My new loan.. fitness plan!! really need your help??

Question

iv just got a 14.3 7 year old on loan veiw to buy. shes lovely and perfect for me. but she is really over weight.what sort of fitness plan/ exercise (ie. how much? what? how long?) should i do with her. i have a ruff idea with what im going to do, but can any1 give me a sortof guideline.

thanks

Answer 1

I agree with the person above but remember that horses don't loose more weight when going fast, they actually have to work harder when going slower especially on unlevel ground.

Answer 2

Firstly you should cute down her feed, and if she lives out, limit her grazing.

As for a fitness plan, you should start off working her in the school at walk/trot for the first week. The next week you should start on roadwork as this will bring your horse's fitness levels right up. Now you can start cantering in the school in the third week, and canter on hacks in the fourth. Once you've got her slimmer, you could start on galloping on hacks and local competitions to get her going.

Good luck x

Answer 3

You don't want to make her  sore by pushing too hard and fast but, you also need to get that extra weight off.  I'd do 15-20 minutes of walking circles and figure eights for 3 days, then up it to 30 min. for 3 days, then give her a day off.  And go back to work and move up in 15 min. increments to one hour a day doing figure eights and circles.  Always give a day off every 3-5 days for muscles to rest while building.  After that, go to jogs and trots, then lopes and canters.  And then get her outside on trails for uphill and downhill work.  Be sure to go in both directions with circles, and hills.  It usually takes about 6 weeks to get a horse fit for several hours of trail riding on hills and valleys.  If you want longer rides, just keep increasing your saddle hours.  And keeping a "log" is not a bad idea.  It helps to keep you on track.  Might help to take a beginning photo and another in a month so you can "see" the progress.  Also, some breeds associations and clubs give awards for "saddle log" hours.  Good luck and don't give up.

Answer 4

Light exercises at first, you may have to cut her feed down just a little, because Horses tend to loose weight very rapidly. I would say an hour a day of light riding or ground work.

Perhaps you can talk with your Vet, and see what kind of diet he would consider. I have always liked my Horses a little on the fat side, in-case something happened as an illness or injury. Because Horses un-like Humans loose weight, very fast.

So, I would really talk to my Vet first, before changing the feeding plan the other owners had.