help/advice on getting her back into work

[eventerbabe]

i'm in need of help/a shove/ a kick up the backside (:p ) as to how to get bonnie back into work. she's the all clear from the farrier, soft soles have hardened up nicely, feet as good as they have ever been. vet told me i could have been riding her last year :rolleyes:

but i just don't really know where or how to start. she's not done much recently what with all this frost making the ground a nightmare. she'll happily drag me round the roads and woods for hours though. she's ready to work!

am i alright re-starting her in a bareback pad? her saddle comes nowhere near fitting her new slim physique. but am i alright doing this as obviously due to her years off (last sat on her over 2 years ago) her back muscles need to be redeveloped. what sort of schedule should i set myself? we are in no rush and its not as if bons is a competition horse, she'll only ever do hacking, schooling and the odd showing show or dressage test. should i initially just get her used to having weight on her back (say for 1-2 weeks just sitting and not walking?) then introduce her to short walks? i'll be continuing walking her inhand and long reining aswell as the ridden work.

i'm so scared incase i muck it up and we end up back at square one :o

[Mehitabel]

get on and go! i started with petal (after 4 months in) bareback walking round the school, then as soon as i was reasonably sure she wasn't going to go yeehah, we went out round the roads and tracks. 10 minutes to start with, went up 5 minutes a week. by the time she was able to have the saddle on, we were doing an hour hacking at walk and trot and the occasional accidental canter.
as you have been working inhand as well, you can probably start trotting sooner - say the second week, a circuit of the school or equivalent a time to begin with.

get on tomorrow and report back!

[Lexter]

Just take it one day at a time. Patience is the best medicine, I have learnt that with Leckie. I am just doing walking for six weeks (starting off at 10/15 minute hacks) and building it up from there. After six to eight weeks, been advised by the Vet that I can start trotting him. However, I plan to do one day walk and then one day trot until we see how he goes. If you lunge her take it carefully ie just walk her (if you can) and a short burst of trot towards the end and give her chance to cool down. I personally would alternate lunging one day and then riding the next so you are not putting too much pressure on her. If you are worried about sitting on her, just treat her as if she were an unbroken horse and give her time to get used to having weight on her back.

Wishing you the best of luck with Bon.:)

[eventerbabe]

mehitabel, should i let her get used to having some weight on her back first? or just start the walking? she has been walked/long reined in her saddle or a roller to help strengthen what muscles she does have.

Lexter, thanks for the encouragement!!

i promise i'll give it a try tomorrow and report back.

[Mehitabel]

no, just start walking. when backing a horse for the first time, you only spend a couple of days just sitting,and that's just to practice mounting. she is adult, has done inhand work, and has been ridden before - it is much easier toregain muscle tone than build it from scratch.

[eventerbabe]

thanks for the 'virtual shove' mehitabel :) i'll see how we got on tomorrow.

[Jessey]

I would agree just get her walking, for short periods at first and build it up slowly.
Don't know if you do it already, but to help strengthen back and stomach muscles you can do an exercise daily that will help loads. The one where you ask them to lift and drop their back a few times in a row? It built some incredible muscles on Bo when he was a baby, in preperation for backing, it was suggested to me by the back lady (chiro).
As for using a bareback pad, I'm not sure, A treed saddle will spred your weight so much further and with her limited back muscles your weight being spread could be quite important, but make your own assesment, she what she does whan you get on and walk her, I'm sure she will be sure to tell you if its OK or not :)

J x

[cvb]

eventerbabe - think I said before, we did quite a lot of ground work with Duds at first. Raised poles and the like - but not lunging due to paranoia about stress on feet :o

I'd include long reining as well if I did it over.

I guess your problem with saddles is the fit not the back muscles ? Do you have a saddle that will fit once she's going again, or do you need to find something that will fit ? (I know you have a couple for sale...)

[eventerbabe]

cvb, tbh her H&C never really fit, it was always a little wide for her (its one of the ones i'm selling at the mo, along with the big boys old saddle). i've had a look at it on her recently and its not a disasterous fit, just doesn't look quite right (a bit high at the front and just seems a large saddle for a little pony ;) ) but we never had any issues with back pain or response to the saddle in the past. could i maybe get away with using it but with a bit of padding underneath? just in the very short term til i can sell her old one and get a fitter sorted out (my favoured fitter is on sabatical just now for an indefinate period :rolleyes: ) i took your advice and she was doing pole work and raised poles up until the autumn but we then had to switch to inhand hacks as the field was just too wet.

jessey, do you have a link to a web page, or even a book that has details of how to do these exercises? i've been doing a bit of stretching with her, working on her neck and flexibility. riding bareback and the weight distribution has been playing on my mind quite a bit. i will confess i'm probably the maximum weight that she could carry since her laminitis. my mum is a shade lighter.

when i 're-started' her 2 years ago i just slapped the saddle on and off we went, walking in the arena (which we haven't the luxury of anymore).

my major worry is consistance of her work/exercising. i can't get out every afternoon, and when i do i usually only have time to ride toby. when the lighter nights come in this won't be a problem anymore, but still, on the days i don't get out my mum doesn't really bother doing anything but groom her. she won't even do the stretching i've been showing her how to do.

[Jessey]

Here is one I found - http://www.gaitedhorses.net/Articles/FlexEx/Flex.shtml , its the belly lifts you want.

I was told slightly differently, mose of a scratch, to help them realise you aren't a fly :) about 6 inches back from your girth, scratch until they lift the back, then hold for just a second and release, then scratch behin the shoulder (just behind the back of the withers about 3" down from the spine) and she should dip her back away from you a touch (make sure you do it evenly both sides) then go back to lifting from the belly again, do this about 4times in total (2 each side) and thats a session, will take about 2 mins. I did this twice a day and the improvement was excellent, I still do this now though not religiously but I do a session a couple of times a month, it also helps me keep an eye on how his back is, it show straight away when he is stiff, he just can't get the same lift.

J x

Edit to add: this one has some piccies and show a different method - http://equisearch.com/horses_riding_training/training/general/bellylifts_011706/

[eventerbabe]

fantastic, i've printed out that (and your advice) so will give it a go tomorrow.

[Mehitabel]

i hope you rode today! :handsonhipsandlooksstern: ;)

[eventerbabe]

well..... didn't ride but we did do 2 fantastic long reining sessions and a very tentative lunge session :D . my decision not to ride was more one of self preservation ;) !! she's high as a kite just now so i'm hoping to increase her work load this week to tire her out a bit and next saturday is D-day, if i can get OH to help. the prospect of sitting on a rearing, prancing pony with only a bareback pad did make me turn a little green :o but physically, i think she's telling me she's certainly ready.