Horse and Rider Fitness is an excellent book to own for every rider. Linda J Purves is a qualified Personal Fitness Trainer, Sports Therapist, Sports Coach and BHSII with over 20 years experience within the equine industry.This is the ultimate guide on fitness and flexibility for both horse and rider with easy to follow exercises which are clearly illustrated by photographs throughout the book.
The step-by-step exercises for both horse and rider are simple, easy to follow and ideal for today's busy horse owners. The exercises can be done on the yard which makes keeping fit enjoyable and can be done in about 15
minutes. It covers all levels of fitness - Riding School, Dressage, Show Jumping, Eventing, Endurance and Polo.
There is a chapter on base fitness for horse and rider with an easy to follow six-week plan which is accompanied
by case studies for each level of fitness. There are also sections on how to personalise your training programme,
injury prevention and cross training which includes many aerobic exercises which can be added to your training programme to make it more versatile. There is an interesting chapter on food and how to fuel yours and your horse's body with advice on diet and how to improve hydration.
Overall this book is an excellent way of keeping you and our horse fit, flexible and healthy with easy to follow exercises and a section on how to have fun with your horse whilst following your own personal training plan. I am currently following a training programme from this book and would highly recommend it to riders and horse owners. A must for any rider!
Christine Davies
BHS Stage 2 and NVQ 2,
Yale College