Dr. Ridgway and Manolo Mendez will be the keynote speakers at a not be missed symposium hosted at the Schwaiganger State Stud in Ahlstadt, Germany, on 4 - 5 July 2015. The topic of symposium is "optimizing horses' straightness, balance and performance through fascia retraining and postural rehabilitation."
The symposium will be conducted in English but a German translator will be present. There will be a videographer projecting the acupuncture/pressure points and other items that require close proximity to the horse onto a screen.
Colonel Christian Carde, FEI International Judge, Former Chief Rider of the Cadre Noir, Former Olympic Coach for France, International Clinician and GP trainer and rider, said that "an event with Manolo Mendez and Doc. Ridgway is the most useful that we can dream for horses and equitation."
Detailed Info
- WHEN: Saturday and Sunday, July 4th & 5th, 2015
- WHERE:Haupt-und Landesgestüt Schwaiganger
Schwaiganger 1, 82441 Ohlstadt, Germany - CONTACT:
English: Caroline Larrouilh: proudhorseconnections@gmail.com
German: verena.eiwen@web.de - TICKET PURCHASE: http://buytickets.at/ridgwaymendezsymposium2015/23972
- PRODUCED BY: Caroline Larrouilh, ProudHorse Connections
- PROGRAM INFO: click here
HIGHLIGHTS:
- 2015 marks the 3rd time Dr. Kerry Ridgway and Manolo Mendez get together to present a 2-day symposium on how to use Equine Integrative Medicine and Training for Wellness™ based assess-ment to create rehabilitation and training strategies for crooked, uneven & restricted horses. Previous symposiums took place in Australia (2013) and UK (2014).
- Focus on fascia retraining and postural rehabilitation
- Brings together the best of Integrative Medicine, Acupunc-ture/pressure, soft tissue mobilization, massage and stretching with in-hand and riding to identify sports horses physical issues and address them.
- Takes a close look at performance challenging physical issues linked to Laterality (crookedness) and High Heel/Low Heel Syn-drome and offers veterinary and training solutions
- six sports horses participant including FEI level competition horses.
- Laterality pattern evaluation demonstrations (dynamic and static)
- Hands-on explanation and demonstration of the best integrative medicine treatment plan (acupressure, stretching, bodywork and more) for each case.
- Demonstration of the best course of in-hand or ridden corrective work for each case
WHY SHOULD YOU COME?
Every horse is born with a degree of laterality, which can be less-ened or worsened through training and management. Crooked, asymmetric, and uneven are also terms used to de-scribe laterality. The consequences of uncorrected crookedness include impaired performance, lameness, training and behavioral issues.
Most of the musculoskeletal issues (including lameness) that vet-erinarians treat every day in their practice have their roots in the issue of crookedness. From a training standpoint, crookedness unaddressed, leads to horses with un-pure gaits, straightness, suppleness, bend and balance issues. This can translate into lowered performance and career-interrupting or ending lame-nesses.
Most hoof growth patterns and asymmetric heel height patterns that are seen daily by farriers result from a specific forelimb domi-nance.
The muscle patterns seen by equine bodyworkers are over 90 percent related to crookedness. Many performance issues seen by trainers are related to unidentified and unaddressed laterality. In short, anybody dealing with horses will benefit from under-standing laterality.
Without understanding the causes and biomechanics of asymmet-ric heel heights that are a serious compromise to the long term use and soundness of the horse, the problem will likely not be ad-dressed. Veterinarians will only treat the symptoms and conse-quences.
The inherent biomechanics of the natural horse are created and controlled by fascia. This symposium will demonstrate the tech-niques of retraining fascia to achieve the biomechanics necessary for the ridden horse. Fascia learns! It is all about postural rehabili-tation.
Through understanding the causes and biomechanics, equine wellness professionals, owners, trainers and farriers can work as a TEAM to correct, or at the very least, manage the condition to keep the horses more comfortable and sound.
PROGRAM:
This Symposium was developed specifically for veterinarians, os-teopaths, bodyworkers, and other equine wellness professionals, trainers and interested amateur riders and horse owners. It is de-signed to:
- Introduce and discuss the principles of fascia and how that unique system relates to the many musculoskeletal problems and training issues that we see in horses.
- Demonstrate the consequences of laterality (crookedness & un-evenness) on equine soundness and performance.
Each day will begin with a lecture followed by the assessment and treatment of three sports horses. These case studies will exam-ine problems common in sports horses including tendon and ligament injuries, PSOAS, sacro-illiac and lumbar pain, TMJ, hy-oid, atlanto-occiptal pain, and more. In addition, Dr. Kerry Ridgway, DVM will also discuss and demonstrate his protocol for evaluating and treating ulcers.
The audience will gain an understanding of how to assess horses and develop a better understanding of how to straighten and rebalance horses using Integrative Medicine in tandem with in-hand and ridden Training for Wellness™ corrective work.
Particular attention will be paid to the equine fascial, CNS and musculoskeletal systems, three systems often overlooked in the well being of the horse.
Dr. Ridgway will demonstrate and explain his evaluation process and the unique acupoints diagnostic and treatment protocol he has developed to treat musculoskeletal pain and ulcers, as well as the advanced soft tissue mobilization techniques he uses to in-vestigate musculoskeletal issues on horses, especially the per-formance horse.
Dressage and Training for™ expert Manolo Mendez will demon-strate his whole body check-up process and in-hand, hands-on and ridden rehabilitation techniques.
Dr. Ridgway and Mr. Mendez will collaborate throughout the sym-posium, examining horses together and consulting with one an-other to offer a much needed, blended veterinary and training perspective on horses health.
The audience will learn the importance of assessing horses stati-cally and dynamically to develop a “whole horse” perspective of equine issues.
Dr. Ridgway Biography
Dr. Ridgway, DVM is a US based “Integrative Medicine” special-ized veterinarian, competitor, author, judge, and instructor who lectures around the world teaching veterinarians, trainers, and riders about issues that compromise equine health such as later-ality, high and low heel syndrome and ulcers. Dr. Ridgway’s “whole horse health” approach marries conventional medicine and alternative treatment modalities such as acupuncture, chiroprac-tic, hoof care, saddle fit, kinesiology, neuromuscular and myofas-cial therapies, as well as dental health and nutrition.
Most recently Dr. Ridgway contributed chapters to Pete Ramey’s new book “Care and Rehabilitation of the Equine Foot,” and has in his professional work, not only adapted principles developed by Klaus Schoneich, author of “Correct Movement in Horses”, but also researched further into the root and consequences of lateral-ity.
In 1990, Dr. Ridgway was elected to the Endurance Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport, and for his development of the "Cardiac Recovery Index,” a standard adopted internationally. He became the first approved FEI Judge when the sport of endur-ance riding was officially recognized as a discipline by the FEI.
Dr. Ridgway is also a founding member of the "International As-sociation for Equine Sports Medicine," and served many years as the chairman of the American Veterinarian Advisory Committee for the American Endurance Ride Conference.
Dr. Ridgway is also the author of two DVDs on Saddle Fitting and Ulcer identification and treatment through acupressure.
For more information visit: www.drkerryridgway.com
Manolo Mendez Biography
At 18, Manolo Mendez was one of six founding members of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art and its very first Head Rider, working closely with School Director Don Domecq. Based in Jerez, Spain, the school is one of the four classical schools of riding, which include the Cadre Noir in Saumur, the Spanish Rid-ing School in Vienna and the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art in Lisbon.
An expert horseman with over forty years of experience spanning classical dressage, Doma Vaquera and jumping, Manolo Mendez is considered one of the world’s leading expert on piaffe, passage and pirouettes. However, it is not this facility with the 3Ps that sets Manolo apart but his ability to rehabilitate horses.
Always a considerate rider and trainer, Manolo became increas-ingly passionate about the intersection of equine soundness, wellbeing, welfare and training in the early seventies and began experimenting with bodywork, in-hand and riding to develop, en-hance or repair the horses that were entrusted to him.
To this day, Manolo uses his custom three prong approach daily. He will dismount and use in-hand or bodywork to unblock a horse or facilitate its learning. His work is characterized by an ability to inspire trust and confidence in horses, feel and create spinal alignment - including under saddle - and create and restore rhythm, balance and straightness.
In all his work, Manolo is dedicated to a soft, sympathetic and thorough training method, which prepares horses physically and psychologically for each stage of training, from Training Level to Grand Prix. He uses the same approach while working with horses from every discipline including western, jumping, eventing, working equitation, hacking and even...driving.
Over the years, Manolo has become sought after by riders, vet-erinarians, chiropractors and other equine wellness practitioners for his holistic approach to training, developing and rehabbing horses, which incorporates his unique brand of bodywork, in-hand work and riding.
For more information visit: www.manolomendezdressage.com