How to warm up your horse before exercise and competition

avoiding injury and muscle strain

Sufficient warm up before exercise , training and competition is essential, in order to avoid muscle injury in the horse and strains on ligaments and tendons.

Note: Longing, in my opinion, is not a ‚warm up exercise‘, especially when practiced by running the horse mindlessly in circ les, but rather an art in itself. Read the article ‚Longing the horse, often misunderstood and undervalued‘

Warming up your horse before exercising

Give your horse sufficient time to warm up.

Just like your own muscles after a full day sitting in your cubicle or driving your truck, for example, the horses muscles are unflexible and his movement will be stiff after a day of lack of activity in his paddock. This even more so in the winter, where movement is even more restricted and the horses cannot kick up their heels on pasture.

Follow these simple rules:

• Warm up your horse on a long rein in the walk
• Alternate the pace of the walk
• Start with large circles and serpentines
• After 10 minutes, make circles and serpentines smaller
• Warm up a total of 15 minutes for best results
• After your initial warm-up, you are ready for a few rounds of relaxed canter, then start exercising

What you are looking for: During the last 5 minutes your horse should bend in the circles, he should have a willing and relaxed walk and stretch his head down
What to avoid: Don’t pick up the reigns at this time, but rather keep him on a long reign. Don’t let him ‚go to sleep‘. You can ask for a brisk walk and alternate the pace. Avoid boredom, keep it interesting, for yourself and the horse.
Special considerations: The older horse (20 years and older) can benefit from an even longer warmup. Be kind to your senior and make the warmup 20 to 25 minutes. (yes, it can seem dull, but it PAYS...)

Warming up your horse before a competition

Before a competition your horse might be a bit nervous and insecure. He is a new or strange environment with lots of strange people and horses around.
Give him as much routine as possible in this setting. Develop a warm up routine at home, that you will apply at a show or competition location as well to give him as much familiarity as possible.

What you are looking for: The same indications of relaxation and flexibility as above.
What do avoid: Do not run your horse in circles on a lunge, just to ‚warm him up‘. Do what you usually do at home for a warm up.
Don’t repeat the dressage ring or other competition exercises over and over in order to prepare. Simply warm up and be done with it. Your horse knows what do to by now, if not... you are in trouble and should have stayed at home! Relax!

PLEASE NOTE

The above exercises are beneficial in my own personal opinion and reflect what I do with my own horses. You will need to ensure fitness of your horse for any exercises described on this website by consulting your veterinarian, if in doubt.

Equine Massage is NEVER a substitute for proper veterinary care.  If you are in doubt about the physical condition of your horse, please consult a veterinarian.

All images on this site are by Stefani Harper and copyright Stefani Harper and Reinhold's Horse Wellness™ .  Any copyright infringement will result in legal action.  Please do NOT attempt to use these images for personal, business, editorial or any other use.