From: Carol
Jessica,
I have an aged Holstiener gelding. I know little about his background, but he has lots of dressage training. He carries himself beautifully and works well, but has some stiffness (probably from age).
He has an odd muscle development in his neck and shoulders. The muscle on the topside of the neck, just in front of the withers, is huge. His shoulders, however, have little muscle. On the left side there is almost none beneath the shoulder bone. At a walk he moves his front legs in sort of an outward circular motion, but seems to move straighter at the trot. Given time to warm up slowly, he has a huge, floaty trot (took a while to learn to ride that one) and seems to enjoy work. He has always gone just a slight bit short on the right rear, which I suspect may be related to the left shoulder lack of development.
This is a nice old horse, with lots of training. Any ideas?
Carol Wooley, director, Carousel Riding Center for People with Disabilities
Hi Carol! I love these old horses, they are really worth their weight in gold. Since "aged" could mean nine or nineteen or twenty-nine, I'll just offer general comments here, and then suggest some sources for useful, hands-on assistance you can give your horse.
Stiffness can have any number of causes, but since he seems to warm up out of most of his stiffness, why not assume that it's muscular unless the vet tells you otherwise? If your vet has looked at this horse and doesn't feel that the muscular unevenness is the result of an injury or a serious underlying condition, you can probably continue to work the horse and help him through various means.
You should ask your veterinarian's advice about shoeing, exercise, and feed supplements. Older horses need longer, slower warm-ups before work and longer, slower warm-downs after work. Many older horses become very stiff when confined to a stall, but do beautifully if they are allowed to be outdoors as much as possible; the constant gentle walking activity keeps them more comfortable.
Some veterinarians are recommending chondroitin sulphate supplements for older and stiffer horses -- whether adminstered by direct injection to the joint, by IM injection, or as oral supplements, the idea is the same: to increase the amount and viscosity of joint fluid. I've had good results with such supplements, as have other riders I know -- but do bear in mind that the plural of "anecdote" is not "data." ;-) Still, even if these fall into the "can't hurt, might help" category, it may well be worth experimenting. You should see results within a few months; if you don't, you can always discontinue the treatment. Ask your veterinarian whether he or she can recommend a particular supplement or method of administration.
I find that massage and passive stretching exercises are wonderful for all horses, but particularly for the older, stiffer animals that may need some help to retrieve their full range of motion. I highly recommend two sources for this information:
MASSAGE "Beating Muscle Injuries in Horses" is the title of a wonderfully useful book by Jack Meagher. The book is inexpensive and makes a terrific addition to your tack room library. If you have a little more money to spend, there is also a video by the same title, in which the massage is demonstrated. If you can afford both, buy both -- but you can learn an immense amount from the book alone.
PASSIVE STRETCHING "Basic Equine Stretching" is the title of a video produced by Nancy Spencer, a specialist in this field. "The Barn Companion" is the name of a laminated wall chart illustrating many of the stretches demonstrated in the video. These items are also terrific additions to your tack room library. I always tell people that I had been stretching horses for years and years when Nancy's video came along, and I then changed many of my techniques to the ones she uses, because hers were better than mine.
In your horse's case, Jack Meagher's massage techniques may allow you to help your horse's neck in front of the withers, while Nancy Spencer's stretching techniques may allow you to promote maximum flexibility and range of motion in your horse's body -- pay attention to what the horse tells you as you work on him! You may notice a difference almost immediately in that short-moving off-hind leg.
Jessica
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