Postural distortions develop over the
days of our work and play so that we de- velop twists and bends the body perceives as normal. Even though we may lean to one side and twist a bit, the brain believes we are quite perpendicular and horizontally positioned in perfect balance. Solution: Get someone to watch you
ride and take photos and videotapes to study later. (See photos on page 31 for examples of crooked riders making horses go crooked.) The brain and nervous system use pro-
prioception to know where each body part is and what it is doing. Messages are sent through the central nervous system as to the length and tension of each muscle, and the brain computes their positions accord- ingly. What the brain does not know is that the muscles on the left side of the lower back may be, for example, shorter than those of the right and are tugging at the spine to bend it sideways. Muscles higher up on the right side then tug the spine above in the opposite direction so that we remain upright. The brain is also unaware that due to the habit of resting on the left leg, the pelvis is tilted down to the right and the right leg must bend a little to main- tain upright posture. To us, we are perfect. When we take our distortions and sit on a
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LIKE RIDER, LIKE HORSE H
orses oſt en refl ect the same pain-limited motions as the bipeds that ride them. During my work with handicapped riders, I be-
gan to notice that horses oſt en adopted the same postures as their riders and developed aches and pains in the same places. Horses have very much the same musculoskeletal anatomy as humans. T e muscles both develop and fail in the same way and for the same reasons that any athlete’s muscles do. T e following case shows how closely pain pat erns are shared between horse and rider. A long distance rider wanted to use her husband’s horse to
qualify for international competition, but her own saddle did not fi t the horse. I looked and saw that the tree was rocking from corner to corner on the horse’s back. Checking further I saw a depression about the size of a canta-
loupe where the leſt seat bone of this lightweight rider sat. Where the right seat bone sat an orange would fi t comfortably. In fact her posture and that of her horse had twisted the tree to the right, this all being due to an accident and damage to her leſt leg. T e horse that was being fi t ed twisted to the leſt and so there was no way that the saddle was going to fi t. T e rider had to use her husband’s saddle and, due to the “off -handed” posture she was now forced into, she fi nished the ride very sore indeed. T is illustrates how a rider with a twisted pelvis can twist a tree, and the horse only takes the diagonal to the twisted side. Even if the tree is not twisted, a twisted seat by the rider can force the horse onto one diagonal. T is sets up stress pat erns in that diagonal (e.g., the right) from the leſt hind hamstrings to the right foreleg. Over the miles, such stress can lead to a head nod and possibly front-end lameness from compensation. T e rider’s aches and pains from this ride were due to her having to ride a leſt diagonal, which she was not used to and physically unable to adopt for any length of time.
Carrying weight habitu- ally on one hip will col- lapse the ribs and twist the trunk upon the pelvis. T e pelvis will also tilt to the side, showing a “short leg syndrome.” If such a distor- tion is placed on the saddle, the hips will twist when the shoulders are squared. T is gives a signal to the horse to turn in the direction of the hips. To equalize your weight over your hips, right- handed folk can muck out, rake and broom leſt -handed and leſt ies will use “righty- tighty” for the same eff ect.
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