Favory Dagmar I

Favory Dagmar I is the new "Long Rein" at the Spanish Riding School!

We performed today, Dec-27-2009, for the first time!

He went very nice, though I had some problems finishing the double pirouettes. He wanted to do a third one on each rein :-)

Favory Dagmar I is my former "Levadeur" in hand. I work him on Long Rein since September.

Neapolitano Aga

Neapolitano Aga did his first performance on saturday, 19. December 2009. He is nine years old and I ride him since four years. We did the school quadrille together. I was very pleased with the ride, though he was a bit nervous at the beginning. He did the walk entrance in passage because he was so exited about the full light and the huge crowd. This stallion likes to do Passage, it's his pace :-)

N. Aga's sire is N. Malina, I rode him too. He did the school quadrille as well.

Spanische Hofreitschule Foto's

Some older foto's. Some new. Some identified, some not.

Steffi van der Laarse

http://www.steffivanderlaarse.nl
Atjan told me that this vet saved Maestoso Pastime. She is outstanding! Now in Bavaria near Munich.

Maestoso Pastime

Atjan Hop is the owner of this wonderful stallion!

Maestoso Pastime-120

born 2002 in Germany

sire: M.Toscana-94 (Piber, 1993 v. M.Saffa)
dam: 33 Pastime (Piber, 1984 v. M.Cäcilia)

Half brother to N.Pastime (Solo-horse at the SRS)

The Horse Cavalry Detachment on Duty

When not performing Hippotherapy, the U.S. Cavalry horses are on regular duty. When caring for injured soldiers, these horses are gentle, forgiving, calm; tuned in to their riders vulnerabilities and doing their extremely important part in the healing process. There are no better assistants than these horses.

But, when duty calls, they are all business. War horses, fearless, ready to carry their fellow soldiers into battle whether charging a distant target or close hand to hand sword play. The horses and their riders also provide an Honor Guard for troops returning from deployment.
The Horse Cavalry Detachment is committed to professionally and safely representing the history, pageantry, and traditions of the U.S. Cavalry. Every trooper is hand-picked and tested prior to acceptance into the unit. They take great pride in their ability to maintain current standards of military discipline while preserving the unique skills and traditions of the horse-mounted cavalry of an era gone by.

The Horse Detachment was established in January 1972 when the First Cavalry Division Association voted to sponsor a Horse Platoon and ten horses were procured from the Army Pentathlon Team in San Antonio, Texas. Their first show - a parade - took place in San Angelo, Texas, that same year. By the end of 1972, the herd had grown to 18 mounts and in 1973 were added two mules and an 1878 Escort Wagon to the inventory.

The Detachment performed its first mounted demonstration in 1974 using six riders and mounts. Throughout the 1970's the Detachment continued to grow, although individual soldiers were still donating a lot of their personal time, supplies, and money to make the unit function. All that began to change when the U.S. Army recognized the Horse Platoon as a Special Ceremonial Unit and took over financial oversight of the unit. Today the Detachment is the only permanently-staffed and independently-funded mounted cavalry unit on Active Duty in the United States Army.

In 1984, the position of Civilian Trainer and Stablemaster was created. A distinguished Department of the Army civilian post, this position has provided great continuity over the years and respected expertise to the efforts of the Detachment.

The Horse Platoon was renamed the Horse Cavalry Detachment to better conform to historical precedent in 1986. It was about this time that the demonstration was improved to include 11 riders and mounts and a four mule hitch pulling the Escort Wagon. That task organization has remained the standard (with rare exceptions) ever since.

Over the years, the Detachment has appeared in 3 Presidential Inaugural Parades, five Tournament of Roses Parades, the 1984 World's Fair, and literally thousands of state and local events.

The Detachment is currently comprised of two commissioned officers, 40 soldiers, 40 horses, 9 mules, and 1 dog. The unit prides itself on self-sufficiency and is completely self-contained, with its own school-trained farriers, saddlemakers, bootmakers, and veterinary technicians.

Lehrgang in Soltau

Start:	Aug 7, '10 10:00a
End:	Aug 8, '10 4:00p
Location:	"Friesenhof Steinberg"

Friesenhof Steinberg


Anmeldungen über Nicole Künzel
info@evipo.de
Tel. +49-1520-5410603
Beginn: 10 Uhr

Lehrgang in Pinneberg

Start:	May 22, '10 10:00a
End:	May 23, '10 4:00p
Location:	"Alter Eichenhof"

Alter Eichenhof

Anmeldungen und weitere Informationen bei
Brigitta Otto +49-163-8477992
brigitta.otto@hamburg.de
oder
Martina Reher +49-170-4878959

Open letter from a distinguished equine veterinarian in the US!

Dr. Kellon is a graduate of the very prestigious University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (New Bolton).  

December 6, 2009

 

The shock waves from the FEI's implementation of the progressive medications list has encircled the globe and sharply divided the equine community. I am very concerned by the rhetoric being used to justify the change. I signed the petition at www.no-fei.com, and stand squarely with the BEVA, many of the FEI's own present and past veterinarians, their Honorary Scientific Advisor, all national organizations opposing this change and concerned individuals everywhere.

 

To suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not performance enhancing but rather “restorative”, implying they are actually beneficial to the horse, is patently ridiculous and flies in the face of current scientific knowledge. These drugs do not “treat” musculoskeletal issues. They mask the animal's natural, protective pain response by interfering with inflammatory pathways (the cyclooxygenase enzyme systems) while the cause of that pain remains.

 

Short term use of NSAIDs for the humane relief of pain in injured animals is reasonable, but no horse genuinely in need of NSAIDs should be competing. Compelling evidence has accumulated in the human literature that this class of drugs used chronically interferes with the normal metabolism and healing process in bone, joint cartilage and tendon insertion sites onto bone. In fact, human orthopedic surgeons caution their patients to avoid NSAIDs for at least a week before and several weeks after surgical procedures. A review article on the impact of NSAIDs on the musculoskeletal system in humans which appeared in the September 2008 issue of Drugs Today concluded:

 

“It is clear, however, that cyclooxygenase activity is involved in the healing of many skeletal tissues, either directly or indirectly through modulation of the inflammatory response. Consequently, pharmacological manipulation of cyclooxygenase using NSAIDs or celecoxib can profoundly affect skeletal health.”

 

Preliminary studies, published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research in May of 2000 and December of 2001, confirm similar effects in equine tissue. In the study by Dr. Rhode et al, Ohio State, phenylbutazone at 4.4 mg/kg every 12 hours (a common therapeutic dose), significantly reduced mineralization and delayed healing at bone biopsy sites compared to untreated horses. Dr. Beluche et al, also at Ohio State, used the same dosage to assess the effects of phenylbutazone on cartilage and concluded:

 

“Oral administration of phenylbutazone for 14 days significantly decreased proteoglycan synthesis in articular culture explants from healthy horses to a degree similar to that induced by in vitro exposure to IL-1beta [an inflammatory cyotkine in arthritis - EK]. Phenylbutazone should be used judiciously in athletic horses with osteoarthritis, because chronic administration may suppress proteoglycan synthesis and potentiate cartilage damage.”

 

The BEVA has expressed concern that the change could lead to an increase in catastrophic injuries, a concern that is supported by a June 2009 study in the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics which found higher levels of phenylbutazone and flunixine in catastrophic breakdowns in racehorses, as well as injuries in general. Pain means injury. Is it not simply common sense that masking pain so that a horse can perform with weakened tissue is asking for trouble?

 

This is to say nothing of the legendary potential for this class of drugs, in particular phenylbutazone, to cause oral ulceration, gastric ulceration, renal damage and right dorsal colitis.

 

It is being claimed that there is no concern over NSAID use in human athletes. In truth, several recent articles have expressed concern over the level of NSAID use by human athletes with respect to decreased blood clotting, drug side effects, negative effects on the ability of muscle to respond normally to exercise, electrolyte abnormalities and the potential for worsening injury, for example:

 

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/medicationanddrugs/a/NSAID_endurance.htm

 

We are told that the permitted dosage of 1 gram of phenylbutazone no closer than 12 hours before competition is too low to have a significant effect on lameness and would be administered in a supervised setting. There are several problems with that statement.

 

A study in the December 1994 issue of the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found that 2 mg/kg of phenylbutazone, 1 gram for a 500 kg horse, the same “low” dose being proposed by the FEI, provided as much pain relief as higher doses in an experimental model of severe arthritis. Higher doses only provided a longer duration of pain relief.

 

It's true that a 1 gram dose of phenylbutazone 12 hours out from competition would not be providing significant pain relief at that 12 hour mark. However, the proposed allowable plasma level of 8 µg/mL is well within the known therapeutic blood level and is more consistent with the level that would be found between 6 to 7 hours after administration, not 12. This leaves the door wide open for abuse by anyone inclined to give the horse more drug on their own, a practice called “topping off”. In his letter to the FEI protesting the rule change, Leo B. Jeffcott, former Chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee, refers to past problems with topping off. Does anyone seriously believe that won't happen again?

 

Advocates of the change also refer to violations that occurred under the zero tolerance policy, alluding to those being unjust or the test too sensitive, and applauding the new rules for that reason. However, the level detectable under zero tolerance depends on the sensitivity of the assay being used. These drugs lose their analgesic effects long before the nanogram levels detected by ultrasensitive ELISA tests. Using chromatography techniques, a typical limit of detection for a 3 gram dose of phenylbutazone correlates with the drug having been administered 30 hours prior to testing, or 39 hours for its metabolite, oxyphenylbutazone when testing blood samples. The limit of detection for this high dose when testing urine is 48  hours for the drug itself and 120 hours for its metabolite. Lower doses would be undetectable much sooner. Is it really all that unreasonable to ask that a horse not be given NSAIDs for 3 to 5 days prior to a competition?

 

I am also concerned that the rule change will lead to greater use of NSAIDs in general, both between and at competitions. Trainers and riders will feel that those who are using them are at an advantage and will feel compelled to give their horse an equivalent edge.

 

As a veterinarian and advocate for the horse, I cannot support the progressive drug list and strongly agree with those who feel it is a step backwards both in terms of equine welfare and the clean sport effort.

 

Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD

Equine Nutritional Solutions

Denver, Pennsylvania

USA

www.drkellon.com

FEI warns sport is 'as good as dead' if not cleaned up

Lord John Stevens, head of the ethics committee for the FEI (international equestrian federation), wasn't kidding around at the organization's annual meeting last week, when he told delegates that they needed to approve a series of recommendations aimed at cleaning up the sport and its image.

"This is the most important decision in the history of your organization,'' he maintained during the often-contentious Copenhagen session.

"Without clean sport, quite simply, you're going to lose your public, you're going to lose your sponsors and your sport actually is going to be as good as dead.''

Whoa.

After the disastrous fallout from six positive equine drug tests at the Olympics last year, the FEI appointed a Clean Sport Commission headed by Arne Ljundqvist, vice president of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Subsequently, Stevens -- the former chief of the London Metropolitan Police who led the investigation into the death of Princess Diana -- was named to head an ethics panel looking into the practices of the German equestrian team, after news reports had indicated that cheating with drugs appeared endemic. 

The panel's mission later was widened to consider the integrity of the sport. Both committees came up with a wide-ranging series of recommendations that called for greater clarity in drug regulations, upgrades in everything from stable security to professionalizing officials, and setting up a permanent integrity unit to maintain a corruption-free environment in the FEI and its disciplines. 

"The FEI is really determined to deliver a clean and uncorrupted product to its commercial partners and to the public that comes and sees what goes on and also participates,'' said Stevens.

"You can't put a price on integrity. It means fair play for the sport. We need to turn all these words into action. With clean sport, you can restore the image of your sport and public confidence in it,'' he contended.

Stevens' stern words were convincing. The vote to approve the procedures was 90-8. New anti-doping and medication control measures were okayed 95-5.

There was, however, a much closer vote, 53-48, on authorizing a so-called "progressive'' list of prohibited substances, which will allow use in FEI competition of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, phenylbutazone (bute) and Banamine, as well as salicylic acid (aspirin) to be used in competition horses. The FEI previously had a zero tolerance policy toward such substances. 

That upset many riders, who felt there was no reason to deny horses the equivalent of ibuprofen that would ease muscle aches for equine athletes, the same way it is allowed for human athletes.

But some felt use of these substances would tarnish the sport's image in parts of Europe where the idea of analgesics for horses in competition is anathema. Director Frank Kempermann of Germany's Aachen show, which is one of the world's best, contended that "we organizers have to sell the sport to the public. I cannot understand how we can sell the sport...with a new policy with bute on the list,'' he said, fearing that will cause shows to lose sponsors and spectators. 

Hours after the progressive list was approved, a number of delegates called for a re-vote, but FEI President Princess Haya of Jordan vetoed the request. The Princess, meanwhile, wants to see federations follow FEI doping rules in their national shows, unless their country's laws bans the use of NSAIDs in competition horses, as some do.

The U.S. has the opposite problem. The FEI's permitted levels of bute and Banamine are approximately half of what the U.S. Equestrian Federation allows. And was reported in The Star-Ledger last week, leaders of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association already are bridling at a U.S. Equestrian Federation rule proposal barring use of two NSAIDs in conjunction with each other and allowing only one.

Having to cut the amount of bute and Banamine to comply with the FEI standards would cause a furor. (USEF has no levels on salicylic acid.)

USEF CEO John Long, who told the FEI general assembly that the progressive list was not the USEF's idea, would not say how the federation voted on the issue. But he did note the FEI agreed to an accommodation that would enable countries such as the U.S., which have had drug testing programs for five years, to decide how the program would be implemented for national-level (non-FEI) classes. Long said he saw no reason for amateur riders with no international aspirations "to comply with rules...for purposes of qualifying for a team. That's the line we have to find over the next couple of years. I'm sure it's going to be a huge topic of conversation at the annual meeting.''

People already are talking.

"The FEI is 1 percent of what we do in this industry; it doesn't concern the rest of it,'' said Susie Schoellkopf, a member of the USHJA's Hunter Zone Committee.

Olympic double-medalist Chris Kappler of Flemington, president of the North American Riders Group, said he thought the FEI initiative was "a great start. It will help make a difference,'' but he likes the USEF levels of medications.

"It's been a proven commodity for us for a long time,'' he commented. "Hopefully, they'll (the FEI) see the positive effects of this and ... it will become more broadband with the allowance.''

Kappler, who would like to see a certain uniformity on rules globally, nationally and regionally, noted, "it's hard to keep up with them all. Some sort of continuity would be important. But there needs to be give and take on both sides.''

On the other hand, he noted, "our somewhat lenient'' medication program has enabled shows not to have the best footing, since horses can receive analgesics.

He pointed out that many European shows have top-notch footing because no medication was permitted.

"The zero-tolerance rule meant it was imperative the shows had only the best footing, riders didn't go unless the shows had the best footing.'' 

Kappler would like to see the new medication rules signal improvement.

"Hopefully,'' he said, "all around it goes to better horsemanship.''

What Horses Teach Us

 

When you are tense, let me teach you to relax.

When you are short sighted, let me teach you to see.

When you are short tempered, let me teach you to be patient.

When you are quick to react, let me teach you to be thoughtful.

When you are angry, let me teach you to be serene.

When you feel superior, let me teach you to be respectful.

When you are self-absorbed, let me teach you to think of greater things.

When you are arrogant, let me teach you humility.

When you are lonely, let me be your companion.

When you are tired, let me carry the load.

When you need to learn, let me teach you.

After all, I am your horse.

 

And now for the TRUE story......

 

When you are tense, let me teach you that there are dragons in the forest and we need to leave NOW!

When you are short-sighted, let me teach you to figure out where exactly in the 40 acres I am hiding.

When you are short-tempered, let me teach you how to slog around the pasture for an hour before you can catch me.

When you are quick to react, let me teach you that herbivores kick MUCH faster than omnivores.

When you are angry, let me teach you how well I can stand on my hind feet, because I don't FEEL like cantering on my right lead today, that's why.

When you are worried, let me entertain you with my mystery lameness, GI complaint and skin disease.

When you feel superior, let me teach you that, mostly, you are the maid service.

When you are self-absorbed, let me teach you to PAY ATTENTION. I told you about those dragons in the forest.

When you are arrogant, let me teach you what 1200 lbs of yipee-yahoo-gotta-go horse can do when suitably inspired.

When you are lonely, let me be your companion. Let's do lunch. Breakfast and dinner sound good, too.

When you are tired, don't forget about the 600 lbs of grain that needs to be unloaded.

When you are feeling financially secure, let me teach you the meaning of "veterinary services".

When you need to learn, hang around the barn, Bud, I'll learn ya. :-)

Spanische Hofreitschule U.K. 2006

First Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment--- Hippotherapy

I have just returned from spending a good bit of time at Fort Hood Military Base, where the First Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment is stationed.

Like the State of Texas, Fort Hood is big and boasts of being the largest active duty armored post in the United States Armed Services. A 340 square mile installation (214,968 acres), Fort Hood is the only post in the United States capable of stationing and training two Armored Divisions (a division consists of 10,000-30,000 soldiers). The rolling, semi-arid terrain is ideal for multifaceted training and testing of military units and individuals. Fort Hood is the Army's premier installation to train and deploy heavy forces. Fort Hood was named for the famous Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood, an outstanding leader who gained recognition during the Civil War as the commander of Hood's Texas Brigade.

A very important part of Fort Hoods' commitment to soldiers is its' rehabilitative programs. One of these programs is the Hippotherapy Unit of the First Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment. The horses used in the program are true cavalry horses, used by the Horse Detachment for maneuvers and training. As soldiers in the U.S. Army, these horses also provide a vital service for their fellow soldiers who have been wounded in combat.

Hippotherapy is the technical term for rehabilitative medical treatment on horseback. Equal parts physical and emotional healing, it is a great way to help people recover after traumatic injuries. And of course, few injuries are more traumatic than those sustained by our military men and women overseas. The Horse Cavalry Detachment was truly honored in 2005 to become the very first Army unit to host a hippotherapy program for wounded veterans. It is an ongoing program greatly loved by both trainers and students.