If you know what to do with this, your horse will love to be saddled! Photo shows the interior of a horse's sternum and ribs.

Does your horse pin his ears when you tighten the girth even though you’ve had your saddle custom-fitted? Does your mare get grumpy, swish her tail or threaten to kick when you cinch her up? Discomfort during saddling is so common that many equestrians think nothing of it. But resistance during tacking up can set the tone for your whole ride, and lead to diminished athletic performance too.

Disciplining your horse may stop the biting, kicking, moving away or tail swishing, but it doesn’t improve how the horse feels about saddling. In fact, it will usually make the process even more undesirable, resulting in increased tension in the horse’s mind and muscles. That’s not exactly how you build a harmonious connection with your horse! But if you take some time now to make tacking up not only tolerable, but actually enjoyable to your horse , it will pay big dividends for the rest of his life. And the good news is that it is not difficult to do.

You may be wondering what that thing in the top photo has to do with tacking up your horse. Well, it has a lot to do with it! That funny-looking thing is an equine sternum, or breastbone, accompanied by the costal cartilage and ribs. The ribs in this specimen have been cut off, but they normally continue on up to attach to the horse’s spine, as the photo below of an entire equine skeleton shows.  

Notice how the ribs attach to the spine

Most riders don’t give much thought to their horse’s sternum. They may pay attention to their horse’s legs, back and neck, but they don’t realize that if their horse’s sternum is restricted, it will negatively impact how the horse is able to use those other parts. This can manifest as one or more of the following: a tight, hollowed back, shortened stride length, lack of impulsion, difficulty in collection and bending, or overall stiffness. So while the movement potential of the sternum and ribs might be small in relation to other parts of the horse’s body, it is important.

That’s because the sternum and ribs affect many different parts, including the neck, back, shoulders and hindquarters. Restriction in one part restricts the others. Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, the originator of the Feldenkrais Method®, taught me that the more parts of the body that are free to move, the more efficiently effort is distributed throughout the body, lessening strain and promoting easier, healthier and more elegant movement.

Student points to top of sternum in horse's chest as Mary holds the skeletal specimen. Notice the shape of the sternum.

What I have discovered is that many horses, especially those that dislike being girthed up, have less than optimal movement in their sternum and ribs. And the more they tense up while being saddled, the more restricted and uncomfortable this area becomes. Conversely, the freer the horse’s ribs and sternum are, the more comfortable girthing up can be. And this ease of movement contributes to improved attitude and performance under saddle as well.

Horses inhibit the movement of their sternum and ribs for any number of reasons, but previous bad experiences with being saddled or ridden probably top the list. Expecting discomfort, the horse develops the habit of contracting the muscles around the sternum and ribs in an attempt to minimize the discomfort or as a natural response to anxiety, often accompanied by shallow and rapid breathing. A vicious cycle can arise, since the more restricted the ribcage is, the more uncomfortable the horse feels when she is girthed up and ridden, so the more she contracts her muscles to protect herself. That is why it is important to interrupt this body pattern of anxiety and offer the horse relaxation and comfort in its place.

So what can you do to keep your horse happy and comfortable with saddling? Or what can you do if your horse is already unhappy about being girthed up? Don’t despair! There are several SENSE Method moves that gently bring improved awareness to the sternum, ribs and spine. Most horses find these hands-on SENSE moves enjoyable and relaxing, so when they are done as part of the saddling process, the horse begins to associate saddling with pleasure. In addition,the improved movement through the ribcage helps free up the neck, back and legs, so your equine partner can perform more easily and comfortably.

Read on to discover how the SENSE Method helped two horses overcome severe reactions to being saddled up. And if you’d like to learn how to help your own horse, I’ll be teaching Equine SENSE Method workshops in San Diego County, California, South Lyon, Michigan and Caledon East, Ontario (near Toronto, Canada). There is no need to bring your own horse, as horses will be provided. We plan to add more workshop locations and dates to the schedule, so please check back with us, or better yet, sign up for the free SENSE Method newsletter. You’ll get tips to help improve equine, canine and human health and well-being. Plus, we’ll keep you updated as we add more workshop locations and educational products to our website. Please note that we never share your email address with anyone.

Tia’s Tacking Up Troubles

“That’s not her bareback pad.  The purple one is.” The barn manager spoke these words as the colorful Paint mare, ears pricked forward, was examining the red fleece pad held out to her by Anna. Anna left and returned with the purple pad.  As she held it out to the horse, the mare immediately pinned her ears and angrily swished her tail. Anna turned to the group of other SENSE Method students, incredulous. “Did you see that? She knows which one is hers!  She wasn’t upset at all when I showed her the red pad.”  The two fluffy bareback pads seemed identical except for color; although I’m sure they smelled differently to the keen nose of a horse.

  We had been told that the Paint mare, named Tia, had gone from being a “girthy” horse to a dangerous one.  Her negative reaction to being tacked up, even with a bareback pad, was extreme. More than once, Tia had reared up and fallen over backwards when the girth was tightened.  If her girth was tightened very, very slowly, Tia tolerated it, but kept her ears pinned back and her eyes wary. Simply approaching this horse with her tack in hand was always met with flattened ears and a swishing a tail. In all other ways, Tia had no problems.  She enjoyed being groomed and handled.  And once the rider was aboard, the mare did her job.  

Anna and Marie, two of my SENSE Method workshop participants, had offered to work with Tia . They discovered a small area on the horse’s back that tense and sore, which probably caused pain when she was saddled. Using hands-on SENSE moves, Anna and Marie helped the mare move freely through her entire back and ribcage, which relieved the strain.  Now that the Tia felt better, they hoped that the mare would realize that tacking up would no longer have to be painful.  

Seeing the Paint’s dramatic reaction to the purple bareback pad, I explained that she would have to be convinced, gradually and cleverly, that being tacked up could be a comfortable experience. It wouldn’t be enough to relieve the soreness and hope that the mare would figure out that saddling no longer hurt.  As long as a horse has a negative association with tacking up, she brings her fear to the process each and every time.  And that fear is as real to her nervous system as the physical pain once was. 

Tia gave me a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate how to use the SENSE Method to help a horse change her feelings about being tacked up. Combining pleasurable hands-on SENSE moves with varied and unusual placements of the pad, saddle and girth, we helped the mare transform her negative associations into positive ones. Right before our eyes, Tia went from expecting pain to anticipating pleasure. The saddle, pad and girth were no longer objects to fear, but became associated with good feelings.

While Tia ’s reaction to saddling was extreme, many horses show more subtle displeasure at being tacked up. Oftentimes the discomfort causes the horse to contract the muscles around his ribs in an effort to control the tightening of the cinch. This is the reason why you can tighten a cinch and a few minutes later discover that it is loose. And I often I see horses restrained on short cross-ties to prevent them from biting the person who is saddling them.  Or there will be ear pinning, tail swishing and threats with a hind leg. All of these behaviors indicate that the tacking up process is not comfortable for the horse. Equine dislike of tacking up is so widespread that many people just accept that horses won’t like it. So they either discipline the horse or ignore the behavior entirely. In either case, the cause of the horse’s discomfort remains.

We owe it to our horses to make the process of handling, saddling and riding them to be as comfortable as possible.  And your horse will be better able perform his job when he isn’t creating physical and emotional resistance to minimize discomfort. Resistance to saddling can lead to training problems and contribute to restricted movement. Conversely, enjoyable saddling sets for the stage for harmonious riding experiences.

The first step, of course, is to make sure that all tack, including the bridle, fits properly and is comfortable for your horse. An evaluation by a professional saddle-fitter is strongly recommended, as is a full veterinary examination. In addition, you need to carefully and honestly review the work you do with your horse. Are you sitting crooked on your horse? Are your aids excessive? The work too demanding or monotonous? Your horse may object to being tacked up because he knows what is coming next! Lessons with an experienced, positive trainer and sessions with a Feldenkrais Method® Practitioner would be a useful starting point to make sure that you are not the cause of your horse’s discomfort. In the meantime, read on to discover how the SENSE Method helped a horse eliminate his objection to saddling and transformed it into a pleasant experience for horse and human.

Sarge’s Saddling Problem Solved

A beautiful, loudly-colored Appaloosa gelding we’ll call “Sarge”, is usually a very pleasant, happy horse. So when he started pinning his ears while being saddled, his people took notice. His saddling, which had always been done with care, had somehow become uncomfortable to him. He even nipped a couple of times, which was out of character for the Appy gelding. It progressed to the point that lightly brushing or touching him on the barrel or girth area on his left side (the side where his girth was usually tightened), caused him to pin his ears and move away. Sarge’s veterinarian did not find a medical cause for his girthiness.

The first time I worked with Sarge, I recognized immediately that he wasn’t comfortable with people standing on his left side, even if he wasn’t being touched. Since I get much better results if I ensure the physical and emotional comfort of the horse, I began the session on Sarge’s right side.  I noticed that the Appy was tense all over his body and his breathing was shallow. Sarge’s stiffness was noticeable when he turned his head, since his ribcage remained rigidly straight. Since no other part of his body helped share the effort of turning, this increased the strain on his neck. As I observed the Appy, I simply stood at his right side for a few minutes, breathing in a relaxed way.  Then I used my fingertips to delicately lift the lower neck muscle. This was an area that I felt Sarge would not be as defensive about and it was the “open door” that would allow me in to help him overcome his girthiness. 

Sarge, with his head now lowered, closed his eyes and licked and chewed.  He apparently enjoyed the relief that my hands gave to this often-overworked muscle. I then gradually moved my hand down to the front of his chest and began gently working with his sternum, or breast bone. Sarge, like many horses, loved this!   

Lifting Sarge's lower neck muscle

Balancing Equine Movement

 It appeared that Sarge began objecting to saddling because he had soreness in his ribcage. Horses and humans develop tight or sore areas because we habitually overuse some parts of our bodies and under-use others. The SENSE moves “wake up” the parts that have been under-used while they relieve the strain on the over-worked areas. With the effort of moving now balanced through the body, movement is freer, more comfortable, and efficient. Stiffness and discomfort often disappear.

I worked my way back along Sarge’s body, relieving tension in overworked muscles. After using my hands to gently lift the muscles along his back, I kept one hand supporting his back muscles while I put my other hand on back of his pelvis. This seemed to give the Appaloosa a feeling of connection through his skeletonand helped him stay relaxed, focused and breathing easily.

Lifting Sarge's back muscle while keeping a connection with his hindquarters

I worked with Sarge all along the right side of his body, including his legs. The support of my hands helped release muscular stress and strain. I enjoyed observing his deepened breathing as I gently invited movement through his ribs, spine and pelvis. These SENSE moves not only felt pleasurable and improved his body awareness and flexibility, but could help Sarge create positive associations with being touched in the areas where the girth and saddle would contact. Sarge was content with my work on his right side, even happily letting me explore around his girth area.

Working around Sarge's girth area

I wanted to make sure that Sarge could maintain his relaxed state when I worked with him on his left side, which was his more defensive side. To make the transition easier, I asked the Appy’s handler to take him for a short walk and then turn him around to bring him back to me. This way I stayed in the same spot and it was Sarge who presented me with this left side. This was very different than if I had asked the horse to remain still while I walked around to the side he habitually protected. I began by lifting Sarge’s left lower neck muscle, since he already knew what to expect from this SENSE move and he again loved it! I continued working my way back, helping Sarge gain a better awareness of his body and releasing tension.

Since Sarge is not a large horse, I was able to drape my right arm over his back. With one hand on each side of his ribcage, I gently slid his ribcage a bit forward and back,  allowing Sarge to experience how his ribcage could move easily and comfortably. By working with both sides simultaneously, it distributed my pressure – and thus Sarge’s attention – to both his right and left sides at the same time. He already knew how good this SENSE move felt on the right side, so this was a way to bridge that feeling to his left side and reduce the chance that he would reflexively protect and stiffen that side. After several movements, I changed to an alternating rhythm, sliding first one side and then the other in light, easy movements.   Moving my hands back behind the last rib on each side, I softly supported Sarge as his breathing deepened. It was exciting to see how much more of his ribcage and belly now expanded with each breath!

With the Appy relaxed, I asked for his girth. It was too soon to saddle him up that day, but I hoped to begin introducing the girth in conjunction with some SENSE moves. But Sarge was not ready for that just yet. When the Appy saw the girth in my hands, a look of worry re-entered his eyes and his breathing became shallow. While the signs were subtle, it was essential that I notice and respect his reaction.     I put the girth down and helped the Appaloosa find his happy place again. There would be time enough to use the girth another day. I wasn’t about to rush the process and lose the ground that Sarge and I had gained. I believe in closely listening to the horse and taking the time it takes to encourage a positive response.

With the girth draped over her shoulder, Mary helps Sarge stay relaxed in the presence of the girth

With Sarge’s relaxation and comfort re-established, I draped the girth over my arm but didn’t touch him with it. I continued to do hands-on SENSE moves so that he would begin to associate this piece of tack with pleasurable feelings. Accepting the girth’s presence would be the first step in re-introducing contact with the girth.

I ended that first session by giving Sarge gentle pressure through his pelvic bones, helping to connect him front back to front. Relaxed and content, Sarge’s person took him for a short walk. We could all see that the Appy had more movement in his ribcage and his breathing had deepened. He had lost that worried, tight look. And as his people noted, he just seemed happier. More than one person commented that it was the most relaxed they had ever seen him. Feeling very happy myself, I arranged to return in a week for Sarge’s second SENSE Method session.

It was wonderfully satisfying to see that Sarge retained his relaxed countenance when I returned a week later. I first did several SENSE moves with the Appy and then introduced the saddle pad. Placing it in its normal position on his back brought a temporary wariness to Sarge until I moved the pad up to his neck.  Sarge was fine with the saddle pad draped over his neck, since he didn’t have any negative associations with this placement. My intent was to promote relaxation and pleasure as I slowly re-introduced the horse to his saddle, pad and girth. Placing the pieces of tack on him in non-habitual ways would help stimulate new, positive associations with them. If I simply tacked him up the usual way, he might have reverted back to his habitual, negative reactions.

Holding the girth, Mary uses it to invite gentle, relaxing movement to Sage's sternum and ribs. This helps change his association with the girth from negative to positive!

Since Sarge had become accustomed to the presence of the girth on my arm as I worked with him, he no longer showed any negative reaction to it. This allowed me to use his girth in a new, positive way. Instead of simply being neutral and accepted, it’s even better if tack can be used to give the horse positive feelings. Since Sarge enjoyed a SENSE move (called Sternal Coaxing) that involves gently moving the sternum, I held the girth between the horse and my hand and used the girth to move his sternum. Thus, the feel of the girth became associated with a pleasurable, relaxing sensation. While I start this process by just holding the girth in my hand, I eventually work up to doing Sternal Coaxing with a girth that is attached to a saddle, even gradually tightening the girth while moving the sternum and ribs. The allows the girthing up process to go from a tolerable experience to a pleasurable one. And very importantly, it helps the horse experience that it’s possible to freely move the ribs, sternum and spine while wearing tack. This translates to improved comfort and performance under saddle as well.

Mary helps Sarge feel how his ribcage can freely move even while the saddling process is underway. Note the girth draped over Mary's arm.

Over the second and third sessions, I used the pad, saddle and girth in various unusual ways. For example I held the girth against Sarge’s barrel to gently slide his ribcage, which is a movement he enjoyed. And I placed his saddle on his croup, making sure that it did not fall. I eventually put his pad and saddle in place, but with the saddle facing backwards and without the girth. The Appy was relaxed throughout. During these sessions I moved back and forth between his left and right sides and Sarge remained quiet and calm.

 One of Sarge’s people began doing the SENSE work with him after my schedule prevented me from returning after his third session. Alert for even the most subtle negative reactions, she ensured that the Appy maintained his physical and emotional comfort while she gradually tacked him up. And she eventually put the saddle, pad and girth on him without any anxiety! This was a real accomplishment and a testament to the care and concern that Sarge’s humans have for him. They listened to their horse and took the time needed to ensure the comfort and well-being of their beloved equine friend.      

You can use the SENSE Method to make the entire tacking up process pleasurable and helpful to the horse. Here Mary uses the girth to gently invite movement to the sternum, a feeling that many horses find comforting.

SENSE Method Benefits

It is important to emphasize that the SENSE Method does much more than relax and comfort a horse, although that is an important first step. After releasing physical and emotional tension, the horse often needs direction to make better choices, otherwise he will revert back to the same neuromuscular habits that created the problem in the first place. SENSE provides hands-on guidance so that the horse learns how to move more freely and comfortably. This improves athletic performance, focus, balance, coordination and flexibility. Visit the SENSE Method website for more information.

SENSE Method and SENSE are service-marked terms of Mary Debono. Feldenkrais Method® and Awareness Through Movement® are registered service marks of the FGNA. 

Copyright © 2012 by Mary Debono

]]> http://www.sensemethod.com/2012/02/if-you-know-what-to-do-with-this-your-horse-will-love-to-be-saddled/feed/ 2 http://www.sensemethod.com/2012/01/marys-article-making-it-easier-for-your-horse-to-hold-up-his-legs-published-in-the-horses-hoof/ http://www.sensemethod.com/2012/01/marys-article-making-it-easier-for-your-horse-to-hold-up-his-legs-published-in-the-horses-hoof/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:33:27 +0000 Mary Debono http://www.sensemethod.com/?p=773 Mary’s article, “Making it Easier for Your Horse to Hold Up His Legs”, has been published in the Winter 2012 issue of The Horse’s Hoof magazine.   In the article, Mary describes how the middle parts of the horse – the … Continue reading →

The first 20 auditors to Mary’s demo on Sunday will receive printed copies of two Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lessons.  Please visit Mary Debono’s website  for more information on the Feldenkrais Method ® and the SENSE Method.  We hope to see you in Alpine!

Learn a simple movement lesson to free your spine and pelvis!

Mary uses the SENSE Method to relieve tension in horse's front leg

Mary Debono, a Guild Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner and the originator of the SENSE Method, will be expanding her Horse and Rider workshop tour internationally in October.

Mary’s next stop is Imlay City, Michigan, where she will lead a two-day SENSE Method foundation class on September 23 – 24 at EquiSports, LLC.  On September 25, she will head to South Lyon, Michigan, for a ½ day advanced class and a ½ day of private sessions for horses and riders at Gaited Acres Farm.

On October 7 – 8, Mary will teach a two-day Horse and Rider workshop in Caledon East,Ontario,Canada, which is about an hour outside ofToronto.  The workshop is being held at the beautiful 350-acre facility, Petlyn Farm, which is sure to be a treat, especially in autumn. There is lovely on-site lodging available for horses and humans.

Mary is planning to schedule an equine SENSE Method workshop in San Diego County, California in November.   While many parts of the world are getting chilly in November, San Diego usually has mild and sunny weather.  If you’d like more information about Mary’s workshops, please email us at workshops@sensemethod.com.

Mary uses SENSE techniques to help horse bend more easily

In my previous post, I wrote about Jill*, a rider who unknowingly sat with more weight on the left side of her pelvis.  Jill’s unbalanced seat made bending difficult for her horse and caused both horse and rider to have sore, stiff backs.

I led Jill through a Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lesson that helped her sit evenly on her seatbones. And this felt comfortable and natural, not forced. When she stood up, she felt half a foot taller! Her back was softer and more mobile and her walking took on a graceful quality.

Next it was her horse’s turn to feel good.

Running my hands over Jill’s bay mare, I felt her tense, hard back muscles, with the left side being tighter than the right. Such chronic contraction causes soreness and fatigue, and the muscular restriction would prevent the mare from bending easily to the right.

While I had helped Jill resolve the all-too-common problem of uneven seatbones, it would not be enough to only work with Jill. When a horse has been compensating for a rider’s idiosyncrasies for a period of time, she often develops habits of body use that don’t automatically disappear when the rider becomes balanced. The bottom line:  both Jill and her horse, Kali, needed to re-learn how to bend easily.

Before Jill met me, she had been doing carrot stretches with her horse, hoping that this exercise would improve the mare’s ability to bend.  She would hold a piece of carrot out at various angles and the mare would reach for it, often stretching quite a bit in order to obtain the goodie.

But there was a downside to those stretches.  The sensation of stretching drowns out other, more subtle, sensations that would allow the mare to learn how to bend easier.   Kali was simply exacerbating the patterns of use that she already knew. Just repeating and/or exaggerating a movement will not improve it.  In addition, because there was a carrot waiting for her if she stretched far enough, Kali stretched beyond what was truly comfortable, giving her nervous system the experience of limitation, not freedom of movement.

Since a horse will override signals of pain or discomfort in her attempt to obtain the treat, I did away with the food enticement. I wanted Kali to be more aware of her body, not less so. I explained to Jill that instead of asking Kali to stretch, I wanted to engage Kali’s attention in the process of bending and help her learn new, more comfortable and efficient ways of doing it. Just like the work I do with humans, we needed to re-train the brain. 

The first thing I did was to break the process of bending down into its smaller parts.  Asking for the whole movement (the entire bend) would result in Kali doing the same thing she always did. But by separately exploring each small piece of the movement, Kali would have the opportunity to change her usual response.

Since Kali could bend to the left easier than to the right, I placed my hands on Kali’s left ribs and gently brought the ribs closer together in several places.  Kali remained at ease.  Bringing the ribs together can have the effect of softening the neck, ribcage and back muscles on that same side and can help the horse learn how to bend more easily.

Notice that I chose to begin this bending lesson on Kali’s easier side. This is important. This allows the horse to feel safe, since no one is contradicting what she feels comfortable doing.  A relaxed horse is receptive to learning.  An anxious, defensive horse is not.

Since my hands were doing the work of Kali’s muscles by bringing the ribs closer together, Kali’s nervous system could sense that the habitual contractions were no longer necessary and could let those overworked muscles relax.

I then moved around to Kali’s right side and, reaching across Kali’s back, I cupped my hands around the muscles just to the left of her spine. Slowly, I brought my hands towards me, coaxing Kali’s back to follow.  This subtle movement helps to mimic the movement of the back and barrel when the horse is bending to the left. I worked my way from Kali’s withers to her tail and back up to her withers again.  I did this for several minutes, while Kali, her head hanging down, remained relaxed.

For proper bending, the neck must also soften and participate in the movement.  Improving the movement in the ribcage is essential for enhancing freedom in the neck, and I wanted Kali to feel this connection. I put one hand lightly on her neck while my other hand gently brought movement and awareness to her sternum, the bone that runs down the middle of the ribcage. When Kali’s sternum moved, I could feel the movement in her neck.  More importantly, now Kali felt it too.

The bay’s neck muscles became noticeably softer. Putting my hands lightly on her neck, I showed Kali how she could move each section of her neck independently and easily.

Mary helps the horse feel how soft and free his neck can be

Now it was time to put these pieces of the puzzle together to simulate the act of bending. For this, I elicited Jill’s help.  I brought Kali’s ribs together as Jill coordinated turning Kali’s head to the left. We helped Kali feel how moving her sternum could influence her neck and make her movement freer and more comfortable. We then repeated these movements on Kali’s right side, which had been her more difficult side. Throughout, Kali stayed soft and relaxed.

After Kali improved her bending to both sides while standing still, I began to work with her while Jill led her at the walk.  We took Kali into the arena, using the corners as a visual reminder of bending, while my hands guided her movements.

To further integrate her improvements, I worked with Kali while she was tacked up and then with Jill in the saddle. All these variations helped Kali assimilate the improvements in bending into her actual work under saddle.

Mary helps the horse feel how his ribs can move with his rider in the saddle

And now that Jill had greater body awareness, she could feel if Kali showed even the smallest amount of resistance, and could look to herself first to check if she was restricting Kali’s movement. Jill would then organize herself so that her body could support her horse. Jill and Kali became relaxed and happy together, and it was gratifying to see horse and rider progress into such an elegant, harmonious partnership.

*Names and identifying characteristics have been changed.

Summary:

• Horses often develop performance problems because they compensate for unbalanced riders, poor-fitting tack, unbalanced hooves, pain or injuries.  The horse’s poor movement can persist even after the rider becomes balanced, the saddle fits or the injury has healed.    

• Trying to fix the difficulty by stretching muscles or asking the horse to perform the activity repeatedly can intensify the underlying problem.

• Instead, the horse must learn a more efficient, comfortable way to move. In other words, we have to re-train the brain. 

• It’s essential to break the difficult function (in Kali’s case, this was as bending) down into small steps and fine-tune each step. Make each movement small, slow, comfortable and safe for the horse.  Gradually add the steps back together to form the larger movement, thus re-training the brain.

• Add in other elements gradually (e.g., bending while walking, wearing tack, and carrying a rider) to help the horse integrate the improvement.  

• The greatest progress occurs when both horse and rider improve their movement and awareness. The above bullet points apply to humans too.  Learn SENSE Method techniques to help your horse and treat yourself to Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lessons. Your horse – and your body – will thank you!

Many thanks to Pam Johnson and her horse, Lover Boy, for modeling for the photos.  And big thanks to Wally Johnson for the photography!  

Thank you for reading my blog.  May you and your animal friends enjoy health and harmony!  ~  Mary 

The voice on the phone sounded frustrated.  “My horse, Kali*, won’t bend to the right.  No matter how much leg or even spur I use, it’s a struggle. One of my friends at the barn gave me your number. I think she was tired of hearing me complain about my horse!  Anyway, she thought you could help, but I’m not even sure what you do.” 

I explained to the caller, whose name was Jill*, that I needed to work with both her and her horse.  “Me?” she asked.  “But it’s my horse who is stiff to the right. I work out and stretch every day. What do I have to do with it?”. “That’s what we have to find out”, I answered, smiling.

After two decades of helping improve the movement and performance of horses and riders, I have seen first-hand how much equestrians influence their mounts’ movement.  “To best help the horse, I have to work with the human too”, I explained to Jill. So she scheduled a Feldenkrais® session with me.

A week later, Jill was sitting on a chair in my Feldenkrais office. “I feel perfectly even”, Jill said, even as I could plainly see that she was putting more weight onto her left seatbone.  Jill’s right ribs were held more closely together than her left ones, causing her to side bend a bit to the right. The right side of her pelvis was held higher than her left, giving her the appearance of a “collapsed hip”. In Jill’s case, this asymmetrical sitting caused her to throw more of her weight onto her left seatbone. No wonder her horse had difficulty turning to the right!

But it all felt perfectly normal to Jill, who had probably been sitting like that for several years. So I asked her to slide her hands under her seatbones.  “Ouch!” she exclaimed, as she pulled her hands free.  “My left hand was getting squished!”  Then the light bulb went off.  “Oh, I get it now”, Jill continued.  “That must be what Kali feels when I’m riding her. No wonder her back is sore and tight!  I never realized how unbalanced I was”. 

It was not surprising that Jill didn’t feel her own crookedness, since the nervous system often adjusts to a feeling that is habitual, even if it is an asymmetrical one. The imbalance feels normal. Sitting heavier on one side, like Jill was doing, is a common problem. It often goes unnoticed by the rider, but not by her horse, who is forced to compensate for the unbalanced load.

Now that Jill knew she was sitting crooked, she immediately tried to straighten herself out. She thought that stretching out her right side might help, but it did not change her long-standing habit. It merely caused tension and imbalances in other parts of her body.  Instead, Jill needed to find new, healthier ways to sit so that she would no longer be contributing to her horse’s difficulties. A balanced, flexible position would also keep Jill’s spine supple and pain-free. And that is where the Feldenkrais Method® can be a great help.

Simply put, the Feldenkrais Method teaches people how to stop interfering with themselves, taking the struggle out of riding. Years of sitting behind a desk, driving a car, dealing with stress and nursing old injuries often leads to the development of restrictive movement patterns which overuse parts of the body and lead to pain and stiffness. These habitual patterns become so ingrained that they feel familiar and thus seem “normal.” And the common refrains of “Sit up straight, pull your shoulders back, sit evenly,” etc. usually create more tension in the rider. But Feldenkrais can help you recover the flexible, coordinated and graceful movement of childhood.

Feldenkrais helps riders gain increased awareness of their movement, allowing them to be more aware of their horses’ movement too. This can significantly improve a rider’s timing and coordination of the aids. Balance improves, confidence grows and riding becomes a true pleasure.

Although I also work with riders in the saddle, I generally start by working with riders off their horses, so that they are removed from the situation where the habitual behavior is taking place. I proceeded to give Jill a Feldenkrais session which lasted about an hour. As Jill was lying comfortably on my Feldenkrais table, I used gentle touch and movement to help her release the tight muscles which were causing her to throw her weight onto her left seatbone.

I finished up the session by leading Jill through a Feldenkrais® Awareness Through Movement® lesson so that she could learn to be balanced over her seatbones.  This movement lesson also helps improve posture and can relieve back and neck pain that arises from tense, restricted muscles.  I’ve printed the full movement lesson on my website (scroll down to the Awareness Through Movement Lesson for Riders) so that you can do it yourself. Click here to view a YouTube video of the first part of this movement lesson. 

Helping Jill sit more evenly was only half the solution, though.  I had to work with her horse, Kali, as well.  I’ll be blogging about how I helped Kali bend better too, so please stay tuned for Part Two!   Thank you for reading my blog. Your comments are always appreciated!

Thanks very much to Pam Johnson for modeling for the photo.  And many thanks to Wally Johnson for the photography. 

Wishing you health and harmony for you and your animal friends ~  Mary

The chestnut horse stood before me, her long mane gracing her arched neck. I watched as the veterinarian and the horse’s person looked at an x-ray of the mare’s left front lower leg, which showed a clearly defined suspensory ligament. The vet explained to the woman that the horse would not be able to recover from her suspensory ligament injury and would be permanently lame.  The woman was distraught by the news.

Confidently, I strode forward and announced that I could help the horse return to full soundness.  I did SENSE Method work with the horse for five minutes and, magically, the horse healed.

Magically, indeed!  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I recounted my dream. I laughed at the arrogance of my dream self, but I didn’t dismiss the dream.  It felt important. And there had to be a reason why the suspensory ligament was shown in such detail. I wondered what it all meant. Who was that beautiful horse?

I was in a hotel room in Berkeley, California, where I was attending the annual Feldenkrais Method® conference, and I needed to check my business voicemail. I could muse about my dream later. As I began to play my messages, the first one stopped me in my tracks. The caller, Jan, explained that she had a mare with a chronic suspensory ligament injury. After several months of treatment, the mare’s ligament was still not healing. An x-ray that had been taken that day showed that parts of the suspensory ligament had calcified. The veterinarian’s prognosis was grim and suggested that the ten year-old horse be retired.  But Jan desperately wanted her horse to heal. Would I come to her stable and work with her horse?

Marveling at the prophetic nature of my dream*, I returned the call and scheduled a session with Jan’s mare. Hearing the despair in Jan’s voice, I tried to reassure her that I would do everything possible to help her horse. She wasn’t ready to give up on her horse and – especially after that dream – neither was I!

When the appointed day arrived, I immediately recognized the chestnut mare, named Sweet Pea, from my dream.  A compact, gorgeous horse, she was a beautiful blend of Spanish Mustang and Arabian. She even had the long flowing mane and abundant forelock of the horse in my dream.

I explained to Jan that my work did not involve “fixing” her suspensory problem, but rather I would investigate how Sweet Pea was using her body.  And then, like a detective, I would try to uncover what was getting in the way of Sweet Pea’s healing. As I ran my hands over Sweet Pea, I felt how the muscles on the left side of her body were more developed than those on the right side. Observing closely, one could see the difference too.  As I pointed this out to Jan, she noted that the mare sweated more on her left side.

As I began the SENSE Method session, the mare was standing squarely on all four legs.  I stood in front of her head and, with my hands on either side of her face, ever so lightly rocked her side-to-side.  I then went to her right side and gently took hold of her withers.  Again, using a very small amount of pressure, I rocked her side-to-side.  I repeated this process in several other places, always gently rocking Sweet Pea from some part of her skeleton, such as her point of hip or sacrum.  I repeated the process on Sweet Pea’s left side.

The gentle rocking was helping me discover how Sweet Pea habitually carried her weight.  Did Sweet Pea have a habit of carrying more of her weight on one side of her body?  I would also be able to feel if the mare had a diagonal bias, with one front leg and the opposite rear leg carrying greater weight.  In either case, the heavier weight-bearing legs would be forced to work harder than the others, increasing their strain.

In order to accurately learn how Sweet Pea loaded her limbs, my movements had to be very light and precise.  Anyone can shift a horse’s weight from side-to-side by pushing on the horse, but in order to determine which direction was easier for Sweet Pea to shift to, my touch had to be barely perceptible.

Think about it this way.  Let’s say you are carrying a heavy box of books.  A butterfly lands on the box, but you cannot tell when it flies off.  Because you are using a lot of effort to carry the box, your nervous system cannot discriminate when such a small difference – the weight of a butterfly – is added or removed.

Now let’s pretend you are holding a feather lightly between your thumb and forefinger.  A butterfly lands on the feather.  You can immediately feel the increased weight in your hand.  A decrease in weight will tell you that the butterfly has taken flight.

It’s the same when we are touching our horses.  When we use a heavy touch, our bodies cannot discriminate between subtle differences in sensation.  But when we use a very small amount of effort, we are able to discern even small differences in ease of movement.  These small, but very important differences are what we are looking for.

And it’s true for what the horse feels as well.  If you use a small amount of pressure, the horse’s nervous system can discern the ease in which the body shifts to the right, and the ease in which it shifts left.  If you use a larger amount of force, all the horse feels is that he/she is being pushed to the side.

To rock Sweet Pea, I moved my whole body slightly forward and backward.  My arm just served as the place to connect Sweet Pea with my movement. This ensured that I used very little muscular effort and that my hand stayed soft, enabling me to feel differences. It was also a more pleasant sensation for Sweet Pea because she felt neither pushed nor pulled as she would if I used only my arm muscles to do the work.

I found that Sweet Pea carried more of her weight on her left legs.  And the difference was significant.  After I finished my rocking (which had the added benefit of soothing Sweet Pea and acquainting her to my touch), I gently felt her all over.  I discovered that the muscles on her left side were indeed tenser than the muscles on her right side.  It was clear that Sweet Pea used the left side of her body more strongly, and her asymmetrical muscling showed that she had been doing this for some time. No wonder her left front leg wasn’t healing! She wasn’t giving it a chance to rest.

Considering Sweet Pea’s injury, overusing her left side seemed more than a bit unwise.  But I knew that there had to have been a good reason for Sweet Pea to have developed this habit in the first place. I wondered aloud what that could be. It was then that Jan spoke up.  Five years before the mare had injured her right front leg. After appropriate rest and treatment, the injury healed and the mare was sound. It is likely that Sweet Pea learned to use her left side more strongly as she was recovering from that injury. Now my job was to convince Sweet Pea that it was time to release that habit and develop a better strategy.

Now you might be tempted to think that all I had to do was shift Sweet Pea’s weight over onto her right side, but that wouldn’t be a good idea!  The horse’s nervous system would resist that direct confrontation, so I had to be more subtle than that. Instead, I used my hands tolift and support the muscles that Sweet Pea was using to keep her weight heavier on her left side.  Doing so helped relieved those overworked muscles, interrupting their habitual contraction. As I supported her muscles, Sweet Pea relaxed and yawned.  Her head began dropping and her eyes were soft.

I worked with Sweet Pea’s ribcage too, since the uneven limb loading caused strain through the ribs, sternum and spine. I used my hands to help the chestnut feel how she could shift her sternum and recover freedom of movement in her ribs and back. All of these improvements would help prevent the mare from continuing to strain her injured left front suspensory ligament.

After I made my way over Sweet Pea’s body, I delicately began circling her body from various places.  This gave her different experiences of weighting her limbs non-habitually.  I was providing the mare with options, but they would only be adopted if they felt comfortable and safe. Since I made sure that Sweet Pea’s experiences were pleasant and non-threatening, her nervous system began getting the idea that distributing her weight more evenly was a good choice!

Jan wisely continued to follow veterinary advice for treating, resting and hand walking her mare.  And since Sweet Pea no longer stressed her injured leg, the gorgeous chestnut mare healed her suspensory ligament completely, just as my dream predicted. Happily, Jan continued to ride and enjoy her beloved girl for many more years.

 Thank you for reading my blog!  I always love to read your comments, so please feel free to leave me a message. If you wish to get each post as they are published, please subscribe to my blog.     Thank you!  ~ Mary 

*This wasn’t the first or last time I had a revealing dream about an animal that I didn’t yet know.  I apparently connected with Sweet Pea’s and/or Jan’s energy before I heard the phone message. Please leave a comment on my blog if you wish to read more about this type of energetic connection.

By gently shifting the horse's weight, Mary can feel if a horse loads his limbs evenly

Paul* had great expectations for his part-Friesian filly, Gemma*. She was the daughter of his beloved mare and he had lovingly cared for the foal since her birth on his ranch. He had dreams of Gemma becoming an powerful sport horse. As time went on, though, Paul became concerned about how Gemma was developing. At six months of age, the filly was clearly more upright or “clubby” on her right front.  Veterinarians and farriers were consulted.  The vets strongly recommended surgery, but Paul wished to avoid that.  He was cautioned that without surgery, the filly would develop a permanently upright “clubby” foot, even with the best farrier care.

A friend suggested that Paul contact me to see if the SENSE Method could help the filly. When I arrived at the ranch, I saw a stunningly beautiful young horse.  Since Paul had so expertly handled her, she was very friendly and easy to work with. With my hand lightly on her withers, I delicately rocked Gemma a tiny bit from side-to-side. I Wanted to feel how she distributed her weight over her legs, how she “loaded her limbs”.  I could immediately tell that Gemma was weight-bearing heavier on the left front.  The vet had found no injury on the right front leg and there was no current reason why she couldn’t bear an equal amount of weight there. It was likely that sometime in her young life she had a minor strain or pain in the right front and had developed the habit of protecting it. This is not an uncommon occurrence.

When a horse doesn’t bear weight fully on a limb, the flexor tendons may exert an unnatural upward pull on the structures of the foot.  With this upward pull, the foot tends to develop the characteristic “clubby” appearance. (The proposed surgery would have cut some of the soft tissue structures of the leg in an effort to allow the foot to grow normally). If I was to help Gemma, I had to teach her how to load her limbs in a more symmetrical manner.  Her nervous system had to be convinced that not only was it okay to do so, but it would be actually more comfortable that way.

Gently holding her withers, I began move Gemma in a very light, somewhat circular direction. I say “somewhat circular” since I emphasized what she did habitually,   which was to take most of her weight onto her left front leg.   I merely hinted at taking the weight onto the right front leg.  If I made the mistake of pushing weight onto her right front leg, it would likely cause her to brace and protect her leg even more.  I always respect that the horse had a good reason originally for adopting a movement pattern and I’m careful not to contradict it.  Changes must be introduced gradually and without anxiety for them to be integrated.  I did, however, also take the weight front and back, creating this “somewhat circular” pattern of shifting weight.  She had no resistance to taking her weight front and back, and this gave me an opportunity to teach the filly about weight shifting.

I then went to Gemma’s ribcage, and began working with her sternum and ribs.  When a horse weight bears asymmetrically, there is usually a shift in the sternum and ribs.  Often the surrounding musculature begins to develop unevenly as well. Try it yourself:  get down on all fours and shift more weight onto your left “fore leg” (left hand).  Can you feel how your ribcage shifts?  Imagine walking around all day like that. Can you feel how your right fore leg is actually freer, and your left has to work harder?  How would your muscles develop if you continued moving like that?  What would your back feel like after a while?  And can you sense how this would affect your “hind legs”?   And neck?  Would it be easier to bend one way more than the other?  Would it be difficult to hold your feet up for trimming?

I worked with the soft tissue around Gemma’s sternum and ribs, letting her feel that she was no longer stuck in her habitual pattern.  Then I gently moved her sternum around, again in this “somewhat circular” direction. As the sternum and ribs moved more freely, I could gradually expand the sternal movements until we eventually created a truly circular pattern of movement.  Paul could see how Gemma had learned to shift her weight from one foot to the other, going to all four feet equally, all without any hesitation or resistance.

I worked with Gemma’s head, neck, back and hind end too, giving her the sensation that all the parts could work together harmoniously in this new way.  In addition, I worked with the filly when she was walking, to ensure that her learning was fully integrated into her nervous system and that it didn’t just apply when she was standing still.  She gained greater awareness and use of her right front leg.

I taught Paul some SENSE Method movements he could do to support his filly’s progress.  It was important that he do these SENSE movements to remind Gemma that her right front leg was perfectly capable of supporting weight, and that it wouldn’t hurt to do so.  In fact, it would be more comfortable. As Gemma continued to use her limbs symmetrically, her right front developed normally and no longer showed any trace of a club foot.  She grew into the active, happy, athletic mare that Paul dreamed of.

While it was clear that  Gemma had a problem, many other horses have asymmetrical weight bearing that is not so obvious. It can develop after an injury, and begin at any age.  It does not always result in a clubby foot, especially if the horse is older. Symptoms of asymmetrical weight bearing include:  difficulty bending to one side, tripping, uneven hoof growth or wear, uneven muscle development, discomfort in the back or neck, difficulty picking up one lead, reluctance to hold up a leg for trimming and slow healing of soft tissue injuries, such as suspensory ligament injuries.

In summary, it’s important to remember that while proper hoof balance is essential, it is not the only thing that influences hoof development. The way a horse carries him/herself  affects hoof health and overall athletic performance, and there is much we can do to support our horses in achieving their potential.

*Names have been changed.

Dr. Bowker participated as I led the class through a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson, which is a series of gentle movements designed to enhance coordination, flexibility and posture.  Participants learned how to free up their back, shoulders and neck by improving awareness of their spine, ribs and sternum.  It was gratifying to see people being able to turn their heads easier, reach farther with their arms and eliminate back pain!

Next, I explained how we can apply the same concept to a horse, using my hands to invite awareness and motion to the horse’s spine, ribs and sternum.  We could see how this improved the movement in the equine’s back, shoulders and neck. Pairing up with a horse, the participants then practiced the SENSE Method moves I had demonstrated.

Mary demos SENSE Rib Moves

It was wonderful to see how the Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lesson had prepared the students by giving them an experience of the effectiveness of these gentle movements. They understood in their own bodies how increased mobility in the ribs, sternum and spine leads to freer movement in the back, neck and shoulders, so it was easy for them to help their horses make that connection too. These SENSE moves are especially useful for horses that are stiff, sore or short-strided, as well as those transitioning from shoes to barefoot.

After the class ended, Dr. Bowker generously shared his findings on the many benefits horses receive when we trim them correctly and leave them barefoot.  We were an appreciative and captive audience!  (BTW, an excellent resource with tons of great information on natural hoof trimming is thehorseshoof.com.   Yvonne Welz does a fantastic job of producing a highly-informative barefoot hoof care magazine too.)

Happily, it looks like I’ll be returning to Michigan to teach another SENSE Method Equine Workshop in late August.  Please contact me if you would like more information. Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you’ll consider posting a comment.  I always love to hear from you!   ~ Mary

Dr. Bowker and Mary Debono

Mary helps student feel the SENSE move on herself as she works with a horse