Getting Fit for the Season Ahead

Fitness training is crucial to enable your horse or pony to perform to the best of his ability and to reduce the risk of injury. Here equine physiotherapy experts Equissage offer readers ten top tips for fitness training...

Make sure you start fitness training well in advance of your first competition to allow enough time to reach the required level of fitness and to allow for any setbacks.

When planning your schedule make sure you keep it varied and include hacking out, not just schooling, so that horses remain willing to work and don’t develop behavioural problems.

Always warm your horse up properly to avoid injury and make sure you cool down as well, as this is equally as important. An Equissage pad can help to ‘warm up’ and ‘cool down’ horses.

It is a good idea to have your horse’s back and teeth checked before competing to ensure there are no problems which could be exacerbated by the rigors of competition.

Make sure you use a good farrier as your horse’s feet need careful management in order to prolong their competitive careers for as long as possible.

Keep your horse in a well ventilated stable and maintain a dust free environment by using dust free forage and bedding and regularly cleaning stables.

Closely monitor your horse for signs that his fitness is not improving and the level of work is too intense e.g. prolonged recovery post-exercise, illness or injury, poor performance.

Keep a diary of your fitness training so that you can plan ahead and monitor progress. You can break down your training in to three phases; long slow distance, strength work and fast work.

Do not carry out intense work more than twice a week and always follow it with a light work day. The horse must be given time to recover following strenuous training and to avoid depletion of glycogen stores.

Nutritional support must be carefully planned to maximise performance, keep horses healthy and to maintain optimum body condition. Seek advice from a nutritionist if you feel your horse’s diet could be improved.

Equissage sponsor dressage rider Lee Pearson CBE and top show jumper Ellen Whitaker. For more information or a FREE demonstration on Equissage please contact 0800 072 1180 or visit www.equissage.co.uk

For further information and a FREE demonstration on Equissage, please contact 0800 072 1180 or visit www.equissage.co.uk.