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THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING YOUR HORSE CORRECTLY...
29 DEC 2025 | GRACIE EXLER
Spot the difference?
- Hollow back
- Raised head
- No hindlimb engagement
- Above the vertical
- Short stride
- Tension throughout body particularly in the neck.
vs
- Rounded over the back
- Lowered head
- Hindquarters engaged
- On the vertical
- Tracking up
- Longer stride length
- Looks looser in the body.
What if I told you that its not all about making the horse look pretty & presentable...
Ensuring your horse works correctly may be more important than you think and consistency will allow you to see improved performance, quality of life and the prevention/rehabilitation of injury. Many people get carried away thinking its all about making the horse look pretty, however, a false outline will be of no benefit to your horses musculoskeletal system, whereas, working in a true outline will help to strengthen muscles (specifically core musculature) and reduce muscle tension.
There's theory behind it all... I present to you the bow & string theory! This theory has been around since 1798 and explains how the back and core muscles work together. The 'bow' is the horses back which should be rounded (in flexion) meanwhile the 'string' is the core musculature which should be engaged..
By encouraging this type of work you are strengthening the body as a whole. This does take time as the horse has to gradually build up its strength, however, it will massively benefit ridden work in the long run with results not only seen in flatwork but in jumping too. There is also scientific evidence to show the effects of working in this way including the distance between each dorsal spinous processes (vertebrae) within the back. For example, working your horse using the bow & string effect can help prevent/reduce the effects of kissing spine by improving spinal posture (even at rest!) which reduces the amount of time your horse spends with a hollow back causing dorsal spinous processes to get closer and closer together.
So how can you achieve this with your horse?
As previously mentioned, it takes time and consistency to build up the strength. Depending on your horses current core musculature strength will depend on how long the horse will be able to adopt this position for. One thing that I never skip in my warm up is allowing the horse to stretch long and low, this allows the horse to stretch over its back allowing muscles to become elongated as well as start to activate the core musculature prior to more intense work. That's is always a good starting point as your not asking the horse to adopt the position for the whole ride but instead encouraging it when working them more intensely. You can include pole work exercises in your ride and dont forget to get creative with this! Pole work has shown to increase the muscle activity in both the main back (longissimus dorsi) and core abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis) which overtime increases the overall strength of this area. Furthermore, on the ground you can perform dynamic mobilisation exercises which are your carrot stretches... chin to chest, chin to floor etc.
REFERENCES
Turner, T., (2011) 'Overriding spinous processes ("kissing spines") in horses: diagnosis, treatment, and outcome in 212 cases.'Available at: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/
Tabor, G., (2022) 'Veterinary physiotherapy for back pain in the horse' UK-Vet Equine, 21(1). Available at: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.5555/20123295117
Pilati, N., Pressanto, M.C., Piccionello, A.P., Angelis Corvi, F., Beccati, F., (2025) 'Impinging and overriding spinous processes in horses: A narrative review', Animals, 15(18). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15182679
Shakeshaft, A., Tabor, G., (2020) 'The effect of a physiotherapy intervention on thoracolumbar posture in horses', Animals, 10(11). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10111977
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