🐴 How to Build Strength Without Ridden Work

When we think of building strength, most people picture time under saddle — but what if your horse could get stronger, more balanced, and more supple… without a single ridden session?

Whether your horse is in rehab, having time off, or you’re simply short on daylight or good weather, non-ridden work can be one of the most powerful (and often overlooked) ways to build your horse’s physical and mental foundation.

💡 Why Non-Ridden Work Is So Valuable

Ridden work always adds weight, restriction, and complexity.
When we take that away, our horses can:

• Move freely, without the saddle or rider interfering with their natural movement

• Strengthen the deep postural muscles that support the spine

• Learn correct balance and body awareness from the ground up

• Gain confidence and trust as they begin to understand what “correct” movement feels like

It’s a safe and effective way to build strength, because we’re not asking the horse to carry weight while developing those key stabilising muscles.

🔍 What You Learn From the Ground

When we slow things down and work from the ground, it’s incredible what we start to notice.

You might find your horse:

• Braces or leans on one rein

• Steps shorter on one hind leg

• Finds it harder to bend one way

• Or bumps into your space instead of staying balanced

Each of these moments tells you exactly where your horse is blocked in their body — and from the ground, you can make micro adjustments to help them release, rebalance, and find a new way of moving.

For example:
➡️ On one rein, when you ask for inside bend and your horse braces and bumps into your space — that’s not resistance, that’s information.
From there, you can gently adjust your own position, timing, and breath pattern, and give your horse some little extra touch and direction cues to help them soften through the ribcage and find true bend.

These are the moments where real change happens.❤️

🌿 The Exercises That Make a Difference

You don’t need hours each day — just a few focused minutes.
Try mixing a few of these into your weekly routine:

💫 In-hand core activations: gentle exercises that engage the deep stabilising muscles along the spine.
💫 Polework in-hand: encourages lifting through the back and coordination through the limbs.
💫 Backing up correctly: a great exercise to build core strength and control.
💫 Small lateral movements: like gentle leg-yields or turns on the forehand, help unlock stiffness and create flexibility through the body.

These exercises not only build strength but also transform communication between you and your horse — because you’re teaching them from the ground, step by step, to understand what correct movement feels like.

🧠 Why It Works

Non-ridden work takes away the guesswork.
You can see and feel how your horse moves, notice the small changes, and build the right muscles safely and systematically.

Over time, you’ll find your horse becomes:
✅ More balanced
✅ More connected through their back and core
✅ And more confident in how they move

When you return to ridden work, you’ll both feel the difference — smoother transitions, softer bend, and a more even, supple connection.

💪 Ready to Get Started?

If you’d love a guided approach, I’ve created a few step-by-step courses to help you build strength safely and effectively — no matter the weather or your horse’s workload:

⭐ Core Exercises for Your Horse – foundational strengthening, still 80% off at just £9! Click Here!

⭐ Exercise Bundle – Polework + Lunging courses for variety and progression. Click Here!

⭐ In-Hand Exercises Course – a full system that builds towards lateral work, balance, and straightness from the ground. Click Here!

Start where you are — your horse’s strength, balance, and body awareness will grow more than you can imagine ❤️