Try these physiotherapist recommended stretches for horseback riders, which target the hips for increased comfort and flexibility in the saddle.

The Individual Final was super-exciting, and once again it was a Brazilian, Marlon Modolo Zanotelli aboard the brilliant mare Sirene de La Motte, who snatched the gold medal (which seems to be a running theme at these Games). The silver was won not by the USA or Mexico, which you might expect, but by Argentinian José María Larocca riding Finn Lente, much to the delight of the fans waving the blue-and-white. Beezie Madden of the US snagged the bronze with Breitling LS thank goodness so that North America was represented on the podium.

While it is not uncommon for sons and daughters of top riders to be competing against their parents in the show jumping ring – think Ian, Jonathon and Amy Millar, or the Whitaker dynasty in the UK – it is unusual for them to be representing different countries. Mario Deslauriers and his 20-year-old daughter Lucy are doing just that.

Those darn Brazilians (again). And Mexicans. And Americans. They all prevented us from winning a medal today (booo!) but we qualified a team for Tokyo anyway (yay!) seeing as there were three spots available and the US had already qualified. (Phew.)

The much-anticipated first jumping competition at the Escuela de Equitacion del Ejercito in La Molina started out with a bang for Canada with a clear round for Lisa Carlsen and Parette ... and then the proverbial horse poo hit the fan. The pair were eliminated when the horse sustained a minor rub which is contrary to the FEI Rule 241.3.30 which simply states "blood on the Horse’s flank(s)." This is usually caused by a spur and was certainly not intentional but no additional details were offered.

The main categories that equine skin conditions fall into are infections (fungal or bacterial) and neoplasms (abnormal masses of tissue).

If the forage or grain produced in your area is extremely low in selenium, an essential trace mineral, you may need to supplement your horse’s diet.

We began the final day of eventing with just three horses, as Dana Cooke's lovely mare Mississippi had scraped her elbows on one of the cross-country fences and needed a few stitches. Jessie, Karl and Colleen did an awesome job with clear rounds across the board to take the bronze medal.

So the sun shone as promised on cross-country day – but not particularly on the Canadians. While Jessica Phoenix and her reliable partner Pavarotti showed once again that they are the cross-country machines of legend, having a clear ride on this difficult course just a smidge over the time allowed, some of the other team results were not as good. It was not for lack of talented horsepower; it was a difficult course and there were some cases of miscommunication and even some plain old rotten luck.

Well, the eventing dressage is over and the Canadians did a super job, placing 4th, 5th, 6th and 13th to lock down second place as a team, a scant 4.9 points behind the US but also just 4.6 points ahead of a very determined Brazilian team who want that precious Tokyo Olympic berth as badly as we do.