(Human) Riding fitness

[TreeDog]

I've seen a riding holiday that sounds amazing, however I'm not sure if I'm going to be fit enough in time to cope.

From Jan-March this year I was hacking my horse once or twice a week 1.5-2hrs mostly in walk, schooling share horse 2x per week (~30 mins walk and trot) and swimming ~3 times a week. I was/ still am learning to swim so only doing about 25-30 lengths in a session.

I stopped swimming in April but have been riding more now daylight and weather allows, have also had to build up horse fitness, starting to add more canter into our hacking now. Yesterday and today I did about 9-10km in an hour including a couple faster canters and in the faster work I can feel I'm lacking some physical strength, particularly weak in my right thigh/hip. Last year I did a riding holiday with 5.5 days riding and by the end of last day (which did involve a lot of galloping!) this was the area that was about ready to give way. Took a week or two to recover before I could canter again without any pain or tightness there.

The trip I'm looking at departs in about a month and will be 6 days, 35-45km a day, riding 6 hrs a day (with breaks so spread over about 8-9 hrs total a day), with fast riding where terrain allows.

Over the next month I would continue to do the 2x schooling with share horse (including more canter now but still mostly trot), and aim to hack mine 4-5 times a week, 1hr speedier hacks after work then 2-3hr on weekends. I think the longest I'd get up to while still being fair to horse's fitness is maybe 20km over 3 hrs. I could start swimming again a couple times a week. Would that be enough 'training' or would it be a bit mad to sign myself up for this? I am keen not to cause myself an injury or be unable to complete the full 6 day trip

 

[Tarragon]

Tricky one!
You can't be the only person to go on that holiday and not be used to riding 6 hours every day, so perhaps it isn't such a problem. I do remember when I thought I was riding fit, then I was asked to exercise a horse entered for a local point-to-point by cantering around the perimeter of a large field a few times, and got off with legs like jelly!
I think you will be OK with just what you are doing, and keep it going for the next month.
I would be more worried about chafing and just saddle sore if it isn't a saddle you are used to, so would be on the lookout for equipping myself with really good riding kit for me.
It does sound like a great experience

 

[Parrotperson]

I’d be tempted to do something me core work too. Local gym maybe? Core conditioning will help the rest of your body too. Have a lovely time. Where are you going?

 

[gunnergundog]

Get a personal trainer onboard that has a rehab qualification plus an interest in equine sports and your age group. Be prepared to spend £££££.

I am in my 70’s and moved my horses abroad two seasons ago to somewhere where fox hunting is still legal. As I only had a wonky donkey to ride in this country I ended up spending a fortune with said PT - plus paying for livery and accommodation for my dogs and myself abroad whilst maintaining a property here.

Do I regret it? No way! Just hadn’t anticipated the full cost. If you really want to do it and do it well then be prepared to invest.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I’m 66 next month and my horse is on loan until the end of April 2025 and I want to be fit enough to ride him when I get him back. I do three sets of ten push ups, squats and sit ups every morning, a 20 minute chair yoga app every evening, state sponsored stronger for longer classes for the over 50s every Wednesday and park run every Saturday morning (I mainly walk with a bit of jogging). I don’t particularly like exercise but this is just as much routine as brushing my teeth now and the change in my body (I was lean but a bit flabby) is really gratifying which I didn’t expect at my age. I hope you have a great holiday.

 

[Abacus]

For me I have found that running is the closest thing to riding fitness (even very slow running, or run-walk-run-walk). I think that a cross country round feels like a brisk run, and personally aim to be able to run about 8 or so k comfortably enough, not necessarily fast. Ideally you might want more time but is this something you could bear to work on for the time you have?

 

[suebou]

I’m 66, with a fair few health things, I did riding in Jordan 5-6 hours a day in March. Your planned rides are a bit longer but I camped!I ride 3-4 times a week, hacking. I have ridden for many years but I had no problems at all.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Engage a PT or even better an exercise physiologist who will give you specific programmes for your age, body type and desired sport.

I did this prior to ski season and finally had control over my body which had a magic impact on my season.

 

[blitznbobs]

I went on a riding holiday (slightly different - school master lessons etc) but we were in the saddle 4 hours a day… I hadn’t ridden at all for 6 months… yes I was sore at the end of the day but the worst thing was not fitness level but the fact that the saddle I was using caused my ‘undercarriage ‘ to be sore because it had no padding

Take some cycling shorts or a seat saver would be my advice