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In This Issue
Fun Fact
The Importance of Conditioning
My Horse is Out of Shape
He's Going the Distance...
He's Going For Speed!
Current Events at TPE
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Fun Fact!
On average, a horse's heart weighs 8 pounds.  Secretariat's heart (which was never actually weighed) was estimated by the pathologist to have been nearly 3 times that amount!
 
 
July Newsletter
Shaping up for Summer
Greetings!

Summer is upon us!  And we're sure that you're all getting under way with your summer riding or driving season.  It doesn't matter what your discipline is - if your horse isn't properly conditioned, then it may all be for naught.  So we decided to give you some tips and reminders this month on how to condition horses based on the job that horse is being asked to perform.  Here's hoping everyone stays in the saddle this summer!  Good luck to you all.

Sincerely,
Drs. Matt Kornatowski and Ashley Leighton
Twin Pines Equine Veterinary Services, LLP

(Have an idea for a newsletter topic or an event?  We'd love to hear from you!  Just send us an email at [email protected])
The Importance of Conditioning
 Many of us think of conditioning as "getting in shape" or "being fit", but there's a lot more to it than just that.  General training helps strengthen bone, ligaments and tendons.  It can decrease the likelihood of injury during an event.  Conditioning also allows for improved cardiovascular tone which leads to increased heart muscle and lower heart rates during exercise.  Respiratory changes also occur, allowing for better oxygen uptake and distribution. 

However there is also a psychological component to training as well.  You and your horse become more confident in your capabilities and anxiety decreases.  You begin to trust each other and learn strengths and weaknesses.  As you train, you become one unit as opposed to just horse and rider. 

But how do you get there?
 
My Horse is Out of Shape!

 Slow and steady wins the race - that's the old adage anyway.  It's not only sometimes true in racing, but it's always true in returning horses to work who are out of condition or returning from an injury.  This could mean that you have to start with hand walking, just to get the horse moving a little bit.  Slowly increasing the amount of time being hand walked can strengthen muscles and help damaged tendons or ligaments stretch before going back to full on work. 

Generally, if a horse has been stall bound due to injury, we recommend starting at 5 - 10 minutes of hand walking per day and slowly increasing that by 5 minutes each week until 30 minutes of hand walking is obtained.  This gets you in shape, too!  Once 30 minutes has been reached, the horse can be walked under saddle for 5 minutes in addition to being hand walked.  The time under saddle can then be slowly increased in the same manner.     

He's going the distance...

Most people have been to the gym.  Or at least tried to go to the gym.  When we get there we climb on the treadmill and push "Start".  And then we get off and say "What was the point of that?"

The point was aerobic conditioning.  In this type of conditioning, we try to go at slow speeds with low intensity.  The idea is to be able to go for a longer period of time since exertion is decreased.  We often do this at the beginning of a conditioning program.  Later, it can be interspersed with other types of conditioning.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

Aerobic conditioning is sometimes referred to as endurance training.  When training, your horse should be working at a trot or slow canter. 
This may last for several weeks before you can move on to other types of conditioning, but it its important to make sure your horse is in good shape before moving on to more strenuous work. 
He's Going for Speed!

Once your horse has some strength and endurance, it's time to up the ante.  It depends on the discipline, but this is the point in time where you begin to breeze/gallop, start jumping fences, or increase the weight behind pulling horses.  This type of training should be interspersed with with slow-speed conditioning and rarely should you exceed 80% of maximal effort. 

High intensity workouts should not be done every day.  Depending on the discipline, they can be done up to every 3 days, or as little as every 10 days.  These workouts increase the level of anaerobic conditioning - the body's ability to produce energy without oxygen.  Anaerobic conditioning is good for short term energy bursts, but it is not something you can maintain for extended periods of time.  This is why it is important to have a good level of aerobic conditioning prior to working on anaerobic conditioning.  

 
Conditioning is extremely important no matter what level of competition you intend to enter your horse into.  Without a good program, not only will you not do well during events, but you also run the risk of injury.  We can't just walk out our door and run a marathon , we shouldn't expect our horses to either.  With proper conditioning, you and horse can have a long career doing what you both love.  

For more information on conditioning, check out these links!

UConn - Basic Conditioning of the Equine Athlete

Oklahoma State - Physical Conditioning of Horses

Alberta - The Physiology of Conditioning (This one goes a bit more in depth on energy metabolism)
Current events at TPE!  

July will be a busy month for Twin Pines. 

Dr. Kornatowski has been invited to speak at an AAEP meeting (our national organization) in Okahoma City, OK.  He'll be departing in the middle of the month for 5 days. 

 

Dr. Leighton has also been asked to speak at an event being held at Shadowrock Equine in Oneonta, NY.  They are putting on a client education seminar the last weekend in July and Dr. Leighton will be speaking about basic equine health, including topics such as nutrition and dentistry. 

 

Wish us luck in our travels!