{"id":600,"date":"2021-08-23T09:13:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T07:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsfreund-studios.com\/?p=600"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:03:12","slug":"pferd-verletzt-mit-bodenarbeit-die-muskeln-fit-halten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsfreund-studios.com\/en\/post\/pferd-verletzt-mit-bodenarbeit-die-muskeln-fit-halten","title":{"rendered":"Injured: Keep your horse's muscles and brain fit with ground work"},"content":{"rendered":"

When horses are not allowed to be ridden due to a musculoskeletal injury or after a bout of\nlaminitis, many horse owners lack ideas on how to keep their horse occupied from the ground. That's why we take up this topic in our article and show you all the exciting things you can do with your horse when it's not riding.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Autorin: Karolina Kardel, 360 Grad Pferd<\/a><\/em>
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Before we introduce you to various training and activity ideas for ground work with horses, we would like to point out to you that, especially during or after a break from riding due to injury, it is essential that you talk to your attending veterinarian about what is possible and permitted in your case and for your horse.<\/span><\/p>\n

Riding break due to injury: Can i only go for a walk with my horse?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Let's take the classic example of tendon damage. In this case, the training plan drawn up by the veterinarian or the equine physiotherapist very often includes walking on hard ground for the first time. After that, trotting may be gradually added. Depending on the horse's condition, it can also be\nridden slowly again. Only after another four to six weeks, if everything looks good, canter may be added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Riding break: variety for the horse's head<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Muskeln<\/span><\/p>\n

Before a horse can be moved again - be it from the ground or with the rider's weight on its back - there is a more or less long standstill period. If you want to keep your horse mentally occupied during\nthis time, clicker training is a good way to do so (we will report on this in our series How Horses Learn<\/u><\/a>).\u00a0<\/span>Clicker training, meaning working with positive reinforcement, offers many possibilities to occupy the horses' minds and to dispel boredom in the box. <\/span><\/p>\n

Exercises with a target stick<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The first exercise that comes in handy is conditioning on a target stick. This way you can make your horse understand the training with the clicker. The target can be a fly swatter, a pool noodle or something similar. You hold the target in front of your horse's nose and as soon as he touches the\ntarget with his nose, he gets a click and a biscuit.\u00a0<\/span>As soon as your horse has understood that he should touch the stick with his nose, you can start to vary the position: sometimes you take the stick further up, sometimes further down, then you take it further to the left and then further to the right.<\/span><\/p>\n

You are not only giving your horse a great mental exercise and keeping him busy, but you are also stimulating the muscles, especially those of the neck and rump. When your horse has to turn its head to the side, it automatically stretches the opposite side. If it has to take the head down-front, it\nstretches the upper muscles.\u00a0<\/span>Later, when your horse is allowed to move again, you can expand the training with the target and, for example, lead your horse freely through a course with only the target\n- you will find some tips on this below.<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Retrieving objects:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Another idea to keep your injured horse busy is to pick up or retrieve objects. This works wonderfully with hats, stuffed bones for dogs, towels, cuddly toys, the food bowl and the like. The aim of the exercise is for your horse to pick up the object with its mouth and give it to you. <\/span>The procedure for this could be that you click immediately when your horse picks up the object in its mouth. Then you build this up until your horse gives you the object.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another variation of this exercise is the undressing. Here your horse pulls something off its back - for example a towel.\u00a0<\/span>You set up this exercise in a very similar way: You put a towel on your horse's back. When he touches the towel with his nose, you click. In the second step, your horse should take the towel into its mouth - click! In the third step he pulls the towel off his back and gives it to you.\u00a0<\/span>Here, too, not only the head is addressed, but also the muscles on the opposite side of the body are stretched at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Improving the horse's body perception with proprioceptive training<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What is often neglected when training horses is body awareness, which suffers from injuries, standing breaks and little exercise. <\/span><\/p>\n

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There are proprioceptors everywhere in the joints, muscles and fascia. These are sensory nerve cells that inform the brain about body movement and position. The more movement stimulates a horse receives, the more the proprioceptors are challenged. Standing breaks or even the stall position ensure\nthat the proprioceptors literally fall asleep.<\/span><\/div>\n
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If the proprioceptors are inactive, the brain receives too little information about muscle tension and joint position. Coordination and movement suffer as a result. For this reason, after a standing break, the focus should always be on activating the proprioceptors\/improving body perception so that the control and use of the cooperating muscles functions adequately, joint stability is increased and a renewed risk of injury is minimised.\u00a0<\/span>Proprioceptive training can be designed very differently, depending on the horse's state of health. Above all, however, it can also be incorporated wonderfully during a walk without equipment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tip 1: Walk with changing ground conditions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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So when you walk your horse, you can always lead him over changing ground conditions (if only hard ground is allowed, you can see to it that you use different hard grounds). It can look like this: Stone, gravel, sand, grass, concrete, sand, forest paths.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tip 2: Unstable surfaces: Balance pads or mat<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Another way to bring the proprioceptors out of their slumber is to use unstable surfaces such as balance pads or mats. They are a good alternative to uneven forest trails, which not every horse is allowed to walk over right away.\u00a0<\/span>When standing on unstable surfaces, your horse has to balance himself permanently. This activates the proprioceptors, improves balance and also strengthens the important\ndeep muscles that are responsible for support and stability.\u00a0<\/span>Be careful not to overload your horse when training with balance pads or mats. It is better to start with a short session and increase the duration over time.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Creative lead training<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Another great way to get horses moving at a walk is creative lead training. This can be done in the field as well as on the track at home.\u00a0<\/span>If you think that this is only for young horses, you are wrong: older horses and especially we humans also benefit from lead training. Creative lead training trains\nour own coordination enormously - and in the end we also need good coordination when riding in order to be able to give fine aids. While most of us can handle our horse very well from the left side, they quickly start to get tangled up on the right side. That's why creative lead training can be a\nwonderful way to improve communication on the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What do we mean with creative lead training?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not simply a matter of walking next to the horse in the classic lead position (left), but of leading the horse through a course in a completely variable way. Possible is:<\/span><\/p>\n

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