The Importance Of Properly Warming Up Equine Athletes

For any athlete, human, equine or otherwise, a proper warm-up is important to both mentally and physically prepare for rigorous work. Many times, however, once horses are mature and advancing in their training, the warm-up routine that was so important in their formative training is shortened or even abandoned all together so that the trainer can have more time to focus on their advanced training.

A proper warm-up routine is monumentally important to older horses. These more advanced horses, with more muscling and more physical exertion asked of them, need a proper and lengthy warm-up to avoid injury and to prepare mentally for taking in the lessons being taught.

Classical horse trainer Troy Griffith suggests warming a horse up before getting into the saddle with lunging and groundwork to encourage them to stretch long and low and warm up their muscles. If this is not possible, such as in a racetrack setting, hand walking can be substituted to allow the horse's muscles to loosen up and for the horse to mentally prepare for the upcoming workout routine.

To read more, go to Horse Collaborative.