How to Warm Up and Cool Down Your Competition Horse

Published 29 Jun 2016

“The Warm Up and Cool Down is every bit as important as the schooling or test in the middle, so much so that if you have to shorten anything during training, make it the main block of work.”

With that quote by Vicky in mind, we look at how to do the ideal warm-up and cool-down routine for your competition horse, in conjunction with Dr Rachel Murray of the Animal Health Trust.

Divide the warm-up into three phases:

Phase 1: Passive walking in-hand (with a rug if it’s cold). Look for an active walk, you shouldn’t have to be dragging the horse around.

Phase 2: General warm-up. At least 10 minutes in warm weather, or 20 minutes in cold weather, or when riding an older or rehabbing horse, aim for a relaxed walk, trot and canter.

The pace shouldn’t be rushed and you should stick to the outside track, with big circles, no less than 20m diameter, with gentle flexing. In very hot weather modify this by including walk breaks into the warm-up to prevent overheating and to conserve energy.

Phase 3: You can now do specific exercises, but still in a slightly warm-up style, using patterns of movements and not repeating strenuous exercises too much.

Cooling down after the test or main block of schooling

The cool down is just as important and should be at least 5-10 minutes of relaxed, loose trot followed by a relaxed, loose walk. This is how long it takes to remove the waste products from a horse’s system, which can cause muscle damage. It reduces your horse’s temperature and heart rate gradually.

If your horse has got very hot, you should hose or wash down and scrape in between walking to help reduce the temperature. Washing down without scraping can actually heat your horse as the water becomes a barrier that holds the heat in.

Although we’ve focused on the competition horse, every horse should have been walked off sufficiently to have stopped blowing and the heart rate reduced before returning to the stable. These precautions may not prevent injury or damage, but by warming up and cooling down correctly, it helps to put your horse into the best position to minimise any injury.

Equine Physiotherapy is also beneficial for your horse and can help to minimise injury & prevent problems occurring in the future. If you’d like to book an assessment, please call us on the above telephone number or Contact us online.

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WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Vicky has been treating my horses since 2008, as the Team GBR equine physio and also as my home physio. She is a highly skilled professional, who works hard to ensure that my horses stay in optimum condition to carry out the demanding work required of a top class event horse. With Vicky, I feel confident that my horses are in the best possible shape to do their job and would not hesitate to recommend her to my colleagues and friends

Nicola Wilson - International Event Rider, Olympic Silver Team Medallist
Vicky is a highly valued member of my team, helping our horses to maintain their athleticism and minimise the risk of injury, in what is a very demanding, competitive sport. She is an expert in her field, with a professional, no nonsense approach and I feel safe in the knowledge that my horses are receiving the very highest level of care to enable them to perform at their best.

(photo by Ken Ettridge)

Emile Faurie - International Dressage Rider & Trainer, Olympic Team GB, European Champs Team Gold, List II judge
Vicky has been treating my horses since 2006 on a regular basis. She is the GB team physiotherapist, so she is hands on at the team competitions and hence it is important for her to know my horses at home too. Vicky is great at adapting her methods and approach to the type of horse or problem she is dealing with. At competitions, it's great to have Vicky there to keep my horses feeling happy and prevent them getting tight or sore, when they're working more intensively for several consecutive days. It is a pleasure to work with someone who is easy to communicate with and understands what I want from my horses and knows how to help me to improve their physical state.

Laura Tomlinson - MBE European, World and Olympic Medallist
Vicky has been working with our horses for a number of years now. She plays a huge and vital part in our team.

William Whitaker - International Showjumper
Vicky has been looking after my horses since 2015, after being recommended by my trainer, who is on the World Class Development programme. After seeing the difference that physiotherapy makes to my horses’ way of going, I’m now a total convert to the philosophy that ‘Prevention is better than Cure’ and that regular sessions with a chartered physiotherapist are an absolute necessity, to keep my horses in peak physical condition.

Kate Hallitt - Amateur Dressage Rider
I have known Vicky for 15 years, initially when my horse was diagnosed with kissing spines. Vicky has always been the ultimate professional, exceptionally good at what she does and above all, always a call away, if you are worried or need advice.

Vicky has also looked after my last dog, following cruciate surgery, giving me advice to aid his recovery, sadly he is no longer with us, but physio did allow him to enjoy his last years. More recently, our puppy was diagnosed with a luxating patella. Vicky's skills and advice have meant that Ollie has been discharged with a follow up plan in just a few months. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Vicky for your horse or dog, she is a credit to her profession.

Chris Cromwell - Client
I wanted to write to say what a massive difference Paula has made to my little mare (Letty) but they say a picture says a thousand words. I love this picture; she’s using her back, her tummy muscles and over-tracking… this is the result of 18 months worth of work following this young pony having major abdominal surgery to remove a tumour (GTCT). Paula doesn’t need to treat my pony as part of a rehab plan anymore but she still visits to do general assessment and treatment. We are starting to get out and about this year and I genuinely don’t think we could have got this far without physiotherapy.

Sam Edwards - Amateur Rider
I really can not thank you guys enough, especially Paula for all you have done to help my boy, he's had various things wrong with him which Paula has treated and the results I'm seeing are amazing!! He is much happier in himself and it’s reflecting in his scores! Took him for a trip to dressage this weekend and came home with a 2nd and 4th which I still can't quite believe! He felt amazing! Thank you.

Sarah Jackson Bargh - Amateur Dressage Rider
Victoria has worked with me as part of the World Class Program of the BEF for a number of years and provided valuable horse assessment and excellent advice and support to the program Athletes. I have always been able to rely on her support and good humour.

John McEwen - MBE BVMS MRCVS, Director of Sports Science and Medicine, British Equestrian Federation
Victoria has been working with the veterinary surgeons and pets of Abbey House for over 15 years. In that time, I have always been impressed by her ability to bring about the best in an animal's power to recover from injury. She is patient, attentive and able to alert the veterinary surgeon if there are any problems with her charge's rehabilitation. She is also able to communicate the animal's needs to their owners and teach them how to perform the physiotherapy exercises. This is an essential, invaluable skill. She has been a fantastic member of the extended team at Abbey House, particularly when assisting the surgeons. I hope that our association continues for many years to come.

Tom Clarke - BA VetMB CertVR CertSAS MRCVS, Abbey House Veterinary Hospital
Victoria Spalding and her associates have provided Churchfield Veterinary Centre's equine patients with a reliable, effective veterinary physiotherapy service for a number of years. Victoria is very professional and we are confident to recommend her.

Phil Dixon - MRCVS, Churchfield Veterinary Centre