The abdominal muscles are crucial for stabilising a horse’s pelvis, spine and back. Horses with poor core strength will struggle with movement and balance, making it difficult for them to achieve peak performance.
Functional anatomist and biomechanist, Gillian Higgins from Horses Inside Out, shares some of the best pole exercises to help strengthen these essential muscles in horses.
Exercise One – Raised Walk Poles
Place five trotting poles on the ground, spaced approximately 80cm to 1m apart, depending on the size of your horse. Raise alternate ends of the poles using a block. Walk over the poles on a loose rein with your leg off and allow the horse to take control. Progress to raising both ends of the three middle poles.
Points to remember: Sit up tall, look ahead and push your hands forward.
What Gillian says: "Halt a few strides before the poles to give the horse a chance to see what he needs to do, then slowly walk over them. Raised walking poles are especially effective for strengthening a horse’s core muscles, hoof-brain coordination, posture and back rotation."
Exercise Two – Canter Poles
Place three poles on the ground, spaced further apart than in the previous exercise, and raise both ends of each pole. Canter over the poles.
Points to remember: Ensure you maintain an active canter and keep your hands soft.
What Gillian says: "Cantering is the closest gait to a sit-up, as it engages both sides of the body at the same time. This makes canter work one of the easiest ways to enhance abdominal muscle tone. This exercise also helps develop thoracic sling and hindquarter strength, back flexibility, and lumbosacral mobility."
Exercise Three – Weaving Over a Long Line of Poles
Place five poles end to end on the ground, forming a long line. Ride alongside the poles, taking an odd number of steps before asking your horse to step sideways over a pole. Continue walking down the opposite side of the pole for the same number of steps before stepping back over the pole. Proceed down the length of the poles, starting with seven steps and gradually reducing to five, and then three.
Points to remember: Ensure the leg closest to the pole steps over first and maintain a steady rhythm.
What Gillian says: "It’s helpful for the rider to practise this exercise on foot first to understand the challenge and what’s being asked of the horse. This exercise is excellent for lateral stability, flexibility, proprioception, and core strength. It also helps develop harmony between horse and rider and improves awareness of where the horse’s legs are."
Exercise Four – Jumping Oxers on a Curving Line
Set up three oxers on a curving line and canter over them. To make the exercise more challenging, widen the fences.
Points to remember: Maintain a steady rhythm, sit quietly, look ahead to the next fence, and stay on your line.
What Gillian says: "Jumping three oxers in a row is more tiring for the horse than just a single fence, making him work harder. The focus of this exercise is not on height, but width – helping the horse to stretch over his back and elongate his frame as he moves over the oxers. It encourages him to bring his hind legs underneath and is another excellent exercise for strengthening the thoracic sling."
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