If you read my post, “Curry, it’s not just for takeout”, you may have noticed that I curry both before and after I work the horse. I curry as part of my “Post work reset”, and I am going to share with you what that is and why I do it.
The majority of the time in a horse’s life, he is being worked in a less than optimal posture. There are lots of reasons for that- lack of understanding (he’s green), lack of strength, rehab from illness or injury, or just basic “handedness” that exists in all horses. And, of course, lots of people aren’t working their horses towards a healthy and longevity promoting position in the first place.
Just like ballet dancers work for years to get stretched, supple, strong, and balanced enough to maintain their optimal posture, so do horses. While we should always be on line that trends towards that optimal position, and the horse benefits from any movement towards that place, the reality is that it takes a bit to get there.
Additionally, we put saddles and other tack on horses, and regardless of how well your saddle fits, or how ergonomic your bridle is, there is pressure on those parts of the body that reduces the circulation in those areas. I don’t generally believe that is actually detrimental to the horse, but it is something that I am imposing on his body and I want to be aware of that.
Some training methods are also very static in the positions they want held during rides, even resorting to things like draw reins, side reins, etc. to enforce the headset.. So rather than comfortably moving his head and neck to various positions during the work, or allowing the horse to find his most ideal position in that moment, the horse is expected to hold his head and neck very still in a position imposed on him for long periods of time, and continue making the same stride over and over during his work. While consistency is an important part of training, sometimes we ask for too much exact repetitive work too soon, in postures that are not good for the horse in that stage, and this can lead to soreness and spasms in the horse’s muscles.
Since horses don’t have collar bones, their bodies have a tremendous capacity for twisted and crooked posture (read "Lessons from Woody"). Beyond that, horses have body amnesia, which is where they rapidly become accustomed to whatever posture and crookedness or muscle pain and spasms they are carrying around, which just becomes their new normal. They don’t just bounce back to the neutral posture they were born with.
What to do about all of that?
This is where the “Post Ride Reset” comes into play. Once I have finished whatever I was planning for the ride, I want to start by either riding or hand walking my horse in a forward, swinging walk on the buckle for at least a few minutes. This helps the horse stretch out anything that might have gotten overly tight, and also helps to pump the blood through the muscles, clearing out the waste products.
Photo: Chanel's back before currying her belly and doing belly lifts
To finish up a basic reset, I do a couple of withers and belly lifts. I want to make sure I am not walking away from the horse without restoring his posture to something more neutral, where he isn’t still with his muscles however they were carrying me. Asking the horse to lift the back opens the space between the spinal processes, and allows the horse to find his comfortable posture rather than adopting wherever he ended up after I got off.
Carrot stretches and other types of massage techniques are also great as part of the after work reset, if you have those in your repertoire.
For fun, take a picture of your horse from the side before you start doing a post work reset, and then after a couple of weeks, take another one, and see if you notice a difference! I’d love to see them! Let me know how it goes by commenting below.
Photo: Chanel's back after belly currying/belly and wither lifts