Get your horse In peak condition with Piggy March’s fitness plan

Is this summer the one that’ll see you reach all the fitness aspirations you have for your horse? Whether you’re planning on getting him in shape for one-day events or you want him to be in the best condition possible for his general health, I’ve got plenty of advice to share.

By strengthening and conditioning your horse using roads, hills and a regular riding schedule, you’ll be able to get him fit enough for whatever activity you wish to do with him.

Time it right

Once the eventing season’s over, my horses tend to have 6–8 weeks off so they can relax in the field and have a break after all their hard work. Then, I’ll bring them back in around Christmas time and work them through January and February so they’re ready to go out and compete again come March. They’ll come in muddy and fluffy, so we get them cleaned up and put their shoes back on. Then they’ll go on the horse walker for a few days before we head out onto the roads.

On this basis, I tend to allow 10–12 weeks to get a horse from the field to full fitness. However, this can vary a lot depending on the type of horse you have. For example, my horses stay well-conditioned and are returning to a level of fitness they’ve reached before, so it’s a lot quicker to bring a horse like this back into work than one who’s not yet achieved this level of fitness. Plus, if your horse has had a longer period of time off, you’ll need to take things much more slowly, especially if he’s been out of work due to injury – in which case you should consult your vet before embarking on a new fitness regime.

Weeks 1–4: The benefits of hacking

In the first few weeks, I spend plenty of time just hacking. I start by focusing on core fitness and conditioning my horses’ legs by walking on the roads for a few miles with just a few snippets of trot and build up the duration gradually. Hills are also a vital tool for boosting a horse’s aerobic fitness, so if you’re able to walk and trot up them regularly, they’ll really increase your horse’s heart rate and get him puffing.

Make sure when you’re walking your horse out, you ask him to march forward with purpose. You’re looking for him to be overtracking in a forward rhythm with a good amount of push from behind. Ask him to stretch his neck forward and down to help build topline at the same time, too.

Check out May Horse&Rider, on sale 21 April 2022, for fitness tips for weeks 5 and beyond.