24/03/2025
Always give mine either 2 full days off or 1 day and a gentle walk hack the following day.
*** THE IMPORTANCE OF REST DAYS FOLLOWING STRENUOUS EXERCISE ***
All of my horses, with no exceptions, have the day off following travelling to either train or compete. In fact, they often get two consecutive days off after competing. When they are Eventing at a reasonable level, they get three days off after an Event.
Travelling on its own, regardless of what exercise is subsequently performed, can be stressful for horses, and is in fact hard work. If you’ve ever watched a horse being transported, you will see that they are almost constantly moving, to brace and balance. As a rough guide, it has been suggested that travelling a horse is roughly equivalent to walking the horse, energy wise; so if you’ve transported your horse 2 hours to a competition, he’s used roughly as much energy as he would have done walking for two hours, and very likely been slightly stressed at the same time, often due to excitement of the impending outing.
Horses are about 50% muscle; approximately 50% of a fit, athletic horse’s body weight is muscle. It therefore goes without saying that this will need time to recover after strenuous exercise. In humans, a recovery time of 48-72 hours is recommended for moderate to intense exercise. Despite there being little research on the equine equivalent, we presume that the recover times are similar, if not longer. Actually, in horses the time to restore muscle glycogen is much slower, and can often take up to 72 hours.
So why do horses need rest days after competing? When muscles work, a small amount of damage occurs; this is normal, and it’s how muscles build and form. The body needs sufficient protein in order to repair and re-build the muscle, and this is why good quality protein is essential for athletic horses. This repair can take days, or even longer, so we must give the horse sufficient rest time to allow not only the glycogen stores to replenish, but for any micro tears in the muscle to repair. A horse competing in an Intermediate Horse Trials is obviously going to require longer to recover than one jumping a 90cm show jumping round, but the glycogen stores need to replenish in both cases, and don’t forget the travelling aspect for both.
I often post about the importance of keeping your horses fit enough for their respective jobs, but giving a horse sufficient time to recover after travelling to train or compete is just as important.
Alfred had today off. He travelled for two hours yesterday and jumped two very small classes. He will still get two days off. A horse will lose no fitness in that time, and it will allow his muscles to recover, not to mention potentially decreasing the risk of developing glandular ulcers. If the days off are not out in sufficiently big enough paddocks, then in hand walking/grazing would be required to alleviate any stiffness.
Alfred is on a daily muscle supplement, and they all receive the same supplement (Muscle Strength from Premier Performance) the day before, of, and after, any strenuous training or competing.
Photo of a very fit Johnnie, Keysoe 3* 2021.
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Experienced multi modality equine bodyworker helping horses perform to the best of their ability.
