Back to Work Program: Legging Up the Event Horse

In a previous article we looked at getting your dressage horse back into work (“Vacation’s Over – It’s Time to Get Back to Work!” so that you will both be competition-ready whenever (hopefully soon) the time comes. This time, eventers are in the spotlight, although this advice can be tailored to jumpers and even hunters to get back to better fitness levels.

With the return of warm weather and the go-ahead to ride, you must avoid the temptation to gallop off in all directions as chances are your horse’s fitness level is nowhere near sufficient strenuous training yet. The key to success is a logical and safe progression with weeks of careful conditioning.

Keep in mind it only takes one month off for a horse to start losing fitness, and many of our partners have been out of serious work for much longer than that. A horse that has been fit previously will return to fitness faster than one that has never been fit before. Each horse’s training program needs to be tailored to the individual with consideration given to age, breed, conformation, discipline requirements and any previous injuries.

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An excellent resource is Equestrian Canada’s “Return to Competition Guidelines” for horses who have been laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. It lists conditioning plans for various disciplines and levels of fitness (or lack thereof) from zero to baseline, moderate and high.

For example, according to the guide an absolute back-to-square-one incremental program for an eventer would look like this:

• Walking under tack 10-20 minutes daily, increasing by 5 minutes every 3-4 days, working towards 30-45 minutes under tack;
• Trotting 3-5 minutes a day (broken into 20-30 second intervals), increasing by 5 minutes every 4-7 days;
• Once you have been trotting 15-20 minutes, add cantering for a few minutes each day similar to the trot work;
• Begin to add in lateral work, ground poles and gymnastic exercises; and after several weeks gradually start jumping, increasing height in safe and appropriate increments.

Interval Training

Olympic eventing veteran and Pan Am individual gold medallist Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON, incorporates interval training (alternating work and rest) into programs for all her horses, regardless of what level they are competing.

“Interval training is incredibly important, especially for the horses’ lungs. It allows them to breathe better and gets them strong and fit,” she explains. “Before you start conditioning work or interval training, your horse should be in full flatwork and already jumping, so he has some degree of fitness.” She suggests walking for 45 minutes on general terrain, and likes ti incorporate as many hills as possible. “Even at entry and pre-training, it’s important to get them used to going out in a big field and up and down hills, and getting their legs used to the terrain they’ll be going over in competition.

“[Here] in Ontario, because of the terrain and placement of properties, you have to be more creative. I have a figure-eight gallop path at our farm that incorporates the hills we have on our land. You want to find really good footing and be able to work hills into interval training.”

All Phoenix’s horses do conditioning work twice a week. “When I’m conditioning my horses, I walk them from my barns down the path to the fields where I start conditioning or interval work with them. It’s about a five- to 10-minute walk to the fields before I start a trot set.”

When your horse is fit enough to do 45 minutes of trot, add some short, brisk 30-second gallops and incorporate a hill if you can. If you don’t have hills, do a 20-minute trot, a three-minute gallop, a walk to let him catch his breath, a three-minute gallop, a walk and then another three-minute gallop. Build up to three four-minute gallops or more, depending on the level at which you plan to compete.

You need to pay attention to your horse’s vitals to assess fitness levels. “When you are just starting them into work, work them until they start to sweat,” says Phoenix. “Sometimes it’s five or 10 minutes, sometimes it’s half an hour. You can measure their pulse and heart rate, but I don’t know how realistic it is to do that every time you ride. Listen to their breathing and look at their nostrils and flanks to see how they are handling what you’re asking.”

Here is an example of a typical training schedule Phoenix would follow leading up to a CCI event:

(To read more, check out “Interval Training For Eventers”)

Speed Control

Your keen eventer might think things are progressing a bit slowly and want to take charge of the pace. It is especially important to keep exercise at a fairly restrained, controlled pace, especially at the beginning of training. Canadian eventer Michele Mueller offers this advice for the strong horse that loves to run.

Before you even think of taking your horse out on a cross-country course, he has to be listening to you and responding to ‘whoa.’ It all starts with flatwork: in the arena or ring, practice moving your horse up along the long sides of the ring, then bringing him back along the short sides. Practice this shortening and lengthening at the walk and trot before you move up to a canter.
Use your body to speed up and slow down your horse; rather than pulling on his mouth, you want to sit taller and tighten from your core down; then to move forward, you soften your body. You can use your seat to lightly push him forward, but don’t sit heavily as that can make a horse go hollow through his back.
Put two trotting poles on the ground with a five-stride distance (66 to 72 feet, depending on your horse’s stride) between. Experiment with adding and subtracting strides as you ride over and between the poles. Ride the line at a canter in five strides; then shorten the horse’s stride to ride it as a quiet six; then lengthen to ride it as a four-stride. This helps builds your horse’s adjustability and forces him to listen.
Another effective exercise for getting your horse listening, as well as improving his suppleness, is to spiral in and out of a circle. Start with a large 20m circle and make it progressively tighter, to 10 or even 5 metres, then spiral out to make the circle larger. Work at all three gaits.
It can be difficult to get him to slow down if you are jumping in a straight line. Try turning, jumping, then turning again, instead of letting your horse take off in a straight line. Sit tall, keep your shoulders back and tighten your core if your horse tries to speed up.
Your voice is also an aid ‒ use it to remind him to ‘whoa’ when he’s getting strong and to praise him when he responds correctly.

(to read more, see “Speed Control for Eventers”)

Conditioning Tips

Know your horses’ normal heart rate, temperature and breathing rate before you begin a training program. Tracking how quickly vitals return to normal after exercise gives you a measurable indicator of fitness.
Developing strength improves rapidly at the start of training, then slower in later stages. Gradients, gymnastics, and sport-specific movements build strength.
Performing the same type of exercise day after day results in fatigued muscles and overloads ligaments and tendons. Train one or two days followed by an easy day of relaxed hacking or a trail ride to allow for recovery.
To avoid injuries, incorporate a variety of exercises on different surfaces and terrain. This will help prevent muscle, tendon and ligament fatigue, especially in older horses.