Alternatives to Hill Work?

[Miranda_and_Oscar]

I am working on getting my 19 year old in better shape. I know hills are really great and I used to do them quite often. But I have moved to a location that is as flat as a board. We have a man-made mound back in the woods but I think it would require going up and around and down it over 100 times before it realy did much of anything (it is very small) and even still, I doubt I would see much improvement from that.

Ideally I will be getting a trailer soon and can trailer out to places that have more hills, but until then, I am stranded for the most part (unless someone with a trailer decides to go out). What other exercises are good alternatives to get the same topline/ and hind end muscles?

[msmom]

cavaletti

https://www.amazon.com/Cavalletti-Dressage-Jumping-Ingrid-Klimke/dp/1570767122

[vineyridge]

trot distances are longer for flat land than for hilly land for conditioning.

[EventerAJ]

Cavaletti poles and lots of transitions. Make it a goal to do 20, 30, 40 transitions per ride. 15+ halts per ride. Lots of reinback, but build up to it slowly (just 3 steps at first).

[retreadeventer]

I am flat as a pancake. (Well, not me personally, but my land.) I have sandy soil, and a sand track I built. I dig up the outside edge of it so it’s deep sort of like a beach, and trot on it. It is quite a bit of work if it’s really deep, but at this time of year it’s dried up a bit.
I have also used a manure track, around my largest pasture, and spread it thick, about a foot (shavings manure) boy that also was a good work until it worked into the soil and flattened. I don’t have much of a pile at the moment so can’t spread any more.

[FatCatFarm]

Ground poles, caveletti, transitions, trot and canter sets. Be careful of too deep footing and pulling a suspensory.

[retreadeventer]

If you don’t work in ALL types of footing, you will pull a suspensory or tendon, in my experience. If you are always on great footing the horses don’t get the concussion needed to harden.

[yellowbritches]

Long, slow mileage is always good. Lots of long marching walks and trots, even if on flat ground, can be very beneficial. I have had similar surroundings (little to no real hills but one short steep hill) and have done wind sprints up that hill. Not ideal, but it does work. Got a horse fit for a prelim long format three day with that and TONS of hacking. We’d do trots, go to the hill, gallop up, come back down, rinse and repeat a couple of times. But the horse also got TONS of long, slow miles on top of the wind sprints once or twice a week.

[sophie]

@EventerAJ

Cavaletti poles and lots of transitions. Make it a goal to do 20, 30, 40 transitions per ride. 15+ halts per ride. Lots of reinback, but build up to it slowly (just 3 steps at first).

This what the vet recommended to me for my Ottb that needed to strengthen her top line and SI area. It was winter so we couldn’t do hill work/hacking (deep snow, ice, and footing frozen in deep ruts) and were working in the indoor, mostly. Lots of transitions, between and within gaits, halts, backing up. All of that done correctly and in balance, he added

[LookmaNohands]

Can you create an up bank on the man made mound? Or a couple of steps going up? That would help. Or a sunken road kind of thing where you jump down and then up again. The other alternative would be to add weight. Make sure your saddle fits etc first but maybe you could find a weight pad to use.

[FatCatFarm]

@retreadeventer

If you don’t work in ALL types of footing, you will pull a suspensory or tendon, in my experience. If you are always on great footing the horses don’t get the concussion needed to harden.

Did not say perfect, just nothing too deep.