Bringing a horse back into work after a long rest

Hello!

The most important thing when bringing a horse back into work, I think, is to make haste slowly. It is all too easy to do too much, too often. Both we and the horses tend to enjoy getting going and doing something after a rest, so it is easy to get carried away and assume that as long as the horse is bright and happy, you can keep pushing on 😊

🐴 It is good that you are planning to vary ridden work with other training.

🐴 To begin with, very short sessions are enough (10 to 15 minutes), and ideally walks and groundwork rather than riding, especially as your horse has had a sore back.

🐴 Increase the time once you can see and feel that your horse is stronger in her body. Fitness builds fairly quickly, but the muscles, tendons and ligaments that have rested take longer to strengthen. The way a horse moves in the field is different from the way she moves when we train her. It is all too easy to become too monotonous, to repeat the same thing many times, or to create tension by holding on or sitting on her. Increasing the training time after about four weeks is reasonable, but stay attuned to your horse so you do not rush.

🐴 You could, for example, add short trot sessions after perhaps three weeks. Again, this is highly individual, and my recommendations are aimed at making sure you do not go too fast.

🐴 The best tip I can give is probably to keep the time you spend in the arena or indoor school to a minimum. Start with walks and then ride out, ideally on forest tracks so the horse has to pick up her feet and practise her body awareness, her proprioception. Do put the new saddle on so she can get used to going in it. Walk is a wonderful gait for building both muscle and fitness without putting strain on the horse.

🐴 It is great that you have an EquiBand as a complement. Follow the instructions on how it should be used, and here too it is important not to use it too often, but to let the horse first find her own body in balance.