12/09/2025
When you book with us, you’re getting all aspects of healthy conditioning & rehabilitation!
Why is conditioning so important for our equine athletes?
▪️Physical conditioning refers to the body’s long term adaptation to exercise. Our goal is to increase our horses ability to perform. With conditioning, the capacity to exercise is increased and the risks of injury are decreased.
▪️Exercise affects all of the body systems including, respiratory, cardiovascular, muscular and skeletal.
▪️The respiratory system, our lungs and airways, delivers oxygen to the blood and removes carbon dioxide from the body. During exercise the system responds by dilating airways, which reduces resistance and increases airflow. Conditioning increases the elasticity of airways and the integrity of lung and diaphragm tissue.
▪️The cardiovascular system is made up of the heart, veins, arteries and capillaries responsible for sending and removing substances from the bodies tissues. Conditioning increases the mass of the heart, the integrity of the blood vessels and the ability of the heart to pump blood. This means we get more efficient transport to the muscles which aids in increased performance. We also benefit from lower heart rates at a higher level of exercise.
▪️The muscle tissue is responsible for the mechanical process of movement, this means muscle tissue moves the body through a series of contractions and relaxations of muscle fibers. Conditioning increases the availability of substances needed for contraction and relaxation, contraction strength and the coordination of muscles fibers. Through conditioning the results are increased muscle mass, coordination, more blood flow through the muscular tissue and ability to download oxygen from the blood stream.
▪️Skeletal system, we’re talking bones, tendons and ligaments, these provide the framework for movement. Bone strength is associated with bone mass and density, movement naturally causes stress but stress is needed to improve the bone mass and density. Conditioning improves the ability for bone to prepare for and handle stress. Did you know tendon elasticity and strength can decrease with lack of exercise? Conditioning improves cartilage thickness, joint flexibility and lubrication.
⭐️ All of these play a key factor in how our horses perform, without proper exercise and conditioning we are putting our horses at risk of injury and will not achieve our competition goals.
⭐️Did you know 30 days of conditioning on the Aquapacer is equivalent to 60 days of riding?
After 30 days we have created a solid foundation of stabilizing muscles, increased range of motion and cardio.
⭐️Did you know muscles need to be engaged at least 4 days a week to maintain correct fitness?
⭐️Did you know exercising your horse less than 3 times a week causes a huge loss in fitness over the course of 4 weeks?
