As a professional bodywork therapist for over 30 years and practicing in the equine field solely for the last 15 years I have learned some amazing information and put it together in a format that is easy to understand and just makes sense. From Dino Fretterd Cemt
Posture or stance of a horse is easily understood if you can understand how three concepts or laws of the universe operate. The three concepts are balance, function and gravity.
Balance: The truest definition of balance when applied to a physical object is point of equilibrium. Meaning there is no greater stress to any physical object in any direction. Function: An action or use for which something is designed.
Gravity: The natural force drawing a physical object toward the earth.
If you apply these three concepts to three components of the horse which include:
The Tempromandibular joint (TMJ) the jaw of the horse; The Musculoskeletal structure comprised of muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones; The Foundation or the horse’s feet (hoofs) You can begin to understand posture. The function of the TMJ is to open and close the mouth, allow for bilateral excursion or side to side as well as anterior/poster or forward and backward movements. The function of the muscles are to create movement when a contraction occurs thus pulling on the skeletal structure creating an extension (away from the body) or flexion (toward the body) motion.
The function of the hoof is to create a foundation, creates direction of flight of appendage, and dissipates concussive forces as well as acting as a pump to move blood and lymphatic fluid back up the appendage. Now that it is clear as to function of the components we can discuss in more detail how we put this package together.
Every muscle has an action as well as having an opposite reaction. Every time you contract a muscle, its opposite must elongate or stretch to allow the contraction to happen. Muscles work in a three phase cycle being excitation/ contraction/ relaxation. Muscles contract to create motion, but may also stay in a mild contracted state to support an imbalance. Think about holding a piece of paper in your fingers. You are in an excited and contracted state as long as you hold that piece of paper. This is a mild contraction because it takes very little effort to hold it, but as long as you are holding that paper one set of muscles stay contracted while their opposites stay elongated. Think of a horse with low heels. This simply means the horse has some type of contraction of the extensor muscles. Better yet, think of what it takes to ride a motorcycle. You have to pull backward on the throttle to move, or contract your extensor muscles. How about a horse that is more upright or even over at the knee (carpus) which is really their wrist. You can flex your wrist by contracting the flexor muscles of your forearm. If you stay in that contracted position and were a horse…….you would be over at the knee.
Now if we look at the hoof as nothing more than a fingernail we can learn to assess weight load distribution. Press on your fingernail on either side and watch it turn white were the pressure is. You have forced the blood flow to its opposite side. Lack of blood means lack of growth (which will be discussed in more detail in an upcoming article). Let’s not forget what I call the most important joint in the body……. the tempromandibular or jaw. As to not get into great detail about teeth in this article, but imperative to understand, the teeth set the occlusive pattern and create the guidance system for which the tmj operates. If a horse is in an occlusive pattern disallowing anterior movement of the jaw, they will hold a higher head set. Everyone knows where the head goes… the body follows. A higher head set creates an imbalance in the weight distribution.
It is written in every anatomy book I have read that approximately sixty percent of a horses weight is bore by the front feet. The higher the head set, the lower the heel. Tilt you head backward just a little and you will see you forced more pressure to your heels. Lean forward and you will grab with your toes so you don’t fall forward. Either case you have contracted muscles to support yourself.
So if you have one set of muscles that
are passively contracted, you have an opposite group that is always elongated. If you add dynamic motion into the equation you can see how much harder the elongated group has to work to pull the contracted side. It’s like a tug of war with the muscles creating tension on joints. Tension on joints creates posture. Posture can be changed by stretching and training muscles to be balanced. If someone is slouching and you tell them to stand up straight, and they do, they have just changed their posture right before your very eyes. As long as they contract those muscles, they stay in that proper posture. The same is true for horses . Poor posture leads to poor performance and injury.
By learning how to assess these components you can understand how to best help your horse. Balanced stretching and strengthening techniques , as well as assessing movement and position of the tmj is something virtually anyone can learn to do. This is an overview for better understanding of your horse’s posture and performance. I will cover a more detailed co-relation of the TMJ and dental occlusion and the Structure (body) as well as the co-relation of Structure and Foundation (hoof) in future articles. My passion now is to help educate and share the knowledge of which I have acquired as to help the world of horses.
💡Key Article Takeaways
From Dino Fretterd CEMT Posture or stance of a horse is easily understood if you can understand how three concepts or laws of the universe operate.
The three concepts are balance, function and gravity.
Balance: The truest definition of balance when applied to a physical object is point of equilibrium.
Meaning there is no greater stress to any physical object in any direction.
Function: An action or use for which something is designed.
Questions readers commonly ask:
How can I tell if my horse has a posture problem affecting his performance?
Per Dino Fretterd, CEMT: posture problems show up before lameness does, in stance and movement patterns most owners can learn to read.
Low heels — signal contraction of the extensor muscles. The horse is in a passive contracted state that pulls the hoof angle out of alignment.
Over at the knee (carpus held forward of vertical) — signals contraction of the flexor muscles in the forearm.
High head set — if the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) occlusion blocks anterior jaw movement, the horse holds his head higher, which shifts more weight onto the front feet (already bearing roughly 60% of body weight).
Asymmetric weight loading — the equivalent of pressing on one side of a fingernail until it turns white. Lack of blood flow on the loaded side means lack of tissue support and growth there.
Per Dino Fretterd: any of these is a signal to investigate before performance declines or lameness develops.
What can I actually do to help my horse's posture?
Per Dino Fretterd, CEMT: posture isn’t a fixed trait — it’s the result of which muscles are passively contracted and which are elongated. Change the muscle balance and the posture changes with it.
Balanced stretching and strengthening — train the elongated muscles to do their job and release the chronically contracted ones.
Assess movement and TMJ position — the jaw guides the head, and the head guides the body.
Address the foundation — hoof angles, since the foot creates direction of flight and acts as the pump returning blood and lymph up the appendage.
Per Dino Fretterd: this is something virtually anyone can learn to do. The work is observation plus targeted, balanced exercise — not specialty equipment. As long as the horse holds the corrected pattern, the posture stays corrected, the same way a slouching person who stands up straight has changed posture in real time.
How do the jaw, the body, and the feet connect to one decision about my horse's training?
Per Dino Fretterd, CEMT: posture is a system of three components, each with a function, all interacting through balance and gravity.
The TMJ (jaw) — opens and closes the mouth, allows side-to-side and forward-backward movement. The teeth set the occlusive pattern that guides how the jaw moves.
The musculoskeletal structure — muscles work in a three-phase cycle (excitation, contraction, relaxation), pulling on bones to create extension or flexion. Every contracted muscle has an opposite that must elongate.
The foundation (the hooves) — create direction of flight, dissipate concussive forces, and pump fluid back up the leg.
Per Dino Fretterd: when one component is out of balance, the others compensate, and that compensation costs work and tissue health. Assessing all three together — rather than chasing a symptom in one — is how to actually help the horse.
Why does poor posture lead to performance loss and injury?
Per Dino Fretterd, CEMT: poor posture leads to poor performance and injury because of how muscle balance works under load.
Every contracted muscle has an opposite group that must stay elongated. When you add dynamic motion — the horse working under saddle — the elongated group has to work much harder to pull against the chronically contracted side. That tension on joints creates posture, and tension on joints under repeated work creates wear, soreness, and eventually lameness.
The cascade is concrete. A high head set forces more weight onto the front feet; that loading pushes the heels lower, which pushes more pressure to the toe, which changes breakover and stresses the deep digital flexor tendon — all from a jaw occlusion problem two ends of the horse away. Per Dino Fretterd: tilt your own head back slightly and you’ll feel pressure shift to your heels. The same compensation a horse runs continuously becomes injury over time.
How long does it take to change a horse's posture, and is bodywork worth it?
Per Dino Fretterd, CEMT: posture can be changed by stretching and training muscles to be balanced — the same way a person who stands up straight on cue changes their posture in real time. The catch: as long as the horse contracts those muscles, he stays in proper posture; the moment he relaxes back into the old pattern, the old posture returns.
The work is sustained re-training, not a one-time fix. Plan on weeks to months of consistent balanced exercise to make a new pattern automatic, plus regular reassessment as the horse’s workload changes.
For owners who want trained-eye support, Equine Physiotherapy by Balanced Equus (a current InfoHorse advertiser) offers professional bodywork that targets the same muscle-balance and joint-tension principles. The structural rule is more important than the practitioner brand: posture work is observation plus balanced exercise applied consistently — no shortcut. Confirm a program with your vet if your horse has lameness history.
