Spring IS coming!

Another day that was colder than it was supposed to be, but at least the sun came out.  The sun shining does a lot to improve my mood, and hopefully it will start to really melt that ice out there.  This gets me thinking about conditioning myself to begin spring conditioning and riding.

Horse riding, especially long distances at moderate speed, requires excellent core strength.  This includes back and stomach strength, as well as lower body and upper body strength and balance.  A rider must have strong muscles, combined with a supple and flexible spine.  The best way to increase core strength is to stretch and exercise.  Balancing on an exercise ball while working is an easy way to begin to increase core strength, as long as the ball is stable.  An easy way to increase stability is to place a rolled up towel under/around the base of the ball to prevent excess rolling.

Another good exercise is laying on your stomach over an exercise ball, and then raise your torso off of it while preventing the ball from rolling.  Again make sure that you are strong enough to control the movements without falling off!  Then follow this exercise up with the mermaid stretch.  To do this stretch, stand with your feet shoulder width apart in a relaxed frame.  Then slowly lift your hands above your head and stretch.  Finish the stretch by leaning first left then right, and then slowly lowering your hands.

Spring may actually be coming, so it may be time for me to jump start my fitness program!!

After an injury

I had a little incident last night.  Alice, my three year old daughter, woke me up a little after midnight.  She had to go downstairs, to the bathroom.  I was carrying her down our very steep, wooden steps, when I slipped.  Down the stairs I bounced, holding Ali.  I landed a little bit on her leg, and it scared her a lot, but she's mostly unharmed.  However I am bruised all over, and very sore!  Let's just say that it is difficult to sit on a hard chair right now...

So this brings me to my topic today, fighting inflammation after an injury.  I have been icing steady all morning.  Ice applied for ten to fifteen minutes every hour can help to decrease swelling.  I also had my husband put some kinesiology tape on me in a fan formation.  This will help to fight inflammation by increasing oxygenation to the muscles and tissue in the area.  I then used a liberal dose of biofreeze to block some of the pain.  Picture is fromwww.healthandcare.co.uk

Avoiding over the counter NSAID's or pain relivers (aka aspirin) will also help to decrease healing time significantly.  There has been some very interesting research published recently that shows some new information.  Not taking NSAIDS for pain will help to increase healing speed by as much as six weeks, after a major injury. 

So I will spend the day sitting on an ice pack and drinking a lot of water so I can heal as fast as possible.  I am convinced that spring will come back, eventually, so I need to be ready for it!

 

Hoof trimming

It's time for my horses to get their feet trimmed again, so this gets me thinking about just how important it is to have someone skilled to work with.  Most good farriers are more than willing to work with us bodyworkers, but of course not all hoof trimmers are created equal.  I have been very interested in barefoot trimming for the past six or seven years.  I compete totally barefoot with both of my endurance horses, for most rides.  If there is a particular part of a ride that is very rocky, I will boot with Easyboot Gloves.  When I move up to further distances (75 and 100 mile rides), I am playing with the idea of using Easyboot glue-ons.  I train totally barefoot, and my horses are turned out on hilly/rocky pasture twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Granted I don't have that many endurance miles, but it's working for me so far.  Don't fix what isn't broken, I guess...

My horses are trimmed by Autumn Chronister.  She is a Degreed Applied Equine Podiatrist and MIAEP (Member of the Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry).  She has been trimming my horses feet for almost a year now, and everyone is looking great.  More information can be found here: www.appliedequinepodiatry.org.

 Happy Friday!!

Stretches for Riders

After another weekend with no riding, I sit here on this Monday morning and think about summer.  There is so much ice here in SE WI, I can barely walk through the pasture without slipping on ice.  SO, my thoughts turn to what I can do now to prepare for next ride season.

If you are like me, then you rarely stretch.  Especially not before or after a ride.  So I'm going to talk about a few easy stretches that will help to improve your riding.

Hamstrings: these are the muscles that run down the back of your legs.  (Picture from: www.davidrobertsphysio.co.uk)

 For riders, the most important job these muscles do is to extend the hip and to flex the knee.  This means that they help to straighten the hip joint, and to bend the knee joint.  This is pretty important while posting and using a jump seat!

To stretch these muscles, the most common method is to sit on the ground with your legs stretched out in front of you.  Fold one leg in and stretch the other leg out in front of you.  Then lean your upper body forward and slowly try to touch your toes with your fingertips. (Picture from: http://www.bicyclekingdom.com/healthy/Cycling_Stretches.htm)   Hold this pose for 3-4 seconds, then switch legs and repeat for 3-4 repetitions.


Another great stretch is to lay on your back, and pull one leg up at a time.  Keep the knee as straight as possible, and bring the leg up past 90 degrees slowly.  Again hold for 3-4 seconds, then switch legs and repeat for 3-4 repetitions.



Now before you stretch, or exercise, please remember that these recommendations assume that you are healthy with an average fitness base.  If you have past low back, knee, hip or other leg injuries, please consult with a doctor before you begin any stretching regime. 

More stretches to come, please let me know if there are any specific stretches that you are interested in!!

Out of Balance in the Saddle

            Chiropractic care is not just effective for horses; it is also great for treating people.   Most people assume that chiropractors can only treat back pain, but it can have numerous great benefits on the entire body.  Chiropractic care can greatly enhance a rider’s position and balance, which can lead to better performance overall.  The horse and the rider work as a team, so they both must be moving properly throughout their bodies.  Chiropractors are not just “back doctors”.  We often treat conditions that may be seemingly unrelated to the spine.  The body is all connected, and because of this, chiropractors view the body holistically.  The horse and the rider work as a team, and so both must have all of their joints moving properly.  By adjusting the spine chiropractors can influence the nervous system, and this affects the trillions of cells that make up the body.  This explains why it is common to have a patient who may have a positive result from a condition that would seem unrelated to the spine.  There are numerous studies showing favorable results with blood pressure, ADHD, asthma, MS, ear infections, Carpal tunnel, headaches, knee (and other joint pain), and many others.  Because of the interconnection of the spine and the nervous system both mechanically and physiologically the chiropractic adjustment can have vast effects on the entire body.

People often view chiropractors as spinal specialists, because of the profession’s focus on the spine.  It is true that chiropractic care is great when it comes to musculoskeletal complaints.  In fact, in recent consumer reports survey chiropractic was voted #1 in dealing with low back complaints.  The majority of chiropractic patients survey marked extreme satisfaction with the care that they received, compared to other healthcare professionals (including medical doctors).  Though chiropractors are good at dealing with complaints of this nature, it is a great disservice to the profession to say that is all they do.  Chiropractic is about removing interference from the nervous system, so that your body can heal itself.  After all true healing comes from within, for the horse and for the rider.   Chiropractors commonly use the term subluxation.  The definition of a subluxation as adopted by the Association of Chiropractic colleges is: a complex of functional and/or structural and/or pathological articular changes that compromise neural integrity and may influence organ systems and general health.  So what does this mean?  Well more simply stated, subluxation is when the bones of the spine, or other joints, are not moving properly and the resulting irritation can negatively affect the nerves.   

Chiropractic care and horse riding are connected, as chiropractic care can help improve your proprioception (or sense of balance) by removing or minimizing nerve interference (from subluxations).  Adjustments reduce the nerve interference, allowing the proprioceptors to function more efficiently.  This can lead to an increase in balance and coordination, which can translate to better riding.  Proprioception is the sense of where your joints are in space.  This is the idea that I know where my finger is, despite not being able to see it.  Adjusting the spine affects the reflex pathways, so this can allow for better nerve function and this can directly affect the mechano-receptors at a joint.

 

The horse and rider move as a structural unit, and this is very complex.  The horse is a quadruped, or four-legged creature.  Humans are biped (two-legged), sitting balanced over the horse’s sensitive spine.  All of the rider’s weight is found over their Ischial tuberosity’s when seated, so pelvic obliquity and balance are essential.  Chiropractic care can help ensure a balanced and even pelvis, prior to ever getting on a horse.  The horse is the base or foundation, while the rider and the tack is the load.  How the load functions determines how the base functions, and vice versa. We can not separate one from the other.  We often focus our attention on the horse’s care, when in fact it might be the rider causing the issue.  If we favor one side, and we don’t balance our weight, is it possible to cause the horse to have a curvature in the spine?  Definitely!   Also, we may see other problems with balance and evenness developing in our horses.  Focus on equal distribution of weight in the stirrups and see if you are favoring one side over another.  This is the idea behind using dual scales to determine evenness of pelvic loading.  If there is more weight in one leg than in the other when you think that you are standing evenly, you probably have an unbalanced pelvis.