Whether trail riding for pleasure, endurance or competitve, all conditioning and training starts at the beginning!

Just riding is not enough!

There are several types of conditioning problems encountered in various levels of riders.   Novice riders, older riders and ocasionally in riders recovering from injuries or coming back from time off - a basic lack of endurance and general fitness.  These riders get out of breath after five minutes of light riding, and can use their legs briefly but not for sustained periods of time.  These same riders are also in a little or a lot overweight.  In most cases, lack of general fitness can be corrected to some extent by the kinds of exercise we all associate with "getting in shape:"  running, swimming, cycling, walking, tennis, etc.  You can pay a health club to make you more fit, or you can walk a few miles a week, muck a few stalls, carry a few water buckets and climb a few stairs.  For the average person without medical problems, it seems that whatever sort of activity you like and will be consistent with is worth doing.  And if weight is a problem, do yourself and your horse a favor and diet yourself into the normal range.  However, I'm guessing that most of you reading this aren't really concerned with this sort of problem, as chances are you already ride at least a few times a week and probably do your barn chores yourself.

The most prevalent problem is lack of specific strength for riding; by that, I mean, your adductor muscles can't get the job done in queezing your horse forward to the bridle for ten minutes at a stretch, or your "lats" and "delts" aren't giving your arms the support they need in half-halts, or your spinal erector muscles can't do the job in bracing the back when it is called for.   These riders lack the kind of specific coordination and muscle control needed to get very particular results with their aids.

And finally, when many riders have achieved a certain degree of muscle strength, whether specific to riding or just general muscle tone, they lack the flexibility it takes to be able to stretch the legs around the horse, to open the hip joints, to soften and relax the lower back in order to sit more closely with the horse's movement, and to lower the center of ravity through a relaxed abdomen and softly-lifted rib cage.   Sometimes their muscles, in learning to be strong, get "stuck" there, and they don't release easily and quickly, at the rider's command; at tother times, the flexibility problems relate to tight joints and correspondingly tight tendons and ligaments.

No wonder it takes so long to learn to ride well.  Don't feel bad.  Everyone that has ever learned to ride well, started out just as you and I did - no one, contrary to popular myth, was born in a saddle.  If they could do it, so can you.  But here's the hitch:  you'll have to work at it.  How good you get is, to some degree, related to your natural timing, balance and coordination, but it is also very directly related to how hard you work at it and how badly you want to learn and improve.  Are you ready?

The following exercises and suggestions are geared towards riders of at least average fitness, who have no serious medical problems or physical handicaps.  If you do not fall into that category, for whatever reason, talk with your doctor before plunging headlong into an exercise program designed to prepare you for the rigors of a strenuous risk sport.

Learn from a variety of influences in order to improve your strength and body control.  Learn helpful things from a ballet teacher, a physical therapist, yoga instructor, or any influence you prefer, even reading books on the subject.

Use various techniques to keep in shape for riding, the first of which is a good daily program of stretching. 

If your back gets stiff, you need to stretch not only your back but also your hamstrings, which connect the leg biceps muscles - the big muscles that run the length of the back of your thighs.  Suggested exercise;  Seat yourself flat on the floor, whith legs outstretched and knees straight, toes up, and reach for those toes.  Under no circumstances should you bounce or tug;  instead, just reach for the farthest point you can, and hold that stretch for 10-15 seconds until you feel the muscles relax and "give" a little. 

You also need to stretch the muscles of the inner thigh and groin.  Suggested exercise, simply sit on the floor, with knees bent outward and the soles of your feet pressed together.  Then with a straight back and lifted chin, lean forward slowly while you grasp your feet, and just pull yourself into a good stretch.

Any other stretches you can find to loosen and supple your whole body will be quite helpful to your ability to go with the horse's motion as you ride.

Once you're comfortable stretching, you might want to add some strengthening work.  In weight training, few repetitions with heavy weights will tend to add bulk, whereas many reps with lighter weights will give you strength plus endurance.

You'll need your shoulders and upper back for half-halts, so look for exercises for the deltoids ("delts") and ("Lats").  Suggested exercise, you can do various lifts for the delts with light weights, rowing or latt pulldowns for the lats, or you can curry your horses like crazy and get nearly the same results for yourself and a healthier horse in the bargain.  Just remember to push hard, make big circles, work up a sweat and don't quit until you feel the "burn". 

For your trapezius muscles (they run from your neck to your shoulders).  You can do dumbbells shrugs and upright rows, or you can carry a full water bucket in each hand!

For your "glutes;" their strength will help to support your lower back.  Try squats and half-squarts with your feet at shoulder width and toes pointed slightly outward to locate those inner gluteus muscles that you need.

Your legs can be strengthened in many ways, by posting without stirrups or by riding in halfseat at the trot for minutes at a time.  

You also need to be able to lift your toes and drop your heels, so look for standing calf raises, or simply stand with your toes on the edge of a step and your heels hanging over the edge.  Raise and lower yourself by standing on your toes and then sinking down until your heels are as far down as they go.

You must strengthen your abdominals - these provide you with good posture and support your back in half-halts.  Any abdominal exercise you do - sit-ups, crunches or whatever - must be done with your back pressed flat on the floor, your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, to protect your lower back from strain.  Work up to doing at least 50 crunches every day.

Remember, learn all you can, and take what you can from various kinds of exercise.  Riding, demands both flexibility and strength, and either one without the other will not get the job done.  Give yourself time to learn and develop - don't expect overnight miracles.  Don't train to hard; instead, pick a program that you will stick with from now on.  If you do work with weights, get someone to help you learn how, and only lift every other day; stretching and abdominal workouts should be done every day.  Don't overstrain your muscles; when you do, you lose both flexibility and coordination.   If you get into trouble, get a few days' rest and try again.  

It's supposed to be fun!