How to Get a Riding Horse Back in Shape

There are many different circumstances that cause us to give our riding horses time off from riding. Either they need a break or we need a break. Bringing a horse back after a break can be tricky because you do not want to push the limit. Even though horses are work animals, just like humans they slowly need to be put back into work over a period of time to build stamina.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Begin putting your horse on a schedule. Feed at a certain time, turn out at a certain time and ride at a certain time. Many times when we give horses time off all they worry about is feed time and are generally turned out into a field. Routines always help a horse acclimate, especially to change.
2. Walk your horse for 10 minutes and trot your horse for 5 minutes the first few days you begin to ride. As you walk have your horse do stretching exercises such as walking at a faster pace, then slowing the walk back down. At the trot be sure to monitor your horse’s breathing.
3. Evaluate your horse after these few days. Think about how long you have let your horse have off. The longer a horse has had off the longer it takes for them to get back in shape. Remember how their breathing has been after 5 minutes of trot. If they are still puffing after this short time your horse will need more time to get back in shape. Also take their age and job into account.
4. Increase the amount of trot work in comparison to your evaluation of your horse. If your horse seems to be severely out of shape, slowly increase the trot time, but if your horse seems fine with 5 minutes of trot you can increase the amount of time trotting at a more rapid pace.
5. Break up this time of walk and trot by taking small trail rides around your farm or using different arenas for ride time.
6. Start to canter your horse after she has been able to trot steadily for 20 minutes and is not too winded or hot. Your horse may be breathing hard after 20 minutes of trot, especially if you ask her to bend or frame, but if she recovers quickly from being winded, it is a sign she is getting back in shape and is ready to canter.
7. Return your horse to the canter the same way you returned them to the trot. Although your horse may seem like he is getting fit at the trot, cantering uses different muscles.
8. Jump, seriously trail ride, or do any other extraneous activity only after you feel that your horse has returned to its original physical fitness before having time off from riding. Otherwise you have a good chance of injuring your animal and permanently hurting them.

Tips & Warnings

• on average it takes 6 weeks to take a horse from completely unfit to fit enough to do any serious training or competition
• if your ever not sure on how much work to do contact your vet for advice