Getting fit for a 3 day 

Once again it is important to remember that all horses are different.

What suits one will not suit another.

The more thoroughbred your horse, the easier it should be to get him fit.

If your horse has been fit before this to should make it easier.

Do not be too rigid in your plans for fitness.

There are bound to be times when it is necessary to adjust for the inevitable set backs due to minor injury, cancelled events, or bad going.

The first thing to do is to make a plan at the beginning of a season at to your intentions.

Generally we decide on which 3 day we are aiming for first then work backwards, for our event & fitness schedules.

We would try not to compete at an event for 10 – 14 days before a 3-day event.

It would be silly if a minor injury ruled us out of the competition. –  Although some horses need constant runs to keep them at there peek.

And we would aim to have the correct level of fitness for a couple of weeks prior to the 3-day so we are reducing the pressure, leaving us with a fresh horse on the day.

There are two types of fitness, Aerobic and Anaerobic.

Both are equally important.

Interval training will increase a horse’s Anaerobic (lungs & heart) capacity.

Whilst our normal schooling will increase a horses Aerobic (muscle tone and conditioning)

Interval training

This is a good method of increasing a horse’s fitness as the amount of work is increased gradually, and it is easy to monitor the progress.

It depends to which level you wish to compete at as to how fit to get your horse.

Do not think that by getting your horse fit enough for a 4* whilst only competing at a 1* will do him a favour.

You will be left with a horse with more wear and tear on his body than necessary, and probably a horse that is too fresh for you to work.

We would plan to canter (interval train) on a 4-day cycle.

Although, inevitably competitions and commitments mean we have to flexible.

If you have a horse currently competing at one-days he would already have achieved a certain fitness level.

If you follow our weekly getting fit we would start Interval work around week 8 - 9

We would start by cantering 3 five minute steady canters with 3 minutes walking in between.

Your horse should have stopped blowing in the walk before you start again.

Gradually the periods of canter can be increased.

A good rule of thumb is once you have done the set time on two occasions it is OK to increase.

·        This will vary on your horse.

A horse being produced for a Novice (1* 3-day) should be able to comfortable do 3 lots of nine-minute canters.

Where a horse aiming for a 4* should be able to do 3 twelve minute canters.

Not wanting to cause unnecessary wear on your horse if you are lucky enough to have the use of an incline you may be able to reduce the amount of cantering, as the effort involved in cantering uphill will be greater than on the flat.

By building the work up gradually you will increase the capacity of the heart and lungs and you will soon be able analyse your own horses recovery rates.

Pipe Openers

It is often necessary to give your horse a pipe opener.

This is a short higher run.

Horses that may be a little ‘thick’ in their wind may benefit from this.

Wherever possible this is best done on a hill, where the maximum benefit can be obtained in a short time.

SPEED KILLS remember that the more galloping about you do the more the risk of injuring your horse.