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A Brief insight into the Anatomy of the Horse

The Shoulders and Forelimbs

(The key points of the shoulder are shown on picture 1)

Jumping
The shoulders carry 60% of the weight of the horse. Tendons in the digits and the suspensory ligament in the pastern work with the shoulders to provide shock absorption. This is invaluable for competitive jumping but also leaves the shoulder vulnerable to injury. Landing after a jump requires an intense effort from all shoulder muscles. Excessive jumping will therefore overload the cushioning provided by the ligaments and tendons in the forelimbs potentially causing an overuse injury.

Dressage
The pectoral muscles (shown in picture 2) act as a brake on the extension of the arm as it descends. They are involved in simultaneous stretching and braking and can therefore be subject to unexpected elongation. Excessive dressage schooling can therefore leave the horse very sensitive and painful in the chest region

Working in an outline

Working with the neck lowered strengthens the abdominal muscles and relaxes the top line. It places extra load on the forehand consequently lightening the load on the hindquarters. This overloading of the forehand results in a raising of the chest between the two forelimbs. The development of the pectoral and serratus muscles contributes to improved support of the forelimbs and makes the horse lighter on the forehand when the neck is returned to its normal position.

Because working in an outline develops the majority of the shoulder muscles it would therefore be of benefit to any horses competing in jumping or dressage. However, excessive work in this position should be avoided as it places an overload and increased pressure on the joints, ligaments, and tendons of the forelimb.

The Hindend and Hindlimbs
The musculature of this area is involved in propulsion of the horse. Incline and decline work on a slight slope will aid the development of back and hind end muscles. If your horse participates in endurance events such as cross country where slopes are involved it is important to also practice ascent and descent work at home. This should however be limited and only done in walk and canter as trotting excessively up hills compromises the pelvis joint.

The two main hamstring muscles in the hind end (shown in blue on picture 1) will often be tight and sore on the horse as they are the main deceleration force when a horse slows down or comes to an abrupt stop.

Training for specific events

Is it just "sods law" when your horse ends up injured the week before a big event that you have been training for, for weeks? Well it could be, but actually more often than not, many injuries like this are caused by doing too much too soon.

Any form of exercise, especially over a prolonged period, causes some type of micro-damage to muscle and bone. Given time this damage will repair itself naturally and a normal well-balanced training program will result in a progressive build up of muscle strength and bone density. If fitness training is built up too quickly the damage to soft tissue will begin to outweigh the repair phase leaving your horse vulnerable to injury.

A heavy workload or competition is essentially traumatic and physiologically unnatural for your horse so every effort should be made to prevent injuries where possible.

When training to specifically improve your horse's fitness for a big endurance event, such as a 3 day, you should allow a good 3 months in which to build work up gradually. The slower you build your horse up, the stronger and fitter he will be for the event.

There are three main ways to improve your horse's fitness:

Increase the length of rides
Increase the number of fitness rides
Increase the pace of the rides

These are your three main training principles and when used correctly you should have a super fit, injury free horse for your event. However, these three training aids should not be introduced simultaneously. If you decide in one week to increase the length of rides you cannot also make the ride harder and do it 3 times more in a week than you usually would. This would be too much too soon and will lead to injury. You should concentrate on one aspect first and when one fitness level is reached you can introduce another aspect. The rule is, only ever change one of the training aspects at a time. For example:

Week 1 + 2
If usually you ride for 30 minutes at a time.
New training - increase the length of time to 45 minutes

Week 3 + 4
If usually you only ride 3x a week New training - ride for 45 minutes 5 times a week

Week 5+6
If usually you only trot for a combined time of about 15 minutes during the 45minute ride
New Training - ride for 45 minutes, 5x a wk, introducing 25 minutes of trotting and some canter

This is only an example, as specific training should be set depending on what you are aiming for

The other point to remember is; it takes 2 weeks for the effects of training to improve your horse's performance. This means any fitness work you do less than 2 weeks before an event will not significantly improve his competitive performance. Similarly, it will benefit your horse to reduce the workload 2 weeks before a big event to allow his body to fully restore itself, without having an impact on his fitness for the event.

Please note that if your horse has a vigorous training schedule it is vital that his musculature is cared for and maintained with sports massage in order to prevent injury and maximise competitive performance. This should be carried out at least once a month by a qualified Equine Body Worker or other suitably qualified therapist.

For any further FREE advice on fitness training and reducing injuries, or for more information regarding sports massage for horses', please don't hesitate to please contact us.

All information is provided by a qualified therapist in good faith and without guarantee. Any advice given is for guidance only and should not be considered as a substitute for veterinary advice and care.

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