DR GAIL WILLIAMS : Case Study 1
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Kudi was a dressage horse stuck at advanced medium level and having problems with tempi changes. In particular Kudi was having problems going from the left canter half pass into the left-hand canter and the flying change then onto the correct lead for the right-hand canter.
Kudi had very large blocked shoulders on which a vase of flowers could have been placed either side. He had a very expensive saddle that had been made specifically for him by a master saddler. Upon assessing the saddle I was horrified to see that the tree point on the left-hand side of the saddles was 3cm further forward than the point on the right-hand side. When Kudi had to bend to the right during his flying change this abnormally advanced point on the lefthand side of the saddle would slip between his shoulder blade and the thorax, obviously causing him pain. This was the cause of Kudi's refusal to do the flying change and his resulting dangerous behavioural problems.
I gave Kudi some treatment to relieve the bruising to his back, caused by the saddle, and then put him in a Wintec Isabell Saddle with the CAIR® Cushion System. Within a week Kudi was performing perfect flying changes without any problems whatsoever and his behavioural problems were diminishing. When Kudi started competing that season he was never out of the rosettes and, in fact, he qualified for the Regional Finals and he is now working at Prix St George level. All we needed to do with Kudi was change his saddle, treat some bruising to his back and all of a sudden he has become a Grand Prix horse in the making.
Dr Gail Williams BA(Hons) PhD
Equine therapy and performance development
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