“Don’t train hard… TRAIN SMART!”
Origin
In a world where every rider wants to perform in the best possible and most horse friendly way, performance optimisation and injury prevention are logical necessities.
Where in human sports, a full program of paramedical and conditional coaching and follow up are obvious, there’s still a long way to go in Equestrian sports.
From this perspective, Bosdreef Health and Performance centre was created. As where most common Equine hospitals and veterinary practices operate in the curation phase; Bosdreef wants to shift the focus towards prevention.
One can not prevent every possible injury, and accidents will always keep happening. But meanwhile the vast majority of injuries are due to a training overload or a training malfunction.
And this is where Bosdreef steps in. Through a well balanced and thought out screening protocol and training program, we guide riders and horse owners in their sports career to optimise performance, prevent overload, and improve the horse welfare.
Because a healthy athlete is a happy athlete.
Clinical examination / Gait analysis
A conditional screening always starts with a clinical examination of your horse. This ensures us that the horse is healthy and without any underlaying issues that might compromise performance and condition. The horse is palpated, auscultated and an arterial blood sample is taken to determine the oxygen pressure at rest.
The horse is then analysed in our high end Qualisys Gait analysis system. This provides us with a blue print of the specific movements of this horse and enables us to chart and to spot minor deviations.
Exercise test
In the third part of our conditional screening protocol, a ridden lactate threshold test is being conducted on the horse. This test provides us with high valuable information on the present physical condition of the horse. It shows us the overall areas for improvement, but also the improvements and fine tuning that the specific discipline of this horse requires.
After all, there’s a distinction in training showjumpers, evening horses, dressage horses, driving horses etc… They all need a very specific approach and in our test protocols we look for the specific necessities of the intended purpose.
After exercise, an arterial blood sample is taken again to compare the oxygen pressure and to determine if the horse’s oxygen metabolism is sufficient for the intended sports purpose.
Follow up
All these results are recorded in a fully detailed conditional report of the horse and they are discussed with the rider. This way, you will have a full picture and understanding of the physical shape of your horse.
But a report is only useful if you know how to implement this in your training. So a tailored made training program is being provided for your horse. Focussing on the specific needs for the intended discipline and the improvements that your horse can make.
You will have a better understanding of your horse’s capabilities, how training can be optimised and how you can keep your horse healthy for the longest possible time.
Our multidisciplinary team is ready to help and support you!
Contact us for more information or email bhpc@bosdreef.be
