Pioneer Equestrian Coaching

06/09/2026

Part 3: The Pectorals

In the previous post, we looked at some of the extrinsic muscles and how they organize the forelimb and shoulder in relation to the rest of the body.

Now let's follow one potential compensation pattern, beginning underneath the horse with the pectoral muscles.

The problem begins when muscles that should be able to contract and return to neutral start maintaining more tension than the situation requires.

Why might the pectorals become chronically tight?

There isn't one answer. Muscle tone is regulated by the nervous system and continually adapts to the demands placed on the body.

Saddle and girth fit are worth considering.

Equipment that creates discomfort or excessive pressure around the sternum, ribcage, or shoulder can contribute to guarding through the chest. An overtightened girth may add another source of compression to tissues that are already struggling to move freely.

Habitual movement on the forehand can also change the demands placed on the pectoral musculature.

When a horse consistently manages more of their weight and movement through the front end, the muscles surrounding the chest and shoulder may be asked to provide more stabilization, deceleration, and control.

Lameness, hoof pain, and hoof imbalance are another important part of the picture.

The hoof is the interface between the horse and the ground. If landing or loading a foot is uncomfortable, the horse doesn't simply stop using that hoof. They find another way to organize the limb and the rest of the body around it.

Conditions such as navicular syndrome, thrush, heel pain, or low, collapsed, or run-forward heels may alter how comfortably a horse loads the foot, how the limb moves through stance and swing, and how force travels upward through the leg.

The resulting protective strategy can extend well beyond the hoof.

A horse may shorten the stride, change the landing pattern, reduce movement through the shoulder, or increase muscular stabilization higher up the limb. The pectorals may become part of that strategy as the horse attempts to protect a painful or mechanically compromised structure below.

Breathing and Diaphragm function

If breathing mechanics become restricted, due to altered ribcage mobility, pain, stress, or another underlying issue, the horse may recruit surrounding musculature differently to help stabilize and move the thorax.

That can increase demand on muscles around the chest and shoulder, including the pectoral region.

What might chronic pectoral tension look like?

These observations aren't meant to be diagnostic, rather they're clues that may give us a reason to look more closely.

Girth sensitivity may be one clue.

A horse might become defensive as the girth is tightened. Pectoral tension is certainly not the only possible cause of girthiness, but compression of already sensitive or guarded tissues around the sternum and chest may contribute.

A shortened or restricted forelimb stride may be another.

Because the pectoral musculature contributes to positioning the limb, excessive tone can influence how freely the forelimb moves. The horse may appear short or choppy through the front end, lack an easy forward reach, or have reduced freedom moving the limb.

Camped-under forelimbs

The deep pectorals have attachments between the sternum and humerus and contribute to retraction of the forelimb. During stance, that relationship also helps move the trunk forward over the grounded limb.

When excessive resting tone changes this relationship, the humerus and forelimb may be held farther underneath the body rather than resting more vertically beneath the shoulder.

A downhill appearance

The serratus ventralis, whose job includes supporting the thorax between the scapulae and helping absorb and return forces during locomotion, may have to increase its stabilizing activity to resist that downward pull of the pectorals.

Over time, the entire system can become less adaptable: the pectorals pull from below, the muscles around the scapula increase stabilization, and the serratus has less space to dynamically support the thorax.

The ribcage may begin to sit lower between the scapulae, with less elevation through the withers.

A base-narrow stance

The transverse pectorals contribute to drawing the forelimbs toward the midline.

Excessive tone through this region may therefore be one factor in a horse who habitually stands unusually narrow through the front end.

Reduced tissue mobility around the elbow and chest may also be noticeable on palpation.

When you explore the tissues where the limb meets the ribcage, the area may feel dense and resistant rather than soft and responsive almost like the elbow is “glued” to the ribcage.

These observations simply give us information about how the horse may be organizing their body, but if the pectorals are maintaining more tension, that tension doesn't stay isolated.

So what happens above the pectorals?

That's where we'll go next.

06/09/2026

DSLD, what an awful disease!

Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis is a progressive disease.

Why the Suspensory ligaments show the first break down, The core biochemical defect is an abnormal accumulation of proteoglycans (carbohydrate-protein molecules) within the extracellular matrix of connective tissue.

Because the suspensory is under extreme continuous tension during weight-bearing, the proteoglycan accumulation causes it to lose elasticity and fail structurally here first. This results in the dropped fetlock appearance first.

DSLD has recently been renamed to ESPA, Equine Systemic Proteoglycan Accumulation which affects all the soft tissues in the body. However still more research is needed because I see older horses who seem to just have stand alone DSLD and do not look to have ESPA. The way these problems appear to break down structures in the horses body is different in each horse. I note that in the ESPA horses they seem to be hypermobile generally in their body. Reading about Ehlors danlos syndrome in humans I can’t help but see the similarities to ESPA in horses.

I suspect we are dealing with these problems on a spectrum of severity and this is why it shows up slightly differently in every horse. These photos below are from a 24 year old unridden carriage horse who’s suspensory branch’s in all four legs where a mess. But the rest of his soft tissues in his body including the nuchal ligaments were in tact. The SDFT and DDFT showed aged related changes but not replacement with scar tissue like the suspensory.

So much more research is needed and genetic testing so we can test for these diseases.

To see cases of DSLD including movement assessments and palpations head to patreon.

https://www.patreon.com/Becks_nairn/posts/america-update-155906247

https://www.patreon.com/Becks_nairn/posts/hypermobility-in-150520409

Thank you to Shibumi Equestrian Centre for graciously sharing these horses stories and always hosting professional clinics.

28/08/2026

OMG… I know this…. But isn’t it BEAUTIFUL!!!!

11/08/2026

About time!!

07/08/2026

Blimey….make no mistake climate change will be bringing something similar for horse owners before long…..

It’s been a day of real highs and lows, and it’s not even 10am!

This morning we were celebrating nearly 100 five star reviews and watching another batch of beef boxes disappear almost as soon as they went live. Seeing so many familiar names coming back to order again means the world to us, so thank you. ❤️

Then, just a couple of hours later after morning feed, I found myself looking at the latest Bluetongue map…

Every one of those red triangles represents another confirmed farm with an outbreak, and the reality is that this map is around a couple of weeks behind where the disease actually is, as that’s the lag between testing and results. It’s hard not to look at it and wonder what the next few months will bring.

Sometimes I don’t think people realise just how much farmers have on their minds. Many parts of the country are crying out for rain after months of dry weather (us included), grass growth has slowed dramatically, winter forage stocks are already becoming a concern for some, and now Bluetongue continues to spread. The vaccine is almost impossible to get hold of, and because it’s spread by infected midges, there is only so much anyone can do.

Farming has always been an industry that relies on hope as much as hard work. Hope for rain. Hope for healthy animals. Hope that diseases stay away. Hope that all the months of hard work aren’t undone by something completely outside your control.

So while today started with some incredible news for us, it also served as a reminder of the challenges facing livestock farmers right across the country.

Here’s hoping the weather changes, the disease slows down, and everyone gets a bit of luck for a change. 🤞🐄🐑

01/08/2026

I wonder if the super hard ground is making being outside 24/7 hard for my horses this summer………

💤BIGGER RESTING SPACES MEAN BETTER SLEEP FOR HORSES!💤

This really shouldn't be a surprise, but if horses don't have enough space to lie down they don't sleep as well or for as long.

Research shows that horses lie down more, and get more of the deep sleep they need, when they have more room to rest.
Horses can doze whilst standing, but they only achieve essential REM sleep when lying down. Studies from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences found that space makes a real difference, especially in group housing:

🐎With only about 8m² (eg 2.8m x 2.8m) of lying area per horse, animals rested roughly half as much (around 69 minutes per day) as they did in individual boxes or larger group areas.
🐎Increasing the lying space to around 18m² (eg 4.2m x 4.2m) per horse brought lying times close to those seen in single stalls (around 130–145 minutes), with more frequent and longer rest periods.
🐎Lateral recumbency (fully stretched out), which is key for REM sleep, was significantly higher in the larger spaces.

And cramped, shared resting areas mean more interruptions, less total rest, and less deep sleep particularly for lower-ranking horses.

⭐What does this mean for horse owners?⭐
Whether your horses live in groups or individual stables, giving them enough comfortable space to lie down fully, plus deep clean bedding, supports better rest and welfare.

❓Has your horse’s resting behaviour changed with different housing or bedding? Share your experiences in the comments!

Check out some of our content on horse sleep here: https://askanimalweb.com/tag/sleep/

29/07/2026

Need to look at this…..

29/07/2026

So this is ABSOLUTELY true…. You cannot sort the horses’ problems out without looking at our own!! They do, of course, have their own injuries, asymmetries and poor patterns of use…. But they could be perfect(doubtful) with a perfect saddle (also doubtful) and amazing hoof balance( unlikely but possible) but if our wonky, weak, sore butts get onboard, we WILL have a negative impact!! RWYM has been straightening the humans out for several decades now… but it’s a lifelong task…. Are you up for it?!?

“I asked for a plan for my HORSE’S movement, not mine. It’s the horse that needs rehab, not me.”

A student said this to me after receiving feedback on her riding.

Her horse was hollow, crooked, and struggling to carry himself well. She had expected a list of exercises for the horse—a rehabilitation program to strengthen his body and improve his way of going. Instead, much of our conversation revolved around her: her balance, her posture, her awareness, and the way she organized her own body in the saddle.

She was surprised.

Like many riders, she viewed herself as the instructor and the horse as the student. From her perspective, the horse was the one with the physical deficits, so surely the horse was the one who needed the exercises.

The problem is that a horse cannot separate their movement from the person sitting on their back.

Our bodies become part of their biomechanics.

Every shift in our pelvis changes how the horse uses their back. Every collapse through one side of our torso influences how they load a limb. Every moment we brace, grip, lean, or become asymmetrical changes the information the horse receives about balance, direction, and weight.

In other words, rider and horse become a single athletic system. One cannot move independently of the other.

This is why any rehabilitation or gymnastic program is only as effective as the rider’s ability to perform it.

Shoulder-in, for example, is a brilliant exercise for improving lateral suppleness, engagement, and straightness—but only when it is ridden correctly. If the rider overbends the neck, collapses a hip, drives with the seat, or blocks the horse’s back with tension, the exercise no longer develops the horse as intended. It simply rehearses poor movement under a different name.

The exercise itself is not therapeutic.

The quality with which it is ridden is.

This is why the conscientious rider learns to balance themselves, control themselves, and understand themselves before asking the horse to do the same.

They understand that horses cannot separate our influence from their own movement. Every aid, every posture, every habit becomes part of the environment in which the horse learns to carry themselves.

The goal, then, is not simply to find better exercises. It is to become a better influence.

Because a horse can only move as well as the conversation we create with them allows.

In the end, horsemanship is not simply the education of the horse. It is the continual education of the rider.