TRAINING SERIES PART 2: Heavy on the forehand?

Getting your horse off the forehand

You might have heard this said about your horse…get him off the forehand, or he’s heavy on the forehand?
Does your horse feel heavy in the contact like he’s leaning on the bridle / your arms? Does he pull you down the reins or pull you out of the saddle? Is he a bit unresponsive in the contact, lacking ‘brakes’, feels like he runs into the ground so to speak, looks downhill in his body?

These are all signs that your horse is ‘on the forehand’.

And this is natural for the horse!

Naturally there is a 60 / 40% weight distribution in their body with around 60% of their weight distributed over the forehand.

So they are bound to ride/feel heavy on the forehand.

Where this becomes a problem…

It’s a problem within exercise, so if we are exercising our horse without considering whether our horse is working ‘correctly’ there is too much force going through the forelimbs of the horse, which over time can develop into premature and uneven wear and tear, and then injury occurring.

Can we do something about this?

YES absolutely we can help to re-organise our horses body so that he carries his weight more evenly!

Important anatomy point…

The area between the horses scapula (shoulder blade) and the rest of the body is joined by soft tissues only, the ‘thoracic sling’ structures, so there is no bony joint there. And this is significant for our horses!

On the negative side it means that the horse can become weak in the thoracic sling, and atrophied muscles in this area allow the withers to drop between the scapula, giving the downhill look. When the thoracic sling is weak, not activated or used properly, this is when the horse becomes heavy in the contact and ‘on the forehand’, unable to carry himself or lift his forehand. 

On the positive side…we can condition those thoracic sling muscles to help the problem!

My strategy with horses that are heavily on the forehand…

There are specific daily stable based exercises that we can do to start to ‘unravel’ the blocking/stiffness/inactivity of the thoracic sling.

The goal is to develop overall core strength through mobilisation and then activation exercises, to mobilise the thoracic sling structures first so that they are flexible not stiff, and then strengthen the structures so that ultimately the horse can lift his forehand off the ground and carry himself!

So it’s a process to go through and not a quick fix, nothing is with horses, it’s long term corrective work, but so rewarding and valuable for the horse when done correctly! Once the horse is unlocked in the forehand and then strengthened (see Part 1 of this series for my 'Mobilise-Activate-Strengthen' strategy!), you can achieve so much more with your horse in the rest of your rehab/work! You really can't get the lightness of contact and correct self carriage and therefore correct core engagement when the horse is heavy on the forehand. 

Stable based core exercises (both mobilisation and activation exercises) and specific in hand work are my favoured ways of dealing with horses that are too heavy on the forehand. 

**There is some skill to being able to recognise if your horse is heavy on the forehand...but take some time to look at and consider your horses movement...stepping back so to speak, and just watching your horse move can give you SO MUCH information to help guide your rehabilitation/improvement process. 

DO YOU NEED HELP WITH PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE?

If you need help and guidance with correct training / retraining / rehabilitation exercise for your horse, I can help you. My online learning platform and members training group is set up to help horse owners learn how to train their horses, to improve their posture, core strength, flexibility and movement, all with correct, effective, sympathetic training methods.

I have broken all of this work down into bitesized training videos that are easy to implement with your horses. I will show you how to do core mobilisation exercises, core activation exercises, simple groundwork exercises, thoracic sling strengthening exercises, as well as teach you the art of lunging.

In all of my training modules, I explain WHY as well as HOW to do the exercises, and show you videos of me doing all of the exercises with my horse, so that you can learn all of my techniques, and tips and tricks to work out where your horse is cheating, and how to stop this happening!

All of these training videos are available on my Online Learning Platform, which is my growing library of training modules, covering all aspects of correct exercise for your horses, foundational training methods, modules on posture, crookedness, and the back and core, training on kissing spine, practical arthritis management, nutrition, and much more!

On joining you will get access to all of the training modules, plus access to my members training group, with weekly live talks and Q&A sessions!

I would love to help support you in this journey with your horse, and by joining my members group, you will have access to a full package of learning, training videos and lessons on all of the exercises outlined, assessment tasks, new training every month, live talks and Q&A’s in the member’s group, plus chat and friendship with like minded horse owners in the group!

Interested? Click here for more details: Online Learning Platform

QUESTIONS? Please contact me via the Contact page on my website, always happy to answer questions and guide you to what you need.