When to stretch your horse

Determining when to stretch your horse depends on your goals. Stretching may improve flexibility, reduce injury risk, help monitor neuromusculoskeletal health (meaning relating to nerve, muscle and bone), and enhance your horse’s overall comfort. There are no hard and fast rules, and here are some examples of when to stretch, based on the stretches that I share in my online course, “Stretching Your Horse: A Guide to Keeping Your Equine Friend Happy and Healthy.”

• If your horse is retired, do the stretches in this program as a stand-alone exercise at least three times a week.
• If your horse is young and flexible, do the stretches once a week and record your findings to detect any restriction or resistance patterns.
• If you are at a competition or have done a schooling session, stretch your horse after he has finished to help him wind down comfortably.
• If your horse is stiff or slow at the beginning of a training session, try some of the stretches before you ride.  
• If your horse is tense and spooky, follow this stretching program three times a week for twelve weeks, and then reassess his behaviour.
• If you’re unsure what’s best for your horse, discuss the options with your horse’s physical therapist. If you don’t currently have a physical therapist treat your horse, you can find Chartered Physiotherapists in the UK at The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy and Registered Animal Musculoskeletal Practitioners at the RAMP Register. Similar organisations may exist in other countries.

Empowering Equestrians: Strengthening the Bond through Online Horse Physio Courses

Do you live in an area where it’s challenging to get access to physio for your horse? Does the cost of physio mean that you can’t have your horse treated as often as you’d like? Would you like to be able to do more for your horse?

Do you know someone to whom any of the above applies? Please help me reach these people and their horses by sharing this information. I’d love to help 100 horses this month; perhaps it’s your horse I can help. If not your horse, wouldn’t it feel wonderful knowing that you have made a difference by passing on the information someone needs to support their horse?

I’m on a mission to help those who can’t get the horse physio assessment and treatment they would like to offer their horses. I’ve carefully and lovingly created an online course, “Stretching Your Horse: A Guide to Keeping Your Equine Friend Happy and Healthy.” The course includes ten stretching exercises (video is included) and lots of information about how, where, when, why, and what to stretch.

Unleashing the Power of Stretching for Optimal Performance

Discover the transformative power of stretching for your horse with this comprehensive course. It provides easy-to-follow instructions on various stretches to enhance your horse’s comfort, movement, and overall performance. By the end of the course, you will not only understand the importance of stretching, you will also gain practical knowledge about its implementation.

A regular stretching routine can offer a multitude of benefits:

• It may improve comfort by alleviating tension and discomfort in your horse’s muscles.
• It may increase the range of movement by enhancing flexibility towards smoother and more efficient movement.
• It may reduce the risk of injury through improved muscle condition.
• It may relax your horse, promote relaxation and reduce stress-related behaviours.
• It may improve performance so that you experience higher scores in dressage or more clear rounds jumping.

Just as a short yoga session can leave you feeling more relaxed, a 15-minute stretching session can do wonders for your horse’s comfort and well-being.

Meet Sue Palmer – The Horse Physio

I’m Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, an award-winning author, ACPAT and RAMP registered Chartered Physiotherapist and Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Trainer, and I bring a wealth of knowledge to this course. With qualifications from prestigious institutions and extensive experience treating horses, Sue promotes ethical and harmonious horsemanship.

Join Us on the Journey

Enrol today in “Stretching Your Horse: A Guide to Keeping Your Equine Friend Happy and Healthy” and take the next step on the wellness journey with your horse.