LESSON FOUR
I. Taking a History
II. Body
Lessons two
and three have provided information about the horse’s skeletal and muscular
anatomy, movement patterns and some of the stresses and problems that can
affect horses based on the work they do.
This lesson
focuses on the individual horse, evaluating its body and movement, discovering
its problems, and formulating a plan of approach for its massage.
Equine massage
is much more than just knowing massage techniques and how to use them on the
different parts of a horse’s body. The
most effective massages are done by people with good powers of observation that
have been sharpened by an in-depth education that allows them to see where the
problems are and how these problems spread out and affect other parts of the
horse’s body.
I. TAKING A HISTORY
To be the most
effective, you will need to start with as clear a picture of a horse’s problems
as possible. To do that you will need as
much information as you can get about a horse’s past history—even events and
injuries from years before can affect what you’re seeing today.
Here is a list of important
information to secure.
1.
What
are the age, breed and gender of the horse?
2.
How
is the horse used?
3.
What
kind of problem does the horse have?
4.
How
long has the problem been apparent?
5.
Was
there a precipitating factor that the owner knows about, or did the problem
come on gradually?
6.
Were
there any past injuries or illness that could have contributed to the problem?
7.
Has
the horse been examined by a veterinarian?
If “yes,” what was the conclusion and recommendation of the
veterinarian?
8.
Is
the horse on any medications?
The age, breed
and gender of the horse will have an affect on the horse’s reaction to massage
and body work. The horse’s age can have
a bearing on how easily the muscles respond to massage. Older horse’s bodies find it more difficult
to let go of holding patterns and muscle tension than the bodies of younger
horses. Sometimes younger horses are not
as easy to handle as an adult horse.
Breed
characteristics can affect muscle density and sensitivity to touch, and this
will affect which massage techniques will be the most effective.
Gender will
often determine how tractable a horse may be to being touched on various parts
of its body.
The kind of
work a horse does will have a significant influence on the types of injuries
and muscle problems a horse may have.
You will want
to encourage the owner to give you as much information as possible, not just
about the immediate problem. You’ll want
to know anything they can think of that might relate to the problem, even if it
happened a number of years earlier. I have often been surprised at how some small
piece of information about something that happened years before can make
perfect sense for what I’m seeing in the horse today.
How long the
problem has been going on will give you some idea of how far out from the
original injury site the compensations have extended into the movement
patterns, and set up muscle tensions in other parts of the body. (I will go into the time it takes for muscles
injuries to affect other areas of the body in a later lesson.)
Any
information the owner can give you about how the problem started will help your
understanding of the complexity of the problem.
A simple muscle pull or strain that the owner saw happen or noticed
almost immediately will be far easier to resolve than something that came on
gradually and the owner can’t remember any precipitating incident. If the owner feels that the injury came on
gradually, you can be fairly certain that the problem had been present and
building for some time and will have set up compensations in other parts of the
body that will also have to be released.
All of this will take longer to resolve.
You’ll want to
know of any recent injuries or illness of a veterinary nature. Often, with veterinary problems, getting a
horse through a serious injury or illness is the major concern; at that time no
one is thinking about muscle spasms and compensation that have almost certainly
occurred. The horse recovers, but never
seems to move as well as before. This
can be a classic signal that the horse has muscle problems and needs body work.
Any time you
are asked to look at a horse that is not moving well or seems quite sore, it is
always possible to misinterpret what you are seeing. I am always more comfortable if a vet has
seen the horse first and ruled out any problems that require veterinary
care. If I do work on a horse that seems
particularly sore or stiff and has not been seen by a vet, I have a basic rule
that I follow: if the horse shows improvement with each massage, then I’m
reassured that massage is the appropriate approach for the horse’s
problem. If, after one or two massages,
there is no improvement or the horse actually seems worse, I immediately
suggest that the owner have a vet look at the horse before proceeding with any
more massage.
It is
important to know if the horse is being given any kinds of medications. Often, vets will prescribe muscle relaxants
for horses that are sore. There are
times when a horse may be so sore that immediate relief is crucial, but muscle
relaxants are not the final answer.
Muscle
relaxants relax all of the muscles in the body, not specific muscles, and when
they wear off all of the muscles return to their prior state of tension. The acute pain may have abated, but the
tensions and spasms that provoked the acute pain are still there and could flare
up again at any time.
In addition to
muscle relaxants, any medication that masks or relieves inflammation or
soreness, such as “bute” or Banamine, presents you
with a problem of reading the body tensions and soreness correctly. I do not believe it is appropriate to
do massage on a horse that is on these kinds of medications for a veterinary
problems, or even medications that an owner has given a horse on their own.
II. BODY
Once the basic
history has been taken, you will want to do a “body reading”.
We know that
the different breeds of horses have recognizable characteristics, many of which
have come about by selective breeding to produce the type of horse the breeders
are looking for. We get accustomed to
looking at these horses and judging their conformation by a “breed
standard”. But there is another standard
- a biomechanical standard. It is this
standard that I’m asking students to see in their evaluations of a horse’s
skeletal and muscular conformation.
A horse’s
balance, both longitudinal and lateral, is dependent upon its bony skeleton and
how those bones are held together by the muscles. This is “anatomical balance; this is the
standard I want students to use when they evaluate, not a breed standard. (Review lesson two.)
Let's talk
about anatomical balance in relation to a horse’s lateral balance. It is easy to understand. The body has identical muscles on the two
sides of its body. To be balanced
laterally, these muscles must have the same degree of capacity for contraction
and extension. This is the standard with
which I judge a horse’s capacity for lateral balance.
Longitudinal
balance is more complicated. In lesson
two I described a horse as having two legs and two arms (the front legs). In human, our legs are longer than our arms;
this is also true of horses – their legs (hind legs) are longer than their arms
(front legs). Because horses use their
arms (front legs) for support and movement rather than grasping and holding,
they are actually moving with two of their “legs” (the front legs) shorter than
the other two (hinds). It is upon this
fact that classical training is based.
It is why we attempt to get more bend in the joints of the hind legs,
allowing us to “shorten” these hind legs and move weight to the hindquarters
while working to maximize the stretch of the forehand.
So, when I’m
asking students to evaluate a horse’s longitudinal balance, I’m asking them to
first look at the difference in the length of hind and front legs. When doing this, I measure the front leg
height from the elbow joint to the ground and the hind leg height from the
stifle joint (the little dip just below the point of the stifle) to the ground. There is always going to be a difference; how
much difference is what will affect the horse’s balance from front to rear
(longitudinal balance).
This leg
difference is also going to have a major affect on a horse’s top line – the
longer the hind legs, the more difficult it will be for a horse to contract its abdominal and chest muscles and support its top
line.
Horses have
their own ways of adjusting their bodies to accommodate to this imbalance. Sometimes a horse will simply allow its
weight to settle into its lower forehand.
The average western pleasure quarter horse, with its heavy, dense
muscles, is an example of this solution to the forehand/hindquarter
imbalance. This solution will restrict
forward movement and shorten a horse’s stride.
Horses with
lighter muscle density (Thoroughbreds and Arabs are the usual examples) will
often raise their head and neck in an attempt to balance their forehand with
the hindquarters. When this happens,
they create an imbalance between the muscles of their belly line and their top
line. The flexors of their belly/chest
line extend when they should be contracting and the extensor muscles of their
top line contract when they should be lengthening. When this happens, there are problems that
occur and interfere with correct training.
Some common ones that we may see are ewe neck,
sway back, flat croup, a “dip” in front of the withers, a sharp angle behind
the withers, or lack of poll flexion.
There are some other ways that horses may organize their bodies to
accommodate for this imbalance in leg length.
One of these will see horses stand with their hind legs behind the
vertical; in this way they shorten the distance from the stifle to the ground.
These
adjustments will put stresses in various areas of the body where stress
wouldn’t occur if the horse’s body was in better balance. (Review anatomical balance in lesson 2.) So, when we look at aspects of a horse’s
conformation (skeletal and muscular), these adjustments will give us important
clues as to where a horse’s body will experience stress and strains. These shifts in body posture caused by
conformation can also be compounded by the type of work we ask horses to do as
well as residual effects from prior injuries.
If we can
understand how a horse deviates from “anatomical balance”, we can address our
massage work to areas of the body that are the most susceptible to balance
problems. In this way we see the horse’s
body in biomechanical terms and we can help keep the horse comfortable and
prevent injuries. This is why it is
important to judge a horse’s conformation against the “anatomical standard”,
not a breed standard.
As you go
through the lists of various aspects of conformation to notice and evaluate,
remember that evaluating them is important, but equally important is using all
of this information with reference to anatomical balance in order to give you a
picture of the “whole” horse. You will
be doing your massage work on specific areas of the body, but your goal is to
affect the whole horse and bring it back into anatomical balance. It is this concept that sets this massage
course apart from other equine massage courses.
How a horse
organizes its body as it stands and moves will give you a great deal of
information about the kinds of stresses and imbalances that you will find in
the horse’s body. The way the horse
looks, the way its muscles have developed, the way it carries itself and moves
will provide information that will have a bearing on a horse’s problems.
EVALUATING
THE HORSE STANDING STILL
Throughout
this portion of the lesson, I’ll be posing questions for you to think
about. I am not expecting that you give
me answers. The intent is to get you
thinking about a subject so later we can have a conversation about these
things. It will be beneficial to review
the portions of lesson two that discuss anatomical balance and
agonist/antagonist pairs.
Before
you begin your evaluation, stand back and look at a horse’s over-all outline
and conformation. Do the different parts
look like they belong together, or do some parts look like they could belong to
different horses? Does the muscle
development of the forehand and hindquarters match, or is one more developed
than the other? Which do you see as the
more developed?
Does
the length of the legs harmonize with the length and size of the horse’s body,
or is it a long-backed horse with short legs or a short-backed horse with very
long legs? How do you think either of
these would affect movement and choice of job for a horse?
Does
the neck harmonize with the rest of the horse, or is it too short and heavy, or
too slender and under-developed for the rest of the horse’s body? Is the head in proportion to the rest of the
horse’s body?
Keep
your first impressions in mind as you begin to look at specifics of
conformation.
SIGNPOST FOR LONGITUDINAL BALANCE
First,
and most important, note the difference between front leg and hind leg
lengths. You do this by noting the
length of the front legs from the point of the elbow to the ground, and the
hind legs from the stifle joint (where the femur and the tibia meet) to the
ground. The front legs are going to be
shorter than the hinds (remember, they are really arms), but this difference
will vary from horse to horse, and often there will be enough of a difference
to make more than the normal weight and stress placed on the forehand.
The greater the difference between the leg lengths, the greater the
stress on the forehand. Try
visualizing the horse you are looking as if it had longer or shorter front
legs. Can you think of ways that this
difference could affect movement and performance? Rather than the front legs being unusually
short, leg length difference could also come from hind legs that are longer
than average, especially in the length of the cannon bones. Whatever the reason, the greater the
difference in length between the two, the harder it is for the front and rear
of the horse to balance.
This
discrepancy will usually result in additional weight being put on the forehand,
but there is a way in which a horse can adjust this balance. A horse can position its hind legs out behind
its body – this will lower the stifle joint and bring the hindquarters into a
better balance with the forelegs. Can
you think of ways in which this stance would affect the horse’s body?
Does
the bottom of the rib cage appear to be level with the ground, or does the
front of the rib cage tilt downward? If
this is the case it can indicate a lack of strength in the pectoral muscles
that support the front of the rib cage.
Do you think this could be another way in which the forehand weight
would be increased?
Notice
the basic body build of the horse. Is it
tight and compact with heavy muscle development, or long and lean? Is this consistent with the kind of work the
horse does?
A
tight, compact look indicates the muscle’s capacity for contraction is greater
than for extension.
A
long, lean look indicates that the muscles have a greater range for extension
than contraction.
Think
of the western pleasure horse as compared to the Thoroughbred race horse. Each muscular configuration has its own
problems, but the muscle development should be consistent with the work the
horse is asked to do. If not, it is the
equivalent of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Do you think this could produce stress and
soreness in muscles?
Is
there a consistency to the over-all muscle development throughout the horse’s
body, or do the parts look like they could have come from different horse? Is one part of the horse more developed or less
developed than other parts? Do the
forehand and haunches look like they belong together? Variations of this kind will be a good
indication of which parts of the body are working harder than the others. This difference in development will produce
muscle tension in the over-developed areas and the under-developed areas will
be weak.
Have
you ever notice that one common combination is a well-muscled forehand with
weak hindquarters. How do you think this
could affect movement?
Now
look at the relationship between the shoulder angle and the hip angle. (The spine of the scapula will define the
shoulder angle, and a line from the point of the hip (tuber coxae) to the hip
joint will give you the hip angle.) The
closer these angles match, the better will be the balance between the front and
rear portions of the horse. However, it
is not the norm for these two angles to be the same, so the degree of variation
between these two will be a good indication of the horse’s front to rear
balance.
Try
to visualize a horse where these angles are the same; then visualize one where
they are very different? How do you see
these different angles affecting a horse’s balance? Try
visualizing extending these two lines above the horse’s body until they
intersect – could this point be an indicator of where a horse’s center of
balance is?
Do
the legs support the shoulders and haunches correctly?
The
fore legs should be perpendicular to the ground, under the shoulder and fully
supporting the shoulder weight.
The
hind feet should be under the hip joints – allowing them to support the weight
of the haunches correctly.
Can
you visualize how deviations from these positions could put strains on the
surrounding muscles and cause soreness.
What do you think could happen to stifle joints if the hind legs are
positioned out behind the horse’s body?
What happens to the forehand weight if the horse’s forelegs are behind
vertical – or if they are out in front of vertical?
Now
look at the back muscles – are they long and “stringy” or round and “meaty”?
Does
the back dip or perhaps even look really sway-backed?
Poorly
developed back muscles are over-contracted muscles that are tight and can be
quite sore. This contraction of the back
muscles is called hyper-extension and will be accompanied by weak abdominal
muscles that are long and extended and do not contract properly. An important part of correcting this problem
of tight back muscles will be the strengthening of the abdominal muscles after
the contractions of the back muscles have been released.
What
kinds of things can you imagine doing that would help strengthen the abdominal
muscles?
A
different problem that you may see with back muscles is over-development. Can you see how such a horse could be stiff
both laterally and longitudinally?
The
best back conformation will be somewhere between the extremes. A good back will be supported by good
abdominal muscles and will provide a good support surface for a saddle.
Horses
that are difficult to fit with saddles are ones that have problems with their
back muscles.
Notice
how the withers tie into the horse’s back.
Is this a long, gradual connection, or is there a sharp dip or angular
look to the connection? Do the withers
seem to “drop off” suddenly? Can you see
how a sharp angle where the withers and back muscles merge could indicate a
serious restriction between the forehand and the back? Could this make the long back muscles stiff
and tight? How do you think this type of
connection could affect longitudinal balance and movement? Can you imagine how a horse with an angular
junction between the withers and back muscles could have difficulty lifting
both its chest and the portion of its back that is under the saddle?
Notice
the condition of the loins. In a horse
that has good back muscles, this area should be smooth and flat and merge
smoothly with the thoracic portion of the back. Is this true of the horse you
are evaluating? The loins should have
the same muscle development as the rest of the back. Sometimes, however, they look under-developed
and angular in relationship to the rest of the back, or may even have a
“dip”. How do you think a dip in the
loins could affect the raising and stretching of the long back muscles?
Perhaps
the horse you are looking at has lumbar vertebrae that are “bony” and prominent
– what do you think this might say about flexibility in the loins? Do you think tightness in these loin muscles
could inhibit the lowering of the haunches and affect the ability of the hind
legs to reach under the torso to give support and facilitate engagement?
The
muscles over the top of the haunches should look round and well developed if
they are being used correctly; flatness of the areas above the hip joints (gluteals) will indicate that the horse’s hind legs are not
coming up under the haunches to sufficiently support the hindquarters. “Fat pads” on either side of the base of the
tail will indicate that the horse’s hindquarters are tight and the hind legs do
not have a good range of movement.
There
are two serious problems that you may see in the haunches. One is a croup bone that is very prominent
and angular. This is often referred to
as “goose rump”. It is actually a case
of the sacrum having been pushed up and out of position at the joint where it
connects to the last lumbar vertebra.
This makes it almost impossible for the lumbar/sacral joint to work
correctly.
Many
horses have a steep croup angle, but a steep croup angle is not a “goose rump” unless
the joint between the last lumbar vertebra and the sacrum is jammed together.
The
other serious hindquarter problem you may see is a “dropped hip”, or
“knocked-down” hip.
To
evaluate this condition, stand behind the horse. From this position you will be able to see if
one side of the haunches is lower than the other. You will also see a lack of muscle
development on this lowered side so that it looks flat and angular in contrast
to the other side which will have a rounded contour.
Both
conditions are serious and should be considered a chiropractic or veterinary
problem.
Notice
how the horse carries its tail? What
kind of information do you think tail carriage can give you about the muscle
tone of the hindquarters? If the tail is
held high and stiff, would you suspect stiffness and nervous tension in the
horse? How do you think this tail
carriage would affect the horse’s use of its hind legs? How would this position affect the horse’s
ability to lower its pelvis as the hind legs swing forward; would the legs just
swing from the hip joints?
If
the tail is held tight and clamped down close against the buttocks, what would
this indicate to you about the muscle tone of the rest of the buttocks? Could this be an indication of tight muscles
in the hindquarters that will affect the length of hind leg stride?
If
the tail hung limp and weak, with little response to your touch, what would
this tell you about the strength or weakness of the hindquarters? If a tail is consistently cocked to one side,
this should give you some information about the horse’s lateral as well as
longitudinal balance; how do you think this would affect the balance in the
hindquarter muscles?
Good
tone in tail muscles will allow you to move it around, but it won’t feel weak
and floppy. When watching a horse move
at a walk and trot, you should see the tail move softly from side to side as
the hind legs swing forward.
Notice
the set of the neck – is it high, low or average? Muscle development and stresses in the body
will differ depending upon whether the horse’s neck is set unusually high or
low. Can you visualize how the way a
horse’s neck comes out of the forehand can have an effect on its balance? Do
you see how this can give you indications about the kinds of muscle tensions
and stiffness you may find in the neck and the back?
Do
you think that a low neck set could be a component of the problems that affect
horses that are heavy on the forehand?
Do you think a low neck set could constrict shoulder movement? What could be the results of a neck set that
is too high? Do you think this could
stiffen a horse’s back?
If
there are hollows on the sides of the neck just in front of the shoulders, what
do you think this could tell you about the condition of the cervical serratus muscles. Can you see
how tightness here could make it difficult for the neck to stretch properly
through the crest line?
Is
there an arch to the crest line of the neck, or is it flat and straight; or
perhaps it has a downward curve (ewe-necked)?
A sharp dip in the crest line, just in front of the withers, indicates a
horse that braces its neck in an upward arc (ewe-necked, above the bit). Can you see how a horse with this kind of
neck constriction could have difficulties stretching and arching its neck
outward and downward? Can you see how
this would affect acceptance of the bit and how it would make it difficult for
a horse to lift its back?
Is
there poll flexion? A stiff poll can
stiffen a horse throughout its entire body.
It is even possible that areas in the back and hindquarters that show a
lack of muscle development could be a result of stiffness in the poll.
Test
for this by standing in front of the horse, put your hand on its nose and push
lightly. It the horse pushes back
against your hand or backs away from the pressure, it means that the poll is
tight and the horse cannot yield at the poll to pressure. If the horse yields its head softly and nods
to your pressure, then poll flexion is present.
Horses
that crib will almost always have problems with poll flexion because the
muscles in the throat are tight and rigid.
Massage cannot cure a horse of cribbing, but bodywork in the throat and
poll areas can loosen these constrictions and allow poll flexion on a temporary
basis.
If
all of the longitudinal balance indicators are good, there should be a “flow”
to the top line of the horse’s body, without sharp angles, depressed areas or
other interruptions of the line.
Interruptions in the flow are indicators of where you can expect to find
tight or sore muscles.
SIGNPOST FOR LATERAL BALANCE
In
this portion of your evaluation you will be comparing the two sides of the
horse.
In
the evaluation of longitudinal balance you looked at the body’s muscle
development and stance from the relationship of the front legs to the hind
legs. In evaluating lateral balance you
will look at the relationship of a leg to its counterpart on the other side,
comparing forelegs to each other and hind legs to each other.
All
muscles that are part of lateral pairs should have the same size, density and
muscle development. Uneven lateral
muscle development indicates that a horse is asymmetrical (crooked); sometimes
only mildly, sometimes quite severe. The
following suggested observations should give indications of the degree.
In
evaluating lateral balance the most important thing you should notice is how a
horse positions its legs when standing at ease.
Can
you see that how a horse habitually stands can give you information about how
the legs support the body’s weight? If a
horse stands “square”, what do you think that would tell you about its weight
distribution?
If
one front leg was positioned in front or behind the vertical, how do you think
this would affect the weight distribution of the shoulders? If one hind leg is in front or behind the
other, how do you think this would affect the balance and weight distribution
of the hindquarters?
Do
all of the horse’s legs and feet point straight forward or is there an outward
or inward rotation? How do you think the
turn-out of a leg (front or hind) would affect a horse’s lateral balance? Do you think this would throw more weight
onto that side; or do you think it might force more weight onto another leg?
Can
you visualize how a rotation, either inward or outward, could alter the balance
and muscle tension of the shoulders (if a front leg) or a haunch (if a hind
leg)?
In
the forehand, if one front leg turned out from the top of the leg (at the
elbow) how do you think this would affect the elbow joint? Do you think this could affect the movement
of the shoulders? If both front legs
turned out from the elbow joints, can you see how this could set up tension in
the chest and around the elbows? Do you
think this could restrict the forward swing of the front legs?
In
the hindquarters, how do you think weight distribution would be affected if one
hind leg turned out? Do you think this
kind of asymmetrical leg placement could have any affect on muscle balance in
the torso? How do you think this would
affect the horse’s ability to bend to left and right?
If
both hind legs rotate outward, can you see how they will swing along the
outside of a horse’s barrel as they come forward? Think about how this might affect the use of
the abdominal muscles. Would this allow
or prevent the horse from bringing its hind legs up under its torso
(engagement/collection) and support the rider’s weight? How do you think this will affect lateral
flexibility?
Notice
if the horse shifts its weight from one hind leg to the other while it stands,
or props one hind leg up. This is common
in many horses. It may be common, but it
is not normal for a well balanced horse to do this. What do you think this shifting of weight can
tell you about muscle balance and tension in the hindquarters? Do you think it is more likely that a well
balanced horse will be comfortable when standing square and not feel a need to
shift its weight around?
If
a shifting of the horse’s weight is in the front legs, what would be your first
thoughts? Is it possible that this could
indicate some kind of serious problem in the front feet?
Since
the rotation of a leg/legs (inward or outward) will affect the balance of the
muscles above it, do you think this could set up lines of imbalances that could
travel through the body to areas further away?
To get a feel for this try duplicating with your own body some of the
things you are seeing in the horse’s stance and conformation as was suggested
in the lesson 3 assignment.
Look
at the muscle development on the sides of the withers and shoulders. Feel the two sides. Does one seem bigger than the other? Differences in wither and shoulder
development will usually be associated with a tilt of the rib cage. It is common for the rib cage to have a tilt
to one side (usually the withers will tilt to the right); this tilt is normally
slight, but sometimes is quite noticeable.
When this tilt is present, usually the muscles on the right side of the
torso will be contracted and those on the left side will be in extension. How would you be able to recognize this
problem in a horse? How do you think
this would affect a horse’s ability to bend to the left? How do you think it could affect a horse when
going to the right?
Looking
at a horse from the front, ask yourself if the shoulders appear to be the same
size and shape. Are the shoulder joints
(point of shoulder) on the same level, or is one lower than the other? What kinds of problems could you expect to
see in a horse’s lateral balance and movement if these are different? Is it possible that the shoulders could be
different because the rib cage is not level?
Do you think the shoulders could be different if there is a difference
in the length of the front legs; or could a difference in leg length be caused
by differences in the feet? If the feet
are the same size and shape, but the knees are not the same distance from the
ground, what would that suggest about the length of the cannon bones?
Feel
the two sides of the neck. Do the
vertebrae on one side seem more prominent than on the other side? Do you think that an imbalance here could
affect lateral balance; could it also affect longitudinal balance?
Notice
if the horse’s head faces straight forward or does it turn slightly to one
side? If a horse tilts its head so that
the ears are not level, what do you think this could tell you about imbalances
in the muscles of the poll, jaw joint and throat? Can you see any correlation between uneven
head placement and imbalances in the rest of the body?
As
you evaluate the horse from the rear, two important things to notice are the
size and shape of the hindquarter muscles and the position of the point of the
hip on the two sides. Are the muscles
across the top of the haunches (gluteals) even in
size and shape, or is one side smooth and round while the other is flat and
angular? Can you think of some reasons
why these muscles could be different?
Could imbalances in the muscles here be related to the placement of the
hind legs and the way they support the hindquarter weight?
Does
one hip appear to be lower than the other?
If the hindquarters are not level, can you visualize how that could
affect the straightness, balance and movement of all parts of the horse all the
way to its nose?
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS IN BODY READING
Look
for abnormalities in the bony structure, especially in the legs.
If
there are any, ask the owner about them – what happened
to cause them? Do you think that all
“lumps” and “bumps” will be of equal importance or would lumps and bumps around
joints be more important than those in other
places? Could any abnormalities around
joints be a cause of movement problems or pain?
(If you are not sure how the abnormalities will affect movement, this
should become clearer to you when you do the movement evaluation.)
Are
the legs straight or crooked? Do all of
the bones of the legs line up vertically or are some off-set at the various
joints, especially at the knees and fetlocks.
Try to visualize how any deviations in the “line-up” of the leg bones
can affect movement. Can you see how
these could create muscle tensions or soreness in the body?
The
shape and condition of the feet will be a major contributing factor for horses
being sore in many areas of their bodies.
Lesson 5 will deal with the feet in more detail, but you will want to
notice them in your body reading.
It
is common for horses that are hurting to also show mental tensions, so as you
are looking at the physical aspect of a horse, you will also want to be aware
of its disposition and attitude. Does
the horse seem nervous, fearful, uncomfortable or defensive? My experience has shown that much of the time
these negative traits will improve or even disappear as the horse’s body begins
to feel better.
I’ve
asked you to think about many different things in your body reading of a horse
and all of this information may seem like a lot to absorb, but I think that you
will find that one area flows into the next.
Eventually you see most of it in a glance and evaluate problem areas
quickly.
Simply
try to notice what looks out of place and interrupts the flow, or doesn’t seem
to match. As you practice, you will find
that the things that cause a break in the flow or catch your attention are the
places where you’ll find the problems.
Evaluating the Horse As It Moves
Once you’ve finished your evaluation of the horse standing, you’ll want
to see it moving. In describing how you
evaluate a horse as it moves, I’ll be describing what you would want to see if
the horse was moving correctly, trying to give you a picture of the
“ideal”. Compare the idea with what
you’re actually seeing. I will also
describe a number of deviations from this ideal because they are quite common,
but some times what you’ll see doesn’t fall into a neat category. When this happens, you’ll know something is
wrong and you’ll have a pretty good idea of where you’ll need to start your
massage. You will see that many of the things you noticed in your evaluation of
the horse standing, will manifest themselves even more
as the horse moves.
When the appointment to massage the horse was first made, you should
have requested that the horse not be longed or exercised ahead of time. Muscle problems usually improve as the
muscles warm up, and you need to see the full extent of the problems. You need to see the horse at its
“worst”. Also, ask that the horse not be
bathed; and no Show Sheen or coat conditioners applied. If the coat is too soft and slippery, your
fingers will just slide over the surface.
Your first decision will be what method to use to see the horse
moving. Many veterinarians, when doing a
lameness exam, watch the horse moving on a straight line, usually going away
from and coming towards them. But I want
to see the over-all movement of the entire horse. I’m not just looking at leg soundness; the
things I want to see can best be seen by looking at a horse from the side. My preference is to see a horse moving on a
circle. This gives me a chance to see a
continuous line of movement and by standing on the outside of the circle I can
see both the outside and inside of the horse as it circles.
My first choice would be longeing on a longe line or moving free in a round pen. Seeing the horse ridden is not ideal because
it puts too many constraints on the horse and makes it difficult to separate
the horse’s problems from what may be the rider’s problems. SOME WORDS OF CAUTION! There are times when it is not appropriate to
ask a horse to longe or move on a circle. If you’re looking at a gaited horse, the size
of a longeing circle could break up the gait and
obscure the problem. Gaiting on a
straight line would be your best approach.
Also, you do not want to ask a working cow horse to go on a longe line, just longe free in a
round pen. And, you DO NOT ask saddle
seat horses, or any horse with long, built-up feet, to longe. This is one time when you ask to see the
horse ridden. You do not want to be
responsible for accidents that might happen to those feet on a longeing circle.
If the owner says the horse doesn’t longe on a
line and there is no round pen, I ask to see the horse walk and trot on a lead
rope, rather than being chased around a ring.
It is not productive to have a horse run around loose in a rectangular
ring; they are usually tense and excited and you don’t get a good picture of
how they normally move. Sometimes an
owner will say that the horse longes, but not very
well. I’ll ask them to longe anyway and explain that the things that the horse
does, or doesn’t do, on the longe line will give me
important information about its problems.
Once in a
great while you will see immediately, with just a few steps,
that a horse is very sore and even walking is uncomfortable. That’s all you need to see; don’t force the
horse to move any more than that. At
later sessions, after you’ve relieved the acute soreness, you’ll be able to
evaluate the horse’s movement patterns.
Let’s assume
you’ll be seeing the horse on a longe line since many
people will not have a round pen. Many
horse owners are not well versed in longeing a horse
correctly, and in your massage work there will be times when longeing will become an important part of the
rehabilitation process. Here you have an
opportunity, at the very beginning, to help the owners learn more about this
important part of the process of getting their horse back to full working
condition. Below is a list of situations
you may encounter, and some suggestions about how to handle them.
1.
If
at all possible, you do not want to be the one doing the longeing. You want to be able to stand back where you
can see both the inside and outside of the horse as it goes around the
circle. If the owner says that they
don’t know how to longe a horse very well, and there
is not a round pen available, encourage them to try anyway because they will be
more familiar with the horse and what signals it responds to. If it doesn’t work, you can try to longe the horse, or just look at it move on a lead line.
2.
What
do you do if the horse races around hysterical and out of control? If you are concerned for the horse’s safety,
stop and try another approach—maybe walking and trotting on a lead rope.
3.
If
the horse just has excess energy, but you’re not really concerned about safety,
try letting the horse work off some of the energy. Reversing directions frequently will often
defuse some of this energy. As the horse
gets tired, it will slow down and allow you to see its problems. This is a time when a round pen would be
helpful.
4.
If
a horse shows a very low energy level and just plods along, it could be the
horse’s way of avoiding discomfort. This
can make it difficult to see what is going on in its body. In this case, you would ask the owner to push
the horse forward—out of its comfort zone.
This will allow you to see any problem that the horse, by going slow,
may have been trying to avoid.
5.
Another
thing you need to know is what kind of equipment is appropriate for this kind
of longeing.
Many riders and trainer use various pieces of training equipment when
they longe, but you want to see the horse moving in
the way that is most comfortable and natural for it, not the way a trainer
wants it to move. You want to see how
the horse wants to organize its body to compensate for its tightness, soreness
and tensions. My preference is to longe the horse in a halter without any training
equipment. On a few occasions, with very
strong, difficult horses, I’ve agreed to longeing
with a cavesson for control. In general, the less equipment used, the more
you’ll see the horse moving the way that is most comfortable for its body. If the horse is longeing
free in a round pen none of this is an issue.
6.
Another
aspect to think about is how to attach the longe line
to the halter. My preference is to hook
it to the ring under the chin, but there are times when it is advantageous, it
the horse pulls on the line, to hook to the rings on the side of the
halter. I do not like to see a longe line that goes over the poll and attaches to the
outside ring. I believe it teaches
horses to head tilt. Try to encourage an
owner to do it another way if that is their usual method. I prefer that the line not go over the nose
for control; try going under the chin and attach to the outside ring if the
horse pulls.
7.
You
will want to see the horse longe in both directions,
so, if the horse seems to have a preference, let it chose the direction. You may see, later in the longeing,
that the horse had a reason for its preference.
For purposes of talking about what you may see when the horse is moving,
let’s assume you’re seeing it on a longe line or in a
round pen. You won’t be able to get
nearly as much information if the horse has to be on a lead rope. You will want to see the horse walk, trot
and, if possible, canter. If the horse
cannot give a canter, don’t persist, but know that the lack of cantering is
important information.
You will want to see each gait in both directions before the next gait;
watch the walk in both directions before going on to the trot and the trot in
both directions before the canter. In
this way you’ll get a clear picture of each gait without the next one causing changes in what you’re seeing. If, however, the horse seems to have a need
to go at the faster gaits, let it; it will eventually settle down. This longeing is
not about control, it’s about seeing what the horse prefers to do with its
body.
Much of what you will see will be basically a confirmation of what you
saw when the horse was standing still, but now you have a chance to see how all
those separate pieces produce a moving whole.
The three most important things
that you want to look at, regardless of the gait:
1.
The
correctness of the foot falls for the gait.
Evaluating these will be your first priority. Any deviation from the correct gaits will
signal problems that will have repercussions throughout the horse’s entire
body.
2.
The
major joints of the legs (hip, stifle, hock, elbow, shoulder and fetlock) and
then the over-all movement of each leg, all the joints working together as a
unit.
3.
The
look of the top-line—how the forehand, back and haunches connect and if the
movement flows from one area to the next throughout the body as it moves. You will want to see a harmonious flow to the
horse’s movement. If something catches
your eye and looks inconsistent with the flow—stiff, awkward or jerky—you’ll
know that you are looking at areas where there are problems. I look for areas of the body that look stiff
when everything else has smooth movement.
Evaluating the Walk
In lesson
three I described the walk sequence as starting with a hind leg even though the
first thing you see is the front leg moving.
However, when I’m actually evaluating the walk and counting the beats, I
start my count with a hind leg. Doing it
this way, I watch as the inside hind leg comes forward. Just before it lands, the front foot on that
same side will lift off and take its forward stride (for one moment they almost
form a V), then the outside hind and foreleg will do the same thing. Doing it in this way I can just watch the
pair on the inside of the circle. I
don’t have to shift my eyes back and forth from the inside to the outside. The major gait abnormality that you might see
in the walk is the pace, where both legs on a side go forward at the same time.
All gaited
horses have a four-beat walk, so any abnormalities that you see will indicate
problems. It is in the trot phase that
you will see variations if the horse is gaited.
In a good walk the body will swing
with the movement of the legs and you should see an “over-reach”—the hind foot
should step at least up into the foot print of the front foot, and preferably
beyond it.
If there is a
problem you may see something different, and there are some patterns that are
fairly common. If a horse is very stiff
in its body, especially in the joints of the hindquarters, the hind legs will
not come forward enough to reach into the foot prints of the front legs. In another instance, one hind leg does not
reach forward under the body to the same extent as the other; it appears to
trail out behind. Sometimes a horse may
seem to land heavier on one foreleg than on the other. I’ll discuss these in more detail in
evaluating the trot because all of these variants, if present in the walk, will
also occur in the trot and are easier to see.
Muscles must
cross joints in order to produce movement.
Any stiffness or soreness in the muscles is going to affect joint
movement. So along with evaluating the
gait, I will also pay special attention to how all of the joints are working,
and I will especially be looking at the leg joints.
In the hind
legs, at the walk, the two joints that I will look most closely at will be the
stifle and hip joints; in the forelegs it will be the elbow joint.
In the walk
there should be a smooth backward/forward motion in both the hip and stifle
joints and the elbow joint should swing forward freely.
I’ll also
notice the movement of the hock and the joint at the point of the
shoulder. All of these major joints
should look “well-oiled”, moving smoothly—not cramped or restricted in their
movement.
The fetlock
joints should sink smoothly toward the ground as the horse’s weight passes over
each foot. Some stiffness in the fetlock
joints is common in horses that have seen hard use; however, if you see any
attempt on the horse’s part not to let the foot stay on the ground long enough
for the fetlock to sink toward the ground, this could signal a lower leg or
foot problem. If you see this in a front
foot, the horse may “nod” or raise its head as the foot hits the ground and it
will lift the foot quickly off the ground, not allowing the fetlock to sink.
If it’s a hind
foot, you will see a “jerky” motion in the hock as the horse tries to get the
weight off the foot.
The top line
is the next aspect of the horse to examine.
A good top line will show good muscle development through the neck, back
and haunches. As the horse moves, there
will be a smooth flow of movement through its entirety. Any stiffness or lack of movement will
indicate problems.
In a good walk
the neck will stretch outward and downward and there should be a soft, rhythmic
downward motion of the neck with each stride.
If there is an upward motion with each stride, or no movement at all,
this will tell you that there are restrictions in the way the neck and front of
the torso connect, especially in the serratus muscles.
As each hind leg swings forward, you should see movement in the muscles
along the horse’s back. If you do not
see this movement, this is an indication of tight, or possibly sore, back
muscles. Rather than being tight, the
back muscles could lack strength and be hollow or sway-backed, and again, you
won’t see movement in them.
The top of the haunches will not show a lot of movement in the walk,
most of the motion will come from the hip joints down, but there should be some
movement as the hind legs swing forward.
If the hind leg strides look short and restricted, it may be the result
of restricted movement in the leg joints, but it could also be an indication of
tension or tightness in the haunch muscles that is the result of tight, stiff
or over-developed muscles across the top of the haunches.
Tail carriage
can also give important information about the muscle tension in the
haunches. There will not be as much
side-to-side swing of the tail in the walk as you will see in the trot, but
there should be a softness to the tail carriage. A horse that holds its tail clamped down
against its buttocks is one that is extremely tight in its rear. If the tail is held stiff and straight out or
elevated, it indicates a lot of nervous energy.
Also, notice if the tail is held straight behind the horse or is it
pulled off to one side.
Though not part of the horse’s top line, there is another area of the
horse that will give important information about its stiffness and muscle
tension—this is the lower edge of the External oblique along the sides of its
torso. The External oblique covers most
of the horse’s side. When a horse is
supple and fluid in its movement, you can see movement along the entire lower
edge of this muscle from the point of the hip to its rib attachments that are
near the elbow. Any stiffness, soreness
or tension in the torso will interfere with this muscle’s movement. You can get some idea of the extent of the
problem by noticing how much of this muscle’s lower edge shows movement.
At first, you
may only see some movement in the part of the muscle that comes off of the
point of the hip. As the horse warms up,
this movement will extend further down the length of the muscle, and the muscle
will show contraction and extension throughout its entire length in a horse
whose torso muscles are working without restrictions. This same movement pattern of the External obliques will be present in the trot as well as in the
walk, and is as good an indication of the suppleness or stiffness of the torso.
A summary of the walk evaluation—look
for:
1.
Correct
gaits
2.
Joints
swinging freely—“well oiled”; important joints to watch are stifles, hip
joints, elbows, shoulder joints and fetlocks
3. The various areas of the horse,
from nose to tail, blending smoothly into each other. You want to see curved lines joining these
areas of the top line, not sharp angles
Evaluating the Trot
The trot is
the gait that will give the greatest information about any stiffness, soreness
or balance problems. I’ll look first at
the correctness the gait, the quality of the joint movement and the top line. Basically, you will see much the same as you
saw in the walk, but because of the diagonal gait pattern and the speed of the
trot problems will be more obvious.
There is
another observation to make as you watch the horse trotting--that is how the
horse carries it body in relationship to its line of travel. It will take practice to notice this, but you
must become aware of any deviations.
Watching
the trot for the correctness of the gait pattern, you should see a diagonal pair
of front and hind legs coming forward together, then the other diagonal pair
coming forward. There is a moment of
suspension between these two strides, but it’s not always as obvious in some
horses as in others, so be primarily concerned with seeing the legs of the
diagonal pair working together.
When a horse
is trotting there are two major gait abnormalities that interrupt this diagonal
gait pattern. The first is a horse that
is trying to alter its gait in order to relieve pressure on some part of its
body; when this is the case, the diagonal pair of legs may not come forward
together.
The other is a
horse that trots in front and walks behind (it will very probably also trot
behind while it canters in front). This
is usually a product of training, particularly western pleasure training. If you see these types of break-up of the
trot you will know that there are going to be some major muscle imbalances.
Other gait
abnormalities can interfere with a horse’s performance, and these are signs of
an imbalance between the muscles on the two sides of the horse. They will
interfere with the horse’s ability to carry its body straight.
There are two
I see frequently. In both, one hind leg
does not come up under the horse’s body to the same extent as the other; it
trails out behind (it is usually the right hind that does this). There are two possible reasons for this. In one instance, the horse’s haunches are not
in alignment with the rest of the body.
The head, neck and torso may be in a straight line, but the haunches are
pulled off to one side. This might seem
to be a problem in the position of the legs, but it is almost always a problem
of an imbalance between the torso and haunches.
In this case, much of your massage work will need to be in the flank,
loins and groin.
In the other
instance, all of the horse’s body parts may be lined up, but the body is
positioned at a slight angle to the direction of movement. The average horse will do this in two ways. It could carry its haunches to the left of the
line of travel, or to the right. If it’s
to the left, the horse, when moving on a straight line, will give the
appearance of moving slightly sideways as it goes forward. If it’s on a left circle, the haunches will
be to the left of the line of the circle regardless of which direction the
horse is going. If the horse is on a
right circle, the haunches will be to the outside and the horse will fall
heavily onto its right foreleg, possibly turn its head to the outside of the
circle and will want to make the circle smaller. If the horse is on a circle to the left, it
may seem to move better, but will not be able to make the circle smaller.
If the horse carries its haunches to the right of the line of travel
while on a straight line, he’ll have a tendency to move off to the left, with
its left shoulder leading. On a circle
to the right it will do the same thing, having a tendency to make the circle
larger. On a circle to the left, it will
want to travel with its body bent to the outside of the circle.
These two configurations of the horse’s body are really indications of
the horse’s basic asymmetry—an imbalance between the muscles on the two sides
of the horse’s body--affecting the forehand balance. It will also involve a tilt of the rib cage
to one side. Your massage work for the
problems described above will first have to involve releasing all of the
muscles on the side where the muscles are in the short, contracted state. Then work on the extended muscles of the
other side. This will prepare the
contracted muscles to lengthen and the extended muscles to contract in order to
bring the two sides of the torso into balance.
Another problem you’ll see is one where one front or hind leg turns out
rather than swinging straight forward.
This does not necessarily affect the correctness of the foot fall
pattern of the trot, but does cause an imbalance in the movement. If it is a hind leg that rotates outward, you
will see it quite clearly in the position of the stifle—it will point outward
and the leg will have a sideways swing as it goes forward. Your massage work will be primarily around
the hip and stifle joints, and then with balancing the haunches and loins. If it’s a front leg that turns out, it will
throw the forehand out of balance. Your
massage work will be primarily in the muscles around the elbow joint and in the
chest muscles that attach the leg to the chest.
There is one situation that comes up occasionally in which the horse
you’re evaluating looks “off” enough at the trot to make you wonder if you’re
looking at a veterinary problem rather than simply an indication of muscle
tightness. This horse may seem to be
landing so heavily on one front leg that it appears to be lame.
How do you
decide if it’s muscular tightness somewhere or a lower leg/foot problem? Remember, in evaluating the walk I talked
about watching the fetlock movement—how the fetlock would sink towards the
ground as the horse’s weight passed over it?
It’s in the trot that this movement in the fetlock will be the most
obvious.
As the horse
takes a stride with a front leg and puts the foot on the ground, the fetlock
normally sinks as the horse’s weight passes over the foot, but if the horse is
sore in its lower leg or foot, it will not want to put weight on the foot and
will get the weight off as fast as possible, not giving the fetlock a chance to
sink.
If the problem
is tight muscles higher up in the leg or shoulder, the horse will land heavy on
that leg and may look “off”, but won’t make an effort to get off the foot
quickly and you will see the sinking of the fetlock toward the ground as the
horse’s weight passes over the foot, rather than the foot lifting as quickly as
possible.
If there is a
problem in the lower leg or foot of a hind leg, you will see a quick jerk in
the hock, as well as the fetlock not sinking, as the horse tries to get the
foot off the ground as quickly as possible.
Just as you
did in the walk, you’ll want to look at the major leg joints while moving at
the trot. You want to see smooth
movement in these joints. In the
hindquarters, you’ll look at the hip and stifle joints, but now you’ll also
look at the hock—it has more movement in the trot than it did in the walk. Watch for any abrupt, jerky movement in these
joints. These three major joints should
all be working together in a smooth rhythm.
If one of these joints seems less flexible than the others you’ve
detected a problem. Watch the fetlocks,
do they sink and rise in a smooth motion as the feet land and lift?
Some horses
have naturally big movement in their leg joints (warmbloods are noted for this)
and some have a smaller, tighter movement.
The important thing is that the joint movement, whether quite large or
smaller, has a smooth, round motion (like ball bearings) rather than a
restrictive up/down motion (like a piston).
In the trot, a
correctly moving hip joint allows the leg to make four motions—it goes up,
forward, down and then back—and produces that round, ball bearing-like
movement.
The types of
work a horse does and the training it receives can have a great effect on this
movement.
Think of the
way the western pleasure horse uses its hip joints in contrast to the
Thoroughbred race horse. The western pleasure jog uses primarily the up/down motion while the
race horse uses primarily the forward/back motion.
The hock and
stifle joints, following the lead of the hip joint, should also have a smooth,
easy motion to their movement. If
there’s any constriction in any of these major joints of the hind legs,
including the fetlock, there will be restriction in all of them. If any one of them doesn’t work correctly,
the rest cannot work correctly.
When
looking at the front legs you will want to assess the elbow and shoulder
joints. These joints operate primarily
in a forward/back motion, but you should still see a smooth, well-oiled opening
and closing of these joints just as you did in the hind leg joints.
The elbow
joint swings forward as the leg comes forward and this motion opens the
shoulder joint, thereby pulling the lower portion of the shoulder blade
forward. If the swing of a front leg
seems restricted, it could be because of tight Triceps behind the shoulder, or
possibly the muscles (Rhomboids) attaching to the top of the shoulder blade.
After
evaluating the movement of the leg joints, you’ll want to look at the over-all
top line of the horse as it trots.
Let’s start
with the head and work back to the tail.
The neck should stretch out and downward from the withers just as it did
in the walk, but, in the trot, the head and neck should be still and steady,
with none of the rhythmic downward motion that you saw in the walk. You should not see any side-to-side or up/down
motion. Any dip in the crest line in
front of the withers will indicate stiffness in the lower neck and the area of
the back under the saddle.
An upward arc
of the neck will tell you that the muscles and ligaments of the crest line are
overly contracted and the horse will have difficulties lowering and stretching
its neck and accepting the bit.
Looking at the
horse’s back, you want to see good muscle development and movement. A dropped or sway back not only shows poor
development in these muscles, but is indicative of poor abdominal muscle
tone. With this kind of back, you will
see that the horse’s pelvis does not swing down and the hind legs cannot come
up under to body to give support. In
this case the back, loins, tops of haunches, abdominal muscles and the groin
area will all be quite tight and there will be soreness or sensitivity in those
areas.
When the
haunches are working correctly, you will see movement in the muscles on the top
of the haunches (the gluteus muscles); a lack of movement will tell you that
this area is tight and could be sore.
When you’re
watching a horse on a circle, tightness through the torso and haunches can
cause the horse to lean to the inside of the circle rather than bend along the
line of travel. This leaning to the
inside will allow you to see a portion of the horse’s back and haunches on the
far side of the spine. How much of the
other side can be seen is an indication of the extent of the tightness. The greater the horse’s lateral flexibility,
the less it will lean to the inside.
The tail
should have a soft arch to it, not flat and clamped tight against the buttocks, nor straight up in the air. It should swing softly in time with the hind
legs as they swing forward. A tense tail
will tell you that there is very probably tension in the sacrum attachments of
the hamstrings, in the tail muscles themselves, in the ligament attachments
just under the tail on either side of the rectum, or in the adductor muscles
between the hind legs.
Finally, just
as in the walk, you want to see movement in the External obliques
from the point of the hip to the elbow.
How much, or little, of this muscle that is working will give you
important information about the tightness or flexibility of the sides of the torso. It is only when the External obliques are working in properly that the horse can breathe
fully. Tightness in these muscles
restricts the expansion of the ribs and the diaphragm.
Summary of Evaluating the Trot:
1.
Is
the foot fall pattern correct for the trot?
2.
Are
the major joints working correctly?
3.
Is
there harmonious movement and flow through the entire top line of the horse?
4.
The
neck should arch out and downward from the withers and the head and neck should
be steady and without movement.
5.
Is
there movement in the long back muscles?
6.
What
is the condition of the back?
7.
Does
the pelvis swing down as the hind legs swing forward?
8.
Can
you see the outside of the horse’s back and haunches when it’s on a circle?
9.
Do
you see movement in the top of the haunch muscles?
10. Does the tail swing in time with
the trot?
11.
How much of the external obliques do you see
working?
Evaluating the Canter
I don’t always ask to see the horse’s canter. Whether I do or not depends on a number of
factors. One would be how much of the
problem I was able to see in the trot—I may not feel it is necessary to watch
the canter. Another reason not to ask
for the canter would be how sore and uncomfortable the horse appears to
be. In that case, if I can see what I
need at the trot, I don’t want to ask a horse to keep going when it’s obviously
uncomfortable. However, if the owner
indicates that something about the canter is part of the problem, then I will
definitely want to see it, or see what happens when it’s requested.
The mechanics
of the canter involves the stretching of one side of the horse’s body in front
of the other. When pushing off with one
hind leg and landing on the diagonal fore leg, the horse’s body gets a good
diagonal stretch that is not possible in the walk or trot. A horse that can canter equally well on
either lead shows an ability to stretch its body equally. So if a horse has muscular problems that
inhibit movement in some areas of its body, it could also affect the canter in
various ways. If you are able to watch
the canter, the first thing you will want to notice is the correctness of the
gait pattern. There are a number of
incorrect canter patterns that you may see, but I will wait until the end of
this section to describe them, along with some other canter problems.
Important Joints in the Canter
In both the
walk and trot I stressed the importance of good movement in the hip and stifle
joints. In the canter these joints are
still very important, but there is another one that is equally important. This is the lumbar/sacral joint. It is underneath the croup bone and connects
the last lumbar vertebrae of the loins to the sacrum (the fused, triangular
bone in the back of the pelvis). It is
the working of this joint that allows the pelvis to make a big downward swing
as the hind leg comes forward. In the
canter, every time the hind leg on the leading side comes forward, it pulls the
pelvis down, and it is the flexing of this lumbar/sacral joint and the
stretching of the muscles in the loins, as well as the incredible stretch of
the hamstrings at their attachments to the sacrum, that allows this to
happen. The movement of the
lumbar/sacral joint is a major contributing factor to a good canter.
Top-line in the Canter
As in the walk
and trot, there should be a flow to the horse’s body as it propels itself
forward. As the horse pushes off with a
hind leg, you should have the feeling that the body rises, and as it lands on
the leading leg it will move downward.
This same pattern will be repeated with each canter stride, and a good
canter will give you a sense of an upward and downward undulation. The neck should arch out and downward, and
the head should be steady, just as in the trot.
Any upward motion of the neck, especially as the leading leg lands, is
an indication of a on the forehand with tight back and shoulder muscles; it
lifts its neck in an attempt to bring its forehand up because it cannot elevate
the chest and back.
Irregularities in the Canter
Now we’ll talk
about some of the things that can be wrong in the canter—things that will
indicate tension and stiffness in various parts of the horse’s body.
1.
A
four-beat canter is an aberration of the correct three-beat canter. In the four-beat canter, the feet of the
diagonal pair—inside hind/outside fore (the second beat of the canter) do not
land at the same time; instead, the outside fore leg lands before the inside
hind. This produces an awkward “hobbling”
movement that can make the horse look “off”.
It is often seen when a rider tries to get a very slow canter.
2.
A
problem that you’ll see frequently is a horse that can’t get into the canter—it
just keeps trotting faster and faster.
This could occur if there’s some kind of stiffness, weakness or
restriction in the hind leg that has to push off to produce the canter. If the restriction is only in one hind, the
horse should be able to make a canter depart when going in the other direction. A horse with a flat croup angle and legs that
do not come up under the pelvis will have difficulty getting a canter depart in
both directions—the flat croup angle makes it difficult for the horse to get
good leverage for a good push-off with the outside hind. When this is the problem, the position of the
croup and hind legs is the visible symptom of a problem, but the major portion
of the problem is in the loins, flank and groin.
3.
Another
common problem is bucking as the horse goes into the canter. With a young horse, this could just be high
spirits, but if it is persistent in a more mature horse, it could be a sign
that the horse is very tight and out of balance in the loins. It is this imbalance that makes it difficult
for the horse to have its legs in the correct position for the canter depart. If this is
the case, a horse will often give a quick buck in order to get its haunches and
legs into the proper position to give the canter lead requested. If a horse is consistently giving big bucks
in the canter it is more likely that it has a sore back, a bad saddle fit or is
hurting someplace. If this is the case
you will see other signs of discomfort such as the ears pinned, tail swishing,
etc.
4.
A
horse may cross-canter or counter-canter on the longe line. A
cross-canter is one in which a horse will be on one lead with the front legs
and the hind legs will be positioned for the other lead. Young horses just starting their training may
occasionally cross-canter and this is fairly normal, but a cross-canter in a
mature riding horse is a good indication of a significant imbalance in the
loins.
5.
The
counter-canter is one in which the sequence of foot falls is correct, but the
leading leg is on the outside of the circle.
It is an important exercise in dressage for balancing and collecting the
canter, but persistent counter-canters in one direction on a longe line indicates a stiffness
in the horse’s torso that makes it difficult to bend in the direction of the
circle. It’s likely that this horse also
shows difficulty with lateral flexibility and bending in the trot and walk as
well. You can expect to find tightness,
and possibly soreness, in the back muscles and External obliques.
Summary of Evaluating the Canter:
1.
Look
at the foot fall pattern. Is it correct
for the canter or does it exhibit any of the variants described?
2.
Are
the major joints of the haunches (lumbar/sacral, hip, stifle, hock) working
correctly?
3.
Is
there a noticeable dropping of the pelvis as the inside hind leg comes forward?
4.
Does
the horse’s top line appear to round and undulate as it goes forward, or does
it flatten out and rush forward on its forehand?
5.
Is
the horse’s neck and head quiet and arched downward, or does the neck arch
upward as the horse lands on its leading leg?
We’re finally at the end of the many things
you should be training yourself to notice, and you should also have some idea
of what they mean in terms of how they affect the muscles, balance and movement
of the horse.
I’ve tried to
point out the many ways in which the horse’s body may be operating poorly. Some of these movement patterns and body
tensions can come from their innate conformation, some from training, some from
accidents and injuries, but they all put stresses on the body that will be
readily apparent and readable to someone trained to be observant.
All of this
may seem like a lot to take in, but with this new awareness of what you’re
looking at I think you’ll find it easier than you may be anticipating.
Some of the
things you’ll notice will indicate major problems, some may only be indicative of minor imbalances. But even the small stresses and imbalances,
if not addressed, can gradually tighten a horse’s body in ways that can
eventually impair performance and make a horse uncomfortable or sore.
Your job is to
be able to the read the subtle signs as well as the obvious one and understand
what you’re seeing and make an educated assessment of what could be causing the
problem.
ASSIGNMENT:
Lesson
4 is one of the most important lessons of this course. The skills you gain from this lesson, along
with your knowledge of equine anatomy, will give you the tools to “read” what a
horse’s muscle development and movement can tell you about how it will use its
body and will show you what problems there will be and where they will be
located.
I
want to emphasize that what I am asking you to do in this assignment is not
intended to criticize any one type of breed or conformation – all types of
horses deviate from “perfect balance” depending upon what job they are bred for
or asked to do. The purpose of this
assignment is to help you become more aware of how a horse’s skeletal
structure, muscle development and movement can affect its comfort and health
and give you the tools to see how these aspects of a horse’s body can set up
stresses and soreness that we can help with our massage.
For
this assignment it might be helpful for you to review the portions of lesson 2
on anatomical balance, how muscles work and agonist/antagonist muscle pairs.
Part 1
In a short report describe what you
understand to be attributes and benefits of a balanced agonist/antagonist
muscle pair.
Part 2
Choose one of the following agonist/
antagonist muscle pairs and in a short report discuss some things that you
might see that would indicate that the pair (or pairs) is either in balance or
not in balance.
a. muscles
of the crest line and the under-neck muscles
b. long
back muscles and abdominal muscles
c. flexors
and extensors of the front legs
d. hamstrings
and quadriceps
Part 3
Choose one horse on which to do a full
body reading and movement evaluation using the following guide lines. DO NOT use your own personal horse for this
part of the assignment.
Take a history using the format I’ve
suggested in the lesson. Include any
other information you think is pertinent.
Body
Your evaluation of the horse should be
organized around information in the portion of the lesson on anatomical balance
and its effects on muscle structure as well as the discussion of the individual
aspects of a horse’s body I suggested you notice. Discuss the horse’s muscle and skeletal
conformation within the context of this information. Discuss where you might expect to see stress
develop because of a horse’s balance and muscular conformation.
You will do this using photographs or
video of the horse standing still. These
photos should include one of each side of the horse, one from the rear and one
from the front. They should all show the
entire horse from the feet up. The one
of the front should be taken from a distance and height that shows the feet and
legs, chest and under neck of the horse – not just the head. If there are any particular aspects of the
horse that you want to call attention to, you may add close-ups of those areas.
The photos must be of good quality and
must meet the needs of the assignment. I
can only evaluate what you are learning by being able to clearly understand
what you are seeing. Make sure that the
light is good and the background gives a good contrast to the horse. The horse needs to be standing on a level,
cleared surface. The pictures must be
taken “straight on”, not from an angle, and the horse should be standing still
with its attention on the handler – not walking along eating grass.
How a horse stands for these
photographs is very important. The way a
horse positions it legs gives a great deal of information about its
problems. You should notice how a horse
prefers to stand and take your photographs with the horse in that
position. You should not try to get a
horse to stand square if that is not natural for it. If you turn or move the horse around between
pictures, let the horse walk forward a few steps or take a moment to adjust so
that it doesn’t get into an awkward foot placement that is not its usual one.
Movement Evaluation
Please send 3 short videos of the
horse:
1) Walking from the side, front and
back
2) Trotting on a circle going both
directions
3) Cantering on a circle going both
directions
DO NOT chase the horse around in a
large arena.
Write a short evaluation on the
horse's movement for correctness of the gaits and lateral and longitudinal
balance.
Bring together in a report all of the
information you have gathered from the history, body reading of muscular and
skeletal conformation and your evaluation of movement for this horse. Discuss where you believe it may experience
stress, soreness and muscle strains.
Part 4
Send pictures of three horses – one of
a horse you really like, one of a horse you do not like, and one of a horse
that is “ok”. DO NOT use your own horse
for this portion of the assignment.
These pictures may be from photographs, magazines, internet, etc. You will only need one full side view of each
horse (no angle shots or saddles).
Discuss the skeletal structure and muscle development of each
horse. Speculate about what you see in
the skeletal structure and muscle development that might influence movement and
where you think stress, tightness or soreness might occur.
Part 5
For the last portion of this
assignment do a second full body reading and movement evaluation as you did in
#3 above. YOU
Send report, with pictures to: pegasus.simat@gmail.com