It’s a great topic you raise since planning and conditioning are all part of good horse management. Well managed equine athletes always have an edge when it comes to top performance and long-term soundness. When determining an optimum program for any given horse, you must take into account a lot of different factors. If there is a specific competition that you are aiming at, it’s necessary to think of just how much jumping will be involved. It can vary between getting ready for one particular class at one of your normal shows, all the way up to preparing for a multi-day, Championship-format event composed of several rounds of jumping, such as at the NAJYRC. For really big events, there might even be selection trials to consider as well. Some other important considerations are your horse’s age and any potential soundness issues that you might have to work around. Is your horse in normal competing shape now? Have you been competing on a fairly regular basis? Does he tend to keep an adequate fitness level when you have a break between shows?
I strongly believe that overall fitness is important for a jumper; greatly lessening the likelihood of soft tissue injuries. By keeping the muscles strong, the ligaments that connect them to bone aren’t left to take all the stress when muscle fatigue sets in. Body soreness after a big class is lessened as well. Many older horses deal with some arthritic joints, and keeping them comfortable means regular and frequent exercise. Too many hours in a stall shortens the working lives of too many horses, and joint injections and anti-inflammatories are a quick fix, but the only long term benefits of them are to the veterinarian’s bank account.
In designing your program, utilize a gradual increase in duration and intensity of work. Make sure your work varies to the greatest extent possible. If you have availability of hills to work on, wonderful! Otherwise use frequent transitions between and within all three gaits. Vary the intensity of collected work, but avoid long periods of collection; it’s always better to ask for intense work in multiple, very brief intervals—interspersed with changes of gait, long-and-low work, and walking. Tired horses quickly learn annoying resistances. The amount of jumping incorporated into your program will vary depending on your horse’s level of experience, ride-ability, and how often you compete. An experienced horse that you know well, and that competes at least a few classes each month, will not need much jumping at home. For a less experienced horse that still needs some training, or that hasn’t shown much recently, you will want to add more schooling over fences to his program.
Regardless, all horses need to do some level of jumping along with good flatwork to be sure ALL musculature is working. Try to design exercises that will stretch and strengthen the back and hind quarters, without having to set the fences too high. I find that various forms of gymnastics give you far more ‘bang for your buck’ in this regard. Lower, wider oxers, mixed with medium sized verticals, and set with a variety of shorter, longer, and medium distances between them, will keep your horse focused on his technique while he gains strength and flexibility.
The final consideration when designing a program to get you where you want to go is almost as important as physical fitness. That factor is your horse’s attitude. A happy, focused horse that is as eager to go in and do well as you are goes a long way toward achieving a great result. If you listen carefully, each horse will tell you how they feel and help you learn what keeps them happy and sharp.
For more exercises, you might be interested to read my other blog post: “Tips to Keep Your Horse From Getting Bored at Home”
Olivia Loiacono did a blog post you might also find helpful: “Exercises to Strengthen a Horse’s Hindquarters”
