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SEPTEMBER 2006 • VOLUME 13 • © Copyright HORSES For LIFE™ Publications
The Instructor - Assessment: The Horse 9 years of age. Standing camped underneath himself in front, under the line of the withers. No muscles on topline in front of withers, as expected from description of past training. No muscles and, strangely enough, no fat deposits off the backward slope of a good set of withers. So sad to see actually how atrophied these back muscles are, especially considering the good weight on this copper colored horse. The height of the withers, compounded by the lack of any muscular development on the back or the loin or the croup, creates the impression of a horse with a super long back. Not completely correctly, as it is the lack of any muscle development in these areas that creates this impression. Ribcage and sternum completely locked. One is left with an overwhelming impression that the horse’s neck is way too short for his body, and that he has a strong underline. Surprisingly, with the neck set to chest set, the horse tends to carry his head and neck set very low, almost giving the impression of a western pleasure quarter horse. I'm told the horse has problems with any bending, and especially to the right. No response to any concept of the outside aids. The biggest problem tending to be a complete lack of impulsion. The Pre-Work: Used the SENSE exercises: ribcage support, wither rock, sternum movement. Found the horse completely locked in the sternum. Found the horse licking and chewing with the ribcage support. Interestingly, found the neck lengthened during the process. Not surprisingly, the gains we had found with the SENSE exercises were lost completely once the saddle was placed on the horse's back, showing how the horse had literally learned to hold himself and brace once under saddle. Not surprising, perhaps, but sad.
I tried to use the SENSE exercises with the saddle on, but the mental and, hence, the physical blocks and braces were just too much to overcome in simply one session. So on we went to the work under saddle. The Lesson: As always, we started with long reins, letting the horse completely loose. The obvious place to start with the warm-up in the walk was helping this horse release in the ribcage, so that is where we began. The focus, as always, was on what changes we could make in the rider to effect these changes in the horse.
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