HOW OFTEN SHOULD I WORK MY PONY?

One of the most common questions asked by horse and pony riders worldwide is ‘how often should I ride?’ The problem with this question is that the answers a rider is likely to hear are never the same. The reason for this is that all ponies, horses and their riders are different. The other reasons centre around the fact that there are many variables to factor in when trying to design an exercise programme for your pony or horse.

THE VARIABLES

Some of the variables that you need to consider when working out a suitable frequency for riding are as follows:

1. What age is your pony? Is he young, or is he old?

2. What level of training is your pony currently at? Are you jumping 1m20, or are you jumping 30cm?

3. What discipline do you want to take part in? Are you a dressage diva, a showjumping superstar or something else entirely?

4. What are your short and long term goals with your pony?

5. What is your pony’s temperament like? Is he hot or more laid back? Is he high-energy, or is he difficult to motivate?

6. What is your level of riding fitness, and how does it compare to that of your pony? Are you super fit from school sport, and he’s more ‘Netflix and chill’? Or are you both elite endurance athletes?

7. Under what conditions does your pony spend most of his day. Does he go to the paddock for most of the day? Or is he cooped up in his stable for many hours?

Here we look at each of these factors in turn.

AGE

An older pony needs regular exercise to maintain peak fitness. Just like older people, it takes older ponies longer to build up muscle and stamina, and it also takes them longer to get going. Older ponies, therefore, generally need working five to six days a week with long warm-up and cool-down periods at the start and end of each session. Older ponies are also more likely to suffer from arthritis and the long warm-ups and cool-downs, in addition to the frequent work sessions, are important to give their joints a chance to move and avoid the build-up of stiffness.

However, if your older pony is retired, it may be perfectly okay to exercise him once or twice a week by going for a gentle hack.

The important thing to remember with older ponies is that you need to make any changes gradually. If your pony hacks twice a week, you cannot suddenly decide to do an intense lesson for an hour. Instead, you need to build him up to a level of fitness that allows him to do more frequent and intense work before you throw in a more challenging session. This takes time and patience but is the only way to increase or decrease work fairly for an older pony.

With older ponies, you must also keep an eye on their condition and energy levels. If you notice that your older pony is run down physically or is losing weight, you need to speak to your vet first, but if they are happy that the issue is not health-related, then you must look at whether the amount of work you are doing is too much for your pony. It may be that you just need to increase his food to allow him to cope, or it may be that you need to cut back on the intensity of your sessions.

Younger ponies, on the other hand, tend to have the opposite issues. They usually have boundless energy but much shorter attention spans. Very young ponies, who are just starting work, can lose the ability to focus after as little as 10 minutes. It is, therefore, often worth considering more frequent but shorter workouts for younger ponies.

With all ponies, it is vital to keep their minds stimulated. Design a schedule with lots of different activities that you can perform in lots of different locations to keep them thinking and learning.

LEVEL OF TRAINING

It is vital to consider your pony’s current level of training when planning your goals going forwards. If you are looking to ramp up the training level, from Novice to Elementary or 70cm to 1.00m, you need to do this gradually in a structured way to avoid over facing your pony.

If your pony is at a low level of training and you want to get to a higher level, realise that this will take time and that going from two sessions of work to six sessions of work a week is likely to make your pony unhappy, exhausted and sore. Pushing your pony in this way is also likely to lead to injury.

YOUR DISCIPLINE OF CHOICE

The discipline in which you want to ride also affects the amount of work your pony needs. Most ponies at competition level in any discipline require five sessions of work a week, but the length and intensity of these sessions are dependent on the level at which you are competing. For instance, endurance and eventing riders are going to need longer sessions with their ponies to build the necessary fitness and stamina, whereas a pony involved in showing is less likely to need such a high level of cardiac fitness. Similarly, the content of the session will vary so a showing pony may need more exposure to spooky objects, some groundwork etc., whereas an eventing pony needs showjumping, dressage and fitness work.

YOUR GOALS

It is worth considering your goals and whether they are realistic for you and your pony. Your goals must match the level of effort you are willing to put in. To simply maintain a pony’s fitness most riders suggest riding three times per week for somewhere between 20 and 60 minutes, each time, but this is unlikely to make your pony fit for competition. If you want to compete, you need to make sure you have enough time to fit in the required four to six sessions per week or have a work rider who can help you out.

TEMPERAMENT

If you have a quiet, super chilled pony who you just want to go for the occasional hack on, then riding once or twice a week is usually enough. However, it would be unfair to ask this pony to go for a gallop on a hack if you were only working him once or twice. On the other hand, if you have a hot and spicey pony, the chances are that you will need to ride five times a week to keep him manageable under saddle. These hot ponies need an outlet for their energy and exercise and large amounts of paddock time are the best ways to help them release their energy safely, i.e. without sending you flying or injuring themselves.

RIDING FITNESS

You must also consider how your fitness compares to that of your pony. Just because you are riding fit doesn’t mean your pony is. Getting a new pony and expecting him to work six times a week, like your old pony did – just because you are able to –is entirely unfair and likely to result in an injury for your pony. Instead, pay attention to the pony you are riding, and tailor your sessions accordingly.