Photo: Donna Stidolph
The ditch in your pasture might seem an unlikely place to refine your horse’s gaits, but terrain drops are actually very useful for changing or stimulating muscle recruitment. When a horse has to negotiate a short, steep downward slope followed immediately by a quick rise, he has to rotate his shoulder blades up and back. This helps loosen the muscles between his shoulders and ribcage. Read on to learn more about how to get rid of horse shoulder tightness.
When a horse favors one front leg over the other, it negatively affects muscular development. He will typically lean toward one direction or bulge outward on one side of his body when moving.
A helpful technique to remedy this is to stimulate his shoulder muscles using terrain. The action of abducting, or drawing the front leg out and away from the body for balance helps equalize effort in the front legs. It also introduces a new range of motion and can free up tight spots around the shoulder muscles.With each loop of your serpentine, go two or three steps up the bank and then back down. Photo: Donna Stidolph
Feel free to use any ditch you have on your property. In the photo, I’m using the drainage trench in our front paddock.
Remember to change your horse’s poll flexion and bend for each loop, the same way you would in the arena. Be sure to not let him “fall” down the slopes with quicker strides. His rhythm should remain measured throughout. On your first few attempts, he might scramble a bit if he’s unaccustomed to this kind of exercise, but most horses catch on quickly.
This article about horse shoulder tightness originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!
Jec A. Ballou is the author of 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses: Resolving Postural Problems, Improving Movement Patterns, and Preventing Injury.
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