Bringing your horse back in work after the winter?
I have put some tips together to ensure your spring exercise programme is free from hiccups.
Loss of Fitness:
If your horse has had 8 weeks off work, then scientific evidence suggests there will be loss of fitness. The loss of fitness happens in the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs and blood flow to muscles), but also in the musculoskeletal system (muscles and skeleton).
Understanding how to resolve this fitness loss is key in preventing sport horse injuries.
Training your muscles:
Returning your horse to work safely, involves training the heart and lungs to establish blood flow to the muscle more efficiently, and also increase the blood flow to the muscles being worked. The more you train, the more efficient this system becomes, meaning oxygen can be used during your muscular work out to prevent lactic acid build up.
Lactic acid build up causes muscle fatigue. Muscle fatigue is one of the key contributors to injury.
Training the brain:
Another area that become more efficient during training is the proprioceptive system: This is the brain and nerve system that is responsible for awareness of foot, leg and body placement. The better this system works, the less likely soft tissue injuries will occur.
Warm up:
In addition to training, warm up is very important: A good warm up turns on the heart and brain systems for exercise, ensuring the systems work efficiently to prevent lactic acid build up and injury.