26/02/2025
If you have travelled standing by train or bus, you will know the feeling of constantly adjusting your balance to stay upright 🚌 🚆
Think of the winding roads you normally travel on and imagine holding onto nothing to help you stabilise your body. Like us, horses use similar strategies to maintain their own balance when traveling. Given their large size and the challenges associated with body weight, it is interesting to consider how much energy is required for horses to move their bodies when on the road to avoid falling. It's easy to forget, but horses aren't just standing there when travelling, they are continuously making adjustments to help them to maintain their balance⚖️
How does travelling effect the horse?
High head positions can put extra stress on the neck (if the locker is in the way or they have been tied up with a short lead rope for example). Horses that cannot stretch their head forward during their travels may appear stiffer after unloading. Any degree of arthritis present in the cervical facet joints may exacerbate this problem🐴
Posture is everything! If your horse has been bracing for a long period of time from travelling and does not have sufficient time to stretch and relax, it may affect their way of going.
To put it simply:
poor posture = minimal rest + muscle fatigue = reduced performance and increased risk of injury
This inevitably will affect the whole body! 🐎
Horses are very stoic. They are evolved not to show pain or weakness. Therefore, bigger problems may occur further down the line from compensatory issues. Horses cannot alleviate tension once the fascia and muscles have changes. This is another reason that physio is an integral part of your equine athlete's wellbeing! 💪
