Resources for Conditioning the Lower Level Pony

[ACountingRider]

I have a student/family friend who I don’t teach regularly, but mother will ask me to coach and walk course with daughter at local schooling shows. (Her trainer doesn’t go to a lot of schooling shows, whom she lessons with regularly with at home.)

They’ve been really successful at BN and below, and this weekend went to run first Novice. They schooled without me the day before, so when I came on Saturday pony had no gas left.

They are getting plugged into our area’s Young Rider program and going to camp so will get a lot of helpful information then.

But I spoke with mother after competition about adding some conditioning work into their schedule. Does anyone have any resources/books/online schedules for a lower level conditioning schedule that I could forward them?

I have Phillip’s book, which I think had advice for conditioning, but I’m not sure if the schedules dealt with Novice.

Thanks!

[Heinz_57]

Jimmy Wofford specifically mentions a few things with regard to N/T horses and conditioning in this article: https://practicalhorsemanmag.com/training/jim-wofford-design-a-horse-fitness-plan-for-eventing

Definitely make sure they understand that they need to build up slowly. I kind of get why people want to school XC right before an event, but perhaps they could forego that next time? Or at least do it a few days beforehand instead of the day before, or at least keep it short and to the point. Or am I misunderstanding and by schooling you just meant general riding? How many days/week is the kid currently riding? Maybe all they need is to ride more often, 5-6 days a week, and add a few more minutes to each ride.

[Equisis]

I don’t have any particular resources, but basic conditioning work is the same across the levels, with variations in duration, terrain, and speed. A good place to start would be assessing her current schedule and finding what is lacking. Maybe she only rides 2-3 days per week, and needs to ride 5-6. If she has access to good ride-out, she should be going on a good walk hack (forward walk) once a week, with hills if possible, and trotting 1-2x per week (building until they can trot for 20-30min on moderate terrain and finish in reasonable condition). It’s important that they know the importance of building slowly and paying attention to the increasing fitness (teach her how to take TPR, keep track of recovery time, and assess riding conditions like footing and grade). It’s also important that they understand how fitness plays a role in safety, both for the rider and the horse, even at the low levels.

[leheath]

I like Jimmy Wofford’s article and agree with the previous suggestions.

Here is another one with some good tips: http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2012/10/megan-jones-getting-your-eventer-fit/

Here is a pair of articles with some more info:
http://www.horsenation.com/2013/12/05/fit-to-ride-conditioning-your-horse-part-i/
http://www.horsenation.com/2013/12/06/fit-to-ride-conditioning-your-horse-part-ii/

[In1]

The USPC C level manual will provide a foundation to explain the resources listed above.

I’m certainly not trying to argue with Waredaca but my goodness - 6" x 3 canter intervals for novice…you might have to pull that pony off the indoor’s ceiling!

[pologirl27]

@In_

The USPC C level manual will provide a foundation to explain the resources listed above.

I’m certainly not trying to argue with Waredaca but my goodness - 6" x 3 canter intervals for novice…you might have to pull that pony off the indoor’s ceiling!

Well, it is for Novice and Training together on one schedule. So I can say I personally went less for Novice. But it is also the 3-Day, which requires more fitness than a regular HT. So I’ll elaborate and say Waredaca has a guide, but to just do a horse trial she won’t need as much fitness.

[yellowbritches]

I have ridden ponies in both foxhunting and eventing and didn’t find that they needed a tremendous amount more work than the average horse. IF we’re talking about large ponies that aren’t terribly drafty (like Halflingers or Fjords). They usually did just fine with 4 or 5 days of riding, including plenty of hacking out (maybe with some good trotting and cantering). If they are particularly little or heavy, they’ll need more rigorous treatment, but the typical large ponies aren’t terribly difficult, in my experience. I also had two extremely fit larges on my hand at one point (both were hunting regularly and being ridden extensively by their kids). Fit ponies are hellions! I would be careful of getting them over fit! :lol:

[asterix]

Everyone has given good advice. I have had some big horses (not ponies but heavy guys). To shoot for novice, I’d want to be doing 3 5 minute trots on terrain, with 2 minute walk breaks, followed by 3 3 min canters, with 2 min walk breaks. It could be useful for her to do the trots and try one minute canters and see how he feels.
Also, schooling the day before is definitely not going to be a good idea as they move up the levels. Moderate flat school or a nice hack out the day before.

[ShandyB]

The Waredaca guide is for a Classic 3-Day–and they have a great explanation on their website of what that entails. A loose summary of what it says: Cross country is “Phase D” of endurance day–phase A is a good trot/canter pace with no jumps, B is a gallop over steeplechase fences, and C is a slower pace (some walking) over a longer track. Then you get a ten minute break before starting XC as we know it.

I think one of the simplest ways to start building fitness is to hack out for 15-30 minutes after every ride. In the summer, because horses are in their stalls, you may be able to hack around a turnout field, which makes for a great change of scenery if your barn doesn’t back up to trails. Or, start your ride with a hack–you might just get a looser, more relaxed horse during the “work” portion of your ride.

You also don’t want to make fitness work a total chore. Prescribing minutes and repetitions could turn the rider off from conditioning. Obviously, she’ll need to learn it eventually, but no need to start off with a sour taste of it.