Reducing Injury Risk
🏇With the competition season now in full swing I thought I'd do a short post.. (and then she laughed and laughed … as its never short?! 😂and i always get carried away) on reducing injury risk because I’d rather provide maintenance treatments and prehab than rehab your horses! I have just chosen a few areas that may help and so obviously this list is not exhaustive! ….
📚Check your Plan
Keep consulting/checking your fitness plan to check in with your progress, as there is a fine line between peak performance and injury. All horses respond differently, and the most effective training is centred around balancing performance, with fitness and reducing injury risk. Muscles develop slowly and conditioning them effectively depends upon a progressive and consistent fitness programme with included recovery and rest time. Fitness should be gradual and to avoid overload, fatigue and injury. Your horses programme should be individualised based on their current condition and competition level, age, breed and any health conditions or previous injury’s, facilities available, and on what you would like to achieve. Trying to rush the fitness and training programme will be counterproductive , as your horse’s body needs time to adjust to the demands and stresses of physical training so asking too much too soon and continual loading on repeated days (e.g. if you work full time in the week then train hard at weekends) will not be effective at increasing fitness and likely to lead to fatigue, injury and very sore, tense and tight muscles. Once your horse has reached the required level of fitness and condition this will last for several weeks and retain it even if the weekly exercise is reduced. Also it is important to note that missing 1-2 weeks of training will not affect overall muscular fitness this Is where it can be really beneficial to add in ‘recovery weeks’ whereby the training amount and intensity is reduced by 50%, this can allow for areas of any particular soreness or inflammation to resolve and will reduce mental and physical fatigue, and likewise will do the same for you and your body too. Taking into consideration the above factors of training levels and your horse’s needs, an effective recovery week can be implemented every 3-4 weeks.
Tack Check!
👁️ Keep a regular check on your tack fit, horses can frequently change shape this time of year with the changing quantities of grass intake and with the increase of exercise and when building muscle. Unbalanced, ill-fitting saddles and tree points can cause extreme discomfort and pain, changes in behaviour and muscle atrophy and therefore reduced performance, injury and affect well-being.
TRAVEL
Travel should also not be taken lightly, and fatigue and adequate rest before and after each journey should be adequately thought out. Recent studies have found out just how stressful travelling for horse’s is,
“The frequency of behaviours relating to stress and balance increased during transport, and horses transported in a rear-facing position and in a wider bay size showed fewer balance-related behaviours. Balance behaviours, particularly loss of balance, were positively associated with the severity of gastric ulceration after transportation and elevated muscle enzymes, while increased stress behaviours correlated with decreased gastrointestinal sounds. Heart rate and rectal temperature after transportation were positively associated with balance and stress behaviours, and with squamous gastric ulcer scores. Transportation was associated with expected increases in cortisol and muscle enzymes but positioning and space allowance had minimal effects on these analytes.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31963529/
“An erratic trailer ride can quickly become a workout” ..interested? check out the full article here
https://horsenetwork.com/.../trailering-can-be-a-workout.../ https://www.sciencedirect.com/.../pii/S0737080621000381...
POSTURE
I could talk about the importance of correct posture all day long! it really is so important for the good health and comfort of your horses. Poor posture is something that is easily worked on but can cause a cascade of problems if not addressed; muscle atrophy or hypertrophy, gait impediment, muscle imbalances, incorrect muscle recruitment, flexibility issues, all then leading to subsequently a painful and sore horse and an open invitation to injury and illness.
Ensuring your horse has correct posture can:
• Significantly reduce the risk of injury as it ensures all forces and stresses are distributed evenly throughout the body’s connective tissues.
• Maintains healthy alignment of bones and joints to enable a fully functioning full range of movement throughout the skeletal system.
• Reduces muscular fatigue and allows your horse to perform at their best for longer.
• Reduces the risk of fascia and muscular injuries/problems and allows them to work efficiently.
• Ensures correct circulation ensuring that all the bodies tissues are well oxygenated and nourished.
* Ensures a well functioning nervous system.
There is no back without the abdominals! Correctly toned abdominal muscles support the back and if they are weak this can result in poor and painful back posture. Extended back posture will reduce lateral flexion of the spine and of the hip, resulting in movement hindrance, biomechanical complications and associated injuries/diseases to bones, and soft tissue structures.
This photo shows the spine in extension, the spinous processes will be therefore pushed closer together, prolonged exposure to this posture is detrimental to the horse, it will cause muscular tension and back pain, osteoarthritic conditions, and affect movement, balance and affect gait function. The narrowest spinous processes are usually found between T13 – T15, with kissing spines typically occurring between T14-T17. Where is the majority of the riders weight? Guess where? T13-T16. Adding any weight to the horse’s back will force it to go into an extended position so our goal is to support the back as much as we can by promoting good posture and balance, having good core strength, promoting a naturally flexed position through correctly applied in hand exercises, stretches and related ridden exercises. Rider skill, balance and flexibility will also be key to achieving a healthy and happy equine athlete, so its important to look after your physical health and posture too.
📷🎥To regularly assess your horse’s posture, take photographs of your horse every 4-6 weeks, this will allow you to sit down and analyse the photographs to compare how they are doing and be able to address any issues sooner rather than later. Even better, if you can get someone to video you and implement the RHpE to assess your horses comfort level and allow you to address any issues quickly, resulting in continuing comfortable and peak performance.
🤗💪Your therapist can help you with identifying muscles that are long and tight or short and weak, which areas your horse may have areas for improvement, address problematic and sore areas by the application of manual soft tissue therapy, myofascial, trigger point and trapped nerve release. As well as working with you to plan an individualised programme of correctly and safely demonstrated stretches, your therapist can also prescribe relevant exercises for rehabilitation, strengthening and good flexibility, all whilst taking into consideration any pre-existing injuries and your horses temperament and environment.
Credit to image of "lifted back, neutral back and hollow back" to Tuskey Dressage
SLEEP
😴Last and just as important as all the rest is SLEEP! We all know how a rubbish night’s sleep can affect not only your mood but your performance at work, motivation and having enough energy for exercise. Although horses don’t require as much as sleep as we do (typically 3-4 hours in a 24 hour period) they still do need the opportunity for good quality sleep and restful periods. Horse’s that do not get this can experience negative impacts on performance, mood and create unwanted behaviours. REM sleep is really important, and it is where memory consolidation and brain development take place, so for horses to fully achieve REM sleep they must be lying down. Things that can affect sleep patterns and influence lying down behaviour and cause sleep deprivation are, pain/illness, ground and air temperature, levels of exercise, sudden environmental changes such as from out 24/7 to in 24/7 and vice versa, stabling changes, E.g. to a stay over at competition/holiday/move, stable space and also lack of bedding or lighting changes. I don’t know about your horses but all the ones I’ve ever owned have, when they have had a few nights out, love nothing more than a night in a stable with a lovely big clean fresh shavings bed and the clue to their big slumber is usually in the very rounded bum and back marks in the bedding banks and the fact I am greeted by a large shaving ‘bed head’ and tail! I think most of us at one time or another have taken advantage of riding the more highly strung horse in the mornings after they've had a night out as they are quite obviously more tired, but also what then must be taken into consideration is risk to injury not only to themselves but to their rider if they stumble and fall, if they are not properly co-ordinating their limbs proactively and efficiently due to tiredness.
If you are interested in finding out more and supporting the welfare of your horses and want to learn more about how: lighting influences, physical and social activity, air temperature and humidity, rugging and horses body temperature and music! can all play a crucial role in sleep quality and patterns please have an hour out and watch this fascinating webinar.
https://drdavidmarlin.com/webinar-nocturnal-behaviour-an.../
