How Long to do an Exercise
The law of diminishing returns often thwarts the efficacy of really good fitness exercises. If you practice too long, or too many times, a potentially useful fitness exercise surpasses the body’s adaptations and the result becomes a net zero. And yet if you don’t perform the exercise enough, you don’t offer sufficient stimulation to tissue and systems that stand to gain. I am frequently asked how long or frequently to do a particular exercise, and this is a terrific question. While much depends on an individual horse’s age, genetics, and overall needs, some basic guidelines can be followed as I have outlined below.
Preparing to do Shoulder Circles for 20 seconds x 3 reps with each foreleg.
The first thing you must do is determine WHY you are performing a certain exercise. This will will inform how long to practice it. Most exercises can be categorized by their intended affect on the neuromuscular system, which— for the sake of simplicity and generality— include the following:
stimulate/activate a movement pattern or muscle group
stretch/loosen areas that are rigid, tense, or “stuck”
increase existing strength for bolder movement, stamina, harder work
**Please note I have intentionally excluded the goal of pure cardiovascular gains, as these types of sprint and sustained aerobic/anaerobic intervals are highly specific and apply to a small percentage of high level performance horses, i.e. 3-day eventers and jumpers, top level endurance racers, and track racers.
Sometimes, we are trying to do all of the above at once, but for our purposes it helps to break them down. For the most part, the majority of Corrective Exercises encompass #1 and #2 above, while many riding or advanced groundwork routines target #3. Let’s walk through this together. Perhaps you read about one of the ground pole routines in my books and decided to try it out. First, you need to figure out why/how you’re hoping the exercise might help your horse. Might it help activate joint flexion for your stiff horse? Or is it instead an exercises intended to bulk up the horse’s locomotor muscles? Or is it a slow, gentle exercise that encourages the horse to release tension and loosen up? Figure out what you intend to accomplish with the exercise and then see which of our three goals it meets.
Beginning the Wither Wiggle technique. Once I establish the movement, I will continue for 20 seconds. If Corazon seems to really relax, I might continue for 30 seconds.
For exercises that meet goals #1 and #2, perform them for 20 seconds followed by a break of the same duration, then repeat. Here is where fitness training becomes individualized. Depending on your horse’s age, needs, and experience you adjust the number of times the cycle is repeated. Senior, rehab, or very unfit horses might perform three 20-second repetitions of the exercise whereas moderately fit equines would repeat six to eight cycles. What if your horse really seems to be enjoying a stretch or a corrective postural stance? Is there harm in continuing past 20 seconds? From the standpoint of building trust, relaxation, and a cozy feeling with your horse there is no harm in going longer. Just be aware that any potential gains are emotional rather than physiological.
For exercises that meet goal #3, times run longer. This is mostly due to factoring in the extra movement included in these gymnastic routines. Due to the motion of so many parts (and often accounting for a rider on top!), they tend to not be as isolated and specific with their effect as Corrective Exercises and therefore more time is required to ensure stimulus to the intended system. My general rule of thumb for these exercises is to perform them for at least 90 seconds, and up to 3 minutes. If you plan to execute multiple repetitions of the exercise, take a 30-second break in between each. This “break” does not mean rest at a standstill. It means, go do something else besides the chosen exercise for 30 seconds before repeating it.
Jane rides trot-canter-trot transitions on Corazon for a 3-minute interval.
Here is an example of how it might play out. Let’s imagine I set up a grid of cavalletti and begin trotting my horse around a pattern incorporating these cavalletti. For 90 seconds (or up to 3 minutes), I focus intently on performing the exercise, keeping our speed steady, maintaining Corazon’s attention, and so on. After 90 seconds, I wander away from the Cavalletti and do something entirely different (perhaps we spend a moment backing up or doing some leg-yields) for 30 seconds. Then, I immediately go perform another repetition of the cavalletti exercise for 90 seconds (or up to 3 minutes), after which I would likely move on to other exercises I planned for the day.
So, your rule of thumb is to practice any exercise intended to simulate, activate, or loosen for 20 seconds and practice exercises intended to add strength to gymnastic movements for 90 seconds-3 minutes. If you are ever unsure why you are doing a particular exercise, and therefore what role it might play, try a few repetitions of it for 20-30 seconds. Usually as you perform it, you will figure out its result for your horse and can be more specific. Remember, the total number of times you repeat each exercise on a given day is determined by your horse’s needs, age, and conditioning timeline. When in doubt, consult a trainer (or drop me an email) to fine tune these prescriptions.
