Archived from my blog biomechanical screening in horse riders 2011

Biomechanical Screening in Horse Riders

Me and Pearl

About this topic: My university sent an email around asking for Horse riding volunteers for third year Sports Science students doing their dissertation. I thought 'I would like to be tested to see if I'm still flexible at my age'. It proved very good results!

Getting to today has flown by, it feels like one minute I was talking about it, the next minute its been and gone.

Their basic requirements were: To be a horse rider, To wear tightly fitted dark clothes
The purpose of the study: To test posture, flexibility, balance and grip strength of horse riders and identify abnormalities compared to 'norm'.

It was all a pleasant experience, lovely young ladies, professionally organised with their welcoming, their paperwork and consent forms with step by step clear instructions of what was required of you.

After I signed away I was taken for my height and weight to be measured, I did think "don't look down at the high digits" lol. I was then taken to the posture table , I lay on the table where my leg measurements were taken, oh my gosh, you wouldn't believe it, but I was told I had the longest legs of the day so far! I have never been told that before, thought I was a short arse. I then had little imaging balls (3D - photo - video)  placed on my body for posture profiling i.e. hips, cervical spine (C7), back, waist. After this I was asked to stand behind the posture profiling grid which looks like a silver galvanised large mesh screen with three plumb lines attached. I was asked for a forward image, side and rear posture image.

After this profiling, I was asked to sit on a leather riding saddle that was on top of a plastic saddle mate example below:

The leather saddle sat on this saddlemate (stand) for rider trunk flexibility

It was quite a comfortable saddle so asked If I could take it home lol! Here they took a general 3D posture analysis of how I would naturally sit in the saddle when riding, they then asked me to place a broom behind my head above my shoulders and asked me to rotate it from left three times to right three times. This was a difficult manoever for me as I have very poor range of movement (ROM) in my shoulders. When I had finished this part I said to them they will find me interesting to study in this area due to my very poor ROM in my shoulders, they said they would study my profile because it looked a good one.

I was then taken to the flexibility table for my shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle joints in flexibility could be measured, here I was asked primarily to lay on my back then on my front. This was done using a goninometer see below for example:

Goninometer for measureing flexibility of joints

I was asked to flex each leg individually, keeping them straight as far up towards my torso as possibly, this was pimps for me, they said wow that went far. You were asked to flex and extend these joints. I stood for the shoulder extension in general it is having your arm beside you then reach for the stars as far back as you can. They were surprised at this result as I was very flexibile in this, she stated, what would it mean when you go over 180!! It states if you can reach 180 with no pain, you are in good shape! So that was good news for me.

I was then asked to do a grip strength test using each hand, three times each for averaging out the results, this is done using a Dynamometer  see below for example:

Dynamometer used to measure grip strength

My results in this were also the highest of the day with approx 34.4kg grip strength probably averaging 33.6kg which results in 'Above Average' for a female. This was good, what I learnt was I was stronger in my left hand!! I am right handed but according to the testing I'm stronger on average in my left. I bet that goes the same for all us horsey types, be interesting what they find out with this survey.

I was then asked to do the static and dynamic balance testing, this was done with a media balancing mat that the laptop took readings from. The mat was placed on top of a cross (axis) made out of masking tape on the floor with numbers on it for the tester to take paper readings too. Here, you stood with your hands on your hips and on alternative legs , left first, right second, did some static (still) balancing for 20 seconds on each leg. I was then asked to do some dynamic (moving) balancing, again with alternative legs, but this time I was asked to point my toe forward towards the axis of the maskin tape readings on the ground, I was then asked to point my toe to the far side then behind me. This was done numerous times on each leg. I did say "good job I wasn't asked to do yoga" lol, I thought this was going to be easy until I got on the mat lol. It was harder than I thought. I kept on getting readings of 60 - 65 so I'm not sure if that is good or not, may be I should take up ballet and really get a reading off the mat lol.

Me and Pearl

I enjoyed it and came away thinking I was still quite flexible and above average in some areas, even though I do not do much exercise other than quite a lot of walking , cycling in the summer, riding over the years has kept me supple and flexible even at my age which is nearly 39!! wow!! that looks old in writing lol.

our yard

Me and Pearl

Its the hols and lots to do

Well, i've been very busy this past month or so. Sadly I abandoned the blog as tiredness kept on creeping in on an evening.

I have now broken up from work for 6 weeks and wow, there's lots I can do that I didn't have time for before. Already spent quite a bit of extra time down at the yard without rushing and trying to fit work and family in with the horses. What a massive difference just to chill and not clock watch.

We have ridden and worked the horses much more. My young Alfie chops is getting back into the swing of his work after his month off on holiday in the field. Zigs has already been ridden a few times and I even took him out on a lovely hack myself last night as my daughter worked late so plans changed. The weather was lovely, a warm breeze along the country lanes was perfect as the wind put off the horse flies, even so, I drowned myself and ziggy in fly stuff just in case. It was nice having joggers pass us on the lovely evening and us passing fishermen and horses in the fields, just lovely evening. Its been a long time since I actually hacked out since our old boy Bobs passed away. I do miss them hacks. One day soon I will take Alfie boy.

Here is a photo of the mini hay rack I made, the guinea pigs have one too July 2012

Look at my daughters hair , mad eh, suits her job ha, pic taken 22nd July 2012

Alfie boy doing some baby work 22nd July 2021

I like this one because he looks cute and baby like, he got a bit stumbled here in what was asked aww 22nd July 2012

I took some photos of the new tribe we have on the yard so will post them here for you to nosy at, we now have 9 great laying hens, 4 Muscovy ducks and three rabbits at the yard:

All taken july 2012

You will have to ignore Zigs stall guard height, we haven't put it at that height as it was done before we moved here, but I chose to use it for the hens to go in and out

we have some x-battery hens too

Think they want my brew ha

The other new bunny aww

Since the last time I rambled on, the hubby and I bought a car. We did some great weekend travelling to find the ideal one. We tried and saw a few but one thing or another put us off, I could go on about one experience in the North of Wales, but I will be lady like and not bother, lots of swear words come to mind but it worked out brill in the end, maybe missing that one, was meant to be. We tried our look at a car we didn't set out to buy but ended up buying .

Its sooooooo sleek and smart, I will have to take pix soon. We now have a peugeot coupe as well as our other car, we gave my old car to my step-son so he's up and mobile again, pretty handy actually as he's a bit of a taxi driver for the teens in the house, phew weeeeee yeahhhh some one else to do it now and again. Its a really nice car the coupe such a nice shape and thats because it was designed by the guy that designed ferarri, it has everything on, its mint inside with full leather and all that pallava it only has 96 thousand miles on the cloc, the colour is lovely a hyperion blue, a sky pale blue to you and I ha. coupe shape and colours click here  .

The shambles of the Uni stuff has finally now been sorted. I went through a stressful time in May with regards to mis-communication and the work being marked wrongly. Though my graduation had been postponed I am finally relieved the module was sorted. It has been a stressful time but finally I can move on. I hope to enlist for my new course in September.

The hubby and I have lots planned for the summer hols and hopefully we are going on a tiny trip next week to Devon. We are also booking a trip to Krakow Poland with the hubby and kids late August 2012. My son is into everything war and army (wants to be a marine). We are giving him an opportunity to go to Auschwitz concentration camp click here . I think it's one of those things we have to see before we die sort of thing. I will cry my eyes out but its something we have to do. We are also hoping to take him to Dunkirk and Normandy. We are only talking a few days at a time so little holidays rather than big ones. We hope to go to a few places in the UK so hopefully we can go to London just after the Olympics finishes.

Unless we get two tickets to Greewich Park beforehand!!

Yep, thats a blooming miracle if ever I said one!! The hubby and I have tried three times to get any blooming tickets for any equestrian event, well, I say any. It did start off with dressage to music, but then we got desperate and said any equestrian event, but still, no such tickets available, Thomas cook probably has a hundred !! and all the other businesses, oh yes, and all them people who have probably never been to an equestrian event ever in their lives, a celeb and twenty of their family members and so on. Ahh well, the olympics ARE'NT for the people like they keep saying unless you are an A lister!

Its just not fair this ticketing system, they have totally let their brits down. As two horse mad people here in Lancs cant even buy two scabby tickets!! We even managed to get two tickets to an international show jumping event in the West of France years ago, it was easier doing that than getting tickets for something on British soil. Saying all this with the tone I type, I am still very excited about the olympics, just wish I could have been part of it in some way or another.

Cheeeerio everyone, sorry its a bit boring and the subjects changing like the weather often, but i have to put it down before I forget haha.

July 2012

Enjoy your summer fun!! By the way, any sunshine your way?...... send it here to Lancs!!