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Expert
Posts: 1561
    Location: North of where I want to be | What do you guys do for a horse with weaker stifles? What are your go to exercises? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 865
     
| Backing, going up hills and trotting cavelettis |
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Miss Southern Sunshine
Posts: 7427
       Location: South Central Florida | Texas Tornado - 2016-09-17 12:01 PM
Backing, going up hills and trotting cavelettis
Β what are cavelittis?We long Trott 30 min straight lines per vet. Backing up a lot. Would love to do hill work, but it's hard to find hills where we live. We do walk in hock deep water, and swim. When in training about 20 min, 2nor 3ntimes a week. |
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 Saint Stacey
            
| It really depends on why the stifles are weak. Hills can be really bad for some stifle issues. Forcing one to back can also hurt them more.
I prefer what is called a rubber band exercise and cavalette work where you have sloped poles to vary the height as you work a circle around them. These tend to be the best for building the hind end as you are using muscles not typically used. |
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| KRJ1791 - 2016-09-17 7:49 AM
Β What do you guys do for a horse with weaker stifles? What are your go to exercises?
From an injury or poor conformation ...
makes a big difference what you do ... |
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 Horsey Gene Carrier
Posts: 1888
        Location: LaBelle, Florida | cavelittis=ground poles, raised or not You can start with them on the ground and then as the horse becomes proficient at trotting them, raised them a few inches or use a couple of CBS blocks and set up low X to trot over. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 555
   Location: In the rockies. |
Rubber band exercise? |
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Expert
Posts: 1561
    Location: North of where I want to be | From an injury. I am already doing caveletties with him and hill work and I see a notable difference. What is the "rubber band" exercise? |
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 Expert
Posts: 2013
 Location: Piedmont, OK | I had one we blistered his stifles and I was told lots of long trotting, trotting poles and going up and down hills. I was also told swimming would be good for him. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
      Location: The best kept secret in TX | soonergirl98 - 2016-09-21 10:40 AM I had one we blistered his stifles and I was told lots of long trotting, trotting poles and going up and down hills. I was also told swimming would be good for him.
I was going to suggest swimming as well. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 710
  
| cavelettis start out with a ground pole in a few different points of the arena. Then add them closer together when the horse is good at picking up their feet. Keep adding and eventually raise them up. I like backing up small inclines, or if you have no inclines back up about 100ft at a fast backup pace in each direction every day for two weeks usually helps. Getting a horse to use their body is important to...I found horses get sore if they aren't using themselves properly such as neck high up and super tense, gives back pain and that can sore up any other area. Chiropractic/acupuncture are great too and I would probably start with medical before adding in weird exercises that could make the issue worse. |
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 Saint Stacey
            
| GOBABYGO - 2016-09-21 7:27 AM
Β Β Rubber band exercise?Β Β
I used a vet many years ago who's wife trained high level dressage horses. He's the one that taught them to me.
You start out jogging. You gradually increase the stride until they are extended. You then sit down, collect them and I jog collected as long as they can hold it. You then gradually lengthen the stride again until they are extended. Keep repeating. A horse with stifle issue es has a hard time holding the collection for very long. You do this in a straight line if possible.
Edited by SKM 2016-09-21 6:32 PM
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