55 Corrective Exercises for Horses: Resolving Postural Problems, Improving Movement Patterns, and Preventing Injury
240
55 Corrective Exercises for Horses: Resolving Postural Problems, Improving Movement Patterns, and Preventing Injury
240eBook
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Overview
Over time, horses (like people) acquire postural habits, compensate for soreness and injury, and develop poor movement patterns. This limits performance ability, causes unsoundness and health issues, and ultimately undermines the horse's overall well–being.
Jec Aristotle Ballou has made a name for herself advocating for the horse and providing sensible instruction in his schooling, conditioning, and care. Her bestselling books and popular clinics are designed to enable any horse person to correctly apply proven principles that bring measurable progress while avoiding boredom and confusion. In her latest collection of mounted and unmounted corrective exercises, Ballou demonstrates how we can actively work to improve the horse's posture and movement, whether he is an active performance or pleasure mount, an aging or older horse that benefits from gentle exercise, or one being rehabilitated following injury, illness, or lack of conditioning. Ballou's positive cross–training techniques are free of shortcuts, and her guidelines for analyzing the horse's posture and way of going help readers gain a new awareness of the equine body. Applicable for all disciplines, this is an integral collection that optimizes how the horse uses his body and helps ensure he stays sounder and healthier for more years of his life.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781570769054 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafalgar Square |
| Publication date: | 01/04/2019 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Sales rank: | 965,045 |
| File size: | 32 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Jec Aristotle Ballou has spent her life studying classical dressage, including 10 intensive training residencies in Portugal, two in Holland, and one in Germany with the late Egon von Neindorff. Most recently, she spent time in Melbourne, Australia, with Manolo Mendez, original head rider of the Royal School of Equestrian Arts in Spain. She has trained and competed through the FEI levels in dressage but has also competed in long distance trail riding, Ride & Tie, breed shows, and almost everything in between. Ballou won three consecutive East Coast championships in distance riding, becoming the youngest rider in history to win the prestigious Vermont 100–Mile Competition. A proponent of interdisciplinary study, she serves as an advisor to the Western Dressage Association of America (WDAA). Ballou is a tireless advocate for the horse, committed to promoting understanding that proper biomechanical movement and athleticism can never happen as a result of shortcuts, force, or hurried training methods. Through her clinics, articles, and bestselling books—including 101 Dressage Exercises for the Horse and Rider and Equine Fitness—Ballou aims to meet what she sees as an enormous need within the equine industry for simple, clear, and practical information (www.jecballou.com).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Corrective Exercises to Create New Patterns 5
Why We Need Corrective Exercises 5
Pilates or Yoga for Horses 7
Understanding Fascia 7
Why Ground Poles? 9
Exercise 1 Raised Pole Fan with Alternating Strides 11
Exercise 2 Serpentine Across a Ditch 13
Exercise 3 Ride a Hill Sideways 15
Exercise 4 Quick Halts Down a Hill 17
Exercise 5 Back Up with Good Form 19
Exercise 6 The Schaukel 21
Exercise 7 Backing Up a Hill 23
Exercise 8 Backing Down a Hill 25
Exercise 9 Long-and-Low Transitions 27
Exercise 10 Changing Angles, Leg-Yield 29
Exercise 11 Lateral Movements on the Circle 31
Exercise 12 Ride with a Lariat 32
Routines to Resolve Common Challenges and Dysfunction 34
Chapter 2 Tuning Up Postural Muscles 37
Postural Muscles vs. Gymnastic Muscles 38
How Much Exercise Is Good? 41
Exercise 13 Snake Over Poles 43
Exercise 14 Snake Over Poles - Variation 1 45
Exercise 15 Snake Over Poles - Variation 2 47
Exercise 16 Straddle a Single Pole 49
Exercise 17 Stretch and Climb Through 51
Exercise 18 Figure-Eight Bars 53
Exercise 19 Zigzag Poles for Jogging 55
Exercise 20 Agility Square 57
Exercise 21 Trot Poles with Outer Edge Raised 59
Exercise 22 Trot Poles with Inside Edge Raised 61
Exercise 23 The Schaukel on a Slope 63
Exercise 24 Slow, Controlled Downhills 64
Routines to Diagnose Dysfunctional Movement 66
Chapter 3 Simple Bodywork to Break Bad Habits 69
Pick and Choose 70
What Is Proprioception? 71
Exercise 25 Wiggle for Tension Release 72
Exercise 26 Withers Wiggle for Resolving Asymmetry 74
Exercise 27 Balancing on Unstable Surface 76
Exercise 28 Dynamic Mobilization on Unstable Surface 78
Exercise 29 Weight Shifts on Unstable Surface 80
Exercise 30 Cutaneous Stimulation 81
Exercise 31 Lateral Pelvic Flexion 82
Exercise 32 Tension Release from Gluteals 84
Exercise 33 Tail Circles 85
Exercise 34 Sensory Education Path 87
Routines Following Bodywork and During Periods of Reduced Exercise 89
Chapter 4 Getting the Most from Groundwork 93
Use of the Cavesson 94
The Question of Side-Reins 95
Exercise 35 Serpentine In Hand 97
Exercise 36 Lifting the Hind Legs 99
Exercise 37 The Labyrinth 101
Exercise 38 The Labyrinth-Variation 102
Exercise 39 Therapeutic Pole Pattern 103
Exercise 40 Pre-Ride Circles 105
Exercise 41 The 11-Meter Circle 107
Exercise 42 Walking Uphill Over Poles 109
Exercise 43 Longeing Therapy 111
Routines to Complement Rehab Programs 113
Chapter 5 Exercises and Tips to Follow Every Day 115
Posture Checklist 116
Use a Fitness Test for Assessment of Conditioning 124
General Training Tips to Prevent Poor Posture 127
Exercise 44 Zigzag Poles 133
Exercise 45 Walking High Uneven Poles 134
Exercise 46 Giravoita 136
Exercise 47 Uneven Poles 138
Exercise 48 Poles with a Blank Space 140
Exercise 49 The Two-Part Turn 142
Exercise 50 Ride a Ditch 144
Exercise 51 Gearing Up to Gallop 146
Exercise 52 Canter Poles for Adjusting Strides 148
Exercise 53 Turns and Straights 150
Exercise 54 Canter with Lariat 152
Exercise 55 Canter Wavy Lines 154
Routines for Supplemental Conditioning and Specific Horse Types 156
About the Author 163
Index 165