horse fitness question

[amandaco2]

My 3 competition horses currently do 6 days work per week each, mixture of hilly hacking, schooling at ele to psg dressage and lunging, with polework. So they are quite fit.

I am going to give them jan to the end of march as time just hacking on hills 2 or 3 x week. So about 13 weeks of just hacking and living out on 10 acres of hilly grazing.

how fit are they likely to stay?

The hills on the turn out are quite steep in places and the water is at the top so I expect they will go up and down quite a bit!

I was thinking in april they should be fit enough to do 5 hacks per week straight away, mixture of walk and trotting?then after 2 weeks of that add in short canters plus 2 easy schooling sessions?

So likely to be fit to compete may......?

 

[NZJenny]

You don't say where they normally live, but if they are stabled or live on the flat, they will probably come back just as, if not fitter. It will just be the suppleness etc that might suffer a bit.

 

[MissTyc]

There was some research recently that seemed to suggest that if horses lived out then they essentially maintained fitness as long as they were fit to start with. Can't remember the reference, sorry.

Certainly with my horses, if their workload decreases, their field antics go up a notch - they certainly know how to keep themselves amused. With 2-3 times hacking per week your horses will stay fit - as above, they might feel less supple/flexible, but if you incorporate some flexions in your hacking that will help. The only thing I find after months of hacking is that some of mine go a bit one-sided as without the school I am less aware of the equality of flexions and curves, etc ...

 

[amandaco2]

They normally live out but their fields are flatter....
thats great, I was hoping with thehils they would stay fit

 

[HorsesandParrots]

In a book by Susan mcbane I have (sorry can't remember which one) it says a very fit horse can have a 6 week lay off without a decrease in fitness. I was quite surprised by this! So I guess yours will stay very fit!

 

[amandaco2]

I can probably start gentle schooling as soon as they go back to the yard then
brill, im surprised how well they keep fit too!

 

[High Hope]

My super fit tank of a tb was on box rest for 3 months. For 6 weeks he had exactly the same muscle tone, and after 2 months was still better muscled than the regularly worked horses on the yard. After 3 he started to drop though, but that was totally stabled. I was genuinely amazed- I'd expected him to waste away, bless him

 

[spookypony]

Doing hilly hacking 2--3 times per week, I'd expect them to maintain their cardiovascular fitness. In terms of musculature for what you are doing, I'd think that especially walk work on hills is just the thing. I wouldn't worry at all, tbh. This past year, I got my pony 80k fit through just such a regime; he'd been up to 60k the previous summer, and had 3 months off completely, just hanging out in the field. I also wouldn't have believed it, before I started endurance.

 

[amandaco2]

Sounds brilliant, I am rather looking forward to it! It gives me a chance to work on my own fitness more at the gym for 13 weeks, whilst they maintain their own fitness!
I was more worried about topline, but the hills will help keep that up....im sure the 2 youngsters will raz the 2 older ones around a few times per week as I will let them have all 3 fields, so they will enjoy a good game of going from field to field!
Plus they will enjoy the huge space and mental break. which I think is important as I ask a lot of them.
And of course they will need no hay, always nice for me, and I hope to get a decent cut of hay off it in summer too......
I think the grass will last well, its thick now and it only gets grazed for max 4 months per year by my four horses plus a cut of hay off it.....