|
|
Regular
Posts: 75
| I've been ponying my gelding and using my map my run app on my phone to see how far we are going. I've been doing 1 mile long trot for about a week now and he's seemed to adjust pretty well each time getting a little bit better on his recovery time. I finish out by letting him cool off on the walker, even though he didn't even work up a sweat.
I was wondering what everyone else does as far as conditioning is concerned. How far do you pony a day? Do you feel a long trot or lope is better? Should I have any concerns about soreness making him long trot every time?
|
|
| |
|
  Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
 
| I believe in long trotting, I wish I had a good place to do it. My roads have big ugly rocks on them and I don't have a track. |
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 170
| My mare is in some of the best shape of her life this summer, and honestly I have done minimal trotting. Mostly because she has a slow jiggy trot and in order to get her moving out into a long trot, it's just a hassle. TONS of straight line and large circles loping. Keeping her round and soft. Her top line looks fabulous, her hind quarters are like a rock and her belly is nice and tucked up. I've found she is a lot less sore since removing long trotting from our routine...
ETA:
I find my mare can go for quite literally miles at a lope and not break a sweat, however, towards the end of her workout we add in some small barrel like turns, roll backs, flying lead changes, etc.... THAT is when she breaks a sweat.
Edited by MNcanchaser7 2014-06-19 11:46 AM
|
|
| |
|
The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| Whether I ride or pony, I walk 1/4 mile, trot 1 mile, lope 1/2 mile, trot 1 mile, walk 1/4 mile.
Years ago my vet showed me bone density research on race horses. Horses solely jogging or loping had less bone density and more likely to have fractures then ones who trotted and loped.
My vet also says 2 miles 5 days a week is sufficient, the 2 day rest is needed for ligaments and tendons.
I know Ed wright also speaks of conditioning for 2 miles even if it is 2 miles of barrel work. |
|
| |
|
 Regular
Posts: 72
| I was always told that the trotting is what builds the muscle. I go one way loping and the way home trotting. So it's half and half. |
|
| |
|
 Keep those crap slapping tails away!
Posts: 8871
Location: Around here somewhere... | I find that a lot of riding in the mountains, mostly at a walk, some trotting, lots of hours, with a couple of sprints at home is the best conditioning program for my horses/lifestyle. |
|
| |
|
 Sock eating dog owner
Posts: 4553
Location: Where the pavement ends and the West begins Utah | The long trotting stretches both sides of the body. Loping just left circles only conditions one side of the body. So you must also condition in circles to the right. |
|
| |
|
 Ms. Manners
Posts: 1820
Location: Oklahoma | In endurance, everyone has a plan of conditioning that works for them. This is one that has really stood the test of time and produced hundreds of successful endurance horses. Honestly, ridiing a couple miles a few days a week is not conditioning at all.
http://perseveranceendurancehorses.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/endurance-training/
|
|
| |
|
 Expert
Posts: 1229
Location: Royal J Performance Horses, AZ | http://barrelhorsenews.com/articles/horse-health/3613-conditioning-...
good read very informative |
|
| |
Folks on-line