Rock and Roll
It feels sooo good

 Horses roll for different reasons:  for pleasure and relaxation, for grooming and self maintenance, and to relieve pain or discomfort.  With adequate time and space, they will roll several times a day

Rolling plays an important role in horse health.  When he rolls, a horse stretches most of the muscles in his body.  Rolling helps to maintain flexibility and muscle strength. Equine chiropractors say that rolling is a way for a horse to naturally put back bones that may have popped out of place.  They have noticed that when horses have freedom to roll, they often have less chiropractic problems.

The friction of rolling soothes a horse’s skin while rubbing off loose particles and fluffing hair.  Horses often roll just after the tack comes off.  This eases the irritation of drying sweat, and it also acts as an extra layer of protection against biting insects attracted by the sweat.

Horses in a herd usually share the same spot for rolling and return to the same spot to roll every time.  When you see a horse blowing the ground with his nose, he’s checking that the spot is free of small debris and there is an adequate amount of loose dirt for comfort.  Horses will often paw the ground before rolling, in order to fluff up the earth they’re about to plop down on.

The way a horse rolls is one indicator of its health.  A healthy horse with a good strong back will vigorously roll from one side to the other without standing up.  Often he will then go for a good run and throw in a few bucks for good measure.  Horses with high withers will lie down, vigorously roll on one side, get up, and then drop down and roll on the other.  This is because their confirmation does not allow them to roll completely over.

An unhealthy horse, or one with back or hip problems, may roll on one side, then get up and walk away.  Some horses refuse to roll at all—a pretty good sign that something is up with back soreness or some other physical problem.

One last note about rolling:  the time a horse likes to roll most is right after you’ve spent an hour shampooing, brushing and getting her looking real pretty.

 Based on a copyrighted article by Cheryl McNamee-Sutor at www.today’shorse.com