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Posture, Position, and Flexion on the
Trail
Most horse owners have 2 categories of
riding: in the arena and on the trail. People who ride in
the arena tend to be afraid to go out on the trail, and folks who trail
ride tend to be bored by arena work. But to have a truly sound and
well-rounded horse, both the arena and the trail can become tools to
teach safety, maintenance, and responsibility. In this article, I will
discuss the biomechanics of both horse and rider in producing a sound
and comfortable ride, and how to achieve these ends no matter where you
choose to ride.
Horses naturally have approximately 60% of
their weight on their front
end, and 40% on their hind end. What we want to achieve is a balance of
weight on both ends of the horse to balance them out biomechanically.
Some sports, such as reining, require a larger percentage of the
horse's weight to be shifted to their hindquarter, in order to slide
stop and spin. Dressage requires the same shift in weight for maneuvers
such as piaffe and passage. Since a horse's muscles on the hind end are
larger they are more able to handle weight from both the horse and the
rider. This balance of power mimics the biomechanics found in humans,
whose buttocks and lower limb muscles generate more power and force
than their upper limb muscles.
For both horses and humans, our natural center of gravity is located at
our navel. This is known as our "core" and includes the muscles of the
lumbar spine, the abdominals, and the pelvic floor. When we ride, we
need to activate these muscles in ourselves and our horses in order to
facilitate correct movements and decrease the likelihood of injury or
repetitive stress. Riding a horse is not a passive activity: it
involves nearly every muscle in the body and requires strength,
agility, and lightness.
When we ride, we need to be using our entire bodies to guide and direct
our horses, and to diminish the concussiveness of our weight on of
their backs by riding with what is known as an "independent seat". What
this means is not relying on our reins or hands for balance, and not
using our stirrups to help us stay in the saddle, and not holding on
with our legs below the knee. It has been said that it takes 500 hours
of riding in order to develop an independent seat.
The stress we place on horses when we ride and don't use an independent
seat, or when we are not in a position that is comfortable for them,
can be enormous. Often times it is the feet, hocks, and stifle joints
of a horse that will bear the brunt of this force, since they are the
first vectors to absorb the shock of both the trail and poor
positioning of the rider. This force then travels into the horse's
spine, and they can develop sore backs and poor conformation as a
result of poor balance on the part of the human. Since we are the
caretakers of our equines, it is our responsibility to keep both our
horses and ourselves in the best physical conditioning possible. When
both horse and rider are in synch biomechanically, it makes for a
sounder horse and a healthier rider.
There are exercises that we can do to help correct our posture and help
our horse's posture as well. First, we can stretch our calves in the
heel down position by balancing on the end of a step and moving slowly
up and down. Laying over a pilates/body ball stretches and elongates
the spine for increased flexibility, and the body ball is also a great
tool to use to simulate the motion of your horse. You can practice
trotting, posting, cantering and asking for leads while sitting on the
ball. Abdominal and pelvic floor exercises such as crunches enable us
to access and utilize these important core muscles. Massage and
chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation can increase flexibility and
stability in the spine.
Developing an independent seat requires time, patience and the
willingness to ride in ways that we may be unused to. One of the best
ways to develop a good seat is to ride bareback. We can also ride
without stirrups, and when we first begin this exercise it becomes
readily apparent exactly how dependent our seat is on them, as it can
be quite difficult. Riding without reins can teach us to use our legs
and seat first, and our hands last when directing our horses. For
example, we can play the Passenger Game, where we put our horse in a
round corral or an arena, let go of the reins, and allow our horses to
go wherever they want to go at the gait we choose. If they speed up or
slow down, we ask them to maintain the gait that has been asked for
with our seat. All of these exercises help us to become better riders
and help our horses to carry us in ways that are not detrimental to
them.
In addition to being aware of our own posture when riding, we need to
keep in mind the posture of our horses. When a horse is working to
their best biomechanical advantage, their head is in both lateral and
horizontal flexion, their back is raised, and their power and strength
is coming from their hindquarter. When a horse's head is held high,
their back is hollowed out and more stress is placed on their spine and
surrounding musculature. This inevitably results in more injuries, and
as the horse ages the horse will have more of a tendency to suffer from
"sway back", where the withers and croup are high and the center of
their spine is dropped. But there are ways that we can help our horses
to maintain their physical conditioning and help their overall fitness
over the long haul.
Let's start with arena work. If we are riding in an arena going to the
left, our horse should be slightly flexed to the left, with his head
and ribcage convex and making a smooth arc, riding from our inside rein
to our outside rein. When we are going to the right in an arena, where
there is a convexity to the right and a gradual suppling of the right
side, again moving from the inside rein to the outside rein. Figure 8's
in the arena allow us to change our horse's flexion, working both sides
of the horse equally. The change of flexion should occur in the center
of the arena, where there is actually a moment of straightness before
the next arc occurs. If you are working your horse at the trot, it is
important to change diagonals when posting, which also sets your horse
up for taking correct leads at the canter. When traveling along the
rail to the right, you should be posting with the inside or right hind,
and when going left you should post with the inside or left hind.
The same principles of lateral, horizontal and vertical flexion apply
to the trail. If we are going down a trail which arcs to the left, we
position our horse in left flexion, and if we are going right we move
our horse over to flex their body to the right. Just as in working in
the arena, if we are changing from left flexion to right flexion, we
allow our horses to be straight for a few strides and don't suddenly
pull them over into the opposite flexion, which is hard on their spine.
Using the trail for flexion shows that both you and your horse are
aligned and can determine position without needing an arena rail to
tell you where you are.
"Following the flexion of the trail" means being able to adapt
ourselves and our horses to the terrain that is in front of us, and
includes not only left and right flexion but also the ability to
transition upwards and downwards. If we are going uphill, we want to
move forward slightly to shift our weight from the front end to the
back end of the horse, where there is more power and greater
musculature. If we are going downhill, we want to shift our weight
backwards, toward their hind end, for precisely the same reasons.
Each gait presents us with an opportunity to refine our posture and our
horse's position. At the trot, most horses have 50% of their weight on
the front end and 50% on the hind end. This is why the trot is used to
diagnose gait or lameness issues, and is also used as a training gait
for young horses. This is also the reason why it is at the trot that we
can most easily establish "speed rating", a constant and rhythmic pace
that allows our horse to go along at a pace that is comfortable for
both them and their riders.
Rating happens in the arena first. You can play the Rating Game with
your horse by putting them on the rail and asking them to maintain the
gait you choose, preferably starting out at the walk and moving up to
the trot and then the canter. Give your horse the responsibility of
staying in the gait you have chosen. When they speed up, you can employ
a half halt by pulling back on the rein and holding until you achieve
the speed you want, and then letting go. If they slow down, use a crop
or a string to stimulate their hindquarters to speed them back up. In
horses, release is what teaches, so as soon as your horse responds to
your suggestion, let them go and continue on. Eventually, your horse
will understand that speeding up or slowing down results in correction,
whereas staying in the gait you choose gives them the reward of a loose
rein and being left alone.
If you are going out on the trail alone, you can play the Rating Game
as you move out, allowing the horse the natural forward energy that
comes from going away from their known territory and yet keeping them
from bolting or running away with you. Mimic the pace you want your
horse to go with your seat and ask your horse to follow it. If you need
to count out loud or slap your leg in order to keep up a steady rhythm,
do it: horses respond to rhythm and it actually acts to relax them. In
every gait that you go through, you can use this system to set a pace
and ask your horse to be responsible for holding it without stopping or
speeding up.
If you are going out on the trail in a group, make sure all the riders
you are with are up for playing the Rating Game. Pick the most "medium"
horse in the group (the one who is not too forward and not too balky)
as the one who should go out in front first. Have the front horse move
out and establish a nice, easy trotting pace and the other horses
should follow, nose to tail, one after the other. In order to avoid a
horse in front kicking the horse behind it, make sure each horse's nose
is directly in front of the hind end of the horse in front. By using
this strategy, if the horse in front kicks, the horse behind will sense
it as a signal to back off and will quit crowding the horse in front.
Once a steady pace has been established and all horses and riders have
relaxed into it, have the horse that is last in line move up to the
front and become the leader. Let that horse be the leader for as long
as the first horse was, and then have the last horse move up and take
his place. By riding this pattern as you move down the trail, each
horse in the group gets the opportunity to be out in front, keeping the
same pace that has been set by the original horse. This allows every
horse and rider to be responsible for the safety and pace of the group,
and teaches horses who are balky to be brave while teaching horses who
are forward to slow down and stay with the group.
These are but a few of the simple things that we can do to maintain our
health and the health of our horse, in the present and over the long
term. Try to practice these suggestions on a regular basis, so that
they get patterned in both you and your horse.