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.