My horses warming themselves up, without stretches
Some of the more conscientious riders out there stretch themselves before going out for a ride, but did you think about stretching your horse out too before you asked him to do a 30 minute trot set up hills, or half pass both ways without pitching a fit?
Every once in a while we find ourselves doing carrot stretches, mostly because we happened to have a carrot and we kind of feel like making them work for it a little. Some people have successfully taught their horses how to bow and do cool tricks for carrots (how does that work, by the way, every time I try to teach my horse to bow, he ends up falling on his own head which is pinned underneath his body…), but here’s a short video on some easy, useful stretches that you can employ next time you get all tacked up to go out for a ride. Stretching will make movement easier, more natural and decrease the chance of sore muscles after a workout.
