Is backwards walking an effective physiotherapeutic exercise for horses?
Does your physiotherapist or trainer recommend backwards walking, or backing up, as an exercise for your horse? If so, you’re not alone in including this commonly employed exercise as part of your training or rehabilitation plan – some people swear by it! Backwards walking is generally recommended based on the assumption that it can improve strength, coordination and range of motion in the hindlimb and back, but there is limited scientific evidence to support these claims.
Fleur Eldridge, an ACPAT chartered physiotherapist, recognised this and together we conducted a research project to understand the effect of backwards walking in on hindlimb muscle activity and movement. This research formed her MSc Veterinary Physiotherapy (University of Liverpool) dissertation and was published in the Journal of Equine Rehabilitation.
We collected 3D movement and muscle activity data from the hindlimb of 10 horses during forwards and backwards walking using optical motion capture and surface electromyography (sEMG). Muscle activity data were collected from select superficial hip extensor (biceps femoris and gluteus medius) and flexor (tensor fascia latae) muscles. Once collected, we compared data from forwards and backwards walking to understand how this commonly used exercise actually affects hindlimb function.
In comparison to forwards walking, we found that horses significantly modify hindlimb muscle activity and movement during backward walking in the following ways:
Increased hip extensor (biceps and gluteal) and decreased hip flexor (TFL) activity.
Longer activation of the biceps femoris, the largest muscle in the equine hindlimb which extends the hip and flexes the stifle.
Increased stifle and hock joint flexion during swing phase and fetlock extension during stance phase.
Hindlimb pro/retraction and hip and stifle joint flexion/extension movement cycles were time-reversed (i.e. mirrored).
3D kinematic and sEMG data from biceps femoris (upper graph) and tensor fascia latae (lower graph) during two backward walking strides.
So, what’s the main takeaway message and how is this information relevant for my horse?
Well, our research suggests that backwards walking is an effective exercise for targeting activation of hip extensor muscles during weightbearing (stance) and stifle and hock flexion during non-weightbearing (swing) phases of the gait cycle. Put simply, our data support the use of backwards walking for increasing the activation of biceps femoris and gluteus medius, which play a major role in your horse’s engine and the development of propulsion! Our data also support the use of this exercise for increasing hindlimb range of motion, through increased hip and stifle joint flexion when the limb is not weightbearing. These objective data demonstrate the potential benefits of (appropriately) applying backwards walking in individualised athletic training and rehabilitation plans.
You can read the full peer-reviewed research article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eqre.2025.100036
Eldridge, F., St. George, L., Chapman, M., Harrison, L., Tabor, G., Uttley, C. and Clayton, H., 2025. A comparison of equine hind limb muscle activation and joint motion between forward and backward walking. Journal of Equine Rehabilitation, p.100036.
3D kinematic and sEMG data from biceps femoris (upper graph) and tensor fascia latae (lower graph) during two forward walking strides.