Can you see the difference?

It can look subtle at first, and our human brains automatically try to categorize anything NEW into a familiar category... but THIS difference makes all the difference in the world to your horse, and to your ability to help them achieve real and lasting change.

What is the difference between Voluntary Pandiculation & Stretching?

Even though some of the somatic exercises we do in Equine Hanna Somatics Education can look similar to what many bodyworkers, physiotherapits, chiropractors, vets and trainers do or recommend as 'stretches' ...

***and in fact some bodyworkers have taken to applying our EHS exercises TO horses as 'bodywork'*** 🤦‍♀️

...to trigger the beneficial effects of voluntary pandiculation, the horse must do the movement, not the practitioner.

(read that again, please)

The horse must do the movement (from within) - not be manipulated into a position, however gently, by the practitioner.

And not just any movement, the horse must do a very specific type of movement that involves a concentric contraction of a muscle (or group of muscles) AND a very slow and deliberate eccentric contraction of the same muscles - using motor output from their own brain to control the shortening and the lengthening of their muscles and detect whether they are responding as intended, or not.

This requires a whole different approach to working with a horse centered around using non-verbal communication to INVITE the horse to move their own body, at our request.

We must use a specific type of feel to detect whether the horse is simply allowing us to manipulate their body, or is present and actively participating in each movement.

AND - we must avoid stretching the horse.

This level of communication demands a close to crystal clear intention from the human practitioner, and a level of somatic self-awareness that most of us don't even realize we have lost (but that we can absolutely get back!)

Everyone can learn to approach working with horses this way, but it starts with the awareness that you must NOT just go through the motions - or take the horse through the motions - BUT instead you have to be in a two-way conversation with the horse.

Consent when working with Horses

It cannot be forced, and it's not enough for the horse to consent to you working 'on' them - because most horses have learned to get along in the human world by acquiescing to our demands.

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Many horses will appear to consent, but then check out during bodywork, in a very real sense saying "you can have my body, but not my mind." 😭

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To invite a horse to do a voluntary pandiculation with us, we must flip the script, and start with the horse giving permission AND being receptive to staying present and actively participating.

When this is done at the direction of an Equine Hanna Somatics® Educator (EHSE), who will strategically guide the horse through the movements that target specific groups of muscles - this is called Voluntary Pandiculation.

(vs. a spontaneous pandiculation, which is something the horse does periodically as an involuntary natural reflex, like a yawn).

What is Voluntary Pandiculation?

Voluntary Pandiculation is a wholly unique technique, based on the tendency of all animals to pandiculate, that was developed by Thomas Hanna (and later named by Eleanor Criswell) for Hanna's groundbreaking work with humans known as Hanna Somatic Education® (sometimes called Clinical Somatic Education). In 1995, Eleanor Criswell began applying the principles of Hanna Somatics to horses when she created Equine Hanna Somatics.

Doing voluntary pandiculation exercises is what sets Hanna Somatics, Equine and Canine Hanna Somatics and Somatic Yoga apart from all other modalities or methods of somatic education. Voluntary Pandiculation, used strategically to target the most contracted and dysfunctional muscles first, is also the technique that creates such an incredibly high rate of success and the long-term lasting changes that are everyday occurrences with a Hanna Somatic Education® (or Equine Hanna Somatics) practices.

Here's the takeaway:

Somatic Exercises will NOT be as effective or long-lasting as they can be if the practitioner is doing the exercises TO the horse, even if they are being gentle, if the horse is allowing the work, giving good feedback or 'releases' or looks like they are enjoying it.

Here's WHY:

While doing Hanna Somatics, (with any species) we actively avoid stretching, because triggering the stretch reflex interferes with our goal of allowing the muscles to lengthen intrinsically, which is THE essential ingredient to causing the return to normal neutral resting myofascial tonus – aka ditching the learned chronic tension in both the muscles and the fascia, for good!

Is Stretching bad for Horses?

There is very little evidence about the efficacy or benefits of stretching horses to improve comfort, symmetry or range-of-motion (Bergh et al. 2022). In fact, using baited dynamic mobilisation exercises (aka "carrot stretches") has been shown to decrease spinal mobility and ROM while increasing hypertonicity in superficial muscles (Walker et al. 2025). And yet, many vets and physiotherapists, bodyworkers and professional trainers both perform and recommend them daily to their clients!

Most Hanna Somatic Educators would never say that “stretching is bad” or that you should never do it… In fact, a little mechanical stretching can be helpful in loosening up stiff fascia and improving our body awareness by sending extra sensory feedback to the brain.

BUT we do often find ourselves needing to educate our clients and interested folks about the stretch reflex, and WHY we actively avoid stretching while guiding horses through the Voluntary Pandiculation exercises taught in EHS.

So no, stretching isn't "bad," but perhaps it's time to consider trying something else that may work better, faster, and that can safely offer the long-lasting results you want?

You decide.

RESOURCES

Bergh, A., Asplund, K., Lund, I., Boström, A., & Hyytiäinen, H. (2022). A Systematic Review of Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine in Sport and Companion Animals: Soft Tissue Mobilization. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 12(11), 1440. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12111440

Criswell, E. & Mayer, A. (2006-2025) Equine Hanna Somatics® Professional Training Program Manual

Walker, V., MacKechnie-Guire, R., Leedham, C., Tabor, G., Deckers, I., Paddison, J. et al. (2025) Effects of a 6-week dynamic mobilisation exercise program on thoracolumbosacral kinematics in sports horses. Equine Veterinary Education, 00, 1–16. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.70013

This, like all of my content, is my original work and has been conceived, written and edited 100% without AI, in case you were wondering. 💖