What type of walk to incorporate in training program?

[BroncoMo]

I couldn’t decide if this should go in the hunter/jumper threads or here. Maybe I’ll cross post. But I wanted a broad range of ideas.

What and how do you incorporate long walk rides in to your programs? I realize and understand the benefit to walk rides, but curious how to do it. I live remotely and have ample dirt roads with nearly no traffic, I have rolling hills in the prairie, lots of options here.

Do you do loose rein strolling walks? Or framed up brisk walks? Throw me some ideas.

Horse in question is a mid teens hunter. No ailments aside from self-induced wear and tear. He naturally is built a but upside down in his neck and also has a low neck set; so his natural tendency is to walk around hollow necked and on his forehand if given a loose rein to do so. He jumps twice a week in lessons, currently about 2’6" though we are slowly working towards 3’ again after my having been deployed, and him being on lease. I don’t jump him at home as I don’t want to create issues when we’ve made tremendous progress recently in haul-out lessons. I try to keep things changed up to continue his conditioning and fitness; longing in a rig, flat rides, etc. I do want to get/make an Equiband system for him. But want to incorporate my available and open terrain.

Thoughts and ideas are appreciated.

[FjordBCRF]

I’ll let others chime in on specifics, but we are huge proponents of cross training. I have farm roads and wooded trails on site and the days we just go and walk, I give him the freedom to walk on a loose rein, check/smell things, sometimes give him choices on which way to go. This helps him keep his own balance and choose his own steps/path on different terrains which I believe is just as important as typical arena work.

I consider these sort of wellness rides. Fresh air, hills, nature watching, low pressure…I think we both enjoy about equally.

[Salty]

I have a young mustang who was started late, and, since I only have an arena in the summer, we do a lot of hill walking. I ask for a brisk, forward, marching walk. Once she’s relaxed, we go from on the buckle to contact and back to on the buckle again. Then we incorporate shoulder fore and leg yields, followed by more forward marching in a more uphill balance. We end by stretching down and then walking on a loose rein.

She tends to get short stride and tight when she’s tense so I try to keep relaxation and forward movement the priorities.

[goodhors]

We want three distinct walks on a “trained” horse. They would be an easy amble, slowing walk to relax with. Middle walk is a bit more forward, his natural walk, with the third walk being VERY forward as he extends himself. They ask for this big walk in our driving dressage tests. You want to see a distinct change in demenor and ground he covers. Each kind of walk is distinctly different, visibly different than the other two walks.

We need three trots as well, with the most trained horse actually having 5 speeds. But for the three trots the slowest is about a western jog speed. Horse IS doing a true trot, both front and rear but very slow on forward. The middle trot is stronger, moving along, yet not very extended. The third trot is his extended trot, moving big, ground covering, yet not rushing. Some collection to get his rear end driving under him, front comes up a little. Visibly different in each speed again.

Doing your road riding, you can work on the various speeds with random speed changes to keep him guessing what is next. Walk breaks also help his attention, perhaps some canter work while facing AWAY from home. My friends and I used to have trotting races, first horse who broke gait was the loser. I really found it helpful in making my horse more adjustable in her trots. She was not the longest striding, learned to reach bigger. Plus she was the smoothest, so we often won because the others could not sit their trots bareback!! Ha ha

Putting in the road time is really worth it when you need horse to adjust his various speeds in tricky places. The off and on requests in all his gaits makes speed up or slow down, non-exciting when you ask for it. We do canter/gallop work in harness after we get in the mileage, go until WE ask for a slower gait. Half mile or more galloping makes them GLAD to accommodate the trot requests!! Again, canter/gallop on the road is ALWAYS HEADED AWAY from the farm/barn. Not making a “run for home to quit ride” something he would ever consider. Maybe make a few more circles in the arena after getting home, so no reward, rider off, food in stall, for arriving at home.

Our horses like going down the road, new stuff to see every stride!

[Scribbler]

I like a big marching walk with the horse reaching to the bit. Head is at neutral but neck is raised at the base. You need to teach this to horses that are upside down.

[Renn_aissance]

On trails where there is varied footing and obstacles, etc. I prefer to walk on a loose rein and let the horse figure out what to do with their legs. It develops proprioception.

For a horse who likes to get upside-down, you have a great opportunity with those maintained dirt roads and rolling hills you mention. A working walk over this terrain, riding him through the hocks into the bridle, is excellent physical development for his posture.

Of course, most horses enjoy a nice long purposeless amble on a loose rein to go relax and sightsee… and those who don’t enjoy it probably need to go do it every so often, too, so they learn a life skill.

[Amy3996]

I am such a proponent of tack walking/trail walks for mental and physical fitness for both horse and rider. Depending on what the rest of our program looks like at any given time, and how the horse feels on that particular day helps shape what my goal is for a session.

A little up or fresh? Cool, we’re marching into the bridle, lifting the back, maybe playing with some light lateral work. Transitions to and from halt or within the walk. Depending on how your terrain varies, that can be a lot of the workout in and of itself.

If we’ve had a heavy schedule of arena work, jump schooling or showing, I might try for more of a mental health reset for both of us. A loose rein, stretchy walk and a chance to enjoy the change of scenery and take a breath. Not demanding much of the horse, might focus more on doing chunks of the ride in 2-point to work on my own balance and strength.

[hallie2]

I go out once or twice weekly with a friend- on the buckle. I put my horse in a sidepull on these rides, to give him a break from the bit. Poor grammar- my friend isn’t on the buckle, horse is.

[OzarksRider]

I ride Western and don’t do hunter/jumper, so my thoughts may not apply to your situation . . .

I trail ride, mostly walk/trot with some canter. Terrain is gravel roads and rocky trails, with lots of hills. I like to vary what I do in my rides. I ride with a loose rein not just because that’s the western style but also I think it helps make my horse responsible without me micromanaging him. I want my horse to be forward, but also have good brakes and steering. I work with being light on the reins and riding with legs and body. We practice serpentines, side passing, turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches. I also occasionally throw in a sudden stop in the middle of a fast trot, and then a quick transition back to the trot. Sometimes I do a stop and step back. Or sometimes just stop and stand still. I also like to vary the speed–slow walk, fast walk, power walk, slow jog, fast trot. You don’t have to drill these maneuvers–just sprinkle them into your ride.

Sometimes I also like to let my horse choose where to go. Last week we went for what I thought would be an hour ride, but when we came to the intersection where we usually turn for home I let him choose where to go. He chose to go in a direction we don’t often go and it extended our ride another hour. He enjoyed the detour and I was happy to let him do it, because I don’t want our rides to be all work and no fun for him.

[Janet]

It depends on what your objective is for walk work.

If you are walking for conditioning, Jimmy Wofford was very emphatic that it needs to be a forward walk, on contact. (And there is one US eventer that went to the Olympics after a conditioning program that was ENTIRELY at a walk, a lot of it on hills).

On the other hand, if you are interval training, the walk intervals between trot or canter sets are for the horse to catch its breath, and gets its pulse and respiration down, and a walk on-the-buckle (if the horse isn’t too hyper) is perfectly appropriate.

If you are hoping to improve an “upside down neck” then you want to work on a “long and low” walk (which is NOT the same as just on-the-buckle).

If I am bringing a horse back from an injury (depending on the kind of injury, and the vet’s reccomendation) then I do lots of walk - halt transitions, figures (circles, figure 8s, spirals, squares) and lateral work, all at the walk.

And sometimes I use a walk on-the-buckle to work on relaxation (with a horse that tends to be tense).

[Renn_aissance]

@Janet

And there is one US eventer that went to the Olympics after a conditioning program that was ENTIRELY at a walk, a lot of it on hills

Tell me more about this- this is the first I’ve heard this story, which means my vet probably hasn’t either, and she’ll be tickled to hear about it. (The working walk is one of her most regular prescriptions, with reason!)

[RAyers]

I didn’t go to the Olympics but I conditioned my old advanced horse (17-18 years old) for his final season at the walk. Lots of climbing hills and exploring. We would go out for an hour or two. Lots of wandering the countryside. Of course it was back when the Front Range of Denver was less populated and I could get onto the mesas easily.

I think Janet is thinking of Mark Todd and Murphy Himself?

[PaddockWood]

@Renn_aissance

Tell me more about this- this is the first I’ve heard this story, which means my vet probably hasn’t either, and she’ll be tickled to hear about it. (The working walk is one of her most regular prescriptions, with reason!)

Denny Emerson posts under Tamarack Hill on FB fairly regularly about the importance and value of the walk. He also discussed it in his book. If you search on FB you’ll find one not that long ago.

I have a personal story of moving a horse to a hilly area after being on flat terrain for years and after a few months of walk went to trot and canter and blew a suspensory.

Bottom line is had I walked for months longer we might have avoided that disaster.

[Demerara_Stables]

Echoing what @PaddockWood says about looking up Denny’s page and his recommendations.

My horses walk on the road/in the field for 15-20 minutes before and after every arena ride. This walk is on the buckle and somewhere between an amble and a forward march, depending on the horse (my older ones get more time to warm up at an amble, the younger ones go pretty much right to a march). One caveat to “on the buckle” - if I have one that tends to be upside down, I ask her to constantly reach down and for the bit. It’s crude, but I tell my students “poll below the withers and nose in front of the vertical.” The fitter and more accustomed to this work the horse is, the longer their step becomes and the more they work over their topline.

Additionally, everyone goes for a trail ride once a week or more that is just at the walk. Again, it depends on the horse (are we trying to get fit or trying to give them a break from arena work?), but it will vary between an amble and a march. Again, long and low.

I don’t put horses in a frame much outside of the arena. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but I prefer to use that time to really lengthen their step and get everything stretched out and loose. If I’ve got a young or fresh one, to I will have some contact and throw in some lateral work to keep their mind focused.

I have varied terrain and am lucky to have locations with perfectly flat to 8% grade at various trail locations nearby, so I choose the location based on what kind of ride I want (are we really conditioning for summer XC or are we out for a casual hack to see the sights and enjoy each other’s company).

I do believe you can get a lot of conditioning done at the walk, and if I didn’t have to haul out to get to most of the places I ride, I’d probably walk on the trail 2-3x more a week than I currently do.

[PaddockWood]

Yeah, “like” Tamarack Hill and then use the search icon and put in the word walk. Boy does he talk alot about the value of that gait. Let’s see if the search will copy here:
https://www.facebook.com/profile/100064451033652/search/?q=walk

[Libby2563]

@OzarksRider

I don’t want our rides to be all work and no fun for him.

Don’t tell Pony Club but I miiiiiiiight let my horse stop to nibble some choice grass while we’re out hacking, for the same reason. He tends to be tense and always thinking about the next thing / the next gallop set / getting back to the barn. I use a distinct action of dropping my hand onto his withers to signal it’s okay to stop at that nice patch of grass. I think it has helped him be more relaxed and in the moment. I event so I aim to do one long walk per week plus one conditioning ride with sets in between the walk out and back. I want those rides to be fun for him too! (He does definitely enjoy the gallop parts.)

[Renn_aissance]

@RAyers

I didn’t go to the Olympics but I conditioned my old advanced horse (17-18 years old) for his final season at the walk. Lots of climbing hills and exploring. We would go out for an hour or two. Lots of wandering the countryside. Of course it was back when the Front Range of Denver was less populated and I could get onto the mesas easily.

I think Janet is thinking of Mark Todd and Murphy Himself?

My horse would have LOVED that fitness program. He is a great explorer at heart and enjoys channelling his inner billy goat with respect to ridges, creek beds, and vertical slopes generally. Sadly, we very much do not live in the Front Range, and the closest he ever got to this was marching around some mountain bike trails in the local woods. Given the technicality of said trails, which I did not know were there, I wished I had put a saddle on him that day. I thought we were going for an amble, he had another idea.

I’m aware of Denny Emerson’s proclamations about the working walk but a conditioning program entirely at walk is a new story to me.

[Janet]

@RAyers

I think Janet is thinking of Mark Todd and Murphy Himself?

No. I wish I remember exactly who it was, but it was a female US rider based in California. It MIGHT have been Gina Miles, but I can’t swear to iit.

[Janet]

@Renn_aissance

Tell me more about this- this is the first I’ve heard this story, which means my vet probably hasn’t either, and she’ll be tickled to hear about it. (The working walk is one of her most regular prescriptions, with reason!)

I wish I remember who it was. As I said in my reply to RAyers, it was a female US rider based in California. It MIGHT have been Gina Miles, but I can’t swear to it. The horse was recovering from some kind of injury. The time the vet was going to clear the horse for speed work was too close to the major competition (which I think was the Olympics) to get the horse fit enough for the competition using “normal” (interval training) techniques. But the vet HAD cleared the horse for lots of walking. So they (I think a working student did most of the riding) walked him up and down hill, working up to 4 hours a day, to get the horse fit enough.

Jimmy Wofford was a big advocate of using lots of long walks for conditioning, and he was the one that made a big deal about it being a FORWARD walk, on contact.

[BroncoMo]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Essentially it’s just for another type of conditioning. My intent is to incorporate it a couple times a week and save his joints for jumping.

I remember someone sharing a post from Tamarack Hill a while back about walking (PaddockWood I’ll go read some of the posts you shared, and the search DID copy over). But every time I go to research the topic, it seems everyone is trying to justify that people should incorporate walking and trying to talk them in to it. Not HOW to incorporate it.

It seems the general consensus is a bit of a combination of meandering on the buckle and marching forward on contact, with a bit more emphasis on the latter. While I’m all about mental health and all, I’m interested more in physical conditioning. This horse is game for ANYTHING and loves to work. So me getting him out of his paddock to do something with him is good for his brain. Because he loves doing things.

We went for a meander yesterday and a mostly let him choose his path, aside from helping keep him from making bad decisions. He took an interest in getting off the road pretty quickly. Then had an all out melt down at a pair of abandoned recliner chairs we found in some low ground. Seriously, dumped decently good quality recliners, with motors and all. But apparently those were going to eat him alive. Last time it was a transformer box.

I think next time I’ll make him work a little more on contact. Eventually we will build up to some hill trotting. But for now we will just break a mild sweat with walking.