how to get your horse into shape?

Question

i am currently starting to ride a 16'3 draft horse (i am not sure what breed he is, he actually looks somewhat like a friesian)
i have been riding for 8 years or so, mainly dressage but i can jump aswell.
i just want to know if there is anyone that can give me some more tips on how to get this horse back into shape, he hasnt been ridden for a long time although suprisingly he does listen to most of my aids except for my legs. also he has some problems with the canter and he cant jump.
i know it takes a lot of time, i (still) ride a pony that i started training last summer and right now she is in a good shape again. so i did it before, i just want to know whether some people have some suggestions on how to make this fun for both me and him. (he is an absolute sweet heart and is very brave!)

i am not planning on jumping with him since he doesnt like it, i jumped him today over baby cross poles but he rather just runs them over!! haha

Answer 1

Before you try getting him into shape you need to check with your vet and farrier to make sure his joints and feet aren't bothering him along with any other problems.

I own several drafts- friesians, belgians, Welsh, Gypsy Vanners, and many others including drafts.

I have to get them into shape a whole hell of a lot differently than I do my paints, quarters, appaloosas, and non draft horses.
What I've found that gets my drafts into shape is lunging over ground poles to get them to lift their legs a bit higher- sometimes but not all the time I'll add some height. When I'm on their back I do a lot of time concetrating on backing- I'll back down hills, up hills, and on the flat to get their hind quarters and shoulders looking more firm. I'll also do tons of transitions from walk, lope, and canter. Then if they are able I'll do more technical things- such as half passing, side passing, roll backs, and lead changes.

Check and make sure your saddle fits properly and that he is properly shod- this could be a reason he has trouble with the canter and jumping.

Hope this helped and happy trails.

Answer 2

I am glad to see others riding drafts with dressage...I have a 17.2 Gypsy mare I am competing first level with.
You will need to ride often- start with small 15 min rides or so at least 3-4 times a week- then slowly increase the time.
As for fun stuff- go on trails, do a lot of trotting up hills or on uneven terrain (slowing increase the time doing so). You can also do some intro test work with him.
One thing that my mare loves to do is barrels- start out at a walk, then a trot, then eventual canter- We have the slowest time doing a collected canter the whole way, but she loves it.

I would not worry about the canter until you get him listening to leg aids and building up his muscle at the trot. If he is like most other draft horses I have seen- cantering is very hard until all of those muscles are built up.
Please do not jump him until he is more fit- draft horses get leg problems easily, and I rarely go over 3 ft jumps with my mare. Also, if he does not have muscling built up, and has problems cantering, you can't expect him to he able to jump. If you want to, work with ground poles or raised caveletti, but stay away from anything bigger until he is more fit.

If you have any other questions on training or riding drafts, just shoot me a message. They are fun and I would never own anything other than a draft or draftcross, but most methods people use to train for dressage do not work for drafts. The few lessons I was able to afford left my horse a nervous tight wreck. Now I take everything slow and work more on stretching in all of the gaits than forcing her to do everything correctly at once- she is a lot happier and is learning quicker --that is, when I figure out what to cue her:)

Answer 3

You do not want to push her to fast or she will just loose weight and there fore not gain much muscle, feed her heavy and work her lightly to start and make sure she is gaining if not total weight then muscle mass. The more she is ridden the more muscle she will develop, turning what fat she has into muscle which will put weight on her as muscle weighs more than fat. I would start out walking and trotting her for around an hour then in a week start walking her to get her warmed up, then trotting and cantering her for equal amounts of time, then walk her to cool her down, if you have the area to ride trails that is good exercise especially up and down hills, if you have a sandy area that will build muscle faster than hard ground.

Answer 4

you need to slowly progress up the work-out to longer intervals, and you need to work on getting him more supple with dressage moves that require more than just the basic legs and hands signals. also you need to canter out longer each day to increase his stamina