02/23/2025
For those who have asked when is the best time to get your horses in shape heres an excellent read and break down.
In order to ๐๐๐ฎ๐ in the winnerโs circleโฆ
You must ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป like you want to.
๐พ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฎ.
๐๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐?
*After only 3 days of no exercise (or stall rest) muscle atrophy can be identified on ultrasoundโฆ
Something to think about.
Only THREE DAYS and your horse is losing fitness and condition.
Okayโฆ so.
Thereโs different ways we could look at this.
1. Stall Rest
2. Inconsistent fitness programs
3. Time off
Within 72 hours on stall rest, thereโs a loss of condition. Can you maintain mobility and promote muscle activation on stall rest? YES ๐๐ป However, this needs to be articulated extremely carefully with a veterinarian on board and involved in every step.
We can very carefully activate muscle groups in dynamic or static stretches, and isometric exercises. Again, all under the guidance on the caseโs veterinarian. This also ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ replace a full exercise routine, it does however encourage mobility and some muscle activation.
Inconsistent fitness programs -
Iโm going to hit you with the hard truth. ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐ท๐๐ฟ๐.
Letโs circle this back around to the proven muscle atrophy in 72 hoursโฆ This information emphasizes on the importance of consistent exercise training. Shorter, intentional, consistent exercises are going to benefit your horse far more in the long run than inconsistent or exclusively cardio-based exercise programs.
Improper conditioning programs increase fatigue and unhealthy tissue environment.
๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ.
Fatigue inhibits muscular development, increasing the risk of chronic inflammation, reducing ATP production, and increasing acidosis.
All creating an unhealthy environment for tissue decreasing the tissueโs ability to properly develop.
Time off ties all of this together. Your horse has a week off consistent (worked less than 3 days) work? Give two weeks of consistent fitness to rebuild lost condition. After 12 weeks off consistent exercise, the horse is considered completely out of shape and unfit. At this point, a specifically articulated fitness plan is ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ to safely bring the horse back into condition and rebuild a proper condition foundation.
๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ?*
๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ- 1 to 2 weeks
๐๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐- 3 to 6 weeks
๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ- 4 to 6 months
๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐- 4 to 6 months
๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐- 4 to 6 months
๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ & ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐- 4 to 6 months
(*55 Corrective Exercises for Horses, by Jec Ballou*)
Muscles, tendons, ligamentsโฆ and bones, take time to recondition correctly and slowly.
Letโs make a goal together to be consistent.
๐๐ฒ๐'๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐จ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฎ. ๐ค๐โก๏ธ
To learn more-
https://restorequine.wixsite.com/restorequine
๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ค๐จ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ช๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ
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