This is Lisa Singer's conditioning program for a marathon driving horse which was presented by Lisa at our General Membership meeting in October, 2012.

This program assumes you have already completed the LSD (Long Slow Distance) or “legging up” phase and your horse is almost ready to start stress workouts.  In the first month, just build the horse up driving around, making your trot sessions longer but at this point you don’t need to start timing the trot durations yet.  Do cross-training or discipline-specific training like cones and dressage.  Add in hilly terrain and/or sand footing to start stressing his system.  Add in hazard work if you have access to some; if not, add in cantering, not only straight lines but make turns as if you are in a hazard; Lisa does this at least 5-7 times during the second trot.  Walk at least 10 minutes and then as the duration gets longer, incorporate standing.  Water off if you can, especially if it’s humid.  Don’t forget to condition for the weather!  Do your workouts mid-day when it’s hot but be careful about the humidity level.  On stress days, make sure you are carrying the required weight on the carriage for the marathon phase.  The last stress day workout should be at least one week before the marathon at the show.

Click to download all the details of this conditioning program along with the training schedule table.

Conditioning Training Schedule - After the first month, use this weekly routine to reach your fitness goal (the durations are in minutes).