Re: Weight Training

["Susan Evans Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

>We've fooled around with weighted saddles on the treadmill. You do get
>increased heartrates (stressor) with a heavier saddle, but then there's the
>biomechanical aspect--you're putting the extra weight in a bad place. For
>resistance exercise, hills appear to be the best approach. That's the
closest
>thing to weightlifting in the horse that I've been able to figure out.
Hills
>are extremely effective.
>
>ti



We've seen the same thing as Tom did with our treadmill at Cal Poly.  We
have a saddle that we can load up to about 150 lbs, but it causes sore
backs, so we avoid it.  If we absolutely have to have weight, we put a live
rider on the horse while on the treadmill (and lemme tell ya, riding a
galloping horse that isn't going anywhere is a *weird* feeling).  Usually,
we can get the same increased work intensity just increasing the slope and
speed, though that places different stresses on the horse.  Bottom line, I
agree with Tom---use your present saddle without weights and add some
judicious hill work.  Watch for signs of stress in the legs, especially
hocks and suspensories.

Susan G



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