SKELETAL MUSCULAR FLEXIBILITY

Skeletal muscular flexibility sounds daunting but is easier to under stand than to do. The skeleton of the horse has many bones that articulate, held together with body tissues. Flexibility is the workings of the adjoining tissues to the point were the bone joints are able to move to the maximum that the skeleton allows. To clarify further the angle of movement between two spinal vertebrae will be a lot less than a leg joint.

So what does all this mean? As with any exercise the stretching of any tissue must be started slowly so it will retain its elasticity. This must be carried out firstly at walk, so that as each part is stretched it is also allowed to return back to its former position. It is also important to allow some freedom after a period of exercise to relieve any stress or tension that may have formed. At this juncture I will say that conformation has its importance but we must study a horse at liberty where we will see a much more flexible horse than the work often asked for.

So why do we need to do exercises? We would all like our horses to be able to produce any movement at any time with equality to the left or right, but as in most of us we are either left or right handed and so the horse. To produce a horse that is ambidextrous gives us what we are looking for and from this we will develop a straight horse.

I will not at this point go into precise details of which school movements should be carried out to obtain this, as many great masters have written volumes on the subject. I must say that if a horse is bent to the rights as on a small circle, suffice to say ask for the same on the left. It must also be taken into consideration to bend and flex a horse’s frame from front to rear. The legs must be able travel not only from front to rear but likewise from side to side. All this must be carried out through encouragement and not force. Now that we are asking for all this flexibility, I must stress that the saddle must allow for all of this movement and not as in to many cases, act like a splint attached to the spine.

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