Baited stretches seem to be a good place to begin when thinking about exercise therapy as they are an exercise that most horse owners have carried out with their horses at some point. I am sure that many of you have been asked to 'do carrot stretches' by your veterinary physiotherapist and, if my experience is anything to go by, you probably begin enthusiastically but, as time passes, you do them less and less. Therefore, my intention in beginning with 'the carrot stretch' is to be able to clearly demonstrate the positive impact it can have for your horse (no- it doesn't just bend the neck!) which might help you to become a bit more enthusiastic about doing them long term!
Before we begin looking at the actual stretches, there are a couple of important points to make. First of all, make sure your horse is on a non slip, safe surface and that you have footwear which will protect your toes should they get in the way of a hoof. Although horses may be fine to carry out the stretches in their stable and without a headcollar once they are well practiced, initially, it might be a good idea to have a headcollar and rope, should you need to guide them. Also, experiment with the treat that works the best; some horses are a bit snatchy with carrots and some are disinterested by licks, others need a constantly changing treat to keep them engaged- find out which suits your horse the best over time. Finally, keep any eye out for signs of pain and discomfort and if you are worried, get them checked. Remember that flexibility doesn't develop over night- take the stretches slowly and patiently and in time you should see a difference. Check out the contraindications at the bottom of the page before you begin.
In picture 1, Dolly is bending laterally (to the side), aiming her nose towards her hock. Her stance is relatively square and she is comfortable in the stretch. Compare this to picture number 2. Here I have taken the stretch too far- she is not comfortable and has started to evade the stretch by bending her knees.
Below I am taking Dolly's nose towards her fetlock. Again, I try to have her standing as square as possible.
Look at the arrow in picture 3. Can you again see how this stretch is engaging her abdominal muscles? Also consider which muscle in her neck is being extended to take her neck down. Picture 4 shows the impact that this stretch has on the muscles in her back on the opposite side as this side is lifted to enable the position to be achieved. Compare this back posture to that in picture 5, where the muscles are not being activated.
Think about what the stretch is actually doing for Dolly. There are clearly neck muscles involved- which are extending and which are contracting? Look at the arrow on picture 1- can you see the muscles in her back contracting? Her stomach is also lifting, which means her abdominal muscles are being activated. This is why baited stretches help to improve core strength and posture. This is important because a strong core and good posture mean better control and less strain on the limbs.
Another way to laterally stretch the neck is to take the nose to the shoulder. As you can see in the pictures, this time the head is kept more on the vertical. On pictures 6 and 7 you can see the muscles which are stretched during this stretch- which muscles do you think they are? Which are being contracted on the opposite side to bring the head around to the shoulder?
Look at picture 8. The top arrow shows how the thoracic sling (group of muscles) is lifting at the withers and the bottom shows the lift in the sternum. Both of these also strengthen the core and help to develop good posture.
Although not lateral stretches, another two stretches to try are those shown in pictures 9 and 10. The stretch in 9 takes the carrot between the knees and backwards. Try to keep the knees straight. You might not be able to take it this far back to begin with but this is the position to aim for. Look at the lift in the lumbosacral region where the arrow is pointing. This helps to stretch the muscles in this area, which help to keep the back flexible. The stretch shown in picture 10 involves the majority of the neck muscles and is a nice relaxed stretch to do at the end of the sequence.
Contraindications
A contraindication is a condition which indicates that a certain technique or therapy shouldn't be used. In the case of baited stretches, as they are active stretches, meaning that the horse or dog does the stretching themselves, they are relatively safe because they won't take the stretch further than they are able. However, there are a few things you should be aware of and look out for.
If you have a very greedy animal, they might take the stretch further than they are comfortable with, just to get the food. To try to prevent this, take the stretch in stages, not asking for much movement to begin so that you can monitor their response and stop before they begin to rush and snatch, which might suggest discomfort.
If you horse has known neck or back issues, check with you vet or vet physio before carrying these stretches out- you do not want to exacerbate any know injuries.
If at any point you have any concerns or doubts, cease carrying out the stretches until you have discussed the issue with your vet.
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