Spring Conditioning Your Horse

play their role.
Due to this state in the early phases of conditioning the horse is prone to developing incorrect neuromotor patterns or faulty proprioceptive signals which is another reason we avoid challenges that trigger big muscles. Remember conditioning is not just about muscles and bones and lung capacity. It is just as much about training the nervous system.
There is no need to rush. More challenging strength training as well as higher cardiovascular efforts can and will happen after the first six weeks. Your workouts in weeks one through six will follow this pattern basic cardio plus calisthenics to improve stabilizing muscles.
A sample schedule will look like the following
Week 1_ Flat ground work three times per week at a moderate walk for 30 minutes plus five minutes of calisthenics choose from list of Calisthenics Exercises at the end of this article
Weeks 23_ Flat ground work three times per week at a moderate walk for 40 minutes plus five minutes calisthenics
Weeks 45_ Flat ground work three times per week at moderate walktrot 40 minutes plus five minutes calisthenics.
At this point you have gradually eased the horses metabolic system back into a regular aerobic routine but he is by no means fit. His cells will be more efficiently shuttling blood and oxygen around the body as plasma volumes increase clearing out wasteful byproducts of exercise that create soreness. His muscles will have increased their capillary density and enlarged the fibres needed for the work at hand. And perhaps most importantly the low to moderate workload coupled with consistent calisthenics will have woken up and stimulated his postural muscles which otherwise would have remained dormant.
Now the real work begins. From week six onward you will be gradually increasing the duration andor intensity of workouts. Please note that when making workouts harder in any exercise program you do not increase intensity and duration of exercise simultaneously. During a given workout you only increase one or the other. For instance you can make a workout harder by either making it longer or by adding difficult exercises to your normal session length. A sample of the next few weeks follows
Weeks 67_ Flat ground work four times per week at moderate walktrot for 40 minutes. One day per week can include schooling over ground poles not to exceed five minutes. Continue calisthenics three times per week.
Weeks 89_ Moderate walk trot and canter four times per week for 40