Competing/Training while my horse is on working livery

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Honey91

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Would you?

I've just moved my 14.2 10 year old girl to an agricultural college, to be on working livery there. This will include her being in lessons for up to 3 hours a day on weekdays, although I have been told that this is often light work, and is not normally more likely to be 2 hours. This is during term-time, and then they get the holidays off.

Ideally, I'd rider her on weekends for lessons, clinics and hopefully the odd show (dressage and showjumping during term-time). She has always been at her best when she's exercised more, and seems happier when in more work. However, I'm slightly worried that this may all be a bit much.

I would love some advice! Particularly if anyone else has been in a similar situation.

Thanks in advance!
 
Honey91 said:
Would you?

I've just moved my 14.2 10 year old girl to an agricultural college, to be on working livery there. This will include her being in lessons for up to 3 hours a day on weekdays, although I have been told that this is often light work, and is not normally more likely to be 2 hours. This is during term-time, and then they get the holidays off.

Ideally, I'd rider her on weekends for lessons, clinics and hopefully the odd show (dressage and showjumping during term-time). She has always been at her best when she's exercised more, and seems happier when in more work. However, I'm slightly worried that this may all be a bit much.

I would love some advice! Particularly if anyone else has been in a similar situation.

Thanks in advance!
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It's really going to depend on how she copes and the quality of management and instruction.

I've had horses working in a school, doing 2 lessons a day, possibly 3 on Sat, but impeccably managed, that could go out and be competitive in recognised (affiliated) competition. BUT the whole program has to reflect that end. I'm not frantic about horses getting massive numbers of days off and it think lots of slow work is very beneficial for most, but they do need easy days and careful management, and if she's out every day with you that she's not working in the school, then that might get a bit much. You will have to see.
 
Thanks Tarrsteps, really nice to know you managed! I know I'm definitely going to have to play it by ear a little bit, and let her get used to her new lifestyle. I've usually had the opposite problem with her not getting enough work.

I think the yard seems really well managed, and for the first few weeks she will only be ridden by staff so they can assess what sort of work she's suited to, and so she can settle in properly!
 
When I was at Moreton morrell they had a loan scheme where students picked a horse to care for and in return got to ride the horse in competitions and at weekends. This worked well, the horses never suffered for it. On the whole though most would compete one day and hack the next or have a day off. So similar set up to yours. Each horse is different, but I can't see why you can't compete her, personally I wouldn't do both days if she's working all week, but if she's not getting much, if any, turnout the exercise is beneficial.
 
Thanks Ella, yes, that's what I thought, I can plan to hack one day and have a lesson/compete the other. She's going to be in during the week, then they all go out on the weekends (although at the moment they can't because the fields are too soggy). Thanks!
 
I had my girl on WL when I was at college with her, the three hours a day is normally one ridden and two inhand/management type.

I used to ride her myself during the week (they had up a board of the timetables and what/when they were being used) and compete at weekends, it was never too much for her and she thrived on it.
 
I had my lad on working livery whilst I was at uni. I treated his lessons (he generally worked about 5 hours a week, some days more hours than others) as 'exercise', and I did the schooling/fittening/fast work myself. I had to work around his lesson days so as not to over work him on those days, and he got one day off a week for recovery, but he managed absolutely fine to compete with me as well.

We would only compete an average of once a month - when I was busy in term time we did less, and in my holidays we did more. But I think crucially he enjoyed the atmosphere of the RS, and loved having less experienced riders on as he could do things 'his way'. I made sure he was bitted differently for students and he could take a minute to get back in gear, but otherwise fine.

What makes it tricky is that often comps are weekends, which is when many RS's are busiest. So I had to book him off well in advance during the year, and over the six week summer from the RS, he competed more with me.

I will warn you though that once on working livery, the RS often manages your horse how THEY want it, so control can be an issue, but otherwise it works well.
 
Thanks everyone!

That's a really good point about bitting - I may need to look into that! I'm hoping my pony will suit it because she loves being busy. I'll definitely need to be organised about booking schools and things though..

Also, I'm lucky, because it's a College all their lessons are on weekdays, and then weekends they have off :)
 
I think this is going to depend on how she copes with it all - and how she copes with being on a big busy yard. I had my horse on working livery on a college yard, but I was working there at the time, and so I was there every single day to oversee what he was doing, and also because he had competition history, only the better riders were allowed to ride him. He loved being on a big busy yard, and loved the huge range of people that used to walk past his door and make a fuss of him.

For my horse, it helped us no end, and our results were much improved as a result.

I would just see how she goes - don't plan anything to start with, and play it by ear :)
 
I would say ditto to "Abbeygale"'s post above.

My boy was at a college on working livery; and the "three sessions per day" where the college use the horse may be something like "Session 1 - grooming/trimming"; "Session 2 - ridden work"; "Session 3 - lunging" or similar. So the horse wouldn't be ridden for EVERY session.

Mine was used for lessons during the week, and some evenings for BHS courses. He was normally free at weekends, and I went to the college and rode him every Saturday and Sunday, and also on one weekday during the week when he was free, just quiet hacks rather than competing, tho' we did do a few Pleasure Rides & some TREC whilst he was at college.

Think you will have to see and play it by ear. Sometimes college horses just NEED their weekends free - although turnout is likely to be a very rare commodity TBH at ANY college let alone with the weather we've had lately.

I have to say that mares seemed to cope less well with being in a busy college yard; but then again yours might just thrive on it, in which case it would be an awful shame to have her liveried at a place where there will inevitably be mega opportunities to compete with stuff going on etc., and then not do so!!!

But think you'll have to see how things go. Why not have a word with the staff as they'll have a very good idea of what she'll be able to deal with?
 
My mare is on working livery at a riding school and I compete in SJ and dressage, with the occasional mini xc, at weekends. Probably works out at about 1 show a month, possibly slightly more, during the season. We only do one class in dressage because she stops paying attention if I try to do two, and I restrict our jumping to two classes, ie 4 rounds. She copes fine with it. Mondays are effectively a rest day, so she gets some time off after the show.
 
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