🏋️♀️ The Power of Pole Work: Benefits, Biomechanics, and Best Practices for Your Horse 🐴
Pole work is a fantastic exercise for horses, offering a variety of benefits that range from improving strength and balance to enhancing coordination and focus. But to maximize its potential, it’s important to understand how your horse is moving over poles and ensure the exercise suits their current fitness and health. Let’s explore the details!
Benefits of Pole Work
Strength and Conditioning: Encourages your horse to engage their core and use their back muscles effectively.
Coordination and Balance: Challenges proprioception (your horse’s ability to sense and position their body) as they step over obstacles.
Engagement and Focus: Keeps your horse mentally stimulated while promoting consistent rhythm and cadence.
Suppleness and Flexibility: Helps loosen tight muscles and improve range of motion.
Biomechanics: What to Watch For
At the Walk
-Proper Movement: Watch for a steady rhythm, with the horse lifting each limb deliberately and engaging their hindquarters. Their neck should stretch forward, and their back should lift slightly as they round over the poles.
-Improper Movement: Dragging feet, hollowing the back, or rushing through the poles are signs of tension, weakness, or improper engagement.
At the Trot
-Proper Movement: The horse should lift its legs evenly and maintain a consistent, rhythmic stride. The hindquarters should push off actively, and the topline should remain relaxed.
-Improper Movement: Uneven strides, excessive head tossing, or tripping indicate that the horse may be unbalanced or working too hard for their fitness level.
At the Canter
-Proper Movement: Look for a smooth, cadenced canter with deliberate placement of each hoof. The horse should maintain a balanced frame without rushing or stumbling.
-Improper Movement: Losing rhythm, cross-cantering, or knocking poles suggest the horse is struggling with coordination or ba
The Winter Walking Challenge is coming back!
If you’re looking for some motivation this winter, sign up for the course now before the price increases!
Suitable for any horse that can be handwalked.
The video below is my arthritic mare who gained some pep in her step with the walking, exercises, and bodywork techniques covered in this program.
Sign up here! https://equi-bowcanada.thinkific.com/courses/fitness-foundations?ref=ebdcb8
Did you know that walking your horse over different types of terrain is more than just a fun way to mix up your rides? It’s a fundamental part of keeping them healthy, balanced, and mentally sharp. Here’s why:
Your horse’s hoof is packed with thousands of nerve endings, constantly sending information to their brain about the ground beneath them. This sensory feedback helps your horse adjust their balance and movement, keeping them safe and steady. Walking on varied surfaces like grass, gravel, sand, or hard-packed dirt stimulates these nerve endings, improving their awareness and coordination.
Proprioception is your horse’s ability to sense their body’s position and movement. It’s like their built-in GPS! Training on uneven or unpredictable surfaces challenges their proprioception, helping them learn to navigate tricky footing while staying relaxed and confident. This is crucial for everything from trail riding to advanced arena work.
How Can You Start?
👉 Incorporate short walks over different terrain into your routine.
👉 Encourage barefoot time if appropriate, to let those hooves work naturally.
👉 Combine this practice with gentle stretching or groundwork for a full-body workout.
Walking over varied terrain isn’t just exercise—it’s therapy for your horse's mind and body. Give it a try, and you’ll see how much they appreciate it! 🐴💪
Have you noticed any changes in your horse when introducing different terrain? Share your experiences in the comments below! 🌟
What is Thrush?Thrush is a bacterial infection that typically occurs in the frog area of a horse’s hoof. It thrives in moist, unsanitary environments, leading to a dark, foul-smelling discharge. When the bacteria invade the soft tissues, it can cause pain, lameness, and if left untreated, may lead to more serious hoof complications. Preventing thrush starts with a holistic approach to your horse’s health. Here are several key strategies:1. Maintain Cleanliness: Regularly clean your horse’s hooves, especially after riding or when they’ve been in muddy conditions. A hoof pick is essential to remove dirt and debris that can harbor bacteria.2. Provide Proper Housing: Ensure your horse’s living environment is dry and clean. Proper drainage and clean bedding are vital in preventing the buildup of moisture.3. Regular Hoof Care: Schedule routine trims and hoof inspections with a qualified farrier. Proper hoof maintenance helps keep the frog healthy and less prone to infections.4. Nutrition Matters: A balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals supports overall hoof health. Ensure your horse receives adequate biotin, zinc, and other essential nutrients to strengthen their hooves.5. Boosting the Immune System: A strong immune system is crucial for preventing infections like thrush. Regular veterinary check-ups, a balanced diet, and minimizing stress all contribute to your horse’s overall health and resilience.6. Encourage Good Lymphatic Flow: The lymphatic system plays a critical role in your horse’s immune response. Regular movement, turnout, and bodywork can help stimulate lymphatic flow, supporting overall health and aiding in the prevention of infections.This video shows two of my favourite products for helping to combat thrush. If you’re local to me, I’m happy to bring some to our next appointment or I can drop off at your barn. If you are not sure where to get it close to you, send me a message and I can direct you to distributors in your area.
The importance of a quality back up
Backing up isn’t just a handy maneuver in horseback riding—it’s a fundamental skill that plays a vital role in your horse’s overall training and well-being. While it might seem like a simple task, the process of teaching and executing a proper backup involves a deep understanding of your horse’s biomechanics and movement. Mastering this skill not only improves your horse’s responsiveness and balance but also fosters a stronger, more communicative partnership between you and your horse.
Backing up is more than just moving in reverse; it’s about enhancing your horse’s balance and coordination. When performed correctly, backing up helps your horse develop better posture and muscle engagement. This exercise teaches your horse to use their core effectively and to activate their hindquarters, which are crucial for maintaining balance and control. This increased engagement and strength in their hind end can translate into better performance in other disciplines and situations, such as navigating tight spaces, carrying weight, or simply improving overall maneuverability.
From a biomechanical perspective, backing up requires a nuanced understanding of how your horse’s body should move. Ideally, as your horse steps backward, their weight should shift onto their hindquarters. This shift is essential for maintaining balance and preventing excessive strain on the front legs. Importantly, the movement of the diagonal pairs (the front left and hind right legs, and the front right and hind left legs) should be synchronized. This coordination ensures that your horse moves in a straight line and maintains balance throughout the maneuver. Properly engaging these diagonal pairs helps to strengthen the muscles along the spine and around the hindquarters, which supports better posture and reduces the risk of injury.
To ensure that your horse backs up correctly, start with slow and deliberate movements. Pay close attention to their posture and the coordination of thei
Red light therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT) or photobiomodulation, is a non-invasive therapy that uses specific wavelengths of red or near-infrared light to stimulate cellular processes and promote healing. This therapy works by penetrating the skin and reaching deeper tissues, where it enhances cellular metabolism and promotes the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues. For horses, red light therapy is becoming an increasingly popular tool in equine healthcare, thanks to its ability to support various aspects of their well-being.
One of the primary benefits of red light therapy for horses is its role in reducing pain and inflammation. Red light helps to improve blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, which can alleviate muscle soreness and joint stiffness. It is particularly useful in supporting the body with conditions such as tendon injuries, arthritis, and sore backs. Additionally, red light therapy can accelerate the healing process of wounds and injuries by stimulating collagen production and enhancing the body's natural repair mechanisms.
Beyond its therapeutic applications, red light therapy can also be used as a preventive measure to maintain overall equine health. Regular sessions can help improve a horse’s performance by promoting faster recovery from exertion and reducing the risk of injury. Furthermore, it can contribute to better skin and coat condition by increasing cellular turnover and improving circulation. As a result, many horse owners and trainers are integrating red light therapy into their regular care routines to support their horses' health and well-being.
Having red light devices on hand make it easier to apply daily to get the most benefit. Goldride Canada is a Canadian company that has a variety of devices to suit your needs, horse, human or dog! You can use the code “aplusequine” to save $10 when you place an order.
If you have any questions on red light or Goldride’s products, please reach out and
My love language as an equine bodyworker
I love my amazing clients ❤️ They know the way to my heart.
What is the easiest exercise you can do to help improve your horse’s proprioception, balance, reduce the likelihood of injury, and build muscle? Walking over different surfaces! If your horse is repeatedly working on the same surface, when they are faced with a new surface, their body isn’t prepared for it. Horses also have a ton of nerve endings in their hooves and stimulating these on a variety of surfaces helps your horse be more surefooted, have better quality of movement, and healthier hooves. And who doesn’t want that!? #horsehealth #equinewellness #horseexercises #hoofhealth #horsebackriding #horsewellbeing
Trimming should not be stressful
Trimming should be this zen 🧘
Bodywork breaks in between feet help the horse stay relaxed, supple, and makes the job a heck of a lot easier on the hoof care professional!
If your horse has difficulty standing for the farrier and it’s not a training issue, there may be some tension, pain, or discomfort that is making it difficult for your horse to stand quietly.
If this is something your horse struggles with, please reach out. I’m happy to work with you and your hoof care provider to help support your horse!
Happy Friday!
Happy Friday! Do your weekend plans involve horses? Tell me about it below!
Do you notice any of these in your horse? They may benefit from bodywork!
Send me a message and we can discuss what options may work best for your horse!
#equinewellness #equinebodywork #ontario #helpinghorses #horsehealth
