Horse Riding and Your Body: What Every Rider Should Know

Riders will spend hours researching the right saddle, the right farrier, the right feed and the right physio for their horse. They will haul across the country to get their horse seen by the best equine vet. But when it comes to their own body, most riders push through the pain and hope for the best.

It is one of the most common patterns we see in practice. A rider comes in with chronic low back pain that has been building for months, sometimes years. They have not done anything about it because “it is just part of riding.” It is not. And the research is clear: ignoring your own biomechanics does not just hurt you, it directly affects your horse.

What horse riding actually demands from your body

Horse riding looks like a passive activity to anyone who has never done it. The reality is that it is one of the most physically demanding sports there is.

Your horse’s back moves in three planes simultaneously. At every stride, your pelvis and spine must adapt in flexion and extension, lateral flexion and rotation, all at the same time. You are not sitting on a stable surface. You are dynamically stabilising your entire body on a moving, breathing animal that responds to everything you do.

The forces are significant

The sitting trot generates vertical accelerations of roughly two to three times your body weight at the saddle (Mason and Greig, 2020). At trot, a horse produces approximately 120 to 150 stride cycles per minute. A 30-minute schooling session in trot exposes your spine to somewhere around 3,600 to 4,500 repetitive loading cycles. That is a serious amount of cumulative load.

EMG research shows that your erector spinae, rectus abdominis, obliques and adductors are all active throughout every gait, with trunk muscle activity increasing progressively from walk to trot to canter (Elmeua Gonzalez and Sarabon, 2020). Your core is not just engaged during riding. It is working hard, continuously, for the entire session.

The areas that take the most strain

Lower back. The lumbar spine absorbs the majority of the repetitive compressive and shear forces during riding. The sitting trot is the most demanding gait for the spine. Dressage riders tend to report higher rates of low back pain than show jumpers, likely because of the sustained sitting trot and postural demands.

Hips and pelvis. Your pelvis is the primary interface between you and your horse. Sustained hip flexion at 45 to 60 degrees and constant adductor engagement leads to hip flexor tightness, adductor strains and, over time, hip pain.

Neck and shoulders. Your cervical spine and upper trapezius are working to stabilise your head, which acts as an inertial mass at the top of the chain, while your trunk absorbs the oscillations below. This is a common source of neck pain and headaches in riders.

Thoracic spine. The thoracic spine must transmit forces between the lumbar-pelvic complex and the shoulder girdle. When it gets stiff, which it almost always does in riders, it forces the lower back and neck to compensate.

The numbers on rider back pain

Low back pain is the single most common musculoskeletal complaint among horse riders. A 2024 systematic review by Duarte and colleagues found that prevalence estimates range from 50% to over 80%, depending on the study population and riding discipline (Duarte et al., 2024).

An early study by Quinn and Bird (1996) found that 66.7% of riders in their sample experienced low back pain while riding, and that the type of saddle influenced the incidence.

These are not small numbers. Riding is among the sports with the highest reported rates of back pain (Trompeter et al., 2017). And unlike many sports injuries, these are not usually from a single incident. They build gradually from repetitive loading, poor postural habits and inadequate conditioning.

Your body affects your horse more than you think

This is where it gets interesting for riders, and where the motivation to look after yourself goes beyond just feeling better.

Research by MacKechnie-Guire and colleagues (2020) demonstrated that induced rider asymmetry directly alters equine locomotion and reduces the range of motion of the horse’s thoracolumbar spine during rising trot. When a rider has a pelvic tilt, rotational asymmetry or uneven weight distribution, the horse compensates by changing its own movement pattern.

A separate study by Gunst and colleagues (2019) showed that rider asymmetry measurably changes saddle force distribution. The horse feels the difference and adapts, even when the asymmetry is subtle.

The implications are significant. If you are struggling with a stiff thoracolumbar spine, a rotated pelvis or restricted hip mobility, your horse is compensating for you at every stride. Over time, this can contribute to equine back pain, irregular gait patterns and reduced performance. Research has even shown that rider asymmetry can make a sound horse appear lame on assessment.

Riders spend thousands on equine bodywork, veterinary assessments and saddle fitting. All of that matters. But if the rider sitting in the saddle is the source of asymmetry, no amount of work on the horse alone will fix the problem.

What you can do about it

Get your own body assessed

If you are riding regularly and experiencing back pain, hip stiffness or any recurring discomfort, get it looked at. A thorough assessment of your spinal mobility, pelvic alignment, core stability and hip function can identify the specific areas that need attention. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that spinal manipulative therapy produces clinically meaningful improvements in pain and function for chronic low back pain (Rubinstein et al., 2019), which is exactly the type of pain most riders present with.

Build your core properly

Riding uses your core, but it does not build it in a balanced way. Targeted core stability work, particularly exercises that challenge your trunk in rotation and anti-rotation, helps your body absorb the forces of riding more efficiently. Pilates, specific rehabilitation exercises and progressive resistance training all have a place.

Do not ignore your hips

Hip flexor tightness and adductor overload are almost universal in riders. Regular hip mobility work and targeted strengthening of the glutes and hip external rotators makes a real difference to both your comfort in the saddle and your ability to give clear, symmetrical aids.

Look after your thoracic spine

A stiff thoracic spine is one of the most common findings in riders and one of the most impactful to address. When your mid-back moves properly, your lower back and neck do not have to overwork. Simple thoracic mobility exercises done regularly can change how you feel during and after riding.

Take care of the rider, not just the horse

You would not expect your horse to perform at its best with a stiff back, restricted joints and muscle imbalances. Your body deserves the same standard of care. Getting on top of your own biomechanics is not a luxury. It is part of being a responsible rider and getting the best out of your partnership.

If you are a rider dealing with pain, stiffness or recurring niggles, or if you just want to make sure your body is up to the demands of the sport, get in touch or book an appointment. We treat athletes and sports injuries across a wide range of disciplines, and we see a lot of riders in practice.

References

HORSE RIDING AND YOUR BODY: WHAT EVERY RIDER SHOULD KNOW