Ep 61: Why You Should Be Softening Your Horse’s Ribcage
For many years in my training career, I only focused on training the parts of the horse’s body that I could see. I focused on creating softness in their face, neck, and shoulders, but I never worked on controlling anything behind the saddle horn.
Over the years, I have learned that there are five main parts of a horse’s body that are all interconnected: head, neck, shoulders, ribcage, and hindquarters.
Each of these body parts work with one another to create proper, fluid movements throughout the horse’s body. If one of these five areas becomes stiff or hard to control, that is usually an indication that I do not have proper control of one or more of the other areas.
If you have a horse that seems stiff in the bridle, it is human nature to assume that this stiffness is caused by a lack of softness in the horse’s head or neck. But, in reality, the stiffness may be caused by a lack of softness and control in a different part of the horse’s body, such as the ribcage.
Think about basic human anatomy… Our ribcages connect our shoulders to our hips. We may be able to flex our ribcages an inch or two without moving our shoulders or hips, but if we want to create significant movement, all three of these body parts must work together to create that movement. The same is true with our horses.
For this reason, softening a horse’s ribcage is always one of the first exercises I do when I get in the saddle. Before I ever let the horse take a step forward, I pick up slightly on my inside rein and apply leg pressure to the horse’s ribcage. When my horse gives to that leg pressure and softens its ribcage, I immediately provide a release.
Although softening a horse’s ribcage is a very simple exercise, it is one that often gets forgotten about as a horse progresses through its training. As we apply more speed, we naturally lose a significant amount of softness. As a horse’s ribcage stiffens, its head and neck become stiff, its back hollows out, and its weight transfers from the hindquarters to the forequarters. When this happens, it becomes very difficult for the horse to achieve a fluid change of direction or speed.
In the performance events, such as barrel racing or roping, softness in the horse’s ribcage is essential. When you have softness in the ribcage, you are in a much better position to control that animal’s speed and direction efficiently.
When a horse softens its ribcage, it makes it easier for that horse to establish its inside hind leg as a pivot point. Once that pivot point is established, it allows the horse to distribute its weight more evenly and get balanced on its hindquarters. When a horse is balanced on its hindquarters, it is set up in the most powerful position possible to accelerate or change directions while keeping its front end loose.
If you want to train your horse to have those fluid lead changes, powerful accelerations on the backside of a barrel, or smooth stops, softening that animal’s ribcage is a great place to start.
Learn more about the exercises discussed in this episode in our Foundation to Finish course.
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