Video of reflex exercises for horses

[OlavS]

Hi

My friend Alexandra Myhren has tipped me of this video made by a friend of hers. It shows lateral flexion, lifting the chest region and lifting the coup region. It is ground work in a way but I am not sure where to put it so I try it here - moderators please move as you see fit

Back reflexes on horses

I thought perhaps it may be something useful to the CTs out there but that may just prove just how little I know of CT

[planete]

Thanks, Olav.  I have been 'playing' with my horse's back after reading about this.  It is brilliant to actually see it being done.  My horse is also slightly sway-backed and it is helping him with tight muscle issues.

[Lyndsey Lewis]

  Thanks for the link!!

I'm going to give this a try with my guy and try and get it on video...it will probably show him trying to kill me...

[hilary]

Thanks for that  -  I will have a play this weekend partic with the lateral

Here is another bit of elevation of back ( please do not comment on head position  -  Lottie has chosen that -  and may need to change it!). She was dragged out in the snow to do this this year  -  you can see a little under her woolly coat!

Core strengthening exerices - sit-ups for horses!

[Lyndsey Lewis]

Wow great video! I took one of Ruby trying to do this but it looks to me like he DROPS his back....???

I might try again and line him up with a fence....

RubyRock.wmv

[hilary]

Looking fine -  but  more difficult to see at that distance. Doing against a background does help  - when we started with Lottie she moved so little the only way to see her move was look at the background
Another addition is to "do it" on a mattress with a rubber mat on top  - they have to use even more core stability then.

Though this wasnt 'trained" using reflexes, when my osteopath used the reflexes she certainly had a flexible back. ONe of mine though , has had problems doing the reflex, and I have put off doing this with her as think she would find it really difficult to access.

Am interested in Christina's post ( somewhere on the counted walk one) about rock back on a pedestal and the point of haunches under that MAnuel used. Lottie can get her quarters under ( she can stand all four on 2 foot square pedestal)  -  but this doesnt equate to lowering the haunches. Need to go back and read it.

[Lyndsey Lewis]

Looking fine -  but  more difficult to see at that distance. Doing against a background does help  - when we started with Lottie she moved so little the only
Am interested in Christina's post ( somewhere on the counted walk one) about rock back on a pedestal and the point of haunches under that MAnuel used. Lottie can get her quarters under ( she can stand all four on 2 foot square pedestal)  -  but this doesnt equate to lowering the haunches. Need to go back and read it.

Me too!! I'm particularly interested in this folding the hind leg and 'sit'! Ruby just doesn't seem to get that...and I'm a loss how to teach it or prompt it...???

[Appy2quarter]

Its difficult for some horses to access the area of the back just behind the withers and rotate the pelvis such that they can sit.  Hylo, like Ruby, learned the rockback very easily but going from the tightening of the pecs and a rock back into an actual lift through the back took quite some time!

One thing that helps if to ask for the rockback with their haunches infront of a wall - the perceived barrier helps them 'gather' themselves.  In our case, as Hylo has difficult back conformation, I actually placed him against a wall and asked for the rockback.  He learned to use the wall to help him lift through the back right up to his withers.  Once he'd learned this, he was able to take it into a freestanding position.

I hasten to add that I did this after watching Alex teach it to a horse with a similar weak back (actually it was her horse Peregrine who invented it!!).  It may not be appropriate for Ruby - you may find just asking for his rockback near a barrier helps him learn.  You could also focus on his abs rather than the rockback so as to join the dots so to speak - Alex's microshaping DVD is really good for going through the steps bit by bit and shows how Lottie built her pilates up!

[Lyndsey Lewis]

Its difficult for some horses to access the area of the back just behind the withers and rotate the pelvis such that they can sit.  Hylo, like Ruby, learned the rockback very easily but going from the tightening of the pecs and a rock back into an actual lift through the back took quite some time!

One thing that helps if to ask for the rockback with their haunches infront of a wall - the perceived barrier helps them 'gather' themselves.  In our case, as Hylo has difficult back conformation, I actually placed him against a wall and asked for the rockback.  He learned to use the wall to help him lift through the back right up to his withers.  Once he'd learned this, he was able to take it into a freestanding position.

I hasten to add that I did this after watching Alex teach it to a horse with a similar weak back (actually it was her horse Peregrine who invented it!!).  It may not be appropriate for Ruby - you may find just asking for his rockback near a barrier helps him learn.  You could also focus on his abs rather than the rockback so as to join the dots so to speak - Alex's microshaping DVD is really good for going through the steps bit by bit and shows how Lottie built her pilates up!

Brilliant!!!!! Thanks!!!!!! Off to the barn........

[hilary]

Lottie was liking watching paint dry!
THe wall can also hlp with those whose next step after rockback is to step back, rather than mobilise upwards  -  Ben did this more ( if you waited longer you got a step rather than rock) and the wall helped him too .

Here is another pilates video too - an english voice  recognise on it too!!

Equine Pilates

[Appy2quarter]

Ah that brings back memories!  This is similar to how Loly does his rockbacks - he uses his front legs to push/leverage as he would use the wall when backed up against it.  Takes a huge degree of strength to really lift up whilst remaining square 

[Lyndsey Lewis]

Cool video! That's given me a good idea for working on flexing and folding the hind legs!!

Well I went out to the barn and videoed Ruby. I thought it would take forever to get him to accept contact with something behind him because he's such a prissy 'don't touch me' kind of horse but he was GREAT! The whole video took about 7 minutes but I edited it down to 1.20

If anyone is interested I'll put up the whole unedited version....meanwhile here are the highlights. I had to stop because he was going to take my gate down!! Next time I need to back him up to something more solid...

Thanks again Hilary for the idea. Really fun!!!

RubyButtLift2011.wmv

[Lyndsey Lewis]

I have to add my favorite part is at 40 seconds where he lines himself up straight and square before giving a big push! When I watched it through again it was fun to also focus on his front end.  Can't wait till tomorrow...we're gonna move the barn over!! 

[christuris]

In the last few months, while Xino has been off riding for a while, we've been doing a lot of platform work, and one of the things that sort of just happened, was that he would start lowering his haunches when I was asking for a jambette with all four legs on the platform (we started with just two).  I think he must not have felt totally comfortable doing that, but I encouraged it with clicker, and now I've reinforced it even more after learning some things at Manuel's Working in the Pillars clinic last weekend where he showed us all the natural reflex points to touch a horse with the whip, one being above the hock a little way which elicits a tucking of the pelvis response. 

Well, I tried that yesterday when I was long reining him, but I didn't see it having any effect on him, so I had the brilliant idea of reinforcing it with him on the platform.  Since he didn't react to the touch there either, I just had him do it the regular way and touched him at the same time so that he associated the two (so much for a natural reflex!!!!!) and with a lot of clicker reinforcement,  he really started to get the hang of it.  I've been asking for rock back at the same time.  WELL!!!!  I've never had such a great tuck and rock back with two feet on the platform before, and believe me, it was good before.  Now it's awesome!  I'm thinking if he tucks any more we're going to get levade!  (I wonder how one trains that...!)  Incidentally, I'm sure this will help him get his muscling back! 

Is this what you were looking for -- Hilary and Lyndsey?

I have to say that I was looking at the videos on this thread and the first thing that came into my head was WOW!  I wish Manuel could see this!!!!!  I had no idea others were clicker training for this particular movement -- rock back.  I'm wondering if doing it on a platform makes it easier for them to start learning it, plus lessens the possibility of their backing up?  Then you can take it to the floor.

Oh dear, I do hope I don't get caught up in this forum as well -- I DON'T HAVE TIME!!!!!  But it's fascinating!

Christina
Indian Hills, Colorado
www.AlphabetRanch.com

[christuris]

I also have to make a comment on the first video.  I'll have to try those lateral exercises -- you can really see the bend -- great exercise!  The croup ones we do quite a lot (like whenever I'm grooming I'll take the opportunity of rubbing their butt on either side of the tail with the Oster tail brush with spikey thingies -- I don't like that violent pencil down the croup idea), and the lifting the chest one I do every day, at poo picking time -- it's called the manure fork lift (manure forklift!!!).  Occasionally when I go by them, I gently place the manure fork under the sternum, and wiggle it around and increase the pressure if necessary.  It's amazing just how much the back will lift plus the abdominals will engage.  For the longest time, I couldn't get any reaction from Xino, my Lusitano, but now he's offering both all the time, plus he's lowering his head.  Once I saw that head drop, I started waiting for it, and wouldn't click until I got that. 

So what's next?  Add in the pelvic tuck?!!!!

Christina
Indian Hills, Colorado
www.AlphabetRanch.com