Equine Fitness: A Program of Exercises and Routines for Your Horse [Paperback]

I have bought three copies of this book so far: one I gave away to my trainer (who loved it), one to mess with (cut out cards, write notes on, drag out to the barn, etc.), and one to keep on the coffee table for constant reference. Just the chapter and exercises on the horse's neck were, for me, the best and clearest description of how to help build your horse's top line in the most effective, healthy way was worth much more than the price of the book.

I have gained a lot more confidence from Jec's clear, careful explanations and the excellent illustrations, so that I now have a plan when I go out to work with my horses. As winter and rain season approaches, I also now feel like I have exercises I can do even in a very small space, and even if it is too wet to actually ride. I spent the last year working on getting one of my gaited horses to trot, and trot with a good stretched top line and also 'on the bit', but was still struggling until Jec helped put the rest of the pieces together.

Just a few of the specific things I have learned to do in this book include:
How to do a proper warm-up
Vary the workouts throughout the week and month to better "cross-train" my horses for better sustainable fitness
How to strengthen the hind end
The importance of working on getting the correct bend, and tools for helping make it happen
How and why NOT to make the most common mistake of "forcing" contact in a frame the horse is not ready for (and how to evaluate what they ARE ready for)
How to bring a horse back from a vacation or other layoff
How to work the older and/or stiffer horse
But mainly, I now have a much deeper understanding and rich toolset for helping my horses become better athletes in a way that is sustainable, healthy and feels good for both horse and rider.

I have Icelandic horses -- all gaited -- and though this book does not address specific development of gaited horses, everything in it is exactly what my horses need to work better in all gaits, and especially to enhance their "special" gaits (tolt and flying pace).

What the book does NOT address (or try to) is rider performance and fitness. So, that needs to
be the next book please! Because as wonderful as the book is, it is clear that some of what horses need to become better athletes is simply for us to become better riders.
Overall, this is the best money I have spent on a horse book... all three times!

Jec Ballou has written a Masterpiece work which is a cummulation of her studies, experience, equine knowledge, and love and respect for this wonderful animal. This book is a must for anyone, from beginner to experienced level, and will assist greatly in achieving a balanced, healthy horse who enjoys his/her work, and will enjoy years of soundness and athletic performance that can only come from a proper foundation. I found that the way she has written the book, the application of her program can be implemented at any stage, whether you are just starting a youngster, want to purify the movements of your horse, or keep your senior companion sound and willing. The pull out cards that you can take with you while working are great, too. I want to buy a second one just to save for my library.

The exercises are useful and Ballou makes plenty of good points.

On the other hand, she doesn't provide any sources (only a "resources" section, which is not the same thing). It would seem the majority of the knowledge that she shares here is more traditional than scientific, despite repeatedly telling you what is shown by studies she does not cite. This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine when authors insist on saying "studies show" fairly often and write as though they are operating on scientific knowledge. If you're going to talk about what studies show, you need to cite the studies doing the showing.

For example, parts of the "cooling down" section I know are factually incorrect as I've attended veterinary seminars that discuss this very topic by researchers whose whole careers are dedicated to studying equine fitness.

The idea that in order to cool down a horse you have to cool down the blood should appear false on its face when you actually take a moment to consider it. The horse's blood isn't creating heat--the muscles are. So cooling down a horse's blood isn't going to cool down your horse if the muscles are still creating heat. Where Ballou recommends using "tepid water" only on specific parts of the horse's body, applying cold water to the horse's entire body is actually more effective as it cools the source of the heat--the muscles--which is really what you ought to be cooling down anyway. Stiffness and a build-up of lactic acid should not be your primary concern if you're exercising your horse on a hot day--heatstroke and dehydration should be. In that case, cooling the horse's muscles down ASAP should be your number one priority, and cold water is the best way to do that.

Ballou also recommends trotting a horse to cool down, which has been shown not to cool down a horse at all for reasons that should be evident--you're still working the horse's muscles, so their muscles are going to continue to produce more heat (and more lactic acid, for that matter). Walking to cool down is a better option, as that will in reality contribute to a great decrease in the amount of heat and lactic acid produced by the horse's muscles.

This isn't a terrible book, and as I said, Ballou does make some good points for the layperson and the exercises are great to give you ideas. But I would caution readers to take what she has to say with a grain of salt as Ballou is a dressage trainer, not a veterinarian, and does not cite her sources when discussing the more scientific aspects of equine fitness, which throws many of her conclusions into doubt.