07/28/2025
I would say a majority of the horses I see that riders are complaining of under tack issues, spend 0 days per week working on ground work. I was guilty- Tommy was such a perfect unicorn, I never thought to even consider ground work. The reality is, though, that when ground work gets skipped, your horse is missing a key part of their education and fitness. The horses that I see that do some form of ground work each week, are also often the ones that the riders say “No complaints, we are feeling good!”
Ground work allows your horse a chance to freely move their body, which leads to the development of balance, strength, awareness and flexibility because we, as riders, get removed from the equitation and the horse has to figure it out for themselves!
I know it’s easy to think groundwork and think of a showmanship pattern, but ground work can look like:
✅stability pad work & stretching
✅desensitization
✅lateral & ground pole work
✅using your body to ask your horse to move (ex: when you lean forward the horse walks forward)
Correlations I commonly see:
❌horses that resent being tacked up or groomed also resent moving forward
❌if a horse is struggling with their balance, they often have poor posture on the cross ties
❌when stretching after work is not prioritized, lateral work and flexibility under saddle is nearly impossible
❌weak, under muscled toplines don’t carry saddles well and often riders complain of saddles sliding
So if you are anything like me, hiding from ground work, here is your sign to start working it into your routine with your horse at least 1-2x per week as the new month approaches!
