Getting Your Horse Back in Shape

Many horse owners will give their horse the winter off to have some rest and relaxation after a long show or trail riding season. As the next show and trail riding season approaches, it’s time to start planning an exercise program to get your horse back in shape. This is something that takes time and should not be rushed. If a horse is brought back too hard too quickly, there is a much higher chance there will be soreness and injuries. Develop an exercise plan that matches the event you are working towards.

When beginning an exercise program for your horse, it is important to note its resting heart rate and respiration rate. These should be 28-44 beats per minute and 10-24 breaths per minute. A horse will have a lower resting heart rate as its fitness level increases. Once an exercise program is started, it should take a horse less than 20 minutes of rest to get its heart rate below 60 beats per minute. If it takes longer than this, the horse was over worked and your plan should be re-evaluated.

It will take about one month to see significant cardiovascular improvements once you start exercising your horse consistently. Start out with lower speeds over longer distances three to five days per week. It is important to give your horse time off every third or fourth day to prevent fatigue. As the horse’s condition improves, heart rate recovery time will decrease. This is how you know you can begin to increase the workload.

Once the horse has some condition, start to incorporate interval training. Interval training for horses is just like that for humans, short intense exercise (approximately two minutes) with a period of rest. This type of exercise increases the body’s anaerobic work, which leads to an increase in the amount of work that can be done before fatigue.

Don’t forget to include a period of warming up and cooling down. Both of these will help minimize the chance for exercise related injuries. Warming up slowly increases body temperature and blood flow allowing the muscles and tendons to loosen up, increasing range of motion and avoiding tears and pulls. It is recommended to do five minutes of walking followed by five minutes of light trotting before moving into more demanding work. Cooling down gradually brings the horse back to its resting state. Do five minutes of light trotting followed by five minutes of walking.

During training, it is important to be able to recognize dehydration in your horse. Use the skin pinch method to test this. Pinch a fold of skin on the horse’s neck near the shoulder and release it. The skin should flatten immediately if the horse is properly hydrated. If the horse is dehydrated it will take five to ten seconds, possibly more, for the skin to flatten out depending on the level of dehydration. To prevent this make sure your horse has a diet high in fiber. For every 2.2 pounds of dry hay a horse eats, it should consume up to one gallon of water.

No matter what you’re doing with your horse, it’s important to make sure they are in shape and can handle what you are asking of them. Use these tips to get your horse back in shape after it’s had time off.