Joint-Friendly Training For Your Horse

4 Calkins puts them in light work two to three days a week to help them become more connected and balanced. Teaching horses how to be supple and equally use both sides of their bodies is another key to longterm soundness she says. Every horse has a stiff side and it is the riders job to help build muscling as symmetrically as possible to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on a single side.
About flashy movement
And forget the flashy movement displayed by some youngsters Calkins says. As appealing as this is to watch letting a horse push bigger than their body is really ready for under saddle at too young of an age puts the suspensory and other tendons and ligaments at risk for injury she explains. My conservative approach to protect growing joints is also to protect softtissue structures. I teach my horses to be forward not rushed and save the big and flashy for later and mostly for the show ring.
Good nutrition is an important component in joint health Calkins says noting that the weightlifting aspect of a dressage horses job requires support. To that end she works with equine nutrition specialists to develop feed regimens for each individual from an early age. Its common to wait until the age that you think your horse may be developing arthritis to begin supplementing but the sooner you begin when they start working the better she says.
Regarding equipment Calkins says that all of her equine athletes work in front or front and hind brush boots. She also uses quick wraps and hock boots.
Strength and stamina
Ask Western performance legend Al Dunning about how reining and cutting affect equine joints and hell start by explaining that horses in these sports are bred to be greateven extremeathletes.
These horses must stop hard which is stressful on both hind and front joints says Dunning who trains out of Scottsdale Arizona. The reining horse turns around in his spins in an abnormal motion that horses dont do naturally. Also the lowdown rightandleft movement of a cutting horse taxes joints to the maximum.
Not surprisingly the hocks and stifles bear the brunt of this stress. The risk says Dunning is that tendon and ligaments subjected to this kind of exertionespecially with a lot of stoppingcan sustain injury which can contribute to arthritis down the road. To guard against this Dunning relies on a consistent exercise regimen and never works
a horse hard unless hes in top condition with an emphasis on strength and stamina.