This article is from the September 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

The core is a conspicuous thing, it’s quite like the physical training equivalent of the half halt. Riders and many sport goers alike are often instructed to ‘use your core’, ‘embrace your core’, ‘tense your core’, and if you’re like me, I spent many lessons taking the guessing game approach on how to engage, brace, tense and use the core to half-halt my horses. All the while desperately trying to coordinate my legs, relax my shoulders, free the hands and keep the eyes forward. Let me tell you, the complexity and wonder of a correct half halt is made a lot easier with the understanding and use of the core. Additional to this, your core is essential in improving balance, stability, mobility and endurance on horseback, all of which I think is a common goal shared by all disciplines.

What is the core?

Essentially, the core is the centre of your body. Mainly consisting of the abdominal region, it also encompasses stabilising muscles in the pelvis, spine, shoulders and neck. Not only does strengthening these muscles improve posture and prevent injury, but they also provide a stable foundation for the rest of the body to work from to produce even and controlled movement and strength.

Why is it important for riding?

By having a strong and stable core as a rider you are able to develop a more independent seat and hand, fine-tuning your aids to the horse. This increase in balance facilitates clearer communication through the aids, building that harmonious, almost effortless communication and discipline between horse and rider.

Riders of all disciplines are able to correct their posture, and perhaps long-standing imbalances in their bodies, by becoming more aware of their core structure and body strength. By increasing the foundation within our own bodies, riders are able to sit deeper in the saddle, lengthen the legs by drawing the heels down through the horse’s body. This helps create a feel of bringing our seat through the saddle and onto our horse’s back, increasing communication between horse and rider. The increase in core endurance can enable a steadier hand, preventing any incidental imbalances or jerks on the horse’s mouth or even accidentally giving the horse a wrong cue. For those among us that jump and event horses, it enables the rider to deepen and balance their centre of gravity in the three-point position, preventing the legs from swinging onto the horses flank and tipping the shoulders forward; ultimately infringing on the horse’s own centre and gravity and balance over the fence.

Horse riders spend hundreds, if not thousands of hours in the saddle to build and strengthen the horse’s technique and quality of movement. But as we know, horse riding is a two companion partnership. Therefore, it is important as one of the contributing partners we ensure we don’t impede on our horse’s rhythm, balance and most importantly muscular and skeletal health. A great, convenient way to strengthen your core and stabilising muscles as a horse rider is through Pilates. Originally designed as a restorative and rehabilitative exercise, Pilates is a well known and popular form of resistance training. I am sharing with you five simple exercises to do in the comfort of your own home to get started on your core-strengthening journey.

Home Pilates Exercises to Strengthen the Core

Neutral Spine & T-Zone activation

Targeting: neutral spine, deep core muscles.

SET UP

Lying down on your back, knees bent, feet hip-distance apart. Place your hands on your pelvis, fingers on your pubic bone and palms on your hip bones.

T-Zone Activation

1. INHALE, draw the pelvic floor up along your tummy as if you were trying to stop going to the toilet or doing up the zipper of a tight pair of pants.
2. EXHALE, draw the hips bones into one another to meet in the middle, thinking of doing up that tight pair of pants. You should feel your T-Zone muscles lifting up to meet your fingers.
3. Continue breathing pattern until comfortable with exercises

TIPS

• - Do not flatten your lumbar (lower) spine onto the mat, keep your tailbone down.
• - Think hard, don’t try hard. Don’t tense the buttocks or shoulders in an attempt to tense the T-Zone.

Toe Taps

Targeting: the abdominal muscles

SET UP

Lying on your back, take the legs into tabletop position, hip-distance apart. Arms relaxed by the sides on the floor, shoulder blades down and back. Chin tucked in.

TIPS

• - Keep abdominals and T-Zone tight to prevent hips from rocking
• - Keep the neck and shoulders relaxed and on the floor

Repeat movement pattern, alternating sides, for 45 seconds

Single-Leg Circle

Targeting: the abdominal muscles and inner thighs

SET UP

Lying on the back with the knees bent, feet hip-distance apart, neutral spine. Arms relaxed by the sides, shoulders down and back, chin tucked in. Extend one leg up toward the ceiling and turn it out from the hip joint, toes pointed.

TIPS

• - Keep the T-Zone tight to prevent hips from rocking
• - Only go as far out and down as you can without hips rocking

Continue. Perform circles on the same side for 30 seconds before changing the direction of the circle

Continue movement pattern for 60 seconds before swapping legs and repeating

Clam 2

Targeting: the buttock muscles

SET UP

Lying on the side with the knees bent, feet back in line with the body, arm extended long under the head and head relaxed on the arm.

One long line between the shoulder, hip and heel.

Hips stacked one on top of each other. Create a small gap between the waist and the floor, neutral spine. Lift both feet off the floor, keeping them together.

TIPS

• - Squeeze the buttock before you move the leg; squeeze the heel to activate the buttock
• - Keep the feet still, just open through the knee keeping feet together at all times

Repeat movement pattern for 45 seconds

Tricep Circles

Targeting: the back of the arms, shoulders and core

SET UP

Kneeling on the hands and knees with the hands directly underneath the shoulders, knees under the hips. Elbows pointing back toward the knees. Shoulders down and back, upper back up against the shoulder blades. Chin tucked in and neck long. Neutral spine, T-Zone tight.

TIPS

• - Imagine you are rolling a marble along the floor with your nose when you come through

Repeat movement pattern for 60 seconds.

Sign up to our newsletter