Horse and rider training for longevity

There is no set timescale to develop a horse’s body they are all highly individual in their response to exercise. We accept that a human athlete’s training takes many years and a lot of dedication, attention to detail, and embodies an exercise lifestyle throughout their entire life.

When you sit on a horse, you are asking them to be an athlete. The saying “horses are not designed to be ridden but have adapted,” in my experience is a bit of a double-edged sword. As the quote doesn’t include “with attention to detail and meeting the horse’s needs”. There are many injured horses in the equine industry and in the human population health issues and replacement joint numbers continue to rise.

The technological world we live in allows us to save time completing tasks that would have previously required our body use. The fast pace of living and the expectation of everything being obtainable almost immediately comes with a price. Companies bombard us with measures for comfort and ease, many things we require are just the click of a button away.

This fast-paced result lifestyle has permeated the horse world. Assumption of the horse’s body capabilities and competition goals are often too rushed. Training should be for longevity, building every part of the horse in their required timescale whilst enhancing their health. Developing the horse for a long career, not just a short-term goal.

We should perform ground work to prepare the horse to carry the rider. So many horses never reach their potential as their training has been too rushed and attention to detail on their development missed. And there is an abundance of activity riders can undertake to develop ourselves for the saddle and support the horse. Following on from this, there should be a continuous physical and mental development of horse and rider.

Anatomical considerations

The equine pelvic bones and sacrum growth plates close at approximately 6 years of age at the earliest. Then progressing along the spine towards the beginning of the thoracic spine and the base of the neck/cervical spine which is the last area for growth plates closure at between 7.5 and 9 years old. Papers from Narelle Stubbs, Dr Kevin Haussler, and the University of Zurich (Dr Fürst) state large warmbloods and draught horses this process can take up to the age of 10. Horses as old as 9 years old have been discovered with open epiphyseal gaps in their pelvis.

Transitional junctions of the spine where one type of vertebrae meets the next are often areas prone to stress. In the quest to present a recognised visual frame, the neck vertebrae undergo a lot of stress as instead of allowing the horse to develop into the entire body capable of achieving self-carriage. The neck is often restricted in the notion that placing the neck into a fixed position or moving it from side to side will achieve through repetition the correct development of the horse.

Restriction of the neck places the back into contraction, and the stifle joints have to adapt and move laterally so you can understand why widespread injury that in many cases seems to arrive from nowhere occurs. When over developed musculature is constantly pulling on an immature skeletal frame, the growth plates cannot close. Young horses who look developed because of their muscle mass are often weak, the horse has a light skeletal frame as they are built for speed.

To quote Dr. Deb Bennett’s, a young horse’s immature back is going to brace when it has to carry a weight it is not ready for. In anticipation of the effort, a young horse will stiffen the muscles of his topline, and may also brace his legs and hold his breath - “brace the diaphragm”.

Therefore, you can understand how riding an immature, underdeveloped horse or rushing training leads to physical adaptation and possible injury to the musculoskeletal system. Health issues and internal stress from restriction in breathing capacity and nourishment to all the internal structures. Fatigue and psychological stress from pain and altered breathing mechanics. The adaptation to the external body effect every system, there is an interlinkage of body systems and they should have the ability to work together.

You can get a sense of the damage caused by rushed training, the young horse’s musculature development being a red herring. As there is so much maturity the body is still going through under the surface. The potential to shorten their working life, affect their health, and inflict pain just for a short-term goal. Many horses suffer in silence, take your time, enjoy the ride, observe once you develop your eye and feel you will get so much feedback from the horse and train for longevity.