How to fitten a maxi cob for BE

[abbijay]

I would question the wisdom of doing something like BE with a heavy horse. The strain on their joints lugging their weight around, even if they are fit and trim, there is still a lot of body mass to move. Some horses just aren't suited to this type of work, especially if you want them to stay sound long term.

I have an ID who absolutely loves to jump but he is simply not built for eventing and all of the experts (vet, physio, farrier etc) tell me the same thing - its too stressful on joints and heart. He goes arena eventing so we still get the kicks but without the sustained effort that cantering / galloping over long distances would give.

I have a purebred clydie (the leggier kind) who I've evented up to 80, with the full backing of all my professionals. I have met many people who have told me they can't or shouldn't jump but I have yet to find anyone with any scientific evidence to back it up. KautoStar can you point me in the direction of this evidence now?

We never took it seriously, just out for an occasional play, but for us it was things like taking risky lines (BP has scope to jump much bigger and is a real genuine type so I could get away with it) that helped us shave seconds all round the course. And we did used to base our fitness on long and slow: we would hack the 4 miles to the local farm ride, do the 7 mile ride mostly at trot with some fast work and pop a few fences, and then hack home. We'd be out for 3-4 hours but it really brought us up to fitness.