Exercising Your Horse

All competitive athletes need a break. After a good amount of time off, they must start slow and work their way back into shape to avoid injury. The same goes for your horse. It is not healthy or safe for your horse to go from standing around in the pasture for months to heavy training overnight. You must slowly condition him before starting any training or competition. It does not take as long as you might think to get your horse looking and feeling great. Even if your horse has not been ridden in months, there is an easy way to get them back into shape.

There are a few things you must do before starting your horse on a regular riding schedule after a long period off.

1. Make sure your horse is sound and able to be ridden regularly. You do not want to further an injury while trying to exercise your horse
2. Get your horse's hooves trimmed and/or shod. Hooves that are too long will force your horse to travel at an unnatural angle, causing stress on legs and joints.
3. Start your horse on a balanced diet to keep him healthy. You will be working him everyday so a good quality feed and hay is essential.

You should start every ride with a fast paced walk. This will get your horse's muscles and joints warmed up and help prevent injury. This will also get his heart rate going. You should walk for at least a mile before going any faster. Going too fast too soon can lead to pulled muscles. After walking a mile or so, get your horse into a long trot. Long trotting is faster than a jog, but not as fast as a lope/canter. Push him to trot as fast as he can without breaking stride. For the first few days you should long trot until your horse is breathing hard. Walk him until his breathing returns to normal. Long trot once or twice more, remembering to walk him when his breathing becomes heavy. Always end your ride with walking to cool your horse off. Walk your horse until his breathing and heart rate are normal.

At the start of the second week you should be walking a mile, long trotting two miles and then ending with a walk. Now you can start loping/cantering for a mile after trotting. This will help to build up your horse's lung capacity. Slowly extend the mile to two miles and adding more as his breathing gets better. By the third week you should be able to see and feel changes in your horse. He should look healthier and should be able to go longer distances in each gait without tiring as easily and with more normal breathing.

After four weeks of doing these exercises at least five times a week, your horse should be ready to go ahead with any kind of training or competition with a healthy body. To keep your horse in great shape and maintain his condition for competition, you should exercise him at least three to five times a week. Keep in mind that every horse is different and will respond differently to exercise.