Conditioning Time Frames & Exercises (& Winter)

Objective: Lady Needs to Be Conditioned For Spring

Since this is the final article in the series on conditioning, I will use the following time frames and exercises for the 1st stage or legging up.

Scenario: Factors: Age: 14, Training Environment: Outside, Condition: A little out of shape & a little fat, Weather: Winter

4 Stages of Conditioning - Stage 1 - Legging Up With Winter & No Arena.

Riding Session format: Groundwork, Warm Up, Work Out, & Cool Down& End on a Good Note

The length of the session is based on monitoring the horse's energy level (horse health check) and stopping before the horse gets too tired and learns to resent training/riding sessions. Each part of the session is lengthened as the horse gets in shape. There is always groundwork, warm up & cool down.

1st Month - Legging Up, Winter, No Arena

Emphasis this month: ground work & warm up. Longeing & riding will be light in the last 2 weeks. They may not be able to do a full session the first couple of weeks.

1st & 2nd Week : We're working up to a 1hr.+ session of walking.

*Groundwork Exercises - half, most or all of session (1hr+/-)

- List: Index of exercises, all Flexing exercises, see PREVIOUS ARTICLE section on side bar for more.

*Warm up flexing exercises - introduce in middle part of session (15mins+/-)

- List: Warm up, Mount Up&Flexing, Cruise Control, see side bar for more

* Body Control Longeing - introduce in last part of session (15mins+/-)

- List: Longeing, see side bar for more

- If the horse is really out of shape, I would leave out any longeing in the first week or so. That would only leave the free longeing.

* Riding at a walk - probably not the first two weeks

- Probably not in shape for riding/walking depending on the horse. I did not ride Lady in the first couple of weeks. I did exercises in the barn.

* Lots of cool down& End on a Good Note - however long it takes

- The walking/hand walking is a great way to cool the horse down. (Some people use automatic walkers. I don't have one so I can't comment. Please refer to the internet.)

3rd & 4th Week : The horse should be well into the groundwork/warm up exercises than the previous 2 weeks. The horse should be able to start riding now unless they are still out of shape. The groundwork exercises will decrease slightly once horse is able to handle the exercise&skill and as the riding part of workout increases since the horse will be in shape for it.

*Groundwork exercises - first part of session (15mins.+/-)
*Warm up flexing exercises - middle part of session (15mins.+/-)
-see side bar for a list of warm up exercises.

*Body Control Longeing exercises - middle part (15mins.+/-)

* Riding at a walk - introduce in last part of session (15mins. - 1/2hr.)

- The length of time riding at a leisure walk will increase to 1hr. as the horse gets in shape.

* Lots of cool down& End On a Good Note. - however long it takes

2nd Month - Legging Up, Winter, No Arena

Emphasis: Riding at a walk, jog & trot. The groundwork exercises will consist of mostly longeing and warm up. The warm up exercises will go from groundwork to mounted.

1st & 2nd Week : We're working up to a 1hr.+ session at a jog and trot.

*Groundwork/Body Control Longeing exercises - first part (15mins.+/-)

*Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - middle part (15mins.+/-)

- (see side bar for a list of warm up exercises).
* Riding at a walk - last part (1/2hr.+/-)

* Riding at a jog - introduce at the end of session (10-15mins+/-)

- The length of time riding at a jog will increase to an hour riding on an easy surface.

* 'Cool em out' - however long it takes

3rd & 4th Week : The horse should be well into riding at a walk and some jogging. Trotting is introduced.

*Groundwork/Body Control Longeing exercises - first part (15mins+/-)

*Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - first part (15mins.+/-)

- (see side bar for a list of warm up exercises).

* Riding at a walk - middle part (1/2hr.+/-)
* Riding at a jog - last part of session (1/2hr+/-)

* Riding at a trot - introduce at the end of session (10-15mins+/-)

- The length of time riding at a jog & trot will increase to an hour riding on an easy surface.
* Lots of cool down & End on a Good Note. - however long it takes

3rd Month - Legging Up, Winter, No Arena

Emphasis: Riding at a jog, trot & lope/slow canter.

1st & 2nd Week : We're working up to a 1hr.+ session at a jog ,trot and some loping/slow canter.
*Groundwork/Body Control Longeing exercises - first part (15mins.+/-)

- Will still do longeing exercises as groundwork.
*Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - first part (15mins.+/-)

- (see side bar for a list of warm up exercises).

* Riding at a walk - middle part of session (1/2hr.+)
* Riding at a jog - middle part (15mins. - 1/2hr+/-)

* Riding at a trot - last part of session (15mins. - 1/2hr+/-)

* Riding at a lope/slow canter - introduce at end of session (10-15mins+/-)

- The length of time riding at a lope/slow canter will increase to an hour riding on an easy surface.

* 'Cool em out!' - however long it takes walking & sight seeing!

3rd & 4th Week : The horse should be well walking, jogging & trotting. The horse, if in shape, can now be loped/slow cantered to build the conditioning.
*Groundwork/Body Control Longeing exercises - first part (15mins.-/+)

*Mounted Warm up flexing exercises - first part (15mins -/+)

- (see side bar for a list of warm up exercises).

* Riding at a walk - first part of session (1/2hr.-/+)

* Riding at a jog - middle part of session (1/2hr-/+)
* Riding at a trot - middle part (10-15mins -/+)

* Riding at a lope/canter - end part (15mins - 1hr +/-)

* Lots of cool down & End on A Good Note. - however long it takes

As you can see it's a steady progression, introducing more work as the horse is able to handle it. I wrote some interesting ideas to ride last year 'Spring Tune Up on a Trail Ride', talking about getting a horse in shape.

From here the horse would go into Stage 2 Specificity or Strength Training, where for me, that would be introducing simple reining maneuvers.

If you need help with this, please contact me. I would be happy to help! Or please feel free to comment. What's your plan?!

Happy Winter Riding!
Information package available on my fun, innovative approach.
Putting my spin on conditioning.
Reinersue
©Copyright KISS Reiners

My Column in The Rider now Online

I was just informed by Barry Finn, the editor of The Rider that the magazine can now be read online.

So you are able to read my monthly column now on line.

Here's the link to Jan/2010.

My column is usually found on page 21-24.

Again, I want to thank Barry Finn for the wonderful opportunity to write in such a great magazine.

February 2010 will mark my 1st anniversary of the monthly column.

Enjoy!

Putting my own spin on things in writing.

Reinersue

©Copyright KISS Reiners

Riding Session Format & Winter Conditioning

The last thing I want to talk about in this conditioning series before I go into time frames and exercises is the format of a typical riding session.

I use this riding session format - groundwork, mounted warm up (flexing etc..), work out, & cool down in all my riding. (There are other articles on this website that deal with each of these topics in more detail.) There are timeframes and exercises in each of these areas. (Please see side bar.)

As you develop your own custom riding session to suit your needs, we need to keep in mind that a riding session needs to give the horse time to warm up their muscles, remove stiffness&resistance, have a work out to increase knowledge, skill & confidence and then time to cool the muscles, have sufficient recovery time and have an enjoyable end.

Not to mention preventing any injuries due to over strain. After all... that's why we're conditioning. (It also keeps the horse wanting & enjoying to be ridden.)

The format is used in all seasons but this article will focus on a winter riding session which means we simply factor in the cold weather .... And doing so means adding extra time for all the components of the winter riding session.

You can also get a sense of this by referring to my article Body Control Foundation Reining Index that I did last year.

Parts of a Riding Session

0. Grooming & Tack up & Stretching before riding

1. Groundwork - see side bar for a list of exercises

Round pen, longeing, Warm up on the ground, etc.. Groundwork exercises during handling& in the round pen are what make up most (if not all) of the riding/working session during the very beginning of any conditioning.

It will decrease once the horse is able to handle the exercise&skill and as the riding part of workout increases since the horse will be in shape for it.

I always do groundwork exercises while handling & riding. Sometimes that is all I am able to do especially in the wintertime. I do a lot of groundwork in my barn in the wintertime (it's handy).

Clinton Anderson also states that he does a lot of groundwork before getting on a horse who's been off for a while. "If your horse has had a break in training, spend several days doing only groundwork before getting in the saddle bc his mental attention and physical fitness aren’t going to be up to par. Lunging for Respect is a great exercise to get your horse’s feet moving and to get him using the thinking... side of his brain. Once you’ve gained his respect, then you can move on to riding!"

2. Warm Up Mounted (& Groundwork) - see side bar for a list of exercises

Warm up muscles and remove resistance by flexing , bending, lateral work, etc..

Introduce warm up flexing exercises on the ground in an enclosed area or round pen first during groundwork. Gradually increase the warm up as the horse is able to do their groundwork exercises and not be too tired. I always do a warm up. The warm up in the beginning stages of any conditioning will be during the groundwork. The mounted warm up will start when the riding part of the conditioning starts.

Body Control Longeing is a big part of this. Longeing is introduced as part of the warm up and groundwork exercises. The horse would have to be really out of shape to not include longeing and only be able to do free longeing.

See the PREVIOUS ARTICLE section on the side bar to look further into these exercises.

3. Work Out (Riding Session) - see side bar for many exercises

Here is where the riding portion of the 4 stages of conditioning are done. Again, you can refer to the previous article section on the side bar for a list of exercises.

4. Cool Down & End On A Good Note

Cooling out the horse, doing a basic horse health check, reward the horse for a great ride & put them away happy until next time. (Gayle Ecker, Managing Director of Equine Guelph gave a great lecture at the Grey Bruce Farmer's Week Horse day, January 2009 on the Horse Health Check. See the link for more details).

I feel that this is such an important part of the riding/work out session. Not only is it important to end on a good note, cool the horse out, do a health check... but also to leave them happy until next time. It's so important to develope team spirit and a sense of 'try' in the horse (& the rider too!).

So for the last article of the series, I will give my planned conditioning program to get Lady back in shape for the spring.

Stay warm! If you have any questions, need help, or want information on my fun, innovative approach to things, please contact me. Information package available.

Reinersue

©Copyright KISS Reiners

4 Stages of Conditioning & Winter

The topic of conditioning a horse is an extensive one. There is a lot of information on the internet and is good reading. (Check out this article from horsechannel.com.)

This 2nd article in the series will talk about a framework or stages of conditioning so we're 'all on the same page' or stage.

4 Stages of Conditioning

This is what I do when conditioning my reining horse to get ready for the show season. You can apply it to your specific event. The idea is the same.

1. Legging a Horse Up (or Long, Slow Distance)

: the gradual introduction of the horse to increasingly greater distances and increases in speed (ie. work load).

This stage involves walking, jogging, trotting and slow loping/cantering in the arena and riding out in the open on flat terrain for several months. This type of conditioning results in getting the horse in shape: improved cardiovascular and muscular efficiency, enhanced ability to regulate body temperature, and stimulates changes in the body (ie. bones, ligaments, tendons).

LSD training builds stamina, allowing the horse to exercise for prolonged periods at a low to moderate intensity. Your horse should be able to cover about 8 to 10 miles at a ranch trot/working trot in an hour on the road or flat terrain three or four days a week, for example.

 

2. Introducing the Maneuvers: introducing the exercises and simple maneuvers to build the muscles, skills & coordination (and confidence) at a slow speed. This stage is based on the principle of conditioning known as specificity where your training is specific to your event and targets the specific groups of muscles etc. that are needed.

 

This is also referred to as strength training. Include strength-training exercises two to three times a week, or every other day once you horse is legged up and the horse is able to sustain work for prolonged periods.

3. Refining the Maneuvers: increasing the intensity of the maneuvers and exercises to refine the skills, stamina and coordination at an ever increasing speed to reach their full potential. A very intense session followed by a regular session is often referred to as interval training or progressive loading.

 

4.Maintaining the Condition or Endurance

Maintaining the horse's condition using exercises to keep the horse fit and able to stay fit for the duration of their event (ie. the whole show season). This would provide the endurance necessary should an unexpected situation arise where a horse was required to overly exert themselves and not over tax their system and become injuried or too tired to continue. (ie. In reining: have the situation of an unexpected run off for 1st place and the rider being unsure as to whether the horse could handle it and not be too fatigued to finish showing that day or weekend).  

Apply The Stages In Winter

Though these stages apply to any horse any time that needs to get fit for their event, we are focusing on the question of fitting a horse up in the wintertime.

 

So with the cold winter and with no arena, I will focus only on the first stage: legging them up. I am not able to work on simple maneuvers outside in the deep snow. I could try (I've done it before but I will wait for an arena.) I will cover the other stages in later articles.

 

The LSD stage/'Legging a Horse Up' could take 2 to 12 months, depending on the breed and age of the horse, its previous condition and the final objectives. See factors in article 1 of this series.

If you have access to an arena then you could do all 4 stages. You would still need to 'factor' in the weather. It can still get really cold in an unheated arena. Too much cold air intake could hurt a horse lungs.

Legging Lady

As you can see from the photos, I have started to do low intensity walking on the road to start to get her in shape. This was preceded by some groundwork and warm up exercises. And as most people know, I will spend considerable time cooling her down since the winter could cause chills on a sweaty horse. (I didn't go that far.)

 

Next article (the 3rd in the series) will talk about the overall riding program (whether it's the weather or not :) and the following article will have some exercises and time frames for each phase of the legging up. 'I'm getting there!'

Update: ORHA has an article in their Feb.2010 newletter on conditioning.

If you have any questions about winter conditioning, warm up, frame work, or my fun, innovative approach, please feel free to contact me or comment to this post. Information package is available.

Stay warm!

Putting my spin on conditioning horses.

Reinersue

©Copyright KISS Reiners

Winter Conditioning For Spring Riding

A friend of mine asked: 'I want to know time frames & what kinds of exercises to do to get a horse ready for serious riding in the spring? What's a reasonable length of time to get a horse ready?'
Well.... what we're really talking about here is conditioning our horse.

Scenario:
- You have horse shows, or long, challenging rides in the open or you are coming to my place to start to work your horse on cattle in the spring. Let's say May. (I hope you come earlier!)
- Your horse has been 'resting' all winter (See Lady in photo!) and you now feel it's time to start riding them in preparation for spring. (This also works for horses coming back from other long periods of no riding such as lameness, foaling etc.)
-You know you have to condition them slowly so you want some time frames to setup a schedule accordingly. (Of course horses who've been kept in shape by riding all winter don't need this conditioning.)
-You know to give yourself plenty of time to get ready. You don't want to rush or hurt the horse when they're not ready.

The goal of conditioning is to develop the horse’s cardiovascular, metabolic & structural foundations to withstand the stress of intense exercise without sustaining injury. For more information on the physiology of conditioning, I refer you to this article Is Your Horse Fit - The physiology of conditioning, from the Government of Alberta's Agriculture and Rural Developemnt department. I'm sure there are many other articles on this subject on the internet.
Where to Start?
I start my show reining horses back into condition starting in February. I pulled their shoes when the last show season was over in Oct. and gave them the winter off to rest (& me! I also start young horses under saddle at this time.). The next show season starts in May so I have 3 months to get them ready. I also have to tune up their reining maneuvers. So add a month if your horse has special skills to review or learn before spring riding. (For young horses or horses in lengthy training, we rode all winter.)

And that was from previous experience. A key point to remember. One of the most important principles of conditioning is that of individual differences.You know your horse. You know their condition. You know how well they respond to riding and conditioning. So you are the best judge to know the custom program and adjustments made in the time frame to use.
And you know yourself! (I hate riding in the real cold now.

Some people want black and white answers or definite times. It can't be done and be right as every horse is different. I can offer some guidelines however and my experience to aid you in defining your conditioning program. So when you are digesting all of this information and sorting it all out in your mind, adjust it for your horse and you will do great!
You can always start earlier than you think. I always found it better for me to start real early so I could work on my maneuvers or other custom work and not feel rushed or panicked come May. I will use my horse Lady as an example. She's had the winter off and I want to get her ready for shows in the spring.

Let's look at some factors and the next article will give the 4 stages of conditioning. They apply in all seasons but I will focus on winter. These stages of conditioning make up a framework for the time frames and exercises - ie. groupings or categories, if you like. The 3rd article in the series will talk about a general riding format.

The final articles will talk about time frames and exercises based on the stages and riding format.

Some Factors to Consider

1. Training Environment - An arena would allow you to ride all winter or sooner in the year. Riding outdoors would depend on the winter weather. Without an arena, a lot of people can't ride till spring. I had to wait till my outdoor arena was rideable to work on reining maneuvers.
2. Present Condition (or Starting Point)- Double the time if the horse is really out of shape.
3. Age - Double the time if the horse is middle aged or senior. Or if the horse is really young (new to conditioning) or previously non-athletic.
4. Weather - Very cold, snowy or wintry conditions will lengthen the time. Not all days are rideable (unless you have access to an arena and can get to it!)

What's Lady's Condition So Far
1. My arena will not be ready till spring. So I will have to ride Lady outside when the weather permits. So I have started riding her already when the weather has been good. So I've added more time.

2. Lady is not totally out of shape but she is a little fat. (She's a very easy keeper). My horses have the run of big spaces and can keep themselves exercised on all but the coldest of days. She does not live in a stall and is free to roam in and out of the barn. So I will add a little more time.

3. Lady is 14 this year. She is middle aged and had a big show career in her youth. I will start her back more slowly and a little earlier. So I will add more time.

4. January has been mild so far. I hope February will be the same. So I've started now. So I've added more time.


Next article: 4 stages of conditioning.
If you have any questions or want help with conditioning and have fun with my innovative approach, please contact me.
Putting my spin on conditioning horses.
Reinersue
©Copyright KISS Reiners

My Dear Woofer

Warning: For those who have trouble with death and difficulty with extreme emotion, do not read this article.


It is with great pain and grief in my heart to share with everyone the death of my dearest, dearest friend and companion of 16 years.

I am honouring my wonderful dog Woofer who has been with me since he was 9 weeks old.

We went everywhere together! Horse shows, college, shopping, visiting, several moves..... I mean everywhere together. And did everything together.

He was like my child to me. (I have no children. ). For anyone who's been this close to a canine spirit like this will understand the love I'm trying to express here.

The photo below was taken 9 hours before his death. He died on his own Sunday night after watching Heartland. His 2nd love was watching TV. He loved watching the horses on Heartland.

He took sick last Tuesday and was gone by Sunday. It was so sudden.

The vet said he had the body of a 10 yr. old dog. The vet was amazed at Woofer's great shape at 16.

His first love was to do chores. To do 'horsey work' as I call it. He was able to come with me to do chores right up to the day before he died. Amazing.

When I found out that he could not recover from his complete kidney failure, I tried to give him the best last few moments, hours & day before his time here was done. We never have enough time to say goodbye do we?

I will miss him beyond words here could express.

I hope everyone is able to have the love I had from Woofer in their life.

I will love you forever Woofer!

Passionately,
Susan

Arena - Ground Breaking!

Well... finally it's started!

The ground breaking ceremony took place this morning.

I'm pictured here with the first offical scoop taken by the excavator.

The horses are in the background. Curious... as always.

Champagne anyone!

More pictures to come.

Upward & Onward!

Putting my spin on future goals.

Reinersue

©Copyright KISS Reiners

The Top 10 Career Success Traits

It's the start of a brand new year. A brand new decade.
What will be your goals? More importantly..... how successful will you be.

How is it that some people succeed - while others are mediocre - while still others fail.

What gives? What is their secret? We all want to succeed.

Alan Kearns from Careerjoy sent a great email on success traits. Here they are!

"The Top 10 Career Success Traits from 2000- 2009

Optimistic- Yet not naive.
Flexible and abatable yet not a pushover.
Good professional boundaries.
Continually learn- both linearly and non-traditionally.
Confident yet not cocky- Not afraid of self-promotion and will promote others.
Value, nurture and are valued by their professional network.
They take smart risks- continually.
Pay attention and are not afraid of the economy.
Have a wide sets of interests in life. Globally and local perspective.
They have a genuine interest in their professional field.
They respect and are respected by their employer.

Bonus- They take their work seriously but not themselves..."

Food for thought.
Have you set your horse success goals yet?

Putting my spin on goal setting.
Reinersue
©Copyright KISS Reiners

Horse Training Timeframes

Larry Trocha wrote an interesting article the other day on horse training time frames. Article can be found here.
I think he brought up some great points:

• "HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?
  Well, that depends on a number of factors.
  The horse's previous training (or lack of it) will play a part in how quickly the horse will advance.
  If the horse has a bunch of pre-existing problems or nasty habits, those will need to be worked out as we proceed with the training.
  Horses also greatly vary in how "trainable" they are.
  Some are easy to train… some are pretty tough.
  As a rule of thumb… on the average riding horse… it takes approximately three months to put a good handle on him.Now… by "good handle", I mean the horse will stop decent and rollback, do a good turn on his hocks, maybe even spin a little, pick up the correct leads and back-up straight.
  He'll also do a controlled walk, trot and lope and do it with a LIGHT MOUTH and GOOD HEAD POSITION.
  Be aware, with three months of training, the horse will be working pretty darn good and he'll have a good foundation on him but he sure won't be solid or ready to compete in a reining class.
  To have a horse ready for competition, usually takes 12 months or more.
  If the horse is a "natural", it may not take quite as long."

I would add another factor to Larry's list: 'If the horse has little to no handling or ground manners - those will have to be taught as the training progresses. "

Can't work on saddling or longeing very well if the horse doesn't know how to tie. (In another article I will give you a list of tips that I give to all customers who are thinking of bringing their horses in for training.)

Larry's article also has a great section entitled "Horse Training Isn't Always Pretty" that I encourage you to read. It's an eye opener for those who've never sent a horse in for training.

It's interesting that Larry also said a lot of trainers commented on the article. I thought it was a good general article. It's based on his experience. I believe it can be used as a guide line.

Some owners believe their horse can go from zero (little to no handling) to 10 (quite rideable by anyone) in 1 month.
Whoa! It's hard to educate owners sometimes.

The training money sounds like a lot but it covers a lot of hours of training. And handling. I train everytime I handle the horse even when I'm feeding them.

Hope this article helps. I have to give Larry credit for 'putting himself out there' like he does. That shows great confidence in himself.

This is a good article for those especially who've never sent a horse for training before. For those who have, it can be a good refresher.

I've had customers, who understandably, show concern that they are leaving a horse with someone. An owner wants to know that their horse is safe with me. Especially 1st time customers coming to me.

I reassure my customers anytime they have a concern.
I explain everything I do.
I explain the whole process before the horse comes.
I give progress reports. I send emails. 
 And customers are encouraged to come visit and watch the training.
I love to teach and share my knowledge.
I want a customer to know that their horse is safe, having fun and learning with me. I've had great feedback about the 'report card' that I fill out for customers. It's a daily report card of training.

If you have any questions about my innovative training program and customer care, please contact me. Information package available.
Putting my spin on training.
Reinersue
©Copyright KISS Reiners

New Year's Resolution - Our Final Breath

It is usually a long held tradition this time of year to make a new year's resolution. Everyone joins in - being coaxed into making one.

What was once a keen idea in our youth, slowly turns into a fruitless exercise when too many resolutions are not fulfilled. Our adult resolutions being too lofty or grandiose for most of us to accomplish.

Feels like something bursting our bubble of hope. No one wants to join in now. We get bummed out.

But thankfully, some do materialize. They squeek in somehow.
Our hope is renewed a little. We feel reawakened; searching for that formula to make resolutions work.

Resolutions are really goals that we wish for ourselves to accomplish for the coming year. It's a noble idea. I think everyone should have goals, in my opinion. It's keep us focused.

Today I received my daily OM message which I thought was appropriate for the new year's resolution making time. It draws our attention to what really matters in our life. It centers on the idea that if we were on our last breath, what would we be thinking about - those things that matters most to us.

I quote: "More likely than not, at that instant, disagreements, bills, petty annoyances, and other frustrating elements of our lives will no longer seem as significant as they once did. Thoughts of loved ones and the positive impact we had on the world would no doubt occupy our remaining thoughts. Whatever we imagine ourselves musing upon during our last breath will almost always be representative of what truly matters to us. "

Perhaps that would be a good new year's resolution - to focus on what matters to us most.

May we all focus on what really matters to us most this year. The start of a new decade...

Upward & Onward!
Putting my spin on life.
Reinersue
©Copyright KISS Reiners