Surprisingly, I often find myself prescribing students more calisthenics exercises than gymnastic exercises to improve their horses’ overall fitness. The reason for this is that, without proper activation of postural muscles, the horse’s locomotion muscles are not able to play their role fully. Calisthenics target postural muscles, not movement muscles. But let’s get clear— what are calisthenics? I define them broadly as slow-moving exercises requiring fine motor control and precision of body alignment. Many re-hab and pre-hab maneuvers fall under this definition. The well known “carrot stretches” or walking over ground poles are examples.

Most riders have heard about the need for a good warm-up before schooling each day. But what makes a warm-up good? Is an active one better than a slow, relaxing one? How long—or short—should it be? This article will give you some simple tips to make your training sessions more successful, and your horse stronger day by day.

Students who ride primarily on trails often ask me what kinds of exercises they can do to benefit their horses. If they don’t plan to be in an arena any time soon, does that mean they can’t give their horses the gymnastic and core exercises that optimize their bodies and comfort? Luckily, no.