5 Reasons You Should Monitor Your Horse’s Movement
There are five reasons to monitor your horse’s movement.
#1:Your horse’s movement gives your insight into all of their systems.
If your horse has a kidney issue, they will alter their movement.
If your horse has a toothache, they will alter their movement.
If your horse is mentally stressed, they will alter their movement.
If your horse has a pinched nerve, they will alter their movement.
You can see the pattern here, right? When you really capture how your horse moves, and then notice subtle changes, you can begin to catch issues early .You might not know exactly what is bothering your horse, but you can go into detective mode and begin to figure things out.
#2: Movement patterns can clue you in to how forces are moving through your horse’s body. If you understand these forces, you can anticipate injuries or problem solve what is driving your horse to compensate.
#3: When you improve movement patterns, you decrease your horse’s injury risk because forces are better absorbed. Improving movement patterns is one of the most powerful tools you have to decrease injury risk. This is also how you set your horse up for success in their training program, by monitoring movement and making sure your horse is truly strong and mobile enough to handle the next phase in their training. You can design better exercises, exercise progressions, and exercise regressions when you regularly analyze how your horse moves.
#4: Horses get into trouble through movement, and you can only fix it through movement. This is something really important to understand. Your horse’s blueprint” is to move well. As they grow, we add pressure to the system through training, riding, hoof balance, tack fit, dental care, nutrition, etc. These pressures also affect how a horse moves, and they develop motor control and timing habits. Bodywork and modalities can temporarily improve movement, but your horse will go back to the same movement pattern unless you purposefully and carefully retrain the pattern. Then your horse will move differently over the long term and improve their wellness.
#5: Movement lets you gauge the status of your horse’s nervous system. For your horse to thrive, they must feel safe and have a good balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system (rest & relax vs fight & flight systems). Movement helps you determine your horse’s nervous system health. You cannot train a horse that is anxious or in flight mode.
The State of the Equine Industry
I think monitoring movement is more crucial than ever, with the current state of the equine industry. There's been a lot of positive improvements in the industry, but also some things that are putting more pressure on horses.
The industry improvements:
More access to highly skilled professionals.
An increasing knowledge base about how horses move, carry a rider, and handle loads.
Improved veterinary diagnostic and treatment regimes, to help horses recover from injuries.
Improved knowledge about nutrition and how to better feed horses.
Video technology that lets us monitor horses and capture their movement over time.
Breeding programs that have developed purpose bred horses, designed to excel at specific sports.
A greater number of levels within a sport, letting a greater range of horses and riders enjoy competing.
A longer competition calendar, so you can customize the calendar to better fit your schedule and training program.
The industry pressures:
Everything is so expensive, so there is pressure for everything to matter. Lessons need to make an impact. Vet care needs to be spot on. Farrier cycles can’t be shortened. The list goes on.
The modern saddle design often places the rider in a deeper seat with blocks that hold them in place, making the rider a stiffer load for the horse to carry.
Many saddle trees are mass-produced and rely on padding to adjust fit, rather than properly fitting the tree to the horse's back.
More pesticides, fertilizers, and GMOs in horse feeds may be impacting wellness.
Breeding programs have developed purpose-bred horses designed to excel at specific sports, but these horses may have unique wellness needs. We need to learn to train the modern horse, and use caution bringing forward traditional techniques without some deep thought about what value it adds.
A long competition calendar means horses get shorter rest breaks.
Less access to land. Horses are living in smaller spaces and have less turnout, and are being ridden in arenas more instead of getting out on the roads and trail.
To Monitor, You Must Understand
To monitor your horse’s movement, you must understand movement. This involves observing your horse both under saddle and at liberty, noting any changes in gait, posture, or behavior.
Here are some things you can do to monitor movement:
Hire a physical therapist. Find a good PT who understands equine biomechanics, and have them regularly assess your horse and design a custom exercise program. Share this with your coach, vet, farrier, and other team members, so everyone shares the goals. It’s incredibly effective. If you need help, I offer these services virtually and in-person. You can reach me at info@shelleythomasphysio.com for more information.
Utilize video recordings to capture movement from various angles, allowing for detailed analysis over time. There is tremendous value of using video and photos to track your horse. Developing a system to analyze their movement at regular intervals using video and photos helps your entire performance team better understand your horse’s current status and what needs to improve in the future.
Pay attention to symmetry in strides, transitions between gaits, and how your horse carries its head and tail. If you notice something changing, write it down and look again in a few weeks. If it’s definitely changed, start being a detective and figure out what’s going on.
Release the idea that bad behavior is due to a naughty horse that needs to learn how to work. You know your horse, and sometimes they have an opinion about things, but a horse that is truly refusing to do something almost always has a physical or mental barrier. Start to be a detective and figure out why they are uncomfortable or don’t feel safe.
Good Performance Starts with Wellness
In my practice, I often borrow a phrase from Oprah Winfrey. She says “This I know to be true.” It’s such a great expression, because it challenges me to ask “what do I know to be true?” and how can I hold onto “what is true” while integrating in new scientific evidence and observations.
This sparks lifelong learning and integration of information. That’s what motivated me to develop Ride Well, my signature program designed to support equestrians in caring for their horses and themselves by establishing a strong wellness foundation before intensive training. The focus is on ensuring both horse and rider are physically, mentally, and medically prepared, emphasizing aspects like nutrition, medical stability, tack fitting, and movement analysis.
Key components of the program include:
Wellness Checklists: Addressing questions about medical stability, nutrition, tack fit, soundness, and partnership with the horse.
Team Approach: Encouraging the formation of a multidisciplinary team (vets, farriers, physical therapists, etc.) to support both horse and rider.
Movement Monitoring: Teaching riders how to analyze horse movement to prevent injury and optimize performance.
Workouts & Webinars: Providing rider fitness exercises and educational sessions on horse wellness and management.
The goal is to develop a holistic, sustainable approach to equine care and athletic training. I’d love to work with you on your journey to ride well. You can find more details here.