Backing up is an exercise that engages the horse’s muscles in an eccentric manner. By asking the horse to back up slowly and in a controlled manner, the muscles responsible for decelerating and controlling the backward movement experience eccentric contractions which can lead to increased muscle activation, strength gains, and adaptations.
This exercise can help strengthen the hindquarters, back, and abdominal muscles.
This is a low-impact exercise that can be done in-hand and/or under saddle. Practiced with quality and consistency it can improve your horse’s posture, core strength, balance, topline flexion and ability to collect.
A good back-up asks your horse to carry more weight on his hindquarters while it maintains increased hindlimb, thoracic and lumbosacral flexion, separating the spinous processes, and engages the abdominal, thoracic sling, quads and hip flexors.
Ask your horse to back up with a relaxed topline and move his limbs backwards in diagonal pairs, looking for clear, steady, active but not rushed steps.
Backing up asks the horse to think about how it’s placing its legs behind it and to trust that its handler will ask it to back up into a safe area.
Backing up in a straight line, around a turn, uphill or downhill are all very separate exercises. Be mindful and deliberate of which you are practicing and why.
You can use backing up an interesting Proprioception exercise by first walking your horse forward across, and then backing your horse from one surface to another, for example from rubber to dirt or packed dirt to sand.
Backing up is an excellent exercise for strengthening the thoracic sling and flexor chain of muscles and can be very useful when working to prevent, or recover from, kissing spine.
Maximize the benefits of this exercise by practicing 3-5x week, after your horse is warmed up. Start with a couple of steps in-hand and work slowly up to about 15 good quality, steady, long, marching steps. Once your horse is confident in the exercise in-hand you can begin to introduce it under saddle.
* There are contraindications for every exercise. Please consult your Vet before introducing this exercise to your horse…and while you’re at it ask – your Vet if massage could benefit your horse.
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