The benefits Pole Work can have on your Horse
By Donna Cooksey, Equine Massage Therapy Practitioner Why Pole Work?
My passion for the welfare of horses grew when first caring for my mare Ella. After practicing and honing my therapeutic skills, I was inspired to train as a Massage Therapist, so other horses could benefit from my hands-on approach.
Part of my aftercare advice when treating your horse will sometimes involve pole work. By using pole work we can awaken a greater range of muscles in our horse’s body, with the ultimate goals of building muscle structures, strengthening the core and the back, and assisting your horse in engaging and lifting its limbs.
Core strength is important for any horse, as the abdomen, back and pelvis muscles need to be strong and toned. If your horse’s muscle structures aren’t strengthened, it will find it hard to engage its hind quarters and work in an outline, thus finding it difficult to carry himself, let alone a rider.
Pole exercises can be adapted for a horse coming back from injury working in-hand or in long reins, all the way through to a ridden competition horse, as they offer a great workout for all horses, regardless of their level of fitness or workload.
The benefits of pole work
Pole work requires the horse to maintain an even rhythm, which means it will need to balance itself and
not fall onto the forehand or rush with his head in the air. Due to this, you’ll find that the base of the neck, the back muscles and the hind-end will all develop strength if undertaking these pole work exercises regularly.
In the horse’s body, different muscles serve different purposes, and activating the wrong muscles can cause a lot of problems, such as stiffness or limited flexion of joints, which in turn cause a roll-on effect throughout the horse’s muscular skeletal system. When in locomotion, the muscles are responsible for making sure the horse covers ground to move from one place to another. By doing one certain exercise over and over, you'll cause over-developed muscles, which can become stiff and alter a horse’s reflex system and inhibit joint flexion. By changing the horse’s posture using pole work, you can therefore assist your horse to move more fluidly to prevent this from happening.
What’s more, if your horse’s back is restricted, muscular dysfunctions can occur within the horse’s hind legs, causing it to become unbalanced. Due to this, the gluteal muscles will also become restricted and unable to move freely. When there is tension within the poll, this can escalate through the back causing the horse to lose rhythm. Once you have incorporated pole work into your routine, the longissimus dorsi (back muscle) will become released, aiding free movement of other muscle structures.
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THE WINTER SPECIAL 2019
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