Muscular injuries rehabilitation

1 – 4 WEEKS

  • Ride/lunge
  • Commence 10 min walk warm up long and low, bending and stretching, changes of direction, serpentines
  • 10 min trot incorporating trotting poles and as per above
  • 10 min walk as per warm up

4 – 8 WEEKS

  • Begin with 15 minutes regular walk on a firm or not too deep arena surface.
  • Increase the exercise time by 5 minutes every week
  • Encourage horse to get into a rhythm and stretch and lower head and neck.
  • Schooling exercises at trot and canter for 15 minutes, including pole work
  • Warm down with 15 minutes schooling exercises at the walk

8 – 12 WEEKS

  • As per above but start to incorporate small jumping grids/cavaletti into the “work” section of the schooling session
  • Ensure 15 minutes each of warm up and warm down is performed at the walk, bending and stretching and walking over poles

12 – 16 WEEKS

  • Normal schooling can begin, ensuring adequate stretching is performed at the walk and trot as warm up and warm down. Continue to incorporate plenty of pole work and cavaletti into each schooling session.
  • Start to incorporate more schooling exercises into the exercise program in a gradual progression
  • 20 minutes of regular walk to be maintained as part of the exercise programme each day
  • Gradually introduce any jumping/fitness/speed work and remember to incorporate plenty of walk periods between any periods intense training so that muscle fatigue does not result in reinjury