Bringing a 4 year old ex racehorse back into work

[J_sarahd]

It’s been 2 and a half months since Nova went on her winter break and she has about 2 weeks left. I’ve devised a bit of a plan to bring her back - groundwork and in-hand stuff, followed by long-reining and then eventually a short sit and some walk hacks.

Basically, does anybody have any advice/plans to follow/tips?

I thought about sending her away, but with how she was before she went on the break, I think it’s probably wise to get her to some sort of rideable point to see if the issue is still an issue (to then investigate) rather then send her away & these issues occur with the trainer. Plus I want to get her saddle checked as well, which she ideally needs to be riding away for.

I’m excited to get her back into work but obviously want to do everything slowly and properly. I do have a trainer - but she’s just this week had a baby so I’m not going to pester her for a little bit (if she is off on maternity leave for a while - she says she doesn’t know yet when she will be back but will likely be a month - then I will look to getting another trainer, but this one has known me for 10+ years!)

 

[Barton Bounty]

Sounds like you know what you are doing and what you are starting off with sounds good! Be consistent and have a routine to start with, I am sure she will get the hang of it very quickly

 

[Carrottom]

It depends on how fit she was before her break. If she is not used to groundwork you might be better getting her going under saddle, it's what racehorses know best. I don't have a school so I lead out in hand with tack on for a day or two and then get on for 20 min walk hacks. Ideally 2 days on one day off to start with. Increasing the duration by 10 minutes a week and introducing short periods of trot in the second or third week.

 

[J_sarahd]

It depends on how fit she was before her break. If she is not used to groundwork you might be better getting her going under saddle, it's what racehorses know best. I don't have a school so I lead out in hand with tack on for a day or two and then get on for 20 min walk hacks. Ideally 2 days on one day off to start with. Increasing the duration by 10 minutes a week and introducing short periods of trot in the second or third

She was being ridden in the school with occasional poles and hacked. In November, all she really did was long-line, lunge and in-hand work so she is used to it all - I’ve just never had to bring one back into work after such a long time, especially with no formal plan.
Thats very helpful though, thanks!

 

[TPO]

The rule of thumb is a week of fittening work for every week off to return to the level of fitness prior to the break.

I'm old school so in an ideal world I'd want to do an initial 6wks of walk, building up from 10mins to 2hrs, on good level footing. Sadly in my experience thats near impossible to find and use safely these days with traffic as it is.

I'd start in hand walks then long reining before riding, if possible. Starting at 10mins of proper walk in hand (lead from alternate sides) before long reining and then riding. As "stress" is added, eg. adding a saddle then a rider, drop the duration right back and build up again before adding another stress.

There was a good old fashioned back in thr day booklet that used to be around 99p. Th4 feeding and stabling regime aside the basic fitness work was well laid out. Just checked amazon and its £14 now.
Getting Your Horse Fit https://amzn.eu/d/izkoVds

These books are good and only a few pounds second hand.

Getting Horses Fit https://amzn.eu/d/1A22cl8

From Warming Up to Cooling Down: An Introduction to Training and Management Techniques https://amzn.eu/d/8Kx0h9p

Highly recommend both.

I'd also look at doing some postural work alongside the walking. 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses is a good one.

I really like groundwork but have to be mindful that it's usually on a soft surface and involves circling.

 

[J_sarahd]

The rule of thumb is a week of fittening work for every week off to return to the level of fitness prior to the break.

I'm old school so in an ideal world I'd want to do an initial 6wks of walk, building up from 10mins to 2hrs, on good level footing. Sadly in my experience thats near impossible to find and use safely these days with traffic as it is.

I'd start in hand walks then long reining before riding, if possible. Starting at 10mins of proper walk in hand (lead from alternate sides) before long reining and then riding. As "stress" is added, eg. adding a saddle then a rider, drop the duration right back and build up again before adding another stress.

There was a good old fashioned back in thr day booklet that used to be around 99p. Th4 feeding and stabling regime aside the basic fitness work was well laid out. Just checked amazon and its £14 now.
Getting Your Horse Fit https://amzn.eu/d/izkoVds

These books are good and only a few pounds second hand.

Getting Horses Fit https://amzn.eu/d/1A22cl8

From Warming Up to Cooling Down: An Introduction to Training and Management Techniques https://amzn.eu/d/8Kx0h9p

Highly recommend both.

I'd also look at doing some postural work alongside the walking. 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses is a good one.

I really like groundwork but have to be mindful that it's usually on a soft surface and involves circling.

Amazing, thank you. This is very helpful! There’s no time limit on getting her back into work so I want to do it as correctly and sensibly as possible - causing her as few issues as possible!

 

[Bernster]

My boy was off for 3 months during surgery and his recovery from that, and the above from TPO is similar to his training plan. I’ll introduce walking over poles now, after the initial in hand and long reining. We can’t do very long hacks as there’s limited hacking locally. And I’ll be cautious with the ridden work as he’s so fat his saddle may not fit, the saddler will be out in a few weeks to check it.

 

[TPO]

Just an aside but I checked ebay and one of the books was cheaper from there than Amazon if they were of any interest

 

[Horseysheepy]

I second the book, Getting Horse's Fit.
I bought for 50p a copy when I was at college, it was being thrown out with other outdated (apparently!) books in the library.

The section on bringing horses up from grass, well used by hunters and eventing people is particularly useful, which is underpinned with a section on worming and shoeing and other useful tips.