Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness

Book Description
A convenient, at–the–barn reference to help riders give their horses the perfect warm–up, featuring 124 color photos and drawings.

From the Publisher
A professional human athlete would never expect to perform at full potential without a proper stretching warm–up, yet riders ask this of their horses all the time. In Stretch Exercises for Your Horse, occupational therapist and equestrian trainer Karin Blignault illustrates how the controlled stretching of muscles long used to enhance human athletic performance can also be applied to the horse to prevent injury, alleviate pain, and improve performance. The individual exercises are explained in detail, with clear instructions providing the basic anatomy and physiology of the muscles, which exercises benefit which muscles, and the fundamental principles of performing both passive stretches from the ground and active stretching exercises from the saddle. All the exercises are designed to ensure that they are carried out in the most beneficial manner, with no risk or injury to horse or human. Karen Blignault lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Her previous book was Successful Schooling—Train Your Horse with Empathy. An Equestrian Edge Book Club Main Selection


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The controlled stretching of muscles has been an integral part of the training of human athletes for many years. Scientific studies, and results in the field, have proved beyond doubt the value of stretch exercises in improving performance and guarding against injury. Active stretching prior to exercise will help tone the muscles and ensure a good range of movement. After exercise, it will help to return the muscles to the state they were in beforehand, a process that can be assisted and supplemented by passive exercises. Following extensive research into this subject, occupational therapist and equestrian trainer Karin Blignault has written Stretch Exercises for Your Horse, an innovative and thought-provoking book that shows how the principles long applied to human athletes can be used for the considerable benefit of horses and the enhancement of their performance across the whole range of equestrian sport. The individual exercises are explained in detail, with clear, specific instructions designed to ensure that they are carried out in the most beneficial manner, with no risk of injury to horse or therapist. Stretch Exercises for Your Horse will be of great interest to all owners and trainers of sport horses and, indeed, to all those who wish to contribute to the constructive development of the horses they ride.


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