Peak performance

Training up and downhill can bring all-round benefits for the equine athlete, as Liz Brown MRCVS explains

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HILLWORK is beneficial for horses across a range of disciplines.

Working on a gradient boosts cardiovascular fitness, and musculoskeletal strength and conditioning; it also helps enhance a horse’s balance and the body awareness known as proprioception. Hillwork can be incorporated into hacking or carried out over grass fields and turf or all-weather gallops and may include long, slow distance work and faster canter or gallop work – both of which are required for optimum fitness.

A horse moving uphill is working against gravity, which increases exercise intensity. It takes more effort for the horse to travel the same distance up a slope than on the flat, so slow hillwork can be better for building muscle strength.

Cardiac output is also increased during hillwork, as greater blood flow is necessary to supply oxygen to these harderworking muscles. Cardiovascular fitness is improved by increasing the efficiency of the heart and the circulation and by an improved aerobic capacity, due to adaptations in the muscle and cardiovascular systems. However, there is virtually no increase in the capacity of the lungs and ventilatory system as a result of training.

Strength and conditioning is important in all disciplines. An event horse going across country does not rely purely on cardiovascular fitness; he must stay in balance over the twists and turns in preparation for the fences and when jumping, landing and moving away.

Similarly, a three-year-old running in the Derby is tested not only by the speed of the race, but by the unique changes in camber and the undulating terrain at Epsom, so he will need strength and balance to maintain his position.