Injury prevention
During training, the body experiences stress which is a necessary part of building muscle. The muscles may suffer small tears or injuries, and the body responds by repairing the damaged fibers and creating new muscle tissue. While this strengthens the muscles, it can also result in inflammation and soreness. Inadequate recovery can lead to overexertion and injuries.
How to prevent overexertion
Determining the appropriate amount of training for a horse can be difficult. Although horses are naturally active, excessive exertion can cause strain and injury. It’s essential to build up and strengthen the horse slowly to make sure the muscles, tendons, and ligaments can withstand an increased strain.
Don’t stress the development
Have you ever experienced the feeling that you’re not making progress, but upon reflection, you realize how far you’ve come? It’s common to oversee the development and become impatient for quick results. It’s important to allow progress to occur naturally over time. Developing a long-term plan with milestones can help recognize and appreciate the improvements. It’s not necessary for progress to be fast, but instead steady and consistent.
Vary the work
Overstrain injuries happen when repeating a movement over and over again. Therefore it’s crucial to vary the work and take pauses in between. If possible, ride on different grounds during the same training.
Warm up
Always make sure you warm up your horse thoroughly before every training. Not only is it essential to get the horse warm and increase blood circulation, but it’s also an opportunity to check the form of the day and that everything feels right. Then adapt the training session to the conditions for the day. Get to know your horse and learn to read the signs.
Cool down
After training, it’s important to cool down. The cool-down can consist of jogging in a lower frame to transport all the slag products away, which will help your horse recover.
How LED by Cheval helps
Light therapy system before exercise has been shown to positively impact recovery by lower post-exercise blood lactate levels, creatine kinase activity, and C-reactive protein. Treatment with the light therapy system before training your horse will:
– Strengthen ligaments and tendons
– Increase the blood circulation
– Increase mobility
– Decrease inflammatory cells
We recommend 5 minutes before training. If your horse is particularly stiff or cold, you can increase the treatment time to 10 min on the bigger muscle groups.
