TCJpart43 Yoga

EXTREME YOGA FOR HORSES:
You may do excersise like yoga, but have you ever thought your horse might benefit from some stretching too?

It's very important your horse stays supple, especially as he gets older, even if the most lively he gets is chasing his friends around the paddock!!  To be able to bend and stretch easily are beneficial under saddle as well as at rest.  If you find yourself halfway down a narrow path and a fallen tree blocks your way, if your horse is bendy, he will be able to turn, twist, back up.

There are gentle on-the-ground exercises you can do with your horse, similar to pulling their legs once the girth is tightened.  My favourite is the carrot trick.  Offer your horse a carrot that asks him to bend to his outside knee, on both sides.  Then if you can, between his legs.  The carrot will be his reward, and if you are gentle and go a bit further every time over a course of a week, he should become supple in his neck, and this muscle will pull all the way to his back, and you can try some of these before you ride too and see how it makes a difference.

You can encourage him to bend his neck using treats.

They bend naturally just getting on with life.

Here I am asking Henry to bend his neck, using a carrot.

Asking him to move is also a handy thing to become good at, not only is it beneficial to have a large horse that moves in the direction you ask, but to be able to move a horses feet demonstrates good leadership, since that's how they behave in their groups at liberty, the horse that gets you to move, is the boss. 

Here, Henry demonstrates the 'ear scratch'

Tom is just flicking away a fly on his chest, but you can ask him to bend his neck by using a treat. Please only do these exercises if your horse is calm and well-behaved, and best done in an enclosed space like a small yard too. Always remember safety first - I was a Brownie.

To ask a lateral/sideways move I simply add pressure to my fingertips onto their shoulder and bum,  pushing slightly harder to ask for the shift in the direction I want them to go - I am pushing them where I want them, it's as simple as that.  Eventually your horse will get so good at it, you just have to gently lay your fingers on him and ask him to move and he will, and if he forgets, just increase the pressure slightly until he remembers.  This is very handy if you're trying to sweep around their feet. Work it both ways of course. 

Horses are naturally athletic, especially if they're Trakehners!

Here I am giving Henry a treat from the saddle.  I like both my boys to behave this way out on a ride. To be able to stop dead in the middle of an open space  - complete a task not related to getting home or going faster - it makes them think.  And you can see even with me on his back, Henry can bend his neck all the way to my knee - and both sides too - and so can Tom.  Again, only attempt this when your horse is relaxed and calm.  When they are preoccupied out on a ride, and I want them back with me, I ride multiple and varied transitions to get their attention: 10 strides of walk/sitting trot/trot than back again, and repeat or mix it up as needed.

For backwards:  I do the same thing as a sideways, but I stand in front of him.  I put my hand on his chest and ask to back back back, first I was pushing with my closed hand - obviously you're never going to be able to actually 'push' a 17hh Trakehner anywhere he doesn't want to go, but it works if your horse respects you, because all he wants to do is escape any pressure - that's what horses are like thankfully, that's how we can ask them to do things like move.  Again the more you do this the less you actually have to touch your horse.  I just flick my fingers at their chest and they back up. This is also handy when your out and about.  You never know when you'll need to ask your horse to go backwards or sideways, it might get you both out of a tricky situation.

Horses have to bend in their normal routine too:  to scratch behind their ear with their back leg, to itch themselves...here are a few great yoga-positions I bet even Madonna couldn't do!!

John bought them a yoga ball, assuming the boys would treat the item as deeply suspicious I was surprised when Henry went straight up to it bit it, and put his foot on it.  hmmmm, it lasted a week. The boys kicked it about their fields, Tom likes putting everything in his mouth, we suspect he bit it and it deflated!

Not a big fan of lunging, I get bored, so I can only imagine how boring it is for a horse to go round and round in endless circles, Henry clearly paying attention to something far-off above...having said that, bending a horse in ever decreasing circles for a very short time in a slow walk or trot could be a good way to stretch your horse.  If he drops his head low too, that can stretch the whole back and help keep him supple. 

My philosophy is don't do any one thing a lot, keep it varied, keep it interesting, keep your horse engaged and with you.

Once he starts to get bored, stop immediately, because he won't be receptive to any new task in that mood, and all you'll do is make him not want to be with you.  Use treats, use toys and props: yoga balls, jump blocks, cones, poles, logs, stumps...anything to back him through, ask him to manoeuvre around, walk over..all these things will help his mind and body stay supple.

Happy Horsing around!