Howdy Friends!
We all love our horses. We all love to ride them, be with them, play, work and just be a horse person. Everything we do with, for, and too our horses effects them, mentally and physically. Every time we lead, work and ride our horses we impact their lives, being and bodies. What we do, and how we do it effects our horses’ posture – every time. In almost everything we do riding, effects the horse’s posture in a manner contrary to positive, healthy body carriage.
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| Here I'm demonstrating the "Rock Back" exercise. Standing softly in front of your horse, ask for her to shift her weight back to her hind end (Not a step back). This exercise will be easier after the horse has mastered the other exercises that soften the body and improve posture. This exercise is very important. |
Repetitive training, competing, showing, and even trail riding all impact posture, forcing most horses onto their forehand, if we don’t employ techniques to offset the impact. Horses operating on their forehand begin a downward spiral of health. The front end stiffens, flexibility erodes, the top-line begins to drop, and the hind-end degenerates into disengagement. Joints become painful, tendons stretch, and even organ function is hindered. Of course all this damage takes time, at least most of it, but some damage begins very early and is often unnoticed, or misdiagnosed. It is why horses slow down, balk, and even display temperament changes.
My strongest passion as a horse advocate is helping equine enthusiasts learn the truth about horse posture, and simple things they can do to ensure their horse enjoys proper, healthy posture, body carriage, and self awareness. My passion is why I travel to do clinics and teach the simple to learn exercises that guarantee horses can maintain proper, healthy posture throughout their lives.
Horses can indeed enjoy absolutely correct and healthful posture lifelong, and every horse owner, caregiver and enthusiast can be certain they are helping their horse, just by learning a few simple exercises and techniques that promote it.
My “Equine Posture Clinics” will provide every horse enthusiast the tools they need to forever help their horses maintain that healthful posture. At my clinics you’ll master a series of easy to learn exercises for the horse that will not only promote, restore and maintain healthy posture, but will cause your horse to excel in any discipline you love.
To learn how you can help bring my Equine Posture Clinic to your area, email me dutchhenry@hughes.net and please put “clinic” in the subject. Let’s do it for the horses!
Gitty Up, Dutch Henry.
