The horse’s movement, balance and strength – and the ability of the rider to ‘demonstrate’ this – are the key challenges to dressage training.

So what does that say about the rider? According to leading sports and equine physiotherapist Christine Hopley, postural faults of the rider, can create muscular imbalances and movement dysfunctions in the horse, which can have a huge part to play in influencing the horse’s performance.

“We expect the horse to perform on the basis of its fitness and ability without considering the impact that the riders’ dysfunctions might have on the animal’s movements.”

“It’s really quite simple – if rider or horse have biomechanical dysfunctions, they can’t function as a balanced unit, they will be limited in their ability to express balance and fluidity of movement. So often we think only about the horse and that the poor performance or inability to consistently perform at a higher level must be the horse’s joint stiffness or muscle weakness as being the source of the problems. We should assess the rider and determine whether they are working with or against the horse.”

TREATING RIDERS AS ATHLETES

Christine, who owns two horses, divides her week between her Dorset-based physiotherapy practice, BWT Chartered Physiotherapists, and working as an Equine Physiotherapist from her home in Berkshire. She has a background in sports medicine focussing on musculo-skeletal problems and has worked with and treated high-level athletes including the Springboks rugby team and the British Olympic judo team. She also provides physiotherapy for the Royal Marine Commandos and this year spent some time with our British pony squad riders.

Her experience in treating top athletes and professionals over the last 25 years has led her to believe that all too often we assume that the horse alone is to blame and we fail to treat the horse and rider as a combined unit.

“When a horse is referred to me with a bad back, I will carry out a complete assessment on the animal, looking at the fit of the saddle, how he moves ridden and un-ridden, how mobile his joints are, and the length and strength of his musculature. I will also question the rider to determine whether they are suffering from any injuries, pain or stiffness.”

“For example, if the rider has a slight rotation of the pelvis, they cannot sit symmetrically in the saddle. This can create an imbalance. The rider demands symmetry of movement from the horse and to stay balanced with the rider, the horse’s own frame may compensate, creating asymmetry in its muscles and joints. This can lead to pain and dysfunction in the animal.”

PROBLEMS AT HIGHER LEVELS

Christine believes that rider imbalance will have even greater impact at the more advanced dressage levels. “If a horse is having problems with a half pass in one direction, the assumption is often that it has issues with suppleness or dysfunction on that side. But if its rider has problems with their own back, or their own muscle stability is poor, they will compound the horse’s issues and they will both have to work harder to compensate. The resulting picture will be one of lack of balance and fluidity of movement.”

Christine promotes the need for riders to think about how they use their own body on a day to day basis; how they stand, sit and walk and how they carry themselves during day-to-day tasks. “To be a well-balanced rider, you need to learn good postural habits. Sitting well in a saddle starts with being aware of poor postural control. How many people do you see hunched over a computer, then when they get up to go to the photocopier or make a cup of tea they stay hunched? To create balance and symmetry, every action of the body has an opposite action – for example when getting up from a chair or your car after a long drive, you should try to straighten your body and gently bend backwards. In simple terms this means being aware of how you can maintain your own body’s symmetry and stay supple.

THINK ABOUT THE WARM UP

As for riding itself, she has strong views on warming up. Dressage riders, she says, place particular emphasis on stretching and loosening their horses, aiming to get them loose and supple in each direction. “But are riders also stretching their own backs, hips and muscles before they get on? They need to think much more about this.” Christine recommends that riders should consider their own fitness, suppleness and strength as well as their horses. So when warming up your horse ask yourself the question, have I loosened up my own body prior to sitting on my horse?

“In the case of young riders, there are many factors that can cause muscle imbalance. For example, children have growth spurts, their long bones will grow and for a period of time, the corresponding muscles will be comparatively shorter. If unrecognised, a young rider may potentially go through a period of inflexibility whilst their body adapts to this growth. When that young rider then exercises their horse, their imbalance can be transmitted through to the horse’s movements and it will have to compensate. In this example, the horse is clearly not going to perform as the young rider expects, as it has had to change its movements to compensate for the rider. At the highest level of competition this can have a profound effect. For this reason it is important that both rider and horse have a programme of flexibility exercises.”

Pilates, yoga and the Alexander technique are all methods Christine recommends to improve posture and help alleviate muscle dysfunction. For riders aiming to get to the very top of the dressage sport, she believes riders and horses should be assessed by a qualified Chartered Physiotherapist. Dysfunctions can be easily and readily overcome for both horse and rider with the correct treatment and prescribed exercises.

When looking for your physiotherapist please ensure they are members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (M.C.S.P.) and that they have undergone specific training as animal physiotherapists (ACPAT) or have undertaken a Masters’ degree in Veterinary Physiotherapy.