From Warming Up to Cooling Down

Most horses today are kept for athletic purposes, not necessarily competitive, but most of them have to work for their living; they are equine athletes. For some horses, international competition may indeed represent the highest level of work of which they are capable. For many more though, activities at a more modest level such as weekend riding club activities may prove just as taxing because they are as much as those horses are capable of. Many riders, often very experienced ones, enter the manege without really understanding what they are aiming for or how to work towards and achieve it and, over the years the skills of warming up, working in, cooling down, warming down and settling a horse have been lost or misinterpreted, and wrongly applied to the detriment of the horses concerned. Many owners do not understand how important they are to the wellbeing, health and soundness of their horses.The topics covered here will give readers the confidence and independence of being able to make their own accurate decisions on the best way to proceed during the schooling, working and management processes, no matter what work their horses do.