Prepare Your Back For The Day Ahead

It’s the first horse of the day and you haven’t properly warmed up. Your muscles don’t work well cold.

Early in the day, you’re relying on a complicated neuromuscular apparatus that needs to wake up. This system needs to get tuned into what’s coming during the remainder of your workday.

Since your job is so physical, approach it from an athletic standpoint. Loosening up for 7 minutes prior to working on your first horse of the day will increase your heart rate and stretch your muscles dynamically. Be sure to keep moving and avoid static stretches.

The last horse of the day should be your easiest horse. However, be careful since your stabilizing muscles are fatigued and can’t always properly support your spine by this time of day. With an easy horse, you can shift into autopilot and think about utilizing the correct body positions, lifting and reaching techniques.

Don’t tolerate a misbehaving horse as your back is on the line. Get out a restraining device and use it correctly. Educate your clients about how important a well-behaved horse is for your business.

The back rarely goes out after one injury or event and the damage to your back can add up. So the more you can minimize or improve these concerns, the better your back should be.

A full story by MD and farrier Karl Shewmake featuring more insight into back pain will run in a future issue of American Farriers Journal.

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