While natural movement of the horse sees the forehand pull the hindquarters, one could be mistaken in thinking muscular stress and the draught horse is limited.
However, a wealth of difference remains between the wild horse roaming his habitat and the harness horse pulling his load, accommodating his tack, complying with instructions from his driver and in some cases the influences of working with other horses in his team.
The draught horses' position within his team holds a direct influence to his muscular demands and ensued stresses.
Pulling at the back nearest the cart demands more muscular energy from his hindquarters; while pulling at the front demands more muscular energy from his forehand. These two examples also serve to highlight the importance of conformation to the draught horse.
Each discipline denotes its' necessary conformation, not to primarily please the human eye, but to allow each horse his physical advantage to perform working demands asked of him, and, the draught horse is no exception.
His head needs to be proportionate in length and form to his neck, preventing excessive weight demands to his neck and topline while promoting ease of forelimb action without undue muscular stress, especially true for horses pulling at the front of the team.
Nostrils need to be large enough to accommodate respiratory demands, those of which can become strained from the pressures of a breast strap.
The neck needs a flexible angle of attachment to his head, providing at least two flat fingers worth of space between the jawbone and the neck allowing optimal poll flexion. Limited poll flexion will generate poll tension with resultant headaches, emotional distress, compensatory locomotion and incurred stress through the major stress point cycle.
The neck also needs to be of a proportionate length and form to the back, reducing muscular pull through the topline and promoting ease of muscular power to the forehand.
Accommodating the transmission of energy from the hindquarters to a raised forehand, the back needs to be compact, strong and flexible, with its meeting at the withers in an upward slant.
Withers set back behind the point of elbow continue to compliment the conformational needs of the draught horse, allowing him to accommodate his harness and allow free range of forelimb action, further reducing muscular stress through the forehand and topline.
The form of his loins need to be comparative to his back. Under developed or weak loins will need additional support from his intercostal muscles, inhibiting respiration and creating abdominal muscular stress, while over developed loins will create a continual pull of muscular stress through the topline, with reduced abilities of ventral and dorsal flexion.
Muscular stress in the draught horse is by nature of a deeper origin, calling for specialised muscle insertion and drainage techniques with a programme of progressive stretching to both continue the healing effects of equine massage therapy and inhibit its re-occurrence.
Your new publication 'Influences Of Muscular Stress From The Breast Harness' published soon.
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