We can’t quite believe it, but we’re still waiting for our first truly warm and sunny day of the year… Normally, by late April, Tommy would have burnt his nose doing yard chores in the sun at least once and Amy would be turning a little browner every day… But not this year! The rain has been coming down in buckets, it’s downright chilly and events are being cancelled every week. We are keeping everything crossed for a warm and sunny Badminton and the three bank holiday weekends in May! The damp spring has certainly made it tricky to get horses fit and meant that horses that are ready to run are left without a competition to go to.
But maybe you’ve spotted our social posts about using the gallops and water treadmill to get your horse fit and thought – well, that doesn’t apply to me, I’m not competing with my horse! Or the rubbish ground hasn’t been vexing you as much as some of your fellow riders because you’re not planning to do much until the mud is gone? That’s all fine and well, but if you’re hoping to take part in fun rides, long hacks to pubs or even a canter along the beach and swim in the sea when the warmer weather arrives, you need to be thinking about horse fitness now. Getting your horse ‘fit for fun’ is just as important as getting them fit for competitions, if you want to ensure they have a long career and stay happy and healthy when the opportunity for fun arises. Imagine if you never focused on your fitness and then were asked to join in a 10k cross-country run… You’d probably find yourself hobbling the next day, or spraining something when you get exhausted on the run.
There’s so much to enjoy about spring and summer as a horse owner, and we should get some lovely ground when the sun finally arrives to dry it out a little. A fitter horse will be able to enjoy a three-hour hack with some long canters and popping a few logs and still be in tip top shape the next day. Or if you head to a fun ride with a friend and find you have slightly less in the brakes department than you thought, your horse won’t be at risk of injuries. If you want to be able to join in with hacks to local horse-friendly pubs and evening canters on grassy bridleways, start working on your horse’s fitness now. Depending on what you’ve been doing with them recently, that might mean starting with road work and walking and working up to schooling sessions and longer hacks. If you’re already hacking out regularly, why not think about a gymnastic pole work session or even bringing them here to Thorpe Farm for a spin on the gallops? You can even combine with a water treadmill session to help them cool down, stretch out and help remove lactic acid from their muscles…
Here’s a link to our facilities page, so you can have a browse and see which might be fun for you and your horse!