Total Immersion but for dressage

[centaursam]

Great to speak to a fellow swimmer

I definitely think swimming is great for riding and vice versa. I’ll check out Mary Wanless as she’s been mentioned here a few times now.

I didn’t think to draw an analogy between the swim exercises in Total Immersion and exercises on horseback but you bring up a good point. I’ll give it a try, thank you!

[DMK]

Google “wobble board” and “rocker board”

Rocker boards are good to start with, because you can work on front to back and side to side stability separately. Full wobble boards are all the directions at once.

Things I found out when I used a rocker: front to back, not problem. Side to side? Hah! That took some work!

[centaursam]

I actually have a variation of these called a Blackboard that, admittedly, I don’t use nearly as I should

[KurPlexed]

Thank you. As soon as my ribs heal ill give it a shot. Lol

[exvet]

My horse (Welsh Cob) is not young. He’s 9 and he’s only 14.2 but he’s got a hell of a bascule. It’s not too hard to stay with him but at times he still does hit my hands which I feel bad about because it only means that I didn’t ‘stay with him’ as well as I thought. I used to do 30+ surgeries a day when I was in shelter medicine (now a ‘big’ surgery day is 8-10 in private practice). While working for the shelter, I had to make due with what I had available and my surgery table didn’t have hydraulics and was built for a taller person. I’m only 5’2". The point is that for all those years I stood on a kennel grate which functioned almost identical to a rocker board. It kept my knees from locking and helped me work on balance all at the same time and I could reach my patient I definitely underscore the benefits of working with a rocker board or wobble board.

[MsM]

My physical therapist had me get a balance cushion to work on my core while seated. It has helped a lot and easier to keep around than a ball!

Amazon.com : ProsourceFit Diameter Core Balance Cushion Exercise Disc Trainer...