Developing fitness in a young horse

[soloequestrian]

Interested in experiences of getting horses fit for the first time. I'm in the slightly unusual position of only having hacking that starts with a steep hill - just measured on the map and it's about 1500 metres to the first flat bit, with a 130m climb to get there, so not a huge amount off a 1/10 slope. I can walk up it no bother but friends who are quite fit can find it tiring just because they're not used to that kind of walking. How would you approach it from the point of view of a horse that had never been fit before? Interested in other experiences of getting young horses fit too! Thanks.

 

[Kat]

My hacking is similar, straight out onto a long steep hill.

I would just get on with it. Hills are a brilliant way to get a horse fit with minimal risk to long term soundness. When my horse was a baby we did lots of walking hacks making full use of the hills. Build up the distance gradually but you are unlikely to over work them with steady hacks on a relaxed contact or long rein.

I was lucky enough to have a couple of months off work when she was 4 and we hacked most days either alone, in pairs, in groups or with a bike. It was the best thing for her, she became an incredibly relaxed confident hack who will go anywhere and past anything.

I keep her hunting fit now with my hilly hacks and some schooling. We have almost no off road hacking but walking and trotting up hills is great for fitness.

 

[palo1]

We are in a similar situation and I have a young horse with no base fitness at all. I started earlier this year with variations of ride and in hand (on the same ride) so that steep downhills could be done in hand and some bits of uphill too. I gradually increased the amount of under saddle work though I still don't ask my young horse to go down a very steep hill under saddle. We find the combination of in hand and under saddle hacking to be excellent for teaching a horse to be polite about hopping on just about anywhere too - I tend to use a decent bank so that I am not pulling on her back Gradually I have increased the mileage but only work my mare every other day as some of our 'short' hacks are really quite hilly and hard work. So every other day and interspersed with in hand work at home with very occasional lunging (maybe once every 2-3 weeks). All of our horses are amazingly fit because of where we live (Brecon Beacons) and the long slow mileage we do. It is not unusual for us to cover 20-30 miles over steep and difficult ground but slowly. I won't ask a young horse to do that but our shortest 'block' is 5 miles of either very steep up or down and just a bit of flat (about 1 mile). The next block up is around 10 miles and includes a very long, steep hill and some knarly open country too. I don't do much trot work with youngsters - just enough for them to learn about tidy transitions and gears within the gait but as and when I have opportunity I will be gently increasing distance with very gradually increasing speed. Cantering happens just enough to ensure good manners and balance/confidence but I am very happy to canter for very short distances on good going if that is offered nicely! It has to be fun too

I do find as well that utilising very variable terrain at slower paces can help enormously with fitness and also with confidence so I seek out some of the harder stuff in short bursts to develop confidence and all round muscular work too. I just think it can take a long time and you can't rush fitness or any kind of body conditioning though some horses get fitter more easily than others. I allow at least 12-16 weeks for a horse to get fit being ridden every other day. It is important to remember too that fitness and conditioning happen physiologically during rest which is VITAL - working a horse every day in the hope it will get fitter can be really counter-productive and can lead to an increased risk of injury. I am interested to know what other people do too.

 

[DabDab]

Similar to palo, my hacking is very up and down and I just hopped on and off to suit as the horse was developing, particularly on steep downhill stretches.

 

[soloequestrian]

Thanks, that's all kind of what I was thinking except for the 'getting back on' part. She's a big horse and I know there are very few places to use as a mounting block, having tried on many occasions before to find one with my older horses. We can definitely ride out and in-hand back though!