livery yards
The main competition season may be coming to a close and your horse can look forward to a well- earned rest prior to regaining peak fitness for next year. But, a question for you, the rider – how has your fitness been? Is it time to take an honest look at yourself? To help we’ve put together some ‘food for thought’.
So, have you been fit for purpose?
Each and every day you are overweight, your joints, lungs and heart are continually put under strain? An 80kg person has to put the same amount of energy into maintaining a rising trot as a 60kg person, meaning they will become tired, breathless plus the damage to your joints and heart will create problems later in life. Losing weight is not easy, so make sure you do it for yourself, not anyone else.
Horses are fed according to their needs, and their diet contains the correct feed and supplements necessary for their workload, so apply the same rules to your diet too. We need protein, fats and carbs to correctly feed our bodies. The brain requires fuel in the form of glucose, and carbs easily provide an available supply, but the damage comes if this is in the form of sugary foods. If protein is added along with correct carbs, you’ll stay fuller for longer and won’t be reaching for the biscuit tin. Fresh fruit, salads and vegetables are also important, so if you need a snack after
you ride, try grabbing some nuts or fruit. Remember to stay hydrated, preferably with water and drink at least two litres per day. Sports drinks contain large amounts of sugars, so be careful. Maintain your physical fitness and body strength and consider including some fun activities such as skipping, running, cycling, swimming and weight training into your schedule. Your horse will thank you if your suppleness and balance are under control, as he will not have to carry a rider who is slouching and thumping about in the saddle!
Pilates is a fitness system now recommended by many riders. It develops good core muscle strength, which helps to achieve and maintain good balance and alignment. Yoga is recommended for improving flexibility. Check fitness centres and village halls for classes. They’re good fun too!!
Balancing on an exercise ball in a riding position while watching TV can aid balance and improve core tone. Plus you could learn a
Riders Fitness Tips
Bert Sheffield (Para-dressage rider): “I have developed my own routines on the gymball, mimicking the lunging exercises done by riders to improve their seats, but while kneeling on a ball. This works your core very hard, I sweat like mad! It also improves my feel for balance and reaction speed, all good things to refine as a rider. I add in upper body exercises using exercise tubing, therabands, dumbbells and medicine balls while kneeling on a gymball for extra challenge.” (Supported by HorseHage)
lot about your riding faults too. Do you roll to the front, side or back and which side do you favour, right or left and what muscles to you have to stimulate to steady yourself? What about that core? Your core is not just your tummy – it’s your whole trunk. It controls the position of your hips, seat bones, shoulders and posture, so now maybe you can see why it’s essential to balanced riding. Many people favour one side of their body and will unconsciously lean slightly to one side? This can cause issues with the fit of the saddle as the rider will not be putting equal pressure on the stirrups due to their body position. Try this exercise next time you’re on your horse. While he’s at halt, stand up straight in your stirrups – no leaning or hovering – and maintain your balance. Then progress to walk, trot and canter whilst still standing!! You’ll certainly put those core muscles through a workout. Also why not have a go at mucking out on both sides, to help even your body up.
If you are unfit, your horse will not perform well, as you will not have the strength or stamina needed to ride him correctly. However, on the up side, a fit and balanced rider can help a horse to improve. Finally - that Saturday/Sunday ‘morning-after’ feeling when you can’t remove your head from the pillow, but you know you have to get up to see to your horse. A large glass of wine, or pint of beer, contains around three units of alcohol, while a glass of spirits is one unit. If you weigh 60kg (9st 4lb) and have a glass of wine, you will almost be at the UK legal limit for driving, plus it will take three to four hours to get out of your system. Two glasses and you will be having fun and slightly tipsy, but the alcohol will now take more than five hours to clear. However, when you become intoxicated, maybe drinking around six glasses through the evening, you will remain legally drunk for the next ten hours. Plus….you can be charged with being drunk in control of a horse!!
Gary Foggon (Event & Dressage rider): “Riders should never underestimate the importance of their own fitness as well as that of the horse. I have always kept myself fit and am fortunate that naturally I don’t carry too much weight but can easily put on muscle which, as a rider, you don’t always want. When you are going cross-country your reactions need to be quick and you need to be alert at all times; a good rider is both physically and mentally fit. Like many full time riders I am so busy that my fitness is part of my everyday routine but, when I can, I also use rollers to ride my bike on. There is no resistance with this training, it is fantastic for core stability and increasing your heart rate.” (Supported by Black Country Saddles).
Equine Page 22
www.theequinesite.co.uk
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