Understanding Your Horse’s Fitness Level
Horses are naturally very strong and powerful animals. Used for load bearing and riding for thousands of years, horses have been bred to handle a variety of tasks. If given enough space to move around in and fed well and correctly, a horse should not end up out of shape; these animals are very good at keeping themselves fit. At the same time however, there is almost always room for improvement and understanding your horse’s fitness level is the first step.
If you are planning on competing with your horse in any sort of event, good overall fitness is of the utmost importance and it is never to early to begin working on your horse’s fitness level. Horses respond better to consistent training and workouts, so make a schedule and stick to it. Nothing hurts training so much as inconsistency. If you only train when you have time or when you remember, you will have a much harder time reaching the fitness level that you want for your horse.
Before you begin training, it is a good idea to consider what kind of shape your horse is likely to be in.
- How old is your horse? An older horse will take more work and much gentler work to bring up to a good level whereas a younger horse in its prime will be far more readily trained.
- When was your last workout with the horse? If you have kept the horse inside lately or have not been training during the winter, it will take longer to reach a good state of fitness. If possible, continue working with the horse, even if it is only small amount each day, through the entire winter so that she will be prepared for more vigorous workouts in the spring.
- Has your horse sustained any injuries? A horse recovering from an injury will require a lot of time and patience to bring back to shape. The important thing is that you avoid stressing or pressuring the injury too much while it is still healing to some extent. Talk to your veterinarian about the best exercises you can do with your horse to keep her in shape while helping her heal.
As you begin working with the horse, pay attention to things like warming up and cooling down. Giving the horse some time before and after the workout will help her stay injury free. Also keep an eye on her breathing and heart rate. If you keep a log of these things, over time you will perceive of a change in fitness.
