After taking a long break from horse riding, equestrians are eager to start training. Many want to quickly make up for what has been missed in the last few weeks and months of injury. However, especially after a long break, it is important not to rush and overtax the horse during training in order to prevent injuries. Julia Greb is a personal trainer for horses and knows about the problems that many horse owners face on a regular basis. In the following article, the expert reveals 10 tips on the subject of healthy muscle building for horses.
Tip 1:
First of all it is important to focus on warming up. You should start light exercises about 20 minutes before training.
Tip 2:
Start at gait in order to improve the blood flow to the various muscle groups.
Tip 3:
Additional stretches while warming up will help stabilize the horse and activate the muscles.
Tip 4:
After a long break, it can make sense to first strengthen the horse from the ground. The weakened muscles should be built up before you start riding again.
Tip 5:
Furthermore, it is advisable to create a training plan. This helps you to remember to work variably in order to really target all muscle groups.
Tip 6:
Make sure to include regular breaks in the training. In this way you avoid overloading your horse’s muscles.
Tip 7:
As in every other living being, the muscles of horses are built up by the fact that there is a healthy proportion between tension and relaxation. Therefore, make sure that the ratio is in balance while training.
Tip 8:
After an intense training session, it is important that the muscles are given a break. This is essential for the individual muscle groups to grow and regenerate. Therefore, do not train your horse intensively on two consecutive days, but rather plan a relaxed training session on the following day.
Tip 9:
Also take the performance of your horse into account and adapt the training units accordingly. Overloading quickly leads to the breakdown of the muscles.
Tip 10:
In addition, you should pay attention to nutrition during the build-up phase. In addition to healthy mineral feed, feed other food supplements if necessary in order to ensure optimal functioning of the muscles.
©Julia Greb
About Julia Greb:
Julia Greb helps horse owners to fathom their horse’s health and to successfully correct abnormalities themselves. She has made it her business to provide her customers with intensive one-on-one coaching. Thanks to more than ten years of experience as an animal physiotherapist and osteopath, she knows her way around perfectly and can foresee which steps have to be followed in order for the horse to become healthy and stay healthy in the long term.
