Think about the last time you went for a run.

Or headed to the gym.

Did you walk straight in and go full pace from the first second?

Of course not.

You warmed up. You mobilised. You gave your body a chance to switch on before you asked it to perform. 🦄

We understand this instinctively for ourselves.

But when it comes to our horses, most of us pick up the reins and expect them to be ready.

Here's the reality.

Your horse has spent the last however many hours standing in a stable.

Or walking slowly around a field.

Wouldn't it be nice if they were busy doing their pilates routine while you were on your way to the yard! 😂

But they weren't. And we can't blame them for that.

They haven't been warming up. They haven't been preparing their body for what's about to be asked of it.

Far from it.

Their postural muscles — the deep stabilising muscles that support the spine, create balance, and allow them to carry themselves and a rider properly — are switched off. 💚

Not because something is wrong.

Just because that's what bodies do when they're at rest.

And when we ask a horse to work before those muscles are online...

They do their best. They always do.

But the body finds a way to compensate.

The superficial muscles take over. The movement is stiffer than it needs to be. The bend feels more difficult to achieve on one rein. They feel heavy in your hand or on the forehand. The whole session takes longer to feel good — if it does at all.

And we often put this down to the horse being lazy, or stiff, or just having an off day.

When actually — they just weren't ready. ✨

This is one of those things that sounds simple but completely changes how you approach your sessions once you understand it.

Because the fix isn't complicated.

It's a few minutes of targeted activation and mobilisation exercises before you begin — done in the stable, before you even get to the arena.

Exercises that switch on the deep postural muscles. That mobilise the spine and prepare the body for movement. That give your horse the warm up their body actually needs.

Azuro has these built into his routine now as standard. 🐎

And the difference between the days we do them properly and the days we skip them or rush them is something I can feel the moment I start working with him.

Less bracing. Softer through the neck. More willing to step under and engage.

I'd encourage you to try it with your own horse and notice what you feel.

It doesn't have to be dramatic to be meaningful.

Sometimes it's subtle — a little more softness, a little less resistance on that stiffer rein.

Sometimes it's not subtle at all.

But once you feel it, you won't want to skip it again. 💪

This is exactly what the Core Exercises Course gives you.

A simple, stable-based routine of activation and mobilisation exercises — step by step, clearly explained, with everything you need to build this into your sessions from day one.

No arena needed. No equipment. Just a few minutes before you ride that change everything that follows.

Just £9 / $12 with lifetime access.

👉 CORE EXERCISES COURSE - CLICK HERE

And once your horse is activating well and you want to take that into movement — in-hand work is the perfect next step. I'll be talking about that in a coming blog very soon.

💚