Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness

Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness by Blignault, Karin. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781570766657.

The controlled stretching of muscles has been an integral part of the training of human athletes for many years, and scientific studies and results in the field have both proven beyond doubt the value of stretch exercise in improving performance and guarding against injury. Active stretching both before and after exercise helps tone the muscles and ensure a good range of movement, and no professional athlete would ever expect to perform at full potential without it—yet riders ask their horses to do so all the time. Following extensive research into the subject, occupational therapist and equestrian trainer Karin Blignault has written this innovative and thought-provoking book to show how the principles so long applied to human athletes can also be applied to the horse to prevent injury, alleviate pain, and improve performance. Blignault thoroughly explains the basic anatomy and physiology of muscles and their associated tissues, how muscles work together in groups, and which exercises benefit which muscles. The individual exercises are explained in detail, with clear, specific instructions designed to ensure that they are carried out with no risk of injury to horse or human. 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.