This is an extract from the book ‘Stretch Exercises for your Horse’ by Karin Blignault, and is published with the permission of J. A. Allen, equestrian publishers.
The Three Forms of Stretching
There are three forms of muscle stretching that are used to improve athletic ability and prevent injury. These are active stretching, passive stretching and using the automatic reflex reactions.
Active Stretching
With this method the horse does his own stretching with the guidance of the rider. That is to say, the horse is mounted and specific stretch exercises are performed on a daily basis throughout the horse’s career. The muscles stretch actively when the opposing muscles contract. During active contraction of the synergists, a neural impulse is sent to the antagonists, which makes them relax, thereby allowing them to stretch. This method is safer than passive stretching as the horse will automatically protect himself from injury by way of the stretch reflex. The rider should, however, be careful not the force the horse’s movement as this could still lead to injury. Examples of such forcing include too much work in collected gaits, too sharp an angle in the half-pass too early in training. Or jumping too high for the horse’s level of fitness.
Active stretching exercises should be incorporated in all horses’ daily workout programmes. They should form an integral part of the warm-up to prepare the muscles for work. After the horse’s work session the muscles should be elongated again to relax the horse. If the muscles are not elongated after collected work, the horse will lose suppleness and be susceptible to stress injuries.
Passive stretching
This method is performed off the horse by a hands-on approach. The handler physically moves the limb slowly through its entire range of movement, thereby inhibiting the stretch reflex.
When the limit of the range is reached the position is maintained for 5-15 seconds to ensure permanent lengthening. If the stretch is not held, the muscles, tendons and ligaments will revert back to their original length. The movement should be performed slowly to avoid the reflexive muscular contraction triggered by fast, excessive stretching. If this work is not performed carefully, applying knowledge and experience, it can lead to muscle or tendon injury. Great care should be take to prevent this. These passive stretch exercises should be performed daily after the horse’s workout.
Automatic Reactions
A few automatic reactions can be used to induce stretch in certain parts of the horse. By touching the horse in certain areas, specific automatic contractions can be elicited. An example of an automatic reaction is the balance reaction. If you disturb an animal’s balance he will automatically adjust his body in order not to lose his balance and fall over. The animal does not have to think of this reaction, it simply happens.
Ground Rules for Stretching Muscles
Active stretching
Active stretching should be carried out as part of the warm-up period, before new work or the main workout is tackled. Before starting active stretching exercises do 5-10 minutes warm-up with active forward movement in walk, trot or canter. Stretching should only be performed once the horse is relaxed: attempting to achieve stretch in a tense horse will be counter-productive and can lead to injury. Also do some stretching exercises to relax the muscles after collected work and jumping and at the end of the work session, in order that the muscles can regain their resting length.
Once the basic suppleness has developed, power and suppling exercises should be done, where possible, in parallel. As previously explained, suppleness without strength can lead to instability of the joints, while power without suppleness can lead to muscle and tendon injuries.
Lateral stretching is more effective if done at the walk.
Longitudinal stretching over ground poles should be done at walk as well as at trot to achieve different results.
Passive Stretching
Passive stretching can be dangerous and can cause injury if performed incorrectly. It is very much preferable that anyone seeking to carry out passive stretching should first gain experience by observing and being guided by a qualified therapist. If this is not possible, start with very small passive stretches such as the rotations.
It is not advised that children under the age of 13 do the passive stretching exercises with horses, but older children are quite capable of doing these exercises if trained carefully.
Overstretching in hyper-flexion or hyper-extension can cause muscle injury. Be guided by your horse – know him and be in tune with him. Any sign of discomfort should be acknowledged with a release of the stretch. Head throwing, ears set backwards, resistance in the jaw, resistance against the leg or refusing to jump (this could be a tight hamstring) are all signs of discomfort.
Overstretching can cause tightening, which will be followed by muscle spasm. This can only be released by deep massage or acupuncture. Never force the stretch. Forcing a muscle in spasm can lead to tearing of tissue or a pulled muscle.
The horse should not be stretched during or after rest periods, illness, injury or post-operatively, until he is healed. Any rehabilitative stretching should be done under strict medical guidance. Consult the veterinarian and physiotherapist should lameness appear when doing rehabilitative stretching. Never stretch a painful muscle. Painful resistance to stretching should be a warning to seek medical assistance. Only once the horse has fully recovered should you start to reintroduce the normal stretching regime with slow and small stretches. Rather do too little than too much. A horse’s muscles start to stretch within 5 seconds whereas a human’s muscles only start to stretch after 30 seconds. When starting the stretch programme, stretch for only 5 seconds and build up gradually to 15 seconds. If the stretch is held for too long, the blood supply to the nerves may be compromised, leading to increased tension in the muscles, and even painful cramps. Never hold the stretch for more than 20 seconds.
Before starting passive stretches, be aware of what is a normal stretch range. Always start with small stretches and increase the movements slowly within the horse’s comfort zone, otherwise you may inadvertently stretch beyond what is normal for horses. This can lead to destabilizing of the joints.
Stretching should be specific to each individual horse’s needs. One horse may be especially tight in the adductors while another may have great freedom of movement in that area, which allows for superior lateral stretch as demonstrated in his half-passes. When a horse has particularly tight muscles the stretch should start out being very small and very slow. A particular horse’s need for stretching may differ from time to time in his career, perhaps as a consequence of injury or illness. Adjust your programme accordingly.
Passive stretching should be done only after the workout, on warm muscles and tendons in a calm environment, to promote relaxation and release contracture or tightness built up from the collected work. Stretching can cause injury if performed on cold muscles. Stretch after at least 15 minutes warm-up in walk, trot or canter, but do not stretch more that 30 minutes after the exercise has ceased. Through movement, when the horse is warmed up, the coloidial gel in the soft tissue becomes liquid and jelly-like in substance, thus allowing the different tissues to glide over each other (for example, superficial muscle over deep muscle; tendon over bone). When cold, this gel is tacky and sticky and therefore allows for more friction between soft tissue layers and bones. Also, in the warmed-up horse, increased blood flow to the musculoskeletal tissues increases the local temperature and improves the visoelastic properties of muscles and joints. Additionally, energy supply and waste product removal are improved and the nerve control/proprioception is enhanced.
For passive stretching, protective gloves may be worn, but these have to provide a good grip to ensure that the horse’s feet do not slip.
This book explains
• the importance of stretch exercises in preventing injury, alleviating pain and improving performance
• The need to develop suppleness in tandem with strength
• The important role of classical ridden movements are active stretch exercises
• The basic anatomy and physiology of muscles and their associated tissues
• How the muscles work together in groups and which exercises benefit which muscles
• The fundamental principles of how to perform active stretch exercises as a rider form the saddle and passive stretch exercises from the ground