Five days from now it will officially be spring! With the arrival of spring, most people will be brushing off the dust from their paddock boots, putting away their fleece lined breeches and snow pants, and starting to plan their summer show schedule or big trail rides. But, as with all good things, you get the bad too. Coming soon to a stable near you; copious amounts of mud, horse hair in every crevasse of your body, and last ditch attempts from nature to extend winter with more snow. As I write this, I am choosing to focus on getting my horses fit and ready for show season, and hopefully a summers end trip to either Banff or Glacier National Park, all while ignoring the snow storm that has already dropped 6” in the last few hours and shows no sign of stopping!

Let me first acknowledge everyone out there that live in places like Florida, Arizona etc. and have had the luxury of riding in good weather all season, some of you are probably even riding in winter show circuits. And you all stink, haha just kidding (maybe) but, this blog is probably not for you. But for most of us, winter riding usually slows down or stops altogether, even if you have an indoor ring. I personally like to give my horses a month or two off, they work hard all year and its good for them to just get to be horses. It also saves me from body clipping hell, trying to keep body clipped horses warm in single digits, and to be honest, riding in the teens and low twenty’s is just unpleasant. In the Pacific North West where we are located, there are some spring shows starting in March and a few trails are open but, most rated shows, and trails with a view, start to come available around late April. This winter I rode my horses until December, and gave them December through mid-February off. They will start back into real consistent work once this snow clears-up.

Now that everyone is excited to get back to riding, what ever type of riding you do, it is really important to consider two things. One, that your horse is mentally safe for you to ride, and two, that your horse is physically fit and ready for what you are asking them to do. We’ve all seen it, someone hosts a 20 mile group ride, and everyone turns up with their unfit quarter horses that all look like they are ready to foal, half turn around early and sadly, there’s always one or two that tie up and require medical attention. Or, lets ay you go to a schooling show, and you look around and you see a sea of horse kites flying high and a little to “ready” to go. Neither of these situations are where you want to find yourself.

To start the summer off on the right hoof, here are some ways to get your horse mentally and physically back in the game.

Safety First, Getting them Rideable.

Regardless of your discipline and goals, most horses come out of a break a bit fresh. Between the chilly air, and strong winds, most horses are usually pretty froggy the first few outdoor rides. When riding your horse for the first time in the spring/outside, it is really important to know your horse. There are some horses that can go years without being ridden, and you can pull them out of a field, throw a saddle on them, and ride off without a hitch. If that’s your horse, great – your lucky! But for most of, we have some lunging/round-pen work to do. Generally I am not a huge fan of lunging your horse to make it rideable but, there are times that having a tired horse is not a bad thing. This is one of them.

To determine If you should lunge or round pen your horse before that first ride, ask yourself “does my horse look like a child that just ate an entire fun dip and is headed to a theme park?”. If your answer is “yes”, you might consider letting them get a few bucks out first. To do this you can turn them out lose in the ring, I highly recommend tackless so nothing get stuck on fencing, jump standards etc., lunge them, or work them in a round pen. My horses get ample turnout but, I know there are a lot that don’t. If your horse doesn’t get much turn out, ask the barn manager or your trainer if your horse can have some extra time outside that day or, if allowed, turn them out in the outdoor arena or outdoor pen to just take the edge off. For some horses, this will be plenty but others may need more.

If turnout/extra turnout did not do the trick, I would then lunge the horse. In general, I am not a big fan of lunging horses to the ground to make them rideable or quiet but, this circumstance I think lunging is great. Lunging tends to be more common in the English disciplines, and round penning more common in the western world so, I see these as an equal trade-off, sort of. My preference, lunge them. Horses going fast in a round pen are dangerous, round pens also tend to be smaller in diameter then a circle you can get your horse going on a lunge line. Going to fast in a round pen can cause some nasty slips and falls. If you are lunging, you have control of the horses head and can stop them safer and quicker. When working a horse lose in the round pen, do it without tack, tack gets stuck on things and can also cause a wreck.

If after lunging you still think your horse looks like a fire breathing dragon, I would recommend doing ground work to get their brain turned back on. Depending on your facility and skill-level, you can drive them over obstacles, walk over poles/grids in hand, or make them move their haunches/shoulders. If working hard physically just amps your horse up, doing the opposite, slowing them down, and making them think, might just do the trick. I find ground work especially helpful with the off-the track thoroughbreds.

For some skilled riders, there is nothing wrong with getting on and riding through the “spook” if you think it isn’t going to turn into NASCAR. Even if you ride well, an out of control horse can slip and fall, and maybe fall on you. With some of my hotter horses, I get in my two point with a short rein, keeping their heads-up, and let them gallop in hand around the ring for a few minutes till they chill out. But, keep in mind, just because they are wild doesn’t mean they are in shape . Overworking a wild horse can make them sore the next day, cause long term injury, or strain out of shape muscles making them more susceptible for future injury.

Getting them legged up and in-shape

Just like people, horses need to gradually be brought back into shape. Also like people, they have different body types, different dispositions, and access to turnout (think construction worker vs. accountant). The combination of these three things will play a big role in how fast your horse can get into shape for what you expect the horse to do. My program with my horses takes me about a month before I am walk, trot, cantering them for hour long sessions, or taking them on two hour trail rides. This regime is for my two thoroughbreds, my mid-teens fox trotter, even after a month, is still just walking with about one arena lap of being asked to gait and thirty minute trail rides. You need to be able to read your horse and also listen to what they are telling you.

To help understand where your horse is in terms of fitness, I would recommend taking their heart rate at different intervals, and after different amounts of work. Make a notes when their heart rate is high such as: how heavy they breath, do they slow down and get pokey (some don’t), or do they show any other signs of physical exertion? Just observe your horse for about a month while you start to ask for more. Once you know your horse and their physical signs of exhaustion, you shouldn’t have to do this again.

Take initial heart rate and recovery heart rate after doing the following:

· Brisk 10 minute walk

· One 5 minute trot set

· One 5 minute cater

Take these on day one, after two weeks or ten days of work, and at the end of a month of consistent work. See how much your horse changes and what it takes to get them back into shape. The shorter the recovery time the better!

Getting a horse into shape can be easy for some, harder for others. If you have a 10 year old halter horse and a 10 year old thoroughbred, you are going to get to a point where you can walk, trot, canter comfortably a lot faster with the TB. With both of these breeds though, take your time, and don’t rush. The key to good fitness is walking and working your horse “long and low”. When I start mine back into work, they do nothing but walk along the trail for about two weeks. Its good for them mentally and physically. I will start to add trot work in the ring and maybe thirty second bursts up hill on trail at week three. During the fourth week, I will add in some cantering and start to ask my horse to carry itself and collect. Everything I do I do in short bursts at first, then gradually add on time. If a horse is very resistant to something such as framing up or getting on the bit with some shape, then go to shorter bursts or do it at an easier gait such as the walk.

To get your horse trail ready, just hit the trail. There is nothing better then a horse walking out at a nice clip on a lose rein. If possible, start with a lower grade/flatter trail where the horse can just get used to carrying weight again. Maybe trot some on flat ground and increase time. I highly recommend keeping the first two weeks of rides under 45 and work up from there.

The biggest key point to take away from getting your horse fit is that you should do it gradually over time, and by doing long and low work. Get your horse stretching out and moving freely to build the basic muscles needed for exertion before you start to ask them to do the heavy lifting.

If anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below. I tried to stay away from specifics as horses are so different, and there are so many different disciplines out there. But, hopefully this blog reminded everyone to stay safe and go slow this spring. Keep you and your horse sound so you can enjoy this summer, and many more after.

Happy Trails!

Getting Your Horse Fit For Riding