In the previous articles in this series, Horse & Hound has spoken to top trainers to find out how to improve rider balance while riding at home. But what horse rider strengthening exercises can you do off the horse?
Rider, coach and equine-specific personal trainer Christine Gay says that what happens off the horse impacts riding. “It’s important to have an awareness of our posture, strengths and weaknesses,” she says.
“However a rider walks, sits or stands will be reflected in their posture on a horse. So, if you have an asymmetry – for example, you drop through a hip – but only ever work on it when you’re riding, you’ll only see limited progression.”
Christine says balance and strength are interlinked, and cultivating strength and symmetry in the body means riding with appropriate levels of suppleness and resistance.
“You have the rider who’s tense, showing too much resistance, the rider who’s too supple and has no stability, and the toned rider who is supple enough to absorb the horse’s movement, but can at the same time resist it to stay stable in the saddle,” Christine explains.
“It’s about finding a balance between all three. You have to have strength to have tone, but you don’t want to go to the extreme of becoming tense.”
Many equestrians are pressed for time, although Christine says horse rider strengthening exercises can fit around equine and work commitments.
“We only ride for a limited time, so any extra time spent working on symmetry and strength is beneficial,” she adds. “In five minutes while the kettle boils or you’re waiting for the farrier, you can do something small to improve yourself.”
Horse rider strengthening exercises: before you begin
Christine explains that any physical exercise should be conducted with caution. She advises consulting your GP before engaging in any of these horse rider strengthening exercises if you:
- have a heart condition
- feel chest pains when exercising, or have had chest pain in the last month at rest
- experience dizziness
- have a bone or joint problem that may worsen as a result of exercise
- take medication for blood pressure or a heart condition
Exercise 1: Chair squat
How it helps: This exercise strengthens the quads and glutes, and engages the core. This helps increase lower body strength, which improves stability and balance.
Kit: a stable chair or stool
- Put both feet flat on the floor. You may need to shuffle forwards in the chair to achieve this.
- From this sitting position, clasp your hands together in front of you with elbows bent, engage your core to lift yourself out of the chair.
3. Once upright gently and slowly lower yourself back into your chair, keeping your arms clasped together, like you are searching for a chair that might not be there.
4. Repeat this 12 times for 3 sets, total of 36 times with 30 seconds rest in-between each set of 12.
Step it up: You can progress this onto a single leg version, have one foot flat on the floor and the other leg lifted off the floor by six inches, then repeat the steps keeping one leg lifted off the ground.
Doing this exercise on one leg works on balance as well as strength.
Repeat 10 times on each leg for up to 3 sets, resting in-between.
Exercise 2: Glute bridge
How it helps: This exercise strengthens the glutes, hamstrings and core to improve stability, hip mobility and lower back posture.
Kit: a yoga mat if you have one, otherwise a carpeted floor or a thick towel or rug
- Lie on your back on the floor and bend your knees, ensure you can just touch the back of your heels with your fingertips.
2. Ensuring both your shoulders are in contact with the floor, lift your bottom up to raise your hips as high as you can, driving through the heels of your feet
3. Lower yourself gently to the floor. You can progress this exercise, if stable in your body, to lifting your arms off the floor, pointing them up to the ceiling, palms facing each other.
4. Repeat 12 times for 3 sets with a rest in between.
Step it up: A further progression is a single-leg glute bridge. Lift one foot off the floor to approximately the height of the opposite knee. Keeping your lifted leg knee at a 45-degree angle, push your hips up into a glute bridge using only one leg.
Repeat 10 times on each leg for up to 3 sets, resting in between.
Exercise 3: Standing balance leg abduction
How this helps: This exercise mobilises and strengthens the hip abductors and stabilises the pelvis to improve balance, stability and coordination.
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- Starting in a standing position, ensure you are balanced equally over the corners of your feet with a neutral spine and core engaged.
- Lift one foot three to four inches off the ground.
- Once you feel balanced take your lifted leg out to the side, abducting it away from your body with your foot flexed. Only take your leg away as far as you can keep your upper body still, well controlled and balanced. You don’t want to tip to the side, forwards or backwards.
Wrong! Your body should not tip sideways or forwards during this exercise
Repeat 10 times on each leg for three sets, resting in between.
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