Hey, Tamara here from The Sweaty Equestrian, where we explore optimal performance for distance riders.

The endurance riding off-season is a strange beast.

For some, it’s a welcome opportunity to engage in other activities. For years, I skied all winter and rode all summer. It was a nice mental break combined with a different sort of physical challenge.

Others enjoy taking the time to let themselves and their horses relax and recoup from the hustle of competition. And indeed, extended rest can be important for letting potential overuse injuries heal. We can also benefit from more time to spend with family or some good books.

And then there are the riders who chafe as the months drag on, and it feels like they’ll never be able to get back in the saddle.

No matter which bucket you fall into, there’s almost certainly more you could be doing to leverage the endurance off-season. What if, instead of just recreation time or down time or wasted time, the off-season could become your unfair advantage?

Today, we’re going to consider some practical ways you can make the off-season work for you.

First, let’s talk about using time now so it’s freed up later.

You know how, when you first start conditioning for the year or begin packing for the first ride in a while, you’re all excited to get going and – wham! – you run into roadblocks:

The spare tire is flat. You forgot to order a new helmet. Oh, and the buckle on that bridle brok, didn’t it? And ewww, I think these snacks in the LQ looked good last October…

You know what I mean. So you end up annoyed, spending perfectly good riding time doing things that you could have done in the off-season.

So, what kinds of things could you do?

Truck and trailer maintenance. Check those tires (including the spares). Top up fluids. Change the oil. Check your trailer floor under the mats. Fix broken hinges, screens, worn seals, burnt-out lightbulbs…those nagging things you ignored last season but have time for now. If something needs professional attention, great! It can sit in the shop for a week or two without disrupting your conditioning plans.

How about tack maintenance? The off-season is a perfect time to go over all your tack. Check for corrosion and wear, and make the necessary repairs or replacements. If you need new stuff – perhaps a saddle pad or hoof boots? – you can order it now and not stress over shipping times. If your tack was hurting you last season, use your off months to figure it out so you can be more comfortable next year.

You probably also have routine cleanup to do. Are your saddlebags still stuffed with mystery globs of granola and used Kleenex? Have you refreshed the toiletries and medications that live in your LQ? How about washing the sheets, towels, and horse blankets? Seriously, who wants to deal with washing horse blankets at the height of ride season? Do you need to order more electrolytes or liniment? You can do that now.

You can also get ahead on your horse’s annual care. Dentals and vaccines might put your horse off the riding calendar for a few days, so why not do them when you’re riding less anyway. If you had some soundness or nutrition issues last year, maybe get a vet’s evaluation so you have time to deal with corrections before it’s time to get serious about conditioning. While you’re there, get that annual Coggins out of the way.

So you see what we’re doing here. We’re looking for things that need to be done, and can also be done now instead of later, when we’d rather use the time for conditioning and competing.

Another thing you can do to make the off-season your unfair advantage is problem-solve. During a webinar a couple years ago, the good folks at the Old Dominion Equestrian Endurance Organization recommended taking some time to think hard about what caused you stress during the previous ride season.

Really, stop and think: Was it…

Controlling your horse at the start? Nagging tack rubs (on horse or human)? Towing your trailer? Worrying that your horse will escape his confinement in ride camp? Lack of confidence or comfort with your camping gear?

Once you identify the exact things that stressed you out last year, you can use your off-season to work on them. Seriously, get someone to help you practice backing your trailer in tight spaces or lighting your camp stove. Train some new “buttons” into your horse to help with control. Experiment with a different kind of ride camp confinement. All this will make next year more fun. Less stressful equals more successful!

You can also use the off-season to power up your own fitness. This might mean getting your cardiovascular fitness up to par so you don’t get as tired during long rides. It might mean dialing in your nutrition to lose weight. It might mean focusing on your PT exercises to get past nagging injuries. It might mean targeting specific muscle imbalances or weakness that leads to compensation and pain in the saddle.

The thing about physical change is that it takes time – a safe, smart fitness progression will typically take at least 8-12 weeks to really start showing up in your daily life. Why not start now, while you have more time in the day AND enough months ahead to feel the difference during the ride season? Working on your own fitness is one of the biggest ways you can turn your off-season into an unfair advantage!

You can also work on the other half of your partnership: your horse! What if you buck up and ride when other people won’t?

If you’re dealing with cold weather, slick footing, and short daylight hours, get creative!

There’s an old saying among outdoor adventurers that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.” I won’t say that’s 100% true, but good gear really will get you a long way toward comfortable riding in wet or frigid weather.

Get ahold of warm riding tights, perhaps in a wind-proof fabric. Consider putting a riding skirt over the top. Wear a snug base layer with a high neck, topped with mid-weight layers and a Goretex shell. Ideally, use items you can unzip so as not to get sweaty and then chilled.

I like to ride in gear made for other outdoor adventure sports. Clothing cut for activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and cycling tends to work well for riding. It is often higher quality than most equestrian-specific brands, sometimes less expensive, and much easier to find secondhand. Hit up your local outdoor gear consignment shop for deals on quality brands like Marmot, Mammut, Outdoor Research, Rab, and Patagonia.

To get around slick footing, see if you can find a long, gravel road or some sand. Even if you just walk in deep sand or snow, that can be a fantastic workout!

Or, see if you can locate an arena. I know, I know. A lot of endurance riders cringe at the thought of arena work, but I think that’s often due to boredom for lack of a clear goal. Maybe you can work with an instructor, or get ahold of a program that’ll elevate both your and your horse’s skills in a systematic way instead of just doing a few circles and wondering what to do next.

Even if you have nothing but a tiny wedge of dry(ish) dirt under a run-in, you can still work on your unfair advantage by teaching your horse stretches and practicing equine massage. As a side benefit, working with your horse in stormy weather will make you much more comfortable when you inevitably wake up to sideways rain on the day of a 50, because you’ll be accustomed to handling your horse when he has that additional mental or emotional challenge.

As for the daylight hours…well, maybe this is your year to get comfortable riding in the dark. (Hey, if you want to ride 100’s, you need to do this anyway!) Try easing into it by starting at sundown and letting the light fade as you ride. Choose a familiar trail without hazards like traffic, barbed wire, or cattle guards. And, it’s fine to stick with a walk until you’re comfortable trusting your horse to trot.

If your off-season is super hot rather than cold, you can use night riding, too! You can also re-frame your off-seasoning work as an opportunity to work on heat acclimation.

Choosing to ride when other people won’t offers more than just training and conditioning for your horse. It can also change your brain.

Running coach Greg McMillan explains that our brains have a massive amount of influence on our bodies. When they feel threatened (like by discomfort and intense effort), our brains sent fatigue signals to our bodies.

This makes sense, right? Evolutionarily speaking, our brains are not interested in completing endurance rides; they are interested in keeping us alive. However, we can train our brains to respond differently to suffering.

Our brains get more comfortable with (appropriate) suffering through consistent exposure to challenging experiences.

McMillan suggests that we endurance athletes gradually increase our exposure to suffering. One to three weekly exposures to hard things – like riding in the rain — will get our brains familiar with discomfort, and then our brains will stop sending frantic “stop” signals to the body when the going gets rough. Cool, right?

So, what are the takeaways here?

First, look for tasks you can do now so you don’t have to do them later. These can be the big, time-consuming things as well as little things (like having your dewormers for the year in stock) that will make you say “whew, I’m glad that’s done” when you’re super busy during ride season.

Take a walk through or your tack room, vehicle, trailer, and camping gear. Where is maintenance or clean-up needed? How about your horse? Can you book him for some routine veterinary care? Maybe even bloodwork to check in on his nutrition? Ooh, and have you sent in your hay for testing lately?

Make a list, and start checking items off. I guarantee it’ll keep you entertained for more than just a weekend!

Next, settle down with a mug of your favorite brew. Close your eyes, and think back to last season. Dig past the happy memories of triumphant finishes and really face the ugly parts. Did you spend two hours getting your horse in the trailer? Struggle to get on because he was spinning in circles? Lose sleep over whether you could fill your tank without taking out the fuel pump with your big trailer?

Identify those stressors, then form concrete plans for eliminating them…now, in the off-season, before you find yourself just miserably pushing through again.

Also, get into the habit of working out. Lay that foundation for strong, comfortable riding next year. Do the cardio. Do the strength training. Do the mobility work. If you don’t know what to do, visit my website! (there’s a link in the show notes) But do make fitness a habit, because it’ll pay off big time when ride season rolls around.

Finally, consider riding when other people won’t. Toughen your horse, your confidence, and your brain by putting in the miles even when it’s uncomfortable.

One last thing: Take some time to dream. Plan out your upcoming ride season so you know when to condition hard and when to build in rest. Strategize a Plan B in the event Plan A doesn’t quite pan out. Having an idea of where you’re going will help motivate you to crawl out from under that blanket and get a head start on your endurance year.

Turn your off-season into an unfair advantage, and go optimize your endurance riding!