The Horse’s Back – Know what you are sitting on…
Have you ever given much thought to the thing that supports your entire bodyweight when out happy hacking on your horse, leaping fences with precise skill and precision or galloping across the stubble fields on a hot summer’s day?
Horses' backs were not designed to carry riders; the horse evolved for survival purposes, such as to support its own weight and enable controlled and powerful movements, sometimes at speed, to sustain its existance and escape danger. In fact, the most convenient place for riders to sit on a horse is actually one of its weakest points, believe it or not.
The partnership between Man and Horse goes way back, probably circa 5000 years or more, from nomadic travellers using them to carry goods, to farm and war horses tested to their limits for their strength and cooperative natures to now, modern day, where horses are mainly used for leisure riding or competitive sport.
Thankfully, with time, our knowledge has grown and so we are more able to prepare and support our horses for the activity or sport that we intend to use them for. Selective breeding has also played a part in developing confirmation traits most suited to different activities and a deeper understanding of the muscular-skeletal system has allowed us to carry out specific exercises and training to ensure the horse’s body is equipped to carry out the demands we put upon it.
Simon Cocozza of www.coreconditioningforhorses.com promotes the importance of correct training to best equip our horses for modern day riding and equestrian sport stating on his website: “Our horses’ bodies have strengths and weaknesses, as do ours. Yoga principles can release, coordinate and tone the horse’s internal muscles until the core is strong and the spine is free. Only then can a horse move with ease and beauty.”
The thoracic portion of the spine takes all the rider’s weight, yet is the area of most weakness.
The horse’s back may look strong when viewing externally from the ground, however looking at the drawing above you can see that the thoracic portion of the spine that takes all the rider’s weight is centrally located between the front and hind limbs and has nothing to support it – other than soft tissue including muscles, ligaments and fascia. Looking at this, sitting on the withers or the quarters would be better as these areas are supported by the limbs, providing extra strength and stability. Of course, the problem with either of these locations is that they would hinder the horse’s movement of the limbs and also be quite hard to balance yourself, I would imagine, and not at all comfortable!
The horses spine is fairly rigid, compared to that of a dog or cat, for example, which is why it is possible for us to ride them and horses seem to cope very well carrying a rider’s weight providing that rider is not overly heavy for the size of the horse and that the horse is suitably fit for the work expected of it.
The importance of confirmation
When considering buying a horse, especially when for demanding physical activity such as competition, we look for a horse with good confirmation. Essentially, this involves examining the dimensions and positioning of the musculoskeletal system to ensure it is optimally aligned, allowing for strong, balanced movement with the ultimate aim of reducing stress on the body and thereby reducing the risk of injury. Confirmation is a whole other subject on its own, so I won’t delve into this here.
The importance of fitness
This leads us back to the Core Conditioning element mentioned earlier. The horse's thoracic spine is supported by a large network of soft tissue and with correct exercises, including strength and mobility work, these muscles can be conditioned to offer support to the horse’s back and make carrying a rider easier and more comfortable. These can be split into two main groups: the dorsal and ventral chains.
THE DORSAL CHAIN: The dorsal chain of muscles are what make up the “top-line” of the horse. The extensor muscles extend the hip and spine, hollowing the back and lifting the head and neck.
Longissimus Dorsi: A long muscle that runs the length of the spine and is the main muscle sitting underneath the horse’s saddle. The largest muscle in the horse’s back it has a major influence on the stability of the spine and free locomotion. Tension in the longissimus dorsi can have a huge effect throughout the body, with compensatory muscle tightness and spasm occurring as a result.
Splenius: Located in the neck originating at the withers and the nuchal ligament and inserting at the poll and the first four cervical vertebrae of the upper neck. Its main role is to lift and extend the neck.
Glutes: A large muscle group comprising the superficial, mid and deep gluteals. These muscles are important for power and gymnastic movement and extension of the hip, which is important for impulsion.
Hamstrings: This muscle group also plays an important role in hip and stifle extension for propulsion and is made up of biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus.
THE VENTRAL CHAIN: The ventral chain include the core muscles mentioned earlier and are vital to aid good posture and provide support to the spine and back, as well as enable collection and controlled gaits. The ventral chain is made up of a group of muscles that sit along the underside of the horse and are sometimes referred to as the flexor chain as they aid in the flexion of the hip and vertebrae to raise the back and withers and lower the head and neck.
Abdominals: This muscle group has multiple roles, including support for the abdominal organs, breathing, defecation and giving birth as well as aiding lift through the back. The abdominals comprise the rectus and Transverse abdominae plus the internal and external obliques.
Brachiocephalic: A large muscle in the neck that originates at the poll and inserts into the humerus of the forelimb. It aids in neck flexion, bringing the head back and neck down as well as side to side. With its insertion at the humerus of the forelimb, just below the point of shoulder, it also has a role to play in bringing the forelimb forward (protraction).
Sternocephalic: As the name suggests, this muscle runs up the underside of the neck from the sternum to the jaw, helping to open the mouth but also bringing the head down and flexing the neck.
Tensor Fascia Lata: This superficial muscle is located in the hindquarters and has multiple attachments. Originating at the tuber coxae (point of hip) it inserts directly and indirectly into fascia and fascial tissue and has a close partnership with the superficial gluteal. It acts as the main hip flexor and is important for protraction of the hindlimb.
Illiopsoas: Comprising the Psoas Major, Psoas Minor and Iliacus muscles that lie along the top of the lumbar spine. Allowing movement of the pelvis and flexion of the lumbo-sacral joint.
Take a look at the drawing below, expertly produced by “Gillian Higgins” at www.horsesinsideout.com which highlights these key muscle groups mentioned above.
Key muscles of the dorsal and ventral chains. Copyright: Gillian Higgins www.horsesinsideout.com
With correct training, both the dorsal and ventral muscle chains should be balanced so that they can support the horse to carry the weight of the rider and move freely and without discomfort of pain. Weakness in a particular area or fatigue from overuse (not varying your workload/routine) can cause tension in one area of these chains which can cause compensatory issues elsewhere. When left untreated, this can cause pain, discomfort, reduced range of motion or willingness to move, inhibit performance and result in lameness.
This is why fitness should be built up gradually and understanding your horses level of fitness to be able to comfortably do the job you demand of them is vital if you want a happy horse and to prevent unnecessary injury. Variety is also key to prevent overuse and fatigue of individual muscle groups. Try to mix up the type of exercises you are doing when schooling.
Other influencing factors:
Tack – Saddle and Bridle Fit: As horse owners and riders, I think we are all highly aware of the importance of a good saddle fit and the need to get your saddle checked and adjusted regularly. Their shape is not static and as your horse ages, develops and grows their body shape will change over time as well as depending on workload and fitness. However, as I touched on earlier, tension, pain or discomfort anywhere throughout the dorsal or ventral chains can cause back problems due to compensatory stress. For example, a poorly fitting bridle causing tension in the jaw or at the poll, if unresolved, will result in tension throughout the back. So, while many riders are highly aware of the importance of saddle fit, don’t overlook the importance of the bridle aswell.
Rider weight, experience, balance: If a horse is showing signs of discomfort through its back, which, after having had the muscle spasm and tension addressed by a massage therapist and having checked all tack for correct fitting and the problem continues, it may be the rider that is causing the issue. Often, this contributing factor is overlooked when looking for the route of a muscular-skeletal issue.
It could be any one or a combination of rider factors causing excess stress on the horse, such as:
An inexperienced and unbalanced rider.
A rider with their own conformational issues such as one leg longer than the other or stronger than the other.
An old injury that causes more tension through one side of their body down into the contact with the horse’s mouth, or causes them to put more bodyweight into one stirrup.
The rider being oversized or overweight for the horse.
It can sometimes be hard as riders to look inwardly to see if there are things that we are doing that could be hindering the performance and free movement of the horse, but it is as important as saddle and bridle fit, the horse’s fitness and any other previously mentioned considerations.
So, there we go, a snapshot of your horse’s back and the core muscle groups that support it and more importantly, your weight. I hope you have found it interesting and can take something away from this to help you support your horse better in his or her job. To summarise, your horse’s back was never designed to carry your weight, however, with the correct training to develop strong and flexible muscles, tendons and ligaments throughout the dorsal and ventral chains, horses cope very well carrying their riders. So next time you are enjoying time with your four legged friend, be that hacking through the countryside or in the start-box of the XC waiting for the timer to count down, take a moment to consider if you could do more to support your horse to do their job more easily and comfortably. In turn this should help you both perform better, enjoy your activities even more and reduce the risk of injury.
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Thanks for reading and sharing and I look forward to catching up with you again soon! In the mean time, why not check out some of my other blog posts.