Whether you are beginning to ride or you have been riding horses for years, one of the most intimidating issues for the older adult rider is feeling too stiff to ride.
The good news about this problem is that if you work on correcting it, the results you produce will help you feel healthier in general, not just when you ride.
Stiffness is the feeling you get from your muscles being short and not properly stretched.
Children and young adults naturally have a wide range within which their muscles shorten and lengthen comfortably with movement.
With age, this natural ability gradually tends to become restricted.
The restriction lies not just in the range of movement within muscles.
There is also limitation in stretchability of the tendons that tie muscles to bones.
Similar reduction in elasticity goes along in ligaments that tie bones to bones.
When we talk about stretching or relaxing muscles we're really including this entire interconnected system of muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
Much of success in riding starts with learning to feel the motion of the horse.
Next is being able to accommodate your body to the movement.
Then you direct your horse's energy in the way your type of riding is trying to achieve.
You need to do this whether you want your horse to walk on a relaxed rein on a trail ride, take a canter departure in a hunter show arena, or barrel race.
If your muscles are not relaxed, you can't make good physical contact with your horse's body.
This inhibits your ability to carry out the whole chain of connection mentioned in the last paragraph: feeling the motion, accommodating to it, and influencing and energizing the horse.
The solution to stiffness lies in performing stretching exercises to prepare for riding.
You can do these before getting on the horse and at other times during the day.
You can employ exercises that improve flexibility while you are on your horse too.
The aim of these recommendations is to stretch muscles slowing and gradually in order to increase their ability to relax.
Relaxed muscles can shorten and lengthen better, which is what suppleness is.
This enables you to achieve the desired good physical connection and "go with your horse".
One mistake riders make is to target only one set of muscles or just a few of the obvious muscles used in riding.
The mistake I'm referring to is forgetting to target other muscles too.
The human body is interconnected from top to bottom.
Developing a total loosening up strategy will get you the best results.
In addition, don't do your muscle relaxation only before you ride, especially if you are not riding your horse everyday.
Learn to go through a series of routines every day.
Once this becomes a habit you'll miss your routines when you forget because you'll feel livelier throughout your day, even when you are not riding.
And you'll be eager to ride.