Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness [Spiral-bound]

Karin Blignault (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

A convenient, at-the-barn reference to help riders give their horses the perfect warm-up, featuring 124 color photos and drawings.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A professional human athlete would never expect to perform at full potential without a proper stretching warm–up, yet riders ask this of their horses all the time. In Stretch Exercises for Your Horse, occupational therapist and equestrian trainer Karin Blignault illustrates how the controlled stretching of muscles long used to enhance human athletic performance can also be applied to the horse to prevent injury, alleviate pain, and improve performance. The individual exercises are explained in detail, with clear instructions providing the basic anatomy and physiology of the muscles, which exercises benefit which muscles, and the fundamental principles of performing both passive stretches from the ground and active stretching exercises from the saddle. All the exercises are designed to ensure that they are carried out in the most beneficial manner, with no risk or injury to horse or human. Karen Blignault lives in Cape Town, South Africa. Her previous book was Successful Schooling—Train Your Horse with Empathy.

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About the Author

Karin Blignault was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, here she still lives. Career-wise, Karin studied occupational therapy at Stellenbosch University, took a diploma on the education of children with learning difficulties and then studied neuro-developmental therapy at the Bobath Centre in London. Following this, she went on to lecture on the development od visual perception and learning theory at Cape Town University.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 160 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570762457
• ISBN-13: 978-1570762451
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #473,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Horses > Showing & Training

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for sore horses, August 1, 2003

By 

"xspursnwhipx" (Dallas, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness (Spiral-bound)

I found this book to be excellent for my back sore horse and horses recovering from stall rest. It certainly cannot hurt for horses that you don't want to end up back sore or on stall rest. I have seen major improvements in the suppleness of my horses. The spiral bound format also allows you to keep it set up ringside for quick refrence and it won't close on you unexpectedly!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for anyone, February 28, 2006

By 

S. Whitehead (Jackson, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness (Spiral-bound)

I purchased this book to help keep my 30 year old Morgan supple. Some of it can get technical and some of the sections are oriented towards the jumping horses, but you can defintely piece together a nice stretching rountine for your horse, no matter what your goal.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Step to Riding Well, May 9, 2007

By 

Lanier Cordell "Author, Equinomics: The Secre... (Baton Rouge) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stretch Exercises for Your Horse: The Path to Perfect Suppleness (Spiral-bound)

One of the greatest mistakes riders make is not preparing their horses to rider. They just jump on and go. They don't warm the horses up or stretch them after they have worked to keep muscles supple. Then they wonder why their horses become lame or injured. The stretches suggested in this book are a great way to treat your horse like the athlete he is.