Equine Physiology & Fitness

Proprioception with Surfaces
In physical therapy programs trainers use an area of alternating surfaces called a sensory reeducation path. It includes repeating threemeter segments of pebbles firm ground and sand. Walking the horse through these surfaces causes his neuroreceptors to function rapidly. These adaptations get stored in the horses overall motor control. Therapists often think of this as waking up the horses nervous system. In the same way that muscles atrophy from underuse nerves can become dull or shut off from injury trauma or time off. Helping them fire again through use of sensory reeducation paths can help restore mobility and function to areas of your horses neuromuscular system that are stuck.
In the absence of a formal path like this you can create a similar experience by treading across the various surfaces immediately near your barn. At our barn we have a paved driveway a grassy lawn a section of wood chips and a sandy paddock all close to each other. I ride figureeight and serpentine patterns across these changing surfaces to mimic the sensory path used by therapists. I recommend aiming to do this three times per week for five to ten minutes asking your horse to walk and jog slowly across these constantly changing surfaces.
Similarly nerve signals can also be woken up through cutaneous stimulation. This involves using a firm object like a pen cap to gently scratch along the horses skin to generate reflexes. For instance you can scratch or tickle alongside the horses sacrum to create lateral and longitudinal flexion in his pelvis. Experiment with your own horse to see what reflexes you can achieve using only light pressure. Many riders discover that by tickling under the horses belly they can help him learn how to lift his back reflexively.
Stimulating reflex points like this triggers his deep supporting muscles rather than the large gymnastic ones. Cutaneous stimulation can be effective along the croup and gluteal muscles for horses recovering from hindquarter dysfunction or stiffness. It is sometimes also used along the horses oblique muscles when the sides of a horses ribcage have become deadened by overuse of a riders spur or leg aids. 
Add a Drop
The value of exercise on sloped terrain has become a wellestablished tool for building up a horses body. It equalizes the use of a horses hind legs when crookedness exists in addition to causing the horse to flex his hind joints.
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