NEWS & ARTICLES : Getting Back in the Saddle

Recondition your horse with confidence, and keep him happy while you do it!

After a particularly long, hard winter, have you stopped to think about how best to restore your horse’s fitness?  I meet quite a few folks who think that horses just need a little “dusting off” and then they are right back where they were at the end of last year’s riding season.  It is true that horses don’t “decondition” as fast as humans. But lack of planning is a recipe for a grouchy equine companion, and possibly an injury in the making.

Here are a few suggestions for gauging your horse’s performance come-back, and what to look for as you proceed.

1. A good rule of thumb is that for every month of lay-off, assuming your horse was truly fit to begin with, allow at least one week of break-in time to return him to previous fitness levels. Use good judgment.  If your horse was only “Sunday fit” last year, you should probably take an even slower approach.
2. When bringing back a stalled horse versus a pastured horse, allow at least one extra week for each month of lay off – pastured horses keep themselves much fitter.  Horses were not designed to stay inactive (read stall bound), so return to fitness will be longer.
3. Any aged or injured horse requires extreme caution.  A thorough veterinary exam should be made prior to returning to an exercise program. Think of how you would train for a marathon.  Go slowly and progressively!
4. Learn to take your horse’s pulse and respiration (P & R’s).  An extremely fit horse returns to resting rates much faster than an out of shape horse does.  This is an excellent way to track real progress.
5. Always remember to check your horse for soreness and lameness.  Look for areas of heat, tenderness or swelling under the saddle, the girth, around the lips where the bit sits, and in the tendons of the lower legs. Feel the hooves for unusual warmth.  Check your horse’s attitude. It will say volumes about his well being.
6. Time your return-to-work exercise sessions so that you don’t inadvertently overstay your welcome!  When the horse is the one doing the work, it is easy to forget to go slowly, and not push him so hard that he ends up sore or injured.  Many injuries creep up slowly and go unnoticed. “Suddenly” the horse is lame.

Remember that horses have physical bodies just like we do.  You will make better choices in returning him to work.  That four hour trail ride this Saturday might not be such a good idea, especially if it is his first ride of the season.  A couch potato is a couch potato – whether it is you or your horse!

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