Prepare your western pleasure horse for the show pen with five gymnastic exercises.
A western pleasure horse must be in top physical shape to compete and win in today's western pleasure class. But when it comes to conditioning a rail horse, there's more to it than just walking, jogging and loping.
To prepare my western pleasure horses for the show ring, I use five simple exercises to enhance movement, transitions, flexibility and balance. The exercises consist of long trotting, shoulder and hip work, departures and transitions, loping squares and backing up.