Riding Right Starts With the Horse’s Back
Stacey Kollman
Desert Equine Equestrian Services
Even the best, most bio-mechanically correct rider will find it hard to sit a horse that isn’t using his back properly to lift, swing and distribute the motion of the hindquarters. So before we start working on rider position, let’s prepare the horse for his part of the partnership.
Riders in many disciplines focus a great deal of effort and angst on their horses’ toplines, working with the intention of strengthening the horses’ backs. But sometimes this happens at the expense of suppleness and otherwise fit horses end up with backs like boards. Muscles are made elastic and strengthened by alternating between contracting them actively and then stretching them passively by contracting the opposing muscles.
So to create supple, elastic and strong backs, we’re going to use a gentle awareness exercise to remind the horse’s barrel that it should move, both to flex and to extend so the muscles on the dorsal and ventral sides get strengthened and stretched. For all you yoga aficionados, think “cat/cow”.
Start with a horse whose muscles are warmed up from some light work; a few minutes of walking in-hand or a brief longeing session is plenty. Run your hand down your horse’s back on each side from wither to hip, pressing down a little to feel the quality of the long back muscle. Is it springy and elastic or hard and tight?
Tie your horse with a safe amount of slack in the line or hold the lead yourself with room for the horse to move his neck, then stand next to the horse’s shoulder facing toward the opposite ear. Place your hands, with fingers curved and fingertips pointing down, on either side of the spine about a hand width from the midline. Press straight down, starting with light pressure and increasing until you feel the back drop slightly under your hand. Your goal is for the back to stay slightly hollow, not to reflexively pop back up.
Next, move your fingertips two to three inches toward the tail at the same distance from the midline. Apply pressure, asking the horse’s back to drop again while you take two or three slow, deep breaths. Repeat this along the back all the way to the loin.
When you put pressure on the back just in front of the hip bones, you’ll probably notice the contraction causes the horse’s croup to flatten. (Take care here to stand next to the hip so you’re not in range of a kick if your horse objects to the stretch. If he does, back off the pressure to ask for a little less contraction.) That’s the “cow” portion of our horse yoga exercise.
For the “cat” stretch, move back to stand just behind the horse’s shoulder, facing straight across the base of his withers. Bend your knees a bit and reach the both hands underneath him just behind the forelegs. Feel for the hard structure under the skin right on the midline – that’s the sternum or breastbone.
If you follow that bone back a few inches toward the tail, your fingers will find a depression at the end of the bone at about the spot where your girth or cinch crosses. Place both hands side-by-side underneath your horse in that area, with your fingers curled slightly so the tips point up. Put some upward pressure there with two to four fingers to ask your horse to lift the base of his withers and his back (you might find a little fingernail pressure is needed at first, especially if your horse’s back muscles are generally tight.) Again, hold this lift for two to three breaths.
Move your hands an inch or two toward the tail and repeat the lift, noting whether more of the back seems to lift this time. Try another lift an inch or two farther back, again holding for two or three long, deep breaths. This exercise puts the abdominal muscles to work.
Give your horse a few minutes to process the exercise and praise him for doing it, then move to the other side and repeat, first asking the back to contract and drop and then having the abdominals contract to lift the back. Pause for a few minutes and repeat a third time from whichever side was most comfortable.
Now run your hand down the horse’s back like you did at the start. Has anything changed? It might not after the first set of three, but if you do this exercise several times a week – always when the horse’s back muscles are warm – you should start to notice more range of motion. And for horses that started out with very tight backs, you’re likely to notice a change in the elasticity of the back muscles that should translate into better balance and ease of movement.
Note: Most sound horses should be able to learn and do these exercises in one or two sessions. If your horse’s back just won’t move, it might be time to contact your veterinary chiropractor or other equine bodyworker.
Stacey Kollman, of Desert Horse Equestrian Services is a Tucson, Arizona, horse and rider biomechanics coach and horse rehabilitator whose work centers on helping horses live healthy and happy lives. For more information visit Desert Horse Equestrian Services.
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