This Is Why Developing Topline Is So Important
Ever had a riding theory question you couldn’t find the answer to? Or don’t have a go-to coach to ask? In this recurring segment, Amelia Newcomb is here to answer anything about your riding and dressage needs.
Why is developing proper ‘topline’ so important to riding a horse round and through?
Great question. Topline refers from the muscles that start at the poll (top of the horse’s head) and down the neck, shoulders, back, hindquarters, and to the top of the tail. Biomechanically speaking, horses aren’t designed to carry us. Every young horse has to learn how to rebalance their body with a saddle and rider on top of them. How they learn to carry that extra weight, will affect them throughout their riding career.
When a horse is moving round and through with their back lifted, hindquarters engaged, and shoulders up, means that they are moving more effectively and symmetrically. They will be more balanced, find it easier to turn, go, and stop, and put less stress on their muscles, joints, and bones. The topline muscles are the elements of the horse’s body that allow the horse to go round and through.
Limited or no topline muscles means that the horse can’t be round for long periods of time, and not being round, means that there is added wear and tear to our horse’s bodies as we ride them. Meaning that they are at more risk for injuries and have a shorter riding careers.
So how do we get a proper topline?
It’s two fold, first you have to have good nutrition. Just like human athletes, if we aren’t fueling our horse’s bodies, they can’t build muscle. Second, you have to teach your horse how to lift their back and go round.
Now you might be thinking, “But Amelia, you just said I need topline muscles for my horse to go round. And now you’re saying I need to get my horse round to build a topline?” And the answer is yes. Any muscle needs to be systematically build and strengthened over time. Through systematic development you can increase the topline muscles and increase the roundness piece by piece.
Think about it this way, the balance, roundness, and frame you need for Training level is a much lower requirement than what you need for the movements in 4th level. As you work up the levels, the topline required to do the work and keep your horse round and through, gets greater. This is why it takes years upon years to get to the Grand Prix level. You need years and years to not only train and shape the movements, but to build the muscle required.
So where do you start?
At the basics of course! You first have to teach your horse how to move their body from back to front so they can carry themselves round, and then over time they can do it for longer and through more difficult movements.
Want some more help on where to start? If you enjoyed this article, you should consider coming to one of my FREE webinars all about Contact & Connection that I’m hosting. In this webinar, I will share my simple 4-step process to teaching your horse how to go round and develop their topline. Get the details here.
Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels in both her in person and online programs. Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All”, which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 220,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses.