09/02/2026
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Equine back pain is one of the most common causes undermining poor performance, therefore utilising exercises to keep your horses back feeling supple is crucial especially in between treatment sessions.
Caudal tail pulls are one of my favourite exercises as they are simple to do and have proven to help reduce back pain! The traction applied to the tail induces relaxation of back and glute muscles as well as associated fascial connections due to the horse counteracting the pull by leaning forwards onto the forelimbs.
Research:
๐They increase mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNTs) in the thoracic region of the back in 83% of horses, 50% increase in the lumbar and 52.4% increase in the pelvis. (Long et al., 2020). MNTs are the minimum amount of pressure required to induce a pain-avoidance response. Therefore in this case, MNTs increased after caudal tail pulls meaning there is lower back sensitivity/pain.
๐Effective for relieving back, sacroiliac and lumbosacral discomfort (Haussler, 2018).
๐ Shown to increase the activity of the gracilis muscle which has a pivotal role in hindlimb stability (Elรณsegui et al., 2024).
Application:
Hold your horses tail firmly with at least 1 hand on the dock whilst being cautious of standing directly behind a horse. Lean your bodweight back slowly, hold for approximately 30 seconds before gently releasing. You can repeat this 2-3 times after youโve ridden your horse when soft tissue structures are warm to obtain the desired effect.
I have recently set up a Facebook group โGEX Veterinary Physiotherapy-resourceful informationโ as a place to share research relevant to the veterinary physiotherapy field weekly which is accessible and easy to understand for horse owners, students & paraprofessionals. If youโre interested in learning more about findings from research head over and join the group now! GEX Veterinary Physiotherapy- resourceful information
