Posture is not cosmetic: what a dropped back is costing your horse

The facts

Source

Gillian Higgins, equine sports and remedial therapist, of Horses Inside Out, quoted by Your Horse (17 September 2026)

What good looks like

Standing square and balanced, cannon bones vertical, centre of mass behind the elbows and under where the rider sits

Rein-back exercise

Around 10 steps backwards, head and neck low, at the same tempo as walking forwards

Pole distances

Walk poles: five poles, three heel-to-toe steps apart. Canter poles: three of your normal walking steps apart

Finding a physio

ACPAT (acpat.org) lists qualified equine physiotherapists

Posture is usually filed under performance. It belongs under wear and tear. A horse whose back drops and whose hindlegs trail out behind is loading joints, tendons and ligaments in ways they were not built for, and is less comfortable to sit on while doing it. Higgins is blunt that simply sitting on a horse closes the gap between the spinous processes and makes the job harder. Her answer is not to stop riding but to treat yourself as the one responsible for the horse's conditioning.

The mechanics are worth understanding because they explain why the exercises work. A strong elastic ligament runs from the back of the skull to the withers and continues along the back. Raise the head and it slackens, and the back sinks. Lower the head and it tightens, and the back lifts. Separately, where the hindlegs park determines whether they can support the back at all: out behind and the spine extends, underneath and the whole frame becomes more flexible. The forelegs, meanwhile, hang in a muscular sling rather than joining the skeleton by bone. When that sling is weak you often see a hollow dip just behind the withers.

The exercises are unglamorous and cheap. Ten steps of rein-back with a low head and neck, at proper walking speed rather than a shuffle, brings the hindlegs under and flexes the joints. It can be slotted into the walk out to the field. Five walk poles, three heel-to-toe steps apart, improve coordination, and the instruction is to leave the reins alone and let the horse solve it. Canter poles at three walking steps apart work the thoracic sling like a sit-up, and can be raised at one end, then both, once the horse is confident. Over trotting poles, resist asking for more; wait for the pole to arrive.

The other half is equipment and rider. A saddle that pinches on one side produces an asymmetrical horse, uneven muscle and strain on the limbs, and that road ends at lameness. Bridle fit is named as commonly overlooked despite its effect on comfort and way of going. And your own crookedness becomes the horse's crookedness. Varied going helps too, provided it is safe going: deep, rutted or hard flat surfaces all interfere with how a horse carries itself.

What this means for you

Owners of a horse with a dip behind the withers

That hollow is being described here as a sign of a long, weak thoracic sling, not simply conformation. It is worth a physio's opinion before you buy a thicker pad to fill it.

Anyone doing pole work already

The distances are specific. Five walk poles at three heel-to-toe steps, canter poles at three normal walking strides. Guessing the spacing undoes the benefit.

Riders with a horse who feels one-sided

Before blaming schooling, check saddle and bridle fit. An asymmetrical saddle builds asymmetrical muscle, which in turn loads the legs unevenly.

Grassroots and Pony Club families with no arena

Most of this needs no school. The rein-back can happen on the way to turnout, and varied safe terrain on a hack does real work.

What to do

1. Stand your horse up on level ground and look at where the hindlegs sit relative to the pelvis, and whether the cannon bones are vertical

   Next time you bring in

2. Add around 10 low-headed rein-back steps at walking tempo to the daily walk out to the field

   Daily

3. Measure your pole distances with your own steps rather than eyeballing them: three heel-to-toe steps for walk, three walking strides for canter

   Before your next pole session

4. Book a saddle fit check and look properly at bridle fit, especially if the horse works unevenly on one rein

   This autumn

5. Find an ACPAT-registered equine physiotherapist at acpat.org if you suspect muscular soreness or compensation

   Before starting new strengthening work