Would you like to improve your horses’ posture? Would you like to learn some simple exercises for your horse from the ground to do this? Would you like an online course that gives you exercises to do in the stable, in the arena and out hacking? There is just such a course, with a range of exercises to support your horses training journey. It’s taught by my colleague, Chartered Physiotherapist Dr Gillian Tabor.
With no time limit for completing the course, Gillian will guide you through understanding which exercises to use and when. She discusses how to progress low intensity exercises, and how to positively influence your horses’ posture.
What that means is that, in your own time, you can learn how to help your horse be more comfortable. Poor posture is likely to lead to discomfort. A horse who habitually holds his head too high, or stands with his hind legs out behind him, is going to be putting strain on parts of the body that aren’t meant to take that strain. If he’s lacking muscle through his back and quarters, or is putting more weight through one foreleg than the other, he’s not doing himself any favours. If pain has been ruled out, or has been treated, then there’s plenty we can do to help our horses.
In the holidays, I sat in bed reading to my son for an hour or more every morning. That posture was not good for me, and after a few days I couldn’t sleep because of the pain in my hip. Thankfully a trip to my fantastic physiotherapist and some exercises to do at home fixed the problem. I should have known better!
What posture or position makes you ache?
Our horses, though, don’t have the same level of reasoning in their brain. They can’t register that standing or moving in a certain way causes pain. It’s up to us to learn what we can, so that we can help them to the best of our ability.
If you’d like to sign up for this course, it’s just £49. You can find more information at https://gilliantaborphysio.thinkific.com.
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2021
Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity and compassion
