A closer look at postural changes
Training your eye to spot good posture can be tricky. Here is a closer look at some things to be watching out for.
Good posture has become a much discussed topic in the horseworld, which is absolutely fantastic. Realizing that it's more about how the horse performs a certain exercise than about how often or how many repetitions he does, is a really important a-ha moment. And while we all agree that good posture is key, when it comes to defining what good posture actually means, things get a bit trickier. For less experienced riders, the subtle changes in posture are hard to see, so they might have a harder time recognising when their horse is moving correctly and when he's not. Add to that the fact that the definition of »good posture« changes not only from horse to horse, but from moment to moment, and things get very complicated, very quickly. That's why I thought today we could more closely at some postural changes that we are looking for in our horses. This is only one example and one horse, but it might help you to become better at spotting good vs bad posture.
Let's look at some photos!
Photo1
On the first photo we see the horse waling on the lunge line in less than ideal posture. Her head is up, her back is braced. She is using her lower neck muscles to move her front end and her hind legs aren't really doing much.
Photo2
On the second photo, we see her approaching the cavaletti (at a less than ideal distance). See how this is already changing her posture. Observe how her neck seems just slightly more arched. She is starting to lift the base of her neck in order to look down to see where she needs to place her feet.
Photo3
On the third photo she is lifting her leg over the obstacle, engaging her thoracic sling. The shape of her neck is very different now and the transition between the withers and the back is less pronounces. This is because her thorax is being lifted up between her shoulder blades by engaging the thoracic sling and lifting the base of the neck.
Photo4
The fourth photo shows how the lifting of the thoracic sling affects the back. It approaches flexion and the spine finds a more neutral position. You can see this if you compare the slope from the pelvis through the lumbar area in the first photo vs the fourth photo.
Photo5
The fifth photo shows her having to lift up the hind leg, mobilizing her hip joint and her back. This also benefits her coordination and proprioception.
Photo6
On the last photo we can see just how big a change in posture occurred over a short period of time. Her body looks completely different than it did on the first photo. Her neck is longer, the back is lifted, her whole body seems more active and stronger. This is why I absolutely love cavaletti in walk when it comes to teaching horses good posture. When you are working your horse over cavaletti and you find yourself wondering if you are doing i right, look for these changes in posture. Make a video or take snapshots and then compare what the posture is like before the caveletti vs after. If you see a positive change, you are on the right track. If not, it's time to pause and re-think your training strategy.