XC conditioning without the XC course

[blob99]

Hello! I am hoping to dabble in some low-level eventing with my dressage horse. One of the things I would like to do is help build stamina for XC. Unfortunately I don’t have easy access to a XC course, hills/fields, or trails. I can trailer out to a course to practice from time to time but it won’t be frequent enough to build fitness.

I’ve looked up some programs for building fitness and stamina for eventers, but most of what I’ve found seems to be geared towards horses who have been out of work. My horse is in a regular and consistent workload and is doing third level, so she has a good bit of strength, just not the kind of stamina I’d like her to have for a 3-phase. In general she is the type who builds slow twitch muscle easier. So, i’m essentially looking for a program to help a body builder train for a 5k.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas for building the right plan for this taking into account that I don’t have easy access to out of the arena riding space?

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

At what level do you want to compete? I believe the general wisdom is that a specific conditioning program (trot sets, gallops) really doesn’t become a requirement until you are doing Training or higher. Beginner Novice is basically a 5 minute or so canter around fields with jumps, and I bet your third level dressage horse in regular work is plenty capable of that.

[banmharcach]

Is there a decent length of laneway or perhaps around the edges of some turnout areas? Use those for laps of good marching walks–long slow distance will be a good base & get some natural footing under her belt which may be quite tiresome initially after being used to only manicured ringwork.

[scislandsprite]

Whenever I need any information about conditioning, I go to this book every time! It covers different kinds of conditioning & their benefits, how to design conditioning plans, etc. Super well written; there’s a ton of information but still pretty readable.

[Willesdon]

I have taken a school horse - used in a couple of lessons a day with plenty of trot work, some canter, some jumping - straight out to go foxhunting. He was a Welsh D. He absolutely loved his experience. I knew it was time to finish and go home only when he couldn’t keep up with the TBs anymore, which was after about 2.5 hours. We walked back towards the box and he was head down tired but within 20 minutes he heard the hounds again and his head came up and he started jogging and wouldn’t stop. All of which to say, a dressage fit horse can probably easily cope with low level eventing which is less than 10 minutes cantering over jumps. However, the most valuable training, which might protect against injury, is to get out of the arena and work on different surfaces, as many as available.

[Lusoluv]

My last 2 horses have been dressage horses first, who’ve done low level eventing (BN & N). If you’re horse is able to do all the 3rd level work, fitness won’t be an issue. I don’t have regular access to XC courses, but even just riding in a pasture and setting up some event “type” or regular stadium jumps out there is enough. Better if you can simulate common XC questions so your horse isn’t spooked by solid jumps, but condition and stamina-wise, they’re not necessary. Have fun!

[Gardenhorse]

You can do trot/canter sets in an arena. It’s just boring as heck. Since you don’t have hills, maybe add some cavaletti work? But I agree with others that a 3rd level dressage horse probably has plenty of stamina and fitness for BN.

[beowulf]

Fitness will not be an issue for a 3rd level horse, but make sure you hit those slopes.

While BN and N XC are essentially 5m or less, they are on terrain and that is a huge factor for energy drain, as is answering question after question of fences strung together. Even a tiny incline is significantly more work than its flat and level counterpart.

If you are at home and limited to a ring, assuming your horse can do 5m of canter without being winded, start with 3 minutes of jumping non-stop. Don’t fall into a figure eight pattern, mix it up - that is the best way you can get your horse acclimated to answering a series of questions without mental fatigue.

But really, there is no substitute for XC conditioning.

[Jealoushe]

A good exercise suggested by Sam Watson was doing placing poles on the long side of the arena, and canter over them at various paces (adding and removing strides) continuously. He said he tries to do it X many times (10, 25, etc) each way without messing up. It works as a schooling exercise but also a conditioning exercise for those stuck indoors or without somewhere to hack out.

[blob99]

Thanks everyone, lots of good suggestions and ideas!

I think most people are right that my horse is likely generally fit enough to handle a low level 3-phase. But I do think this is a great opportunity to up our overall stamina since that is not her natural strong suit.

And I’ll definitely make sure we haul out to do some schooling so we both have exposure and experience with the various elements we might encounter and taking jumps that are either uphill or downhill.