Blog Post - The Exercises I Recommend for (Almost) Every Horse
We all know that horses do a lot of work to carry the rider and perform their individual disciplines! But did you know that just like humans - horses can have poor technique, recruit incorrect muscle groups, fatigue, and have poor mobility and core strength?
Enter the Holy Grail of Horse Exercises!
These exercises are a combination of what the experts call “Dynamic Mobilisation Exercises” or DME’s, as well as core strength exercises. These exercises can be performed safely multiple times per week, and are really useful to help your horse to increase their mobility/flexibility, as well as training their postural and core muscles.
Above: A sequence of Dynamic Mobilisation Exercises (DME’s). Top Left: Neck Flexion to Knees, Top Right: Neck Flexion to Fetlocks, Bottom Left: Neck Lateral Bending to Girth, Bottom Right: Neck Lateral Bending to Stifle. Source: https://www.ukvetequine.com/content/clinical/physiotherapy-for-neck-pain-in-the-horse/
How and when do I do these exercises?
There are lots of videos online on how to perform these exercises with your horse. There are many different techniques used to “ask” for the required movement, but none are wrong - some work better certain horses/humans than others!
I generally recommend to clients that they take the longest possible route to the tie-ups, then have a really good groom to warm up the skin/fascia/increase bloodflow before doing these exercises.
I tend to recommend doing DME’s (Dynamic Mobilisation Exercises - shown above) AFTER the horse is ridden to ensure the neck and back musculature is thoroughly warm before attempting to mobilise these areas (we all know what it’s like trying to stretch first thing in the morning vs after exercise.)
I also do not ever recommend using carrots for DME’s (these are sometimes known as Carrot Stretches). The reason for this is that horses are likely to yank their head around, snatch the carrot, use incorrect muscle groups to activate the movement, and not hold the motion for long. Instead, I recommend using a handful of pellets/hay/chaff - as the horse has to maintain their position for longer to snuffle the food out of your hand, and they will be much less likely to snatch!
On the contrary, I tend to recommend for normal horses, that the core strengthening exercises are undertaken before every ride. I tend to recommend 3x reps per exercise with maximum hold. Horses that are weak will fatigue quickly (within a few seconds), and the duration for which they are able to hold the engagement will decrease with each repetition. See what your horse can do for their first rep - a 5 second hold is a great goal to work up to.
Image: Handler demonstrating a belly lift (core strengthening exercise) - note the rounding of the horse’s topline. Source: https://hoovesblog.com/tag/belly-lift/
What are the exceptions for who should do these exercises?
These exercises are absolutely safe and really beneficial in most horses. The exception to this rule is horses suffering from back pain, neck pain or sacropelvic issues (e.g. sacroiliac/lumbosacral disease).
While these issues are often helped by these exercises, these conditions should be investigated and treated by a veterinarian first - as horses that are in pain from these conditions are often unable to do these exercises without pain occurring - which can put the handler at risk of being kicked/struck/knocked in the face.
The lumbosacral rounding exercise should be performed with care even in normal horses - you are standing directly behind the horse and are in an extremely risky position.
I first assess horse’s postural/core strength with a belly lift, standing as far towards the front of the horse as possible (at the horse’s shoulder) in case the horse kicks out. If a horse is unable to perform a belly lift, I do not recommend the lumbosacral rounding exercise - as pain or disease is likely present, and handlers should not place themselves at risk of being injured!
Above: Lumbosacral/pelvic rounding exercise being demonstrated. Note the extremely risky handler position - do NOT perform this exercise in horses that are at risk of kicking. Source: https://horseswithhopeme.org/stretches/