By Lila Barry


Nurturing the performance of a horse is quite important, as any trainer knows too well. While some horses prove difficult to ride to train, others are a piece of cake. What enables an animal perform its required duties to its full potential is good movement. In case it has bad movements, some of its muscles are overused while others are underused. The way a horse moves in largely determined by its conformation that also affects how it performs. The following are some of the factors that are responsible for horse performance.

Foot balance is one of the most significant factors. No matter how excellent the conformation of animal is, it will not be of any meaningful use if its foot is weak. To enable it do most of the activities required of it, having a proper foot formation is of essence. The feet must be aligned with the body perfectly and balance at the moment they leave the ground for the animal to have a normal gait.

A majority of the problems that horses face about foot balance are due to improper leg conformation. This is capable of causing distortion of hooves due to pressure being loaded unevenly. How the forelimb is designed is the same as a pillar, whereby it is made to support most of the horses weight. This way, even when someone is riding on it, pressure is applied evenly to all the legs.

The structure of a horses back is another factor which affects its performance. In a normal animal, the back is curves slightly upwards, with this curvature tending to increase in case someone rides on it.

A trainer can hence put into consideration that when someone is riding on a horse, all types of strains and stresses are triggered. This can distort the backs anatomy, resulting in muscular spasms that cause so much trouble for both riders and the animals themselves.

Injury to the horse as well as stress is the other factor. In the case of all types of animals, whether racehorses or gymkhana ponies, their ability to achieve whole athletic potential without the risk of getting injured is paramount. Condition that may prevent animals participating in competitions from getting peak performance can most of the times only be known if the animal is pushed to its full limits.

When an animal is participating in horseracing, its system can undergo a lot of stress. The rigors that trainers subject them to when practicing for races as well as the races themselves can cause muscle strain, torn ligaments and spasms. Although these symptoms cannot prevent a horse from going about its duties, they can affect how it performs in a dramatic manner. Some of the competitions that the animals go through, such as show jumping, can result in long term injury is not fixed early enough. It is recommended that the animal is checked for muscle injuries regularly.

The last factor is a tack whose fitting has not been done correctly, resulting to a wide variety of problems. For instance, a badly fitted saddle can lead to hollowing and resisting, shortening of slides and stiffness. Basically, a saddle that is poorly fitted disrupts horse performance, causing it not to achieve its full potential.




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