do your horses have a routine?

Genie has a routine but it's flexible... She'll be ridden/turned out in the morning, I usually get to the yard at about 8.30am, but sometimes as late as 9.30am. Then in the evening she'll be brought in and fed, put to bed etc. However on a Monday I can't get to the yard til about 10 due to work, so somebody will put a haynet in for me. She doesn't seem bothered by not having a strict daily to-the-minute routine.
 
I have a sort of routine but it is more for my convenience and depends on when it gets dark. I am not obsessive about it though.

I remember reading an article some years ago (I think it was Mark Todd) saying that he does NOT follow a strict routine as it could be more upsetting for te competition horses if they expect a feed at a certain time but are unable to have it due to start times, etc. Made a lot of sense to me.
 
see i think, as long as they know they WILL get worked enough, turned out and fed, you have a routine and they are happy.
those that get left without being worked, or are the only ones not fed or turned out when the rest of the yard is, will get upset.
if mine get left in for the farrier, they dont stress, they have been fed and have a net. they go out later! and they have been worked to let off steam in the last 24-48hours!
youngsters have to learn to fit in, but we make life easier for them while they do!
 
Yes mine have a routine and I think they are happier for it. I moved to a yard where there was no routine and one of my horses was absolutely fine and the other never really settled. I was there a year before returning to my original yard.

The routine is not set in stone but timings are roughly there and the same things happen in the same order - although sometimes I ride in the morning before the go out (at their allocated time) sometime the afternoon once they've come in.

At the moment they are not going out due to the way to the feild being an ice rink so their routine has changed. They aren't stressed in the slightest because the rest of the routine is still in place. They go to shows and the routine changes and they cope. When I stay away from home I try to keep feed times the same when possible.

I think having a routine helps me be more organised as well!
 
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I have a sort of routine but it is more for my convenience and depends on when it gets dark. I am not obsessive about it though.

I remember reading an article some years ago (I think it was Mark Todd) saying that he does NOT follow a strict routine as it could be more upsetting for te competition horses if they expect a feed at a certain time but are unable to have it due to start times, etc. Made a lot of sense to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

ah well if its good enough for Toddy i'll stick to my guns then
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No - but he lives out so it is a bit different - during the week I feed him after work at about 7pm and at the weekends I like to go on longer rides so come up in the morning and then ride and then feed so he gets a completely different sort of day.

Sometimes he goes to RC rallies or show and on those days his routine is again going to be different to a normal weekend day.

I always wonder if the horses that come in at night get stressed if they are ridden in the morning before they are turned out some days and then other days in the evening when they come in before tea as they soon get used to things happening in a certain order.
 
i wish my lad wasnt done all to the routine because hes a pain with it but because of work it means everything works out that way and hes a pain at the gate at tea time hel pick a fight if hes not there 1st he also bangs the stable door if hes ignored or if he wants fed once they start the routine they get into it
 
Not at all. 2 days a week OH does the horse 6am-7am, other three days I go up after uni lectures 10.30-12.

Sometimes he is turned out, other times kept in, some days he gets a run around and roll in the school.

A friend at the yard keeps an eye out if hay needs topping up, but if I'm going to be late up then the night before he gets extra hay anyway.

He used to be fed pm, but now he is fed AM/when I go up.
 
We have a routine to fit in around my work but the times aren't strict. If I have to go to work early, he goes out early etc. In summer when he is out 24/7 he gets fed and ridden as and when it suits. Most of the horses at our yard are kept the same way and are relaxed and happy.

I think it tends to be people who want to have a strict routine rather than the horses who I don't feel actually benefit from it. The yard my friend is on has a very strict routine and the horses are much more stressy and neurotic than at the more laid back yards where I have kept my horse.
 
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