1. Push: Push-Up

The goal of the push-up is to improve upper body strength, shoulder mobility, and posture. This exercise incorporates upper-body postural control with core strength while improving shoulder stability, which adds more confidence and better control with your horse when mounted.

Start on your hands and your knees with your hands positioned under your shoulders. To begin the exercise, assume a high plank position (or modify with knees on the floor). While keeping your body straight, lower your chest and hips down toward the floor as far as you can. Push up to the starting position and repeat.

This should feel like an upper-body workout of your shoulders, chest, and triceps. You should also feel your core, glutes and quads working to maintain a stable position.

Form Tips

• Keep your body in a straight line with your neck neutral.
• Engage your core muscles throughout the movement to stabilize and protect your lower back.
• Stay evenly balanced through both arms as you lower down and push up.

2. Level Change: Bodyweight Stationary Lunge

The goal of this exercise improves the strength, balance, and stability every equestrian needs for effective riding. The unilateral nature of lunges mirrors the independent leg actions required in the saddle, ensuring precise cues. Strong and stable legs aid in maintaining a centered seat, especially during intricate movements or dynamic transitions.

Start standing upright with your feet together, then step forward with one leg, keeping the other leg stationary. Lower your body until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Ensure your front knee is directly above your ankle, and the other knee hovers just above the ground. Pushing through your front heel, return to the starting position. Repeat.

You should feel all the muscles in your legs working, especially the quad muscles. Your front leg should be doing most of the lifting.

Form Tips

• Refrain from pushing from your back leg.
• Maintain your balance by engaging your core.

3. Pull: Single Leg & Arm Row

The goal of the row is to improve your balance, position and shoulder mobility for better posture in the saddle.

This exercise offers numerous benefits that enhance riding performance. Rows improve your posture and stability in the shoulder girdle by strengthening your upper back and shoulder muscles, both of which are important for maintaining balance with your horse. This exercise helps correct body asymmetry, helping create more balanced aids.

Begin in a standing position on one leg and hold the dumbbell in your opposite hand. From this position, hinge forward at the hips, reaching down with the weight. At the bottom of the hip-hinge position, perform a row motion by starting with your arm straight. Initiate the row motion and pull your shoulder blade back while bending your elbow toward your ribcage.

You will feel the muscles of your leg working, including your quads, hamstring, glutes, and foot muscles. When performing the row, you work your shoulder muscles and the muscles surrounding your shoulder blade.

Form Tips

• Perform a hip-hinge by pushing your hips back and shifting your torso forward.
• Don’t lock your knee straight; instead, keep a slight bend in it.

4. Rotation: T-Roll

The T-roll is a fantastic exercise that combines elements of strength, balance, and mobility, all of which are important for riders.

This exercise strengthens your core, which is crucial for maintaining a stable seat and effective aids in the saddle. The rotational component also improves your shoulder stability and overall body awareness and control. These are factors that can contribute to better self-carriage and communication with your horse.

This exercise also engages your shoulder and back muscles, which promote better posture and upper-body strength for more effective rein control and pressure.

Begin in a high plank position, with your hands underneath your shoulders and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.

Engage your core and shift your weight onto one hand. Lift the opposite hand off the ground and rotate your torso, extending your arm toward the ceiling to make a “T.” Hold this position briefly before returning to the starting plank position. Repeat the movement on the other side, rotating and extending.

You’ll feel your core muscles engaging for stability. Your shoulder and arm muscles are stabilizing when holding the plank and during the rotation. Your obliques engage during the twisting motion, and your back muscles contribute to maintaining the “T” posture.

Form Tips

• Keep your body in a straight line when in the plank position; avoid letting your hips sag or lifting them too high.
• Maintain a strong, engaged core throughout the entire movement to stabilize your spine.
• Keep your weight-bearing arm straight (but not locked) to support your body during rotation.
• Choose a controlled, deliberate pace for the exercise to ensure proper form and maximum benefits.
• If balance is a challenge, you can widen your foot stance in the plank position for more stability.

5. Locomotion: Anterior Reach

The goal of the anterior reach exercise is to improve single leg stability, proprioception (sense of body position) and balance.

This is an effective single-leg exercise that engages your core, improves balance, and promotes functional mobility, all of which are crucial for maintaining a steady seat and effective aids when riding. By strengthening your lower body, this exercise will help improve your stability in the saddle, a fundamental component of good horsemanship.

Start by standing straight with your feet hip-width apart. Choose a leg to extend. Keep your toes lifted and foot flexed. While extending this leg, push your hips back and slightly bend the knee of your standing leg, keeping a flat back and an engaged core.

Gradually lower your torso, reaching your back leg parallel to the ground. Hold this position for a second, then return to a starting position. Repeat the same motion with the other leg.

This primarily engages your core and lower body, specifically the hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, and calf muscles. It also engages the stabilizing muscles of the foot and ankle.

Form Tips

• Keep a neutral spine and engage your core.
• Perform the exercise with slow, controlled movements to make it more effective.
• Focus on maintaining balance and form, not how far you can reach.
• If balance is a challenge, do this exercise near a wall or a stable object for light support.
• Begin with a smaller range of motion and gradually increase as your strength and balance improve.

More From Ifa Simmonds

• Core Strength for Equestrians
• Barn Banter – Episode 16, featuring Ifa Simmonds

Get more info on Ifa Simmond’s Equestrian Fitness Academy website, or message him to set up a clinic, workshop, or live training session.

This article about functional exercises for riding appeared in the September 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post 5 Functional Exercises to Improve Your Riding appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Human Anatomy

Contrary to popular belief, the core isn’t just your abdominal muscles, or “abs.” Your core is a complex system of muscles that spans your torso and hips; these work together to provide stability and facilitate movement.

Your core is essentially your base of riding. It offers the stability required to free and control limb movement, which is crucial for everyone.

The following are some of the significant muscles within this system.

◆ Diaphragm: Assists in proper breathing and the uppermost part of the core.

◆ Rectus abdominis: Commonly known as the “six-pack-ab” muscle, it helps in upper body flexion.

◆ Obliques: These muscles on the sides allow trunk rotation and side flexion.

◆ Quadratus lumborum: Deep core muscle that aids in spine extension and lateral control.

◆ Transverse abdominal: The deepest and very important muscle that supports and compresses the abdominal organs.

◆ Multifidus: Provides spinal stability during movements.

◆ Erector spinae: Extends the trunk and assists in lateral flexion.

◆ Pelvic floor muscles: Main support of the pelvic organs and the lowest part of the core trunk area.

Prioritize Core Strength

Riders need a stable and balanced core even more than most other sports. Imagine trying to direct and guide a horse without a firm base: Regardless of how strong your limbs are, without a sturdy core, it’s challenging to consistently improve riding performance.

Envision trying to take a jump without proper core stability. Despite having great balance, you won’t have the self-carriage to collect yourself and the horse effectively.

Moreover, a strong and supple core sets the foundation for balance—a vital aspect for all riders. A weaker core often leads to poor balance and reaction time, increasing risks of falls and mishaps while riding.

Strengthen Your Core

When most people think of core strengthening, traditional exercises like crunches, planks, and sit-ups most likely come to mind. Instead, try focusing on stability; you don’t necessarily need intense ab workouts. Simple exercises focusing on core stability will do wonders.

To begin learning proper breathing and core engagement, try the exercise below.

Diaphragm Breathing

Start by lying on your back. Concentrate on breathing through your nostrils while naturally expanding your stomach. Inhale, lift; exhale, lower. This is the first step to proper breathing for success on the trail, around a jump course, or in the arena.

As you engage your core properly with this first breathing exercise, you can introduce more challenging movements with more complex exercises, such as supine tabletop crunches, foot taps, deadbugs, turtle, and more.

The Turtle Exercise

The turtle exercise places emphasis on core stability and balance, both of which are fundamental for riders. A strong core helps you maintain an upright posture in the saddle while absorbing the horse’s movements, improving the effectiveness of your aids.

How To: Lie on a mat on your back. Extend your arms overhead. Lift your legs about 6 to 12 inches off the ground. The aim is to balance on your lower back with your shoulders slightly off the ground. Hold this position for the desired timeframe.

Muscles Activated: The primary muscles targeted are the rectus abdominis, obliques, and lower back. This position also requires engagement from the hip flexors and adds an extra challenge to the core muscles.

Common Missteps in Core Workouts

Equestrians, eager to strengthen their core, often make mistakes like rushing through exercises instead of taking the time to learn and perfect their form.

A strong core not only enhances your riding—it can also reduce unnecessary injuries. However, it’s crucial to work on all core muscles, not just the abs.

Your core is the foundation of your riding. A stable and strong core ensures a better-balanced, stronger rider, ready for any unexpected challenges in the saddle.

Further Reading
◆ Developing Core Stability for Horse and Rider
◆ Fit Rider: Get a Stronger Core
◆ Fit Rider: Yoga Poses for Core Strength
◆ Fit Rider: The Core of the Matter
◆ Fit Rider: Core Exercises for Equestrians

This article about core strength for equestrians appeared in the August 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Core Strength for Equestrians appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Modifications can be applied to make the poses more or less challenging. With the vast number of postures, if one doesn’t work for you, there’s likely another with similar benefits that will.

The physical postures have great value to equestrians when riding. Staying in shape also comes into play when working around the barn raking, shoveling, and lifting hay bales. It’s important to include postures that work on the following three physical traits: flexibility, strength, and balance.

Here are a few of my favorite yoga postures for equestrians.

Flexibility: Standing Forward Bend

Flexibility is an important component of equestrian fitness. Swinging a leg up and over a saddle requires flexibility. Having a flexible body also helps keep stiffness and soreness at bay. Additionally, if an unfavorable dismount were to occur, the flexible body typically sustains less injury.

There are lots of great yoga postures to improve flexibility, but I feel the most beneficial one is Standing Forward Bend. Not only do the legs get a great stretch, but so does the lower back. Also, inversions increase healthy blood flow to the head, brain, and thyroid. This pose is much more attainable than headstands, yet still garners the inversion benefits.

How-To:

◆ Stand with feet hip-width apart. Inhale and raise your arms overhead; with a flat back, exhale and swan dive forward, placing your hands on your shins, feet, or the floor, depending upon your level of flexibility.

◆ Drop your head so as not to create neck strain.

◆ Keep your knees relatively straight but not locked. You’ll want to feel some stretch on the backs of your legs.

◆ Hold the pose for five breaths or to your comfort level. If you feel there’s too much blood flow to the head, slowly come out of the stretch. 

◆ To exit, roll up slowly, stacking the vertebra, or take a reverse swan dive up.

◆ When finished, pause for a moment with hands in prayer position at the heart center; observe the blood flow redistributing, and allow the goodness of the posture to soak in.

◆ Standing Forward Bend can also be used as an entry point to other poses such as Plank, Lunges, Downward Dog, and Chair Pose.

Strength: Standing Goddess Pose

Physical strength is necessary as an equestrian, whether it’s being able to mount up easier, posting, or lifting a saddle.

There are many strengthening postures such as Chair Pose, Planks, and Warrior variations, but one of my favorites for riders is Standing Goddess Pose, which focuses on legs, inner thighs, quadriceps, and buttocks.

How-To:

◆ Stand with your feet wide apart and turn your toes out slightly; to avoid knee strain, your big toe should never be turned out past the knee.

◆ Begin with hands on your hips, then bend both knees equally, sinking your tailbone toward the floor.

◆ Don’t lean forward; the crown of your head should point toward the sky.

◆ After bending your knees, different arm variations can be added. Try prayer position in front of your chest (when palms are pressed together—this engages the pectoral/chest muscles). Bringing your arms overhead at shoulder width apart is another option.

◆ Hold the posture for five deep breaths, perhaps working up to a longer hold time as your strength increases. Three sets are recommended, taking short breaks between.

Balance: Tree Pose

Improve balance and focus both in and out of the saddle through balancing postures.

There’s an array of balancing yoga postures, but one of the most basic, yet effective, is Tree Pose, which can include variations to add challenge if the basic version is too easy. On the flip side, there are modifications to make Tree Pose simpler if you’re challenged by balancing poses.

Even though balance poses may not look like strengthening postures, many tiny muscles work to hold a balanced position. As muscles build, balance improves; work from where you are and enjoy the incremental improvements you’ll see from regular practice.

Mental focus also comes into play when mastering balance and is a means to developing concentration, which is helpful in horsemanship.

How-To:

◆ Begin with both feet solidly on the floor, with your weight placed symmetrically.

◆ Gently fix your gaze on something stationary ahead of you; hold your gaze there without wavering, regardless of what’s going on around you. In yoga, we call this focused intention, or drishti.

◆ Soften your standing knee; don’t bend it, but don’t lock it either.

◆ Shift your belly button over one foot, which equates to moving your center.

The following are foot placement options (based on your level of balance) for the leg that will be moving on to the standing leg:

◆ Keeping a big toe on the floor makes the pose easier. You can work up to placing your foot higher on the standing leg: ankle, knee, thigh, or crossed. The higher the placement, the harder the posture becomes.

◆ If challenged by Tree Pose, there’s no harm in using a wall, chair back, or windowsill to lightly place a hand if you feel wobbly.

◆ Hands are traditionally placed in front of the chest in a prayer position. For variety, arms could be extended upward or out to the sides.

◆ Keeping your arms in a stationary position is easiest, but to add more challenge, moving them while in Tree can be another option.

◆ If Tree Pose is too easy, try it with your eyes closed, which adds another dimension of difficulty.

Key Takeaway

Keep your yoga and fitness regimen interesting and doable. As you’ll see from some of these photos, practice can be done on the mat, on the trail, or in the ring! Consider committing to a regular practice and glean the many benefits you’ll notice in your riding and your overall physical and mental fitness.

Further Reading
◆ Groundwork for the Human
◆ Similarities Between Yoga and Horsemanship
◆ Your Equestrian Wellness & Fitness Journey

This article about yoga postures for equestrians appeared in the July 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Yoga Postures for Equestrians appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Because so much time, energy, and money is invested into these creatures we love, frustration may creep in when the reality of other life responsibilities interferes. It’s important not to internalize these restraints and allow them to make you feel discouraged. Instead, you must recognize and include them as part of your goal setting in order to make your goals more attainable from the start.

Get Started with Goal Setting by Gaining Perspective

A helpful exercise that I use for horse owners and riders is to ask them to write down all the important sections of their life. Examples might be work, family, relationship, other pets, hobbies/sports outside of riding, et cetera. Oftentimes when you see how many things are on the page, you realize that there are quite a few people, animals, and other commitments vying for your attention.

This is a great way to put it all in perspective. When you’re at the barn, nailing those flying changes may feel like all that matters, but no matter how much you love riding, it’s just one piece of your much larger existence.

Most things in life end up needing to be a compromise. You may want to participate in all of the shows on the local circuit, purchase a competitive horse for the division or class you want to show in, master the sitting trot, or ride the perfect pattern, but all of those things require an investment of some kind. You must be honest with yourself about what resources you have available.

This situation also becomes difficult for the professionals guiding your equestrian journey. We never want to tell anyone they can’t do something; good trainers will build you up and encourage you every step of the way. But it’s also our job to manage expectations when a client mentions goals that we know to be outside of their scope of resources.

Setting Goals for Ownership and Showing

Goals can be set in any sector of equestrian sport. A common one is horse ownership. Other than buying a horse, there are many options available, including leasing, half-leasing, care leases, or riding school horses.

Just as horse ownership causes you to compromise by allocating resources (i.e. time and money), choosing one of the other options may take less resources, but requires compromise on how many times you ride per week, how high you jump, what movements you school, et cetera. However, all of the above options will help you continue to grow as a rider.

Other common goals center around showing. Rated horse shows can be extremely costly, plus paying your trainer and your own travel expenses.

I find the best way to get the most out of show season isn’t to only commit to one show at a time, but rather to present your trainer with a show budget for the year that is reasonable to you.

From there, the two of you can brainstorm and put together a calendar of shows that fit your schedule, finances, and goals. This way you can also plan to use those shows to build to some sort of “peak.”

For example, if you can afford six shows for the year, your trainer may decide it would be better to do a cluster of three in the spring and three in the fall so that you get into a rhythm rather than just showing once every other month.

It’s also important to mention that not every rider enjoys showing, and that is totally fine. No one should ever make you feel “less than” for that.

Setting Smaller Goals as an Equestrian

The secret to equestrian goal setting is to use the time you have in the saddle to work on the basics that need brushing up. Rather than having a grandiose goal such as “I want to show in X class,” break down what would be needed to be successful in that class: A better sense of canter rhythm, tighter turns, cleaner lead changes—whatever it is, all of these things are achievable with basic exercises that can be done both inside and outside of a lesson.

Dedicating even 15 minutes of each ride to improving the basics you have targeted will result in reaching the next level. As your foundation builds and your basics and communication with your horse improve, more and more doors will open.

From a sports psychology standpoint, achieving lots of smaller goals on the way to the larger goal will make the journey much more rewarding!

Potential and Comparison

Another common occurrence when setting goals is feeling “I’m not using my horse to his full potential.”  The horse has no idea if he was born with fantastic bloodlines, perfect conformation, or great aptitude for a certain discipline. The only thing he knows is whether he has food, water and shelter, and whether his handlers treat him kindly or roughly.

Your horse doesn’t understand the significance of Finals or the World Show, the difficulty level of the exercise at home or class at the show, the color of a ribbon, nor the concept of what could be. Equines are very lucky to live in the now, and we humans could learn a thing or two!

Where do we as humans get these ideas of what we should be doing? Usually by looking around and comparing ourselves to friends, barn mates, and social media influencers. What they say about social media is true, though: people tend to only post the good.

This is also the case for what people tend to allow others to see in real life. Generally, only a person’s immediate family and closest friends will know about all of their fears, struggles, and hard work. The rest of the world tends to only see the very biggest failures and triumphs, and even those fade from the collective memory of society very quickly.

Social media just happens to be a place where all the happy and colorful win photos are curated and posted, whether you as a viewer have had the best day or the worst day. However, what you don’t know is what the other person gave up to be at the show, to buy the horse, or to finally be able to execute that upper-level movement.

The person posting could have sold their car, missed important family events, cried driving home from the barn for six months after tough lessons, or endured injuries and layups for their horse. Just because those parts of the journey are kept quiet doesn’t mean we don’t all go through them.

Key Takeaway

Overall, as an equestrian, it’s crucial to set goals that fit into the big picture of your life. Riding is supposed to be fun, and our relationship with horses should bring joy. If the time we have at the barn is spent stressing or rushing, then something needs to be adjusted. Throughout all of it, take comfort from your horsey friends and your trainer to help guide you through this balancing act that is the equestrian experience.

This article about equestrian goal setting appeared in the January/February 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Equestrian Goal Setting appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

You start every winter with the best of intentions. This year, I’m going to keep riding all winter, no matter how bad the weather gets!

You’re a tough equestrian, right? You’re not going to let a little snow (wind/sleet/ice) stop you from spending time in the saddle.

But then deep winter sets in, and you struggle to simply keep up with the regular daily barn chores, along with the myriad of winter-centric tasks (shoveling, de-icing, shoveling, then some more shoveling). Throw in some winter weather advisories and what seems like two hours of daylight per day, and it’s no wonder that you ultimately decide that spending some downtime indoors sounds like a pretty good idea.

Winter downtime is one thing, but you also don’t want to go stir crazy. And horses are your thing—you want to learn, grow, explore—without freezing for hours on end outdoors.

The good news is there’s so much more to the equestrian lifestyle than time in the saddle, and winter is a great time to invest your energy into activities that will make a positive impact on your involvement with horses.

The following are a few ideas to get you started.

Read Horse-Related Books

We always tell ourselves we’re going to make time to read … and then we don’t.

This winter, make it happen. Set aside some of your downtime to explore an assortment of horse-related books, both fiction and nonfiction. Revisit childhood favorites and enjoy them with a new perspective. Explore new subjects that interest you—maybe training young horses, equine nutrition, or the history of your favorite breed.

Check out vintage horse books. Try some biographies of pillars of the industry. Read old breed association yearbooks. Catch up on your pile of magazines.

You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll have the satisfaction of making a dent in your TBR (to be read) pile. If you don’t have a TBR pile, get in the habit of keeping a list during the fair-weather months on your phone’s notepad app. When a book strikes your fancy but you don’t have time to read it, just jot down the title.

Explore New Skills

Quiet winter weekends are a great time to explore new skills. Have you always loved taking photos but wish you understood the nuances of equine photography? Do you wish your horse show videos weren’t so shaky and choppy? Maybe you daydream about creating beautiful artwork or sculptures of your horse.

Daydreaming is great, but you can take action by pursuing your ambitions: sign up for some art or photography classes, find a mentor who can give you some guidance, and practice, practice, practice! You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can make progress when you carve out regular time to pursue your passions.

Learn More About Your Horse

You love your horse and all of his endearing habits and mannerisms—but this winter, why not learn as much as you can about him?

Start with his pedigree, if available, and begin researching his ancestors. Look for photos, gather info, and find out more about your horse’s background.

Learn the basics of equine coat color genetics and discover how your horse came to be the color he is, as well as how and why he inherited his white markings (or lack thereof).

You can also explore breed registry resources to learn all you can about the history of your horse’s breed, or send off a DNA test if your horse’s ancestry is unknown.

Study for Certification

Do you have long-held ambitions that you’ve always wanted to pursue? Winter is the perfect time to take the first steps.

Check out educational courses and programs, then find out what it takes to become certified in the field you’re interested in, whether it’s judging, training, instructing, horsemanship, equine appraisal, massage, or another related area.

Fulfilling all of the requirements for certification can take a long time (in some cases years), but you can take advantage of the winter months to get the ball rolling. The time will pass either way, so you might as well be making progress toward your goal!

Stay in Shape

When it’s cold, chances are you’re craving comfort foods. Of course, comfort foods get most of their comfort from the gazillion calories they contain. And when you combine that with decreased activity levels during the winter, the result leaves you in something less than tip-top physical shape.

But it doesn’t have to be that way—staying in shape during the winter not only feels great, but it also gives you an advantage when the weather improves and you can get back in the saddle on a regular basis.

Your specific method of staying in shape will depend on your individual circumstances, but might include walking, swimming, yoga, visits to the gym, et cetera.

Make Plans for Warmer Months

There’s no better time to make plans than during the winter. Evaluate the upcoming year and begin to set goals and plans.

Which horse shows will you attend? Can you pencil in some weekends for trail rides? Add in dates of clinics, horse expos, breed association meetings, and local club events so it’s all on the calendar from the start of the year.

Then determine the training goals you want to accomplish with your horse this year. What farm improvements would you like to make? Are there any important purchases you need to consider this year? Start tackling the logistics now, while things are quieter and less chaotic than in the summer.

Get Organized

Wintertime is the ideal season to work on getting organized. Who wants to deep-clean a tack trunk in the middle of a crazy show season? Or sort a box with 43 nylon halters when it’s 98 degrees?

Use the quiet time and the cooler working conditions to make some cleaning headway in your tack collection, show clothes, and trailer. You can get organized slowly, at your own pace, without the rush-rush-rush of the summer schedule on your mind.

Set a Budget

Just kidding. Budgets are for New Year’s resolutions!

Tackle Repairs & DIY Projects

Feeling handy? It’s time to work on some of those long-overdue repair projects you’ve been avoiding.

From little things like repairing tack, fixing buttons on shirts, and replacing laces in paddock boots—all the way up to bigger DIY projects like repainting jump standards, building window boxes, replacing the flooring in the bathroom at the barn—you can tackle these projects during the winter months and feel relaxed and ready to roll when spring arrives.

Go Horse Shopping

Buying a new horse is a surefire way to have fun this winter and make the most of the seasonal downtime, right? Of course, even if you’re not in the market for a new horse, it never hurts to browse some listings or watch a few YouTube videos of horses for sale.

Window shopping can be almost as much fun as actual shopping, plus it’s a lot less expensive.

Get Crafty

Why not put your crafting skills to good use? Maybe you’ve always wanted to make a ribbon quilt with your keepsake show ribbons.

Or maybe you love to crochet—why not start making crocheted ponies for the kids in your life or to give as prizes at next summer’s horse shows?

Volunteer Your Time

Breed associations and local horse clubs are almost always in need of volunteers to help with events, to serve on committees, and to handle the details of various programs. Your assistance will be gratefully received, and you’ll have the satisfaction of being a vital asset to these organizations.

Perks of Trying Winter Equestrian Activities

After you’ve put the winter months to good use, you’ll be more than ready to greet the coming spring from the vantage point of the saddle. But you’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that you put your time to good use even on the coldest, windiest, and snowiest of winter days.

This article about winter equestrian activities with less time for riding appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Winter Equestrian Activities: How to Spend Your Time with Less Riding appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

For many equestrians, winter means a change in routine. Bitter cold winds, freezing hands, thick mud, and icy roads can have the potential to make riding dangerous, inaccessible, or just downright miserable. Even those who live in more favorable climates may find the dwindling daylight cramping their riding schedule.

And saddle time is often replaced with extra-grueling barn chores. Aside from making sure our fur babies are taken care of, it may be tempting to put all unnecessary movement aside and curl up under a thick blanket and wait for spring to come. But neglecting winter fitness could mean increasing your chances of injury and setting you back on your riding goals come spring.

What is Injury?

In the equestrian world, the word “injury” may conjure up frightening images of fractures and concussions, but small muscle strains are also a type of injury. These tears are sometimes caused when too much force is exerted on a weak muscle after a long period of inactivity.

These sorts of injuries can affect even those who are committed to a regular fitness routine. It can feel like a sudden pain in your back after bending the wrong way or reaching up too high.

Particularly in cold temperatures, blood tends to leave the extremities to keep the core temperature regulated, decreasing the pliability of ligaments and increasing the chance of a tear. These injuries can also pop up when the weather warms again if we’ve been inactive and our muscles have become weak.

The good news is that these imbalances can be avoided with a bit of body awareness and a few changes to your routine. If you apply these guidelines to your day, whether at home or at the barn, you will achieve a more balanced musculature and decrease chances of injury during the colder months.

Equestrian Winter Fitness Tip 1: Always Warm-Up

Just as it’s important to warm your horse up prior to any exercise, warming your own body up before activity helps avoid injury.

While “warming up” is a bit of a misnomer since your internal temperature is already warm, doing gentle cardiovascular activities, such as walking in place, further increases blood flow to your muscles.

This is important for everyday activities like bending down to unload the dishwasher in the morning, but even more so with activities that require more force, like lifting a 50-pound grain bag.

A great starting point is a brisk three-minute walk or jogging in place, followed by gently mimicking the motions you will be performing later.

Equestrian Winter Fitness Tip 2: Recognize Your Dominant Side

If you do your own barn chores, winter signals the return of certain tasks. While it may have been months since you’ve done these chores, your body’s muscle memory enables you to pick up those activities where you left off. This is great for getting the job done quickly, but bad for creating muscular balance and avoiding injury.

If you tend to rotate to the left to shovel a frozen pile of manure into a wheelbarrow, one side will become very strong, and the opposite very weak. But even if you don’t do barn chores, using your non-dominant side during everyday activities will promote balance.

To put this into practice, start by recognizing your dominant side when you open a door, throw the ball for the dog, carry groceries, or groom your horse. Then switch to the other for a few repetitions or minutes, slowly building up frequency over several days.

Equestrian Winter Fitness Tip 3: Keep Moving

You’ve probably heard Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. He was talking about physics, but the idea holds true with our health habits.

Winter can be a time where we not only fight the weather and shorter days, but sluggishness and holiday overindulgence. If we set very small goals to stay in motion throughout the day, we are more likely to continue with even more movement and not sink into sedentary habits.

Using larger, oxygen-hungry muscles throughout the day not only promotes good circulation with nutrient rich blood, but it helps improves your mood, energy levels, and sleep quality throughout the winter. Staying active can be a challenge for those who have more sedentary jobs, but it doesn’t require much time. Scheduling several short three-minute walks around the office building is one way to keep your body in motion.

Key Takeaway

You may not be able to control the changing seasons, but you can control decisions regarding your health. By making these simple changes, you will increase your body awareness, decrease potential injuries, and—who knows—you may even find yourself looking forward to next winter!

This article about equestrian winter fitness tips appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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Welcome to Barn Banter, the official podcast of Horse Illustrated. In Barn Banter episode 26, hosts Susan Friedland and Horse Illustrated Editor In Chief Holly Caccamise chat about last month’s Equine Affaire Massachusetts, gift-giving, and setting new goals before talking with Cathy Woods, a regular contributor to Horse Illustrated and the author of Yoga for Riders. To end the episode, they chat with Michelle Murch, equine and farm program manager for the New Hampshire SPCA, about Tilly, this month’s ASPCA Right Horse adoptable horse.

Click to listen on your preferred podcast listening platform.

Cathy Woods, Yogini and Horsewoman

Cathy Woods is a longtime yogini, horsewoman, author, yoga teacher, international retreat leader/presenter, and creator of her trademarked program, Body, Mind, Equine, who focuses on overall equestrian wellness.

Cathy aims to impart a practical approach to authentic yoga and mindful horsemanship, making it accessible to everyone regardless of what that looks like for the individual. She’s passionate about supporting equestrians in their wellness journey, promoting a more enriched and skillful life.

Her yogic journey naturally transpired as a child. Having nurtured that path and lifestyle for many years, she began leading programs in 1991. Cathy enjoys combining and sharing her passions of yoga, horses, travel, and women’s empowerment in creative ways and finds great joy in helping people handcraft their lives and their horsemanship

Her programs have been offered at distinguished locations such as The Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Yogaville Ashram, and Mount Madonna Center. On the equine front, Cathy has partnered with amazing venues such as Equitana, Liberty Festival, Equine Affaire, Warwick Schillers Journey on Summit, Tryon International Equestrian Center, and C Lazy U Ranch, to name a few. She also shares her work through her book Yoga for Riders, published by Trafalgar Square Books, and writing for publications such as Horse Illustrated, and others. She’s been featured in Forbes, Yoga Digest, Horse and Rider, and many other publications.

Cathy is an avid equine enthusiast and longtime backcountry trail rider who loves exploring the natural world from the back of a horse. She remains passionate and dedicated to sharing authentic yoga and how it enhances life and horsemanship.

She is based in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Find out more at cathywoodsyoga.com.

Adoptable Horse of the Month, Tilly

This sweet, sassy Quarter Horse pony is a perfect companion. Tilly is approximately 7 years old, 14.1 hands high and gets along with everyone. She is companion only, as she has been diagnosed with ringbone, which causes her to be lame when under saddle in work. Tilly would benefit from a home with someone willing to spend time loving on her; she was bounced around and never really had consistent attention. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, but she just hasn’t been given the chance to shine.

Tilly enjoys free-longeing, and the NHPSCA has started doing liberty work with her, during which she has proven to be a brave young lady. If you enjoy spending time grooming and doing groundwork with a horse, she is your girl. She is an easy keeper and is not on any medication. Tilly is up to date on all her vaccines, dental, and she is even microchipped.

Learn more about Tilly here.

In addition to Barn Banter episode 26, you can check out all previous episodes of Horse Illustrated’s podcasts here.

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Pilates both strengthens and lengthens the muscles to improve core strength, posture, and flexibility, helping your overall position and ultimately allowing you to move with greater grace and agility.

Long, Lean Muscles

Trainers often advise you to “strengthen your core.” A stronger core means improved balance and stability in the saddle—but not at the expense of bulky muscles that can cause you to be stiff.

That’s why flexibility and suppleness are critical, too. The horse needs all of the following from you to move fluidly and efficiently underneath you: strength, stability, flexibility, and suppleness. These qualities also happen to be the focus of Pilates.

Pilates also helps to create an even balance of strength and flexibility through the right and left sides of your body. Just like horses, riders can become one-sided.

The Pilates Bridging Series

While some Pilates exercises are done with expensive specialty equipment, there are also several very effective ones that can be done at your home, barn, or anywhere.

The following series of exercises strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, which improves your stability while lengthening your hip flexors for greater suppleness in your hips and an improved seat. Strong glutes and hamstrings also mean less strain on your lower back. Many riders have found doing these exercises daily reduces their back pain.

Start with the first version, then try the single-leg versions. Assess evenness through the right and left sides of your body as you do it. Is one side more difficult than the other?

1. Glute Bridge

◆ Lie on your back with your feet hip-width apart.
◆ Tuck your pelvis under and roll up onto your shoulder blades.
◆ Don’t let your ribs pop or flare.
◆ Press into your feet to lift your hips a little higher.
◆ Start behind your heart and slowly roll down one vertebra at a time.

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2. Single Leg Bridge: Marching

◆ Repeat Exercise 1, but keep your hips lifted.
◆ Alternate lifting one leg with a 90-degree bend in the knee while your press the opposite foot into the mat.
◆ Don’t let your hips drop or rock to the side as you move your leg.
◆ Do 5 repetitions on each side.
◆ To come down, start behind your heart and slowly roll down one vertebra at a time.

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3. Single Leg Bridge: Leg Lift and Lower

◆ Repeat Exercise 1, but keep your hips lifted.
◆ Lift one leg straight up to the sky and point your foot.
◆ Extend that leg until your thighs are aligned, then flex your foot and lift your leg back up to the sky.
◆ Don’t let your hips drop or rock to the side as you move your leg.
◆ Do 5 repetitions on each side.
◆ To come down, start behind your heart and slowly roll down one vertebra at a time.

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For more at-home Pilates exercises, featuring 20-minute workouts you can do anywhere, visit PilatesforEquestrians.com.

Further Reading
◆ Fit Rider: Pilates for Equestrians
◆ Pilates Winter Workout for Equestrians
◆ Improve Your Riding Through Your Everyday Life

This article about pilates for equestrians appeared in the October 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Pilates for Equestrians: Exercises for a Riding Breakthrough appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Many parallels exist between true yoga and good horsemanship. When I say yoga, I mean the whole of yoga, not just the postures, which is what most people think of when they think about yoga, but yoga principles as well. The parallels are where the yoga mat meets the saddle.

Much of what is taught and practiced in yoga are many of the same philosophies we’d apply to mindful horsemanship: being present, breathing awareness, slowing down, and being balanced, just to name a few.

Yoga is an awareness practice; as we become more aware through yoga, we naturally begin to carry that heightened awareness off the mat and into our time with horses. Additionally, we notice and experience how many yogic principles apply to horsemanship and how many similarities there truly are.

I invite you to review these parallels and take a closer look at the likeness between the two practices. I’m confident you’ll see the connections. While reviewing them, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I practicing this on my yoga mat?
Am I practicing this in my horsemanship?

The Parallels Between Yoga and Horsemanship

Present moment awareness: Life happens in the now. Multi-tasking takes us away from the present. Use breath and bodily sensations as tools to stay harnessed in the here and now.

A training ground for life: Yoga and horsemanship are opportunities to come to know ourselves better by exploring our multi-faceted levels. We observe the way we process, learn, act, react, interact, think, and feel.

Bring consciousness to everything: Pay attention to your body, your breathing, and your energy. Journey through life aware, conscious, and deliberate, experiencing all the moments.

Breathe through challenges: Move with the breath, and not against it. Use the breath as a tool at any time you feel challenged or unfocused—on the mat and in the saddle.

Go beyond the mind: You can often do more than the mind thinks you can.

Energy shifts: Notice when energy shifts and changes within yourself, your horse, and your surroundings.

Move with grace: Bring as much grace as possible into a yoga posture, horsemanship, or any other situation, even when it feels challenging.

Accept: Work from where you are on that mat and with your horsemanship, holding a generous attitude of acceptance.

Stay balanced: Maintain equanimity in all areas of life, not just physically. Balance inner and outer.

Slow down: Don’t exhaust yourself by staying on the fast-paced treadmill of life. Slow down through yoga and when working with or around our equine friends; they will appreciate it.

Know where you are in space and time: Be aware of where the body is in space and time, physically and tangibly—where placement is on the mat and when around horses. Notice positioning, bodily sensations, alignment, distance, spacing, and orientation.

Drop expectations: Release the energy spent on expectations of yourself, others, or life in general. Free up energy for better use, and experience what unfolds.

Observe the mind chatter: Be an observer of the mind chatter but know you don’t always have to buy into it. Listen to your inner voice and discern what is pertinent.

Experience and celebrate: Stop and experience sensations, the release, and energy after a yoga stretch. Stop, experience, and celebrate after an accomplishment with your horse.

Making the Transfer

By practicing authentic yoga on the mat, you will become more in tune with the fact that the teachings apply to both yoga and horsemanship.

Once these silks are honed, they organically transfer off the mat and into our time with horses, as well as into other areas of our lives, helping us to be more aware and skilled humans in all that we do.

Further Reading:
◆ Yoga for Riders
◆ Fit Rider: Yoga Poses for Core Strength

This article about the similarities between yoga and horsemanship appeared in the September 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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The instructor was Allie Baier of EquiPT, a physical therapy practice specializing in working with riders. She opened the class stating that even though we take 20,000 breaths per day, most of us are inefficient breathers.

By becoming better breathers, we become more effective riders, in addition to gaining other significant health benefits.

Why Breathing for Equestrians?

I scribbled six pages of notes during the session, and learned that by breathing correctly, we can be a role model for our horse’s performance. I have a horse with anxious tendencies. When he gets anxious, I hold my breath. I had never thought of myself as a breathing role model.

Better breathing improves mental focus, physical stamina, and core strength, which improves balance in the saddle. Breathing optimally improves our emotional and behavioral states, and nose breathing—as opposed to mouth breathing—even changes the pH in our blood, making us less prone to inflammation and infection. Nose breathing also improves our immunity and muscle recovery.

Stress, anxiety, and rounded posture from too much tech time all contribute to less-than-ideal breathing. In addition, riders with poor body image who attempt to flatten their bellies by “sucking in” cannot take optimal breaths.

Riders are not alone in mediocre breathing. Our horses might not breathe optimally for reasons such as improper saddle and/or girth fit, stiffness due to age or cold weather, or standing in a stall for too many hours.

Lower Ribcage Motility Exercise

360-Degree Breathing

Baier delivered a hands-on anatomy lesson related to a concept called “360-degree breathing.”

She had us place one hand on our sternum and one on our upper abdomen; we inhaled and exhaled to both observe and feel how our hands rose and fell together in harmony.

Next, we held our hands on our side, in an exaggerated “bossy” hands on hips position, but instead of our hips, our hands were on our rib cages to feel the lateral expansion.

The best breathing practice is to have movement in all three regions simultaneously: up and forward, with our sternum and belly, and right and left on our sides. When 360 breathing, there will also be a bit of movement in your lower back as your diaphragm drops down, which draws attention to the horse’s hind end during deceleration for better downward transitions.

Lateral Expansion Exercises

Pre-Ride Breathing Awareness

A practice you can employ before riding is to check in with your breath as you drive up the farm driveway. Turn off that podcast (hopefully you listen to Barn Banter by Horse Illustrated) and assess how you’re breathing. Are you holding your breath? Are you breathing from your chest, or breathing from your belly?

Then note the surroundings. Is it a windy day? Has the temperature outside just dropped? Are horses playing, or grazing peacefully? Are there tree trimmers on property or tractors operating nearby? Ask yourself, “Does the environment change my breathing?”

Before mounting, assess your breathing. Take deep inhales and exhales as you put a foot in the stirrup and swing up into the saddle.

Lower Ribcage Lateral Breathing

Breathing as a Riding Aide

During the class, we got down on our hands and knees to pretend we were a horse tracking right. As we mimicked the curved shape of the bend, Baier encouraged us to think about expanding our left lung as we breathed, filling it up. As we tracked left, we focused on filling up our right lung.

“The intentional ‘steering’ of air into the outside lung will soften the outer trunk muscles and contract inner trunk muscles,” says Baier. “But you’re not doing anything with your legs—it’s all your breath. The utility of the breath will help you go deeper into the corners and have the momentum to connect to the outside rein.”

For a lazy horse, take a breath in and push it out forcibly, followed by the seat aide. If your horse is eager to go, take a backward breath, trying to breathe in along the back of your spine.

Your voice pitch, pace and power can also elicit two different responses in your horse. By speaking in a high-pitched, quick or excited sing-songy voice, it will set an energetic tone for the horse.

In contrast, a low-pitched voice drops air into our abdomens, which will work to help us lower and slow our horse’s energy and pace.

“Talk to him in your ‘man voice.’ Slow and low,” my trainer once coached when my Thoroughbred was over-enthusiastic in a lesson. My encouraging, up-talky “good boys” were not helping.

If your horse is spooky or too amped, try breathing in for five seconds, then exhale for six to eight seconds.

A breathing awareness exercise you can try any time is to stand next to your untacked horse, placing one hand on his belly and one on your own. Feel your horse’s breathing and try to match it. Without the distraction of riding or treats, we can create a sense of connection with our horse.

By intentionally pausing for small moments like this to focus on improving breathing, we can also bond more deeply with our horse.

This article about breathing for equestrians appeared in the July 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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