. I’m also looking to work with coaches and
other professionals that can reach an even wider audience.
GM:
What is your favorite success story?
KW:
The success stories aren’t mine to have. They belong to the owners out there
doing it every day with their horses. I just try to help as many people and
their horses as I possibly can.
GM:
Describe a day in your life with horses...
KW: My day is quite simple. I only have one ex-racehorse at the moment. A 3 year old filly, called Nina (race name Ebony Legend). I’ve only had Nina for 5 weeks and we’re going through the worst possible phase! I always find around the 5-8 week time, you experience a lot of changes both physically and with behavior. Her coat is changing from the change in feed, environment, and dramatic drop in exercise. I transition the feed away from a racing diet fairly slowly and I am still a week or two away from feeding the feed I want for her. She’s currently not in ridden work and is turned out 24/7 in a small herd. I have taken her shoes off and we’re currently managing quite a foot sore / soft soled horse. She’s comfortable on the grass but it means any groundwork that I had hoped to start this week will have to happen in the field. She has become quite reliant on the herd over the past day or two, which tells me she doesn’t quite trust / respect me, so completing the groundwork in the field amongst the herd is probably not a bad place to start.
So my day consists of going up in the morning, catching and bringing Nina in. Giving her a feed. Checking her feet and applying a hoof dressing that helps manage the moisture levels within the hoof. I give Nina a brush and spend some time bonding with her. I then get her to do some carrot stretches, which she is really good at and she is extremely flexible. I don’t wish to lose that flexibility and stretching helps build isometric strength through the back and core. I then turn Nina back out for the day.
The
rest of my day is then spent treating my client’s horses’ – as an equine
physiotherapist, I travel from yard to yard, assessing and treating. As the
thoroughbred transitions brand is growing, more and more of my work is
ex-racehorse focused. So I help my owners with their own retraining journeys,
as well as addressing any physical problems that need physiotherapy.
In
the evening, it’s a similar routine as the morning, I go back to the yard where
Nina is and bring her in. I may spend some time teaching her to stand nicely on
the yard or standing quietly tied up on the yard. Some days, I give Nina a
massage. I’m only working on the relaxation massage to get her used to being
touched all over and to be comfortable with this.
She
is then turned back out for the night.
GM:
When was your first encounter with a horse?
KW: I’m not sure I even remember, I have been obsessed with horses since I was a small child. I didn’t have horsey parents, so I used to beg for riding lessons. I remember being on holiday and my dad taking me to a trekking centre in Devon, I think that may have been my first ever ride on a horse. I then used to help out at local stables in return for rides. Most of my childhood was spent doing this. I didn’t actually have my own horse until I was 25 years old.
GM:
What does horsemanship mean to you?
KW: Horsemanship is about building a partnership with your horse built on mutual respect. One where your horse can rely on you and be relied on. There are times when you need your horse to trust and follow you obligingly but then there are other times when you need your horse to take the lead and look after you. It’s important that you can work with your horse to achieve this.
Connect
with Kirsty…
www.thoroughbredtransitions.co.uk/
www.thecrescentvetphysio.co.uk/
Gina McKnight is a freelance writer from Ohio USA.
.png)
.png)
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment