Stoney Ridge Farm

They W-I-L-L N-O-T D-O I-T.

Will not do what? Use active walks for strength training as an. add-on to their regular training schedules. Eventers, show jumpers, dressage riders, whoever could gain benefit from having stronger equine athletes.

What are you talking about?

Well, this---In 1974 Jack LeGoff had a shallow bench of advanced 3-day horses to send to the World Championshipd to be held in September at Burghley. He had six riders and six horses, zero extras if one got hurt. He wanted to maximize their fitness, because cross country day, back then, would be over 17 miles long, and would require one hour and twenty minutes of trotting and galloping.

So he used vigorous long walks three days a week in addition to the normal schools. So say we did 45 minutes of flat work in the morning, which, with warmup and cool down might take an hour, give or take. Then, in the afternoon, say Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, he would have us saddle up again after lunch, and go hike around the open hills at Wylie. About one to one and a half hours, as I remember, each walk day.

Walks do not stress horses much. They are highly unlikely to cause injury. They build base strength and create muscular development. They are a win-win.

But virtually NOBODY does this, Most human sports teams now employ strength coaches because when technique starts to fail, raw strength can create that winning edge. Why would human horse trainers not want stronger horses?

But does ANYONE grasp this in 2024? Or, if they do, do they make the effort to actually do it?

There’s a hidden gorilla in the room, actually more of a train than a gorilla, It is called the Excuse Train. Nobody wants to admit being lazy, so they dig up reasons to deflect.

“I don’t have time.” That’s a big one.
“I don’t have a place to do it.”
I don’t have enough help.”

But the real reason is usually more basic, six words. “I don’t want to do it.”

Everyone wants an edge. Strength is an edge. There’s a reasonably safe and straightforward method to add strength, Take Jack’s advice or deny it----.

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There’s a mental block we human beings have about buying or training a horse for a particular discipline… and then, only doing that discipline. This is incredibly unfair to the horse.

When we have a dressage horse, or a cutting horse, or a jumper, or a barrel racer—any performance horse, really—we do them a grave disservice to work only upon dressage, or cutting, or jumping, or running barrels. This makes perfect sense and yet, we see it all the time.

Soon, the horse begins to suffer mentally and physically. Mentally, because he is either going to grow bored, or fried. Physically, because he is going to be taxing the same muscles and joints over and over again, without giving them a rest and developing other parts of his body.

Repetition is one way of learning, yes… but it is also a one-way street to breaking down.

How often I’ll haul to the public arenas, where the same girls are running the same horses around the same three barrels, week after week after week.

They carve on those turns, ‘keeping the inside shoulder up’, getting the horse to really bend around the barrel, respecting the pocket… and racing ‘em home. Over time, I watch these horses getting worse, rather than improving. Riding out, climbing hills and making miles would maximize both their fitness and partnership. Working on the basics of horsemanship and equitation would build the body control of both riders and their horses.

Without zeroing in only on what each rider so badly wants, she would gain much that would translate to better times when she runs. More barrels staying up, less trouble in the alley, and so on.

The jumper rider needs to think about what is going on in between the jumps, along with small gymnastics, to improve the arc and eye of the jumping horse. The dressage rider might think about getting out on the trails, taking part in the cowboy challenge obstacles, working over trot poles and cavaletti, in order to bring more joy and freedom to the dressage horse. The cutting and cowhorse riders might want to find some taxing and beautiful trails to get that horse walking out and using its whole body, rather than staying ‘bridled up’ or doing repetitive turns. The western pleasure horse would really benefit from moving straight over open country, without being 'canted in'...

Finally, let me share this one thought with you.

When we run our horses fast, or jump them high, or stop them hard in our day-to-day schooling, we are doing so without knowing how many runs, jumps and stops they might have left in them. Think about this! If my horse has only five more beautiful, fast, clean barrel runs in him before something unfortunate happens, before something goes wrong, how very sad I will be if I used these up by hooning around at home, rather than when it counted most.

Yes, he has to learn how but once he has, trust that he has it in his tool box when you need to call on him. It is at this point that you and he can coast a bit. You’re sitting pretty, now!

If you or I are lucky enough to be riding a performance horse, we’re asking for his highest performance only when we’re riding to win. The rest of the time, we’re quietly tweaking and building strength, confidence and know-how. We’re doing our best to build partnership and to actually HAVE FUN.

Do we like to think that our sport comes at the wear and tear of the horse? No, I don’t think we do but that doesn’t change a blessed thing when it comes to real life. Horses who have the challenge of speed or athletic endeavour must learn how to do the technicalities of their sport by slowing it all down. This is how we build muscle memory, this is how we build confidence and understanding. This is how we don’t waste another beautiful young talent. This is how we ride for the long haul.

Ride smart. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: diversify and build up your horse, rather than tearing him down.