A good workout plan for my horse :)

Hi! I was wondering if any of you have any good conditioning plans for horses. Right now I am wanting to build endurance and also his hind end. I would also love to get more muscleing in his shoulders and back. For example, for trotting, how long should we trot to build muscle..same or the canter, except I know cantering is mostly cardiovascular. Thanks!

The individual plan for your horse would depend on a couple things. The biggest are:

What kind of shape is he in now?

What kind of terrain do you have to work with?

For the barrel horse my niece rides, we're working him up to 6-8 miles one day, 3-5 miles the next, and alternate. He gets day 7 off. Half of this is long trotting, and half is a relaxed lope.

When conditioning any of my horses, I like to find hills to ride on. I trot straight up and down, and across the face. The straight up and down is especially useful for building the hindquarter, and the cross-face is good for lateral movement.

I hope that made sense. Just remember to build up to whatever you do.