Jeff Moore is a guest author in this month's issue of JEVS/Clinical Techniques. Jeff, a dressage trainer, judge, international evaluator in vaulting, and his partner Elizabeth Searle, conceived and designed the USDF-L Education and Judge Training Program.
Originally created as a judge-training program, the curriculum is widely used in enlightening the professional and nonprofessional equestrian. The major drive for the “L” Program was for riders, trainers, and judges needing instruction in equine biomechanics as part of their schooling. This information is also valuable for the veterinarians with a Sports Medicine component to their practice, because riders, in addition to veterinarians, approach the biomechanics of a horse differently.
The science of biomechanics is almost inseparable from the art of communication. Included in this report are some of the insights into the communications between the veterinarian and owner/rider/trainer, and how they become convoluted because of the “language” or “lingo” used by each; riders and veterinarians commonly use specialized terms––their own particular language, so to speak. The rider may also use inexact, non-medical terminology such as “He's just not coming thru from behind,” or “He's not over his back,” or “He's not stepping under properly,” or “He's hanging on the left rein,” or “He's falling in (or out).” There may also be an uncoupling between what a rider “feels” when on the horse, and what an examining veterinarian sees. Compound this with the veterinarian who does not necessarily know what a rider understands as “normal,” and you have a situation wherein the horse may not get the appropriate diagnosis and ultimately the treatment needed.
Even the range of professional opinions on an individual horse may vary widely from “fine” to “if it isn't lame now it probably will be soon.” This is not a biomechanical problem, but is instead the difference of interpretation and even communication among veterinarians.
In Jeff's paper entitled General Biomechanics: The horse as a biological machine, you will learn the following: (1) the general biomechanics of the horse; (2) the mechanics of the gaits; and (3) the mechanics of the movements. We believe after reading Jeff's contribution to JEVS, you will approach these sports medicine cases differently and with more confidence knowing more about “The Horse as a Biological Machine!”
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