Releasing the abdominals and diaphragm
Sound on đ
For this gelding forward momentum had become very limited due to webs of tightness held in the chest.
The bracing effect in his body has stemmed from protecting tenderness in the shoulder (old injury), leading to an overuse of his abdominals, which restricts the diaphragm and blocks energy from flowing forward (impulsion).
Lateral and collection exercises are very beneficial to the body, but under a stuck diaphragm, can also cause restriction to the body. Something Iâve found crucial in training and rehabilitating horses is allowing more length (lowering) to come into the frame after collection.
There are emotional connections that sit behind different states of the frame. Nerves that run throughout the horses neck can be affected by carriage position. Therefore, nervous system states can be shifted by exploring neck positions. And as a result, tissues states can shift and release when different elements of carriage are combined and safely balanced during exercise.
Some moments in training we are looking for more ribcage elevation, other moments we look for further release in the body. We worked carefully setting alignment of the body up, to time the release of the frame and explore open + flowing energy. His rider mentioned he has never offered, nor has she been able to encourage a low or lengthen frame. She also noted she felt he has âfound a new gearâ since we started lessons â¨
LYH Long-reining basics
Layering the foundations of long reining with a combination of communications; body positioning, hand positioning, tempo, fluidity and contact đź this combo got the hang of flow and lightness very well during their first long reining session ⨠trust is everything when it comes to ease with horses
Tailoring training to the needs of the horse all days of the week
Looking out the window during heavy winds, I noticed my gelding standing very tense staring off into the distance. Whilst other horses nibbled at their hay, he was standing by himself like a statue, constricted and tight, head and neck fully elevated focusing on all noises/ movement in the environment for some time.
So I took this opportunity to go out and support him during the spooky winds. My goal is always to settle the horses nervous system, but today my gelding especially needed mind and body relief as he was no longer grazing amongst his girls and his muscles had turned to concrete. Although he has come very far from his past (panic attacks/ galloping around on windy days), thereâs still many more layers to unfold.
I spent 45 mins with him; shifting his focus from external distractions (all things moving/ making noise in the winds) towards internal awareness; recognising and releasing lingering body tensions. Iâve shared a snippet of the session (sound on) to give an idea of how we can influence horses, without forcing them to focus on us (flapping flags, flicking ropes, spiralling them through tight circles), but instead teaching them to tune back into their own bodies. There are many different ways to unwind the nervous system - I personally love this subtle technique. Itâs a game changer â¨
Immediately after this session, he walked himself calmly to the point of the paddock he was previously avoiding and ate hay by himself. The rest of the day he remained calm, having little naps with the herd and happily grazing.
Spinal release for crooked tails
Riders often question why their horses tails are crooked. The reason why the tail starts to pull to one side is due to strained, tight or overworking muscles and ligaments, which start to create misalignment in the body - different areas of muscle are working harder than others to compensate and protect weaknesses around the skeleton.
A crooked tail can be a result of high impact injuries like flip overs or paddock falls. Or it can be developed overtime from compensating around discomfort or pain. And this issue is not always just isolated to the pelvis. In my experience itâs nearly always connected to the lower cervical (c7-t1).
After we have learnt to create a space with our horses, where they feel safe and relaxed in our company + under our hands. I then teach my students to work on the horses head and neck position; how this affects the loading patterns of the horses front legs and when uneven loading occurs, how much pressure this puts on the horses lower cervical spine (c7-t1). How the last vertebrae of the horses neck (C-7) counter rotates against the first vertebrae of the horses back (T-1) if the shoulders are unequally loading, and how the flow on affect of this twisting runs down the spinal column into the tail as a result.
Equal forelimb loading + head and neck position are the key to creating more space in the body for changes in alignment, all the way down to the end of the spine - into the tail.
âââââââââââââââââ
First and foremost! If a horse is stressed, you can guarantee they arenât activating or properly moving through muscle chains within the topline. If horses are exercised over stress, you will stiffen the body further into the horses natural crookedness, and possibly create a crooked tailâŚ. So if your horse isnât calm and relaxed when walking around the arena, youâre probably not ready to start alignment work.
Accessing âtopline muscle chainsâ are why you see such heavy adjustments of
There is SO much I would like to break down when talking about suppressed emotions in horses; how it can affect our horses posture, alignment, muscle activation, behaviours, performance, organ/body functions, emotional health, ability to healâŚ. But Iâm just going to stick with how much it affects horses when we shift them OUT of suppressed states. âââââââââââââââââââââ An interesting and common result of relaxation, is the amount of hidden and internalised tensions that arise once horses are given the opportunity to communicate in an honest space. As I work with horses, unpacking and teaching them to release and open underlying tensions, itâs common to see new emotions surface. Nearly all horses I meet that have learnt to hold or work over heavy amounts of tension, have developed coping mechanisms that work to camouflage internalised feelings of frustration, fear and anger. Some horses have learnt this because they are pushed beyond unimaginable belief, and others due to accumulations of little miscommunications. There are many reasons as to why horses bottle emotionsâŚ. But suppressed emotions, seemingly hidden to many, always show through specific behaviours. To give context, this rehabilitation gelding is quite well educated in the basics of classical exercises in hand and under saddle. The obvious signs of tension that he displayed when first coming into the arena were âteeth grindingâ and âdisassociation.â He was very obliging. Everything you ask he would do. No ear pinning, grumpiness, biting or sourness. But he seemed completely disconnected from the experienceâŚalmost robotic in his mannerisms. ââââââââââââââââââReleasing tension ultimately starts the process of stripping back layers of feelings, that have overtime manifested into coping mechanisms. Shifts that open new avenues of communication can create a whirlwind of emotions - where the truth to how a horse feel
18YO rehabilitation QH
I have had 2 rides on this beautiful boy over the last 2 weeks to feel where he is at.
Session 1 (in my green hoodie) he couldnât open his body enough to offer much forward (impulsion) - his body was only comfortable plodding in a supple trot. If he felt stressed he would rush into a fast, shortened stride/lame trot. The slow trot was where he could maintain the best ribcage suspension, and Iâm more than happy to stay with the horse in that slow trot as long as necessary whilst they are getting stronger. But today I could feel he didnât want that. A bit more freedom was found physically over these last 2 weeks and he wanted to go FORWARD.
How far he has come! When I first met this guy, his owner found it difficult to get him going and maintain walk under saddle.
We still have lameness in R hind. But we are seeing as he gets stronger in his core and thoracic sling, function is returning to the hind end.
Very proud of this combination. His owner works carefully to maintain quality in his rehabilitation between our fortnightly lessons. Every fortnight Iâm noticing beautiful changes â¨
Sitting on an un-started horse for the first time can be little daunting to many. But if time is taken to prep horses through relaxation (not threat), you will be pleasantly surprised with how willing horses are to accepting riders over their backs. Many of my students start their youngsters under saddle with me. No breakers, no harsh methods or rushed processes. Itâs very special when the person who the horse knows and trusts the most, is the one who introduces them to ridden work. This boy has had a few sit ons already, and loves more than anything to park up to his block for mounting. Even if we just train ground work, his dad knows he loves to end the session next to the mounting block đŠľ
I canât stress enough about the importance of outline and alignment in relation to the suspension systems that support and raise the horses ribcage. There are key components that when used collectively, allow our horses to raise their ribcage between their shoulders during work. There are also specific red flags I teach riders to steer away from that ensure a constricting and collapsing of the horses ribcage during work.The horses ribcage functions on a raising and dropping suspension, which allow for shock absorption during movement. This suspension system is called the âthoracic sling.â Itâs activated to its full use when certain muscle and ligament chains are targeted in exercise which has everything to do with the horses hyoid apparatus, head/neck position and spinal alignment. A quick sum up is the horses jaw alignment and neck position impacts the thoracic sling. The thoracic sling dictates the horses ribcage suspension. The horses ribs are connected to the spine, and spine connected to the pelvis. Therefore, what happens in these sling systems creates a flow on effect into the functionality of the horses ribcage, spinal column and pelvis. Many times itâs just a few adjustments that will make all the difference. Here I worked on the alignment of the horses jaw and ribcage on straight lines and corners. Creating an equal loading/balance over all 4 limbs. Once he relaxed into this, I was able to guide his pole neutral to the withers, which allowed him to then access the first stages of thoracic sling engagement. The flow on effect of this was a higher point of suspension in the spinal column and a transfer of support to the lumbosacral junction. You can see the difference in the end picture which shows anterior tilt of the pelvis vs the pelvis becoming neutral.
I want to show some examples between the effects of a horse carrying a rider with a hollowed out/ disengaged back, vs the beginning stages of engagement - how this shows not only through the horses posture, but through the âclashing effectâ of the riders seat. I have used sitting trot (slow motion) as an example as it is easier to spot the clashing effect of the horses spine and my seat in motion. Whatâs important to understand is a horse that is not taught how to carry their ribcage suspensions will still have this âclashingâ effect in the spinal column regardless if a rider does sitting or rising trot. Itâs crucial we learn how to supple and lengthen our horses topline in training. This is not only for comfort, it plays the key role in developing sling systems responsible for strengthening muscles that support our horses spinal columns.
Touching on the first steps of bending and thoracic sling engagement, I help some of my students with an exercise that contracts and releases soft tissues surrounding the horses lower cervical, first ribs and diaphragm. This is done by gently rocking the horse between their front legs, where the sternum slowly swings from side to side. As the horse relaxes into the swing of the chest at standstill, we start to expand the range of swing, gradually opening the horse up to the idea of coming into walk. In time, as the horse finds more range, we then teach them how to balance both contraction and release of the ribcage (bending) during walk, trot and canter.
Many horses are quite locked up in the area of the first ribs and withers which creates overloading of the shoulder during exercise. For horses who have a lot of atrophy around the spinal column, crookedness, arthritis or muscle stiffness, this is a nice little exercise that helps activate, shift and loosen soft tissue surrounding the connections of C7 -T1 before flexion, bend or laterals are exercised.
#horses #equine #rehabilitation #suppleness #mobility #coaching #horsetraining
In this video, I was helping my student with her beautiful Andalusian who had a tendency to panic and constantly take off into trot or canter under saddle. Although these snippets are not very exciting, itâs not always easy to slow down a tense horse without tightening the reins and grabbing the mouth. The first snippet of this reel (breaking into trot) happened multiple times during the first part of our ride. I didnât want or ask him for any trot. His outbursts were purely habits built from his past home/training experiences.
Instead of making him slow down or forcing him to stop, I purely waited. As his stress started to decrease in trot, he then felt safe to drop his tempo. Soon after he then took up my invitation to transition back to the walk, this time without feeling the need to rush back into trot. As he experienced more relaxation at walk, it opened room to play with halt transitions. By the end of a 20 minutes session, we had relaxation at standstill, relaxation at walk, relaxation through both walk and halt transitions. All without one moment of pulling against the mouth, backing up, bending the neck around the ribs or spiralling the horse into a small circle. Force may give riders the illusion that a trainer has gained more control. Yet moments of force only demonstrate overpowering until you receive the answer you want. Trusting to flow with the horse isnât always easy, but allowing the horse to come into your intension instead of forcing them into a command creates a much better result long term.
#dressagehorse #relaxation #equine
