A conditioning program should be specific to the event in order to train appropriately for the type of exercise in the event. For example, Thoroughbred trainers would not want to strictly use an aerobic conditioning program for their 3-year-old Thoroughbreds because racing is mostly an anaerobic event. There are two general classes of conditioning programs: slow speed and high speed.
Slow-speed long distance conditioning, or endurance training, is used in the first weeks of all conditioning programs and may include breaking.
This method usually proceeds fast exercise in some conditioning programs, such as racehorse training. It includes sessions of trotting and cantering at slow speeds for long distances to promote aerobic production of ATP adenosine triphosphate for energy. Trainers usually start the horses off slowly and gradually increase the distance at two-to-three week intervals.
The total length of time a horse remains on this conditioning program varies with the type of event and can be anywhere from four to five weeks racehorses to nine months endurance horses. Improvements in aerobic capacity, limb strength, and adaptation of skeletal muscle have been seen with slow-speed conditioning.
The common goal of high-speed conditioning is to increase the amount of training that stimulates anaerobic production of ATP without causing fatigue or overtraining. It is thought that conditioning at maximum event speed may overwork a horse; therefore, most trainers condition their horses at 70 to 85 percent maximum event speed. In England, horses work on a rotational conditioning schedule of hills and flat ground. Age and prior activity level are important since some older horses have a reduced capacity to exercise, while younger horses are often capable of greater adaptations in response to training.
A horse that has been inactive for 12 months or more is not going to reach a certain level of fitness as quickly as a horse that has had a six or eight week layoff after a season of training and competition. To push an older horse or a horse that has been inactive for a long time into a full-scale training program without allowing for individual differences is to invite not only injury, but also mental and emotional resistance to the program.
The initial stage of conditioning begins with a period of low intensity exercise known as long slow distance training. The horse walks, trots and canters either in the arena or on the trail. The objective of training is to prepare the horse to cope with 45 to 60 minutes of easy exercise. This conditioning improves cardiovascular and muscular efficiency and enhances the horse's ability to regulate body temperature while stimulating adaptive changes in the limbs.
LSD training builds aerobic endurance and allows the horse to exercise for prolonged periods at a low to moderate intensity. This phase of training may take from 2 to 12 months depending on the breed, age, previous conditioning history and the competitive objectives.
For a young horse being conditioned for the first time, the process will take longer because of the need for intervening rest days to allow a full adaptation to take place. For a horse that was in good condition previously, but has not been ridden for a few months, the process will be much shorter.
When the objective is cardiovascular fitness, workouts performed 3 times a week on alternate days will allow time for tissue repair between workouts. One important fact that you should be aware of is that too frequent bouts of exercise are not likely to produce a faster conditioning response, and, may, in fact, predispose the horse to injury.
When the horse is actively competing, the competition may serve as the workout. Remember that too little stress on tissues will not produce beneficial results, but too much stress or insufficient recovery time between exercise bouts will lead to a state of overtraining. Mild to severe muscle strains may occur and the supporting structures of limbs, bone, cartilage, ligaments and tendons that adapt more slowly to the stimulus of exercise may be compromised with strains or fractures occurring as a result of the overtraining.
As your horse's fitness training load increases, adjustments need to be made in the feed ration to accommodate increasing physical demands. This is usually accomplished by increasing the grain and decreasing the amount of hay fed. An alternative method of increasing the energy intake is to add fat which is an energy dense food. In addition to increasing energy consumption, it may be necessary to add calcium carbonate to the ration as the grain to hay ratio increases.
If your horse begins losing weight during fitness training, it is obvious that the energy content is insufficient for the workload and the amount of feed needs to be increased. If your horse is competing, the feeding regime on that day of the competition can have an enormous effect on the horse's performance. Research indicates that a meal of hay and grain fed approximately 4 hours before the beginning of competition will allow time for stabilization of the glucose and insulin levels before competing.
In addition, electrolytes should be given at the same time as the meal since this combination influences the amount of fluid retention in the gut. The fibrous content of the hay and grain stimulates the horse to drink, and and the electrolytes keep the water in the intestine where it is available to replace fluids lost in sweat.
Next, proceed to short sessions of long trotting on straight lines. Long trotting will help recondition your horse faster than jogging. It requires your horse to substantially work his hindquarters and stretch his muscles, tendons, and ligaments; plus, it boosts his endurance.
Gradually increase the length of your long-trotting sessions over a number of days. Begin with short, slow lope sessions in both directions; gradually increase the duration of your lope time over a period of days or weeks, always giving your horse walk breaks in between loping stretches. What to Avoid After a long layup, many riders assume that starting their horses on a hotwalker, then progressing to round-pen or longe-line work is the best way to reintroduce exercise.
Both of these methods require a horse to work on a circle, which inevitably puts additional stress on his joints, ligaments, and tendons. She coaches youth and amateurs in reining and working cow horse, and owns and operates Metcalf Quarter Horses in Pilot Point, Texas, with her husband, Steven, and son, Carter. Where-to-Ride Guide. Training Tips.
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