I had been training horses for 23 years before 1997, when I had a serious riding accident. The injury weakened me so much that I could no longer “make” a horse do what I wanted. I had to learn how to evoke and guide rather than demand the horse’s energy. I did this through stretching, suppling and strengthening. I developed a wonderful toolbox of techniques and exercises, but more importantly I came to understand a way of approaching stretching, suppling and strengthening exercises that yielded phenomenal results.
Most riders can feel when a horse is on the wrong lead, taking a lame step, or about to spook. There is an energetic connection between horse and rider that alerts the rider to a problem. However, the rider’s responsibility is not just to feel a horse’s energy when something is amiss. The rider must learn how not to interfere with the horse’s energy when it needs to flow.
To stretch means “to make or become longer; to extend or lengthen.” A horse’s adjustability depends on its ability to stretch. To supple means “to make capable of adapting or being adapted, elastic, or flexible; to make capable of withstanding stress without injury; to make springy.” Only after the muscle is properly stretched and suppled is true strengthening possible.
When muscle is developed without stretching and suppling, horses (and humans) will have limited range of motion. Stiffness, in this case, is caused by blocked energy in the horse (or in the rider). Learning how to recognize and release blocked energy and avoid creating new blockages is the rider’s responsibility. This kind of awareness is key to safely and successfully promoting healthy muscle development when handling or riding the horse.

In-Hand Beginning
Begin by working with the horse in-hand. Take note of the horse’s conformation, determine what sequence of manual stretches it prefers and whether it warms up better from back to front or front to back, and acknowledge differences in elasticity between the right and left sides, etc. Dividing the horse into thirds (poll to withers; withers to top of pelvis; and the haunches) is a good way to begin to get a feel for which exercises will best allow the horse to stretch. Watch the horse. Listen to the horse. Be aware.
The approach to stretching, suppling and strengthening exercises for the horse under saddle is similar to the in-hand work. Exercises should be done in the walk, trot and canter. Here, quality of breathing is critical for both horse and rider. Horses have learned to function in an anaerobic capacity. To keep a horse breathing aerobically, the rider must engage the horse’s visual and auditory functions. Visual and auditory distractions impede the horse’s ability to breathe aerobically and respond freely to the rider’s aids. While we all love the look of ears pricked forward, dancing ears mean there is communication between a rider and an attentive horse.
The rider’s breathing pattern is equally important. A smooth exhale is a perfect way to guide the horse into a smooth upward or downward transition.
As the rider’s awareness becomes more refined, the rider begins to take responsibility for the blockages he or she can put into the horse. Allowing the horse to stretch is the first step to reducing these blockages. Begin with the belly swinging side to side in a forward marching walk. Then, remind the neck to swing from side to side without interference. (I use the word remind because swinging the neck from side to side at the walk and up and down in the canter is natural to a horse that hasn’t been blocked or interfered with. Swinging the neck also reminds the horse how to breathe aerobically.) Then, to complete the stretch, allow the neck to become as long and the head to become as low as possible. If the horse is limited in its range of motion or has blocked energy in the neck, it will have (as the cause or the result) a limitation somewhere else in the body.
Now that the horse has experienced a full stretch, it is time to move on to suppling at the walk. Again, conformation will dictate which exercises are best suited to a particular horse. Leg yields and modifications of shoulders and haunches in are some suppling techniques. Once the horse is suppled, stretch again for several minutes. Now, begin stretching and suppling at the trot (using the same exercises as in the walk). Then, add transitions within the gait and from gait to gait.
Finally, after stretching and suppling, the strengthening phase is necessary to build muscle. Strengthening exercises can begin with riding on varied terrain, doing cavalletti and trot pole work, moving onto gymnastic grids and jumps or collected, medium and extended gaits. Again, awareness is key. Pay attention to the “whole horse” when designing a pattern of strengthening exercises. Determine what frequency and combination of exercises will enhance, not stress, a particular horse’s physical development and mental acuity. Be flexible. As the horse changes, so should the plan.

Proof is in the Performance
I have seen these techniques work in many horses and in a variety of circumstances.
Two of Yuko Itakura’s jumpers come to mind. Glenn was a 16 year old gelding who, in 2004, was in reconditioning training without any immediate goal. I had planned to modify his stretching and suppling program to accommodate his age, but when he gave the most athletic spook I have ever felt, I decided he was capable of a higher level of work.
Although Glenn had tremendous strength, he lacked suppleness. Keeping him in front of my leg and getting him to breathe evenly changed everything. Once he stopped holding his breath, energy flowed through his whole body and he became more fluid (even when he spooked!) In 2005, he competed successfully at Indio and Spruce Meadows.
Nino, Yuko’s 7 year old gelding, was another horse who needed to become more supple and more consistent in his breathing. I started with him by encouraging him to lengthen his stride at the walk until he understood that he could cover a lot of ground without breaking into a trot. A normal breathing pattern followed. Then I introduced lateral exercises in all gaits and began his strengthening program with hill work. After three months in this new program, Nino had no rails and only one time fault in his first Grand Prix at Indio.
Mandy Porter’s 12 year old show jumping mare Summer wasn’t as supple laterally as she needed to be when I began working with her in March of 2006. Flat work was difficult and not enjoyable for her because she was overdeveloped in some areas of her musculature and underdeveloped in others. Mandy and I began very simply by asking the mare for only moments of contact from hind to front end and/or lateral suppleness and/or better breathing. As a result, her top line began to stretch and supple, the muscle masses began to redistribute themselves, and she became more flexible.
Only three months into the program, Mandy and I noticed that Summer seemed to be enjoying her flatwork. As a result, when we came to the strengthening phase, she was springier and more nimble and we were able to work specifically on her three different canters. In 2006, Summer was Pacific Coast’s Grand Prix Horse of the Year.
In all of these cases, the first step was to assess the horse’s current status, always being open to modifying an assessment when a horse gave me new information, as Glenn did. Every horse and every horse and rider combination has its own timetable for releasing blockages and developing new breathing patterns and a more efficient musculature through stretching, suppling and strengthening.
Exercises abound. Keep a full toolbox, but be patient. (Always stretch and supple before strengthening.) Be aware. Avoid creating blockages. Always look, listen and feel for areas that need to be released. And as you work to release your horse from its physical blockages, work to release yourself from yours and from the ideas that impede your awareness of what the horse needs at a particular moment. You’ll be amazed. I was.
Author Arlyn DeCicco grew up riding hunters and jumpers in Massachusetts with Brian Flynn. She took clinics with Ronnie Mutch and George Morris. Later she trained with Dottie Morkis, Kathy Connelly, Ernst Bachinger and Belinda Nairn. Currently, she lives in Southern California and works with Mandy Porter and Joie Gatlin’s horses and numerous county level trainers. Arlyn can be contacted at wudlokfarm@sbcglobal.net or by phone at 760-535-3352.