Bringing a horse back into work (a few Q's)

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Eira

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Just a few (probably silly) questions about bringing a horse back into work after time off
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Horse is due to come back into work over the next few weeks (Ideally want some more weight on her first but this isn't really necessary just me being fussy)

She's been off since late Sept/Start of October , so currently fluffy , barefoot and very under-muscled (did she ever have muscle to start with(?)

I'm pretty hesitant to get straight back on her and start hacking her so am looking for some ideas of workload / regime to stick by before she starts hacking out again.

Lunging is allowed but am concious about the extra strain on her (dodgy) limbs....

Sorry , half thinking out loud as I go
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Any suggestions welcome.
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what about long reining her out on a hack type thing if that makes any sense sorta like take her on a wee wonder on the long reins as it will make her work and she wont be putting to much strain on her limbs like what lunging would
 
Yeah i agree, long reining is a good idea, you can do lots of walk work out hacking + school on longreins. U can get them 2 work from behind + start building up strenght before getting on urself. Why was she off in the first place? its always a good idea to start building fitness slowly after a period of time off.
 
Ahh good idea
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Will have to wait until the fields try up though as the private hacking we have is across fields and I don't think she's trustworthy enough to long rein out in public
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Walking her out in hand will be an option once she's had the edge take off her though - thanks
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She was diagnosed with navicular in March of last year and issues with her hocks. We treated with Adequan and she came back into work but in September she became uncomfortable again so we decided to turn her away for a portion of the winter in a hope things would improve
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Long reining is a good introduction back into work! It will put minimal strain on your mares limbs and will encourage her to work from her hind quarters through her back into a long and low outline. This will encourage muscle build up along her back. Hope this helps. x
 
ahh i see. So realistically she needs to work to keep the blood flow going to help the navicular, but obviously needs building up very slowly so you can guage how much work she can take before she goes lame. Long reining should be really good for her then, and ou can observe her from the ground + see how she is moving + if she looks uncomfortable. Good Luck!!
 
Currently it is only very low grade lameness (according to the vet!) so its not her feet I am all that worried about (sounds silly seeing as she was written off because of them
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The physio is due to see her in the next couple of weeks so I don't want to get back on her before he is happy.

I don't want to rule out lunging her completely but obviously want to keep it to a minimum.

Will get practising long reining , might take the decrepit old newfie out on a test run (see siggie
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aww bless her, im sure she will take to it really easily. They very often do, especially when they are already ridden. So was it the hock problems that kept her off work? I know what you mean about the feet though, i suppose its just a case of you trying to slow down the progression of the navicular + keep her moving.
 
It was a mix of factors I think. Mainly to do with her back end which is why we decided before investigating further we'd give her some time to chill incase she'd bashed herself in the field (which is likely given what a idiot she is!)

I feel I should include a picture seeing as I am portraying her in such a poor light
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She's not all bad
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ha ha, she looks like a nice girl, how old is she? longreining definatly helps to build up the back end. I do it with my boy quite a lot, and will start it soon with my youngster who im just starting to break in.
This is the boy, he is 18 now:
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and this is my girl, she has just turned 3
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She's 5
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But has had most of her 4 and 5th year off due to wonky-ness!
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I have a soft spot for chestnuts your girl is beautiful (as is your chap !)
 
she is a lovely colouring. (ur mare) so seen as she is so young do they think her navicular is hereditary? her back end weakness could all be down 2 growng up, she looks quite big in her pic, is she?
 
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