The first thing you should do when starting is to find out where you
are starting from. Heart rate is the easiest and most consistent way
to determine this.
Take a resting rate. Before you even tack up, take the pulse. You
will probably need a stethescope (or if you have one, a heart rate monitor).
The resting rate of the horse (in 15 second intervals) should be
around 10. 12 to 8 is normal.
Now go for a "normal" ride. You should be out at least half an hour.
An hour is better. Don't try to do anything more than you have already
been doing. As soon as you get home, jump off and take the pulse.
The pulse should be around 15. Untack and take the pulse again.
It should be around 12. Within 15 minutes of stopping, the heart
rate should be back to "normal", or within one beat of resting rate.
Start a log-book. Write down the resting, stopping, and 5 minute pulse.
Write down how long it took to get below 15 and how long it took
to get back to resting. Also write down you time and mileage, and
what you did - hills, roads, ring work, etc.
OK, now you know where you are starting from. It is time to get
working.
There are several things you need to work on.
1. Behavior and control. I'm putting this first because if you have
an uncontrolable horse, it doesn't matter if the horse could be a
world champion, you'll never get there. So, my suggestion is to
take dressage lessons. If that isn't a possibility, get any kind
of trainer and work on the basics of control; stopping when you
want, the speed at any gait that you want, having the horse carry
himself and not being all strung out, straightness and roundness.
2. Endurance. You are going to be in the saddle for four to 12 hours.
Both you and the horse need to be able to keep on going confortably
(at least reasonably so) for that length of time. The only way to
get this is to ride for long periods of time.
3. Condition. If you ride for six hours and only get 10 miles from
home, you won't make it through an endurance ride. Only conditioning
will work.
4. Nutrition. No you don't have to know everything about nutrition,
and you don't have to follow every subject that has been going on
in this forum. What you do have to understand is the basics, and
what your horse needs.
I'm not going to address #1 here. Check out equine-l for more on that.
And, for now I'm going to skip #4. That leaves us with Endurance and
Conditioning. Every horse and every rider will be different. You have
the brain of the two (usually:-) so you have to develop your own
schedule. What I'm writing here is guidelines for those who don't
know where to start.
Let's say that you are currently working your horse twice a week,
going for an hour ride, and covering 6 miles. Here's a plan.
You'll need to modify it to meet your specific needs, but you'll
get a general idea.
There are two things you want to work on, distance and time.
You do not work on both at the same time. Instead, you increase
distance, and then decrease the time it takes to do that distance.
You should be working your horse four or five times per week. Do
not work seven days a week. All animals need time to recover -
including us. If you only work once a week, it will take a long
time to get where you are going.
Measure your distances. If you are riding on roads, drive them or
bike them. Mark every mile in your mind. If you are riding on
trails, get a good map with distances marked on it. A string works
if that is all you have. Better is to hire a biker to mark the
distances for you. (It makes for good relationships as well.)
Week 1 - Increase the miles to 10 miles. Maintain the same speed.
Ride the distance, 3 times per week. Additionally, add in one day
per week of ring work where you spend an hour or so on the basics.
Week 2 - Keep the mileage the same, 10 miles. Decrease the time.
Try to do the distance in one hour. So instead of 6 MPH, you are
now doing 10 MPH. Do not try to jump from 6 MPH to 10 MPH in one ride.
Do it gradually. And listen to your horse. Do this three times per week.
Do an hour of ring work - dressage under an instructor is great.
Week 3 (or later. It might take a couple weeks to get to this level.)
- Keep the mileage and time the same. 10 miles at 10 MPH.
Do this only twice this week. Keep the hour ring work. Add one day
of flat interval training. I'll send an interval training post later.
One word of warning on interval training. If you are working on
hard roads, interval training can be hard of the horse's legs.
Ride on the shoulder where the ground should be softer. Better
is to find trails where vehicles are not permitted.
Now, how is your horse's heart rate? At all times, the horse's heart
rate should be down below 15 beats in 15 seconds after a 15 minute rest
(15 in 15 after 15. Should be easy to remember). If this is not the case,
slow down, back up a week. When your horse comes in from a training
session and is already at 15 beats, then you need to increase the training
session, either faster or longer. Note that if you do a long slow end to
your training session as the cool down (which you should be doing), you
should be taking the pulse as soon as you stop the hard work, before you
start the cool down.
If instead of starting at 6 miles at 6 MPH, you are only doing 2
miles at 6 MPH (a fast walk with occasional trots), don't try to jump
to the 10 miles immediately. Instead go from 2 miles to 5 miles
at the same speed. Then go a bit faster. Then go a bit further,
say 8 miles. Then go a bit faster. Then go up to 10 miles.
Week 4 (or when ever you have managed to 10 miles at 10 MPH)
One day of mountain work. Don't worry about distance. Go for two to
four hours.
One day of ring work. Keep up those lessons, they are good for the mind.
Two days of interval training.
Week 5-10. Do the same work as above. Go a bit further and faster
on the mountain work each week. Keep up the ring work.
Work through the interval training on a week by week basis.
Week 11 - Go do an limited distance endurance ride.
Your goal is to finish. Keep track of the pulse. Feel how your
horse feels to you. Do not run. Keep to the same pace as your
mountain rides. You have 6 hours to finish a 25 mile ride.
Don't rush.
The rest of week 11 is a rest week. You can go out for a short
jant if you want, or you can look at your log-book and figure out
where you are and where you want to be. Do not work the horse hard.
If the horse is in a stall, rather than pasture, you will want to
let him out to work the kinks out. Go for a slow walk.
Week 12 - Repeat week 11. Check out how your horse feels.
Horse should be feeling great, pulling to go further and faster.
Recover times should be down.
Week 12+ - Gradually increase the distances you do on your long rides.
Continue with the interval training. Continue with the ring work.
When you can consistently go 15 to 20 miles at a 10 MPH trot, then
you might consider trying a 50 mile ride.
What I do - Drake is only 7 this year, so we are going slow.
I've got mountains now rather than roads, so interval training is
not by a schedule.
Once per week is dressage lessons.
Once per week is a 12-20 mile mountain ride where the mountains are
steep, rocky, and over all tough. Our MPH average is about 4.5 to 5 MPH.
Week by week, we go faster, from 3 MPH to 4 or 5 MPH.
A couple times per week, we do faster shorter work on my "driveway".
A few miles down and (it seems) longer up. This has a 12 to 14% grade,
and gains about a thousand feet in elevation.
When I'm not riding, Drake is out conditioning himself by running
up and down mountains, chasing his brothers, and playing in a 40 acre
pasture (which has a 600 ft elevation difference).
-- Wendy\|/ /\ -O- /**\ /|\ /****\ /\ / \ /**\ Here there be dragons / /\ / \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\/\/\ /\ / / \ / \ / \/\/ \/ \ /\/ \/\ /\ /\/ / / \/ \ / / \/ /\ \ / \ \ / \/ / / \/ \/ \ / \ \ / / \/ \/\ \ / \ / / \ __/__/_______/___/__\___\__________________________________________________
Wendy Milner HPDesk: wendy_milner@hp4000 Hewlett-Packard Company e-mail: wendy@fc.hp.com Mail Stop A2 Telnet: 229-2182 3404 E. Harmony Rd. AT&T: (970) 229-2182 Fort Collins, CO, 80525 FAX: (970) 229-2038