Riding and leading for fitness?

Sparkles

Sparkles

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Is it, in theory, possible to keep a horse fit doing it?

Only ask, as I don't have time to ride the pony daily at the moment, and wish to have her fit enough to take her out somewhere occasionally once a month or so [be it for a mornings hunting, or unaff SJ etc]. She was ridden and fully fit up till a week ago. 17, schoolmistress.

I've got a lady who is bringing her daughter down to ride to hack her out twice a week for me, I ride her on weekends, so was thinking, when I ride my TB during the week, whether to just drag her out with me hacking leading her off him each time? [She's perfectly fine to as I used to ride and lead her originally to help keep weight off her].

Just wondered, in theory, whether this could work to keep her fit?
 
If she is going to be doing four days of proper work when you and the girl ride her, then a couple of days riding and leading should just about do the trick to keep her fit. I think if she was doing nothing but R&L she wouldn't get fit enough to hunt or do faster things, but the situation you have sound great!
 
Fab! I've never used R&L for fitness before, only as a quick 20 minute leg stretch or to lose weight first before riding them, so wasn't sure if it would be enough to keep her ticking over well enough. I normally hack for a good hour at least during the week, and then at least 2 hours on the weekends. :)
 
I do a lot of riding and leading with my sons pony as he can't ride during the week. I take him wherever I go on my horses, whether 40 mins roadwork or a longer hack across the common. I have even perfected opening gates whilst riding and leading!

This combined with a couple of loose schooling sessions, just about keep's him fit enough to do a short day's hunting or PC rally.
 
We ride and lead a lot it's perfectly possible to keep horses fit riding and leading and lunging with one ride between weekly hunts.
It's also an excellent way of keeping them worked and giving the back a break from the wieght of the rider and the saddle.
 
I used to R&L all the time for hunters. Two birds with one stone etc, why ride twice (or four times) when you can go out just the once or twice? Especially when exercising in winter is a chore in grotty weather. At one hunt yard I was at on Dartmoor, for road work we used to ride one, lead two. We regularly used to R & L the racehorses (Flat and NH) for road work as well.

With my own horse leading daughter's ponies I used to do all the usual walk and trot work on the roads, hill work and canter work on the mountains, including fast canter work. Her ponies only ever got ridden at the weekends.
 
Done it to get horses hunting fit for many years, the time put in will determine the fitness rather than being ridden or not. Before the dreaded horse walkers were invented grooms rode and led all the time- often led 2 [ traffic prevents that now in most places] Personally Its something I love doing - unbacked 3 or 4yr olds get led off our schoolmater, certainly helps the breaking in process .
 
Brilliant. Unless they're quiet and easy to do, I don't normally do it if I can. Ponykins is easy as anything and quite active and busy working, so keeps up with my TB lad no problem. His collected canter is her extended trot, his more forwards canter, is her little pony canter as we found out earlier. Should she get into her gassy self cantering, he grumps at her if she gets ahead of herself and puts her back where she should be. :)

I take my little colt out sometimes too, he's been all round the roads and bridleways with us, though again, always done that for him to see life, than to get him fit as he's only a baby :)
 
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