Having an overall level of fi tness will add to
your riding enjoyment in the saddle. One of the best ways to keep the rider’s body fi t is
yoga, which stretches and tones your
muscles in a way that will benefi t your long
hours in the saddle on the weekend.
Grass hay is a good basic diet for most
horses. For hard keepers, horses that are more diffi cult to keep weight on, the ad- dition of a legume hay such as alfalfa hay or a grain hay such as oat hay will help sustain weight.
PREPARE YOURSELF The best exercise to prepare yourself for
riding is riding, and there really is no sub- stitute in order to prevent being “saddle sore” after a long weekend in the saddle. However, the next best thing to riding is to keep yourself as fi t as possible through
regular exercise. Having an overall level of fi tness will add to your riding enjoyment in the saddle. Any form of exercise, such as walking or yard work, will contribute to your fi tness level and be a positive factor in how comfortable, strong and happy you are in the saddle come your awaited weekend trail ride.
HOW MUCH WORK? You’ve prepared you and your horse as
best you can through proper housing, feed- ing, groundwork and exercise for yourself, and you are ready for a fun-fi lled weekend of riding. So how much should you expect your horse to be able to safely do? This is dependent upon several factors, including your horse’s breed, age and prior or current fi tness level. Some breeds are more naturally suit-
ed to the physical demands of longer distance trail riding. Arabians as well as mustangs are typically more physi- cally inclined to withstand the rigors of longer trail rides than other breeds. Many Morgans, Thoroughbreds and other light breeds adapt quickly as well to the physical demands of trail riding. The heavier the breed, such as the draft
In addition to housing, there are ways to use short windows of time during the week to optimize your horse’s state of well being both physically and mentally. Walking and trot ing over cavalet is is a wonderful exercise to keep your horse limber and balanced.
breeds and some warmbloods, the more limited the demands should be placed upon the horse in terms of distance trav- eled, especially in challenging terrain. Younger horses, such as those less than fi ve to six years of age, should have trail rides limited to just a few hours at a time and should be ridden at a slower pace. With age, the horse will develop mus-
culoskeletal maturity and strength and with that, the workload placed upon the
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