As a horse owner your shoulders take a bit of a battering. Firstly there’s all the mucking out, lifting feed etc. Then there’s the extra “fun” of your horse dragging you off for some grass, maybe having a mad gallop on the lunge……

 

Alongside this you may also have a desk job, do a lot of driving and therefore spend a lot of time hunched over.

 

Add to this the stressful nature of life and horse owning sometimes and you might find your shoulders are solid bricks stuck to your ear lobes most of the time.

 

However when we ride those shoulders are in charge of the hands attached to the reins. Your shoulder is the joint at which your arm is attached and therefore it’s function is vital to the function of your arms. If they are stiff or weak they aren’t going to be that soft, steady contact we want to give out horse.

 

Here are a couple of simple exercises to help you first release your shoulders and then activate them to keep them strong and ready to ride.