# Conditioning



## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

What do you do for conditioning?

Snickers and I shoot for 20-25 miles each week. We do a lot of medium trotting and slow cantering. I'm no expert at this, but he's doing well and his heart rate isn't high (about 90bpm immediately after working, but back down to 60 bpm within ten minutes). We go for two longer rides, one of which includes small hills at a ATV park (other than that it's pretty flat around here), and one short one, with plenty of rest in between. We're only conditioning for an LD, hopefully at the end of May, and my vet recommended to condition faster than we plan to ride. He's the vet that does the vet checks at most of our rides around here


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Right now, I am trying to ride twice a week, with rides being 15ish miles each ride. I have finally found some trails with actual hills, so will be focusing on as much hillwork as possible between now and the end of the month (next ride is No Frills, VA April 28).


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

phantom where did you find hilly trails??


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

kait18 said:


> phantom where did you find hilly trails??


Round Valley Recreation Area, which is over near Horseman's Outlet. Rode there for the first time Friday and fell in love with the place!!


Are you going to be at Foxcatcher this weekend?


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

i will have to see how far that is from me, we need some hills we are just working on the flats now.

i won't be doing foxcatcher...looked up that drive and there is no way i am ready to haul a horse that far and through such high congested areas. still working on my hauling skills  i am meeting with some jersey riders and we are doing a practice ride with timings to kinda give me a good picture of how things will work during an event. 

make sure you get pictures and video clips for the event though i want to see everything


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## Cowgirl140ty (Jan 7, 2010)

The barn where i board has 1500 acres of trails to ride. I probably put in about, 40-50 miles a week. On flat and hills. The hills are a great way to keep my cattle horses in shape.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DebSmith (Feb 15, 2012)

We started out a few weeks ago just walking, walking and working through the spooky stuff. The cornfield I ride in is 1/4 mile once around. We have slowly worked up to trotting once all the way around - a slow trot. then walking 1/2 way around then trotting once all the way around again, etc. I work alot on keeping Falcon's attention on me and not looking for every single thing to spook at. I also am working on being able to rate him at the trot. He wants to speed up and then spook, so we work on trotting until he wants to take off and I make him walk or stop then start again. The last ride on Saturday was wonderful and I actually got him to canter slowly a 1/4 way around on a pretty loose rein. I'm taking my time and doing it slow. I also work him alot on the ground around spooky things and trusting me when I say it's ok to go past.


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

this is a fantastic thread. i really had/have no idea how to start off on such an "adventure" in endurance. can't wait to see all the responses to this - the ones so far are fantastic!


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## traildancer (Oct 27, 2010)

I have access all winter to some steep hilly property so my horse keeps some condition. If I decide to enter the Pacific Crest, I will probably just ride him more often over the same trails we've done all winter. And push him faster. But I rode over there Sunday for four hours and he was raring to go and even after galloping a bit, his recovery was quick. So I guess all I would be doing is maintenance between now and then.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

kait18 said:


> i won't be doing foxcatcher...
> 
> make sure you get pictures and video clips for the event though i want to see everything


I am going to be riding a friend's mare in her first 50 at foxcatcher, so not sure how much pic taking I will be able to do on a strange horse. But if its possible, you know I will! :lol:


where in jersey are you meeting people to do your mock ride?


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

we are going all the way to south jersey. i think its where they usually hold the jersey rides korral something. i am meeting someone at there place and following them to the trail


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

kait18 said:


> we are going all the way to south jersey. i think its where they usually hold the jersey rides korral something. i am meeting someone at there place and following them to the trail



The Kowboy Korral! That is the site of ridecamp for the fall Mustang Memorial ride. Tons of trails to choose from, so I am sure you will have a good time (assuming you don't mind sand or pine trees :wink.


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## kait18 (Oct 11, 2011)

phantomhorse13 said:


> The Kowboy Korral! That is the site of ridecamp for the fall Mustang Memorial ride. Tons of trails to choose from, so I am sure you will have a good time (assuming you don't mind sand or pine trees :wink.


 
haha yes that sounds about right and glad i don't mind sand and pine lol as long as there not touching me lol haha


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

I started conditioning my gelding last year in May with the long slow distance riding. Lots of walking, trotting, extended fast walking and extended trot with some cantering (not a lot of that). It didn't take long to put my QH chunky bunky in top shape. Most of our rides were about 8 miles with some 13 or 14 mile rides thrown in. I put 530 miles on The Biscuit last year. His heart rate is terrific. Now I can put him at a trot for miles and his heart rate rarely goes above 120, mostly stays around 104 and instantly drops when he slows or stops. I had Biscuit at the vet Tuesday for a health certificate and the vet said he was in superb condition. When I did take him to the one and only LD ride in February, the vet asked "is his heart rate always 36?"


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

I'm not very formal with my conditioning. I do some cross training. I did have a more "serious" conditioning schedule when I was first getting my mare in shape. For a couple months, I rode five or six days a week, 8-15 miles a ride. Baby Girl holds her condition very well, so she stays in shape with a fairly small amount of work.

Typically, I'll ride four days a week. Two of those days I do arena work for about an hour a session. Walk/gait/canter. We do a lot of dressage style things, working on rhythmn, suppleness, and lightness. It gets her relax and stay quiet. She's a hot horse, so working quietly is important. We jump sometimes to mix things up.

The other two days are spent on the trails. One of a "fast day". We do somewhere between 8 and 12 miles, keeping a 10+ mile per hour pace over all. The other day is almost always a Saturday, where we go for hours. We try to spend 5 hours on the trail at an 8 mile per hour pace.


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Just as a note for conditioning, there is such a thing as over conditioning that will ultimately wear your horse down more than is necessary and will lead to injury or a shortened career sooner or later. My vet said that we needed to be putting in over 20 miles each week in order to get my boy in proper conditioning, but both he and the Arabian Horse Association say not to push your horse over 30 miles a week during conditioning. Obviously, when you go to a ride you're going to go over that, but in general you should stay under 30 miles each week. Here's an excerpt addressing this in an article from the Arabian Horse Magazine about preparing your horse for their first endurance ride and keeping them in shape (It's a really great article for anyone and their horse who wants to do endurance!): 

But don't get tempted to ride more than 30 miles a week or work your horse every single day.

"The biggest mistake you can make is to ride five or six days a week without a day off in between rides," says Loving. "With older horses, once they are in condition, riding them twice a week should be sufficient provided you make those workouts count. Riding day after day without rest causes a horse to break down from too much wear and tear.

You can read the rest of the article here: Welcome to Arabian Horses.org - Marketplace


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## Brighteyes (Mar 8, 2009)

^^


Oooh, really? I better dial down my miles. I sometimes go 30-40 a week. Too much.


I love me some learning.


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## 2SCHorses (Jun 18, 2011)

We go out and have one trail around here with serious hills, really steep, and though it's probably only 6 miles round trip, it's a good work out for her. I ride her every other day on the trail and then do arena work on the off days, but usually only at the walk because we are working on bending and she needs to walk to really bend to the left. She's not flexible on that side, but I've been doing a lot of stretches with her, including picking up her back leg and gently crossing it over and letting her relax into the stretch. It's been helping!


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## cowgirl928 (Feb 4, 2012)

Since Hunny is just getting back into shape, and we can't go far because of baby, we keep it at a brisk walk for only about a quarter mile, breaking frequently for baby to take a break, then we fox trot home again breaking frequently. A great book for conditioning any type of horse is a book by Jec Aristotle Balliou and here is a link to it...

Amazon.com: Equine Fitness: A Program of Exercises and Routines for Your Horse (9781603424639): Jec Aristotle Ballou: Books

It is very informative and has different exercise programs for all different types of horses. It also has cardio exercises, stretches, a couple of massage moves, and tear out cards so you can keep those with you instead of taking the book everywhere! (which I do anyways because it's AWESOME!)  This book is always with me when riding. I can do things quickly that work well for Hunny in her current condition, and it really gives results


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## cowgirl928 (Feb 4, 2012)

Since Hunny is just getting back into shape, and we can't go far because of baby, we keep it at a brisk walk for only about a quarter mile, breaking frequently for baby to take a break, then we fox trot home again breaking frequently. A great book for conditioning any type of horse is a book by Jec Aristotle Balliou and here is a link to it...

Amazon.com: Equine Fitness: A Program of Exercises and Routines for Your Horse (9781603424639): Jec Aristotle Ballou: Books

It is very informative and has different exercise programs for all different types of horses. It also has cardio exercises, stretches, a couple of massage moves, and tear out cards so you can keep those with you instead of taking the book everywhere! (which I do anyways because it's AWESOME!)  This book is always with me when riding. I can do things quickly that work well for Hunny in her current condition, and it really gives results


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## cowgirl928 (Feb 4, 2012)

oopsies ^^ sorry people for double posting!


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## QOS (Dec 8, 2008)

I rode Biscuit this weekend for a little more than 7 miles Friday and about 10 or 11 Saturday and he seemed to me to be a little tired. I have barely rode in the past few months and hopefully will get to get in more riding and put my boy back in his best condition.


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