What Does it Mean When a Horse is Hollow

You probably know that a hollow horse is not a pretty picture at all.

In fact, we riders work so hard to avoid letting our horses get hollow. But unfortunately we may be covering up the problem rather than fixing it.

The quick fix is to get the horse’s head down so he looks “pretty” and carry on. But you may not realize that even though you “fix the head” and the horse looks “pretty,” the horse is still hollow.

So let’s discuss what it really means to be hollow and how to correctly fix it.

What Does it Look Like When a Horse is Hollow?

Ok, so there are degrees of hollowness, so it’s not always easy to see, especially if the rider covers it up by pulling the head down. In the most extreme form, you would see a horse with a concave back, neck up, and nose in the air.

But take a closer look; look at the main photo for this article above. The hind legs aren’t reaching very far under the body. The front legs aren’t doing much of anything except carrying almost all of the weight. The general slope of the body from the tail to the shoulders is pointing downward.

Unfortunately, many riders would fix this by pulling the horse’s head down to get him “on the bit.” But that only hides the problem and any uneducated eye would think the horse looks lovely. Here’s a picture demonstrating just that:

The horse looks pretty and round. But the horse is hollow. The pretty head set didn’t fix the fact that the horse’s body isn’t working properly. When a horse is hollow, he is not using his body correctly, which can lead to strain and injury.

When a Horse is Hollow – The True Fix

Fixing a hollow horse requires an entire body effort!

When a Horse is Hollow – the Cause

Now, it could take me an entire book to fully describe this concept, so I’ll do my best to summarize. Obviously every horse is different and will required different exercises to remedy the problem. Most likely you’ll need to look at the cause. Here are a few reasons a horse might become hollow:

The horse is green or was simply never trained on how to move efficiently from back to front.
The horse is in pain (please, please investigate this first!)
The rider is blocking the horse’s movement by pulling on the reins.
The rider is trying to compact the horse into a frame by pulling the head down.
The rider is sitting heavy, while gripping and very tense.
The horse is behind the leg and not on the aids.

When a Horse is Hollow – Fixing it

The common denominator is usually the rider and the way the horse is being ridden.

Many many times, the rider creates some sort of blockage, so that the flow of energy from the hind end can’t travel all the way through the horse’s body.

Again, it will depend on the horse and the situation at hand, but in general, to fix a hollow horse, you need to get the horse’s back up and the hind legs working with power.

When the horse’s back is up and free, the hind legs now have plenty of room to swing farther under the body. And also, when you have hind legs that are working with power and push, those hind legs create a cycle of energy that pushes the back up, as long as the rider is not blocking it.

So first, the rider needs to be sure that they are not blocking the horse somewhere. In some cases, that might be all that is needed to fix a hollow horse.

Once the rider is sitting nicely without restricting, the next step is to get the hind legs working with power. Engagement is your friend. Try some leg yields and shoulder-in to get activity in the hind end.

After creating that energy in the hind end, the rider has to let it flow over the back and to the bit without blocking it. If the rider hinders that flow of energy in any way, the horse might get hollow.

Summing it Up

There are a zillion ways a horse ends up getting hollow, and a zillion ways to fix it. But the point is this: You want a horse whose back is up, hind legs powerful and reaching under the body, shoulders up with a bend at the withers that arches out to the bit.

When a horse is hollow, he is not using his body correctly, which can lead to strain and injury.

If pain is not an issue, usually its the rider who needs make some adjustments in order to get their hollow horse round and working properly.