How does it do this?
Through strengthening the core, improving overall flexibility and creating strong, lean muscles.
It Fixes Muscular Imbalances
Equine Pilates™ addresses muscular imbalances which can often be the cause of injuries. It does this through a focus on unilateral movements. In basic terms, it means exercises which work one side at a time. Exercising in this way helps develop even muscles on both sides of the horse.
When working with your horse you’ll identify imbalances in their body and posture, which through the various exercises and stretches, you’ll be able to work on them to correct discrepancies in strength. Not only will this deal with any current injury, but it should help to reduce the chance of another one in the future.
Improves Posture
Poor posture is another common cause of injury and frequently a symptom of pain. Just like humans, Horses can also compensate the way they stand to mask problem areas. There are many reasons why a horse has a poor posture, the key is to identify why and work on them to rectify it. Equine Pilates™ is a great solution because it focuses on strengthening the core and back, as well as mobilising the spine to improve overall body alignment. Over time, repeating the basic exercises and stretches it can lead to a correct healthy alignment.
Stabilises the Body
As well as improving movement, Equine Pilates™ is effective for restoring normal muscle function. This is particularly important when it comes to activating the deep core muscle stabilisers after an injury.
Core muscles perform an important job in the horse’s body, they keep joints in the most stable position. For example, the deep stabilisers around the hips and spine are vital for supporting these structures and preventing injury to them. When they’re weak and not working effectively, problems like back and hock pain can be the result.
Given the important role they play, ensuring these deep muscles are firing properly is essential for injury recovery. Unfortunately, pain caused by injury can prevent these muscles from functioning properly. Worse still, even if the pain subsides, these stabilisers can stay switched off.
But Equine Pilates™, with its emphasis on precision and control, is designed to target these muscles. This means that practising this program regularly can help these muscles function optimally.
Through necessity, when all hope was lost for my Thoroughbred Mare, Equine Pilates™ was created. Following the same principles of Pilates for humans, Equine Pilates™ works in the same way to bring the same amazing benefits and for my mare, a return to a pain free and comfortable working life.