Exercising--Horsey Style!



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. 

Keepin' Horses Cool on the Trail.

Neigh there!  Hot enough for ya?  Yup, us too.  I wanted tell you about how our two-legged friends keep us comfortable here at Carousel Horse Farm.  Like most two-legs, we don’t get a day off just because it’s hot.  If the heat index is below 90 we still do our jobs just like you do.  Luckily our two-legged friends here at the farm work hard to keep us comfortable in this heat. 

First of all, most of our trail rides start and end through the nice cool woods under a canopy of shade trees.  We are never asked to trot or canter too much when it is very hot but we do love to stretch our legs and take a good trot to outrun the biting bugs, not to mention having the wind in your mane feels really good. 

Let’s talk about sweat.  You do it and we do too.  Like you, it means that our cooling systems are working just fine.  It’s our body’s way of cooling itself off.  We stay well hydrated when we work so we can stay healthy.  Did you know that we can actually get sick if we drink too much ice cold water when we are working?  Yup!  It’s called colic and it’s like a really bad belly ache.  Our two-legged friends make sure that we have fresh water to drink but that it’s not too cold—tepid is good.

You may think that our equipment makes us hot.  After all, our saddle pads are made of thick wool and look really hot and we sweat a lot under them.  What you may not know is that the wool saddle pads wick the sweat away from our body and keep the saddle from rubbing raw spots on our back.  The same is true of our girth strap (it goes around our belly and keeps the saddle from falling off).  The sweat actually keeps it lubricated so it doesn’t rub us raw.  If you notice, when your ride is finished our two-legged friends will loosen our girth straps to give our skin a chance to breathe and the sweat to evaporate so we can cool off. 

Finally, when the day is over and the last rider has gone home we get a real treat.  Saddles and bridles are taken off and put away and, like you, we enjoy a nice cooling shower from the hose.  After our shower, we roll in the dirt and scratch all of our itchy places.  Then it’s a supper of grain and turnout to the pasture to sleep under the stars.  We relax, graze, catch up with our other horse friends; sometimes the deer come to visit.  It’s the end of another great Maine day.  We are lucky to have such a great job.  We look forward to seeing you soon.  Traveller.

Unfit to Ride

Hi, my name is Rose and I am an unfit rider.  That’s the term I’m sticking with.  “Unfit.”  It’s one of those ‘politically correct’ terms that are careful not to offend anyone or make one feel a lack of self-esteem.  It is just the generic term for “really shouldn’t be on a horse.”  Yeah…I like that.  Unfit to ride. 

Okay, who am I kidding?  You see the picture, right?  You have eyes, I have thighs we both see the (egads) naked truth.  Or do we? 

 A quick Google search of the question, “How much weight can a horse comfortably carry?” instantly yields 48.7 million responses.  People are talking, folks!  Skinny as a rail barn princesses are searching for the answer so they can snicker and chide the chubby rider at the barn.  Plus-sized empty-nesters have typed the question secretly into their search engine as they contemplate riding lessons.  Weekend warriors, trying to decide between the dude ranch and the ATV vacation search for the answer. 

Google says….well, the quick answer is that a horse can comfortably carry 20% of its weight in rider and tack.  Given that formula and doing the math reveals that I would need a horse that weighs about 1,500 pounds (No. I am not going to tell you how much my saddle weighs)!  Remember, though, I said that was the quick answer—as in all things there are variables. 

I spoke with Tiffany Payton, owner of Carousel Horse Farm.  Tiffany offers trail rides to riders of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels and that question comes up daily.  Here is her not-so-quick answer:

 It all depends on the fitness of the rider. 

Really?

Tiffany explains that while weight is one factor to consider, it is not the ONLY factor to consider.  Anxiety, muscle control, level of fitness, balance and experience are just as important, if not more so, than a rider’s weight.  A rider can be heavy but easier for the horse to carry if they have strong core and leg muscles, are at ease and comfortable riding and have quality tack.  The flip side is that riders who are anxious and rigid, have little core strength, poor balance or ill-fitting tack can cause even the best horse to be uncomfortable.  Remember, riding is a sport and requires cooperation between horse and rider. 

Carousel Horse Farm also employs several draft or draft-cross horses that are more suitable for heavier riders.  All of the horses at Carousel Horse Farm [insert the link again] are kept physically fit as well.  The horses work year-round, weather permitting, so they do not get out of shape through the off season.   Meticulous hoof care and attention to nutrition and overall health of the horses also keeps them in tip-top shape for their jobs.    

 
Now back to my original statement.  Am I “unfit” to ride?  Weight and appearances aside, the answer is yes.  Sitting at home in front of my computer and blogging about riding makes for very fit fingers but the rest of me should really hit the gym for a few crunches and squats before I hit the trails.  My favorite time of the year to ride is the cool, crisp days of autumn so I have a few more weeks before visiting the local gym!  I will see you on the trails!