As an Equine Therapist, I often get asked why it is that horses become skeletally imbalanced. This is due to many reasons and can be divided into acute causes or chronic causes.
The horse in question may have tripped or fallen either in the field or whilst being ridden, this can be enough to cause imbalance within the body, and can be considered an acute cause, as its related to specific trauma.

You all know what its like when you trip or fall yourself, and at the time you may not feel any discomfort or pain, but then a few days later, you can get backache, it is here your compensatory gait pattern begins and horses are no different, even though they are quadrupeds.  If a joint is stretched or jarred out of its natural range of movement, or a muscle pulled then a compensatory pattern will begin. Forelimb problems will cause the hindlimb to function less efficiently, as reduced stretch of a forelimb will have a knock-on effect on the corresponding hindlimb, you are now creating an asymmetrical gait pattern.
Chronic causes of imbalance are generally those that are linked to ongoing issues. Poor foot balance can cause gait irregularity which can lead to back pain in horses. Poorly fitted tack and an unbalanced rider are also potential causes for musculoskeletal pain.

Horses are amazing animals and as mentioned in previous articles they are very good at adapting their gait to allow them to maintain function, even though they may be in pain. This comes from their inherent innate need for survival as a prey animal, if they can’t run then they will be eaten!
One of the other reasons that horses suffer from skeletal imbalance, comes down to a very simple issue and that is left or right limb dominant. Like humans, horses have a left or right leg preference, this is the leg that they will choose to lead from, much the same as we will write with our left or right hand. Similarly, again, most horses are right leg dominant, with a smaller proportion being left leg dominant. If you look at your horse next time he is grazing, have a look at which foreleg is outstretched, i.e. taking most of your horses’ weight. This lead leg will give you an indication if your horse prefers left or right.
Horses graze for long periods of time, so imagine this lead leg taking most of the horses’ body weight, for most of the day. It is no wonder when we tack up our horse and then go and ride, that we will often say… his right lead is the preferred rein, he is so much better in the school to the right, or he jumps right. By not correcting this we are only allowing our horse to become more one sided, as a rider we will also be more inclined to use our stronger side and avoid using our weaker side. This begins to create and ingrain muscular imbalance, thus allowing more problems to develop.

We rely on our farriers to balance our horses’ feet, but over time and as your horse ages, the hooves will start to show this right leg dominance. This is seen when the lead foot begins to become flatter through the heels and the other forelimb will start to grow more heel so have the appearance of a higher heel. We can not expect our farriers to correct this, if the fundamental issue is, in fact, excessive left or right lead dominance. We need to readdress this natural imbalance in order to help. This is much the same with Equine Therapists, I can regularly go and rebalance horses, but fundamentally if the cause, like left or right dominance is not addressed we will continue to see the body revert to it favoured gait pattern.
So, what is the answer? I have begun to investigate straightness training? At first glance it looks like a whole lot of wandering around with your horse on a lunge line. But… after reading into the subject the whole philosophy makes perfect sense. Straightness training is not about straight lines, it is in fact about getting your horse supple to the left and right, by doing movements such as turn on the forehand, shoulder in, quarters in, bending and flexing to the inside and the outside. It is getting your horse to be flexible in both directions, so that their left and right lead dominance becomes more equal. I have started to do this with my youngster, and the simple movements have highlighted how he favours one side more than the other, and this is before he is even ridden. So, by adding my weight and my left/right preference we would be setting ourselves up with a whole lot of imbalance and compensatory gait patterns before we have even started our ridden work.
With regular back checks from a qualified Therapist coupled with some ground work exercises that help with left/right dominance, this should help to ensure that your horse has a longer ridden career. Less musculoskeletal imbalance will have a positive effect on reducing lameness issues, and your horse should suffer less with gait lameness, arthritis, hoof problems etc.

Have a look for yourselves and see; www.straightnesstraining.com the long-term benefits are worth the time and effort that you will initially put in.  It will make the lives easier for the other professionals, such as Therapists, farriers and even to some extent vets that provide care to your horse….