What do Goldilocks and rehab have in common?

It's probably more than you think, and it all boils down to finding what is "just right"....

​Getting the right balance when it comes to rehabilitation is key, and it can be difficult for owners and practitioners to know how to get this right. Train too little, and their horse plateaus, often with signs such as no muscle growth, minimal mobility gains, and slow recovery. Train too hard, and this is often when we see the risk of serious setbacks. Signs the horse may show in this situation are behavioural changes, swelling, lameness, or even re-injury. The difference between success and failure in equine rehab often boils down to one simple but crucial question: is the workload “just right”?

What often happens in equine rehab is starting out in the “too cold” zone and then making a sudden leap into the “too hot” zone once the horse is considered sound. Owners and practitioners tend to be extremely cautious in the early stages. Typical hand-walking programs are often under-dosed, placing minimal and very low loads on injured tissues for prolonged periods.

Over time, the horse naturally appears more sound. At this point, owners are frequently advised to resume “normal” training but often receive little guidance on how to safely transition back to full work. As a result, many go too hard, too fast. The recovering tissues, which haven’t been exposed to progressive loading to adapt to increased demands, simply can’t handle the sudden change. Essentially, we go from hand-walking a horse for 30 minutes a day to putting a rider back on board and quickly introducing trot and canter. Imagine if you’d been limited to walking after an injury for months and then were suddenly asked to go for a 5km run! This is when re-injury is more likely to occur.
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Why can getting this right be difficult?
Unlike people, horses can’t tell us when they’re sore or tired. Small signs—subtle changes in movement, resistance during work, or even a minor shift in behaviour—may be their only way to communicate that something’s wrong. And if we miss these signs, the consequences can be significant. 

Without a reliable way to gauge the training load, it’s easy to slide into the “too cold” zone, where little progress is made, or the “too hot” zone, where injuries flare up.

Some horses communicate with us well, others are a little more subtle. It's our job as practitioners to recognise the signs that workload may be too hot or cold and educate our clients on how to recognise them also.

​So, how can you be sure you’re getting it right?
In order to take the guesswork out of determining if the load is “just right“, objective outcome measures should be used wherever possible. Examples can include objective gait analysis, palpation and atrophy scales, and posture measurements. Regular measurements are essential to determine that the horse is on, and stays on, the right path.

Rest matters too. While the training load may be “just right“, if the rest / recovery time is too short, negative changes may occur.
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Rehab involves smartly pushing boundaries. Move too fast, and the horse may go from sound to sidelined. Progress too cautiously, and you may never see results.

In our book, A Practical Guide to Exercise Prescription in Equine Rehabilitation, we explore evidence-based strategies, real-world examples, and practical tools to help practitioners determine those "just right" loads. If this is an area you need some practical guidance in, we highly recommend you check it out!

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