Advice on exercise

[Jane&Ziggy]

Hello all, I'd welcome your advice.

At present I can hack Ziggy out about 3 times a week. This isn't ideal, because he is forward going and has high energy levels, but it is realistic and I feel confident I'll be able to maintain it. He also gets walked out once or twice a week for 45 mins or so.

I usually try to go out for at least 2 hours, mostly walk and a little bit of trot and canter. We live in a very hilly area so there are plenty of ups and downs. He hardly ever breaks a sweat (although he is a little curvy!) but last time he did stop briefly half way up a steep hill as if to say "oo, bit puffed".

The question is - does it make any difference from a health and fitness perspective to do 2 hours 3 times a week, or 1 hour 6 times a week? I know the calorie expenditure is the same, but I don't know about the other aspects.

I'm not sure how manageable the 1 hour option is, but if it was very very much better for him I would give it a go...

Thanks all!

 

[Trewsers]

Personally, I believe that doing less each day makes a difference in a couple of ways. Firstly, depending on how forward going / energetic your horse is, I think the routine of a daily ride really helps (this is only my personal experience with STorm mind - yours could be a lot different). Secondly, I think once you get into the swing of it - it becomes part of your routine and I think its great for us to be able to ride every day - lets face it, riding is one of the best parts of horse-ownership if you are able! I did also read somewhere that it made sense from a metabolic point of view regarding calories and fitness, tho I could be horribly wrong on that one!
I think we all have to find what works best for us, but I know I much prefer the option of daily rides than once or twice a week taking longer.

 

[Midnight_Ashes]

Agree with Trewsers - little and often is better than lots and less frequently. However, each horse is different. When Stevie was in work and competition fit, his routine was 2 days work, one day off, 2 days work, one day off, and so on. He always had the day off after a show too, but I tend to do this with all of mine. This routine worked best for him - 3 days in a row and he wasn't happy. He suffers with mild anaemia and despite an iron supplement he would still be a bit weak and watery if worked three days in a row (he was working quite hard) and in turn would get like a tired child and throw tantrums. So I changed his routine and he was much happier