Monty Roberts Equus Online University | Monty's Horse Training Post: Bringing a horse back after time off

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Horse Behavior and Training

Bringing a horse back after time off

By:

Kdeer

Date:

2017-Mar-12 at 08:59PM

I have just recently moved and between building a barn, paddock and the terrible winter we have had, my horses have been out of work since December. They were ridden every day prior to the move. What is the best way to bring them back after an extended period off? My plan was to walk them all for 20 minutes a day on a lead line for the first week. Then walk for 20 minutes a day under saddle for a week. Then walk under saddle for 30 minutes a week. After this should they be ready for proper work? They do get handled every day and we do short periods of ground work depending on the weather as I only have outdoor space. Just looking for an expert opinion.

Thanks

Kdeer 2017-Mar-12 at 09:00PM

They also have large paddocks and run and play freely.

JoHewittVINTA 2017-Mar-12 at 09:24PM

Hi. Firstly, Welcome to the Uni. Secondly, I don't claim to be an expert! However, I think, given your guys have had room to play & roam, so you're not bringing them back from a boxrest situation, you can introduce trotting, 30 seconds with 2 minutes of walk in the 2nd week of ridden work. Each animal is an individual but trot is an easy gait & if the rider posts ( keeps time with the gait rising in the saddle ) it relieves the pressure on the horses back whilst gradually increasing the cardiac activity. Over the next few weeks you could build to 1 minute of trotting, 90 seconds & then equal trotting to walking time. Once that is achieved I would progress to trotting up a slope, but initially nothing too long or too steep. Once this is achieved you have a reasonably fit mount & can progress accordingly. Hope this is helpful. The key is to gradually raise the physical endeavour, keeping within your horses capacity to work so sweat but not excessive & puffing but not excessively. Good luck. Cheers, Jo.

Kdeer 2017-Mar-14 at 11:42AM

Yes they play a lot...especially the younger ones...and my paddocks have gently rolling hills so they are inadvertently doing their own hill work. They have that time of the day when they gallop all around the paddocks bucking and jumping. It is a joy to watch. Even the middle aged two get involved...lol. And they love...love...love to run and roll in the snow. Thanks for your comments Jo. This is new to me so didn't want to try and bring them back to quickly.