There has been a lot of discussion lately about how to build your horse’s topline.

To me, this really means,

How do I make my horse stronger?

When working with horses and riding and training, making your horse stronger is the whole name of the game.

• Stronger if you are jumping
• Stronger if you are working in dressage
• Stronger if you are endurance riding
• Stronger if you are pleasure riding.

Or

Stronger no matter what discipline you are in.

Sometimes we want to get our horse stronger because,

They have been out of work due to 

• Injury
• Vacation
• Laziness
• No program
• Not knowing what to do

Or sometimes it’s because

• Its a young horse

Either way, it takes time to make a horse stronger. I work with people who would like to progress with their horse and improve their riding and strengthen their horses.

And

We can help.

Imagine taking your horse and having it be strong enough to do all the work you would like it to do. 

There is no shortcut to getting a stronger horse, or better topline.

Kind of like a person being able to run a triathlon. 

Think of those triathletes. I don’t know about you, but when I hear that someone has run a triathlon, no matter the size (from IronMan to mini) I am impressed.

Impressed that someone has put in the training to run, swim and bike their tushes off to complete these three tests. Because they don’t do these endeavours without some sort of training.

Think of your horse as one of those athletes.

And this will help you get that topline you would like to have.

First thing is, as always, check your horse’s:

• Health
• Saddle fit
• Management – feed, turnout, vet care schedule

How do you know?

Is your horse strong enough? How do you know? 

If you have ridden a young horse then you have felt the wormy over cooked spaghetti noodle wandering meanders of a “weak” baby. 

Basically if your horse is not tracking straight or unable to balance it could mean your horse needs some strengthening.

Also – they may have a preferred lead

Bump you off onto a preferred diagonal.

Or

Lean, fall in/out on a circle.

Exercises you can do

Raised Cavaletti

To me, this is one of the best 

And

Least used 

Exercises.

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Exercise 1

The set up

Set up poles or raised poles/cavaletti in a row 8 – 9 feet apart

You can use a distance that is easy and comfortable for your horse.

8 – 9 feet is used because it can be

• Walked
• Trotted
• Cantered through without resetting

If walking – the horse will take 3 walk steps

If trotting – the horse will take 2 trot steps

If cantering – the horse will bounce it

Remember, these are common “rule of thumb” distances and your horse, if it is smalle, or a pony, may need to use 7 – 8 feet

And

Likewise – if a bigger horse, you may have to adjust the distances to 9 ½ – 11 feet. 

Put the poles or cavaletti along the centre line or quarter line of your riding area. This means you can approach from both directions.

Walk, trot and canter through the poles.

When a horse goes through raised cavaletti they have to lower their head to raise their legs and this engages their abdominal muscles, which in turn helps to develop their topline.

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Exercise 2

The set up – same as Exercise 1.

Now the approach is different – approach at an angle.

This is good to help horses and riders develop proprioception – that’s just a fancy word for knowing where your limbs are. 

Horses (and riders) will have to look, think and move their limbs appropriately to lift their limbs over the poles.

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Exercise 3

The set up 

Set up poles on the ground or cavaletti on angles to the way of going (see diagram).

Along the traveled line the distance between poles should be 8 – 9 feet.

Having the poles angled will give the horse something to look at

And 

The angled poles will help the rider understand riding in the middle of the jumps/poles is important.

If the rider doesn’t ride in the middle the horse will take extra steps or fewer steps depending on which line they took.

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Exercise 4

The set up

Line poles end to end along the centre line or quarter line of your riding area.

Approach the pole parallel to the pole and make a shallow serpentine over the poles.
This change in bend in addition to lifting the legs makes the horse supple and stronger.

Start at a FORWARD walk (not the kind of walk that the horse would do out in the pasture going to the water trough- but a forward walk like they are going to be brought in for grain).

Things to watch out for:

• The horse is stepping diagonally across the poles. This is difficult. The horse will try to make their body straight.
• Lack of forward walk.
• Bending – the horse should be bending when not stepping over the poles and 
• Straight (on a diagonal) when stepping over the poles.

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Remember it takes time and effort to develop muscles in your horse.

Each time you do these exercises you are developing and strengthening the muscles your horse needs to be a better competitor and to be able to perform the movements you would like them to perform.

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Keep at it There are no short cuts and if you continue to use these exercises you will see a transformation in your horse’s topline and their strength.

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