Conference noted::equitation

  I suggest hand walking the horse daily for 2 weeks before you even
consider asking him to trot on a lounge line.  Just as a precaution --
and especially since he's been confined to a stall for the past year.
If he's getting turned out now he'll be toning himself naturally.  But a
horse that's been confined to a stall for any length of time with out
exercise has been kept in an unnatural state. 

  I'm so happy that you are giving him his freedom by showing him the
outdoor life!  I am a firm believer of turning out horses daily.  If
turnout is not possible, then the horse should be handwalked/and or
ridden daily.  

  Beware of 'over lounging him.'  I believe in lounging young horses
to teach them voice commands, discipline, and natural rhythm.  But
you have to remember when a horse has no muscling he's not going to
be bending properly.  By forcing a horse to trot around a circle completely
bent wrong, you may unbalance him in such a way to strain his muscles.
The worst case might be to strain a tendon.   

   In my opinion, don't use  side reins or draw reins to force the horse to 
bend on a circle either -- especially with a green horse.  I know of a girl 
who put side reins on her New Zealand imported warmblood and he reared over 
backwards and broke his neck.  Amazingly she still uses side reins!  In my 
opinion, draw reins are the worst though.  They force the horse to bend 
longitudinally.  I believe they also train a horse to remain forever 'behind 
the bit.'

   If your horse is getting turned out daily then there's really no reason
why you can't begin working on saddle/bridle training him right away.
Just walk walk walk!!  You can't tear muscles walking.  

   When the horse has completed 2 weeks of daily brisk walking, he is
ready to begin short, frequent trots. The main purpose of all the walking is
to  harden  his  tendons.  You're  not  working  on his wind until you begin
trotting.  Eventually you start building up the trotting, increasing the
duration  of  your  trots  and  decreasing  the duration of your walks. When
you're up to trotting 5 minutes and walking 2, off and on, then you're ready
for canter work.   

    You should try to do all of your conditioning work going up  and  down  
hills.  Don't  trot  on  tar roads -- right away anyways. The English do it, 
but I wouldn't risk it with my own horse.

    I've  given  you  a  highly  abbreviated  version  of my spring conditioning
format.  As a rule, it takes 6-8 weeks to condition a horse for an event
(It takes longer if the horse was confined to a stall).  I've known 
people who rushed through the boring 'walk walk walk' period and later dealt
with a bowed tendon.  Their horses wind was fine, but their tendons had not
been hardened up enough in the beginning.

    Have fun !


-Melinda
     





  
 

 
  

    I agree with the walking and TAKE YOUR TIME!
    
    We took a pony in that was nearly starved and had very little muscle.
    It took a LONG time to build it back up. Mostly because of nutritional
    problems to over come. The turning out was probably on of the best
    things for her. We aslo did daily walks but kept them to a minimum
    untill she has some good "tone" on what little muscle she had.
    
    When your putting muscle on animals in general remember that they
    will feel sore after working just like you do! Think how you feel
    when you've been laid up sick for a while. It take time to get back
    into shape.
    
    As part of our walking we added a small hill to the routine each
    day after she was "comfortable" with the regular walk.
    
    Take it slow and with patience.
    
    /tb/
    

    
    A "lounge line"?  I laughed picturing a string of recliners (you
    know-- "Dad's TV chair") opened flat and lined up so you could walk
    the horse over them, all in a circle!  I think you mean "longe".
    I always wanted to spell it "lunge", since that's how most people
    pronounce it, but lunging is pretty much the opposite of what you're
    teaching a horse on a longe!
    
    I agree with both of the previous replies.  It takes more patience
    to go slowly, especially because it's one of those things that you
    don't really appreciate until one time you do it wrong.  Better
    to be safe than sorry.
    
    It sounded like your friend would not be concerned (for now) with
    asking the horse to bend and do other work that you could start
    doing now on the longe line.  That's just fine; you can condition
    the horse reasonably well without any additional stuff.

    But I'd like to reply to Melinda's comment on side reins.  Like
    so many other tools, side reins can be helpful when used properly.
    I've been learning about them recently, since I'm doing lots of
    longing with Fiddler, under instruction.  Because rearing IS a 
    possibility, there are a couple of important precautions: First,
    always start with completely loose side reins, and only shorten
    them gradually, especially on a new horse.  Second, be sure that
    the side reins have some give in them, such as a rubber donut or
    elastic.  I think you have to be pretty certain that the horse has
    accepted the longer side reins before you do any shortening; I 
    can imagine that that might take several days.  In any case, using
    such equipment can be very positive-- Olympic level trainers don't
    recommend them just for kicks!  I suggest that people interested in
    side reins or draw reins be careful to get instruction from other 
    cautious but experienced trainers before trying them out at home.  

    Not only is conditioning the horse by longeing and hand-walking
    a consideration but also remember that the back must be conditioned
    before someone starts riding the horse.  Once the horse is at a
    point where he is can be longed at the walk and the trot for a
    reasonable amount of time, it is a good idea to start longing him
    with the saddle on his back (starting with a short period of time)
    and increasing the amount of time he is worked with the saddle on
    while being longed.  Any horse which has not been used for awhile
    will probably need its back muscles conditioned again just like
    the rest of the body but especially young horses who have never
    had their backs used.
    
    Good luck with your new horse!
    
    Linda
    

    I would also like to comment on Melinda's feelings towards draw
    reins and side reins.  They are a VERY useful tool in the right
    hands and under the right conditions.  Basic theory behind them
    is to teach balance/proper head carriage.  CAUTION:  watch the horse
    before running out to buy side reins/draw reins!  If he/she's not
    tripping over his/her nose, or got it stuck in the air, you won't
    need them if you have kind/responsive hands.  Also beware of
    conformation, not all horses have the conformation to carry their
    heads they way "proper head carriage" is so often pictured.  As a
    judge, I take a horse's conformation into account when I look at
    head set.
    
    As far as balance goes, bear with his clutsy stages.  Balance comes
    with time (sorry, good things DO come to those who wait).  Lots
    of circles!  Trail riding is good too...don't let all work seem
    like work!
    
    Best of luck to you and your friend...sounds like you're thinking
    things through and have the patience to deal with the difficulties
    you'll undoubtedly encounter.  Keep us posted as to progress!
    
    Ann

    Hi
    
    I am the fellow who purchased the Appaloosa. I just wanted
    to let you know that the horse did indeed vet check sound.
    
    I am currently working him on a longe until his muscle tone
    is better and he recovers from being gelded. The vet 
    recommended that I work him pretty hard after the operation,
    and he seems to be responding well to it.
    
    Thank you all for your advice.
    

    My mare has developed a 'hitching' in her left hind leg. Well, I should
    say, she's had a tendancy towards it all her life (from what I'm told),
    but would always work out of it, usually after about 10 minutes of walk
    and trot...(I've been riding her for 5 years).
    
    Recently, she came down with a lameness in her left front, which the
    vet x-rayed and told me was a very small seperation in her hoof wall
    at the white line.
    
    Well, she was off work for about 3.5 weeks, (she is usually ridden 4
    to 5 days a week thru winter) and now, the hitching has returned
    and pops up throughout our ride, usually during more collected work.
    
    Does anyone out there have any suggestions on strengthening her hind
    end? Excersises and the like?  She was fine all winter and this is
    discouraging since it brings our scores down, and has an effect on
    collection.  We are currently schooling 2nd level and some 3rd level
    movements.  Plus, we do not think it is string-halt.
    
    sigh....
    
    thanks,
    Deb
    

    Have you had both a masseuse (sp?) and/or a chiropractor look at her?
    Both have done wonders on a hitch that one of our show horses had.
    We went the vet route and there was no change as he couldn't find 
    anything wrong with her; however, I would start with the vet first.  Dr
    Harvey in Munson, Ma is excellent with legs.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Kathie
    

    I did have the vet look at it. He (Dr. Orcutt, who has known her for
    a while) did not know what it could be. He thought the front end
    thing could have triggered the hitching because she may have been
    compensating...
    
    I have thought about the masseuse, but was not sure..perhaps since
    my vet has already looked at her, massage couldn't hurt.
    
    Thanks, at least I know my mare's not the only one with this type
    of thing out there....
    
    
    Deb

   
    Here's another vote for muscle therapy.
    I had a masseur (they call them Equine Muscle Therapists now!)
    work on my horse because she was abnormally stiff (not definably 
    lame) and *very* cranky. It was like a wonder cure. My horse 
    literally jumped for joy afterwards. Her attitude is great and
    she hasn't been stiff since. 

    You might also want to look at chiropractic too. It seems like a
    lot of money at the time, but most problems are correctable in
    one session, and if you're losing a lot of riding time, that's
    costing you a lot more. 

    Kiirja

    The frustrating thing is, she is not lame in any way, actually,
    it is hard to feel the hitching when she's doing it. (I had a
    tape of a test and it showed up half way through the test.) So,
    I'm not missing any riding time because of it.
    
    Thanks for the replies, my instructor knows a masseuse, I'm going
    to give him a call and we'll take it from there.
    
    Deb