Fitness ideas for chunky cob

[xCiaraGx]

Hi all,

Due to a strangles lock down on my yard my cob has had to live out full time as stabling was banned to stop the infection spreading.

He is not infected so it in work still but as I can’t control his grass intake well (he is in a restricted paddock during the day and in main field at night) but it’s not enough.

I’m lucky to have a hilly private “farm ride” (takes about 10/15 minutes at a fast pace) that liveries are still alound to use and arena to lunge/ride in.

He’s normally very fit as we event BE90. But that’s due to long hacking. Does anyone have any tips? Different ridden or lunging exercises to try? I’m slowly loosing it as we have another 6 weeks to go on lockdown (already done 4!)

Thanks!

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

I find interval training is good for increasing fitness, especially up hills!

 

[blitznbobs]

Hack the farm ride... do it 3 or 4 times a ride (or as long as you’d normally hack for.) at the speed you’d normally hack at. Boring yes but it will be almost as effective as road work

 

[be positive]

Apart from increasing your use of the farm ride work on your flatwork to improve the weakest area of your dressage tests and aim to get your scores down by a realistic % if you can get out before the end of the season, if you have jumps available do some imaginative exercises to increase his athleticism, a good jump session will get his heart rate up and help get his weight down.
I also think doing a hack as a warm up or cool down is useful to increase fitness, your farm ride would be an ideal start or finish to a flat or jump schooling session.

 

[sollimum]

Can you add in some polework? So start off in the arena, do some poles than out and do several laps of the ride?