Excitement... followed by days of pain...

[SouthernYankee]

I don’t know how ya’ll do it week after week for months on end…

I finally own a horse I can hunt on and have found a hunt that I really enjoy, only to come on at the end of season…

Sunday was closing hunt, and man did we hit it hard. I know I’m out of shape, but after 5 1/2 hours of hard riding in 70 degree weather we were all about spent. It was a fun time had by all and I cannot wait for this fall to join and go out on a regular basis.

BUT I have been hobbling around for the past 2 days. If you need a visual of what I look like picture a 9 1/2 month pregnant and constipated woman who is still trying to wear 4" heels, and this me (in the flattest shoes I can find).

I’ve been eyeing the Ibuprofen a mere 15 feet away for the past hour, and can not find the courage to stand up and get it…

So now that I have a few months break from hunting (I will be focusing on dressage and eventing with the new mare) what are your tricks at getting in good enough shape for hunting this fall? Do you have a conditioning schedule that you and your horses use to get ready?

[SidesaddleRider]

Well, the way people are able to do it week after week for months, is that that routine gets one hunting fit! Although, 5 1/2 hours of hard x-c riding is a long time for pretty much anyone.

When the hunting season ends in March, we move into show season (April-August), so while we don’t want the horses hunting-fit, we do want them fit enough to do several o/f classes in the summer heat. So, we continue to do trot sets on the hills at least 1x/week, do flat only or flat & jumping schools 2-3x/week (1 lightly o/f, 1 with coursework or gymnastics), and hopefully ride them out x-c in hunt territory 1x/week. This may get modified, of course, depending on if we are showing or not. Often, the trot sets will be incorporated before doing a flatwork school. With this routine, they are plenty fit enough by the time it is cubbing season in September, and cubbing gets them fit enough for formal hunting.

For ourselves, we pretty much stay riding fit with that schedule (we do 1-3 sets of horses each day), otherwise we are trying to stay fit with regular workouts (jogging, elliptical, etc). I personally hate to use a treadmill, and prefer to walk/jog outside, so this winter has NOT been good for me, exercise-wise. In late spring- early fall, Mr. SSR swims laps in the pool after doing 20 min on the elliptical, and I also spend a lot of time doing yard work and gardening.

[Beverley]

I use an exercise bike and other machines plus walking in addition to riding. Happily muscle memory helps after 40+ years of hunting and a lifetime of other sports including tennis and basketball. And flex stirrups make a huge difference for me. And, whether hunting or on an all day trail ride, I used to take Advil but a Dr. hunting buddy put me onto Aleve.

[Prime_Time_Rider]

Aleve (naproxen sodium) is a definite plus. I take two about 30 to 45 minutes before I hunt. Flex stirrups have also really helped relieve joint pain.

[ISR]

My horse is young, hunted all season, and I don’t know if she’s fit enough for 5 1/2 hours! And I KNOW i’m not!

Hunting all season keeps us both fairly fit, followed by spring hunter paces which we do every weekend, then I ride with my neighbor who has 2 endurance horses in the summer. Finding her was a godsend, and helps to keep me motivated and in shape! I wish I could convince her to hunt–she moves fast and steady over varied terrain. She is one of the few people outside of my hunt that I enjoy riding with because I know she doesn’t do slow pokey rides. Using her workout routines to help with my horse’s fitness has been wonderful!

[Ponyclubrocks]

I ride 5 days a week in and off season. The more you hunt the easier it is. Off season I make sure at least two of those days per week include cross country and or trail work. Riding up and down hills definitely uses your and your horses body differently than riding in a ring. All that being said I am usually a bit sore after the first hunt of the season, but I hunt twice a week and in a few weeks I am not sore at all (I do sleep like a baby however!)

[kookicat]

Do you have a bath? A nice hot soak is what you need! That and to get moving a bit. Sitting still will only make you stiffen up more. I try to go swimming the day after!

[SouthernYankee]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I am finally able to walk somewhat normal today, so I’ve made it past the 2nd day is the worst hump. I do have a bath and will try that next time, I think what made it worse is the desk job, I over did it then have been sitting around for the past few days…

I do have flex stirrups and cannot imagine how it would have been without them…

My mare however is fine with zero signs of any soreness. She’s new to hunting and a very forward mare normally and we had a very large hunt on sunday. So it wasn’t even an easy 5+ hour ride… it was ‘training’ cough fighting cough the entire ride, she thankfully wasn’t ugly about anything, just very forward. She was even jigging on the walk back to the trailers. I think she will be amazing once she gets if figured out. But until then I see many more sore days in my future.

ETA: I had some experienced members suggest a little ace the morning of the hunt for the mare, just to calm her down a touch. I’m not sure how I feel about it. On one hand it would be nice to slow her down until she gets it figured out and avoid the fight. (she listens to half halts and I can rate her speed and steer but she is always wanting to go faster) But on the other hand I’m not about taking the easy way out for me and I am not comfortable riding a drugged up horse across terrain. If it matters this hunt does not do hardly any jumping.

[ISR]

re: ace.

It’s obviously a personal preference. I used it a couple of times, and noticed absolutely zero difference, but then I have a horse who seems to be resistant to many drugs. I think it gave ME a little placebo effect, but nothing more. What worked for us is a whole lotta wet saddle pads. My horse is just finishing her second season, and we are no longer “up” at the end of our ride. She’s learning that several hours hunting is a long time, and it’s good to preserve yourself! Just like the overall fitness benefit, the routine of hunting as often as your schedule permits will give her the miles she needs to realize it’s not such a big deal.

I was fortunate enough to be furloughed from my job this season, and got out twice a week, I really think that helped in getting her brain over the excitement. Load up, hunt, load back up, go home, relax, rinse and repeat.

I forgot to mention that I use a Thinline pad (the regular thickness, not the ultra), this helps both horse and rider, and i’ve noticed my lower back is not nearly so tight as it was before I started using one!

[DQ_Foxhunter]

Advil is indeed a foxhunter’s friend!
I hunt all winter, but if I was out for 5 hours I would be sore!
Most of the time we are out for 2-3 hours,5 hours would be advil hot tub wine time!
I trail ride all spring,and in the summer we start roading with the young hounds.
I also have a dressage horse and take lessons with her all year round.
I just turned 50,but I hunt with people in thier 80’s who put me to shame.
One of my trail riding partners is 77 and she kicks my butt!
I have just come to realize that some people are just tougher than me,but I just keep trying!
Hang in there and hunting is so worth it.
Oh and try taking an advil before you go out,it really helps.

[SLW]

Advil the morning of hunting followed up by a second dose as directed by the label.

As for conditioning my mare doesn’t get the summer off per say but the demands of the work are easier. I trail ride with friends and when we start roading hounds on horse back in August I can gauge how much more “wind” she needs before Cub hunting begins the next month. Trot intervals are your friend for legging up a horse.

As for ace, it can be a tool but it’s not a replacement for working through things. I’ve used it in .5cc amount to take the edge off…and if I give my horse that same dose she does quite well too.

If your horse is brand new to hunting and her first hunt was a barn burner closing hunt she may be just fine after she learns what hunting is all about. There are so many factors that it’s impossible to suggest things not seeing the two of you in action. I always, always error on the side of starting a horse nice and slow to see how their brain is absorbing the action. If the brain is focused on hunting then we can add speed. I hate no brain and lots of speed.

[Beverley]

Ace is indeed a hot topic. I’ve managed to get by w/o it for 40+ years of hunting. I can recall, back in the 70s, some people insisting that their horses have Ace. The barn manager knew the horses didn’t need it, so he ‘pretended’ to administer. Rider, thinking horses had it, thus relaxed, and everybody was happy. Horses are like people, they either take to hunting like a duck to water, or don’t. The acid test is about 5th or 6th hunt, sometimes as soon as 3rd hunt- when the horse ‘knows’ it’s going hunting. If the horse comes off the trailer with the heebie jeebies, hunting might not be its niche. I’ve had a couple of washouts, but in my experience, the successful horses went ‘wow, cool’ on the first hunt, perhaps a matter of dampening enthusiasm for some in the ensuing hunts, but once they knew the deal, lovely rides on the whole.

[SouthernYankee]

[QUOTE=SLW;7465317]
If your horse is brand new to hunting and her first hunt was a barn burner closing hunt she may be just fine after she learns what hunting is all about. There are so many factors that it’s impossible to suggest things not seeing the two of you in action. I always, always error on the side of starting a horse nice and slow to see how their brain is absorbing the action. If the brain is focused on hunting then we can add speed. I hate no brain and lots of speed. :([/QUOTE]

Keeping in mind I’ve only owned this mare for 1 1/2 months. This is kind of what I’m thinking with my mare. She is hot/forward naturally and I’m hoping hunting will teach her to pace herself. And that will in turn flow into our eventing rides. This was her second hunt. First was small and she was fantastic, it was very low key and we kept further away from the hounds and just let her absorb. She stood like a pro, walked like a pro, and galloped like a pro.

I think this hunt was a little overwhelming for her, there were an estimated 40 riders last weekend and four wheelers following our flight. And we were actually in flights (the normal hunts are so small and ‘redneck’ that as long as we stay out of the hounds and huntsmen’s way they don’t care where we are- perfect for starting a horse). it’s very obvious that she is much more comfortable galloping alone (the eventer in her) than with a large group of horses. The promising thing about her is even with wanting to be very forward she wasn’t ugly about any of it, no buck, no rear/crow hop, no spook, etc. She may be a bit much for a lot of riders but I’m enjoying the enthusiasm.

She has been great at the trailer and at the beginning of the rides, she just gets overexcited when the group heads to the field. I would prefer to not go the ace route if I can, but the way it was mentioned in passing almost as the norm made me wonder… thanks for the feedback everyone.

The plan is to stick with smaller hunts for the next few rides and go from there. Which is unfortunate because there is another large hunt going out tomorrow (with a different hunt), I’d love to ride but I don’t want to expose her to that 2 hunts in a row.

[CindyCRNA]

OP, my mare is big (17.2) hot-ish and very forward on a hunt and for us, it gets worse and worse…in a good way, I guess. She loves to hunt (this is her first season) and as she got in better shape, she became more and more forward. Our last hunt was about 1.75 hours and it was solid pulling back on the reins. At one point, she was prancing sideways on a tight rein! She is not nervous, she is just excited! We ran and ran and ran, farther than we ever had. I could barely walk down the stairs for 5 days! I am starting to do wall-sits which are helping tremendously with quad strength . The whole back half of my body hurt from pulling back and I ride her in a 3-ring elevator with a chain. She has a big stride and it is not uncommon for us to be trotting while everyone else canters. FWIW, there is no way I wouldn’t be hospitalized from a 5 hour hunt! OMG!

[SLW]

Southern Yankee, your mare will do fine with more hunting miles under her belt. A forward moving, happy to hunt horse is a thrill to ride!! One of my favorite hunt horses was a dirt cheap QTR/Arab I owned. He was a game, honest and splendid horse to ride on a hunt.

I had never used ace until a few years back when a “been there, done that” Quarter horse I bought to hunt came uncorked when introduced to roading hounds and never improved. LOL, was I dead wrong that the mare would hunt- she wasn’t at all suitable. A little ace got me (and the mare) through the season. After hunting ended I sold her to a friend who ranches and he loves her. If a horse is otherwise suitable for hunting and little ace makes it perfect for the rider then no harm. A friends veterinarian in Virginia uses it on his horses that are prone to tying up before a hunt.

[jawa]

Ace can be could for those that tie up and for those that have shivers (or string halt I get them confused).

If you can go out and hunter pace (large groups of horses around, but only a few going out together), do group trail rides and then roading hounds as the summer goes on you mare with be much more ready mentally and physically.

You could always go to the big hunt and come in early if its too much for her.

Happy Hunting!

[littlebaypony]

Don’t know what part of Alabama you are from but Full Cry is having a small hunt 3/9/14 you might want to cap. It will be a very small group of riders, no flights, very casual, usually loads of fun. PM me if interested.