A Focus on Health in Dressage in Driftwood, Texas

Texas is known for its small towns.  One such town is Driftwood.  The city has dozens of restaurants, wedding venues, wineries, breweries, a distillery, and a dance hall.  Its population is just 140.  

Penny Reeves, of Driftwood, Texas, manages Classical and Western Dressage schooling shows at DSRP, with a special focus on the horse’s health.  She took her love for horses and her passion for fitness and built Graymar Farm 27 years ago.  When touring her facility, you see the various breeds of boarded horses, from Thoroughbreds to Warmbloods to Quarter and Painted Horses.  Most horses boarded at the farm also participate in the DSRP shows.  ​

The simple aim of dressage is to produce a horse that can carry his rider easily and is supple, balanced, correctly muscled, active, eager, and responsive to his rider’s subtle command.  Thus, the horse’s health becomes a major component of success in dressage.  

Penny believes that dressage is physical fitness for horses, and good biomechanics is especially important because it is so easy for horses to injure themselves.  At Graymar Farm, horses can be ridden inside and outside the arena, on trails, grassy surfaces, hillsides, and over obstacles.  She believes horses are naturally happier in a herd, living outside and having access to food 24 hours a day. 

But competing horses in dressage often live in confined spaces, like stalls, which limit their natural behavior.  About 10 years ago, Penny noticed that Sherman’s left hind leg was stuck between the base of his stall.  Sherman had kicked his neighbor's horse when the incident occurred.  With help, Penny hoisted the horse’s leg out of the stall.  Immediately after the incident, there was no visible lameness with training, and Sherman was given time off from dressage.  But at some point, Sherman’s behavior changed.  He began to lunge and bite people.  Penny thought that his behavior change might be due to soft tissue damage.  Because of the cost of MRIs and CAT SCANs, she didn’t pursue either of these options.  

Penny might have opted for ultrasonography.  Ultrasonography provides horses with the most practical diagnostic option because of its low cost and wide availability.  Further, Ultrasonographic evaluation provides a real-time anatomic and functional assessment. 

Sherman is a different horse today.  He is somewhat Stoic.  When asked to do a circle or walk, Penny ensures his head is flexed, and his nose follows.  She also watches for correct movement.  Sherman now performs and competes in dressage.

At Graymar Farm, Penny educates the riders to listen to what their horse might be trying to tell them.  She teaches riders to feel the quality movement with their seat and to maintain light, quiet hands.  She tries to enlighten the owners of the physical, emotional, and mental triangle that builds a healthy horse to prevent ‘shutdown.’  

“Riders should look out for eyes that look empty and erratic behavior,” Penny says.  “Horses might not fully understand what the rider is asking of them, or they might not be physically able to do what is asked of them.  They might be frightened.  There might also be a physical issue that is making them uncomfortable.”  

Penny says her payoff comes when she sees a happy, relaxed, and willing horse that can do the maneuver or the gaits appropriate to his athletic ability.  She says that recognizing the emotional health of the horse can be especially challenging, as horses often deal with the stress from physical ailments and difficulties during training.

~N.Acharya