Hills on your property can be a great training and conditioning tool, and there are various ways to use hills to your advantage when riding and conditioning your horse. Here are a few tips so that you can put hills to work for you.

Keep Safety First

Hills help to condition your horse and develop his muscles in strength, but they are only safe if approached correctly. Hill work can be strenuous on a horse, especially for one that is out of shape. Any time you work on hills with your horse, go slowly and keep your horse’s fitness level in mind. If you are dealing with rocky hills, or hills where the footing is not ideal, then you will need to use caution in the exercises you ask your horse to perform. Booting your horse or wrapping his legs may also be advisable depending on your situation.

Walking Up Hills

Begin with walking your horse up hills. It is best to start with more gradual hills; you can progress to steeper hills as your horse gets fitter. Make sure to have your horse thoroughly warmed up before doing any hill work, and take it at a slow and easy pace at first. As your horse climbs the hill, lean forward into a jumping position just a bit to keep your weight centered above him. Repeat this exercise during your rides for a few weeks to build and strengthen your horse’s muscles.

Pick Up the Pace

Once your horse masters hills at a walk, you can progress to trotting them. These exercises develop the strength of your horse’s legs. When your horse is fit enough to do so, you can cancer or gallop a hill. Galloping a hill is a great way to strengthen your horse’s hind end, but it is also strenuous, so limit the number of times that you do this.

Backing Up a Hill

Rather than riding up a hill, you can also back your horse up a hill. Backing your horse up the incline provided by a hill helps to strengthen his core muscles and can enhance his topline as a result. When beginning this exercise, use only a slight incline and ask your horse just for a few steps backward. Be patient; some horses do not like to back up, and backing uphill requires that a horse use his core and his balance to perform the maneuver. As your horse gets more familiar with the exercise, you can increase its intensity and ask him for more.

Hill work is a great way to round out any conditioning program. It can be easily tailored to a horse’s individual fitness level, and can help your horse gain strength and balance.

Image Source: flickr.com/photos/kaktuslampa/4960079882
Original Source: How to Use Hills to Your Riding Advantage

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