Tuesday 18 August 2015

Pre-season build up: horses are back in work




                We bought the horses back into work with plenty of time to spare this year.   They have all had a good month to six weeks walking and a month of lunging.  If you talk to any Rugby player or athlete, the pre-season is the most important time of the year for gradually building up fitness along with good condition and strengthening so the body is more capable to take the knocks and strains throughout the arduous season.  This, I think, is most important for the racehorse and we learn all the time what to do and how to do it better. 
                Firstly the horses have all summered here well, turned out in the paddocks.  The grass in the area has not been as good as it has been in previous years and (as with my local stock farm of young cows) we have been feeding the horses ad lib hay whilst out in the paddocks, alongside a good conditioning feed.  This has greatly helped the horses with the grass losing its quality slightly earlier this year.  It has also enabled me to train them exclusively from the field for longer.  Only a few weeks ago have they started to come in at night and they are still turned out for the day after exercise, all together.
                One of the areas I am concentrating on this year in the pre-season training is strengthening the horses’ back.  I find this area to be one of the weakest links in the racehorse, an area where racehorses commonly have problems and an area that is often overlooked, which in turn can cause problems elsewhere.  A strong core and back, with good top-line and muscle is key to starting the season off well, as muscle protects the bone.  If the horse is guarding against back pain then very often other problems arise from this.  So this year, after all the horses finished their walking we lunged them all for several weeks.  We have been given a wonderful, fully sheepskin saddle which is incredibly soft and comfortable.  The horses have really enjoyed working with their heads down, opening up their backs and strengthening and building up their muscles along their top line. The muscles along their hindquarters are also strengthening and their core strength is building.  I find lunging makes them more equal in muscle strength from one side to the other. We spend equal time on both reins and a bit like us, some horses prefer leading with their right or left leg and muscle up unevenly accordingly.  By using the lunge equally I find they get used to having to use themselves better throughout the whole of their bodies.
                The horses are really enjoying being out in the paddocks during the day and having a play (see the picture below). We have only had to shoe one horse at the moment as he was getting more wear than growth and we needed him to be comfortable in his work. We might find that he has grown enough foot after a month to take them off again.  Nothing is set in stone here and they are here to race with or without shoes, dependent on the horse and every horse is different.
                Here are some pictures of the horses being lunged and you will see that their heads are in a good position and their stride is really opening up.  The sheepskin saddle being used is a CHRIST Lammfelle bareback pad, I have recently ridden the horses in it.  It is very comfortable for horse (and rider!) and there are some excellent benefits from using this bareback pad, in particular allowing the back muscles to work without anything restricting them.  We are very lucky to have the saddle on the yard.
 


Gustav (left) enjoying a play in the paddock with Kavanaghs Corner


Gustav (above) lunging


Headly's Bridge (above)
Kavanaghs Corner (above)


Water Rail (above)