Stretching your horse's muscles will improve performance and decrease the occurrence of injuries. Whether you thrive in the competitive world or prefer a quiet trail ride, you owe it to your horse to stretch his muscles make sure he is ready for whatever you pursue.
Stretching Benefits
Stretching in horses offers both visible and invisible benefits. For one, it enhances the sensory nerve endings in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints (also known as "proprioceptors") that give the brain information about movement and body position.
For instance, after an injury, proprioception is modified by sensations of pain and lameness. The body tries to avoid these unpleasant feelings by limiting movement or by using other muscles to do the job. Stretching helps to "reset" the proprioceptors. By holding a stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds, you can help jump-start the body's remodeling process. This can restore positive responses instead of reinforcing negative ones.
As you increase your awareness of how your horse moves and responds, you'll notice other benefits of stretching. Is he short-striding this morning? Does he seem particularly stiff or resistant on one side? Early detection of issues like these can help prevent bigger problems down the road.
A regular stretching routine is the best preventive advantage you can give your horse. By increasing his suppleness and elasticity, you can greatly reduce the risk of pulled muscles or tendons. You'll improve circulation and relieve pain, inflammation, and muscle spasms. If muscles aren't being used properly, they shorten and contract. If this continues for a period of time, the tendons and ligaments will start pulling on the bones of the joints. Stretching lengthens contracted muscles and extends them to their proper position, relieving pain by taking the stress off the joint.
When to Stretch
Stretching benefits your horse the most when he is warm. Stretching can be part of your pre-ride warm up, but remember you only want to stretch warmed-up muscle tissue. Walking or longeing your horse lightly are great muscle-warmers. You can also massage the muscles (see the April 2007 issue of Perfect Horse) using effluerage strokes, compression, or friction. You can even use a warm towel for a few minutes to transfer some heat into the muscles before stretching.
Stretching after a ride as part of your cool-down is probably the most beneficial because your horse's entire body is already warm. Stretching after a ride will increase circulation, promote relaxation, and cut down on muscle contracture from intense work. Importantly, making sure that the muscles you're stretching are warm helps to limit the risk of injury from over-stretching.
