Help me figure out winter loss of fitness. This is my first winter without an indoor. My horse is on a pretty small dry lot for half day “turnout” but he really just stands and eats with very little movement. For the month of December the arena has been mostly frozen so we’ve only been able to trot and canter a couple days. I have been walking him in a large hayfield where the footing is okay for walking. It’s gently rolling hills. We do an hour of walking almost everyday. On the occasional day the arena is usable I have no idea what is safe to do. He’s not a good judge of his own fitness level since he’s a TB and will happily overdo it if I let him. How should I be thinking about his fitness and how much is he losing with his current living situation?
I have never had an indoor. I ride pretty much every day regardless of weather (draw the line at ice rain). Like you, my footing in both my rings is currently muddy, and when it becomes cold, hard. And like you I have a big field I can ride in.
Long ago I stopped doing cantering unless the footing is reasonable. However, I have found that my horses (QH) thrive on daily work of any kind --we do at least 1 to 2 hours of horse time: about 1/2 hour of prep (brushing) and lunging (w/t if footing is poor --canter too if good). Then we do endless w/t poles and patterns, stops, backs, leg yields, ad nauseum, until we are freezing or out of ideas. Then we go ride in the field and dream our dreams of summer.
The last 15-20 min (depends if I still have feeling in my hands) is unsaddled ground work. Right now, I working to teach Bob to stand square in hand so that every time I stop, he puts his feet square.
Is Bob fit enough to do a 3-Day course? No (he’s not a 3-Day horse and I’m way too old) but every time I put a saddle on him is a fun day and I hope we are both more fit at the end.
Frankly, this time of year most people are in the same boat --even those with indoors struggle with cold, dust, other folks using the indoor --very, very few are doing hand gallops around the ring to keep fit. Do the best you can and remember that is all you can do. Enjoy the riding you can dol
People ask how I keep warm in -0 temps when Bob and I ride --a woo/canvas riding skirt.
And here’s Bob practicing standing square.
The bigger challenge to his fitness is the lack of turnout time, if you can get him more it would be ideal, but I understand boarders can be restricted in this ask. Pushing for more turnout time was one of the best things I did for my horses, now they are at home on 24/7 turnout. It’s been this way for two decades and I notice I don’t deal with some of the many physical ailments boarders can deal with. My horse keeping isn’t magickal, I believe it’s simply they are in better body condition out.
Mine always get the winter off so you’re not alone! Nov-Feb, No indoor plus the northeast meant besides walking there isn’t much meaningful work I can do, our grass ring that doubles as a riding area is in a swale so it gets iced over quick and the snowpack usually stays slick until March. I made myself a bridle path looping around the property to solve this issue. It’s a good workout for them and I’ll bring them back to work on that for a few weeks in the spring.
An hour of walking daily is a perfectly fine baseline, keeping the soft tissue in his body active and engaged. You may notice a slight reduction in cardio fitness but cardio is much easier gained than soft tissue fitness and walking for an hour a day is a safe ask for any servicably sound horse.
Are you noticing a loss of fitness, or is this a pre-emptive measure? For a normal TB, a few weeks of not cantering shouldn’t impact their fitness much. As long as they are out and moving with a rider on their back a few times a week they should maintain a good baseline to return to regular work in better weather. When you bring him back in the spring just do interval trot sets if you are worried, and up the ask over the course of a few weeks.
I’d recommend checking out Jec Ballous 33 Strength and Fitness Workouts book. That has gotten us through a summer/fall of light rehab work AND weight loss with not being able to do much do to figuring out some neck issues. You’ll be able to do most of the groundwork outside, and you have some hills which is even better.
Lots of groundwork and the routines are very prescribed which I really appreciated. Those are going to give you more bang for you buck than just walking for an hour. If that can keep some level of fitness (and some weightloss) on an air fern Fjord, I have full confidence it will help your TB.
Are you sure the best you can do in the hayfield is walk? Horses are generally pretty surefooted creatures, is there a chance you could squeeze in some trot sets? Sometimes when the ground is partly frozen, turf provides better footing than lumpy frozen arena sand.
I agree completely. There are lots of creative exercises you can do that will help more with fitness than just walking. That’s a great book.
Don’t underestimate the value of the walk. Walking is so important for fitness. When my girl was going six days a week, 80-90 minute rides, schooling 3rd level dressage, we still did a LOT of walking. Of our “training rides,” they were at least 50-60% at the walk. And one of the six days a week was 100% at the walk. The amount of muscle and stamina on that girl at that time, whew.
But she was also turned out 24/7.
There’s lots of things you can do at the walk that will help tone/build muscle. Transitions (collected walk, medium walk, extended walk, stretchy walk), poles, cavaletti, turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, sidepass, leg yields, shoulder in, haunches in, etc. All the lateral work you can do at the other gaits, you can do at the walk and they’ll be very beneficial for fitness. Do them up-and-down the hills, too. Shoulder-in down the hill, leg yield up the hill, mix it up, etc.
Yes, this!! An hour a day, he will not lose his fitness or conditioning.
Frankly, why does it matter? Unless you’re headed to Florida in January or something let the horse lose a little bit of fitness. Around here the first shows start in April. Gearing back into regular riding around March gets a horse fit enough in plenty of time. I am a firm believer that my horses will stay sounder longer by having some down time in the winter and thoughtful conditioning in the spring. I don’t show year round. Why ride when it’s miserable? I ride when the weather is decent and keep an eye on both of our fitness levels and I don’t worry about keeping middle of summer fit. I would say that if you end up huffing and puffing or sore after a nicer day allows for a more intense ride, then dial it back a bit for your horse as well.
Unless you WANT to ride and have things planned that REQUIRE fitness, personally, and this could just be me, is I had to learn to let go the “ready to go Novice in February” mentality of people and all the photos of people riding when it’s -42 to show other people how hardcore they are.
I have nothing to add to @mmeqcenter’s excellent post, except to highlight that there is walking and then there is walking.
Aim for what Denny Emerson calls a “goin’ home for dinner” walk — engaged, purposeful and swinging.
