Reconditioning Horses after Rest or Injury

Just as humans look forward to vacations from work, horses benefit from an occasional training break. Whether they are given a weekend to laze around their stalls or a longer period of pasture turnout, a rest allows horses to relax, heal minor injuries, and eliminate the stress of a rigorous training schedule.

For horses in regular work, a break of a week or two will have little effect on the horse’s athletic condition. After four to six weeks out of work, research has shown declines in cardiovascular fitness. In one study, previously fit horses that had been out of work for six months performed a treadmill workout at less than maximum effort. Results showed that their response to exercise was not significantly affected. These horses then completed 10 weeks of endurance training and four weeks of sprint training. After this period, the same treadmill test showed only slightly lower heart rates and blood lactate levels than at the first test.

Though this suggests that horses decline only slightly in cardiovascular fitness when tested at moderate speeds, their bones and muscles may have lost a significant amount of conditioning during the period of rest, and these structures will require as long as four months of retraining at moderate effort to regain their strength and elasticity. To avoid injuries, trainers should resist the urge to rush reconditioning of horses that have been out of work for any significant amount of time.