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Post by whitedonkey on Apr 24, 2014 9:53:38 GMT
I have a chunky dales pony who has been out of work for about 8 weeks not due to any injuries he has been out in the field 24/7 and gained some weight I am now bringing him back into work could anyone advise me of a good routine to bring him back up to a moderate level of fitness please, I have been doing some ground work in the school with him for the past week and rode him yesterday for about 15 mins (mainly walk and some trotting) which I felt was enough for him as he was quite sweaty. I would just like an idea of how long I should spend on sessions and how many times a week etc, thanks
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Apr 24, 2014 11:50:51 GMT
I would hack him out slowly, asking for very short periods of actual work on the bit and then letting him go longer and lower to relax the muscles again. If you have any hills trotting him up them, gently to start with, would be useful. Coupled with less feed but the addition of a balancer to provide essential micronutrients to address the weight problem.
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Post by steandc13 on Jun 7, 2014 20:51:37 GMT
My new mare hasn't done much and has been rode a handful of times this year. She's not overweight but has no muscle/fitness what so ever. I'm going to be lunging her a few times a week for now. I will then start to ride at the walk and trot. Once I find that she is balanced and working correctly, that's when I will introduce her to the canter. I think this works best as there isn't any point having 3 unbalanced and wobbly phases. Get him back to the way he was in walk and trot and also that he can lunge quite easily. That's when I would work on cantering. She will be doing little 15 minute sessions quite frequently to put her back in a routine and keep building on her fitness. I wouldn't panic that he is getting sweaty as he will be burning fat which is what you want. The minute he starts to resist, that's when I would put them in and let them rest. I wouldn't bother too much about an outline either as this will come when he has re muscled and is working from behind with impulsion. Just take things slow. If you act as though you have 15 minutes, it will take you an hour. Act as though you have an hour and you will get it done in 15 minutes. Hope this helps and I apologise for the essay  |
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