Older horses release chronic tension

classical training

movement and expression

Undoing A Contracted Horse

  • Some magnificent stretches during deep relaxation 
  • A shift in stature and size - coming 'into being'.
  • Re-visiting old holding patterns and letting them go

Bought as a 12 year old this 16.3hh hunter type (now 17yrs) had been hunted and competed at Horse Trials. He had also been a pony club dressage horse and won the Elementary Championships prior to his current ownership. The implication of the owner was that he had not been worked correctly or along classical training principles and had thus had to adopt a shortened and stilted neck position. A badly fitting saddle and big movement through his paces had compounded his problems and resulted in a retracted neck, hollow back and associated weaknesses. He was described by his owner as being worried and anxious. Acupuncture on the neck had not worked to alleviate the tension. There was still evidence of muscle wastage on the trapezius and longissimus muscles (where the saddle sits). COPD had been diagnosed and was being addressed at the time. The horse had also been diagnosed as having arthritis in the right hind limb. He still uses the underside of his neck during schooling with the associated difficulties of generating a ‘throughness’ of the topline.

At the beginning of the session the horse was eating hay and appeared oblivious to my presence. After a while he became very quiet, was intently listening to me, then came away from his haynet and stood very still in the middle of the stable, in a relaxed standing position and as if to welcome the session and completely surrender to the process. I had a strange sensation that this horse was shrunken in size although he was physically a big horse, it was as if his ’being’ was little and reduced. After a while he stretched up strongly through the neck - adopting a high head and shortened neck carriage, presumably indicative of previous muscle patterns when working as a dressage horse. The second stretch came after some considerable twitching of the trapezius muscles. This second stretch began from behind the scapula and the head again came up - but not so high this time. The third stretch was out through the right hind leg. The fourth stretch began but did not finish and this seemed to be coming from much further back in the lumber area. The binqi could be felt to be strongly releasing from the neck and back with each stretch that was done.

This horse had obviously worked at a high level of competition and as such had paid a price both physically and mentally. I think the ‘becoming smaller’ was the reflection I was getting from a shrunken being who was made to fulfil demands to show presence but actually lacked a huge amount of confidence in being himself. He had clearly worked in an apparently ‘round’ shape but actually had been very hollow and not working through his topline at all. The muscle wastage in the back and behind the withers confirms this. His current owner had done much for the welfare of the horse throughout her ownership of him. The stretches were highly encouraging and interesting to note that the horse adopted the positions that he would have worked at all those years ago. I presume he was accessing old information, releasing the tension from that and then having the possibility of coming into a new, lengthened posture.