EquiPilates with SuppleRider

A really important article. A bit long but we’ll worth the read. I am proud to say that my clients can answer “yes” to this passage near the end.

“How many riders think of themselves as athletes, consider their need to be fit, think about their own position and perhaps perform specific exercises off a horse to improve their flexibility, core stability and balance? “

The rider size debate and the welfare of ridden horses - The Horse Physio - Sue Palmer All riders must take ownership of their responsibilities for their horse’s welfare. None of us wants to do a horse harm, but through lack of awareness, we sometimes do so. Food for thought.

Well you wouldn't expect your horse to jump a course or do a line of changes straight out of the stable would you? 😜

Wishing a very Happy New Year to my clients and all the riders out there who aspire to "Be the rider their horse would chose"! Onward and upward in 2023! # # #

The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain: Shifting the Paradigm of How We See Lameness The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain is a film that dares to challenge the way we look at "badly behaving" horses, and promotes the notion that lamen...

HEATWAVE poster - print and share - Dr David Marlin

This is a bit off topic folks, but it is a subject that I care about very much and we can all do our bit to help.

Did you know that you may now be able to re-cycle all those plastic feed sacks that have no doubt previously gone into landfill?

You need to check with your local council and read the label on the sack, but Bucks take LPDE4 packaging and an increasing number of feed manufacturers are switching to this, including Dengie and Pure Feed Co.

Perhaps we can pressurise other feed companies to switch to recycleable packaging too by voting with our feet!

e.g. https://www.dengie.com/news-articles/news/carbon-neutral-fully-recyclable-packaging/

An in depth look at biomechanical issues in the horse - and exactly the same correlations apply to ourselves!

It's never just “tight hamstrings”

Often when we think of a muscle, we imagine a specifically shaped part of the body, in a certain anatomical location, which functions to contribute towards the movement of the organism as a whole.

In the anatomy books, muscles are classified with relation to the relationship between their attachments to the body; their origin and insertion. For example, the hamstrings are classified as a retractor of the hindlimb; contraction pulls the insertion of the hamstrings on the distal femur and tibia, towards the origin in the pelvis, which in turn draws the limb backwards in the retraction phase of the stride.

However, the hamstrings are not the only muscle which act to retract the hindlimb; the middle gluteal also plays an integral role. When we consider the biomechanics of the body as a whole, we see that muscles often act as part of groups.

Moreover, muscles can belong to more than one group. The semitendinosus, which is part of the hamstring group (along with the semimembranosus and biceps femoris) and the hindlimb retractor muscle group, also acts as part of the hindlimb adductor group which functions to bring the leg towards the midline (inwards).

To further complicate things, the middle gluteal muscle, which is also part of the hindlimb retractor group, acts as a hindlimb abductor which brings the leg away from the midline (outwards). Both the semitendinosus and middle gluteal muscles are hindlimb retractors, yet when we consider their actions within the sagittal plane of the body they perform opposing actions.

Each action has a consequence, and as such each muscle group has an opposing muscle group, whose role is to perform the exact opposite action to balance the forces within the body and control movement. In the same way that we have agonist and antagonist pairs of muscles (ie the biceps brachii and triceps brachii muscles which act to bring your arm up and down), muscle groups have agonistic and antagonistic functions. The antagonists of the hindlimb retractors are the hindlimb protractors, which advance the hindlimb forwards in the swing phase of the stride.

So why is this important for us to know?

Because tension in a muscle will never only influence that muscle individually.

Tightness, spasm or atrophy (dysfunction) of an individual muscle will mean that its role within the muscle group as a whole will be impaired. As such, the other muscles within the group will have to take up a greater role in performing the function of the group, ie retracting the hindleg. This will increase their risk of fatigue.

Consequently, as the agonistic group begins to weaken, the synergy between the agonistic (hindlimb retractors) and antagonistic groups (hindlimb protractors) will become unbalanced. This will result in uneven forces being exerted on other anatomical structures of the body; the tendons, ligaments and joints. Furthermore, in the case of the hamstrings not only will protraction/retraction be affected, but also abduction/adduction.

These effects will not just be isolated locally to the hindlimb...

Each muscle is encased by the fascial network which expands across the entire body, connecting each muscle to their neighbours and globally linking each and every part of the body together into one unit. Often muscle origins and insertions are not as discrete as they are depicted in the anatomy books, thus the principle that muscles act alone within the body to perform a singular role has been challenged.

Through the work of both human and equine anatomists, it has been identified that muscles act within chains, known as myofascial chains/meridians/pathways, which span across the body linking certain muscles together within a pathway. Meaning that dysfunction within one muscle will not only have local effects to that region of the body, but will have further reaching global impacts across the body as a whole.

The hamstrings are part of the Superficial Back Line myofascial chain, which starts at the back of each hind hoof, then extends through the caudal muscles of the hindlimb, over the muscles of the croup, and through long back muscles, before each side then passes under the shoulder blade through the neck and over the poll to through the face to the muscles of the jaw (see the blue line).

Through this chain, we can see how dysfunction in the hindlimb can travel through the body to have a significant influence to the horse's back, neck, across the poll, and also extending to influencing the acceptance of the bit.

Conversely, myofascial chains work in both directions; tension in the hamstring group may not be due to dysfunction of the muscle itself, but may be as a result of issues elsewhere in the dorsal chain. For example, this may stem from hypertonicity and spasm through the epaxial muscle group (back) or of the dorsal cervical region (neck), which in turn may relate to a poorly fitting bridle or saddle.

And so we see that it is never just “tight hamstrings”. It is important to consider the posture of the horse as a whole, and not just fixate on tension in one muscle and how to fix it. Often by addressing the whole posture and mechanics of the horse, we will see the resolution of dysfunction in particular muscles as the body functions in improved balance.

Or...it might just be that your horse has been larking around in a wet slippery field the day before and has strained his hamstrings. It is always about how the horse presents on the day, and addressing these issues early on can intercept the cycle of compensation before it becomes a whole body issue. Listen to your horse and trust your therapist’s palpation and clinical reasoning to best address your horse 🐎

❤️❤️❤️

Set up for this evening's spiky ball release, and hip and shoulder mobiliser class!

EquiPilates with SuppleRider's cover photo

Part of the Biomechanics screening series - this one looking at pelvic function.

SPACES AVAILABLE STILL on 6 week EquiPilates Fundamentals course starting Tuesday 13th Feb 6.30 pm and Thursday 15th Feb at 10.30 am.

Long Crendon Studio

£75 for the 6 sessions.

PM or email me for more info [email protected]

If you think that EquiPilates is just for dressage riders - think again!!!

In the first place, no matter what sort of riding you do, your horse will thank you for being a more aware and biomechanically balanced rider. You could even be preventing physical issues that could arise in him because he is compensating for your inbalances.

And for all you eventers and show jumpers out there, do you find it as easy to ride dog legs, technical questions on curving lines or jump off turns on either rein without your horse falling out through the shoulder? If not, then this could help you too!

PM me for more information and look out for upcoming session programmes on my page EquiPilates with SuppleRider group

THE SPAM STUDIO, Baileys Farm, Westfield Road, Long Crendon, HP18 9EN
Contact Sally on 07938 502339 or find my page – EquiPilates with Supplerider

Four key areas of rider fitness

Equipilates ™️ classes can help you with suppleness, function & strengthening to complement your fitness programme - i.e. 3/4 of the areas covered in the attached article!

https://www.britisheventinglife.com/articles/four-key-areas-of-rider-fitness

britisheventinglife.com Eventing is an endurance sport and a fit rider is one who has the stamina, balance and suppleness to move with their horse. But what does rider fitness actually mean and why it is so important?

6 week EquiPilates Fundamentals Course starting on Tuesday Feb 13th. Great for working on riding posture, relaxation and function including the half halt sequence. £75 for the series. Times Tuesdays 13, 20 and 27th Feb, 6th and 20th March at 6.30 pm. OR Thursdays 15, 22nd Feb, Friday 2nd March, Thursday 8, 22nd and 29th March at 10.30 am. PM for more info or to book. 🐴🐴

Coming soon - Look out for 6 week EquiPilates Fundamentals Course!