The Elite Equine Saddlery

08/09/2022

Common Symptoms - Part 2

Atrophy behind the shoulder/of the trapezius muscle is extremely common to see at every level of riding and is caused when the saddle is fitting to the wither angle, as well as trees that are too narrow in the width (different than the angle). When a saddle tree is too narrow, it leaves no room for the lateral movement of the spine, as well as the flexion of the muscles during movement. An excess of pressure limits the blood flow and utilization of the muscle, both causing atrophy as well as an altered gait and posture that directly conflicts with the development of a healthy athlete. Abnormal posture is quite insidious in that it has a domino effect on other structures within the body, causing early wear and tear and additional impact and concussion on delicate structures along with compensatory muscling and an overall upside down way of going. A horse who is heavy on the forehand, leaning into the hands, dropped in the ribcage and not able to utilize the thoracic sling is predisposed to problems ranging from the poll to the hind legs if posture is not corrected.

Lack of mobility in the pelvis, pulling themselves along with the brachiocephalic muscle, ewe necked, sharp and angular topline as opposed to soft and round, heavy on the fore, prone to tripping, disunited, the list goes on.

Checking to see if a saddle pinches at the withers is fairly easy and straight forward. First and foremost you want to check the gap between the withers and the pommel, not just the vertical gap but also how much space is on the sides. You'd want to see a bare minimum of a 2 finger gap all the way around the withers (from one side, over the top, to the other). Secondly, the placement of the panels and the angle of the tree, with many panels placed too high namely due to the fact that the gullet points are simply too short in many saddles. Think of the trapezius as a river, and the arms of the gullet plate a bridge that needs to extend beyond the width of the river to not disturb the flow. Short tree points typically end within the trapezius, a muscle we know should not be carrying the weight of the rider, and as such, you see the atrophy as mentioned above. Ideally, the contact of your panel (and the tree points) begins 4" down from the edge of the spine where the D-ring of your saddle is, allowing the trapezius enough room to flex and develop without impingement.

11/08/2021

🔔 Availability this Wednesday

10/28/2021

09/23/2021

Starting October 13th we will be hosting farrier day. Our farrier Jeremy will be in house to do full set, trims, corrective work. From the 13th every other Wednesday he will be here for work. These are not a show up appointment, they must be scheduled ahead to ensure a spot and products. P.m Equiflex to get your appointment spot now. :)


P.S... Don't forget he can have apparel and saddles on hand, as well as saddle fittings!!!

09/03/2021

What effect does changing the angle of the hoof and therefore phalangeal alignment have on the soft tissue structures of the digit?

I am often questioned as to whether artificially aligning the hoof Pastern axis over loads the suspensory ligament and/or superficial digital flexor tendon and whether therefore it is not good practice.

There have been studies in favour of artificial elevation and some against.

Hinterhofer et al. (2001) stated there were smaller deformations of the hoof with a 5 degree increase. But acknowledged the risk of further crushing to the heels supported by the finding of increased load on the heels with wedges (Wilson et al. 1998).

Thompson et al. (1993) found that the Deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) strain decreased with elevation and that the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory ligament (SL) strain were NOT affected, however strain on the extensor branch of the SL increased rapidly. Riemersma et al. (1996) also measured an increase strain in the SL.
Other studies have measured increased intra articular pressure with elevation, showing that joints and ligaments are also affected by these changes in angle but that’s another question.

With these findings it’s understandable why the increased load on the SL and other structures is often a concern. However what remains unclear from all of these studies is what the phalangeal alignment was at the time of an increase or reduction of hoof angle. Also what hasn’t been quantified is what the strains are of those structures in an ideal.

Many studies have linked a broken back alignment with increased load on the DDFT.

Broken back HPA (BBHPA), has been shown to predispose the horse to navicular syndrome. Waguespack and Hanson (2010) outlined the biomechanical considerations of a BBHPA and stated that the primary source of pressure on the navicular bone (NB) is compression from the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), Ruff et al. (2016) expanded on this, expressing the increased compressive force on the NB from the DDFT in conformations exhibiting increased dorsiflexion, this was supported by Uhl et al (2018) which stated conformations described by Ruff et al. (2016) as being mechanically predisposed to navicular and that DDFT lesions corresponded with areas of increased load. Many other papers have expressed the importance of a good HPA, (Witte (2014), Zani et al. (2015), Logie (2017), Turner (2020), Brown (2020)), outlining its importance in optimal performance and the predispositions of a BBHPA

If you raise the heels in a broken alignment, perhaps you will get an increased strain reading in the SL or SDFT but the question is have you over loaded those structures or returned to a more even strain share of all the relevant structures, especially in the light of all the papers just stated.

More research needs to be done to quantify what appertains to ideal strain share and whether that is obtained at aligned. But my hypothesis is that ideal strain share would correlate closely with ideal alignment.

The image below shows an illustration of that theory. Aligned has ideal strain share of the 3 structures. Broken back, increased strain of the DDFT and broken forward has increased strain of the SDFT and SL. Increased strain shown by thicker lines.

For more information on alignment feel free to watch and read at these links.

https://youtu.be/xggVpfmO9BI

https://www.theequinedocumentalist.com/post/hoof-pastern-axis-influential-factors