One of the most difficult aspects of dressage training is finding an intensity level that maximizes performance while keeping the horse injury free. There is nothing more discouraging to a rider than to have a perfect horse, which is perfectly lame
. Often the most athletic horses perform on a razor thin edge between dynamic expression and damaged tissue. A very important variable in the maintenance of health is finding a balance between the amount of stress we apply in training, and the recovery mechanisms we employ to counteract that stress.
Balancing the stress of training with a variety of recovery mechanisms can improve both the health and happiness of your horse. Dressage is a sport of repetitive motion injury. While we do not often see the kind of dramatic trauma that occurs in jumping or on the race track, repetitive motion can lead to tendon or ligament injuries that can be debilitating and career ending.
The psychological damage from over training can be as profound as the physical damage. Excessive mental stress can lead to loss of confidence and enjoyment. The horse begins to associate the training with fear and frustration. This can lead to depression, tightness and loss of expression. Often the trainer will push harder to try to combat this, leading to a vicious cycle of increased pressure and decreased performance. Just as stressed out people are more susceptible to illness and injury, I suspect the same occurs with our horses.
The good news is that you can combat this destructive cycle by paying close attention to how you incorporate recovery mechanisms into your work. Recovery mechanisms may be as simple as knowing when to give the horse a walk break, or when to schedule an easy week, or month, of work.
Recovery mechanisms include much more than just stall rest. Imagine taking a vacation where you do nothing but sit in a small room! This can become a form of stress in itself. When a horse works for one hour, then stands in a stall for twenty three hours, t he confinement and lack of variety can lead to physical stagnation and psychological stress.
Recovery mechanisms can be categorized into two different types, passive recovery or active recovery. Passive recovery is any type of completely restful activity that allows the body and mind to experience rest and rejuvenation. This includes, stall rest, turn out, hand grazing and massage. Active recovery is any gentle, non competitive activity that brings variety into the work. This might include walking or light stretching under saddle, hacking out, hand walking or cross training with some other type of exercise such as light jumping. The name of the game here is variety. Creating variety in the work keeps the mind fresh. Creating variety in the footing or riding surface creates a healthy range of motion and functionality to the tissues. Variety helps maintain psychological health by keeping the work interesting for both the horse and rider.
Try to employ waves of stress and recovery into your daily work. After a few minutes of intense work, give your horse a walking or stretching break. Employ waves of stress and recovery into your weekly and monthly schedule by planning weeks of more intense work when you are approaching a competition, and weeks of less intense work when your competition is over. I recently interviewed some top endurance riders and was fascinated to hear them talk about their training schedule. After every competitive ride their horses are given two weeks completely off. They never ride more than four days per week. Perhaps we dressage riders can learn a few things here.
Learning to listen is one of the most important skills a rider can develop to track the horse’s stress level. Horses are generally very honest and will tell you when the training is overwhelming. Riders also need to track their own levels of stress and recovery. It is the nature of the horse world to become obsessed with the 24 hour, seven day a week nature of the work. Take a vacation! Get out into the non horsey world and go to the beach or climb a mountain. The break will do you and your horses a world of good.
If you have questions or comments about Sport Psychology for dressage you can email me directly at seanaadams@aol.com. Enjoy your summer!
Related Links
Sport Psychology for Dressage
Sport Psychology: Performance Anxiety
Sport Psychology: Handling Pressure