Updated: Stiff and stubbron; do chiros or stretching exercises work?

[ride-n-tx]

(Updated post on pg 2)

I am working with a horse that is very stiff to the right. Right now he just braces and won’t bend or stretch down to the right, but he seems fine going to the left.

I haven’t had him very long and he has been getting progressively less stiff. However, he is only 7 and doesn’t have any physical issues so he shouldn’t be this difficult going to the right.

I had my trainer hop on him during our lesson when we were battling it out and she had the same issue with him, so it is not a rider issue (pfew!). I think this is mostly a training issue that we will have to work through, but I would like to hear what has worked for other people.

For those of you that have worked through a tough stiffness issue, what has worked for you? Have you tried chiropractors? Or carrot stretches? How effective are they?

[Eclectic_Horseman]

Carrot stretches are very effective over time to increase the range of motion without causing injury. Do them every day as part of your grooming routine and you will soon see a difference.

[kerlin]

I have seen chiro do good things for other horses; it didn’t make a huge difference for my guy. What did make an enormous difference was regular sports massage. He is MUCH looser and happier now.

On a day-to-day basis, I also find that the length and quality of my warmup also makes a big difference, but you’re probably already doing that.

[Tucked_Away]

Haven’t tried chiro, but I find that semi-regular massage really helps my guy stay loose and comfy.

I’m not sure the carrot stretches made any real difference. But he thought they were fun.

[buzz4]

I use a chiropractor for my horse every 6-8 weeks (7 yr old FreisianX) and have done so for almost a year. His conformation is not ideal for dressage and the work she has done on him has made an amazing difference (In addition to chiro she also does acupuncture). If you have a reputable chiropractor that comes with good recommendations in your area I would suggest you give it a try. I find it is well worth the money!

[ESG]

Check teeth and saddle fit first. Then do chiro. I find it much more effective than massage.

[rabicon]

My guy was the same way. We did lots of stretches and lots of 20M circles and some spiraling to 15M and also had a chiro come out and she found where the problem was, it was in his neck and shoulder and now he bends so beautifully in both directions.

[ride-n-tx]

ESG, he had his teeth done recently and I am in the process of buying him his own saddle. The loaner that we are using fits him quite well. But you’re right, that is the first thing I checked.

I am glad to hear that the chiro and masseuses have worked for other people. It is hard for me to shell out all that money on luxuries that I don’t even give myself!!! Good grief, my horse gets treated better than I do!!

[ride-n-tx]

Has anyone out there tried chiros and/or masseuses and would recommend against using them?

[slc2]

i’d prefer stretching the horse while riding, and suppling him with leg yields and other suppling exercises. it’s like seeing a ballet dancer consciously straighten, and hold his arm rigid with the muscles braced, instead of bending it when he holds his partner, and offering him a massage a few days later rather than showing him how to bend his arm during the dance - something needs to be done in the moment, not after.

[SillyHorse]

I’ve known many, many horses, including mine, to benefit from both chiropractic and massage, done by good practitioners. Over the years we’ve had horses in the barn who were getting uncharacteristically girthy and resistant. Our chiropractor adjusted them with great results.

I’m sure there are hack chiropractors, just as there are hack MDs, DVMs, writers, contractors, you name it. But a good chiropractor can bring relief to your horse if it’s suffering from pain that an adjustment (or two) can help.

[Eclectic_Horseman]

If you have ever had physical therapy yourself, you know that there are many modalities to increase range of motion and flexibility. They can all help, but it depends on what the specific problem is, which can best be addressed by a professional. Of course, the problem then becomes finding a good, experienced, qualified professional.

When I have the option, I try to work with a holistic veterinarian who will be the most likely person to find the underlying reason and suggest the best complementary therapy. But sometimes, even then, it is just trial and error.

[slc2]

i agree that some muscle therapies can make muscles more comfortable, but i also think the horse needs to be shown what to do under saddle; i also don’t think all stiffness is due to a problem with a muscle being stiff in and of itself - the rider may need to change how he’s riding the horse.

[WB_Mom]

Using a chiro can be a very valuable diagnostic tool for you to use to help rule out certain issues if you can’t quite pin down what is wrong. I recently aquired a horse that I was told had arthritis in his right front, and after 1 chiro visit, it appears it may be a pelvic trauma to his left hip and is really diagonal lameness. If you can find one you like and trust, I would recommend using one - if nothing else to rule things out.

[ride-n-tx]

Slc2, if you had read my original post, the horse does not bend when you try to ride him undersaddle. He just won’t do it right now. I don’t disagree with you on principle, but if my trainer who is a very competent FEI rider could not get him to stretch down and bend properly in our lesson then I am going to have a h**l of a time trying.

I am willing to explore other options that might make it more comfortable/easier to help him bend so that when we work under saddle we don’t fight about it. He is very stubborn and I want to nip this in the butt before this becomes a huge issue.

For all I know he has been going around with a stiff neck for the past 3 years! He may not even know that he can bend!

[Eclectic_Horseman]

@slc2;3223534

i agree that some muscle therapies can make muscles more comfortable, but i also think the horse needs to be shown what to do under saddle; i also don’t think all stiffness is due to a problem with a muscle being stiff in and of itself - the rider may need to change how he’s riding the horse.

No not all stiffness, but apparently the OP said that the horse is new to her and came this way. She also said that the horse was the same with her trainer riding.

True that inflexibility can be caused by bad riding over time. It can also be caused by compensation from an old injury or, as in humans, bad habitual posture. Passive stretching is a good way to diagnose whether the problem is inherent and how restricted the horse actually is. It can rule out resistances that the horse my have while being ridden.

Once you have determined through passive stretching that the horse has a restricted range of motion or flexibility, you can gradually work on improving it without force, and without any possible rider error. And, if done every day, it usually helps without ever doing any harm.

I was not a big believer, until I started riding a client’s mare who everyone who had ever ridden her said was locked up on the right side of her neck. The mare was serviceably sound, but she had had an old injury to her right hind ankle which left her with significant arthritis. We started doing carrot stretches with her, and found that she couldn’t bend her neck to the right enough to reach back for a carrot at her shoulder. She got progressively better as the carrot stretches were done every day. When she could reach back to her hip, the owner stopped doing the carrot stretches, and she gradually got stiffer on the right side again. Since then, she does her carrot stretches every day and no one who has ever ridden her has found her to be heavy on the right rein or resistant to bending on the right side.

As a result of that experience, I became a believer and have used carrot stretches with a number of horses. I have also heard some BNT state at clinics that they have their grooms do carrot stretches with their horses. There is a reason that professional athletes have their trainers and therapists–and equine athletes can benefit for the same reason.

[slc2]

‘the horse does not bend when you try to ride him undersaddle’

that’s how i understood your post. that’s what i responded to.

will he turn his neck to the right when he’s turned out, being led, offered a carrot, biting a fly, or scratching his side? can you turn his neck to the right with a side rein set 1 hole shorter, or 2, reins handled from the ground, with a lead rope? what does he do if you tickle his side on the right? how about grazing grass and reaching thru the fence or gate for grass? how about if he’s loose, and another horse comes up on his right?

do you longe him in side reins ever?

does he never turn his head and neck to the right under any circumstances?

often, stiffness is just not having been ridden bending in each direction. the horse isn’t physically unable or in pain, and reaches, turns and bends in both directions in the pasture when loose, but just is not used to doing it under saddle. he may refuse to do so because it’s unfamiliar, not because it causes pain.

other horses are in pain, and have a neck injury that is either recent or old. i used to ride a horse that could not flex at the poll/neck because of an old injury to the atlas (joint between neck and head).

other horses don’t have neck pain at all, they seem ‘stiff’, ‘stubborn’ not because of anything with their neck but because their hind legs are not equally able to manage their weight as they move. often horses that seem ‘stiff’ to one side and ‘won’t bend’ are actually having a problem with the hind legs, not the neck. hind leg lameness or uneven-ness can cause the problem.

a horse may seem ‘stiff’ and ‘won’t bend’ because he’s leaning or ‘falling in’ or otherwise doesn’t have his weight distributed properly.

[Valentina_32926]

Chiro, massage (just before chiro is best so horse is loose enough for adjustment to really work). My mare was getting worked so much with lateral movements (see below) that she tried to kick the massesue cause her inside hind leg was VERY sore, after the massage she was 100% better.

Under saddle: push horse with thigh on stiff side into rein on other side - e.g. my mare can be stiff on her right side so no matter which direction (at first) I’d always push her with my right thigh into my left rein. (Now I use both thighs but for a while I was afraid my right thigh would end up being twice the size of my left thigh.)

Lots of bending exercises - LY where she is REALLY bent with inside rein AND outside leg around inside leg - i.e. when LY to the right have left rein bending horses to “look” left and right leg behind girth to get horse shaped like a bananna with left leg at girth. I actually started this more after I had gotten her to unlock her neck/jaw/withers on the right side… so now that’s how we warm up…start with traditional LY then as she warms up ask for MORE bend. Recently my trainer even has me do a LY with almost zero forward (at walk) during our warmup… to help unlock her stiffness thru her body. She’s a smart mare so has figured out since locking neck doesn’t work she’ll try body now :(. Luckily she doesn’t do it all the time. :lol:

Never hold on that stiff side but you can do an “turn the key” on the stiff side - e.g. on my mares right side she felt like a concrete wall so when I’d get on I’d open “turn the key” on the stiff side rein (right for her), and “as needed” open that same rein… Idea is NEVER to hold and don’t jerk… just an “ask for bend” and give… repeated over and over again. It literally took months and perserverance but worked.

[MassageLady]

If a horse is willing to do most things, yet ‘refuses’ to do something simple (like bending),then it is almost always a pain issue.
I do and teach equine massage therapy, and I can tell you without a doubt that a good, full body, deep tissue sports massage will help your horse.
It may-and most likely will-take several massages to get this out of him, but if you do them within a short period of time-then within 2 weeks he will be a different horse!:yes:

[ride-n-tx]

Hey, these posts are really helpful. Thanks!

I did some carrot stretches today and he did the same thing that he does under saddle. His neck is loose and relaxed when he stretches it to the left but to the right it is tight and doesn’t really flex. he will turn his neck a few degrees to the right but then he cheats and tilts his head to the side to get the carrots. He doesn’t act like he is in pain, it’s more like it’s just blocked. I will keep doing these to see if he improves.

Valentina, I like the exercises you suggested. I think I will try a chiro and/or masseuse, but I would also love to hear more of these exercises that have worked with other horses!

I know that this is going to be a slow process. Originally I was thinking that maybe I should back off the lateral work, but maybe I should just keep doing leg yields, shoulder-ins, voltes and renvers?