So I haven’t been on a horse in almost 2 years due to injuries from a car accident. I’m determined to get back to it, but I’m stuck on physical strength. I am sooo weak right now. I’ve ridden since I was a little kid so I’ve never really had to start from scratch to get in shape for riding. Aside from yoga or the yoga/pilates blend, are there any starting from the basics fitness video/places to look that apply well for equestrian fitness?
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Start going for long brisk walks outside, off pavement if possible. Graduate to hills in parks. It really is the best thing for overall fitness after some time off for injury or illness. Then you can add on some easy stretches. Walking has mild sustained cardio if you are brisk and include hills. Once you can walk briskly on varied terrain for over an hour without fatigue you can start looking at where the gaps are and thinking about more cardio or weight training.
Walking helps with balance, core if you engage your posture, and just the basic fatigue of being on your feet again.
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When I am starting back from an injury I always start slow (& on flat ground!) with an old Leslie Sansone 1 mile Walk Away the Pounds tape. In a week or so, I work up to the 2 mile. She does arm and ab work on most of them, too, so it can be a full body low impact workout, and it is surprisingly effective and kind of fun. There are a ton of them for sale on ebay. I have about 8 of them for variety.
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I find swimming is good, as well as walking, to build up basic, all-round fitness. I often think I’m ‘fitter’ on my walk and swim weekly routine than my cousins who go to the gym daily but find a two hour walk tiring.
When getting back into a saddle after a long break, I have found beginning with some lunge lessons to be very helpful. There are parts of the body that only riding seems to use. Also, I know how to ride, been doing it for decades, but whilst my mind can get straight back on board my muscles can not and it does take time to get the body back into instinctive shape.
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Thanks everyone! I do walk a little over a mile every day. And I do a lot of balance, knee, and ankle exercises on a Bosu ball…but that’s pretty much all I’ve managed so far. I’ll look into these options to see how I can progress!
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I highly recommend the Peloton app - it’s $13/month and has a great mix of yoga, pilates, barre, and strength classes. There’s a month long program called crush your core that’s been great as a horseback rider. The full body strength classes are great too since there’s a good bit of lunges and single leg dead lifts, which challenge and strengthen your balance, too.
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There is nothing better then putting in a little riding in figuring out what areas you need to strengthen or work on flexibility. You may not be the typical client of a therapeutic riding facility, but they would have the safe horses, facilities, equipment, and assistance needed to make the first few rides safe and if you feel past that, getting on a super trusty steed for a “pony”/led ride at a walk may do the same.
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I am have just started riding again after breaking my ankle. It’s amazing how much muscle tone I lost being non-weight bearing for 8 weeks! I walk as much as possible, do balancing exercises, PT and swim. I also do my PT exercises in the pool. I’m going to add yoga into the mix soon.
Ultimately, there are some things that you can’t really replicate until you are riding again. The stress on an ankle is one of them, so my riding is progressing slowly as I strengthen the ligaments. Key for me has been riding with a long leg and supportive saddle – for me that’s either been my dressage saddle or a western/endurance saddle.
Good luck and take it slowly.
Yes, going for long hacks or trail rides at the walk is terrific for building up riding stamina before actually going back to w t c lessons where you need to be effective. If OP has been out of the saddle for 2 years I’m guessing they don’t have a horse waiting for them. It might be worth contacting any lesson program or even a dude string and explaining you want a couple of months of nice safe walk and trot rides several times a week.
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Yeah. It’s been a pretty slow process. I finally got cleared to drive at the end of August. I still have pretty bad balance problems from the tbi so I haven’t gotten a new horse yet. There are a couple of therapeutic riding places near me, so that might be a safe place to start.
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I think one of the therapeutic riding centers would be an excellent place to start.
I am older (66) and got to ride very little for a span of about 6 years. It has been a trip trying to get back to it. I seem to have a big problem staying sound and maintaining a regular exercise regimen with all my various owies. I am currently dealing with a hip issue 
. This year, I have just gotten back on and am trying to do what I would do as if I would be rehabbing a horse. I start low and go slow. I am up to about 2 1/2 laps of the arena at trot. I just started cantering when winter came and now I’m back to doing ground work but that gets me lots of walking. Yes it is pathetic but life has gotten in the way many times so over the summer I didn’t get to ride much. I just keep with the go slow mantra. I have no competition goals…just to enjoy my horse so slow it is.
I would like to work with a personal trainer but right now, that isn’t in the budget. In the meantime, I just let how I feel on the horse guide me. My stamina has gotten better, it just has a long way to go to get where I would like it.
Good luck and congrats on persevering through such a tough time.
Susan
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good advice here. You may also think about asking on the Riders with Health Issues category. Riders from other disciplines may have good advice, too! good luck.
Hopefully my lungs will heal enough to let me ride, if only at a walk and if they do I’ll be right there with you.
I need 4 l a min supplemental oxygen to walk 50 feet and I have lost over 30 lbs, mostly muscle.
It sucks
Oh my goodness!! I am so sorry to hear that. 
what happened, if you don’t mind me asking?
March 2019 I came down with a serious case of pneumonia and never really got over it. It turns out I have chronic lymphocytic leukemia and after numerous tests, antibiotics and CT scans it seems that the leucocytes infiltrated my lungs and are causing severe inflammation that has damaged them.
I’m on a targeted therapy to hopefully kill off the lymphocytes and let my lungs heal but I am afraid I won’t get much function back. The new med seems to be working and I am coughing up less mucus.
I’m so sorry to hear this, Carol. I hope the new med does its work and you are able to ride again.
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