Finding Alternatives for the Conditioning Goal - Many riders worry that their lack of access to hills means their horses will miss important conditioning benefits. But before charging up hills, or fretting about their absence, riders should first consider the specific gains they were hoping to make. A horse recovering from injury, for instance, will use and benefit from hills differently than a moderately fit horse aiming to improve stamina or performance. After specific goals are identified, relevant substitutions can be explored. Whether you need hills depends on what you hope to achieve.

While it might often be spoken about in artistic, aesthetic, or even philosophical ways, lightness — both of movement and also of communication with horses — is more than an abstract ideal. In many ways, it measures a horse’s current physiological capabilities.

A closer look at the troubling physiology behind this common practice and how to support curiosity and courage in our horses instead.

A daily anxiety for many owners of senior horses is that there may be little time left for the riding and activities they have enjoyed until now. As a horse approaches and then passes the age of 20, good rides start to feel numbered. The swayback, gait irregularities, lack of energy… these outcomes seem to be only a matter of time. And without clear reason to do so, many owners start backing off, easing the horse into retirement. Ironically, this approach usually hastens a horse’s decline instead of delaying it.