How to Stretch Your Horse Forward and Downward
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- čas přidán 11. 12. 2021
- Jec answers students' questions about how to get their horse to lower and stretch his neck down. This is a common challenge for riders. Hopefully this video helps! Remember: clarify your rhythm and line of travel before expecting the horse to lengthen his frame!!
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Great video! Thank you!
Clear, simple explanation. Thank you
I think, the piece where you use the rein to have the horse stretch forward and down, could be a video itself. and maybe done first from the ground. Isolate the conversation of the rein and the horses response and teach the human and the horse from the ground and then transfer to saddle and do it at a standstill and then in movement...
My horse doesn't know how to take the reins when I give him slack. He still keeps his head up and moves even more hollow. How can I get him to understand to reach for the bit?
Jec, would this work with a hackamore as well?
My question would be, why would you want a horse to lower his head this much as it clearly puts him on the forehand? Not what we're normally after.
Stretching the horse's neck like this activates the passive carrying system in his back, i.e. the ligamentous system that supports the spine. It therefore reduces tension and activity in the longissimus muscle, and as a result the horse's small stabilizing muscles are stimulated. This re-activation of the horse's small stabilizing muscles is CRITICAL for repairing dysfunctional movement ( a direct parallel can be made here between horses and humans as regards physical therapy and back dysfunction). If/when the longissimus remains hyper-toned, these small muscles will not fire. For a period, we must place the horse in a therapeutic posture to re-engage them.
@@jecballou Thank you for the detailed response! My question though is about weighting the forehand when you lower the head and neck this much. You're not concerned about placing more weight on the forehand?
@@laureradloff1616 Until the horse is able to use his back and trunk (i.e. access and activate all the stabilizing muscles involved), he/she is not capable of sound and functional movement. The back must be correctly utilized before one worries about whether the horse is or is not on the forehand. A horse with an elevated head/neck position can be just as much on the forehand as one with head/neck lowered to the ground. It's all about which muscles are-- or are not-- engaged and functioning.Their musculo-skeletal system does not work like a teeter-totter, i.e. a high head position does not guarantee an un-weighted forehand any more than a lowered head position does.