Chartered physiotherapist Ciara Glaisher treats horses and their riders as one system, and she says horse rider fitness starts with the breath. Most of us mouth breathe, brace our bellies and sit in chairs all day, then expect our pelvis to move with a horse's back. She tells host Anna Louise Claydon why a rider's position collapses mid-ride, what she keeps finding when a "sluggish" horse gets checked out, and why she'd rather riders learned a short symmetrical flow than signed up to a strengthening programme.

In this episode:

• Why the yoga breathing rule, in through the nose and out through the mouth, might be wrong
• What holding your tummy in does to your breath, and what a baby does differently
• The horses booked in as "a bit sluggish, maybe arthritis", and what a horse-and-rider assessment keeps turning up instead
• Whether a sitting sport lets riders skip the warm-up every other sport demands

Find Ciara Glaisher: merlinvetphysio.co.uk (her Symmetry & Synergy rider programme

Instagram @ciaraglaisher_merlinphysio

Facebook: Merlin Physiotherapy

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