Chunky mare - where to begin?

[Foxaunt]

Hello all, I have had my mare for a few months now and due to various issues (i broke my foot, she had a brief field injury) we have not been in consistent training for anything, she is a right chunk and we have had our nutritionist out to work on a diet plan but now I need the exercise plan! this will seem like a very basic post asking a basic question for many of you, please be gentle on me!

she is a pure Cleveland Bay and if you are familiar with the breed you will know they are a chunky, stocky warmblood, very much a "hunt type", that being said she is still overweight and we are finally in a position to be working consistently (touch wood, famous last words).

her core is her weak point, i want to encourage her to lift her belly more, bring her legs under her, get her working in a nicer frame. She is 5yo and has a very basic education, lacks forward impulsion in the school, lovely paces out hacking.

does anyone have any good advice to start with please? has anyone found use in a belly band for helping to build core muscles? even if your advice seems obvious i would love to hear it please, it might be something i have missed/overlooked.

 

[Foxaunt]

Pic of said chunk not looking at her finest, i'll admit!

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

This is just my personal view but I personally dislike "gadgets" like belly bands etc so I would be long lining to get the initial fitness up (and helps your fitness too!). Then substituting some long lining sessions for ridden walk hacks, gradually working up to trotting and cantering. As she is young, I would be avoiding the school apart from maybe a 15 min session once a week. I wouldn't expect much impulsion in the school at such an early age as it's much harder work because of the suppleness required to bend etc.

For my native mare I found the biggest thing for maintaining weight was ditching rugs.

If you take it slow and steady and listen to your horse you can't go too wrong

p.s she is lovely, if I ever "upgraded" from native ponies a cleveland bay would be my first choice.

 

[paddi22]

she's gorgeous! I'd keep her out hacking and work on fitness and hillwork to strengthen her and get her fitter. if she's more forward out hacking then it will be easier to work on her self carriage and contact while schooling her on hacks and be easier on her mentally to. there's tons of stuff you can do with lateral work and transitions to get her lifting more and working through her back.

 

[HeyMich]

Yep, agree with posters above. Hacking is your friend! Start in-hand and then ridden in walk and build up the pace as she gets fitter. Lots of hills if you have any!

If you really must ride her in a school, then use lots of poles, bending around objects, transitions and changes of pace within gaits etc, a few steps of lateral movements (if you have taught those already). Keep it short and interesting, not endless circles!

ETA - she's gorgeous btw! I have a touch of horse-envy...

 

[Foxaunt]

This is just my personal view but I personally dislike "gadgets" like belly bands etc so I would be long lining to get the initial fitness up (and helps your fitness too!). Then substituting some long lining sessions for ridden walk hacks, gradually working up to trotting and cantering. As she is young, I would be avoiding the school apart from maybe a 15 min session once a week. I wouldn't expect much impulsion in the school at such an early age as it's much harder work because of the suppleness required to bend etc.

For my native mare I found the biggest thing for maintaining weight was ditching rugs.

If you take it slow and steady and listen to your horse you can't go too wrong

p.s she is lovely, if I ever "upgraded" from native ponies a cleveland bay would be my first choice.

Great advice, thank you! will be interesting to see how she is when long lined, i don't think she has ever done it before! and thank you, the cleveland bay community would love to have you! slow and steady will be our thing i think, w ehave a 5yo and a 2yo so we are in no rush to take them hunting any time soon, thats for sure!

 

[AmyMay]

I agree with others who say to hack her.

 

[Foxaunt]

she's gorgeous! I'd keep her out hacking and work on fitness and hillwork to strengthen her and get her fitter. if she's more forward out hacking then it will be easier to work on her self carriage and contact while schooling her on hacks and be easier on her mentally to. there's tons of stuff you can do with lateral work and transitions to get her lifting more and working through her back.

thats so kind thank you! i think i might give teaching her some lateral moves a try on the ground, it will at least give her something to think about other than food haha

 

[AmyMay]

thats so kind thank you! i think i might give teaching her some lateral moves a try on the ground, it will at least give her something to think about other than food haha

Remember, so much of your lateral work can be done out hacking. You don’t need a school for that.

 

[Foxaunt]

Yep, agree with posters above. Hacking is your friend! Start in-hand and then ridden in walk and build up the pace as she gets fitter. Lots of hills if you have any!

If you really must ride her in a school, then use lots of poles, bending around objects, transitions and changes of pace within gaits etc, a few steps of lateral movements (if you have taught those already). Keep it short and interesting, not endless circles!

ETA - she's gorgeous btw! I have a touch of horse-envy...

ah you are so kind thank you! you're right the school can wait, (hopefully if we do this right we will have many happy years to tootle around a school when shes fitter and more knowledgeable)

 

[Foxaunt]

Remember, so much of your lateral work can be done out hacking. You don’t need a school for that.

how would you approach this to make it really clear, i don't want to make her frustrated or set her up to fail

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Remember, so much of your lateral work can be done out hacking. You don’t need a school for that.

So true! We have a track up to our hacking field and we leg yield from one side to the other as we go up. Leg yielding up hills is fantastic to get those butt muscles working.

 

[AmyMay]

how would you approach this to make it really clear, i don't want to make her frustrated or set her up to fail

Well it would be the same as working in the school. Choose a nice quiet spot on the road so that you can start asking for short episodes of leg yield, shoulder fore etc.

 

[paddi22]

with all my green, or not-to-quick brained ones I have a cheat I use to get the to do lateral work the first time on hacks. we have a lane and I get my husband to park on half of it. and I walk down the side against the hedge and then gradually push them out to go around it. they understand themselves that they have to move out to avoid the obstacles and I find it helps link the sidewards aid and the movement in their head. I repeat it a few times and gradually get the side movement further and further away from the car

 

[planete]

I find it easier to 'explain' and practice lateral work in hand before doing it in the saddle.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

with all my green, or not-to-quick brained ones I have a cheat I use to get the to do lateral work the first time on hacks. we have a lane and I get my husband to park on half of it. and I walk down the side against the hedge and then gradually push them out to go around it. they understand themselves that they have to move out to avoid the obstacles and I find it helps link the sidewards aid and the movement in their head. I repeat it a few times and gradually get the side movement further and further away from the car

IME any physical obstacle will help them to understand what you want them to do, you can leg yield around puddles here currently!

 

[spacefaer]

My equine physio is a great fan of downhill transitions when out hacking to help strengthen the core muscles.

That's doing downwards transitions when riding downhill (for clarity!)

 

[Cob Life]

with all my green, or not-to-quick brained ones I have a cheat I use to get the to do lateral work the first time on hacks. we have a lane and I get my husband to park on half of it. and I walk down the side against the hedge and then gradually push them out to go around it. they understand themselves that they have to move out to avoid the obstacles and I find it helps link the sidewards aid and the movement in their head. I repeat it a few times and gradually get the side movement further and further away from the car

I did this in the school with one who wasn’t stupid at all but very clever at avoiding doing the right thing! You put one leg on and he moved towards it instead of away! He will now leg yield both ways in walk and trot and is learning shoulder in.

transitions are good for building fitness and for getting them working through. You can do transitions through your lateral work too once that’s established. I quite like trot leg yield, walk for 2 strides back to trot as its stopped him rushing so much in the leg yield

 

[Goldenstar]

Walking up steep hills /banks with the head lowish is a big help, walking either led or on the lunge on a small circle over poles raised on the inside of the circle is excellent at the stage your horse is at .
The way to develop the core ridden is through the lateral work leg yielding and turnabout the forehand to begin moving on to shoulder in and travers walk pirouettes and then Denver’s and the half pass and rein back. its a progression to develop the core .
I often do lateral training in hand although it sometimes it’s best to be on board .
I am training an ID atm so I identify with you issue these types of horses bred to pull don’t have the easiest middles to train .
Its taken me a year of graft but suddenly it’s coming .

 

[Leandy]

her core is her weak point, i want to encourage her to lift her belly more, bring her legs under her, get her working in a nicer frame. She is 5yo and has a very basic education, lacks forward impulsion in the school, lovely paces out hacking.

I agree with the others that hacking is great for general fitness and for babies to see the world and of course you can school on a hack too but, if your aim is have her working correctly, then you need to start educating her in the school also. I would be working in the arena a couple of times a week also, particularly working on forwardness into a correct contact and to start working over the back (which is the flipside of engaging the core and bringing the hind end under). Forwardness and not being lazy is an obedience issue as well as a fitness issue. If you don't teach her to be quick off the leg now she likely never will be so I would crack on with that too. You don't have to overdo it in the arena but some short sharp sessions insisting on forwardness and contact and working on suppleness is an important part of early education. Get a good instructor to put the two of you on the right path right from the start and you will reap the rewards later.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I agree with the others that hacking is great for general fitness and for babies to see the world and of course you can school on a hack too but, if your aim is have her working correctly, then you need to start educating her in the school also. I would be working in the arena a couple of times a week also, particularly working on forwardness into a correct contact and to start working over the back (which is the flipside of engaging the core and bringing the hind end under). Forwardness and not being lazy is an obedience issue as well as a fitness issue. If you don't teach her to be quick off the leg now she likely never will be so I would crack on with that too. You don't have to overdo it in the arena but some short sharp sessions insisting on forwardness and contact and working on suppleness is an important part of early education. Get a good instructor to put the two of you on the right path right from the start and you will reap the rewards later.

Why? People have broken and brought on riding horses for centuries without a 'school'. Whilst I agree that it is a good idea to introduce every horse to as many new experiences, including working on different surfaces, as possible, I cannot understand at all why one cannot teach a horse to be off the leg/responsive to the aids out in the big, wide world.

 

[paddi22]

Why? People have broken and brought on riding horses for centuries without a 'school'. Whilst I agree that it is a good idea to introduce every horse to as many new experiences, including working on different surfaces, as possible, I cannot understand at all why one cannot teach a horse to be off the leg/responsive to the aids out in the big, wide world.

100% agree with this. The Op has an unfit, young horse who is naturally more forwards on hacks. Mentally and physically for this horse hacking then would be the easiest way to help the horse gain the muscle and start working from behind. The OP will set the horse up to win using this method. I hate seeing young unbalanced unfit horses struggle in arenas and the lack of forwardness and leg responsiveness could be a result of the OPs horse just not being fit and struggling with balance or surface in an arena. OP can get the mare working in nice frame, working through her back, getting her balance and THEN bring her into an arena once she has base fitness and strength. But as you say too Leandy, mixing up sessions is always good!