Is it possible to get a Horse Fit when you have a day job?

[Suncat]

Hi,

It’s become clear that (doh..) if I want to do better even in grass roots competition, my two boys needs to be fitter. And of course this protects them from injury, etc. Essential stuff.

The problem is, whenever I read the classic, proven methods (for instance featured on the main H&H website today), I just want to clamber under my desk and cry in despair! I think my life is pretty normal – I’ve got a full time job, no kids, an other-half whom I’m rather fond of (ie I want to see him occasionally), family and friends. My job is pretty demanding, but I’d typically be leaving the yard by 7:30/8 and back there by 6. I do have some flexibly so can do an early finish/late starts. I’ve got access to a lit school all week, but its off site, so a few minutes lorry-ride when its dark. Which it is. A lot in winter.

Now all of this gets immensely better in a month or so as the light returns, but in winter as you start your conditioning, how does anyone do 6 days a week roadwork/hacking? Week 3… an hour a day walking.. preferably on the road… there’s no actual way I could do this. *deep breaths*

Did I mention I have two horses? Our road hacking is unsafe in peak hours in the week but ok at weekends – we do have a fab 50 acres of fields and hills to hack in on site, but no tarmac

Let assume also that I can’t afford to pay someone to ride them. Because I can’t.. and me riding them is sort of the point of having them 
I’ve tried finding a good sharer but drawn a blank so far.

So.. post anxious rambling here’s my questions:

Does anyone have any advice about ways to safely increase fitness for the time-poor? What is possible in the time/light available?
I basically manage to ride them both for between 30min-45min 2-4 times a week sensibly. I can do more some weeks when necessary (by neglecting other people).
Can HITT help me at the right point?
I get each out on the road about once a week, statistically I don’t fancy our survival changes if we do much more
They are both grass roots dressage/RC/Working Equitation horses, so they need to be fit enough to travel, warm up, work in and ride two tests in a day with something left in the tank.

Basically I’m hoping for some hope and good ideas! Is it possible that if I use leave/favours/every wife-point I have and somehow do the first 4 weeks, can I achieve more in less time safely after that?

If you got this far, thank you!

 

[alexomahony]

Hello - i'm in the same boat and it's ever so hard through winter... I've even toyed with the idea of somehow attaching bike lights to their forelock and tail to be able to hack on the roads at night.

Are they turned out? This alone will keep the body moving and they will have a low level of fitness. I'm just really starting to bump my ponies up now ready for doing more in spring/summer. Can you ride and lead? you could do this in a morning (now they're lighter) between 7-8, even 6:30-7:30 almost! This saves me so much time hacking.

On a weekend I ride mine twice a day - they hack (and lead) each morning on the roads then either go for a fast canter hack later or school. This is also a massive help! x

 

[Templebar]

Mine live out in a large field on a bank, so i would never say i'm starting from scratch in the walk bit. I would say the more turnout you can do the better. If you have decent hills then you don't have to spend as much time out.

However the way described is the classic method. If you don't have roads you don't have roads, some top event riders live in the flattest areas and they cope. Also not every horse is suited to working this way, my cob struggles with trot work although she prefers it on the road so we do as little as possible and walk or canter. Find a way that works for you and your horses, if you are not sure ask a professional who knows your horses (i suggest vet or instructor) to direct you on how to improve them with limited time. Yes ok you dont want a quick fix and the traditional method is seen as the best way but there is plenty you can do. I struggle for time too and have considered the head torches etc but roll on lighter nights.

Also agree with the above ride and lead if you can even if you tack up both and swap halfway.

 

[Wheels]

It's difficult isn't it?

I've changed my hours at work, over winter I leave the house at about 8.45 and back at just after 7 but in the summer I leave at 6.45 and back about 5 so I have an hour ish before it gets dark. It isn't light enough to hack out so I am doing the walk fitness in the arena during the week and then hacking at the weekends. As soon as I can hack during the week I will.

Like yours, my horse has been worked about 4 days a week over winter and so has retained a little fitness. Therefore I have done a week and a bit of walk work, building up to 1 hour in the arena but hacked out about 1hr 15. Now i will start to add some short bursts of trot. So I am following a similar fitness programme to the one on H&H but I am skipping a couple of weeks of just walk because he already is a bit full of himself so needs a bit more. I will extend ridden time once I can get out on hacks.

I will stick relatively close to the rest of the plan but will also attend the odd jumping clinic or similar before the 'ideal' because I don't think that will cause too many issues + we have been doing that over winter anyway.

I am aiming for a ODE at the end of April

 

[PaddyMonty]

IMHO there is a huge amount of BS spouted around getting horses fit for the lower levels of BE.
I've competed from intro to Novice and competed in the MKEC 3 day several times and I've not found it necessary to indulge in over the top fitness routines.
From experience I have found just working a horse (and I do mean WORKING) 5 days a week with a mis of hacking and schooling (flat and jump) is quite sufficient at these levels.
Never had a horse tire on the XC course, never had to represent on a 3 day.
The problem I believe is peoples definition or work varies a lot. To me a 1 hour schooling session would include a minimum of 15 minutes in canter, not 5 circuits of the area on each rein. Rest in trot with walk being used to give rest periods. If the rider comes out of the session feeling fresh then the horse hasn't worked.
Same with hacking, an hour round the block at walk nattering to friends does naff all. I only walk if I can't trot (apart from rest breaks), only trot if I can't canter plus a pipe opener when possible. Stating the obvious but lots of trotting on roads not advisable. Off road go for it if ground allows.
Think about how sweaty the horse gets during an XC phase. If your normal work doesn't get the horse anywhere near this then you need to work harder, not longer.
An hour, 5 times a week is plenty to keep low level BE horse fit. Just make sure it's an hours WORK.

ETA - also never had a horse go lame on me through this level of work.

 

[Embo]

Yes, of course

I manage to get/keep my horse fit enough to event at 70/80/90 once or twice per month (in season) on a very basic routine. We try to keep active all year round, dressage is always 2 tests per outing.

Monday our yard is closed to liveries, so only have 6 days per week to ride. Tue I will school or lunge, Wed is always dressage lesson, Thur school, lunge, or a jump lesson. Friday I do pay the yard to hack him as I hate it and in winter don't have the daylight.

Weekends are then spent doing much the same; schooling, hacking, out and about or competing.

Schooling isn't always full on schooling. It could be in-hand work, interval training, poles, whatever. I try to ride/work him for at least 30 mins (and trying to reduce amount of breaks!), but optimum is around 45. In summer we can use the field as well, so interval training on the hill is always useful!

The tried and tested traditional method is great if you have the time/means to do it. Some of us have to do the best with what we have, but it is possible. You may never get then top-level fit this way, but as long as you can get them fit enough to cope with what you want to do, that's enough.

 

[Embo]

...From experience I have found just working a horse (and I do mean WORKING) 5 days a week with a mis of hacking and schooling (flat and jump) is quite sufficient at these levels...

To me a 1 hour schooling session would include a minimum of 15 minutes in canter, not 5 circuits of the area on each rein...

An hour, 5 times a week is plenty to keep low level BE horse fit. Just make sure it's an hours WORK.

Agree, I had to come to this realisation when we came to a plateau (one of many!) in our training. I realised I spent more time taking 'breaks' than in actual work. And the breaks were always more for me than the horse

I try and stick to doing just enough warm up to warm the muscles, then we're working. Would you believe it, myself and the horse began to improve. Shocker! Of course we still have the odd break but they are fewer and don't last very long.

 

[DabDab]

I'm managing an hour hack before work now - at yard for half six, chuck the three an armful of hay, skip out 1 or 2, tack up horse, on board for 7, back by 8, feed, turnout, change clothes, leave by 8:30, at work for nine.

I then don't get back from work until 7 or 8. So I'll only do something with another one in the evening if OH is out/I don't have anything else on/I have the energy. But the option is there.

In November, December and January I only hack at weekends and school 3-4 days in the week and usually 1-2 of those will be fairly gentle.

Horse has dodgy muscles so I need to do a lot more than with most to keep him usable. You can get away with far less on a horse that keeps their fitness better, particularly if they have decent turnout.

When I kept him at a yard with no school I used to hack in the dark (off road) with a headtorch

 

[[59668]]

That H and H article makes me laugh. It's ridiculous. I have commented underneath it on facebook before.

 

[SEL]

When I was beating myself up last winter a good friend reminded me that 'something' is better than 'nothing'. So even if you only have 20 mins to whirl them round on the lunge then at least you've got them moving.

 

[lottiepony]

IMHO there is a huge amount of BS spouted around getting horses fit for the lower levels of BE.
I've competed from intro to Novice and competed in the MKEC 3 day several times and I've not found it necessary to indulge in over the top fitness routines.
From experience I have found just working a horse (and I do mean WORKING) 5 days a week with a mis of hacking and schooling (flat and jump) is quite sufficient at these levels.
Never had a horse tire on the XC course, never had to represent on a 3 day.
The problem I believe is peoples definition or work varies a lot. To me a 1 hour schooling session would include a minimum of 15 minutes in canter, not 5 circuits of the area on each rein. Rest in trot with walk being used to give rest periods. If the rider comes out of the session feeling fresh then the horse hasn't worked.
Same with hacking, an hour round the block at walk nattering to friends does naff all. I only walk if I can't trot (apart from rest breaks), only trot if I can't canter plus a pipe opener when possible. Stating the obvious but lots of trotting on roads not advisable. Off road go for it if ground allows.
Think about how sweaty the horse gets during an XC phase. If your normal work doesn't get the horse anywhere near this then you need to work harder, not longer.
An hour, 5 times a week is plenty to keep low level BE horse fit. Just make sure it's an hours WORK.

ETA - also never had a horse go lame on me through this level of work.

Sorry nothing really to add but just wanted to say total agree with PaddyMonty. I agree that people have very different views on what actual 'work' is! I would say a lot of people who would describe their horse in medium work are actually in light work. Make it all count, quality not quantity.

 

[Wheels]

IMHO there is a huge amount of BS spouted around getting horses fit for the lower levels of BE.
I've competed from intro to Novice and competed in the MKEC 3 day several times and I've not found it necessary to indulge in over the top fitness routines.
From experience I have found just working a horse (and I do mean WORKING) 5 days a week with a mis of hacking and schooling (flat and jump) is quite sufficient at these levels.
Never had a horse tire on the XC course, never had to represent on a 3 day.
The problem I believe is peoples definition or work varies a lot. To me a 1 hour schooling session would include a minimum of 15 minutes in canter, not 5 circuits of the area on each rein. Rest in trot with walk being used to give rest periods. If the rider comes out of the session feeling fresh then the horse hasn't worked.
Same with hacking, an hour round the block at walk nattering to friends does naff all. I only walk if I can't trot (apart from rest breaks), only trot if I can't canter plus a pipe opener when possible. Stating the obvious but lots of trotting on roads not advisable. Off road go for it if ground allows.
Think about how sweaty the horse gets during an XC phase. If your normal work doesn't get the horse anywhere near this then you need to work harder, not longer.
An hour, 5 times a week is plenty to keep low level BE horse fit. Just make sure it's an hours WORK.

ETA - also never had a horse go lame on me through this level of work.

I do agree to a certain degree but there are many of us in winter who can't keep our horses working at that level so there has to be a certain amount of fittening work to get a horse fit enough to canter 5x a week for 15 minutes a session when they have spent the winter doing far far less than that.

 

[Wheels]

That H and H article makes me laugh. It's ridiculous. I have commented underneath it on facebook before.

What do you do differently?

 

[pansymouse]

Last summer I rode six times a week (fast hacking) on top of a demanding job with an hour commute each way. I was out of the house about 14 hours on working days. My horse was very fit and did a 10 mile pleasure ride with jumps in September in less 1 hour 25 minutes, I don't compete so that's the only reference point I have. I'm 55 and my horse is 24 and neither of us found our summer particularly tiring. We did an average of 6 miles on weekdays and 9 at weekends. I have a cleaner and my husband was working abroad so no real need to be at home apart from to sleep.

 

[FinkleyAlex]

Last summer I rode six times a week (fast hacking) on top of a demanding job with an hour commute each way. I was out of the house about 14 hours on working days. My horse was very fit and did a 10 mile pleasure ride with jumps in September in less 1 hour 25 minutes, I don't compete so that's the only reference point I have. I'm 55 and my horse is 24 and neither of us found our summer particularly tiring. We did an average of 6 miles on weekdays and 9 at weekends. I have a cleaner and my husband was working abroad so no real need to be at home apart from to sleep.

I think the OP particularly wants advice for the winter months when it’s too dark to hack regularly. I’m sure she’d also like to see her OH! OP I sympathise - I struggle enough juggling my job, a long distance OH and a horse on full livery!

 

[Orangehorse]

IMHO there is a huge amount of BS spouted around getting horses fit for the lower levels of BE.
I've competed from intro to Novice and competed in the MKEC 3 day several times and I've not found it necessary to indulge in over the top fitness routines.
From experience I have found just working a horse (and I do mean WORKING) 5 days a week with a mis of hacking and schooling (flat and jump) is quite sufficient at these levels.
Never had a horse tire on the XC course, never had to represent on a 3 day.
The problem I believe is peoples definition or work varies a lot. To me a 1 hour schooling session would include a minimum of 15 minutes in canter, not 5 circuits of the area on each rein. Rest in trot with walk being used to give rest periods. If the rider comes out of the session feeling fresh then the horse hasn't worked.
Same with hacking, an hour round the block at walk nattering to friends does naff all. I only walk if I can't trot (apart from rest breaks), only trot if I can't canter plus a pipe opener when possible. Stating the obvious but lots of trotting on roads not advisable. Off road go for it if ground allows.
Think about how sweaty the horse gets during an XC phase. If your normal work doesn't get the horse anywhere near this then you need to work harder, not longer.
An hour, 5 times a week is plenty to keep low level BE horse fit. Just make sure it's an hours WORK.

ETA - also never had a horse go lame on me through this level of work.

This. I don't think a horse needs to be ridden every day if they are turned out. The hard bit is getting them fit, once they are fully competition fit and you are going out regularly to competitions to keep this level then you are maintaining that fitness. So you could alternative riding the horses or mix up what they do so perhaps a bit of jump schooling with both for a shorter time one day.

The key to increasing fitness is to increase the heartrate. I only had one horse but I worked full time and got my eventer fit. I remember cantering round my paddock in large figures of 8 with a stop watch so I knew how long the session was. Having him fit for eventing in the summer autumn meant that I continued to hunt on Saturdays with not much exercise during the week.

 

[NZJenny]

You don't need to ride on tarmac. If you have 50 acres on site (hope I'm reading that right), can you hack/walk around that until it gets lighter? I always used to leg up in the dark during the winter, but never on the roads - just to dangerous. But I was lucky enough to have forestry tracks next door, that didn't require road riding. If I had two, would lead one off the other and alternate.

 

[[59668]]

What do you do differently?

I don't compete at any level that requires fitness above and beyond regular riding and schooling.

But I would say MOST people wouldn't have time to ride for up to an hour twice a day....

 

[Mule]

A lot of these fitness programmes do seem a bit unrealistic. I'm walking mine up and down steep forestry hills at the moment. It's definitely getting his heart rate up. I can't do much trotting though as I'd probably kill him. Did a bit of schooling in an arena yesterday and it seems to be working. He's very forward and energetic.

 

[Suncat]

hi all,

Sorry for the delay in replying - and thank you for all the feedback! It given me some good ideas and some much appreciated comfort

As to the road work.. some routine xrays (to inform trimming/shoeing approach) just showed that my very slowly and carefully brought-on 5yr old already has very slight bony changes (I'm gutted), so thank goodness I hadn't ramped up that up.

 

[wingedhorse]

Hi,

It’s become clear that (doh..) if I want to do better even in grass roots competition, my two boys needs to be fitter. And of course this protects them from injury, etc. Essential stuff.

The problem is, whenever I read the classic, proven methods (for instance featured on the main H&H website today), I just want to clamber under my desk and cry in despair! I think my life is pretty normal – I’ve got a full time job, no kids, an other-half whom I’m rather fond of (ie I want to see him occasionally), family and friends. My job is pretty demanding, but I’d typically be leaving the yard by 7:30/8 and back there by 6. I do have some flexibly so can do an early finish/late starts. I’ve got access to a lit school all week, but its off site, so a few minutes lorry-ride when its dark. Which it is. A lot in winter.

Now all of this gets immensely better in a month or so as the light returns, but in winter as you start your conditioning, how does anyone do 6 days a week roadwork/hacking? Week 3… an hour a day walking.. preferably on the road… there’s no actual way I could do this. *deep breaths*

Did I mention I have two horses? Our road hacking is unsafe in peak hours in the week but ok at weekends – we do have a fab 50 acres of fields and hills to hack in on site, but no tarmac

Let assume also that I can’t afford to pay someone to ride them. Because I can’t.. and me riding them is sort of the point of having them 
I’ve tried finding a good sharer but drawn a blank so far.

So.. post anxious rambling here’s my questions:

Does anyone have any advice about ways to safely increase fitness for the time-poor? What is possible in the time/light available?
I basically manage to ride them both for between 30min-45min 2-4 times a week sensibly. I can do more some weeks when necessary (by neglecting other people).
Can HITT help me at the right point?
I get each out on the road about once a week, statistically I don’t fancy our survival changes if we do much more
They are both grass roots dressage/RC/Working Equitation horses, so they need to be fit enough to travel, warm up, work in and ride two tests in a day with something left in the tank.

Basically I’m hoping for some hope and good ideas! Is it possible that if I use leave/favours/every wife-point I have and somehow do the first 4 weeks, can I achieve more in less time safely after that?

If you got this far, thank you!

It is currently light at 6.30am, so could pony both horses round the fields two mornings a week. School one on two weekday morninga, and pick an evening to box both for a longer schooling session one weekday evening.

At the weekends maybe you can school one first thing each morning, and find a friend to hack other horse with you in the afternoon both days? Or ride and lead.

That would give 3 schooling sessions and 3-4 hacks per horse per week, and should increase the fitness.

 

[rara007]

I leave for work at 7.20 and get home between 6 (2 nights a week) and 8 (3 nights a week). I have this last few weeks admitted defeat and employed someone to help me get them fit. I have 3, 2 I’m aiming for true fitness, and neither have been fit before, whilst one just a basic working level but that’s from turned away. Frustrating as I’d love to be doing it but needs must!

 

[JDH01]

I work full time and have always had 2-3 horses, I ride all winter at 06.30 out on roads and ride and lead swathed in hiviz and lights. I hunt regularly (at least weekly) and have an event horse I don't compete (my friend does) but who is fit enough to start the season in March. I have no children but do have a very senior nhs job which requires long hours anjust hae to get up early and go to bed early I.e. Before 10pm

 

[atropa]

Interesting thread, I also have 2 horses and a full time, physical job and struggle to keep mine in even light work. Some good ideas in this thread.

 

[wingedhorse]

Like everything in life, I think it depends how much you want it, as to whether you make it happen.

My best tips are

1) ride / work the horses BEFORE doing anything else. You’ll never be too tired to muck out / feed / do waters.

2) Ride first thing before work, as much more likely to happen.

3) Be organised, set everything up at the weekends, and have tack ready and arrive and work horse without getting side tracked.