Basic Bending/Flexing Exercises

chickeninabun

chickeninabun

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On a horse that has only been lightly ridden for last 6 months, and is now very inflexible in the neck, especially on the right rein, what basic exercises do you recommend?

I've got an instructor coming on Friday but wondering if there was something I could start with before then.
 
hi i would start with carrot stretches in the stable they really can make a huge difference to a stiff one sided horse . my physio thought my horse must have had a rotational fall because he was so bad but i started doing the stretches and within a few months he is completely even and straight .i do them everyday before riding.
 
yes thats right ! you need to stand facing the girth line and hold a small treat near the belly and get the horse to stretch for it ,then turn around and stand with your back on the girth line and stretch his head down and around ur body -almost towards his back fetlock, he will find these difficult to start with but you will see improvements week on week. make sure you do both sides the same (he will find one side much harder) then do a stretch down onto the floor just far enough that he can reach without stepping forward and then between his front legs towards his belly . i use really small bits of carrot -too much and they get bored and you are left standing around for ages waiting for them to eat a huge mouthful before you can get on with the next stretch. this really works but needs you to do it every day ,its brilliant to see how much they improve ! i do this right before i ride.
 
Now this is one I can answer instead of just lurking x Having a horse that can turn itself into knots doing carrot stretches but ask her to bend in the school no way. So it's lots of circles,within circles,5m loops,serpintines,counter flexing,turn on the fore hand,legyield and lunging. And you best doing your stretches after riding when the muscles are warmed up so not to do any harm. Hope this helps xx
 
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