| From the forward and flyleaf:
Dr. Gerd Heuschmann proves how incorrect riding has a negative effect on the horse's health. He then clarifies why it's worthwhile to train your horse according to time-proven, Classical Principles.
In a detailed, yet comprehensible fashion, Dr. Heuschmann describes parts of the horse's body that need to be correctly developed by a dressage rider. He examines how these body parts function individually and within an anatomical system, and how various schooling techniques affect the horse's development for good or ill. There are photographs of horses in training and in competition that illustrate his points.
From "In a Nutshell"
Clinical Observations in veterinary paractice, horses are often presented for lameness, yet the cause cannot be determined with traditional and supplemental examination methods. In such cases, locomotion porblems are often traced back to incorrect training methods. The following is a summary of important clues:
1. Poor or incorrect muscling and signs of physical tension
• Poorly developed upper neck muscle
• Prominent under neck muscle
• The upper neck shows poor integration into the withers (a dip in front of the shoulder blade)
• Tension in the longissimus long back muscles
• Longissimus muscles that are uneven in height and tone, and showing uneven contraction
• A large, bulky abdomen, indicating poorly developed abdominal muscles
• A tail held high and tensed
• A tail held crookedly
2. Gait anomalies in movement
Without a rider shown in hand on firm ground
• From no sign of any lameness to . . .
• moderate mixed lameness, especially behind
Without a rider on the longe with a halter
• Lameness of various degrees in the hindquarters
• Lameness often changes with longeing direction: generally the inside hind leg is affected, and one side show more lameness than the other
• Incorrect flexion to the outside of the circle
• During trot, sporadic "hopping" into the canter with the front legs only
Ridden by its usual rider
• The symptoms described above intensify
• The horse's innate crookedness that should be diminishing as training proceeds instead becomes more marked: the lameness might be clearly stronger on one hand (the horse's stiff side) and disappear altogether on the other (the horse's hollow side)
• The horse is lazy or overly sensitive to the aids
• The horse shows loss of impulsion under the rider as compared to movement on the longe
• Considerable problems with contact
• The horse shows a general stiffness under the rider
• The natural sequence of the basic gaits is not uniform and rhythmical --- the walk is the most sensitive indicator of this
Examination under saddle by a veterinarian
• Obvious stiffness
• Extreme crookedness
• Lameness considerably more pronounced on the stiff side
• Short, scurrying walk
• Resistance to the point of rearing
The book explains the causes of these observations and how they may be corrected.
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