Strengthening a weak side without riding

[OceansAway]

Hi guys,

I am trying to rehab my mare after an injury. Long story short, she had pulled her SI ligament off the bone, but there were no tears to the ligament itself otherwise. She is receiving shockwave for this. The odd part is that she lost muscle on the side where she was not injured. Vet does not know why. Per my vet, she is on a fitness protocol that involves longing over hills and caveletti.(She is not yet under saddle.) I’m having a very hard time with her tracking left (the weak side) because she pushes the circle out too large, which drags me off my feet, especially in the canter. I’m not an expert on mechanics, but I feel that her stronger right hind leg is pushing harder, which pushes her outwards. I don’t know how to fix this without riding. I feel as if I’m just pulling on her head to keep her from making enormous circles, but if I don’t she just boings off into outer-space, like letting go of a swinging ball! ] I just can’t seem to fix it. I am using a field because the area is too small to make circles that won’t tweak her injury. Any idea I can use to fix this issue and/or strengthen that weak side that I can do from the ground? Thanks, all!

[J-Lu]

Hi,

How small is your arena that it is too small? Here’s something to consider. It is pretty cheap to go to Home Depot and purchase ground stakes and some kind of nylon tape to string between the stakes. Can you make a “round pen” or half of a “round pen” out in the field that is of an appropriate size that you can longe against some sort of “wall” so your horse can’t drift out? Can you purchase PVC pipes to put on the ground and create a “chute” that your mare can aim for and won’t be so willing to “drift” out of? Some kind of physical barrier will help you stay off your horse’s face when longing and give your horse a guideline to aim for (much better than an open field). When she’s used to this barrier, can you add poles or cavalletti so she has to lift her limbs?

[alibi_18]

[QUOTE=J-Lu;8803156]
Hi,

How small is your arena that it is too small? Here’s something to consider. It is pretty cheap to go to Home Depot and purchase ground stakes and some kind of nylon tape to string between the stakes. Can you make a “round pen” or half of a “round pen” out in the field that is of an appropriate size that you can longe against some sort of “wall” so your horse can’t drift out?[/QUOTE]

Please OP, DON’T do that.

Sorry J-Lu but that is the worst idea ever and not just for the OP’s horse who is drifting unintentionnally but for any horse who has longe issues. It’s not solid, it’s just a huge disaster waiting to happen…

Can you purchase PVC pipes to put on the ground and create a “chute” that your mare can aim for and won’t be so willing to “drift” out of? Some kind of physical barrier will help you stay off your horse’s face when longing and give your horse a guideline to aim for (much better than an open field). When she’s used to this barrier, can you add poles or cavalletti so she has to lift her limbs?

Ground poles, markers on the ground ABSOLUTELY yes.

OP, unless the horse escape totally your longe circle bucking , I wouldn’t be concerned too much. Just move/drift your circle with your mare and try to follow her a bit more.
This kind of injury is tricky and you might need to “go with it” more than “force” her to turn/not to drift. It might be because it still hurt, it is not healed enough, it needs more time and she’s definitively unbalanced.

When she drifts too much, I would go back to walk for a moment and start again. Transitions are a good way of muscling anyway.

How do you put your lunging tack on? Lunge over poll? With or without the bridle?

[SonnysMom]

I sent my horse for a week to a local place that does aqua-treadmill. He had a total of 6 sessions. The change was incredible. They really worked on keeping him straight on the treadmill.
I don’t know if it would work as well with a regular treadmill.
My horse is not a candidate for swimming. He already had a low back, almost sway back. My massage therapist thought that the swimming would encourage him to raise his head and hollow the back. With the aqua-treadmill his head is much lower.
We are lucky in my area we have both a place that does swimming and another that does aqua-treadmill. I think there is also a rehab place that has a regular treadmill.

[Sonesta]

I second the idea of finding an aqua treadmill to use for a couple weeks.

I’d also suggest that long-lining rather than longing might help.

[OceansAway]

Thanks for the replies! I can’t put an exact size on the arena. It’s small, like maybe the size of two round pens in length, but the width forces very tight turns. My vet said it is not ideal, so I use it only when I’m doing cavaletti, because I can put them only down the long side, and transition to walk before the corners. I have tried going with her when she moves outward, but as I said, it’s like letting a swinging ball loose. She keeps going and going and will not stop moving out unless she meets a physical obstruction. Often she ends up running into the bushes and has to make abrupt turns to prevent ending up in the woods that boarder the field. I have tried making barriers with cones, and she will literally move out until she hits them and then is forced to transition to a walk or make more really abrupt corrections. The vet has seen her do this and thinks she is just really strong on one side, very weak on the other, and very unbalanced from the muscle atrophy. Part of me also wonders if this is nappy behavior, because it happens mostly on one side of the circle; the one closer to the barn. She will fall in on the other side, but I know how to correct that at least.

As far as equipment, I use a surcingle and cavesson, but no side reins, per the vet. He does think something else to help encourage a downward stretch would be good, namely the Pessoa system, but I keep reading negative things about it and honestly don’t know what to do. I know other gadgets can encourage this too, but I am not well-versed in their differences (vienna reins, chambon, etc.) My vet said large circles on the longe line are totally fine, but did say long-lining is best (don’t know how I’d coordinate that with using the Pessoa anyway) but I have never done long-lining before. While I feel confident starting young horses under saddle, I have zero experience with long-lining, never mind teaching it. Ground work is a huge hole in my education. I’m wondering if double-longing might help too, since I can steer?

I would LOVE to send her to a rehab facility with a treadmill or anything aquatic, but I have no idea how to find one. I have done tons of google searches and I have only found one and it is not close and extremely out of my price range. I’m in Massachusetts, by the way.

[Button]

Is ponying her off another horse an option?

Long lining is super simple once you have a feel for it, think of it as longeing but with reins/riding from the ground. It would definitely help since you can control the outside shoulder, and there’s no need for the Pessoa system with it. The easiest way to learn it would probably be finding a trainer who can give you a lesson on one of their horses, just so you learn what it feels like (the weight in your “reins” will feel different due to the length of the lines, you have to make slightly bigger movements etc.) and how to set everything up properly. And from long lining it’s not a terribly big step up to ground driving, which can be really fun, and also gives you more potential exercises for correcting some of the one-sidedness. However since your mare isn’t started yet and is rehabbing, this probably isn’t the best time to introduce her to ‘here’s how reins work.’

[OceansAway]

Button, ponying is not an option. Most of the horses at my barn are retired or companion horses. You hit the nail on the head regarding long-lining. She has only worn a bridle a handful of times, and I don’t think rehab work is the right time to introduce her to steering. This is why I’m so stuck. Rest and turnout has done nothing to help heal her, and my vet really thinks building muscle is key, along with the shockwave. I’m probably going to cross-post options for a rehabilitation center near me or a dressage trainer that specializes in ground-work, particularly for youngsters.