I watched a before and after video from a horseperson I have a lot of respect for, showing a horses improvement in counter shoulder in over 4 weeks. In the before, the horse looked drunk and stuttering, uneven on each rein. In the after, smoother, more stable and rythymic.
This brought up a bit of a Devils Advocate question for me - does a horse getting better at something like, for example, counter shoulder in, actually show a strengthening of the horse, or just them gaining familarity the the weird new motion?
This is a devils advocate question because I do reckon the specific horse in the specific videos I watched was much stronger, stable and more balanced in the after videos. But I could imagine other situations where a very healthy and well horse looked like a real dork trying to figure out a particular movement - not because they needed strength and stability as much as because they didnt know wtf was going on.
For example, I'm perfectly healthy but if I was asked to do a waltz I'd look a bit tipsy. It wouldn't mean there was anything wrong with me - it would just be a reflection of the fact I dont know how to waltz. Give me a couple tries though, I'd integrate the movement pathways and I'd be much more sure and even in my steps.
I suppose I'm musing around a bigger question -
When we start working horses inhand for functional health reasons, How do we know we are making horses stronger and more stable and balanced IN GENERAL, in a way they can access in other movements as well and at liberty in the paddock, rather than just teaching them how to do THIS PARTICULAR MOVEMENT in a way that isnt actually very helpful to their general life?
Possible answers that occur to me - I suppose I can look at the horse in other movements and in the paddock and decide if they are improving or not - I can palpate the horse in a bodywork session and decide if they are improving or not - I can also look at timelines - if its a confusion/unfamilarity/body mapping problem, I would imagine the horse would get better over a couple of sessions with a competent handler. If its a physical issue, it would be more likely to improve over weeks and months.
I suspect there are other answers as well I have not thought of.