Cross-Training Equine Fitness Test

Now, immediately canter for two minutes. While cantering, ask your horse to get a bit more collected in the corners and short ends of arena, and then extend his gait down the long side. Do this in both directions until your two minutes is completed.
Next, perform five minutes of trotting over ground poles*. *Note re ground pole arrangement: Set up five ground poles in a row, spaced approximately three-and-one-half feet apart or the distance of your horse’s trot stride. Arrange them in an arc or fan shape on the perimeter of a 15-meter circle. Be sure to ride an equal duration of time in each direction of the circle.
Next, ride two sets of trot-canter-trot transitions in EACH direction.
Now walk and observe your horse. After walking for three minutes, dismount and take the horse’s heart rate. His resting heart rate should be at or below 60 beats per minute. Compare to previous executions of this fitness test. Each time you do your fitness test, the horse’s heart rate should drop more quickly after exercise. It may also begin to drop lower (which is what you hope for!) than his former “resting rate” after exercise.

For successful assessment of fitness, you’ll want to monitor other feedback besides the horse’s heart rate, although that is perhaps the most important bit of data you’ll want to collect. You also want to assess his energy levels start to finish; his respiratory rate (which should be around 20 breaths per minute after three minutes of walking/cooling down after exercise; his coordination (did he trip or stumble? Did his gaits stay springy or did his strides get flat and unanimated?). Also make note of where and how much he sweat. Monitor if this is any different than the last time you did the fitness test. Lastly, observe how he seems. Following this test, he should — if he is in moderate fitness — be perky and plenty eager to do lots more riding that day