This is a lovely technique, which builds on releases achieved through the wither wiggle thoracic girdle mobilisation technique described below:

The Wither Wiggle

Mobilising your horse’s thoracic girdle is relatively straightforward and very rewarding.

Why?

The spinous processes of the first few thoracic vertebrae form the withers. Because they are so long, there is a lot of leverage created when you wiggle them just a mm or two. So you can have an effect on the whole chest area:

• rib cage & sternum
• lymphatics
• fascia surrounding the mediastinum, lungs and thymus
• muscles and fascia of the shoulder, neck, pectorals & serratus ventralis

Since the thoracic girdle takes so much strain during jumping as well as supporting the forehand for self carriage, any help you can give this area to improve its general circulation and the fluidity of the interconnecting fascia will be appreciated by your horse.

How?

Stand by your horse’s side facing his withers and using both hands take a soft hold of the highest point of his withers. These are the spinous processes of the vertebra and they are significantly longer in some horses than others - native ponies tend to have much shorter SPs, so adapt your grasp and don’t dig your nails in!

Now just start to gently push away from you and pull back towards you. Gently! We are only looking for 1 mm of movement - remember this will translate into much more movement of the ribs due to the long lever effect. Smile! & relax into the movement.

Get a feel for the rhythm and quality of the movement: some horses have a faster body tissue rhythm than others - it could be 2 or 3 swings per second or less than 1 swing per second. Constantly assess your horse or pony for comfort - if he or she shows signs of scepticism, go lighter!

If he is very tight, even what seems like only a little bit of movement may be uncomfortable for him. Do just a little every day and you should see improvements in freedom of movement, girthiness, ability to stretch out and release in work, willingness to jump.

Have fun!