Muscle Tone: A Taboo Subject! Part one
Jan 27, 2025This is a subject that is not explicitly discussed in riding manuals, or even in contemporary horsemanship coaching, but it is a huge piece of what makes the difference between naturally talented horsepeople, and those who often struggle with their riding and groundwork.
Perhaps that is because its importance is underestimated, or because it is bundled under the heading of ‘talent’ and therefore not thought of as teachable. However, it certainly is an attribute that can be learned and developed. I am living proof, as are many of my clients.
Muscle tone is important because its presence defines the boundaries and stability of our bodies. It also has both physical and emotional qualities that are very relevant in our interactions with horses.
In simple terms, when we are assessing muscle tone, it is as if you are looking at a horse and rider combination in terms of their ‘stuffing’. Attractive horse and rider combinations have a look as if their bodies are firm but pliable, like a newly stuffed toy, with their skin being filled out well by their muscles.
In addition to this, their bodies seem to make good leakproof containers for energy, as if they can effectively create and store energy for potential use, only releasing it when they want to. If you had the chance to prod them, they would feel firm to the touch, although they would more likely describe themselves as doing nothing!
In contrast, when muscle tone isn’t present, the horse and rider may look like soggier, perhaps
like a stuffed toy that has seen better days. They are not good containers for energy, and it appears as if their efforts to produce and contain energy are thwarted by leaks out of their control.
Other ways to picture this contrast might be by thinking of the difference between fresh window putty compared to marshmallows as describing firm and soggy muscle tone. For acting as a good container, think of the difference between tort shrink wrap around a piece of meat in the supermarket, compared to cling film on a sandwich that has been opened and re-closed again. The packaging has very different qualities.
This concept can seem contradictory because horsemanship and riding professionals talk about the importance of being relaxed. However, what is important to understand here, is that relaxation is not about being soft and soggy, as if in an armchair, or even being passive.
I believe that being relaxed starts on an emotional level with how you use your breath, vision, and emotions to be grounded and calm, followed by the right amount of muscle tone to stabilise your joints during activity so that your joints can move freely inside a stabilised body.
In contrast, stiffness usually occurs in parts of the body where one muscle or a group of muscles takes on more responsibility than it is designed to, in order to rescue an unstable body, and starts to seize up, while other muscles remain very inactive.
So, telling a rider who looks stiff, just to relax, is going to make their problems worse. In reality, they need to learn to switch on their stabilising muscles within their core, so that they can match the
forces of movement without becoming tense, and then address their tension by re-educating
their muscles with the correct bodywork.
One of the problems we face when improving our riding is that correct and functional muscle tone and the actual truth of what genuine relaxation consists of it not discussed objectively in the equine community, and neither is it explicitly taught. Additionally tone is something that our bodies are subconsciously ‘doing’ all the time, and yet we aren’t conscious of it until we
try to change.
When you embark on change, and discrepancies in your muscle tone are brought to your attention, the biggest hurdle to overcome is how weird it is going to feel - partly due to the physical sensation of increased or decreased tone, and partly due to how our tone and posture is intertwined with our emotional boundaries and personality.
However, there are now many excellent fitness coaches with equestrian knowledge, who have adapted Pilates and Yoga courses to assist directly with the challenges that riders face, and plenty of opportunities in daily life to make changes to posture and tone as we go about our routines.
In fact, studies have shown that visualisation of using the correct muscle for a task can improve its tone without even engaging that muscle!
Next blog we will explore this subject a little deeper and in the meantime, I recommend the following blogs:
Rider Stability and Balance - part one
Rider Stability and balance - part two
Join the discussion in my Facebook group, Groundwork for Humans with Sally Ede - I look forward to meeting you there!
Learn about breathing for you and your horse with my free download, Five Powerful Breathing Exercises to Connect You and Your Horse. Get your free download here!