08/09/2026
Let's Talk - Exercises: The Back Up
This is an exercise that a lot of horses are given - and while I agree it has many amazing benefits, we also need to be aware of HOW our horses are backing up.
Let's use my personal horse HD as an example - for context, he is a 24 year old gelding. He has a calcification of his medial meniscus in his right stifle that we have been working to rehab this over the summer after a fairly major flare up.
First Video: What do you see?
Overall, it is fairly easy to see the reluctance to back up in general. When he does back, they are very short uneven strides.
Now looking away from his legs, we can see that he is not engaging through his back when he does back up - he is collapsing through his back.
What you cannot see on camera: his head and neck are elevated through the entire motion. (There is no tension in the lead rope or halter)
Now let’s compare this to the Second Video: What do you see?
In general, he is much more willing to participate in the back up. His strides still start off small, but not only do they increase in size, they also become more even, and his cadence improves very quickly.
Now let’s look at his back - right off the bat, you can see that he is far more engaged in his back and topline compared to the first video. He is now lifting through his core, rather than dropping his belly towards the ground.
What you cannot see: he lowers his head to just below wither height.
The time between these two videos? About 10 Minutes.
What I did not do:
Repeatedly ask him to back up.
Increase lead rope tension/pressure to get him to back up.
What I did do:
Pillar 1 to help him activate his thoracic sling and core
Weight shifts at the halt
6 reps of 5 walk over poles (this has been a gradual increase over be past 3 weeks)
Then - I asked him to back up again. (There is still no tension in the lead rope or halter)
This is why I believe it is so important to look at HOW your horse is performing an exercise.
Had I continued to ask HD to back up as he was in the first video, he would be working the muscles in his hind end, yes, but he would not be developing these muscles in as efficient of a way as he was in the second video.
It is truly amazing to see just how much the quality of an exercise can improve when we focusing on isolating, and activating the proper muscles before and during said exercise.
What have we noticed in HD outside of the back up?
What would you expect to see?
Stay tuned for an update post later this week!