Riders moving from M to Z notice that individual exercises are no longer enough on their own. The difference lies in the week as a whole: how technique, fitness, suppling, and rest relate to each other. This guide shows how to structure a training week and adjust it around competitions.
Start With the Building Blocks, Not the Days
A training week is a division across four types of work. The ratio matters more than which day you do what on.
| Building Block | Purpose | Share of a Normal Week |
|---|---|---|
| Technique / collection | Lessons, exercises, more advanced movements | 30–40% |
| Fitness / cardio | Canter work, trail rides, intervals | 20–30% |
| Suppling / looseness | Walking, long rein, cavaletti, lunging | 20–30% |
| Rest / active recovery | Turnout, hand-walking, a day off | at least one full day |
The mistake many riders make at this level: almost every ride turns into a lesson ride. The horse gets stronger in the exercises but becomes mentally and physically dulled. A Z-level horse needs days where it simply loosens up or builds fitness just as much as any other horse does.
A Sample Week Without a Competition
The schedule below assumes six working days and one day off. Adjust it to your horse's age, temperament, and health — a 6-year-old tolerates less demanding work than an experienced 12-year-old.
| Day | Content | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Day off (turnout) or hand-walking | Rest |
| Tuesday | Technique ride: lesson or the harder movements on your own | High |
| Wednesday | Suppleness: cavaletti, long rein, stretching | Low–medium |
| Thursday | Fitness: canter training or a solid trail ride | Medium–high |
| Friday | Technique ride, shorter than Tuesday | Medium |
| Saturday | Loosening / light exercises, lunging if needed | Low |
| Sunday | Trail ride or a relaxed arena session, mentally out of the ring | Low–medium |
Avoid two hard technique days in a row: between two high-intensity stimuli there should be at least one lighter day. That principle — hard, then light — is the core of training progression.
The Walk Work You're Skipping
At the M-Z level, loosening up often gets rushed. Yet it's the foundation under everything more demanding.
- Start every ride with at least 10–15 minutes of walking on a long rein before you ask for anything. Tendons and joints need that time.
- Build your cool-down just as seriously: five to ten minutes of walking until the breathing is calm.
- Schedule separate suppling days. A ride where you focus only on suppleness and bend, without the hardest movements, does more for the quality of your tests than an extra schooling ride.
Don't underestimate walking as fitness training. Long, purposeful walking, including out in the countryside, builds basic stamina without loading the joints.
Periodization: The Weeks Before a Competition
Periodization means spreading your training load in waves over time instead of doing the same thing every week. Around a competition date, you work toward a peak and then taper off again afterward.
A workable build-up toward a competition looks roughly like this:
- Three to four weeks before — build-up phase. Highest technique load, bringing fitness up to standard, targeted practice on small faults in the test (a set exercise you ride for the judge). This is the heaviest period.
- The week before — sharpening (taper). Volume down, sharpness maintained. Short, quality rides instead of long ones. The horse needs to arrive at the start fresh, not tired.
- Two to three days before — quiet. Loosening up, running through the test in sections once, otherwise rest. Don't train hard the day before the competition; it gains you nothing and risks injury.
- The days after — recovery. One to two days of active recovery: walking, turnout, a light trail ride. Only build back up after that.
Riders who compete every week can't run a full build-up each time. In that case, choose which competitions are your targets and treat the starts in between as training, with less pressure around them.
How to Keep an Eye on the Workload
A horse can't tell you when it's too much. You read it from signals that you have to track yourself:
- Recovery after work: how quickly does the breathing settle? Slower recovery over several days points to overload.
- Attitude and eagerness: a horse that becomes more listless, feels stiffer, or is harder to move forward is asking for more rest, not more work.
- Appetite and weight: eating less or losing weight at an unchanged workload is a warning sign.
- Checking the walk and trot: regularly have the movement assessed loose by your instructor or, if you're unsure about stiffness or irregularity, by the vet.
Keep a simple log: which day, what work, how the horse felt. After a few weeks you'll see patterns that you miss in the moment.
In Short
- Think in building blocks — technique, fitness, suppleness, rest — and guard the ratio, not just the daily schedule.
- Alternate hard and light days; never two high-intensity technique days back to back.
- Take suppling and walking seriously; it's the foundation under the demanding work.
- Periodize around competitions: building up, sharpening, resting, recovering.
- Keep an eye on the workload through recovery, attitude, and appetite, and call in the vet if you're unsure about stiffness or lameness.
A training week isn't a fixed schedule you draw up once. It's a rhythm that moves with your horse's fitness and the competitions on the calendar. Discuss your setup with your instructor and adjust it based on what your horse shows you.
See also: Is your horse ready to progress to the next level · Managing competition pressure · Glossary for this level