Blog

Based on the information in my last blog, Equine Insights: How the Equine Shoulders Affect Performance, it’s obvious that the thoracic sling is an important component in the quest for collection. Lifting the withers by activating the sling is the first stage in achieving the uphill posture and balance required for self-carriage.Regardless of whether a horse is conformed with high withers or a high croup, learning to activate the thoracic sling muscles will improve posture. I’ll describ …

In this blog, I will describe the horse’s chest and shoulder region focusing on how they differ from our own and the implications this has for locomotion and performance.Locomotion is defined for humans.People are bipedal – we walk on two legs with our bodies in an upright posture. During the transition to bipedal locomotion, the forelimbs evolved into arms and hands with opposable thumbs enabling us to perform tasks that require dexterity and fine motor coordination. We don’t use our ar …

Each part of the locomotor apparatus plays a distinct and different role in locomotion. The horse’s trunk is the central part that unites and coordinates the haunches with the forehand. In addition to transmitting propulsion forward from the hind limbs, the trunk supports the body organs and carries the rider’s weight. In my previous post, we looked at how the different body parts work together to produce the horse’s extraordinary athletic prowess.Diving into the biomechanics of a horse a …