Bringing a horse into work

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Equi

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I have a saddle lined up for my boy. He has lost weight and has had the full works after being a little off, so is now ready to come back into work. Not been ridden or lunged with intent since august, only had walks out in hand. I was advised to not lunge him on a circle for a while until he builds up muscle again.

I'm able to long line him well enough but i wondered how long to start with, when to start trot work, when to add sidelines etc to not cause muscle ache and eventually when to get back into the saddle.

Hes the calm sort, 17yo so i could hop on and go but since he had problems with his gait i want to go slow and build him up first.
 
When I brought Rio back into work after 6 months off I started in walk, 10 mins twice a day, adding 5 mins every other day and building it up to an hour each so 2 hours walking overall, then I started decreasing the first session and adding to the second so he was doing 2 hours of walk in one session whilst adding small bursts of trot every now and then and hills and over poles. Play it by ear, only you know your horse well enough to know if he is/isn't coping with what you are asking and to increase or take it down a notch. I started off in hand as he doesn't long line and then hopped on when I thought he was ready and then just started hacking out. We started school work whilst on hacks such as a little outline, stop and stand, circles etc and then slowly brought it on in the arena when I felt he was ready. He was off work due to lameness to I wanted his legs to be strong enough before I took him on the soft school surface.
 
equi said:
Living out, only started coming in in December but out as much as daylight allows.
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In which case I would start at walking for 30 mins per day increase by 5 mins per week up to 90 mins at least 5 days per week (ideally 13 days out of 15) then start trot work, 2 5 trots of 1-2 mins each time depending on how he is coping increase the trot by making each trot a minute longer every 5-7 days (depending how he is doing), the time you take now to build up the correct muscle will produce a much stronger/fitter and more correct horse at the end.

try to stay out of the manege and off the soft ground as it will do nothing to strengthen tendons and ligaments, so road work and lots of it, it does get boring and cold doing all the walk work this time of year so it might be worth putting it off for a bit if possible
 
twiggy2 said:
In which case I would start at walking for 30 mins per day increase by 5 mins per week up to 90 mins at least 5 days per week (ideally 13 days out of 15) then start trot work, 2 5 trots of 1-2 mins each time depending on how he is coping increase the trot by making each trot a minute longer every 5-7 days (depending how he is doing), the time you take now to build up the correct muscle will produce a much stronger/fitter and more correct horse at the end.

try to stay out of the manege and off the soft ground as it will do nothing to strengthen tendons and ligaments, so road work and lots of it, it does get boring and cold doing all the walk work this time of year so it might be worth putting it off for a bit if possible
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i don't mind the slow boring stuff, im a happy hacker who likes to stay in first gear lol i have TERRIBLE hacking the road is awful so it will be a bit annoying having to walk the same route around the yard and up the farm lane but it needs done! At what point will i ride ?
 
if the saddle is well fitting and he does not have a back problem I would get on from day one but keep a close eye out for girth galls and sore areas as you are not starting with just ten mins under saddle, possibly ride evry other day for ten days and if all ok then ride every day.

my mare had 2.5 months off living out and I caught her and tacked her up walked in hand for ten mins then got on, we did 8.5 miles that first day as we were moving yards and I have been doing lots of walk work with tiny bits of trot since and everything is fine. she was out 24 hrs per day so keeping herself relatively fit by walking round the field-coming from restricted free movement makes a big difference
 
twiggy2 said:
if the saddle is well fitting and he does not have a back problem I would get on from day one but keep a close eye out for girth galls and sore areas as you are not starting with just ten mins under saddle, possibly ride evry other day for ten days and if all ok then ride every day.

my mare had 2.5 months off living out and I caught her and tacked her up walked in hand for ten mins then got on, we did 8.5 miles that first day as we were moving yards and I have been doing lots of walk work with tiny bits of trot since and everything is fine. she was out 24 hrs per day so keeping herself relatively fit by walking round the field-coming from restricted free movement makes a big difference
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Yeah hes kept fit enough running about after the minis keeping the mare separate (she is HIS and his alone :P) but i have noticed less muscle in the back. i will hop on and walk about the yard for a few times before i venture on the road and to the neighbours (he has an arena i would be able to walk around)

Thanks for the tips :)
 
Another vote for getting on as soon as possible, he's an older horse so would take it a little slower but generally for our hunter fittening work we are trotting after week 3-4, unless they are coming back from an injury or a long period off, when walk work is increased to 4-8 weeks depending. Walk up to a period of 90-180minutes by end of week 3-4 then start decreasing walk and introduce a very slow, hound jog for 3-5 min bursts. However, assuming you don't wasn't him hunting or eventing fit than I would assess that 180mins walking isn't quite necessary. ;) if at any time he feels laboured stop. surgical spirit or salt water after exercise on girth and saddle area and around bridle helps to harden the skin up, although avoid the surgical spirit if a gall has already started, it bloody stings like crazy. Walk work will help so much in gaining that lost muscle back, people don't seem to give it enough credit or thought these days.
 
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The wife said:
Another vote for getting on as soon as possible, he's an older horse so would take it a little slower but generally for our hunter fittening work we are trotting after week 3-4, unless they are coming back from an injury or a long period off, when walk work is increased to 4-8 weeks depending. Walk up to a period of 90-180minutes by end of week 3-4 then start decreasing walk and introduce a very slow, hound jog for 3-5 min bursts. However, assuming you don't wasn't him hunting or eventing fit than I would assess that 180mins walking isn't quite necessary. ;) if at any time he feels laboured stop. surgical spirit or salt water after exercise on girth and saddle area and around bridle helps to harden the skin up, although avoid the surgical spirit if a gall has already started, it bloody stings like crazy. Walk work will help so much in gaining that lost muscle back, people don't seem to give it enough credit or thought these days.
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No deffo doesn't need to be hunt fit lol just fit enough to walk to the neighbours yard and around the field a few times to keep us occupied.

The wife said:
This is 13 weeks worth of walking...
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As said im a happy slow plod hacker, so walking is what i will be doing anyway lol
 
Unless you are wanting to do mad canters weekly then he really doesn't need to be manic fit and getting him so will probably cause you more problems than its worth to be honest! Riding A couple times a week should suffice, if you don't intend to do anything more strenuous than the odd pootle down the road, sorry I miss-understood and thought he was coming back into full work :). There are a few people within our hunt that do not ride between hunting days, horses are turned out 24/7 and keep themselves fit, just as an example. All are super fit, manage 2 full hunting days a week and hardly ever have lameness issues.
 
Sorry for the confusion :) i just wanted to maximise his muscle on his back again cause it is wasted away and i don't want him going hollow on me! Thanks for the tips though, will get on it.
 
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