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How to Warm Up and Cool Down
Your Horse
Correctly
A horse
needs to warm up properly in all weathers.
Warm-up exercises
enhance blood flow to the active muscles and increases muscle temperature.
It also improves the delivery of oxygen to the muscles and
ensures his
tissues are better serviced by blood, lymph and energy Warming up is
essential in order to avoid injuries to tight, stiff or cold tissues. We
humans are expected to go through a warming up process before we undertake
strenuous exercise, whether running, training in a gym, playing tennis etc.
Horses are no different and need to be warmed up before their body goes
through the stresses of work.
Cooling
down is equally important as this helps to expel waste products produced
during work. Like with us humans whilst just as essential this part of the
work regime is often overlooked.
The Best Way To Warm Up
This has to
be done on an absolutely loose rein, held on the buckle so that blood can
flow easily through your horse’s muscles.
While this may seem like a simple run around a ring a few times, it is
actually very easy to make mistakes while warming up your horse. Since you
are dealing with a very large animal, these mistakes can end up being
extremely hazardous to your or your horse's health.
Control and
safety is the key here. Walk your horse
around the ring at a slow, easy pace and
give your horse as much rein as you dare.
While walking, go in different directions, an equal amount of time for each
direction. Also try going in different shapes. Serpentine shapes, just
going back and forth in wavy lines, and small circles are recommended, as
well as doing the large circle of the riding ring and figures of eight.
Now, try different speeds of walking. Then mount and do
the same exercises in a loose, flowing trot, on a loose rein, and finally do
the same in a loose, flowing canter (in half seat, slightly leaning forwards
from the hip joints, not the waist), still on a loose rein. If the horse
cannot do easy flying changes, come down to trot to change rein when
cantering. This routine can take ten or fifteen minutes, depending on the
weather, as it obviously takes longer to warm a horse up in cold weather
than it does when it is warm.
When warming up any
horse, his age and condition should be taken into careful consideration when
determining the amount of time that should be put into the warm up. Some
younger horses may have to expend an entire ride in working canter and trot
in order to get them steady and loose. For some older horses, a warm up may
only take a matter of minutes. If the horse is at a show and becomes really
nervous, then it may take longer to warm him up. In any case, the warm up
process should be made as short as possible to refrain from exhausting the
horse before the actual exercises begin.
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