Stretches Part 1

Since Walker is still sick and even light riding does not seem to have a good effect on him, I decided to give him yesterday and today (and probably tomorrow and unfortunately Tuesday off!). At first, my instructor and barn owner thought light exercise would help but he has held onto the virus longer than some of the other horses at the barn so I've decided that like with a human virus, he needs more rest than anything else.

Instead, I decided to explain some of the cool exercises I learned during the first aid clinic. I was really impressed with a lot of the exercises because I believe they will really help with aspects of our riding as well. After all, how can you expect a horse to stretch forward in an extended trot if you can't even stretch your horses leg forward?

Get your stretching on

The whole routine involves massage and stretching.  I've decided to break it up into three posts, since I won't have many Walker updates anyway

Step 1: Massage Tension

Body Part: Back

First you run your hands along the spine slowly to feel for any heat.  Using the plastic end of a hoof pick, slowly press into the muscle along a line from withers to butt about an inch to the side of the spine.  If you do it slowly enough and push hard enough (obviously don't push too hard!), you will see the muscle twitch, especially in the area where there was heat.  Going around to the other side of the horse, dig your fingers into the muscle along the spine on the first side and press in, using a technique our clinician called "piano fingers" where you simply press into the muscle like you are playing the piano (alternating different fingers).  Do this especially in any spot where there was heat and twitching.  Then pull the muscle towards you (and the spine).  Repeat on both sides of the back.

Body Part: Belly

Identify the belly button of the horse.  Starting several inches from the belly button, press into the muscle from this spot in a line towards the groin.  Be careful not to push too hard as there are organs in the belly.  The horse should physically arch their back up away from the pressure, thus stretching the back.  You only do this once because you are going down the middle of the belly, not to either side.

Body Part: Tail

Grabbing a firm hold of the tail, pull back to stretch the back.  You can put all your weight into the pull, but make sure that the angle of the tail to the ground is no higher than which the horse normally holds his tail.

Fact of the day: a horse's tail can support twice it's body weight.