Back To Work

[IdahoRider]

Okay, even though we have had our stay at home order extended, it has been loosened somewhat. Non-essential travel and activity has been approved. We still can’t gather in groups of really any size. and we are encouraged to wear masks and gloves.

My mare has been out of work since mid-February. I haven’t ridden since then, either. She goes out every day for turn out, so she hasn’t been cooped up. But neither of us are in riding readiness at the moment.

I have decided to restart my horse life. I have checked with our local hospital and they are way under capacity. All the COVID folks have been sent 15 minutes into Boise. I am sure that I won’t tax an over burdened health care system if I have a bad fall. I checked and double checked.

I masked and gloved up and retrieved my tack from the inside barn. I dug up an old halter and lead rope that has been hanging in my garage, unused, for several years. I can get my mare out of turn out and take her directly to the parking lot, away from the other cars. I have been just grooming and generally spending time with her these past couple of days, testing my system to see if I am as isolated as I though doing it this way. And I am.

My question is this: what would be a good day to day schedule to bring her back into work? Lunge? Ride? Which days? If you were looking at a scheduled with the days of the week, what would you do to bring the horse back into work? She was super fit before we took this forced sabbatical.

She is an 18 year old mare that is sound and easy to work with.

Help?
Sheilah

[Displaced_Yankee]

I built myself a back to work schedule based on the Pony Club C manual. We started with 20 minutes of “active walking” and worked ourselves up to 40 minutes before we started trot sets.

He is not entirely out of work, he has been being lightly schooled by my trainer 1 day a week. But it has been really helpful for both me and my horse. Even as we walk, I have been going back to basics: are you listening to my seat and leg? Will you flex left? Will you flex right? Am I sitting tall and square in the saddle? We school a few walk-halt-walks before going back to a stretchy walk. Or practiced free walk-working walk-free walk. Or a little leg yield here and there. It has been fun. It’s slow work but I am really enjoying the time.

My trainer remarked that he is much more workmanlike than he has been and I think the careful progression has helped put his brain back into “work” mode.

ETA: we try to work 5 days a week (trainer rides 1 additional day). I am lucky if I get four days in (giving him 2 days off a week)

[IdahoRider]

@Displaced Yankee

I built myself a back to work schedule based on the Pony Club C manual. We started with 20 minutes of “active walking” and worked ourselves up to 40 minutes before we started trot sets.

He is not entirely out of work, he has been being lightly schooled by my trainer 1 day a week. But it has been really helpful for both me and my horse. Even as we walk, I have been going back to basics: are you listening to my seat and leg? Will you flex left? Will you flex right? Am I sitting tall and square in the saddle? We school a few walk-halt-walks before going back to a stretchy walk. Or practiced free walk-working walk-free walk. Or a little leg yield here and there. It has been fun. It’s slow work but I am really enjoying the time.

My trainer remarked that he is much more workmanlike than he has been and I think the careful progression has helped put his brain back into “work” mode.

ETA: we try to work 5 days a week (trainer rides 1 additional day). I am lucky if I get four days in (giving him 2 days off a week)

Thank you so much! I am not feeling ready to go back to my lessons yet. So you laying it out like this has been very helpful to me.

I have a hard to setting my own discipline. I really need the step-by-step guidance!
Sheilah

[Displaced_Yankee]

@IdahoRider

Thank you so much! I am not feeling ready to go back to my lessons yet. So you laying it out like this has been very helpful to me.

I have a hard to setting my own discipline. I really need the step-by-step guidance!
Sheilah

I am very much the same way. I took an hour and using the USPC Manual, made a spreadsheet with dates (built-in rest days too) of what I should be doing. Tomorrow should be: 15 minutes walking, (4) 2-minute trot sets with 1-minute rest in between, 15 minutes walk to “cool” down. I have a great app on my cell that helps me with the intervals (walk-trot-rest-walk, etc). It vibrates and dings when it is time to change gaits, I have it strapped to my left leg.

Making the spreadsheet gave me the “agenda” I need to have for myself.

[Toblersmom]

@Displaced Yankee

I am very much the same way. I took an hour and using the USPC Manual, made a spreadsheet with dates (built-in rest days too) of what I should be doing. Tomorrow should be: 15 minutes walking, (4) 2-minute trot sets with 1-minute rest in between, 15 minutes walk to “cool” down. I have a great app on my cell that helps me with the intervals (walk-trot-rest-walk, etc). It vibrates and dings when it is time to change gaits, I have it strapped to my left leg.

Making the spreadsheet gave me the “agenda” I need to have for myself.

What’s the app you use?

[IdahoRider]

@Toblersmom

What’s the app you use?

I would love to know, too!
Sheilah

[Displaced_Yankee]

It is called: Tabata Timer

It is designed for interval training (human) workouts. I should back my statement up a bit: it is great so far. I have not yet delved into a third interval for canter yet. Allegedly, you can record the instruction and have it “speak” the next interval. For example: “Trot” or “Jumping jacks”. I have not tested that yet. The app includes a warm up (walk) and cool down (walk) section. You just have to set the intervals up.

As of right now, I know the number of trot sets I need to do but it helps me make sure I am not trotting or walking for too long.

[Silverbridge]

If I were bringing a perfectly sound and reliably trained horse back into regular work after time off for both of us, I would want to walk-trot-canter each direction every day, increasing the amounts of trot and canter and then sensibly adding lateral work.

I feel that if you only work on walk-trot to begin with and build up to canter, it tends to make the canter work into too big of a deal. Especially the canter departs.

If the horse is rehabbing from an injury, then, of course, no canter until vet recommendation/approval.

[IdahoRider]

[QUOTE=Silverbridge;n10628137]

I feel that if you only work on walk-trot to begin with and build up to canter, it tends to make the canter work into too big of a deal. Especially the canter departs.
/QUOTE]
She has been very sound. I will take your thoughts on canter into consideration!
Sheilah

[RedHorses]

For a fit horse getting turned out every day, two months is nothing when it comes to loss of fitness. Do your usual ride as far as content, just start with a bit shorter rides for a. week or two. By the time you are back in the swing of things she’ll be just fine.

Horses take a lot longer to lose fitness than we humans do.