Fittening after 5 weeks off

[Mule]

Hello, my horse has had a 5 week shoe break and consequently no exercise so I need advice for bringing him back to work. He lives out 24/7 so he spends a lot of time moving. I give him time off every year and muddle through getting him fit again. This year I would like to try a more structured plan as he is getting on a bit.
Does anyone have any suggestions for an exercise schedule?

 

[Michen]

I’m picking mine up today and they will have done the same. My plan will look a bit like this.
Week 1 hacking in walk, starting at 30 mins building up to an hour plus by end of week.
Week 2 the same, plus gentle walk school work where hacking not possible and in hand poles
Week 2 add trot out hacking, building towards end of week
Week 3 add trot in school, half schooling half hacking
Week 4 add canter out hacking, increasing schooling time for walk and trot
Week 5 add canter in school
Week 6 back to normal and start jumping for the older one.

So as much hacking as poss but not always possible this time of year so I don’t mind them going in school straight away as long as it’s for stretchy walk session or even better in hand poles.

 

[Mule]

I’m picking mine up today and they will have done the same. My plan will look a bit like this.
Week 1 hacking in walk, starting at 30 mins building up to an hour plus by end of week.
Week 2 the same, plus gentle walk school work where hacking not possible and in hand poles
Week 2 add trot out hacking, building towards end of week
Week 3 add trot in school, half schooling half hacking
Week 4 add canter out hacking, increasing schooling time for walk and trot
Week 5 add canter in school
Week 6 back to normal and start jumping for the older one.

So as much hacking as poss but not always possible this time of year so I don’t mind them going in school straight away as long as it’s for stretchy walk session or even better in hand poles.

Lovely, thank you.

 

[LEC]

At 5 weeks off and out in the field you can cut that programme in half as horses retain fitness if kept out in the field.

‘In contrast, a strategic layoff of a month or less has relatively little effect on an equine athlete’s performance. There is some minimal loss of cardiovascular fitness, but it is restored relatively quickly. Even so, when training resumes, a horse’s workload should be reintroduced gradually over a period of several days.’

With my eventer who had time off and will be going back out at 100 in March and aiming for Novice/2*, I did 2 weeks walk/trot work hacking. There is no point just walking as you should only be doing 5 mins of trot max anyway on the roads.
Reintroducing hillwork and schooling on flat at end of week 2.
Week 3 saw Polework schooling along with hacking. Will start jumping this week on Wk4 at 80/90 level. Wk 5 back to beach for canter work.

If horse was coming back from box rest then my schedule would be significantly different mindful of complete inactivity and the reason they were on box test. Coming back from holiday, there is a reason the old days of 3/4 months off for a horse from end of eventing season to starting fitness on 1st Jan is no longer done.

 

[Red-1]

A lot will depend on what the horse was doing before / is expected to do.

If the horse is a happy hacker, I would just do a few light hacks to start and build it up from there, following how the horse feels.

If the horse had been very fit before, I would again do a week of steady hacking and pick it up following how the horse feels, but it would take longer before I would work the horse hard in circles / jump etc. More like Michen's post.

5 weeks off in a field isn't a long time, especially for a general purpose horse who never gets pushed to the limits.

If the horse has had an injury, or been confined to the table and only been on a walker, then the program would be different. Very different.

 

[Michen]

At 5 weeks off and out in the field you can cut that programme in half as horses retain fitness if kept out in the field.

‘In contrast, a strategic layoff of a month or less has relatively little effect on an equine athlete’s performance. There is some minimal loss of cardiovascular fitness, but it is restored relatively quickly. Even so, when training resumes, a horse’s workload should be reintroduced gradually over a period of several days.’

With my eventer who had time off and will be going back out at 100 in March and aiming for Novice/2*, I did 2 weeks walk/trot work hacking. There is no point just walking as you should only be doing 5 mins of trot max anyway on the roads.
Reintroducing hillwork and schooling on flat at end of week 2.
Week 3 saw Polework schooling along with hacking. Will start jumping this week on Wk4 at 80/90 level. Wk 5 back to beach for canter work.

If horse was coming back from box rest then my schedule would be significantly different mindful of complete inactivity and the reason they were on box test. Coming back from holiday, there is a reason the old days of 3/4 months off for a horse from end of eventing season to starting fitness on 1st Jan is no longer done.

Yes I’m sure you can, but personally I prefer to be cautious and do thinks slowly and steadily. Can’t see what the rush is at this time of year unless you need them back for something specific.

Yours seems fairly similar anyway, with 5 weeks to be back to full work..?

 

[flying_high]

I was under the impression that if in the field (and a decent sized field) that less than six weeks off work (not due to injury) was the cut off point, and a fully fit horse wont drop much fitness at all in six weeks. (Assuming not turned out on rich grass getting fat!!)

More than six weeks off and you should restart with a few weeks walking, a few weeks walking and trotting out hacking etc.

So for five weeks in field, assuming was at the fitness you wanted, I would probably start with first 2-3 weeks hacking in walk and trot (or "hacking" or groundwork in the school if needs must). And take about 4 weeks to start cantering and picking up in the school. But much of it depends on how the horse feels and goes underneath you.

 

[IrishMilo]

Unless the horse has been off for a physical reason I see no reason you can't pick up where you left off (unless where you left off was galloping around like a lunatic and jumping every other day...)

 

[Upthecreek]

My eventers always have December off and come back into work quickly and easily in January. If they are fit before their break they don’t lose much fitness at all over 4-6 weeks provided they have been turned out. I take it gently the first week, but by the end of the second week they will be cantering and starting to jump in week three. Of course it depends on age, health and type of horse as to how quickly and easily they regain fitness.