A horse is a vulnerable animal. Injuries occur more than we like in all possible forms. From an open wound to a bone fracture. However the most tricky injuries are the tendon injuries and muscle problems. But what can you do to prevent a muscle tear? It all starts with understanding the muscles and weak spots of your horse. Een change in training could be the reason for a muscle tear. That is why a change in exercises or training can help building new muscle mass. Muscles tend to get used to a certain pressure, that is why repetition of the same pressure will never help building or extending the muscle strength. You certainly know the feeling after a heavy exercise you feel that annoying pain in your muscles, that is your body healing the different striated muscle fiber tears. They make sure your body can handle the pressure and once teared new ones will be formed, helping to build up the muscle mass. That is why it is important to keep a certain change in your exercise schedule, however, more important is the resting periods in between. The horses body needs a rest to help building up the new muscles. If a muscle doesn't get the time to recover the muscle will break off instead of building up. That is the moment most muscle problems occur. DISCOVER MUSCLE PROBLEMS Preventing muscle problems is not easy, let stand discovering them. Lucky us a muscle problem is not appearing on a regular base. Important is to look out for a swelling with blood and body fluid. You can treat this swelling with ice, although the downside there is that less blood will flow to the muscles, preventing a quicker healing. To be perfectly safe, just call your veterinarian. In theory a muscle tear can exist on every spot of the horses' body, which makes the discovery more complex. Even more is when muscles work together, then it becomes very tricky. That is why the best healing for muscles problems is time and rest. PREVENTING IS BETTER THAN HEALING It can help to just apply triggerpoint massages, they make sure that muscles keep active and there is a perfect bloodflow to the muscles. It is a difficult assignment for the rider to build up a perfect training schedule for each horse. Certainly if you don't know the weak spots of your horse. That is why you have to keep an eye on your horse and try to understand the signals it sends.
