Early morning riders

[canteron]

Please tell me your routine. With the lighter mornings it’s so lovely to ride earlier, before the world is awake, but would love some views on what is fair to the horse before riding.

I assume that the horse has finished its hay many hours before, so I feed and give haynet and wait for an hour while I have a coffee.

Is this excessive, it would be so nice to be able not to wait so long, how do you early morning riders manage?

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Mine comes in, has half breakfast (it's a small feed anyway) and there is always a small net in stable to pick at.
I whizz round and get worst of chores done in about 20 mins (exercising small dog as I go), throw on tack and get on - total about 30 mins from getting to yard.

 

[whirlwind]

I try to give ad lib hay but if they’ve run out for any reason a bucket of chaff whilst I give them a flick over/ tack up is enough to line the stomach and as it’s fibre shouldn’t cause any issues

 

[AandK]

My horse is out 24/7 so I bring him in (pick out feet etc) then pop him in the stable where he has half his breakfast and some hay while I get my tack and drink my tea. I then brush him, tack up etc. He has the rest of his breakfast after he has been ridden.

 

[Mrs G]

My horse nearly always has some hay left in his slow feeder hay box in the morning but even so, I tie up him outside his stable with another hay net to nibble on while I give a quick groom, pick out his feet and tack up, then I’ll ride, then take him out to his field with his breakfast so he can have it al fresco!

 

[Abacus]

I'm another half-breakfaster. They live out so I bring him in, give him half his breakfast, and while he eats that (and some hay if he wants) I feed and hay the others, let the chickens out, collect eggs, feed the cat, and then we're good to groom, tack up and go. His food is mostly chaff anyway. I wouldn't wait an hour.

With the old or young one, who both have more substantial feeds, I might give them less than half, and the rest when we've finished.

I ignore the rule that you should wait after feeding to ride, and after riding to feed. I may be proved wrong but I've never had a horse colic.

 

[humblepie]

Mine has his breakfast which is mainly chaff, about 1.5 scoops but he will normally have finished that probably half an hour before I get to the yard unless I am first up there, as we feed all the horses in the barn, whoever is there first. If I am up there first then I give him half his breakfast. He gets a little bit of hay whilst I get tack etc then off we go. Whether hacking or schooling the first 15 minutes is likely to be at walk, and our work is fairly quiet anyway. I work on the basis that if they were in the wild and a tiger suddenly appeared they would run off and not worry that they had just eaten some hay. I used to do the feeding chaff before riding years ago as always felt that it would make the horse happier as he had had something to eat, nothing to do with any knowledge re ulcers.

 

[Tarragon]

As the others have said, mine are field kept, so bring in and give morning feed (chop and balancer), and let them have access to hay for 20 minutes while I poo pick, then groom tack up and go.
When they were kept in over night, it was a similar routine as in feed and top up hay, 20 minutes while I muck out, then tack up and go.
Either way, they have had a small feed and enough roughage to fuel them.
In my opinion you cannot ride a hungry Exmoor! Their minds are not on the job

 

[Tarragon]

As for me - I don't have my breakfast or even a mug of tea until I get back home, even if it is late morning if it is a weekend! I am up, out of bed, dressed and out of the door within 10 minutes...

 

[mini-eventer]

I wouldn't want my horse with noting to eat for hours before I get down. I always aim to have something left so would add more soaked hay or straw to his night time rations. Hopefully the additional early morning exercise will help him

 

[SEL]

Breakfast (which is chaff and hay cobs) plus a pile of hay while I poo pick. Then haynet while tacking up / having coffee

 

[Fieldlife]

My horse lives out and has 24-7 access to haylage. I normally (but not always) feed before riding. Dont feed anything sugary / starchy so it is fine.

I think if my horse did finish haynet a number of hours before riding, a scoop of chaff, or 15 minutes access to loose hay would be sufficient.

I use four hoof boots, so it takes me 20-25 minutes to clean feet, put hoof boots on, tack up and get myself ready to ride. Plenty of eating time.

 

[humblepie]

As for me - I don't have my breakfast or even a mug of tea until I get back home, even if it is late morning if it is a weekend! I am up, out of bed, dressed and out of the door within 10 minutes...

Same here. Take a flask of tea with me but straight up and out. Breakfast once I get to work. If had horses at home may be different

 

[Fieldlife]

I take two flasks of black coffee with me.

 

[scats]

I ride first thing all winter.
She gets her brekkie (handful of chaff and balancer) and some hay in her bar. I then do waters and skip out around them and then I’m usually on board 45 minutes after arriving.

 

[splashgirl45]

I always used to get to the yard by the latest 7 and gave a net of hayledge and small feed of chaff while I mucked out round her , then groomed and tacked up and on top by 8 , ride for about an hour then rug and turnout , in summer when she was out 24/7 she just had small feed of chaff but no mucking out to do so would be on top within half an hour , always walked the first and last 15 mins and never had a problem

 

[Clodagh]

I think they are good doers rather than do gooders.

 

[nikkimariet]

I’ve always done ad lib haylage. I feed whilst I muck out / sort hays / get my equipment out. By the time I get on to ride once I’ve groomed and put my boots on etc it’s an hour since he ate.

Although I give his AM and PM feed in one go he only really picks out the fibre nuggets and a tiny bit of his mix, he’s not piggy he will only eat what he’s interested in then pester me. So his tummy has something in ready for work but I’m not risking doing him an injustice.

 

[Fieldlife]

I think they are good doers rather than do gooders.

Ah I thought was a reference to the do gooders as they get up early, totally miss read meant good do-er horses!

 

[canteron]

I think they are good doers rather than do gooders.

Oops - that’s funny, but I have changed it as these threads have a long shelf life

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I arrive at yard, feed both. They are in at night. Put retired lad out once he has finished his breakfast. Muck him out. By then ridden one has finished his breakfast so I tack up and ride. Put him out when I've ridden then muck him out. When it drues up I will put both out after their breakfast, muck both out then ride.

 

[santas_spotty_pony]

I also like riding early - particularly in the heat of summer before the heat of the day. I’ll bring mine in, give them their feed and then go. They can sleep when they get back. If I ride when they are in overnight I feed and top up hay but they have ad-lib so never run out.

 

[Mrs B]

I only ever ride first thing.

Arrive at the yard just after half-six in winter, he has haylage at night and a bowl of Top Spec Top Chop Zero which he'll eat if there's nothing else left.
Handful of nuts with his Cushing's meds, quick muck out and off. I'm very lucky that we can go straight out onto the forest tracks, so don't ever have to wait for full light.

Quickest arrival-to-out-hacking is about 20 mins at this time of year.

 

[Kirstd33]

Following as hope to start riding before work next month, coblet lives out.

 

[Sealine]

I get to yard at 6:30am with a hot drink from home. I give a small feed (large handful chaff) and a haynet while I muck out, prepare feeds and evening haynet, groom and tack up. I can be on board by 7:15am. When I get back I turn out. I work from home and need to leave yard by 9am latest. I don’t go back to the yard in the evening so everything has to be done before I ride.

In summer he is out at night but my morning routine doesn’t really change.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Mine mainly live out and get ad lib hay in winter so they always have some left in the morning, I get them in give them hay then run back indoors have tea and toast then back out to groom and tack up.

 

[Muddywellies]

Please tell me your routine. With the lighter mornings it’s so lovely to ride earlier, before the world is awake, but would love some views on what is fair to the horse before riding.

I assume that the horse has finished its hay many hours before, so I feed and give haynet and wait for an hour while I have a coffee.

Is this excessive, it would be so nice to be able not to wait so long, how do you early morning riders manage?

I don't have time to wait an hour as I need to get to work. Bowl of chaff then ride. Then feed breakfast after.

 

[scats]

If you just feed chaff for breakfast, its really not much different from hay, so i wouldnt worry about giving them an hour. That harks back to the days of feeding proper hard feed, that is digested differently to forage.