Is my horse using his body correctly?

Hi Athletes!

I was mulling over what to write in this week’s newsletter when it hit me while I was doing my own workout. 

Most of us have heard that when we do heavy lifting, that we are to lift with our legs, not our backs. You can lift with your back but it’s only a matter of time before your back blows out. Same with the horse. They can go around being ridden in an incorrect posture and get the job done, but it’s only a matter of time before they break down and injure themselves.

Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself “Ashley, when we’re exercising or working out, we can have a coach verbally tell us to adjust our posture or we can look in a mirror or video and correct ourselves. We can’t verbally tell a horse to use his body correctly.” And you’re absolutely correct. We can’t go into the arena and say “Hey Patches, I noticed that you’re not engaging your core. Relax your neck. Focus on your breathing.”

So what can we do?

Some people may think that using things like lunging rigs or side reins to “encourage” the horse to be in a certain position is the way to go. Here’s the thing though: we’re asking them to use muscles that they haven’t been using. So those muscles will tire quickly. Think of when you first started working out, riding, some other physical activity and your coach comes along and tells you to adjust your posture or position. It feels weird and you seem to tire more quickly. Same with the horse. And the issue that arises is that we’re not recognizing when the horse is getting tired and he starts to slip back into that dysfunctional posture because it’s more comfortable.

You need to become your horse’s personal trainer. Train your eye to recognize bio mechanical dysfunction and correct function and when your horse is getting fatigued. Work with your bodyworker, vet, etc. to select correct exercises to help strengthen your horse and recognize when they’re doing them correctly or cheating just to get through. Keep the sessions short. We naturally want to do everything we can for our horses but the KISS principle is often the best solution. You don’t need long sessions with hundreds of poles in fancy patterns to accomplish something. Often times it’s the simple exercises that yield the most effective results.

Work with a coach that understands anatomy and biomechanics. Ask questions during your lessons to learn what muscles are being targeted and why that exercise is being used. Work with your vet and farrier to ensure there are no ongoing health issues or hoof imbalances that would affect how your horse is going. Work with a saddle fitter to ensure correct tack fit so the muscles can be utilized without being impeded. Work with a bodyworker to keep muscles loose and supple so they can correctly and efficiently perform the job they were designed to do.

Need some help or don’t know where to start? Send an email to ridelikeanathlete@gmail.com and we can discuss different options and even create custom programs for you and your horse to help get them in top physical shape so they can perform their best when dancing in the dressage ring, flying over jumps or taking you down the trail.

Cheers!

Ashley