Do you give your horse a 'holiday'

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Notimetoride

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My horse is in what I would call light but regular work. Schooled for about 3/4 hour about 3 times a week, hacked 30mins to 45mins about twice a week, a lesson once a month and competition every 3 to 4 weeks. We do BD.
I was just wondering if anyone else ever gives their horses a few weeks break from training ? Is it actually beneficial?
 
I used to with my old mare, she'd have a month off somewhere and 2 weeks somewhere else in the year. Current ridden horse spends longer out of work than in work due to various minor ailments and so she does not get given a holiday by me, she gives them to herself!

Not sure how beneficial they are, but not detrimental to mine in any way so that's good enough for me!
 
I always try to give competition horses a break at the end of the season, a break for the rider as much as the horses but they would be working far harder than yours the rest of the time, to my mind doing no more than 45 mins 5 days a week and just one comp a month is very light work and unless you need a break I cannot see why the horse would need one, maybe do a few weeks of hacking to have a change to routine and take a break in winter when it can be hard to be motivated.
 
I gave mine ALL winter 2018 off....
But no not normally as he is just a happy hacker I like him to be fit enough generally to go a decent hack and it helps keep the weight of him
 
Not really, mine tend to be better in regular work - Kira needs to maintain her fitness for the level of work she's doing, and Salty needs to stay focussed :p

I DO try to have spells where we don't go anywhere in the box though, so we are just training at home. Mine are usually out at least once a week (Kira is often out twice) so I do find that they benefit from a consolidation period now and then to just have some quiet time to get on with the work.

ETA both have a similar workload but intensity is quite different! We aim for 3 or 4 schooling days (45 mins, Kira occasionally an hour), 2 hacks, 1 show and/or lesson.
 
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Mine tends to have a bit of time off in the winter, mainly because riding stops being fun during the worst of the weather. I don't know if it does him any good, but it certainly doesn't do any harm.
 
No, never intentionally. I've always found that mine are better in regular consistent work. I was away for a week recently and Mr B went off to my trainer for schooling, he came home softer and more consistent in the contact. she'd also done 4 times on him and worked out a plan to help get me there. If he'd spent a week in the field he would have been fat and really piggy to ride. he doesn't work that hard anyway, he's not exactly a pit pony!
 
If they’ve been competing outdoor HDT then they get mid sept-new year totally off. If they’ve had a busy winter then April and May off. Medium-hard work. Currently being worked about 8 times a week, 6 long reining/lunging/ridden exercise sessions of 45min total, a hard school of approx 1hr total 30min of which is schooling and a timed 15km drive (3min trot, 1min canter, repeated x15 with a 10min break in walk in the middle). It’s his first season so I’d hope to get the fitness with less intensity next year but then knowing my luck he’ll need a school per hack as gone wild! Tbh we need the breaks as much as them! Never have any bother picking the fitness back up again.
 
I do, every winter I'll give mine a couple of months off work completely - mainly because the weathers so rubbish (Dec / Jan usually). I think thry appreciate it as none of mine have ever got stale.
 
I was thinking about this recently after a couple of comments on here re undiagnosed niggles and the benefits of Dr Green - and thinking that in the days when horses were routinely given holidays, maybe many of those little niggles never got the chance to develop into big ones because horses had time to mend all by themselves.

I suppose nowadays horses (a) don't usually work very hard and (b) a lot of people are spending a lot of money keeping them at livery, and rather understandably want to get value for money out of them and (c) we no longer work horses according to seasons - now we have indoor schools and all year round competition, most don't get an obvious off-season.

In the past, horses of mine who have worked very hard (hunters, pointers, jumpers on the summer circuit) have all had holidays - unless they benefited from staying in light work, such as those with arthritis or a weight problem :)
 
Only if I go away! I went on a week's holiday earlier this year & going for another week in September.

Over winter he's only lightly worked to keep ticking over - hacking at weekends and a lunge/schooling session in the week. Weather dependent at times - sometimes he'll have a week or two off if weather is rubbish.

During the Spring/Summer he's in a bit more work, largely as part of our weight watchers regime :D He's ridden most days - usually a day off every 7-10 days depending on my work and how he's feeling.

On an average Spring/Summer week he'll do 1 longer hack between 10-15 miles, 3-4 shorter hacks of 3-8 miles a ride and a flat/polework/jumping/lunge session.

Work/life does & can get in the way - so I'm flexible :)
 
I give my eventer 2 months off in winter. He has extremely thin soles and flat feet so he needs to be barefoot as much as possible to improve them.
2 months holiday with no shoes makes a big difference to him.

He is also much more enthusiastic after a break. He can get a bit fed up when he's in constant work.

I think it's a good opportunity to rest him in case of any little injuries that need rest to repair.
 
Similar to others, generally not but mine tend to be in light ish work and have lighter spells due to weather or hols etc. I think it’s more common for those in intensive work.
 
Yes every horse i have ever owned goes on a 2 week holiday about end of May start of June as its TT Races here and i have to work long hours so they get 2 weeks in the field to do as they please, i do pay a girl to check them daily but for me i am in work 8 am til midnight so not really in a good state to see them
 
Yes in the winter if the weather is unremittingly bad I might not ride for a whole week or even more.

Mine is in light work, likes his work and can become a bit awkward if he doesn't work for any reason - he needs to keep his brain in gear or he forgets his manners and goes a bit feral ;) If he can't be ridden for any reason, he does groundwork just to keep him thinking.

His fieldmate would like 50 weeks' holiday a year however.

I can, however, see the benefits for horses in a strict routine, harder work and with less "down time" to be a horse. I agree with the poster who said earlier that when horses were routinely given a break, it helped solve "niggles" before they became more than that. I also believe that turning away youngsters is beneficial when they have had a lot to learn as they begin their education.

I would never criticise anyone for turning a horse away for a time. My current horse is the first I've experienced who enjoys working so much but, as said earlier, he really doesn't work very hard and gets at least a day off a week. When we turnout after work, we always tell them "there you go, you can have the rest of the day off". If only someone would say that to me after a couple of hours work....
 
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