Dances with Horses :: Rider Fitness
One of the most important factors in maintaining a healthy body is a flexible spine. The yogis say that youth is determined by the flexibility of your spine. How can this help us achieve safe and effective horsemanship?
The equestrian spectator may think that we riders just perch on top of our horses while the horse does all the work! However, if you’ve spent some time in the saddle, you know that horseback riding is a highly athletic endeavor. In fact, riding is a whole body activity. As riders, we integrate all of the muscles in our body to move effectively and fluidly with our horse’s movement.
Dressage riders are concerned with keeping the horse straight. Keeping the horse straight involves teaching him to bend his spine along the curve of the circle. We seek to develop flexibility of the spine of our equine partner and to develop the muscles of his back.
Developing a strong, flexible spine wiki is equally important for the equestrian athlete. Strong back muscles are vital to protecting the rider’s spine. This is important for the full gamut of equestrian activities―from the vaulter to the dressage rider to the barrel runner to the outdoor enthusiast who heads into the backcountry with a string of pack horses for a week!
Back pain is a common complaint of adults, and I’ve seen it preclude some adults from many activities they enjoy, including riding. The cause of back pain is usually a lack of flexibility and lack of development of the stabilizing muscles in the back and stomach. Undeveloped back and stomach muscles can lead to over-bending the back, sagging with gravity, if you will. When you carry yourself through life with this type of posture, the discs between the vertebrae as well as the joints in the back get squeezed. And eventually this can damage them. There are also nerves running through the center of the spine, and these can get pinched in the absence of back and stomach muscle strength, which may result in pain.
When I found myself recovering from a broken back 14 years ago, I discovered that a flexible spine is not only something I’d taken for granted, but a key to good health, especially for us riders. A flexible, strong spine and back can also enhance our performance as riders and keep us safer in the saddle. It also helps me keep up with my two kiddos, take care of five horses, and do the things I want to do each day.
So, I’m with the yogis―at 44 I like the idea that my youth may not be determined by the fine lines around my eyes, the few extra pounds around my middle, or the laugh wrinkles on my face. But by the flexibility of my spine!
Let’s look at some exercises for a flexible spine. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be able to perform a death-defying back bend (that’s how I perceive backbends, anyway), unless you want to! I’ll be teaching you stretching exercises from yoga, pilates, and dance. Many of these I’ve learned in my vaulting practice.
And, before you begin any exercise regimen, be sure to speak with your doctor. Additionally, my daughter and I took these photos with my draft horse for fun. I wouldn’t recommend that you do yoga exercises in the paddock with a Percheron unless you know him really really well. My three-year-old Tobias pictured here just happens to make a wonderful ballet bar. And big friendly fellow that he is, he thinks it’s lots of fun!
The first and foremost rule of horsemanship is always―be safe.
Sources: kundaliniyoga.org; Equine Sports: A Partnership in Fitness; Gray's Anatomy
