Hill Therapy

Question: I’m in need of a little guidance. I have been playing around with the FreeStyle patterns in Level 3 and noticed that my partner has very over-developed under-neck muscle. I’ve commenced hill therapy again (I spent a large part of last NZ summer on this), this time introducing some trotting poles as part of the therapy. Today I noticed that in the jog trot he very rarely over steps his front foot pattern. Could this be part of a bigger issue? Stiffness in the hips, hoof trimming (he is barefoot)? Should I need to be doing hill therapy again so soon? I am at a loss as where to head? Do you have any suggestions? – Mandi B.

Answer: Hi Mandi! When your horse has a more developed underline than topline, it can point to a number of causalities, such as…

• A saddle that pinches because it is too narrow and causes him to hollow his back instead of inviting it to round up.
• Being heavy on the forehand so he pulls himself along with his front legs. Transitions are very valuable for correcting this.
• He cannot drive with hind legs; they may be crooked through the joint alignment (a shoeing/trimming issue) or he has weak haunches due to a hollow back.
• Being ridden too fast. The trot or canter may be too fast for his ability to balance and use his whole body. Going slower helps many horses balance better, although some actually need to go a bit faster, especially if they are big movers. Find where he is the most comfortable and relaxed.
• The rider is not on her balance point, leaning forwards and putting weight on the horse’s front end.
• The rider has a hollow back.

Hill Therapy (or cavaletti) is very helpful for getting a horse to use its body in a better way, but if there are issues with the saddle, rider or limb alignment, the results will be temporary.

Mandi, see if any of these ring true for you. Also, know too that if he is under-tracking this is because of a hollow back. You can try this yourself – get on all fours and hollow your back. Now lift your knee as high as you can under your belly and you’ll see that it’s very hard and quite restricted. Now round your back and do the same thing – you’ll be able to bring your hind leg up way further.

Yours Naturally,
Linda