Hunting Fitness

[Festive_Felicitations]

The season here starts in May, I will unfortunately miss the beginning but be able to get out in June.
How fit do you want your horses for the opening meet? What sort of work would you be doing with yours before hand?

Able to do a 2hr hack walking and trotting and not come back puffed? He will be fit for low level eventing but I want to make sure he fit enough to enjoy the day with out getting exhausted. Also what sort of feed would you give to a 16.3hh poor doer.

Thanks!

 

[Bernster]

Not here to offer any helpful advice, sorry, but am sure someone else will. I just wanted to say how cool it is that you're starting your season soon. the joys of a worldwide forum eh, just when I'm thinking how sad it is that the season is over, someone else is starting

Although with spring coming (apart from the rain we are currently getting) and the lighter nights, am looking forward to a bit more riding, even if it's not hunting !

Seems a long way until the next season. Am hoping I will have a new hunt horse by then too - woop.

ETA - and nice to see you continuing your festive vibe FF

 

[Festive_Felicitations]

Thanks Bernster. I had to sit through a hot summer reading reports and looking at photos of all of you having fun so I figure it is time for payback

I hope you get some nice hacks in this summer, our nights are depressingly drawing in

 

[JenHunt]

Hi!
glad to hear you're getting ready to go again! we've been finished a month today! Scary how time flies... Ron is enjoying being a field ornament and a beach donkey for now, and I'll pick him up again in a month or so and do some low level eventing.

how fit do you need him to be? It depends on so much... Ron is a good doer, but I can't give him cereals (blows his mind) so I aim to get to the opening meet with him fit enough to do a couple of hours and still carrying some weight, and we go from there.

Personally, I don't think anything gets a horse fit for hunting, like hunting does! You can, and have to, get them so far with road work, fast work, jumping and schooling, but after that it's miles behind hounds that makes the difference! That said, it's not an excuse to not take him home when he's had enough. I spend the first part of the season going home after 2-3 hours, then go from there. There's no shame in going early if your horse has done enough... there's a lot in not taking him home when he's tired, and getting an injury that could have been avoided! (IMO anyway!).

If you can do 2 hours at trot, with some walk and canter and not be lathered when you get home then you're probably not far off.

as for feeding... again it depends on the horse! personally, I feed unmolassed sugarbeet, alfalfa with oil, and a balancer, and ad lib grass haylage, with 12hr turnout per day... works for us, but some would need cereals.

hope that helps!

 

[Festive_Felicitations]

I hope Ron is enjoying his holiday!

I will aim to have him doing a roughly 2hr hack with a plenty of trotting before our first meet. I only managed to go out twice last year and while he coped I do think he was tiered by the end of the day and so wanted to try and prepare him as much as possible, but I realise that there is nothingh like hunting to get them fit for hunting!
Our days seem to only go 3-4hrs not all day - there are certainly no 'second horses'!

I realise the 'what do you feed' was a bit like 'how long is a piece of string' but was just interested in what people did feed - would you say you give him more than when he is doing a bit of eventing over summer?

Any way point to all the waffle = thanks for your reply! I cant wait to go again!

 

[JenHunt]

Hi again,

yes, over the summer he basically gets grass grass and more grass! in the winter I'm soaking 1/2 a stubbs scoop of speedibeet, and adding a full stubbs scoop of alfa oil, and a mug of balancer. He also gets ad lib haylage and goes through about 1/2 a small bale a night, plus however much he eats during the day!