Can you relate to any of the statements below?
I find schooling boring
I find inhand work/ lunging boring
My horse just seems to be plateauing. There is no real improvement in their way of going.
Despite having had the Vet, Physio, saddler fitter and dentist, my horse is just not improving?
I am struggling with ideas to improve my horse's strength/ flexibility/ suppleness.
Firstly,
You are NOT alone.
I hear the above statements on a regular basis when meeting new clients or overhearing horse owners talking.
This is what I have spent more and more time trying to understand and find solutions for you guys. We first need to make sure that your horse is not in pain, if there is an undiagnosed body or limb lameness present, that needs to be identified and treated as soon as possible.
Once you understand WHY your horse is where they are today, we can start to build their strength, endurance and flexibility.
How do YOU build a STRONG and ELASTIC body for YOU and YOUR HORSE?
Here we go...
The aim is to build a RESILIENT body with ELASTIC tissues. We want to enhance TISSUE ADAPTABILITY and REMODELLING capabilities by planning and thinking about different types of training and their effects on the LOADING patterns in the body.
Why is the above important?
Improves our chances of:
Preventing injury
Enhancing recovering
Enhance welfare and overall performance
Training and managing HORSES and OURSELVES is an art and I like to compare it to a
.
The Bonsai Tree takes TIME, PREPARATION and CAREFUL OBSERVATION. Imagine if we all spent time nurturing our bodies and that of our horses, what the results would be?
How do we achieve a resilient, strong and adaptable body?
By varying the training.
There are a few important factors to consider when building a strong body including:
Preparatory Countermovement
Slow, Controlled Movements
Bouncing
Proprioceptive refinement - micro movements
Fluid Dynamics
Variability
How many of you can HONESTLY say that you factor the above into your weekly, monthly or even yearly training?
We are all aware that the body is one functioning unit, that is always maintaining an optimum level of homeostasis on a daily basis. However, how can we expect our horse's bodies to be RESILIENT and ADAPTABLE when we don't vary our training, plan ahead, observe their behaviour and movements or apply the above factors into their work?
The reality of living on this planet, is that we get older each day, therefore one can argue that AGE is another ket parameter when thinking about building a strong body. However, training and moving is MORE IMPORTANT THEN AGE. There is research in humans which highlights the difference in collagen fibres of a 6 year old versus a 90 year old person. The results are pretty obvious, however a massive influence on collagen are factors like:
nutrition
exercise
rest
stress
I' m sure many of you have seen people at the age of 90 doing amazing physical challenges!
When you grow a Bonsai Tree (the metaphor for your horse training) you also need to understand and value the importance of TIMING.
TOO LITTLE training, will cause a reduction in flexibility and strength
TOO MUCH training, will cause edema and fibrosis
This highlights the art of knowing yourself and your horse.
Did you find this helpful?
If you would you like to know more, please don't hesitate to contact me
ALSO, If you are interested in learning how to understand your horse's weaknesses and strengths and then know how to improve them, please click on the link below.
