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• Coldconnectivetissueswhichhavelowbloodsaturationcanbemoresusceptibletoinjury.Therefore,itisabolutelyvitalthatyourhorseiswarm.Neverattempttostretchcoldmuscles.
• Ifyourhorseisunsound,forinstanceyourhorsehasrecentlysustainedaninjury,stretchingmaybeinappropriate.Seekprofessionaladvicebeforecommencingastretchingprogramwithyourhorse.
• Ifindoubtduringanyoftheseexercises,seekassurancefromyourvetandtakeadvicefromatherapist.Theywillassessyourhorse’smusculatureandplanasuitableprogramofstretches.Theycanalsoshowyouhowtoperformstretchessafelywithoutrisktoeitheryourselforyourhorse.
• Allhorsesmaykickorbiteiftheydon’tliketheexercise.Onlyperformastretchifyouhaveconfidenceinyourselfandyourhorse.
1.Beginslowly.Unlessotherwisestated,oncethemaximumstretchisreachedholdittherefor5-15secondstoallowthemusclefibrestorelaxbeforetakingthestretchfurther.
2.Workamanageableprogrammeintoyourdailyroutine.
3.Bepatient.Youwillonlyseethebenefitsofstretchingifyouperformthestretchesregularlyandconsistently.
PILATEs for horsesstretching exercises to improve core stability
with Gil lian Higgins
HOW TO STRETCH
Increasestridelength,rangeofmovement,engagement,flexibility,athleticismandsuppleness.Reducemuscularsoreness,tensionandstiffness.Reducetheriskofinjurytojoints,musclesandtendons.Improvecoordination.Maintainthecurrentlevelofflexibility.Increasementalandphysicalrelaxation.Increasecirculation.Enhancebodyawareness.
STRETCHING CAN
IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS
GillianHiggins,asportsandremedialtherapistandeventriderbasedintheUnitedKingdom,workswithhorsesandridersfromalldisciplines.Afterrealisingthatmanyhorseownerscouldbenefitfromadeeperunderstanding
ofhowtheirhorseworks,GilliandevelopedHorses Inside Out,anorganisationprovidinginsightintoequinelocomotion,trainingandmanagementfromananatomicalperspective.
HorsesandPeopleMagazineispleasedtoofferthisexcitingnewseries,PilatesforHorses,whichwilldetailnewexerciseseachmonththatyoucanuseathomewithyourhorseorpony.
“Pilatesisaconditioningsystemthatincreasesthecorestability,strengthandbodyawareness,re-dressesimbalancesandre-alignsthebodyfromtheinsideout,”Gilliansays.“Itcanimproveposture,achieveabalancebetweenstrengthandflexibility,andrelievetension.“Manyprinciplesofpilatescanbeappliedtohorses.Corestabilityandstrengthareasimportanttohorsesastheyaretoriders.“Maintainingstability,postureandbalancecancontributetomoreeffectivetraining,improvedperformanceandreducetheriskofinjury,”Gilliansays.
Stimulatingandstrengtheningyourhorse’scoremuscleswillcomethroughcorrectworkundersaddleandskilfuluseofriddenmovements.“Thereare,however,anumberofexercisesperformedfromthegroundwhichcansupplementriddenworktohelpimproveyourhorse’scorestability,”Gilliansays.
Byperformingthesespecificexerciseswhenyourhorseiswarm,thecoremusclesthatmakeforgoodposture,astrongbackandassistincarryingtheweightoftheridercanbestrengthened.Theseimportantmusclesincludethedeepinternalmusclesoftheabdomen,pelvis,thoracicslingandback,togetherwiththemoresuperficialmusclesofthetrunk.
Therearetwomaintypesofstretching,Gillianexplains.‘Passive’stretchesareperformedbythehandler.Yourhorseneedstofeelrelaxedandconfidenttoachievethesestretchesproperly.‘Active’stretchesrequireactivemusclecontractionfromthehorsetomovebodypartsandcreatethestretchhimself.Activestretchescanbeperformedduringriddenorgroundworkexercises,andalsowithfoodrewards,suchascarrots.
Themostimportantthingtorememberwhenstretchingyourhorseorponyisthatcoldconnectivetissueswhichhavelowbloodsaturationcanbemoresusceptibletoinjury.“Therefore,itisabsolutelyvitalthatyourhorseiswarmbeforecompletinganyoftheseexercises,”Gilliansays.“Neverattempttostretchcoldmuscles.”
Images ©Horses Inside Out
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Trytokeephisnosevertical.Asonlyasmallamountofmovementisanatomicallypossibleatthepoll,onlysmallmovementsarenecessarytoachiveastretch.Largemovementswillonlystimulatethejointsandmusclesfurtherdownhisneck.
Thisexerciseisgoodforstimulatingthejointsandsmallmusclesthroughthepollregion.
1.Tostimulatethejointsinthemidregionoftheneckandstretchthelateralmidneckmuscles.
FLEXION OF THE POLL
AIM
HOW TO DO IT
TIP
1.Takethecarrottoyourhorse’schin,therebyencouraginglongitudinalflexionofthepoll.(SeeImage1)2.Takethecarrottothesideofthelipstoencouragelateralflexion.(SeeImages2&3)
Remembertokeepthecarrotincontactwithyourhorse’schinandlipsthroughouttheexercises,ashemaynotbeabletoseethecarrotinthesepositions.
1.Tostretchthemusclesatthepollandthetopoftheneck.2.Tostimulatetheatlanto-occipitalandtheatlanto-axialjoints.
1
2
3
LATERAL FLEXION OFTHE MID NECK
AIM
HOW TO DO IT
TIP
1.Usingacarrot,encourageyourhorsetobendhisnecktotheside,sothathisnoseisapproximatelylevelwithhisshoulder.(SeeImage1)2.Thentakethecarrotback,sothathisnoseisapproximatelylevelwithhiselbow.(SeeImage2)
Remember,ifthecarrotistakentoofarback,thebaseoftheneckratherthanthemidneckwillbeinfluenced.Keepthecarrotclosetoyourhorse’slipstoensurehismovementissmoothandtoavoid‘bounce’.Repeat2-3timespersession.
Todiscourageyourhorsefromtwistinghisnose,placethecarrotatthecentreofhislipsratherthanatthecornerofhismouth.
Thisexerciseisgoodforstretchingandimprovingsupplenessintheneck.Thisexerciseisalsoparticularlyusefulforhorsesthatcarrytheirneckinasetposition.
1
2
3
Longitudinalflexionoftheatlanto-axialjoint
Musclesthroughthepollandtoplinearestretched
Longitudinalflexionoftheatlanto-occipitaljoint
Lateralflexionoftheatlanto-occipitaljoint
Musclesstretchedonoutsideofbend
Musclescontractedoninsideofbend
Musclesstretchedonoutsideofbend
Thismusclewillincreasethestretchthetoplinemusclesontheoutsideofthebend
Foranothervariation,takethecarrotlowerjusttothesideofthekneejoint
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1.Tostretchtheneckmusclesandtheveterbraljointsatthebaseoftheneck.
1.Tostrechtheneckmusclesbytelescopingtheneckforwards.2.Tostimulatethecoremusclesasthehorseleansinandreachesforwards.
LATERAL REACH
AIM
HOW TO DO IT
TIP
1.Usingacarrot,encourageyourhorsetoreachouttotheside.(SeeImage1)2.Keeptheheadlowtoincreasethebenefitforcoremusclesandbackpostureasyourhorsebracestoreachforthecarrot.(SeeImage3)3.Ifneeded,performtheseexercisesoverarope,levelwiththehorse’ssternum,fixedacrossthestabledoor.
Remember,keepthecarrotclosetoyourhorse’slipstoensurehismovementissmoothandtoavoid‘bounce’.Repeat3-5timesoneachside.
Yourhorsewilloftenre-arrangehislegs,sothathecanbracehisbodymoreeffectivelytoenablehimtoreachforthecarrot.(SeeImage3)
Thisexerciseisgoodforimprovingsupplenessandflexibilityintheneck,stretchingneckmusclesparticularlyafteranintenseworksessionandstimulatingcoremuscles.
1
2
3 1
Thethoracicslingandothercoremusclesarerecruitedtohelpstabilisethebodyastheneckreaches
Thebaseoftheneckisstimulatedandstretched
NECK EXTENSION
AIM
HOW TO DO IT
TIP
1.Usingacarrot,graduallyencourageyourhorsetoreachforwards.(SeeImage1)2.Keepthecarrotatorbelowthelevelofhissternum.Theheadneedstobekeptatthisleveltoachievetheoptimumstretchandcorrectbackposture.
Thisexerciseisbestperformedoveralowstabledoorwayorwithachainorropeacrossthedoorwayatsternumheight.Repeat3-5timeseachsession.
Performthisexerciseatthesamepointwithinyourhorse’sroutine,sohedoesnotcontinuallyexpectcarrots.
Thisexerciseisgoodforstretchingthenecktoreleasemusclesafterworking,promotingcorrectpostureandvertebralalignmentandforhorsesthattendtoworkshortandtightintheirneckordropbehindthecontact.
Thehorsewilloftenrearrangehislegssothathecanbracehisbodymoreeffectively
Musclesintheneckarestretched
Toplinebackmusclesarerelaxed,allowingthebacktoriseslightlyasthehorsereachesforward
NEXT MONTHDon’tmissnextmonth’sissueofHorsesandPeopleMagazinewhereGillianwillcontinuethisPilatesserieswithmorestretchingexercisestohelpstrengthenthecoremusclesthatmakeforgoodpostureandastrongback.
Keeptheheadatorbelowthelevelofthesternumtoencouragecorrectbackposture
Thoracicslingandabdominalmusclesarestimulatedasthehorsereachesforward
Musclesontheinsideoftheneckarestimulated,whilstthoseontheoutsidearestretched
Horses Inside Out AustralianTour 2014
QLD Contact: Kathy Saggers / 0413 054 182 / [email protected] Contact: Jessica Blackwell / 0407 850 033 / [email protected]
Gillian Higgins from Horses Inside Out (UK) is coming to Australia in 2014
QLD Dates7th - 13th April
WA Dates16th - 19th April
Workshops include: Applied Anatomy & Biomechanics, Live Painted Horse Evening Demonstration, Massage,
Anatomical Painting and more!!Find out more on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/horsesinsideoutaustralia
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