Fitness levels for hilly v. flat courses?

[quizzie]

Following on from some recent discussions I have had, I would love to hear people's views on how much difference they think a hilly course makes to the level of fitness required xc, versus a relatively flat course......assuming that other factors such as technical difficulty & ground conditions were similar.

Maybe I should also say that I am really talking about courses of 5 minutes plus, at a level of intermediate/2* or higher, as I feel that below 5 mins and/or below intermediate most horses can cope without specific/intensive fittening programmes.

For example:
Brightling CIC** has a big hill towards the end of a 6 min course,horses finish tired

South of England CIC** has slightly less of a hill, in the middle of a slightly shorter course, & seems to tire horses a little less.

Houghton CCI** is relatively flat, but 9-10mins.

Osberton CCI**, also relatively flat, lots of horses made the time last year, 9 mins +.

So.....do the hills require more fitness, or does the prolonged time? Has anyone ever published "return to normal" heart rate times after the different types of courses? I know they have put HR monitors on some riders, but have they done it on the horses?

 

[Orangehorse]

Lots of difference. If the horse isn't used to hills they will find them hard. A chap round here lived in a very hilly area - v. steep hills - and reckoned he hardly ever needed to do much fast work, as they worked so hard just going up and down the hills with normal exercising and hacking.

People box to hilly areas so the horses are used to working up hills. Friends went on a riding holiday in Wales with fit horses and had to keep giving them a rest going up hill, as they thought they might kill them they were finding it such hard work.

 

[georgiegirl]

Hills definately require a different kind of fitness I think..... Having had my horses on totally flat riding land for years and only ever having to go up the odd hill when eventing. Its really interesting to see now I have moved to a very hilly place how hard they are working when hacking - using different muscles etc. Im really hoping that I'll see a huge difference in their shape and fitness before long without having to do endless fast work. My usually very forward going horse now has her work cut out chugging up all these hills. I certainly know for myself it always feels much much harder doing a steady pedal up a hill on a bike rather than going faster on the flat....surely the same for the horses?

 

[kirstyfk]

With my local 'big' events being burgie and Blair I know that you have to have a get your horse much fitter for a hilly course. I've seen far too many people at all levels not getting their horses fit enough and it really annoys me. I was once jump judging at burgie and had to stop a rider due to a fall further on. He then stated 'I'm pleased you stopped me, I don't think my horse could have got round without a break.' I was shocked and angry that he hadn't bothered to get his horse fit enough and was prepared to carry on.

I believe that interval training should be done at all levels. When I was competing at BE100 I was doing interval training up to 6x6x7 (length of canter with 3 min walk in between). There is nothing worse than seeing a tired horse at the end of cross country. But then pretty much every cross country course in Scotland involves a couple of hills!