Groundwork: Exercise for You and Your Horse:
I discuss the fitness journey I have begun with my horses to regain our fitness, and how groundwork has strengthened my bond with my horses over the years. I also discuss my goals for myself and my horses, and how I plan my trainings with my horses to involve both their fitness and mine.
Let's connect:
email: [email protected] (temporary email website to come soon!)
Facebook: Hacking Rider Fitness
Transcript:
Leah Sparrow:Wow, that's a really good trail horse. She went with you and pulled that log out of the way. She stood there and waited for you to move the brush. You sat on her back and pulled a branch down out of the trees and she did nothing. That's because of the trust that was developed on the ground. That's because she learned to trust me on the ground. That's why groundwork is so important. You will not believe the amount of... I can't explain it, the amount of trust that's developed, the bond, it's absolutely incredible when you work with your horses on the ground.
Welcome to the hacking rider fitness podcast. I'm Leah Sparrow and all I want to do is ride my horses. Being over 50 can be tough enough, but when you have to lose weight, run a business, deal with a chronic disease, Crohn's disease for me, cope with living alone in an empty nest. And on top of that, ride two amazing horses, it's downright overwhelming at times. I decided to share my journey. My goal is to lose 70 pounds and become the best version of myself. It's in progress, but I'm doing it. By sharing my ups and downs and how I achieve my goals, I hope to empower you and help you ride your horses because they are why we are here, and they are our passion.
Today, I want to talk about working out with your horse. So many people believe that they need to have their horse inside of a ring or inside of a round pen in order to lunge them so to speak. Now, this is how I work out with my horses, and quite frankly, my horses follow me everywhere, I don't tie them up very often, although they can be tied, but the reason why I don't tie them up very often is because A, I like to walk more so that I can exercise while working with my horses. For example, when they're in the pasture, they usually come up to where the shelter is, the shed, the lean to where they eat and where they get brushed, and I brushed them there. And what it's created by not tying them, I used to have the halter and lead rope at least.
And then I would just step on the lead rope to stop them from walking away and say, "Whoa," or I would hold onto the lead. But as time went on and as my training was conducted while brushing them, and there was no intent in this, I was not intent on being able to rush, saddle, spray, clip, do their hooves or anything like that without having a halter on them, it just happened this way over time, and it takes time to get them to that point. But anyway, when they come up, I call them to me. Now I can call them at any time, not just during dinner time when they want to come in, but anytime in, anywhere in the pasture, I can call them, they will come to me. And this is because of the relationship I developed with my horses on the ground.
It's really important to develop your relationship with your horses on the ground. If all you ever do is come out, stick them in the cross ties or tie them to a hitching post or whatever, and throw a saddle on their back after brushing them, or in some cases, some people don't even brush them before they put the saddle on, but that's for a whole different podcast. Then you get on their back and you take them for a ride, you bring them back, you take the saddle off, you rinse them off or brush them down or whatever, and let them go back out the paddock. You had a wonderful time on the trail riding them, yes. There may have been moments where they spooked, there've bee
