Horses have five hundred muscles throughout their body in three separate layers. Add that to an average of one thousand pounds per horse and you are considering a major undertaking in trying to bring this massive creature to a certain level of fitness. Ligaments, tendons and muscles are connected and are attached to bone. All of them make up a symphony of parts that must be fine tuned as one. This means that we cannot focus on just the muscle but all of its counterparts. A healthy muscle attached to fragile bone or ligaments and tendons attached to malnourished or overworked depleted muscle is not going to get your horse to the athletic level that you desire. Having said that, nutrition is the very first consideration in helping your horse in becoming fit. Secondary to nutrition is of course, exercise. Having your horse properly shod will make a major difference in your horses’ performance and then making sure your horse is being schooled over the correct type of terrain. Your basic show horses are usually schooled and shown in a large ring with shallow sandy soil anabolic pharma USA. Eventing horses are shown in the ring but also jump cross country and usually are traveling on uneven grass, not to mention the fine tuned dressage moves that are specific and demanding, asking your horse to perform very difficult maneuvers. Racing horses are traveling over a much deeper but softer track in order to minimize the amount of return trauma sent back through the body after hitting the ground at tremendous speeds. Why am I mentioning shoeing and terrain? Like all other things with horses, the demands that we put upon our horses must be fitted with the actual type of ground that they travel on. You cannot train a race horse successfully for a long period of time on shallow hard dirt. Nor can you train a dressage horse on a deep race track without causing problems along the way. So, matching the correct surface that your horse travels over during their rigors is extremely important in helping them to reach the fitness level desired as well as helping them to stay sound. Different disciplines should be matched with the proper terrain to that discipline in order to achieve the maximum quality results.
The very first part of determining your horse’s level of fitness is by sight. Stand in front of your horse looking straight down both sides of the horse. You should not see a bulging stomach. You should see a nicely rounded shoulder and not a pointy shoulder. Go to the side of your horse and stand back and get a good view of the whole horse. Taking into consideration the confirmation faults of your horse, first look at your horse in sections and then as a whole. Start with the throat latch that should look defined with no extra fat in that area, moving onto the crest of the neck looking for extra fat. Now look at the center of the neck. It should be full but not too full, showing some definition of the muscles. Take into consideration of whether you are looking at a filly or a mare, a colt or a gelding or an older horse that is perhaps beyond his or her prime. As you start to look at the shoulder, there should not be too much of an indentation where the neck meets the shoulder, there should be a smooth connection that does not look depleted. The shoulder should have muscular definition, looking full and strong. Look at your horses’ withers. This is more difficult with some horses such a Quarter Horses of whom usually have a smaller undefined wither. There should not be too much fat over the withers nor should you have withers that are too bony and distinct. Moving onto the sides of your horse, you should see ribs that have a smooth appearance and no ribs showing. When your horse moves, it is OK to see a hint of the rib, but not ribs that are very defined. Now look at the horses’ flanks. They should not be hollowed out and should also be smooth as the hips of the horse should be rounded the same as the point of the shoulder. Look at the horses’ back. Is should show some muscle on either side of the spine and the spine should not be sticking up in a point nor should it be too flat from too much fat on the body. Moving onto the croup or rump, again, you should not see any bones sticking up or out. The muscles from the back should smooth out over the hips down to the tail. Look at the size of the stifles and gaskin muscles as well as the gluteal muscles which are on either side of the tail. These three different muscle groups should show fullness, strength and definition.
If you are just about to begin your fitness regime or any other good healthy habits, then you might come across different exciting products to get you started the correct way. Many of us start by working towards our fitness objectives by enrolling at gyms, which can be quite expensive. Maybe we go there for a few months before realizing that the gym environment is not so enjoyable, or maybe our hectic work schedule would not allow us to spare adequate time to really take benefit from our gym membership. Undesirably, for many of us, the gym memberships would not even last for a year. However, it means that we have to pay the membership fees even if we are not getting the desired results of participating in that fitness training program. Therefore, it makes no sense to enroll for a gym membership which is going to end up costing more than it’s worth. Why not set up a fitness gym right at home?
A home gym can be lot more fun and effectual than performing workouts in a fitness club. The major benefit of a home workout program is that you will not have to wait for using the fitness equipments and machines that you want to. In a fitness club, you will have to wait for your turn to use treadmills, stationary cycles, and other gym equipments, till they become available. Do you think you have ample time for that? Subsequently, if you opt for a home fitness gym, you will not have to wait for your turn. You will never have to wait to use the fitness equipments that you want to.
When exercising at home, it can be fun as you will be able to do it anytime as per your convenience. Moreover, you will not need driving to your fitness club, and workout in the comfort and privacy of your home. In a fitness club, there would be many members that are visiting at a specific time. You will have to wait for long till you get to use particular fitness equipment. However, if you have your own home gym, you are the sole user of your fitness equipments and machines. You can exercise as and when you feel like, maybe in the morning, or in the evening. You can also enjoy working out even on weekends. The best thing is that your home gym will be open even on holidays.