After a summer of concrete-hard ground and relentless heat, Tamsin had to rethink how she kept The Sass Queen fit and sound – and sane – while preparing for their biggest endurance challenge yet.
Equestrians have a multitude of skills at the best of times – but it’s safe to say this summer that we’ve all acquired some new ones: not least of which are weather watching and perfecting the long-forgotten rain dance.
The drought and hot weather were concerning for many reasons (and don’t worry, I’m not about to launch into a one-sided conversation about climate change and the environmental impact, I’ll leave that to the experts!) – they have prompted discussions across social media and livery yards up and down the country. Do we turn the horses out during the day? Do they have enough shade? Are there too many flies? Do we need to feed electrolytes? Is there enough grass?
(The answer to the latter is obviously a very emphatic NO!)
Throughout all this, my personal concern has been how to keep The Sass Queen fit without causing an injury on the hard ground. Just as it can in humans, repeated work on hard ground can cause concussion injuries. The simple answer would have been to turn her away as a field ornament for the summer. However … having the ‘zest for life’ that she does, she simply chooses chaos if she’s turned away for too long. So for the sanity of both of us, I needed to find a way to keep her in work.
Golf courses are out of bounds
We were also fortunate enough to qualify for the National Endurance Championships that were held in Norfolk in August, so I was keen to try and keep her fit for this.
We’ve withdrawn – or not entered – competitions, depending on the weather or the ground. I always ask myself ‘is this competition necessary or would it be best to save her for another day?’.
Knowing the championships would be held on very sandy ground, I was confident that the ride itself shouldn’t be an issue, it was just a matter of keeping her fit beforehand!
Jumping was ruled out entirely – while there are many who have been able to continue with this through the summer, I felt for us personally it wasn’t necessary, especially at her age (not that I dare tell her she’s technically an OAP).
Hard ground is even more problematic when it’s rutted, and finding a perfectly flat field with no dips is no easy task (apparently it’s frowned upon to ride through golf courses …). Thankfully we’re not short of hills in Dorset, so we utilised these as much as possible. Even just walking up them repeatedly has done her the world of good. We also took to doing interval training during our roadwork – while it was still a hard surface, it was at least flat and would condition her legs so long as she was cooled down properly and not overworked.
Sadly we don’t have easy access to a school or gallops, otherwise my next go-to would have been to utilise a surfaced area for faster work. Although this would inevitably have led to us careering around with me clinging on for dear life while The Sass Queen had an absolute jolly.
Thankfully, we’re incredibly lucky to have an equine water treadmill nearby which has worked wonders. It’s a great way to keep horses fit with low-impact exercise. Although sessions are usually only around 20 to 30 minutes, I know she’s worked hard when she refuses to be caught the next day (this has previously resulted in me having to remove every other horse from the field in order to get her to come and talk to me!).
Even simple pole work is great for their fitness – walking them (in hand or under saddle) over some raised poles encourages them to use their core and activate different muscles to those used on a normal hack.
Mind you, trying to persuade The Sass Queen not to launch herself over them all in one go has resulted in a couple of ‘discussions’.
Hot hard ground
Ground conditions like this summer’s mean your warm-up and cool down are even more important to avoid injuries. Trying to keep The Sass Queen calm enough to do either isn’t the easiest feat, so we’ve just stuck to having longer walks and basic schooling on our hacks before building up to anything else, and then making sure she’s thoroughly washed off afterwards and her legs are iced. I was also very grateful to be lent a massage pad from Grumpy Uncle’s owner which has kept her back muscles supple. (NB – it’s also great to wrap around your car seat for the drive home afterwards!)
Not only have we had the concrete-like ground to contend with, but the searingly high temperatures as well. Generally I try to avoid riding when it’s too hot, but without any cool days on the horizon I started to gently acclimatise her.
Initially, we rode when it was coolest (cue some early mornings and very late evening rides!), gradually building up to riding during some of the warmer parts of the day, with very short amounts of exercise and a thorough cool down afterwards, including some sloppy recovery mash to ensure she had plenty of fluids and electrolytes.
Being a hairy native she’s prone to having a thick coat, even in the summer, so she’s also had a summer clip – something which I immediately noticed had helped by how much quicker her heart rate came down post-ride.
Side note: clipping when you’re hot and sweaty yourself is not a pleasant experience!
Understanding The Sass Queen’s resting heart rate and continuing to monitor it after exercise has been the best indicator for how fit she is. Although I can usually predict what it will be before we ride, I check it and then check again when we return, before washing her off, cooling her down and checking again 30 minutes later (which is the time we have between finishing an endurance ride and presenting for the final vetting). It’s safe to say I know more about her health than I do my own!
You’re in charge
This isn’t to say that it’s all gone swimmingly (best laid plans and all that). The Sass Queen bruised her hoof at the end of one endurance ride – frustratingly, it was the Inter Regional Champs held in Cirencester (thankfully she recovered quickly and went on to storm her way around the National Championships* the following month!).
Likewise, poor Squish has also suffered with a serious abscess when the hard ground left her hooves more brittle and prone to cracking. I’ve had horses for more than two decades, but I don’t claim to be a professional in any sense of the word. I’m just someone who wants to do the best by their horses, enjoying being out and about with them. This summer’s unprecedented weather has been a steep learning curve in horse care and I’ve definitely utilised the knowledge of friends, my vets and my farrier.
The biggest and most important thing I’ve learnt is simply to do the best by your horse and don’t be afraid to make your own decisions – so long as your horse’s welfare is at the forefront of each decision you make.
Tamsin started endurance riding with The Sass Queen earlier this year. Read how it all began in The Sass Queen goes the distance.
- Tamsin and The Sass Queen went on to finish ninth at the Endurance GB National Championships, earning a top-ten place in the Foundation Championship.
