gallop preperation

[nickyb]

how many times would you canter a horse before its first event? based on obvious base fitness ie, done hacking, schooling and showjumping? i would like my already sharp horse slightly less fit than last season and would like your views on this. would one pipe opener (x2 up the gallops) be enough?

 

[kerilli]

depends what level of event it is, how fit the horse has been before, its breeding, and how much schooling you're doing. i do interval training in my flatwork sessions, e.g. 3 lots of 5 min canter with 2-3 mins walking in between, for e.g.
if it's just PN or Intro and the horse has been fit before, i'd think a pipe-opener would be plenty tbh.

 

[seabiscuit]

IMO you not need to canter them up to Novice level; only for Intermediate..Certainly the event yards that Ive worked at have never cantered them up to Novice. The hacking out is the most important thing
Up to Novice level I would be doing about an hour- an hour and a half's hacking 3 times a week minimum, mainly at a fast marching walk and a few long slow trots on a grass surface. This would be on top of a few decent schooling sessions a week.I found that the horses were probably too fit most of the time!