![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiveXWnL2LECbbpCtGpkqfor1NWC1Ys6GPK5045So6E3m-u54C2KnMc7_bgIxesxNE96_JYM4NZMIDXS6r__NGv0nRMjS3bqPGCMfTB4qIdAjWwY3yJfQQINAb2Gusg5FDhAh0zBth0rju2/s1600/Brad2A.jpg) |
Brad, always covered in mud!
Recently adopted through Open Gates Equine Rescue |
In my recent blog I discussed the subject of being a
plus-sized rider. I encouraged my
plus-sized friends to give riding a try but to be sure that your body is fit
enough for equine activities. I believe
I even vowed to hit the gym to tone up before the fall riding season arrives
but then I thought, “Hey! Just owning a
horse provides a better workout than Planet Fitness ever could!” This workout is accomplished without ever
hoisting my ample backside into a saddle.
There are three basic needs that a horse requires: Food,
shelter and care. Each comes with their
own workout benefits.
Hay is the mainstay of a horse’s diet. It is well known among horse owners that hay
is cut and baled during the first heat wave of the summer; in our area this is
the last week of June or first week of July.
The outside temperature is low to mid-90s on the ground with about
75-80% humidity; increase this reading by about 30˚ if you are up in the loft
stacking hay.
Lifting and loading 100 bales of hay, once out in the field
and again from the truck to the conveyer (or conveyor to barn loft), provides
great upper and lower body workout. Each
bale weighs 40-60 pounds; remember to lift with your legs for maximum workout
benefit and lumbar support. An additional benefit is the sauna-effect that
you get from a heavy workout in the oppressing heat and humidity. Talk about a detox! Remember to drink plenty of water. This strenuous marathon is repeated again
during the dog-days of August when the temperature again rises above 90˚. Depending on how many horses you have, there
can be multiple hay-runs per summer.
Whether your horses are kept in a barn or reside in a
paddock with a run-in shelter, all that consumed hay ends up somewhere on the
ground in the form of manure, the removal of which is a daily chore that
provides excellent exercise potential.
Armed with your favorite wheelbarrow, stall fork and iPod, your daily
workout routine is thus:
Bend, scoop, throw, rake-rake-rake;
bend, scoop, throw, rake-rake-rake; lift the bag of shavings, scatter
left-to-right or right-to-left, fluff-fluff, fluff; refill and carry 5-gallon
water buckets to stall. Move your
wheelbarrow to the next stall and repeat.
This exercise makes you question why you ever wanted so many horses.
In a paddock with a run-in shed the
exercise is the same, except you must traverse the entire paddock picking up
poops as you go; empty wheelbarrow and repeat in next paddock. A major drawback to the paddock method is
that your horse finds it hilarious to empty your wheelbarrow where it stands
once it is filled. This time you will
question why you needed this
horse.
Finally, caring for your horse(s) includes daily grooming
and hoof care. Embarrassed by those
flabby upper arms? Fear not! Grooming a muddy horse will tighten those
arms in no time. Let me just warn you,
your horse will always present to you
caked in mud. I don’t care if you live
in the Mojave Desert; he will be
caked in mud. The process is as follows:
Curry comb in right hand, brush in
the left hand—circle, circle, circle; brush, brush, brush; circle, drop curry,
bend over, stand up, repeat until side A of horse is completely clean from top
to bottom. Switch to other side of
horse, reverse brushes and repeat circuit.
Depending on the amount of mud and the cooperation of your horse, (Why, oh why, did I want this horse?) this
workout routine can last up to 30 minutes.
Hoof care provides strength to the lower back as well as
thighs, glutes and shoulders.
Cleaning
hooves also provides added agility training.
To clean a hoof you will:
Bend at the waist, cluck to your
horse, touch his hoof (be ignored); lean into him to shift his weight off said
hoof, cluck, grab fetlock, lift, sidestep to avoid kick; lean way into him, mutter obscenity, wrestle
hoof into flexed position, drop foot and retrieve hoof pick from grooming box;
lean, wrestle, cuss, threaten, scrape about half hoof contents, drop hoof. Repeat for three more reps. Additional disincentive is a bitten backside
(front hooves) or corneal abrasion from swishing tail (back hooves). Repeat process for each additional horse. (I
heard you mentally writing your sales ad!)
If you faithfully follow this workout routine the
results are guaranteed to put you in tip-top physical condition for riding, if
you still have the energy (or the horse).
Join me next time as I discuss the workout involved in riding; it’s
harder than you think!
Blogger's Note: The picture above is Brad, a special horse that I worked with at Open Gates Equine Rescue in New Gloucester Maine. Brad was my inspiration for this post; always covered in mud and very fond of upsetting my wheelbarrow while I cleaned his stall or paddock. Brad was recently adopted to a wondeful family in Standish, Maine. There are other horses waiting for adoption at Open Gates.