🐴✨ Your Fitness Shapes Your Horse’s Body (Yep, Seriously)

Let’s be honest — when something feels off in our horse’s performance, our first thoughts usually go to:

👉 “Is their saddle okay?”

👉 “Are they sore?”

👉 “Do I need to adjust their training or call the vet?”

And those are great questions. But here’s one we don’t ask nearly enough:

👉 “What role is my body playing in this?”

Yep. Your fitness — what you do off the horse — can have a surprisingly big impact on how your horse moves, develops muscle, and even stays sound.

I know, it’s way more fun to ride than to plank, but stick with me. This is kind of fascinating.

🧍‍♀️ Your Position Becomes Your Horse’s Posture

Here’s the thing: every time we sit in the saddle, we’re adding weight, movement, and subtle forces to our horse’s back.

If you’re sitting balanced and centered? Awesome. Your horse can lift through their topline, swing through their back, and use their body evenly.If you’re a little crooked, collapsing to one side, or shifting around? Your horse has to compensate to keep both of you upright.

And they will. Horses are masters at adapting to us — sometimes too good at it.

Over time, those small compensations can show up as uneven muscle development, sore spots, or altered movement patterns.Think of yourself like a backpack: a well-balanced backpack is easy to carry. A lopsided, wiggly one? Exhausting. Your horse feels that difference every single ride.

🏋️‍♀️ A Stronger You = A Freer Horse

When you’re stronger and more balanced, you can follow your horse’s movement more quietly. You’re not bouncing, gripping, or collapsing — you’re just… there, stable, moving in harmony.

And when you ride like that, magical things happen for your horse’s body:

• They don’t have to brace their back to support you

• Their muscles develop more evenly left-to-right

• They can lift and round through their topline more comfortably

• Your aids get clearer and more consistent

📚 In fact, one study found that after just 8 weeks of core fitness training, riders were more symmetrical — and that improved how their horses used their backs at the sitting trot【Symes & Ellis 2009】. That’s wild. Your planks are basically topline training for your horse. 😄

✨ From Personal Experience…

I’ll be the first to admit — I’m not the most fit person out there. 😅But I’ve made it a priority to do 30 minutes of strength training, five times a week, and the difference it’s made in my riding is honestly huge.

When I’m consistent with my workouts, I feel so much more balanced in the saddle. My body stays with my horse instead of against them. I can communicate more clearly, more quietly, and with far less effort.

Those rides feel easy and beautiful — like a genuine conversation between me and my horse without much movement and only words of praise and laughter. Everything just flows.

And I see the same thing in my students, too. When they’re working on their fitness, their riding sharpens. Their horses go softer, stay more relaxed, and develop more evenly. When fitness falls off for a while, you can see it in their balance and timing pretty quickly.

It’s one of those things that sneaks up on you — until you’ve felt both sides, you don’t realize just how big a difference it makes.

🐎 When We’re Not Fit, Horses Pick Up the Slack

We’ve all had those rides where we’re tired, sore, or just a little off, and you can feel your horse doing extra work to keep things together.

An unbalanced or weak rider doesn’t just make their own job harder — they make the horse’s job harder, too. This can lead to:

• Uneven pressure points on the back

• Asymmetrical muscle development

• Tension through the topline and SI area

• More difficulty engaging the hind end

It’s not about being “perfect.” It’s about being aware that our bodies matter. The fitter and more stable we are, the less our horses have to “fix” for us.

💪 Your Horse Is an Athlete — So Are You

Your horse is a serious athlete. And whether you realize it or not, you’re part of the team.

A rider who’s fit, balanced, and stable gives their horse the best possible chance to move freely, stay sound, and build a strong, even body.

✨ Benefits your horse feels when you’re fit:

• Less bracing, more swingy movement

• More even muscle development

• Clearer communication

• Less soreness or stiffness

• Better overall performance and longevity

It’s honestly one of the kindest things you can do for your horse.

🧘‍♀️ You Don’t Need a Gym Membership

Here’s the best part: you don’t need to become a gym rat to make a difference.

Simple, consistent off-horse work goes a long way:

• Pilates or yoga a couple times a week for core and balance

• Stability ball work for posture

• Walking, cycling, or light cardio to boost stamina

• A few basic strength exercises like planks, squats, and lunges

Even 20 minutes a few times a week can make you a more stable, effective rider — and your horse will feel that difference right away.

🌟 The Bottom Line

👉 Your horse’s body mirrors how you ride.

👉 How you ride is shaped by your fitness.

When you take care of your strength, balance, and endurance, you’re not just helping yourself… you’re actively supporting your horse’s health and performance.

So yes, that quick yoga flow or strength session isn’t just “extra.” It’s part of your horse’s conditioning program. 💪🐴✨

📚 Sources

1. Persson, S. G. B., et al. “Heart rate and oxygen uptake in riding.” Equine Veterinary Journal (1983). PubMed

2. Symes, D., & Ellis, R. (2009). “A pilot study into the effect of a rider core fitness program on equine back kinematics at sitting trot.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior. ResearchGate

3. Peham, C. et al. (2001). “A comparison of forces acting on the horse’s back and the stability of the rider’s seat in different positions at the trot.” The Veterinary Journal, 163(1), 13–17. ScienceDirect

4. Meyners, E. (2010). Rider & Horse: Back to Back. Trafalgar Square.