Preventing Injury: How Varied Footing Builds Resilient Horses

🌍 It’s the rider’s responsibility to check the ground—at home, at shows, in the warm-up, out in the woods, even on the streets. Wherever you ride, the surface matters. You can always adapt the exercise, height, or speed. It’s all about balance.

🟤 When the ground is deep, I jump in smaller classes.
🪵 When it’s hard, I like the take-off—but the landing hits the shoulders. That impact can stay in the body and show up the next day.
🧸 Soft, deep ground makes me nervous too—tendons and ligaments are under stress.

The arena can be tricky, especially later in the class. One bad landing spot is enough to cause damage.

That’s why I believe in variety and awareness.

🐪 I ride in the desert twice a week—it’s soft and deep, great for strength and body control, but I stay mindful of the effort it demands.
🐢 I do slow trot on hard ground" asfalt,concrete" 2–3 times a week to condition the legs.
🚶♀ Handwalking 5 times a week keeps joints moving and minds relaxed.
🏇 Arena work 3 times a week, with light lunging before riding.
🤍 Lunging in a headcollar 3x/week to stretch and loosen.
🛝 Treadmill 2x/week, and some horses only do the seawalker for low-impact fitness.

🏡 Having too perfect ground and riding on the same surface at home can make the horse unprepared and weak. Horses need to feel different surfaces—to stretch, push, place their legs, and stay mentally sharp.

It’s not about pushing harder—it’s about riding smarter.

#FootingMatters #HorseTraining #JumpingHorse #TendonCare #ArenaWork #DesertRiding #EquestrianLife #EveryStrideCounts #SmartTraining