I'm going by what I read in Nancy S. Loving's book "Go The Distance" which is for endurance riders. I believe she recommends starting out at half an hour 3 times a week for the first 2 weeks, then moving up to an hour 3 x a week.
I can look tomorrow maybe and post in more detail. But it's a great book on fitness and how that affects each system in the horse's body; cardiovascular, muscular-skeletal system, their hooves...everything. Very educational even for people not aiming to do endurance rides.
I'd start with just basic riding... walking, trotting, cantering, maybe from half an hour to an hour, and just keep building up. If you're jumping, make sure you do trot poles, and then start with small little begginers jumps, until you're at the height you want. Also, designing a feed program with a professional and possibly having him segregated or put in a diet pen would help greatly, if you already haven't done that.
If you're not worried about him picking up bad habits, you could always offer to let him be used as a lesson horse (if your barn has lessons) or half lease him out for the winter, that way, he gets extra rides.
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I'm going by what I read in Nancy S. Loving's book "Go The Distance" which is for endurance riders. I believe she recommends starting out at half an hour 3 times a week for the first 2 weeks, then moving up to an hour 3 x a week.
I can look tomorrow maybe and post in more detail. But it's a great book on fitness and how that affects each system in the horse's body; cardiovascular, muscular-skeletal system, their hooves...everything. Very educational even for people not aiming to do endurance rides.
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If you're not worried about him picking up bad habits, you could always offer to let him be used as a lesson horse (if your barn has lessons) or half lease him out for the winter, that way, he gets extra rides.
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