I’m running through my mental list of horse people I know, and I’m tallying the number of people who regularly stretch their horses – whether on the ground or incorporated into saddle work – vs. those who periodically grab some treats from the feed room and ask their horses to perform tricks that are thinly veiled as stretching.
The percentage of regular stretchers is not good, and yet almost every horse owner I know is hoping to create a more limber, responsive, fit horse.
In equine massage we do a series of stretches with most horses. If an animal is terribly arthritic, injured, or if he seriously dislikes stretching, I won’t pursue the matter, but I find that most horses have certain stretches they love. And most of them will come around to the more difficult stretches if we don’t try to do too much, too soon.
Stretching takes a lot of different forms, whether you’re in the saddle or on the ground. A lot of people think of stretching as pulling a horse’s limbs in a given direction, but remember that things like the horse’s head position under saddle (you’ve probably heard of long and low, for example) and using ground poles and cavaletti to work your horse’s topline also are forms of stretching.
Horses differ from humans in that they benefit from a stretch in 10-15 seconds. And when you’re starting out, it is not out of the question to hold a stretch for a mere five seconds (what you don’t want is a jerky, snapping movement). Now, humans require roughly 30 seconds to get the benefits of a good stretch, and I see a lot of people attempting the more-is-better routine in stretching their horses. I think if there is a single mantra to apply to most of our dealings with horses, it is “go lightly.”
Warming up
A few things to remember before starting out on a stretching routine. First, don’t stretch a cold horse. Get him walking briskly for five minutes or so (on the ground or in the saddle) before stretching. Second, if a horse seriously doesn’t want to go along with a given stretch, don’t waste your time and your own back muscles. A muscle can’t stretch and contract at the same time, yet we witness people wrenching their horses into the classic forelimb stretch, pulling (with great force) their horse’s foot up and to the front, while the horse is pulling himself in the opposite direction. Ain’t nothing good happening there.
Third, be aware of your own body mechanics while you are working with your horse.
You’ve heard it a zillion times, but you need to be lifting with your legs and not with your back. A horse can take out your lower back in a split second if you are not taking care of yourself. And for safety reasons, always stay on your feet. Kneeling requires more time to get out of the way if a horse jumps or kicks.
The carrot stretch
Today, let’s start out with the classic carrot stretch, which increases the range of motion in your horse’s neck and back. This series of bends helps ease stiffness over time and it’s a good tool if your horse is a bit one-sided – and what horse isn’t?
Stand your horse squarely on even footing (make sure he is wearing a halter with a lead rope) and have a couple cut-up carrots handy (you can use other treats as well). Starting on your horse’s left side, just behind his foreleg, bring the carrot down behind your horse’s forelock and ask your horse to bring his nose to the carrot. What you are looking for is a nice round stretch of the neck, which in turn stretches the shoulders and part of the horse’s back. In lateral stretches we are not getting the job done properly the horse is “cheating” and flexing primarily at the vertebrae right behind his poll.
You’ll want to hold the stretch 10-15 seconds, then reward. Repeat a second or third time. If your horse is really stiff and uncomfortable, start with less time (but don’t make it a snap movement) and a lesser degree of stretching. And if the horse just can’t make the movement, you should dock in with your equine chiropractor.
If your horse moves his hind legs away from you while you are attempting this stretch, place him next to a wall so that he can’t swing in that direction and cheat the movement.
Perform the nose-to-fetlock stretch on the right side, then come back to the left, this time with the treat at your horse’s side. You’ll want him to bring his nose to his girth area, just behind his elbow. Hold for10-15 seconds, reward and repeat a second or third time, then move to the right side and repeat the stretches.
A good topline exercise for your horse
In the final exercise, hold a piece of carrot between your horse’s front legs and ask him to reach his nose down between the legs to his fetlocks. Hold the stretch 10-15 seconds, reward and repeat a second or third time. This is a very nice stretch for your horse’s topline.
Some horsepeople recommend carrot stretches for every time you ride. Well, that depends how often you ride. I would say do them three times a week (with a brief warm-up, whether you are riding or doing ground work) and note the difference it makes over a month, then adjust as needed. And you will be doing other stretches as well, right?
One last thing: While I am not an advocate of bribing a horse, carrots and other food items seem to be the way to get a horse into this particular series of stretches. I know only one horse who will do these stretches without receiving some form of bribe. And keep your fingers safe!
Next week: Forelimb stretches
Obi & me