Horse physical training

The physical fitness of your horse is a key element to his performance. It’s the case for high level competition horses as well as for amateur horses. You can’t obtain long term results if your horse has not been physically trained to the physical stress implied by competitions.

Michel, who was an eventer for a long time, attaches a special attention to the physical fitness training of the horse’s muscles, joints, and respiratory system.

When a new horse arrives at his yard, he sets-up a fitness program emphasising on trotting-sets 3 or 4 times a weeks. When possible, riding outside on hills offers a greater work-out.

In order for the fitness training to be efficient, you ought to pay attention to the horse’s general condition, the quality of the footing, of the tack and of the shoeing.

Some strong canter or gallop sets, like 500 to 600 m/min, allow the horse to stretch his entire muscle and joint system. It will enable him to gain the length of movement required to jump over large fences, e.g. double of oxers or a water-jump.