Conditioning a horse?

Question

How can i condition my horse for riding three times a day this summer because I am taking her to camp. I only have a small space to work with her and lunging gets boring. I only ride once a week at the most.

The camp is only 3 days. And she is very untrustworthy of others. I spend at least an hour a day working her, just not nessisarily riding because I dont have the space to do that. I cannot lease her out because we need her to stay at our house with my moms horse.

I dont believe in hot walkers, I think the human should do that themselves

and I cant ride her 3 times a day because im onlyallowed to ride when moms home so only on weekends, and i dont really have a place to ride because we just set up our place this year and all the availible land was made into paddock

I still dont see how leasig her out wouls help because we dont have the space to ride, and thats part of the reason i dont really get to do it

Answer 1

The best way to condition is a horse is trotting up and down hills. Do trot miles. I have friends who event and do endurance and this is how they get there horses in condition.

How intense is the riding? If it's just flat work or trails, your horse should be fine even if it is three times a day (or three days) without a lot of conditioning.

Ride her around the pasture, or continue lunging her (while she's under saddle). If she seems to get bored, don't lunge her all at once - do a bit multiple times a day.

If you have a trailer, talk to people who own barns near you and see if you can trailer her there and work her. It's really not fair to the horse if she isn't getting worked much and doesn't have any pasture mates to play with. They are herd animals that need some way to get energy out.

Answer 2

i would say lounging would be your best option, even if it is boring. Do mostly trotting, as it builds the most muscle. There is no real quick fix that will make your horse fit, riding and lounging are your best/only options.

You also need to think about getting your self into shape if you are going to camp where you will be riding 3 times a day. Cant you ride in the paddock? If supervision is a problem, then maybe try inviting over a friend that has a horse aswell, or likes horses. That way if you fall off you will have someone to get help for you. Also you can lease her out to someone under the condition that they have to keep her at your house. Or even lease her out to someone that will pay for her board somewhere with an arena, so you can ride easier and then get a goat or donkey to keep your mom's horse company.

Answer 3

well honestly, i don't know if you SHOULD take your horse to the camp... she's obviously not being excersiced a lot and it's a challange for you do do so... on the other side you must have some space,... cause you got the 2 horses,... they must graze somewhere...
I mean to condition a horse properly you'd have to ride her a lot more than what you do... If this camp has other people bring their own horse, than maybe it won't be so tiring for the horses. Even if you do ride them 3 times a day that doesn't mean 3 times a day a full workout... they might just do some slowpaced trail rides or alike and than one hour of schooling... that wouldn't be so tough for any horse...
however i'd take it easy on her cause any athlete gets injured if sprinting a mile after a long layoff... it's the slow start and gradual increasing workload that gets them back to the athletic level....
Other things to do... play with her in the field, where she's grazing... it will deepen your bond and give you both some excercise, challenge her (try to show her obsticals that she ain't used to and ... get her used to them)... use your imagination... a lot of people don't do nearly enough ground work with there horses...
You might want to find out if you can receive RFD TV where you are at, there is some good horse trainers, giving tips and advise on ground training ( Ken McNabb, Horsemanship Downunder, and lots of others.
You can do an Internet search for Natural horsemanship which will give you a list of people that all work with horses only a short time a day, but have their full attention and work harder in that short time than you and i could ride that horse in 2 hours...lol
http://www.reisranch.com/
this is one of my favorites... good luck
Mel

Answer 4

I live on a farm, so you'd think I have lots of places to ride, but once the land is seeded and growing a crop, I also struggle with a good place to ride. So I can give you a few tips on how to make riding in a small location a bit more interesting to you and your horse.
I agree that your horse isn't going to be as fit as ideal if you can't ride her at least 3-4 times a week. You may have to accept that she won't be able to work really hard at camp 3 times a day, but she still could be fit enough for some riding and groundwork.
Lunging can be boring. I do my best to keep my horse interested in it by varying the pace and directions as much as possible. You can also set up poles on the ground and even tiny jumps to have your horse lunge over them. Make your lunging creative so your horse has something different to do each time. One day you could trot him over poles set about 4 ft apart, then the next day set up a little jump or two.
If you aren't allowed to ride until your mom's home, perhaps you could ground drive your horse. If you've never ground drove before you should get someone to show you how so you and your horse keep safe. After that you can do almost anything with your horse. Maybe people drive their horse over ramps and other trail equipement, zig zag back and forth between pylons, practice their walk/trot transitions, etc. You don't need expensive equipment, I use two lunge lines for my long reins, and I use my normal saddle and bridle. You can can trot your horse as long as you can trot, so you'll both be getting fit!
And lastly, I would agree that your paddock is probably your best place to ride. Trot and lope inside for fitness. For fun you can set up all sorts of obstacles using equipment you already own. Teach your horse how to walk, trot and even lope the barrel pattern, or the pole bending pattern, or the Western riding pattern. Work over trail equipment and tiny jumps. If you have a good imagination you can do almost anything! I use plastic pails, wooden boards and rails and other obstacles to create new things for me and my horse to do.
And lastly, don't forget that leading your horse can improve its fittness as well as your own. I know people who jog regularily while leading their horse. That way they get fit and the horse also gets excercise.
Good luck and have fun at camp.

Answer 5

Why can't you ride in the paddock???
If your not going to put the work in you wont be able to get her in condition. Try when you are riding her to change the routine and ad different things to liven things up. If you can't ride because of your mum not being home, then lunge. It's not boring if you really learn how to do it properly & there are so many things that you can achieve through lunging as well. Hope this helps :-)

Answer 6

there are all types of laws and rules governing whilst and wherein the ones horses can paintings. Most of them do get a few day off out of the town at a few factor for the duration of the 12 months. it's no exceptional than a racehorse or a exhibit horse. additionally they don't paintings 7 days per week. Skinny does now not imply bad or abuse all the time. he might simply have drawback retaining weight on. I used to force horse drawn carriages in texas. Our horses have been sound, pleased and convenient to force (they didnt consistently begin that approach however we took the time to get them that approach).. If we had one who wasnt feeling or running really correct, than he did much less or not anything in any respect until he was once higher. We had one carriage horse that most effective labored a couple of instances a 12 months, wheneve we would have liked him for whatever tremendous detailed (like being side of a broadway creation!). our horses have been barefoot and had satisfactory foot and walked and trotted really a little. on the finish of the night time they have been extra recent than the drivers! the drivers care approximately their horses and do their high-quality for his or her horses well being, safeguard and sanity. a few of the injuries that occur are dull auto motive force similar. there are not more injuries with horse drawn carriages than there are with autos - actually, proportionately much less. it isn't a foul residing for carriage drivers and such a lot of them do placed a side in their earnings into additional stuff for his or her horses...

Answer 7

I don't believe in lunging horses, it makes them crazy going around in circles and it is not only boring for you but just think how awful it is for the horse., a little is ok, but it is no way to get them in shape and usually ends up making them one sided. I would do groundwork to get her mind conditioned (get a video of Clinton Anderson's lunging for respect, which really has no lunging in it) work on that. Then for conditioning, my horses are on a small property as well, but I play games with them and make them move out all over the small area, THey will run one direction then I will cut them off and make them run the other way, they love it. They get so excited they jump around and run full speed one direction, do their natural sliding stop and go the other way. I just keep a lead rope in my hand and spin it. I watch them play like this with each other on their own. I didn't ride all winter because of work, but my 3 kids are still in shape

Answer 8

is there someone else you could get to ride her? maybe lease her out during the week so she gets her fitness up? it is a bit unfair to only ride her once a week and then ride her 3 times a day for a couple of weeks

Answer 9

if you have access to a hot walker that will help you can work them by stretching out and bending thier front legs also,if you can start rideing her 3 times a day now,but just for alittle while at a time

Answer 10

You have put up all the barriers, hon, on how to condition this horse. Your conclusion therefore is that you have neither the time nor the space to work her yourself, nor the resources to let someone else do it. Take another horse.

Three times a day would put this one at a health risk.... you have answered your own question.