getting a horse fit after months off!!

[Alex T]

hey i was just wondering if anyone has any advice on helping get my horse fit shes had most the winter off due to no saddle. iv finnally found one that fits and obviously want to get her fit and improve her non exsistant top line she alomost always works round but we do get bored in the school!!so any little exercises that might help her would also be usuful thanks .

[xxxkristinaxxx]

I had the same dilemma!


Walk for the first few weeks
Then introduce short bursts of trot.
Then canter.

But work at walk as much as possible, and road work is good for building up tendons.

I have started hacking Xena and its good as we do some hill work aswell!
I brought Xena back into work just about a month ago, and have been riding her 3/4 times a week.
I started off by lightly schooling her in the arena for 20mins, just walking and doing circles, changes of rein etc.
Then a few strides of trot now and again.

However i suppose it depends on how fit your horse is now. If he has been turned out thats better than him being stabled.

Its best to take things slow, but its worth it.
Just after 4/5 weeks Xena you can see some muscle lol! And i can do the girth up more wholes than before.

Hope this helps abit

xxxxx

[Trewsers]

Will be bringing Joe slowly back into work within the next month - he's had a damaged ligament - he currently goes into the horse walker for half an hour twice a day - but soon OH will be able to sit on him. Vet has advised 15 mins in walk for the first week then build up slowly to about 30 / 45 mins. I think she said after two weeks to introduce some trot work - but mainly plenty of walking. I know hacking is meant to get them quite fit too. I have had my horse out of work for a little while, so I'm doing a combo of lunge work and ridden.

[Daffy Dilly]

To get Daffy competition fit, I would ride twice a day. Not necessarily for long, and I wouldn't over work him, but it got him really fit. He was fed appropriately, and really muscled up nicely. As I was riding twice a day, it didn't matter if we got bored after 15minutes in the school, a hack that night would make up for it.

To build topline and back muscles, I've found long reining to be extremely effective, and much easier to continuously work a horse in an outline than it is under saddle. Particularly as there are no weight/saddle restrictions. It would also vary the work you do in a school.

[Carine]

Hi ! I could probably give you better advise if I had some more info about the horse (age, conformation, jumping or dressage ?) but I think with the following general lines you'll be able to start of nicely... Lunging is great work but only effective if 'help-reins' are used, because it's only with the head down that you'll be able to build up the top line again. You can lunge with the saddle so that the horse gets used to the weight from the start and use vocal commands to re-establish a good communication. (always useful once you're back in the saddle). Try to work EVERY day and be REGULAR. Give enough warming-up time in walk (5minutes is long when you look on your watch!!!) but do also trot and canter and make LOADS of transitions, because thats THE exercise for improving balance and it makes the horse use his back ! Start of with 20minute sessions the first week and gradually build-up to 40minutes so that by the end of the first month you can also start to do some pole-work. This will again improve the balance and develop shoulders, forearms, hindquarters and the back ! After the first week of lunging you can include some riding after each session and do some simple exercises in walk (good opportunity to dry the horse before taking it back to the stable). Again, build up gradually and don't forget to reward ! Good Luck.

[Glider]

I've always been taught you take the amount of time they've had off, and that should be the amount of time spent in walk, up to a maximum of 6 weeks. If they've been living out (rather than mostly stabled) you can reduce that a little.

Walking is really important to build up back and leg muscles so they don't strain them when they're asked to do faster work. I start with 15mins a day (with a horse that's not recovering from an injury) and work up slowly to 45min long walk hacks before introducing short trots, and trotting for at least 3 weeks before starting short canters.

Hacking is a lot less stressful for their muscles than schooling and lunging, although you can certainly introduce some schooling after a couple of weeks if you want to. Hacking is much more interesting for both of you too, especially when you're only walking!

[Alex T]

thanks for all the replies.she is a ten year old purebred arab we lean more towards dressage and showing though she does like to jump. this is the most recent photo i have bout november time! i think her conformation is fairly good she is a little high crouped though!!oh and she is in at night and out 12hours a day

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k252/wheelbarrow_2006/Image001.jpg

[generoso]

She looks in great condition in the picture!

[Trio]

awww she's lovely.
My boy was off for 3 years as he had no rider when i bought him and i've been getting him fit for the past 6 months- now jumping but did loads of just hacking out with him - hill work, trotting and eventually short bursts of canter- he's now very fit and can canter for ages when hacking but finds it difficult in the school still- he's 3/4 arab and is fairly heavily set.
she looks very dainty - bet she moves well - lovely horse.

[Bebe]

I start with 15mins a day (with a horse that's not recovering from an injury) and work up slowly to 45min long walk hacks before introducing short trots, and trotting for at least 3 weeks before starting short canters.

Hacking is a lot less stressful for their muscles than schooling and lunging, although you can certainly introduce some schooling after a couple of weeks if you want to. Hacking is much more interesting for both of you too, especially when you're only walking!


I do pretty much the same thing under normal circumstances.

If the horse has been off due to an injury or has been off for a long period of time I start with hand-walking and long-reining before mounting up. It took about 5 months to get my horse reasonably fit after a years field rest.

[coss]

when the ground dries i will be getting my arab gelding fit again. last year i did a lot of in hand work to begin with... we have a little hill at the back of a shed (hard to explain, its steep but short) that i led him up and down for a 10 minutes a day (sometimes twice) as he really had to use his back end to get up the hill therefore strengthening the back end (which is where the topline starts from). i then progressed to doing that and leading him in circles etc and we have a ditchy thing which i got him walking down into and out of again. after a week of the steep small hill i was able to do that and soon after i was able to trot round with him. I then lunged for about two weeks (not all in one go ;)) i would lunge for about 20 minutes and do mainly walk and trot. trotting on the lunge really fittens a horse but change the rein regularly. once i saw the saddle bouncing more (where he'd lifted his back and started to work through from behind) i then progressed to riding in walk for 10 minutes. After roughly a month he was fit enough to do an hours riding lesson and a week later i had a lesson and i was doing small jumps (he has lots of scope but hasn't the brain to cope with it all). the first riding lesson we didn't work too hard as he was just newly into work. he had had about 3months off.

This year he will have had nearer 4 so i will take more time (i am also not at home so can't do a consistent fittening program as only have weekend :rolleyes:)

Your horse looks lovely, i don't know if its just me (being an arab fan) but i have found arabs hold their fitness quite well. my horse was in at night and out during the day last year, he's out 24/7 this year.
My mare used to be an endurance horse and the previous owner stuck to hill work, she did a week of 10minutes a day in walk, second week was the same (i think) but with 10mins of trot added, third week added canter then she started lengthening the time but i think the horse was not off on complete rest so wasn't completely unfit if that makes sense. :)

[Alex T]

hi guys !!weve been doing work for about 3 weeks now just a bit of schooling and hacking out !!thanks for all the replies.

coss- she definatly has held a good level of fitness . she keeps cantering off with me when were trotting!!are yard is on a hill( well tump) also difficult to explain so she does quite abit of hill work just being in the field and coming in!!

i wanted to bring her back slowly as when we did an inhand show last year i was told that although she moved better than the two placed above us she looked immature and lacked top line for a 10 year old !!

[coss]

hi guys !!weve been doing work for about 3 weeks now just a bit of schooling and hacking out !!thanks for all the replies.

coss- she definatly has held a good level of fitness . she keeps cantering off with me when were trotting!!are yard is on a hill( well tump) also difficult to explain so she does quite abit of hill work just being in the field and coming in!!

i wanted to bring her back slowly as when we did an inhand show last year i was told that although she moved better than the two placed above us she looked immature and lacked top line for a 10 year old !!

horses that are in a sloped field hold fitness well. once she's fit your job of keeping her that way should be quite good :)