Core muscle strengthening in horses through targeted physiotherapy exercises improves back pain, sacroiliac function, and overall movement quality, providing welfare benefits comparable to physiotherapy in human medicine.
Equine physiotherapy and core strengthening represent a relatively new but rapidly developing welfare intervention category that bridges veterinary medicine and rehabilitative exercise. Horses with chronic back pain, sacroiliac dysfunction, or post-injury weakness benefit from targeted exercise that rebuilds the muscle support structures that reduce joint loading and improve movement comfort. The welfare significance is direct: horses with stronger, better-coordinated core muscles move more comfortably, tire less quickly under saddle, and have reduced susceptibility to injury recurrence. Owner-administered exercise programs, following physiotherapist instruction, provide a cost-effective way to continue rehabilitation benefits between professional sessions. The growing body of evidence from equine physiotherapy practice provides the research foundation for recommending specific protocols for specific conditions — translating the welfare benefits of physiotherapy from human medicine to equine practice.