Finishing Touch Equine Services

https://dressagetoday.com//importance-riding-stretching-po

Why not use poles? As a problem horse specialist, horses are often thrown my way having been cleared as physically fit by umpteen professionals. In many cases I... am last chance saloon- by the time they get to me they’re usually glow in the dark from all the fruitless X rays they’ve had done. Therefore it always surprises people when I watch their horse move and while leaning nonchalantly against a fence, attention half on the horse and half on figuring out whatever fiddly coffee flask bequeathed to me this week, I matter of factly observe that Last time I saw a back end move that badly it was 3am on a dance floor in Magaluf; bring him in, I’ve seen enough. The client usually then looks at me with the apprehension of a contraband mule approaching a customs officer in Tehran. I’ll then start dropping out poles and be the first person to tell them to WALK their horse over them. I’ll raise them and still, I insist on a good active walk. I’m of the opinion that most riders do not use the walk enough anyway, but that’s a blog for another time. Running a horse over 20 poles and calling it a work out may look fancy but it does not give your horse time to think. Many horses that have experienced either emotional or physical discomfort become disconnected from their feet. By this I mean they don’t think about where they’re placing their feet or how best to move in a comfortable manner. They’ll think about the arena gate, they’ll think their friends neighing outside, they’ll think about collapsing to the inside in anticipation of yet another 20 meter circle and a more emotionally balanced horse will think about the person they’re working with- but they do not think about raising their body up and out of the way so that the knees and hocks can flex in a way that gets the hamstrings and scapula stretching, the pelvis and sacroiliac area supple and landing heel first in a straight line. I’ve done pole work before is the usual go to response, immediately followed by he’ll knock them over in walk. In reality they’ve done pole work in the same way I’ve done the Eiffel Tower, Giza Pyramids and the Golden Gate- I came, I saw, I checked in on Facebook and bought a hideously overpriced hotdog. I ‘did’ these places, but I did not delve into them any further than what the tourist information boards told me. People who did poles did the same- they’ve lunged their horses over poles that are so perfectly spaced they’re impossible to get wrong, in trot because with more energy he’ll find it easier to get over them and in a lunging contraption that puts the horse into the ideal outline and in doing so disguises true perspective of how the horse actually moves. What hasn’t been explored is why he needs google maps, a bungee and a run up just to step over cavaletti the height of a coke can. This is why I am not a fan of set pole exercises. I have my old favourites such as the box, the clock and the arrow, but initially I simply watch a horse walk over a single pole to determine which part of the body is not pulling its weight. Once identified, I’ll alter the single pole in a way that will isolate the ‘lazy’ part so that the horse is caused to activate that body part, then I will set up according to what that particular horse needs; weakness, muscle fatigue, pain and anticipation of pain all require entirely different courses of action. Now before I get the What you’re saying is you hate pole exercises! Some of my best friends are pole exercises! brigade swinging off my jugular- take stock of which word you chose to emphasise in the title. if your horse is not physically or emotionally compromised in any way then feel free to utilise the vast range of pole exercises google has to offer- indeed they make flat work more interesting and are an essential tool for jump training. However, if you have a horse that is for all intents and purposes sound but not quite right, slowing things down and seeing where difficulties appear can improve matters greatly or even just give you a starting point. Well done for reading that dissertation of a blog, hopefully as summer closes and things start to slow down this will be my last big blogging break and you can look forward to more long winded ponderings over autumn.

They are not machines...treat them right