Before you ride..Do you?

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No, because horses are designed to eat grass/fibre constantly. They are not like people. I compete in endurance (up to 160k) and I feed my horse continuously during a long ride. Gut sounds are checked at every vet gate because horses guts are meant to be constantly digesting food - if they are depressed it is a sign of trouble.
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That's interesting. But would you still rest them after a hard feed?
 
Endurance riders on long rides tend to let their horses pick at whatever they fancy at crew points. You often see horses in the hold areas with a selection of different forages and feeds as getting something inside of them to keep the gut moving is very important.

They also tend to have selections of drinks such as water, sugar beet water or water with apple juice to encourage them to take on plenty of fluid.
 
I wouldn't ride fast after a hard feed if it was grain/cereal based. I tend to rely on fibre and oil as the basis of my horses diet. I also have a little routine called 'warming up'
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I wouldn't just get on a horse and set off at a canter!
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I wouldn't ride fast after a hard feed if it was grain/cereal based. I tend to rely on fibre and oil as the basis of my horses diet. I also have a little routine called 'warming up'
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I wouldn't just get on a horse and set off at a canter!
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think we would all warm up
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Unless they've had a hrad feed then I get on and irde.

Incidentally I chauffeured a horse for a pro to ride four dressage tests on, each an hour apart. As it's not my horse and I don't know it's routine I asked what he wanted done with it in between times - bridle off, offer water, bung it back on the lorry and give it a haynet, unload 20 minutes before test and warm it up.
 
No, its often 7am or 8pm anyway so quick flick off chuck tack on and go. 6 days a week with no probs

I wouldn't even if I had more time in my life and have never really known anyone who does.
 
I'm really interested by the amount of people who do rest when coming off grass before riding, as i've never known anyone do so before. I'm normally catch, tack on, go.
If i'm feeding a hard feed i always do so roughly 2 hours before hand but other than that she gets ridden straight a way whether she's been scoffing hay or out munching grass.
 
I'm the same as most, in from field, groom and tack up and off we go...... always leave an hour after hard feed tho!

An old yard owner and her sister always used to feed, tack up and ride straight away!!!! But they never seemed to have any problems?????
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I will hack straight from grass but if I want to school I like them in for a couple of hours, if only to deflate. As someone else says, I sometimes find they can be a bit stuffy to work straight off grass. I like mine in, with a bit of soaked hay, to deflate for a while.

I wouldn't feed hard feed before exercising but have no problem with them having some chaff or something like that, as it's just dry grass really anyway.
 
Nope, straight in. They're not people, and they're built to be eating and digesting and moving about. Hello Mr Wolf, would you mind not chasing me please, because I've just eaten?
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Then again, I don't feed any hard feed.
 
I bring mine straight in, tack up and ride, so he gets about 15 mins 'rest'. He's out 24/7, so *shouldn't* be stuffing himself (although he does). He's not the most energetic of horses at home anyway. If I tried to bring him in it would cause more problems than it would solve.... he usually refuses to go in the stable if its not teatime, and then once he has been persuaded in with a lunge whip he will kick the door and generally throw a tantrum if left. I can't leave him tied up outside stable, as he will again throw a tantrum if left for too long. When I tack up, I will leave him standing like a donkey untied while I go in and out of house, and he won't move a muscle, but if he gets the impression he's being ignored he gets stroppy. So on the whole, I think its better all round if I just drag him out the field and ride!
 
No, I bring mine in and he stands for maybe 10 mins while I groom and tack up then I ride as normal. I see no point at all in leaving them in for a while first - in the wild they are designed to take flight straight from grazing! The only thing I dont do is at an event, let the horse munch grass between the SJ and XC (only hay). Just because I dont like the thought of a possibly gassy tum when galloping about.
 
I have always rested them for about an hour after grass and am surprised to read this post and find most people don’t rest them.

All of the people on the yard also rest after grass.
 
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