Bringing a horse back into work after a long time off

Wagtail

Wagtail

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I was just wondering if anyone had ever brought a horse back into work after two or more years off due to injury or being a broodmare etc. And if so, how were they the first time you got back on? I have started to bring my mare back into (light) work after two and a half years off due to a shoulder injury. I am doing this entirely for her and with the go ahead from my own vet and the one who treated her at Rossdales. I am doing very light long reining and pessoa work at present. No more than ten minutes and just walk and trot, but worry that too much lunging may not be the best way forward and that maybe getting on her so she can do more straight lines would be best. I was wondering what type of reactions others have had when they first rode a horse after a long time off? She used to be quite sharp and had a buck in her. :o
 
My mare had a long time out due to a tendon injury and box rest, then field rest. I hacked out in company and avoided the schools at all costs. She, like your horse, could explode in there esp on a lunge so it was felt best avoided to prevent any further injury. Vet recommended roadwork to strengthen her legs more than anything, obviously it helped her in general. I got straight on as we had been walking in hand anyway round the yard and felt it was safer on board out on the roads.

She had no feed so as to avoid fizziness and we built the time up over weeks, all of it done in walk. We didnt introduce trot work until about 5-6 weeks and then only in short bursts and uphill in the bridle.

Hope that helps a little.
 
Last thing I would be doing is lunging in a pessoa at this stage!!!

I'd probably long rein for a bit, lunge without gadgets but with a saddle on for a week and see what reaction I got.

I'd then get on in the school for a couple of days and assuming all okay start hacking pretty much immediately, all in walk (unless horse being a complete tool) and building up time.
 
My mare had nearly two years off and is a sharp/forward going type. I also went down the hacking in company route. We had a few minor explosions (she is a bounce on the spot type when you get somewhere she thinks we should trot/canter at) but nothing major as she was fat and unfit. I've found it really hard to get her fit again - even after seven months we are still fat and semi fit after two or three days riding a week. Seems to be taking a lot longer than it used to!
 
After 4 years off - I walked the horse out in-hand first. Then did a short ride in the school. Then progressed to hacking out in walk only on a short route. Slowly built the distance up and as above stayed in walk for approx 6 weeks before introducing trot. Slowly built the amount of trotting up, before introducing canter.
 
my mare had 2 years off ( bred from and left to be a mum, then time to get weight back up after weaning)

i just hopped on and went for a hack- was like she'd never had a holliday. She is a bit of a mentalist, and was a bit fresh- but nothing out of the ordinary for her! :p

i just kept to hacking for a while, then re-introduced a bit of schooling after she was a bit fitter.

i must admit though- that i did not stick to walk, and slowly introduce trot etc... I had to exchange my roundings for another set of reins... i have always thought she was born to race (arab x) if i don't let her blow off steam at least once and open her up she jogs everywhere and throws her toys out of the pram! :o

if i had a sane horse then i would go by the book and slowly build up from walking only!

x
 
Thanks all. My problem is I don't have any 'beginners' hacking routes round here. She is a demon out hacking, especially in company. The reason for the pessoa was to build up her back muscles before I got on. I guess having another horse recovering from kissing spines surgery, where this is virtually all you do for a couple of months made me think it would be the best way forward for my mare. I think a bit more long lining and then get on so I can do lots of walk in the arena. The arena is very large (60 x 30) so plenty of straight lines.
 
With a shoulder injury I would not lunge at all. Lunging can be had work for them and you do not want to put more pressure on the joint, once some muscle has been built up and she is moving through the shoulder then you can lunge her. Longreining is fine because you can keep changing direction and also make bigger circles.

I have brought several horses back into work after a long lay off.

I would walk out in hand to start with then ride out starting with half an hour walking then over a number of weeks build up to an hour then an hour and a half. This will take you about six weeks, you then add in some trotting, say one minute serveral times in the ride ,build this up to ten minutes trotting. Schooling can be done while out on a ride.

Once she is moving through her shoulder with a good walk and trot stride then you can do more school work.

It is best to take time with such an injury.

Another thing you can do is gentle stretching and massage the shoulder.

You want your horse back fit and well without any more problems.
 
i am about to do this next week was ameant to be today but i am working till next wed so no point bringing her home till then. she is 12 and hasnt been ridden since she was 3. so has been off work a while. but she is very quiet when i broke her when she was 3 she was that quiet that i taught my friend to ride on her. but used as a broodmare she is the best broodmare i have ever had great foals and great mother, i give her a year off ever 2 years but this year i want to bring her back into to work. so next week will be the start she has a massive buck in her too but only ever done that when in field with fields not when being ridden so hope she doesnt try that. will bring her in slow, long reining and re mouthing just to make sure she is soft and happy in mouth.

i bought a horse few years back for breeding and took one foal out of her but she wasnt a great broodmare so the man i bought her of said he thinks she was ridden but was a long time ago she was 21 when i bought her infoal and he had her a while he thought she was 5 when she was last ridden. so i though no way am i selling her for some meat man to buy her. so i brought her back into work and she is the best quietest horse i have even sat on remembered everything thing her leg aids even some dressage steps so was amazing, so i actually kept her a wee while and then my friend bought her and still has her, so just goes to show it all depends on horse and owner and the years that pass dont really make a difference.

best of luck, i will be in your shoes next week too, wish me luck.
 
paulineh said:
With a shoulder injury I would not lunge at all. Lunging can be had work for them and you do not want to put more pressure on the joint, once some muscle has been built up and she is moving through the shoulder then you can lunge her. Longreining is fine because you can keep changing direction and also make bigger circles.

I have brought several horses back into work after a long lay off.

I would walk out in hand to start with then ride out starting with half an hour walking then over a number of weeks build up to an hour then an hour and a half. This will take you about six weeks, you then add in some trotting, say one minute serveral times in the ride ,build this up to ten minutes trotting. Schooling can be done while out on a ride.

Once she is moving through her shoulder with a good walk and trot stride then you can do more school work.

It is best to take time with such an injury.

Another thing you can do is gentle stretching and massage the shoulder.

You want your horse back fit and well without any more problems.
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Thanks. Yes, she is short striding through both shoulders so that makes a lot of sense. The vet has said she is pain free on examination but has lost some amount of swing through. It is mechanical and should hopefully improve as her strength builds. At the first sign of difficulty I will retire her again. I only want her to do a small amount to help keep her weight down and because she absolutely loves working (she almost drags me to the arena). I just wish our hacking was safer. we have no reliable quiet hackers at the yard for her to go with, and she is a hot head when hacking. The main road has just got worse and worse. I will probably box her somewhere once the mare that has had her foal is ready to start going out too. I was worried about my ten stone weight going on her before she had built up her back muscles, but from what people are saying, that probably will be less of a problem than her shoulder.
 
SKY said:
i am about to do this next week was ameant to be today but i am working till next wed so no point bringing her home till then. she is 12 and hasnt been ridden since she was 3. so has been off work a while. but she is very quiet when i broke her when she was 3 she was that quiet that i taught my friend to ride on her. but used as a broodmare she is the best broodmare i have ever had great foals and great mother, i give her a year off ever 2 years but this year i want to bring her back into to work. so next week will be the start she has a massive buck in her too but only ever done that when in field with fields not when being ridden so hope she doesnt try that. will bring her in slow, long reining and re mouthing just to make sure she is soft and happy in mouth.

i bought a horse few years back for breeding and took one foal out of her but she wasnt a great broodmare so the man i bought her of said he thinks she was ridden but was a long time ago she was 21 when i bought her infoal and he had her a while he thought she was 5 when she was last ridden. so i though no way am i selling her for some meat man to buy her. so i brought her back into work and she is the best quietest horse i have even sat on remembered everything thing her leg aids even some dressage steps so was amazing, so i actually kept her a wee while and then my friend bought her and still has her, so just goes to show it all depends on horse and owner and the years that pass dont really make a difference.

best of luck, i will be in your shoes next week too, wish me luck.
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Oh wow, that gives me hope. I wish you the best of luck with your girl. Mine is eighteen, and so part of me wonders if I am being unfair, but she 'tells' me otherwise. I have not seen her so bright eyed and happy since before her injury. She can't wait to get in the arena. But I am glad I asked the question as I will stop with the pessoa and lunge work until she is fitter.
 
never too late, all depends on the horse the rider. my mare loves attention and is so quiet but things can be different when you get on, but i believe it will be fine, just have to take it very slow and see how it goes, retrain her and show her everything, thank you and best of luck with yours.

also just listen to her, if she relly isnt happy then fair enough you tried it, but there will be times she might try you, just step back and reshow her everything, like just breaking her again. but i always believe it is never too late, as long as healthy and have time to retrain slowly.
 
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My mare is 16, has had two years off for me being a mum and then she was meant to be a mum (but didnt happen!). She is an exracer and a bit spooky but has really chilled out in general.

I cant lunge her as she goes balistic and I dont actually beleive in lunging anyway in general (just my opinion). I also cant long line her as again she throws a wobbly! - I dont know why actually, she always has done. And god help you trying to free school...

I started her on a calmer a month ago as she can be hormonal. Then I just tacked her up and popped my friend on ;)

I kept her on lead rein first time and walked out with her as she is very good to be led in hand. Second time I sent them up the road on thier own (with one stop due to a small child with a umbrella so I 'walked' with her past it). Third time I rode her out with a newly backed youngster as that will be her job now, a ridden nanny. Although Im not sure who was nannying whom in the end :D It was lovely to be back on board a familiar horse :) She definately remembers everything, neck reining, lateral work and just needs reminding to take me forward although this has always been her thing, but lazy!!

Our hacking is awful, no where to go but around the village and she is a spooky hack but so far has been delightful. Fine with the big traffic and 'bananaing' around scary leaves and grass that may eat her :rolleyes: Am keeping to walk and a small amount of trot as want her to start to build up her muscle again. She lives on a hill at the moment so that has helped to build up muscles without me doing anything!! Will now start to ask her to work properly whilst hacking, no slopping along on long reins. But will stick to walk for a few weeks with small bits of trotting as obviously with a newly backed youngster dont want them doing too much too soon.

Hope this helps! Good luck with your mare!
 
Sometimes I think the worst thing in the world to do is lunge, long line or walk out in-hand for a few weeks before they are sat on as it gets them a little bit fit and more prone to exploding. I just hop on, sit a few broncs and bunny hops and before you know it they are knacered and can't be botehred misbehaving so they just get on with their job. 5mins and it's over. Had I done work with them previously those 5mins could have turned into 15 or 20 mins of pretty explosive stuff - especially after what I have seen them do in the field lol!

Slowly away, building up gradually and most importantly listen to what your horse is saying to you. They are the ones who will tell you when they are ready to move on to the next phase or if you need to go back a step.
 
Thank you. This thread has reassured me that there should be no problem when I first get on her. I think the bst way forward for us is more long lining and then I just get on and walk her around the arena and field. Fingers crossed her shoulder holds up, bless her.
 
If you know the horse well, you can judge whether or not walking in-hand/long-reining will help or hinder the process. With my mare it definitely helps, but she's not explosive, she's a nervous napper. The in-hand walking gives her confidence and lets her get to know the hacking routes and therefore makes any napping (once ridden) less likely to occur.
 
I think she is more a nervous napper than a naughty horse. I wouldn't dare lead her from another horse to be honest as she would possibly kick out. Makes her sound horrible, doesn't it? She really is a sweety with humans, but needs a bossy horse to put her in her place.
 
Well I tacked her up this morning whilst she was munching a hay net in the arena. But when I took her away and attempted to get on she swished her tail and kicked up at her belly. She always used to do this when being tacked up as she is pretty girthy for a minute or so. When I took her back to her hay net she was fine so I got on and sat there a while whilst she munched. As I was on my own with not another soul for about a mile, I decided to leave it at that for the day. Will get someone to lead me around next time I think and just watch her carefully for signs of unhappiness. Obviously, if the kicking up behaviour was something she did not regularly do before her injury, I would have taken it as a definite sign that she should not be ridden. I cannot rule this out of course, so will be taking things very slowly and carefully. Thanks, everyone for your help and suggestions.
 
sorry haven't read all of the replies so this could already have been mentioned, but rather than just hoping straight on board what about introducting in-hand pole work and then raised polework, as this will help to strengthen the abdominal and (i think) back muscles. I suppose it does depend on what she is like over poles as it can wind some horses up, but if she is happy to walk beside you sensibly in a school then throwing a few poles down and then raising them does help. personally i would start with this rather than any lunging or pessoa work. good luck

PS just saw EKW's comments, fair point re:fitness but you could consider that polework at walk is strengthening work rather than fittening.
 
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No worries, I don't intend going any faster than walk and only for ten minutes to begin with. Pole work is a good idea as it should help strengthen her shoulder. I will probably alternate a small amount of ridden work in walk with long lining over poles. Thanks.
 
cool. i sometimes forget about the merits of polework and it was the physio who suggested it as i bring my lad back into work, started very gradually, poles on the ground and building up to higher raised poles. i got back on board after 2/3 weeks of this but still do the polework in-hand as well - we are not out of walk yet either!

good luck :)
 
When we brought Little Cob back into work, D1 did a lot of in-hand work with him, to acclimatise him to bit and saddle again. Luckily he was very chuffed to be back working with her again :)

She laid across him bareback a few times, on the end of a lunge line, and then progressed to sitting astride, but bareback.

Next was a saddle and effectively long-reining. He bucked a lot in this and preferred to canter, which was partially a worry and partially a sigh of relief because he's always been like that. Ears were pricked, etc.

Then D1 was astride with a saddle. We kept him on a combination of lunging and long-reining, but the 'lunging' was eliptical and moved around the school, to give long straight lines.

After this, reins were attached and D1 started to take up the aids, being backed up by me on the end of the line. Then I went quiet and D1 took up voice commands along with the usual aids. Gradually the voice commands dropped away as LC started to respond more to the aids.

Once the above was established, D1 was riding three times a week for about fifteen minutes. LC coped well. It was then upped to five times a week, slowly increasing to thirty mins each session. As he continued to work well, the time went to forty minutes and canter was steadily introduced.

He's come back a lively soul, but his bucks were never big and have always been more of a Yee Ha! than a Get Off!. The muscle is buildling nice and steady.

The sessions were never serious schooling, more just moving about and learning to balance again with a rider on top.

Hope all goes well with your lass m'duck.
 
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