Fitness - Cob

[BlizzardBudd]

how can i get my cob mare fit. she is 20 years old and we can only hack out (on the roads, some far away bridleways).
the selection of routes i have are:
-two 2 mile: one has a short steepish hill, the other goes up and down, both have plenty of trotting space (30+mins each)
-a figure of 8, 4 mile: the 2 above combined. (60+mins)
-5 mile: down hill for 1/4, then flattens out for 1/2, 1/4 uphill. (1h45mins+)
-7.5 mile: across fields, along a brilde way, variable gradient. mostly flat (2h30mins+)
-9 mile: into the village, same bridle way as above (3h+)

at the moment i dont have enough time/daylight to do any more than a simple 2 mile circuit.i tend to do the longer ones with my friend and her horse

 

[Rose Folly]

You don't say how fit or not she is at present. But assuming she's totally unfit, I'd start her on the 2-milers with an occasional longer ride thrown in at the weekends. Walking is THE great fittener, so as she muscles up you can complete the circuit more quickly, and then interject trotting of ever longer distances bit by bit. Our two-miler is a triangle of country lanes. Like you, I'm just bringing back into work my cob mare, who's been off ill for 11 weeks. We'll be walking the triangle (different ways round) this and next week, and only then will the trotting start. I'll be hoping for longer rides in 3-4 weeks. I'm not going to push it as, though she's a lot younger than your mare, she's had a hard time and I want the foundations of her fitness to be firm.

If you time your rides like you have on this forum, you'll be able to judge how you're doing by the speed at which your cob can comfortably achieve them as she gets fitter.

 

[PeterNatt]

Your horse is elderly and so as to be considerate to your horse you need to do any increase in work very gently and regularly. Why do you need to get your horse any fitter than she already is? The secret is gentle excercise and to hack out every day at a walk. I would not suggest trotting especially on the roads as they can cause damage to their joints especially an older horse. Also suggest you put knee boots (Jeffries Kneecap-cob HBK26-CNBL) www.ejeffries.co.uk on your horse whenever you hack out as when they are older they can tend to trip/stumble more. Also always wear Hi-Viz when hacking out especially a long sleeved Hi-Viz jacket so that other road users can see your hand signals clearly.

 

[BlizzardBudd]

You don't say how fit or not she is at present. But assuming she's totally unfit, I'd start her on the 2-milers with an occasional longer ride thrown in at the weekends. Walking is THE great fittener, so as she muscles up you can complete the circuit more quickly, and then interject trotting of ever longer distances bit by bit. Our two-miler is a triangle of country lanes. Like you, I'm just bringing back into work my cob mare, who's been off ill for 11 weeks. We'll be walking the triangle (different ways round) this and next week, and only then will the trotting start. I'll be hoping for longer rides in 3-4 weeks. I'm not going to push it as, though she's a lot younger than your mare, she's had a hard time and I want the foundations of her fitness to be firm.

If you time your rides like you have on this forum, you'll be able to judge how you're doing by the speed at which your cob can comfortably achieve them as she gets fitter.

she isnt mega unfit, but i started to ride her because she was very fat. in the summer i am wanting to hack over to a show to compete in an in-hand class. we have got her weight down to about where it should be, we just dont want her to get laminitus in the summer again.

Your horse is elderly and so as to be considerate to your horse you need to do any increase in work very gently and regularly. Why do you need to get your horse any fitter than she already is? The secret is gentle excercise and to hack out every day at a walk. I would not suggest trotting especially on the roads as they can cause damage to their joints especially an older horse. Also suggest you put knee boots (Jeffries Kneecap-cob HBK26-CNBL) www.ejeffries.co.uk on your horse whenever you hack out as when they are older they can tend to trip/stumble more. Also always wear Hi-Viz when hacking out especially a long sleeved Hi-Viz jacket so that other road users can see your hand signals clearly.

we just want to hack out a bit more, and in the summer we may build a large outdoor areana, so i would like her to be fit enough that we can school/lunge her. her owner says not to put knee boots on her, she never trips or stumbles anyway. i always wear hi-vis, i am actually the person who persuaded the others on the yard to wear it