Stretching

By Tracey O’Driscoll-Packer                               

  with James K. Waldsmith DVM

Would You begin a serious workout with cold, stiff muscles? Then why should your horse?

A serious human athlete would never begin or end a workout without a complete muscle-specific stretch routine. The effects of methodically increasing range of motion in the prevention of muscle and tendon pulls are well understood in sports medicine. This essential practice, however, has long been overlooked in equine sports where so often the heavy demands of speed and torque result in injury to muscle and connective tissue.

Providing your horse with a manual stretch routine aids in increasing the range of motion of each muscle group and the resulting suppleness and elasticity can significantly lessen chances of “going beyond” what is safe.

Ignoring a horse’s need to stretch is to give up what is probably the simplest and most effective preventative advantage and owner can provide. It is easy, does not require a lot of time and like most practices born of common sense, doesn’t cost anything. In addition to its use as a preventative measure, stretching your horse can also be an aid in recognition of existing impairments or soreness. Changes in your horse’s willingness or ability to extend his leg, bend his neck, or flex his tail can be an important clue to the state of his soundness.

We’re going to give you step-by-step instructions on how to incorporate a stretching routine into your daily training program, but before we begin, here are a few important items to keep in mind.

DO: Make sure you have a confident, competent handler holding your horse. Later, you may be able to go through your routine unassisted, but give yourself the benefit of that extra control and your horse the benefit of the extra security while he’s learning this new skill. Remember, as always, working around a horse’s legs is potentially dangerous-remain aware of your horse’s position and level of attention at all times; never get yourself in dangerous places you can’t get out of, e.g. between your horse and a wall or a solid object.

DO: Stretch your horse both before and after his workout. “Cool-down” stretching can reduce soreness up to 70 percent and help release small imperceptible spasms in muscles that may be constricting blood flow and reducing the movement of lactic acids that cause fatigue and soreness.

DON’T: Use any twisting motions, motions lateral to or outside the line of a joint, or beyond a horse’s comfortable range of motion.

DON’T: Hold the stretch as long as you would for yourself. Horses in a natural state tend to hold their stretches for a second or less and become uncomfortable when held longer.

DON”T: Bounce or use jerking motions when stretching. Many horses will resest your efforts at first anyway, so handlers should move slowly and quietly, using patience and passive resistance. Don’t be too goal oriented for the fitst few days when working with a horse new to stretching; your horses, especially, will be apprehensive and prone to pulling away. Avoid a one on one struggle for the horse’s leg because: 1) He weighs more than you do and perceives the leg in question to belong to HIM, and 2) When he pulls back, remember he’s contracting and tensing those very muscles you want to relax and lengthen.

Take your time-consider this a learning experience and put your horse’s acceptance of you working with his legs above the actual stretch routine. Aggressive behavior, such as kicking out directly at you (if unprovoked by pain or excessive resistance) should be considered a behavior problem outside the normal defensive reactions and treated as such.

The Stretching Routine

Front legs are stretched from the bottom up. First, pick up the leg and gently flex the ankle three or four times with one hand held over the front of the ankle (see Photo1) to feel for an grating or crackling (crepitus). Then, quietly move your hand up to the knee and bend the entire lower leg up and down, keeping the joint straight (ankle and knee parallel to the elbow (See Photo 2). Again, feel for anything unusual in the joint-it’ll take a while, but over a period of time you will be able to feel what is “normal” or consistent in any particular horse.

Next, move to the front of the horse and holding his leg under the ankle with both hands, pull in a forward and downward motion (See Photo 3). Many horses will actually lean into the stretch at this point. Then, fold the lower leg back up towards the elbow again as you move back around to the horse’s side. Extend his lower leg down and gently press on his knee to stretch the leg back and down toward his hind foot (See Photo 4). This concludes the four stretches for the forelegs, and by now you will have noticed that your horse isn’t the only one getting stretched out!   

Step to the Rear

Now, here’s where things can get exciting. Horses are more agile and reactive with their hind limbs, so make sure you don’t get in a rush when stretching this area. Begin with ankle flexion as described for the foreleg, holding your horse’s leg as if you were going to pick out his foot (see Photo 5). You’ll notice comparatively less flexibility than in the front ankles, which is normal. Then, similar to the foreleg, stretch the hind limb forward and downward, directing the hind foot towards the heel of the front hoof (See Photo 6).

Gently release the stretch, and taking care to keep the leg close to his body, move around to the back of your horse (so you are facing his hind quarters). Holding his left foot in your right hand, slowly stretch the leg out behind him with your left hand gently placed on the back of his hock. Be especially careful to keep the ankle, hock and hip in a straight line and avoid any lateral motion, which can put dangerous pressure on the hip joint (See Photo 7). You will often see horses stretch this way by themselves when they get up from a nap or first leave their stalls.

The last stretch for the hind legs is the “cross stretch”. As you will need to reach under your horse and pick up the hind foot farthest from you, it may be advisable to have someone on the other side pick it up and hand it to you the first couple times so your horse doesn’t get confused. Bring the leg at a slight diagonal, directing the hoof towards the heel of the opposite front hoof (See Photo 8).

On To The Back

Slowly flexing the tail bone from the base so that your horse relaxes his tail and back (See Photo 9) not only stretches another area of your horse’s body, but may also give you an indication of his back soundness. Horses with sore backs and/or nerve impingement often clamp their tails and resist any upward movement by the handler.

Next, hold the horse’s tail just above the tip of the bone and gradually pull straight out, increasing the weight of your pull and encouraging your horse to lean forward against you (See Photo 10). Slowly release the pressure a pound or so at a time until the horse is balancing himself again- a sudden release is uncomfortable for a horse with a sound back and downright painful to a sore back. Watch for any signs of discomfort during this stretch and release.

Round the Bend

Horses naturally bend themselves as they reach around to scratch at their bellies and bite at flies. In a manual routine, horses respond to different methods of achieving this. Begin by standing the horse next to a wall to prevent him from stepping away, then standing at your horse’s side just behind his elbow, ask him to bring his head around to you (See Photo 11). Grain, carrots, or scratching him in front of his hip are some ways to encourage him. It’s better if the horse is reaching for something, but a gentle pull on the halter may be used as long as he doesn’t feel like he’s being forced or tugged on. If he “ducks under” or avoids his regular range of motion it may be an indication of shoulder or neck pain.

The next to last stretch is to round your horse’s back, stretching the muscles that run alongside the spine. These are the muscles that easily become sore and tight during riding. A good thumbnail helps for this one, as you will need to press into his abdomen in the area of this navel so that he “sucks in his belly”, thus rounding his back (See Photo 12). It is not necessary to get a huge reaction for this, and remember, excessive pain or irritation will contribute to creating an unpleasant atmosphere in the future.

Take a Bow

The last stretch encourages your horse to flex and round his neck downwards, stretching the muscles along the top of the neck and into the withers. Showing your horse a carrot or handful of grain, have him follow your hand down until his nose is between his knees (See Photo 13). Most horses will do this at least to some degree, some with more range of motion than others. How far your horse goes may reflect confidence or motivation (how much he wants that carrot) as well as possible stiffness in the neck and upper back. Backing him up to a wall may be helpful if he walks backwards to “catch up” with the treat, but keep in mind this is an entirely voluntary stretch- no hands on for this one.

Keep in mind, if this routine is faithfully and patiently applied, it will result in a more relaxed, cooperative subject and over a period of time your horse should begin noticing that these stretches actually feel good – he may even begin helping you with each of them.  As you acquire confidence and familiarity with each horse’s individual range of motion, you will be able to identify subtle changes which will serve as markers for further investigation should an abnormality persist. As an owner or trainer, you can be confident that manual stretching, combined with good training techniques and veterinary supervision when necessary, is giving your horse the best possible insurance against injury.