How to Become a Horse Rider/Exerciser

Based on our compensation data, the estimated salary potential for Horse Rider & Exerciser will increase 16 % over 5 years.

Anyone who makes a comment like that, has not ridden a horse.

One of the presenters, Jenni Douglas, MSc, has been studying the importance of off-horse training not just for rider fitness, but also for horse health.

“In my opinion, building a good athletic base and developing a rider’s general physical preparation É is vital and, frankly, quite often missed,” says Jenni.

“It is really common for horse riders to have a weak posterior chain (the muscles at the back of the body) and end up with rounded hunched asymmetric shoulders and weak scapular (shoulder blade) stabilization,” says Jenni.

The horse moves his head so that his muzzle touches his chest, between his front legs.

The horse stretches his head and neck straight forward, as far as possible.

The horse moves his head to one side so that his muzzle is near the top of his foreleg.

Walk as a leader! Stand tall and walk with your head up and your shoulders back.

Keep an eye on the surroundings! It is important that you as trainer always keep an eye on the surroundings.

You’ve got the arena to yourself, so you settle your horse into a nice warm-up jog, moving along the rail.

Break out of that rail rut with arena exercises that will freshen your workout and your horse’s outlook.

As you break the monotony, you also improve your horse’s responsiveness, suppleness, and muscle tone, plus polish your own horsemanship skills.

- Use your inside leg at the cinch to bend your horse on circles and through turns, and your inside rein to tip his nose in the direction of travel.

Horses that are chronically injured but still in training, still running races, are called “cripples” in racetrack slang, and a trainer who engages in the practice of treating their horses this way is called “a butcher”.

As you break the monotony, you also improve your horse’s responsiveness, suppleness, and muscle tone, plus polish your own horsemanship skills.

The following 10 exercises include options to increase or decrease the level of difficulty and skills required, so you can customize each exercise to your and your horse’s level.

An exercise rider spends a great deal of time with the animals themselves.

Strong communication skills, the ability to think/ act quickly and attention to detail are all characteristic of a good exercise rider.

You will need to be able to interact with clients as well as work around horses and cattle with ease.