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Whether you are looking to get riding again after a long, cold winter or your horse had some time off due to an injury, the first step to bringing them back into work is with a conditioning program. After sitting in the field for a couple of months, your horse will be out of shape just like you would be if you spent all that time on the couch. In order to get them back to peak performance, it's important for riders to take their horse's physical needs into account to prevent injury and keep them engaged in their work. The best way to do this is to plan a conditioning program and stick to it.
Importance of Conditioning
Following a slow, progressive conditioning program is essential whenever you want to add to your horse's workload. However, when they are just coming out of the field after a few months off, it is especially important that we don't force them to jump back into work without a conditioning period. Conditioning is the process of slowly increasing the workload in a way that allows the body to adapt to exercise. Over time a progressive routine will allow the horse's capacity for exercise to increase and their likelihood of injury and health complications will be reduced.
Conditioning the Body's Systems
Conditioning impacts all the major systems in a horse's body, namely the muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, and skeletal systems.
Exercise forces the muscle fibers to contract and relaxes, thus making them stronger over time. Progressive exercise will slowly increase blood flow to the muscles and increase the ability to use oxygen in the bloodstream. A conditioning program will allow muscles to slowly gain strength while improving coordination, delaying fatigue, and reducing the likelihood of injury.
The horse's cardiovascular system and heart will get stronger during a conditioning program, increasing its ability to pump blood, plasma, and red blood cells through the body, improving performance and delaying fatigue. Slowly, the horse's maximum heart rate will get lower during intense exercise, proving it is strengthening over time.
The horse's lung capacity will improve during a conditioning program. The airways may become more elastic, increasing the integrity of the lung and diaphragm tissue and allowing better transfer of gases to and from the blood.
Horses' skeletal system is made up of many fragile tendons, ligaments, and bones. A horse's performance and longevity rely on its skeletal system remaining strong and lasting. When enacting a conditioning program, the integrity of the skeletal system has to be kept in high regard. Going too hard too fast can lead to a breakdown of the bones, tendons, and ligaments leading to lameness. A gradual increase in exercise can help increase bone density, flexibility of tendons and ligaments, and joint lubrication.
Before Conditioning
If your horse has had time off and is looking to get back into work, you will want to ensure that they are able to put their best foot forward. Even if your horse did not have time off for any specific medical problems, having a vet out to give them a basic exam will give you confidence that they will be able to withstand conditioning. Many owners do this every spring during their annual vaccine appointment.
If your horse needs to have their teeth floated, before starting work is a good time to do it as dental issues can greatly impact a horse's performance. Have your farrier give them a good look over at their next appointment and make sure their feet and in optimum condition and ready for work. Make sure all your tack still fits correctly, after having time off, your horse may have changed shape causing even well-fitting tack to no longer be suitable.
Basic 8-Week Condition Plan
Luckily, getting most horses back into work is a relevantly straightforward process. If your horse is not recovering from an injury or had extensive time off, a basic 8-week program should be all they need to get back up to speed and be ready to take on most adventures. After these 8 weeks, you can start conditioning your horse for more rigorous work like speed events or jumping.
Key: Purple = Trail ride or hack, Green = Lunging, Blue = Ride in arena with schooling work
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