Basic Conditioning Program for Horse?

[Leather]

The owners of the place where I board are good friends and members of our local hunt, and after a few years of occassional capping I’ve decided to join.

I recently bought a new horse that I’d like to try as my field hunter. He’s a 12 year old QH gelding that’s pretty much been used as a trail horse his entire life. He hasn’t done much the past few years except live out in a big hilly pasture. He goes through water and across bridges like a champ, has lived in a herd environment so doesn’t get freaked out on group trail rides, and is a level-headed guy.

Assuming he takes to hunting (knowing that being a great trail horse does not always translate into being a good field hunter), I’m interested in suggestions as to how to go about doing some basic conditioning.

Of course I’ll ask my friends and other members of the hunt and do some internet/book research, but I always like to get lots of points of view!

Cubbing season just started last week (we’re in MN so we stop hunting at Thanksgiving). I definitely want to get some conditioning into him before I take him out, since I don’t want to overdo it with him given his shape and the weather (he’s got some weight to lose and it’s hot and humid).

I’ve had him for about two weeks and right now I’ve been doing basic dressage type work with him in order to get him more soft, supple and responsive to the aids. (He got a massage this past weekend and the therapist said that he didn’t have any real problem areas, just a few minor tight spots.)

I’ve got access to a large trail system that for the most part is flat, but does have some rolling hills.

Our hunt is a drag hunt over rolling farmland/wooded trails. We don’t often have to blaze our own trails, and for right now we only go out for a little over an hour.

Any suggestions or tips?

Thanks!

[wateryglen]

lotsa trails!

Lotsa trailriding and work up to the pace you’ll be going out hunting. Hills are super for conditioning. Try to reproduce on the trail what you’ll be doing out hunting where you can. But I also think you can take a trail fit horse out actually hunting and depending on the day/pace; go in early when you think he’s had a good workout. Thats IF you’re hunt is OK with this and many are during cubbing. You CAN get them fit cubbing. You don’t have to have them hunting fit before you go. Declare what you would like to do (going in early I mean)to your fieldmaster ahead of time and at the point you want to leave. Let them guide you. Take their cue. And if you don’t know your way in, stay with them or join someone who does know their way. Follow the rules about going in too.

I find I always underestimate a horses fitness level. I wear out before they do!! :yes:

[strawberry_roan]

Hills, hills, hills. I, too, find my horse is always more fit than I think he is. As long as you are riding regularly and working when you are riding, you will probably be fit enough for cubbing and then just go from there.

[Mudroom]

When you talk to the people in the hunt be sure to ask them about the typical pace during cubbing. Since it is a drag hunt, those can be fast but are not necessarily, especially during cubbing. The fact that you said they only last an hour or so implies they may really move on.

Conditioning for 2-3 hours of slow work is easier than for 40 minutes of fast work.

Any eventers are your barn? They are doing a lot of conditioning this time of year and are usually pretty good students of the methods. Pairing up with someone can make the long trots more fun.

[SteeleRdr]

LOTS of trotting and hills! Trotting is the best conditioning for a horse. As mudroom said, check in with some eventers, their conditioning program will be helpful, but don’t need the long gallops nearly as much.

Since you are drag, I’m sure it’s quite fast paced and you will definitely need to be conditioned before even going out. Last year, I had a horse start hunting midseason and we used hunting as conditioning and just told the master he was green and unfit and when he would get tired or felt like I didn’t want to fry his brain too much…I would excuse myself from the field.

[Leather]

Thanks guys!

It’s a small barn so no eventers, but I’ve got friends of friends who event so I’ll check in with them.

I’ll definitely talk this over with my friends–they’ll steer me right.

For now I was planning on alternating dressage type work with trails.

Any thoughts on how to mix it up? Should I do ring work on one day and then trails another, or split my rides into half ring/half trails?

When on the trails, is it better to do both walking and trotting on the same ride, or having walking focused days and then trotting focused days? (With a little cantering thrown in here and there.)

[Hotspur]

Eventer

I have a 13 year old QH and started hunting two years ago. I spent the summer before we started hunting getting him ready. We walked and trotted lots of hills.

I have been eventing the past two years as well. Eventing keeps us in training and more fit than we might be otherwise. Our fitness sessions during these hot summer weeks stress finding the best firm, but not rock hard, footing and doing repeated 4-5 minute trot sets with a 2 minute break between. My guy Riley likes eventing but he LOVES hunting!

Good luck and enjoy!

[SteeleRdr]

I’d do more trails and hills and trot sets than dressage/ring work. I’d personally only be in the ring maybe twice a week if I were conditioning.

Right now I’m mostly doing ring work (lots of green horses learning to jump), but come August they all will start doing long trails/works.

[JSwan]

stay out of the ring as much as possible. Maybe just warm up there.

With my draft cross I start out by doing a lot of walking - but it’s very hot and humid here.

If you want to keep sharp on your dressage, but still leg your horse up for hunting (I think drag hunts tend to be faster than live hunts but double check me on that), you can do lots of transitions and weaving in and out among trees and the walk, trot and canter. That way you can keep your horse supple, in front of the leg, and listening to you.

This may come in handy when you start hunting as your horse may be a bit gaa gaa over everything.

walk walk walk, trot trot trot, hills if you have them (I prefer to walk up and walk down, trot up, walk down. A bit boring - but if your horse tends to fall on the forehand you’ll not want to trot or canter downhill unless you can keep the horse balanced.

If you want - you can kinda do what eventers do - count backwards 6 weeks from the date you want to start hunting - and begin your program then.

Keeping in mind that your horse does not need to be hunting fit by the first day of cubbing - just fit enough for the work being done. If you start out hunting at peak fitness - he may be too feisty and unwilling to go at a slower pace - and run out of steam mid-season.

Most folks just want their horse conditioned enough to be able to start cubbing without risk of tying up, or otherwise injuring themselves - then continuing to condition as the season progresses.

You may want to find out how long they go out during cubbing, and what sort of terrain and speed is normal - that may help guide you.

Oh - don’t forget to condition yourself, too. I see a lot of folks that get loose in the tack. You should be working on your own fitness - even getting off your horse, running up the stirrups, and running alongside him during your trot sessions.

That’s just my personal opinion - you may already be very fit so no offense intended. Last season I didn’t do much because I had injured my back (again) so once cubbing started, I was a mess. One day we trotted for about 1/2 hour - just a slow jog - and I thought my legs were on fire and I started hanging on the reins. Not good.

[vineyridge]

Make sure you do lots of hard surface work. If he’s been out of work for two years, his tendons need strengthening, and that’s easiest done by walking and trotting on asphalt or concrete. You need to work up to five miles of trotting, both for you and the horse, which can take more than six weeks.

I’m living proof that NOT doing the legging up can ruin a full year of hunting. Now that I’ve learned my lesson, we’re beginning almost every day with half mile sets on asphalt, followed immediately by very long trail rides on soft dirt where we work on steering and responsiveness. As time passes, the asphalt time will increase.

[imissvixen]

Well, if it was me, if they are starting to cub right now, I would get him fit by taking him cubbing. Here is my thinking. I would rather take a not-so-fit never-been-hunted horse hunting than a fit one. Depending on the hunt you can always pull out if he gets too tired but in my experience the early cub hunts are usually pretty short and designed to get everyone fitter including the hounds. Also, you should go with the hilltoppers since the horse hasn’t been out before and that will be slower.

[wateryglen]

Whoa!!

Welp!..haven’t ever subscribed to the theory about EVER needing to condition on ashphalt/concrete! Most hunts around here don’t hunt on it so…:winkgrin: Woops, wait a minute…sometimes our ground IS that hard so I think conditioning anywhere on the real ground would accomplish the same thing. I think we should always try to mimic what we’re going to be running into on a hunt for conditioning. When we can of course!!

[Tantivy1]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;2556643]
Make sure you do lots of hard surface work. If he’s been out of work for two years, his tendons need strengthening, and that’s easiest done by walking and trotting on asphalt or concrete. You need to work up to five miles of trotting, both for you and the horse, which can take more than six weeks…we’re beginning almost every day with half mile sets on asphalt, followed immediately by very long trail rides on soft dirt where we work on steering and responsiveness. As time passes, the asphalt time will increase.[/QUOTE]

This is most interesting; I know I have read somewhere about how the concussion of a shod hoof on concrete or asphalt is incredibly, expotentially greater than a shod hoof on dirt or grass, even at a mere walk. The image made such an impression in my mind that I stay off concrete and asphalt, avoid them both like the PLAGUE. I try not to even WALK on asphalt if I can help it, much less trot or canter, thought I have been forced to do short bursts of it out hunting and while the sound is wonderful, I practically shudder with each stride and what I fear it is doing to my horses bone structure. There is NO give whatsoever, not to mention the riders I have seen slip and go down on asphalt. While I have heard that the Irish leg their horses up on asphalt, I believe I was told the composition of it there is softer than ours.

I cannot even imagine jogging myself wearing IRON on my feet instead of padded shoes, OUC*H. I know so many people who have had to give up their jogging due to damage from running on hard surfaces and I would think that mathematically, the concussion and consequent damage would be all the greater with a larger animal.

Am I missing some integral factor???

VERY interesting how people do things so differently!

[Thomas_1]

And that leads me to an opportunity to promote a Horse Exercise Programme to get a riding horse fit enough to compete *** eventing or hunting all day on high hill land in the Scottish Borders or a driving horse for fei horse driving trials (CDE). and that’s fit enough for anything else anyone might ever want to do with a horse.

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[Tantivy1]

[QUOTE=imissvixen;2563497]
Well, if it was me, if they are starting to cub right now, I would get him fit by taking him cubbing. Here is my thinking. I would rather take a not-so-fit never-been-hunted horse hunting than a fit one. Depending on the hunt you can always pull out if he gets too tired.[/QUOTE]

So VERY true! Take them hunting even if they are not fit, you can always pull out! (and enjoy a nice hack back to the fixture or putz around in second flight for a bit). I made the mistake one year of gettting my mare fit early on and it was awful, actually unfair to the horse in some regards - standing around on a muscle bound 1/2 ton of quivering horseflesh at the beginning of the season made a miserable time of it for her. If starting a greenie, stack the odds in your favor - I like them fat, barefoot and unfit. They will get fit by colder weather, losing weight and muscling up, and the shoes go on around first frost.

[JSwan]

Tantivy - I wonder if some folks do more road work because of their territory. By that I mean they know that even during cubbing, they may be on roads depending on the fixture.

I think eventers still do it - but I thought it was pretty much just walking and trotting - mostly towards the end of their conditioning program to help remodel bone. But I admit I’m not up to speed on that.

I only want my horse fit enough to not worry overmuch about tieing up, or straining soft tissue. Like you said - too much fitness and it’s no fun sitting on a horse with ants in his pants.

Right now the ground is so hard I might as well be working on roads. I’m pretty much doing walk walk walk, trot trot trot, walk walk walk, up and down a hill, maybe jump a log or coop, walk back, put the horse away, take out another one… same thing. Boring.

I think it was Jimmy Wofford that used to make his students run alongside their horses for fitness. Anyone doing that these days?

[Tantivy1]

[QUOTE=J Swan;2565520]
Tantivy - I wonder if some folks do more road work because of their territory. By that I mean they know that even during cubbing, they may be on roads depending on the fixture.

I think eventers still do it - but I thought it was pretty much just walking and trotting - mostly towards the end of their conditioning program to help remodel bone. But I admit I’m not up to speed on that. [/QUOTE]

Have heard that there are lots more roads in PA and when I had the opportunity to hunt there, found it to be true; did a lot moving about the countryside on the roads as there were no shoulders and I guess limited access cross country. It was scary…and come to think of it, a gentleman two horses in front of me had his horse go down hard on the asphalt the first day of hunting. He was ok but quite shaken up, but he had to pull up and missed the rest of the hunting trip as his horse was scrapped his hipbone and had a bad road rash.

I did not even know that eventers conditioned their horses like this, I guess I am still living in the dark ages!

The ground is like concrete now, dust and dying corn everywhere, even some creeks have totally dried up, something I rarely see.

I’ll still pass on the asphalt work. I went down once on it, on a sure footed horse, at a walk, and got lucky…but I have no plans to press my luck any further! Not sure either how my CO (and contents) would hold up smashing onto asphalt either…crashing on the ground itself is hard enough!

[JSwan]

If you think asphalt is bad - try walking a horse on asphalt that has a driveway sealer on it.

Last season we were crossing a farm drive (with permission of course) and the farmer had sealed his driveway with that sealer stuff you get at the hardware store.

I was like walking on ice. It took all of us by surprise - including the horses. None of the horses had traction - this was during cubbing. One horse got injured and was out the rest of the season. A lot of others got banged up.

I realize I often come off as a smug know it all - which isn’t intentional- but I had absolutely no idea that sealer make a driveway slick. Judging from the numbers of horses skidding, I wasn’t the only one.

Scared me half to death.

I don’t know if upper level eventers still do road work or not. They used to - back when dirt was new.

[Tantivy1]

[QUOTE=J Swan;2566158]
If you think asphalt is bad - try walking a horse on asphalt that has a driveway sealer on it. It was like walking on ice. I don’t know if upper level eventers still do road work or not.[/QUOTE]

Quite right - have seen how scary slick it is. I normally do not shoe behind, and have noticed while on asphalt that horses have far greater purchase with hoof horn on asphalt than metal on asphalt, and the concussion is greatly reduced as well.

Another point - with the ground as hard as it is, even the grass can be slick! Esp. walking downhill on dried grasses, barefoot or shod, and it can be worse in the mornings when there is a little moisture on the shorter grass. I see horses slip behind quite a bit.

Methinks…about time to do a hurricane dance!

[Snow_Princess]

The plastic horseshoes are great on the pavement…alot less concussion !
You can feel the traction they provide instead of fearing the slide.
I was very pleased with them this spring and will be using them again this fall!