Category Archives: Physiology

Equine Conformation: Low in the Hocks- What I Learned Today About Polo

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Sunny Hale webinar Title SlideIn case you missed my last blog post, PoloSkilz hosted a webinar, with Sunny Hale, on The Secret to Buying Horses You Love To Play. That archive is posted on PoloSkilz.com, if you’re interested.

When I described, to Sunny, my best horse, she was able to give me some language about what that horse was likely to look like. It doesn’t mean that every horse who looks that way is going to necessarily have the feel I like but just that they are more likely to.

Having a language to describe the horse with the highest probability of being what you want and then being able to look at a horse and identify those characteristics gives you the opportunity to narrow down your shopping list and reduce your chances of making a purchase you regret later.

(BTW, Corky Linfoot said something very similar in his PoloSkilz video, The Steps In Buying a Horse.)

Some of the terminology I was familiar with, like “short back”, for example, or small (duh!). But one term Sunny used, I had heard but didn’t really know what it meant. That term was “low in the hock”.

typical hocks

Notice the line intersects the point of the hocks

When buying a horse, the hock is important because the angle and conformation of its hind legs will, to a large extent, determine its speed, power, and stride.

Typically, when you look at a horse from the side, on flat ground, and draw a line from the knees, parallel to the ground, back to the hocks, the line will intersect just at or below the point of the hocks. Similarly, in this case, you will notice the hock is roughly midway between the ground and the stifle.

If that line intersects significantly above or below that point then the horse is said to be either high or low in the hocks.

In doing some research on hocks, I found that, also, when viewed from the side, if you dropped an imaginary line from the point of their butt down to the ground, that line should just cut through the back of their hocks and run down the back of their cannon bones on its way to the ground.

Some people, myself included, prefer a horse with a shorter hock set, which means it has a shorter cannon bone in relationship to the rest of the hind leg. The reason being this often gives the horse more power for pushing, rollbacks and and quick turns because it can “get its hocks under it”. That horse will appear a little bit “squatty”.

High hock

Notice this line intersects below the point of the hocks

Others will prefer a higher set hock. This conformation allows for a long, powerful stride, making it faster and able to cover more ground. This horse is often said to be “camped out” and “downhill”.

There is obviously a lot more to it, but this is one aspect of choosing a horse that is built to perform in a style that is most suitable to you.

I am curious if you know what characteristics are common to the horses you love to play? If you do, share them in the comments. If you don’t, try the exercise Sunny gave me. Understanding why you like what you like is tremendously helpful.

And again, if you didn’t get a chance to hear Sunny’s webinar on The Secret to Buying Great Horses You Love To Play, be sure to check that out on PoloSkilz.com.

If you’ve never been to PoloSkilz, we have over 240+ audio, video, articles, drills, check lists, interviews, strategy sessions, game film and other valuable content from a network of hand-picked polo all-stars including players, former players, coaches, instructors, breeders, trainers, vets, farriers, sports psychologist and other experience professionals. Thanks to the USPA, access is free to everyone at PoloSkilz.com.

So that is what I learned today… how about you? What did you learn today? Share it with us by leaving it in the comments …

Too Hot To Play?

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A horse playing polo on a hot day in DallasI just received my August edition of Polo Players Edition. In the USPA Bulletin section is a short blurb asking, “Too Hot Too Play?” Relevant question giving the broiling temperatures gripping the U.S. this summer.

The article states:

The general consensus from the equine veterinarian community is that when the heat index is above 150 there is an opportunity for increased incidents. However, it is generally agreed, if the horses and players re conditioned properly and acclimated to the weather, it is ultimately up to the player/tournament committee if play should be commenced/continued. In hotter climates, it is quite feasible for horses that have been acclimated to the weather to routinely play in a high Heat Index condition.

A heat index of 150? I am guessing that is a typo, right? Surely they meant 105.

Nope! A review of the heat index materials on the USPA website makes me think no. They really mean 150! Holy crap is that hot! So when is hot just too hot?

I agree that it depends a lot on acclimation. When I lived in Dallas, we played year round, including summers. As far as I know, the hottest game I ever played was 108 degrees. That was temperature – not heat index. And it wasn’t a dry heat either. It was hot – really, really hot – but everyone was used to it.

The USPA suggests four considerations for deciding whether it is safe to play:

  • Are the horses acclimated to the current weather conditions?
  • Is there sufficient shade or misters available for the horses to cool down?
  • Have the horses had sufficient water/electrolytes?
  • Are the horses fit and in good condition?

If you are playing in the heat, TheHorse.com offers these tips for cooling down a hot horse:

  • Move him to a shaded area with good airflow (natural or created by a fan)
  • Hose him off with cold water, being sure to scrape the excess water off
  • Sponge his neck, heart girth, and under belly area with a 1:1 mixture of cold water and alcohol
  • Stand him in front of a fan and or sponge him with cold water in front of a fan
  • Offer him cold water to drink

Of course, that is just the welfare of the horses. What about the players? When you see the number of young football players who have died from heat this year, it makes you wonder? Where do you draw the line and how do you know?

Have you had a game or tournament cancelled because of the heat? Have you ever withdrawn from a game because of excessive heat? What tips/ideas do you have for keeping our equine and human teammates safe this summer? Have you read/seen any good articles on the subject? As always, your questions and comments are welcomed.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Hot Weather Trailering Tips – TheHorse.com (http://bit.ly/nFmUlH)
Cool Aid: Beating the Heat with Working Horses – TheHorse.com (http://bit.ly/rjYtDP)

How Muscle Memory Can Hurt or Help Your Polo Game

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a student with instructor in polo hitting cageAll of us want to improve our polo game. Everyone tells us that to get better, we must practice. But that is just part of it. To get better, we must practice WELL.

Ricky Bostwick touches on this point in his video on PoloSkilz Network called, Practicing on the Hitting Horse. Understanding the importance of focusing on the quality of your practice rather than the number of hours requires an understanding of something called muscle memory.

I was at the Houston Polo Club, in May, filming for PoloSkilz Network. (Great club, by the way, that is seriously rockin the polo!) They have a nice hitting cage, right next to the manager’s office, that I was scoping out since I am planning to build one of my own.

While I was checking out the particulars of their cage, there was a man in there whacking away at a ball. As I recall, he had on shorts and flip flops. He was hitting earnestly and with intensity but wasn’t hitting anywhere close to correctly, nor did he appear to be giving his form much thought.

An article on Lifehacker, by Adam Dachis, How Muscle Memory Works and How It Affects Your Success, explains the problem with what this gentleman was doing.

Muscle memory is what Dachis calls a “procedural memory” that helps you become good at something through repetition. The first time we do something, like swing a polo mallet, it may feel awkward or even impossible. But, over time, with repetition, it becomes easier, more fluid, more natural. We become skilled at it – so long as those repetitions have all been done correctly. If they have been done incorrectly, all we have done is become skilled at doing something incorrectly and it becomes more and more difficult to correct it once the muscle memory has been built up.

From this, we would conclude that the gentleman in Houston would have been better off not practicing at all than to practice without really working at practicing correctly. We can also draw some additional conclusions about practice, whether on a hitting horse or on a real horse:

  • To practice correctly, especially in the early stages of developing a skill, will require some sort of immediate feedback mechanism. A coach or instructor standing there is ideal. A video display or mirrors in a hitting cage could work. Or just a buddy who is willing to tell you what he sees.
  • To practice correctly, breaking a skill into small pieces is helpful. This introduces less possibilities for errors that will be repeated and lodged in muscle memory. Master one piece, then add the next, master it, then the next and so on.
  • As Ricky Bostwick says in his video, focus on quality, not quantity when practicing. Also, when you get tired and can no longer hold proper form, it is better to quit than to continue with improper mechanics.

In polo, muscle memory will apply in both equitation and hitting. And don’t forget, horses probably have muscle memory too, just like we do.

What other tips would you give regarding muscle memory and practicing with correct form?What questions would you like to have answered by our contributors, on this, or any other topic? Leave your questions and comments below and we will do our best to get them answered.