THE BACK LIFT If there were one thing that you could
do every day for the good of your horse, it might be to lift the back. The Back Lift en- courages a horse to contract the abdominal muscles and raise his back from pressure with the fi ngertips, fi ngernails or fl at hand. By raising the topline, the horse lowers his head and lengthens and relaxes his neck. Hollow areas on the back, behind the with- ers or in front of the loins, fi ll out when the
Key uses for the Back LIſt : ✸ Lower the head ✸ Relax sore or stiff back muscles ✸ Lengthen and relax the neck ✸ Encourage engagement of the hind legs
✸ Increase suppleness and fl exibility ✸ Improve all-around performance
back is raised. If your horse is working hard and tends to have stiff or sore muscles, Back Lifts can bring relief. A few minutes of Back Lifts before and
after riding will help improve horses who drop or hollow their back, are ewe-necked, sway-backed, stiff, diffi cult to engage or collect, and who don’t step far enough under their bodies with their hind legs. Lifting the back changes the relation-
ship of the vertebrae, which allows the horse to lower his head. This is very useful because all horses, particularly nervous ones, will begin to relax as their heads come down. Begin with three or four Lying Leopard
TTouches along the midline of the belly to prepare your horse for the fingertip pressure, especially if your horse is tick- lish, tense or sensitive in that area. Some horses, if surprised, will kick when they feel the fi ngernail pressure. Keep your hand far enough forward so that if he does refl exively kick the fi rst time you ask for a lift, he’ll miss your hand. With your palms up and fi ngers curved
and pressed tightly together to make them stronger, press your fi ngernails just beside the midline. If your horse tends to be reac- tive, start out with the fi ngertips, moving to the fi ngernails if the back does not raise up. Use a quick press-and-release move- ment rather than constant pressure. Once your horse is accustomed to the exercise
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF…
Your horse won’t liſt his back? You may have to use your fi ngernails the fi rst time or two. If you don’t get a response on one spot, move to another place slightly off the mid-
line of the belly. If you are not sure if the topline is liſt ing, ask a helper to observe for you, because its oſt en diffi cult to see the back raise when you are concentrating on the belly. Another option: Use Belly Liſt s or Pelvic Tilts fi rst.
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WWW.TRAILBLAZERMAGAZINE.US • June | July 2010 55
your fl at hand or a raking stroke from the midline with the fi nger- tips spread apart will likely get the same response.
Photo 1. Viewing the underside of the belly, you can clearly see my finger position slightly off the center line. Press and release quickly, moving an inch or so from spot to spot. Generally two or three signals, followed by a fi rm stoke upward, will be enough for your horse to contract the abdominal muscles and liſt the back.
Photo 2. I’m using one hand to hold the wand on the withers and croup to measure the degree of liſt .
Photo 3. Here you can see how- much the back has raised. You can strengthen the back through a regu- lar program of Back Liſt s. Measure the distance from the measuring stick to the deepest part of the horse’s back and keep a record. If you do a minute or two of Back Liſt s daily, over a period of several weeks most horses’ backs will stay up.
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