Strengthening The Abdominals To Help You Ride
By Jochen Schleese

Human Anatomy IV

Some horses comfortably carry a larger rider, while other horses seem to struggle with a smaller person. This is not so much the weight of that person, but how that weight, that the horse is being asked to carry, is distributed.

To understand the ability of an athlete to carry weight, there is no better example than that of the racing Thoroughbred. The position of a jockey is not arbitrary; it is that particular frame of the rider that presents the least amount of dead weight to the horse. Watching a jockey almost levitate over the horse, one is reminded of the great dancer, Rudolph Nureyev, basketball star Michael Jordan, or any of the world's greatest athletes who seem to defy gravity…live weight.

In Thoroughbred handicap races, horses are graded on past performances and assigned a handicap, which allows them to run ‘equally’ with horses that may not have as good a race record. A horse with a history and record of winning may be asked to carry 132 lbs. This is a lot of weight for a track horse to carry. In this instance, the weight of the rider plus tack, and additional “dead weight”, will have to be carried to equal the required 132 lbs. This “dead weight”, is in the form of 2 lead plates that are inserted in the saddle pad. It is a known fact that horses seem not to run as well with the added lead weight, compared to carrying a heavier jockey.

What can be extrapolated to other riding disciplines is that the rider’s weight has to represent the least amount of impedance to the horse’s athletic ability. An eventer crouches low in a two-point posture (much like that of a jockey), in order to move with the horse and allow the horse to use his natural movement. The hunter also has
to shift his weight to aid the horse as he takes his jumps. However, in a discipline like dressage, where the rider is asked to sit almost continually "deep" into the horse, this becomes much more difficult. When the owner of a horse decides to pursue a competitive discipline, rather than a more relaxing recreational riding endeavor, horse and rider should take a combined training approach. The horse will need to achieve strength, balance, flexibility, endurance, etc., all of which require hours of sweat and time. In all fairness to the horse, this approach will also need to be taken by the rider, because the strength and success of the pair is only as good as the weakest link. A good rider on an average horse is better than an average rider on a good horse.

Therefore, the best way to aid the horse is to present him with as much live weight as possible. The best way this can be achieved is by strengthening the abdominals, which offers the rider the ability to go with the motion of the horse. However, this cannot be achieved unless the rider is able to a secure a good foundation, thus allowing the optimum use of the interactive stomach/back muscles, especially in the dressage discipline. In the horse, strong abdominals are built by allowing the horse to work without resistance from saddle or rider, but in the correct frame. In the rider, the abdominals are strengthened (beyond doing the normal abdominal exercises) by the rider being in a position to allow these muscles to be used. In both cases, the stronger these muscles become, the easier it will be for the horse to work effectively.