Frequency of riding - does your horse get bored?

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Acolyte

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Lets start by saying that I completely agree with JS58 that unfit horses should not be competed, there is no excuse for that.

BUT I noticed a few comments from people in that thread which almost suggested that every horse owner should aspire to ride 5 or 6 times a week, to avoid their horse getting bored? I am not seeking to deliberately irritate these people, I just wondered whether many others had that view? I personally ride 5 or 6 times a week in the summer but considerably less often in the winter, although I have got a floodlit school at my yard - I just get bored doing flatwork 5 days a week, as I work full time. My horse is turned out for at least 12 hours per day all year round, has company at all times - and he gets bored doing flatwork 5 days out of 7 too!

Would be interested in your views, thanks!
 
Mine always have plenty of turn out and if this is the case I don't think they get bored. However, Sarnita if I give her more than 2 days off in winter will start mad galloping around the field so in order to help prevent broken legs I try not to give her more than a couple of days off at a time.

To me the key is the amount of turn out time the horses get the more the better. If they are stabled 24/7 then I do feel they should have as much time out of the box for exercise or a walker.
 
I ride depending on what I've got planned as my girl gets bored I feel. When I'm doing ODE's I ride/exercise her 5-6 times a week. The last 3 years I've done a 2 day event in the summer so then I will ride her 6 days a week and do more fast work, long slow hacks and short fast hacks. Usually increase the fitness over 4-6weeks, then give her a week off after the event which I know she appreciates

At this time of the year, I either lunge in the dark evenings, or do nothing except at the weekends. If I intend to hunt, then lungeing twice a week depending on the mud situation, and then hacking, schooling or competing at the weekends keeps my girl fit enough for a day of hunting.

She normally has 4-6 weeks off in the winter where I'll either only do short hacks or have her shoes off and rough her off completely.

I'd be mortified to hunt or compete her thinking she wasn't fit enough and plan things carefully.

But I know a lot of people don't bother so much and think I'm anal about the whole thing, and mostly their horses are OK, though maybe they suffer more bouts of unexplained lameness whereas my girl has never been unsound (fingers and toes crossed!!!!)
 
I'm the same, during the season Wally is ridden 5-6 times per week but as I work full time and don't get to the yard until 6pm I tend to only ride a couple of times midweek in the winter as all I can do is go in the school. In summer he has a bit more variety with hacking and canter work in the fields etc in the week. I don't like going in the school all the time as I find it boring, and I don't want him to get bored and resent being ridden or having to go in the school as he's such an obliging chap normally!

I know some dressage riders tend to ride in the school all the time, personally I don't know how they can do it!!
 
Nope, I don't think you are anal at all! The one thing I should have said originally is that I am very strict about what I then DO do when I do ride - no galloping around on long hacks or doing the odd hunter trial etc for me!
 
I do think horses can get bored - my horse previously came from a dressage yard and he went crazy being kept in and schooled constantly. They tried turning him away for a short period but he still couldn't cope with being schooled every day when they put him back into work.

I will never school the day before dressage or jump the day before a SJ/XC competition.

My horse gets turned out 24/7 in the summer and is out during the day all winter. He normally gets at least one day off a week (normally the day after a show or particularly hard work).

I try to never do the same work two days in a row.We normally lunge, school, jump and hack most weeks. He had a week off after we came back from trailblazers this summer and our amount of competing goes down to normally once a month (if that) in the winter
 
I ride 6 or 7 days a week in the summer but in the winter, now the clocks have gone back its a different kettle of fish! There is no way I am going to ride a youngster in a small school every night as I know he will be bored stupid and his attitude to his work will change. He is hacked/competed/schooled at the weekend then in the week he is schooled twice and lunged once in the morning before I go to work giving him Monday and Friday off. Hopefully, that will be enough to keep him fit enough to do a bit of dressage and show jumping at weekends but not enough to bore either of us senseless!
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ETA - he is out 8am until 5pm everyday too!
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I have 2 to ride and a daughter who insits I help her most days for atleast 10 mins so I have a nightmare in the winter, though we do have an indoor school everyone want to use it at the same time.

My riding programm now is:
Daughter- as and when usually 5 days a week mix of hacking flatwork and jumping. Just taught her how to lunge properly!!Competes once a month.
4 year old- quiet winter for him ready for spring, 3 times a week work mix of lunging schooling and a hack if Im lucky no more jumping at the mo till flat work has improved and in no hurry to do anything till spring.
Mare- back into competition so 5 days a week, mix of flat work and jumping will be out every weekend now competing.

We try to make indoor riding fun making indoor XC or juming stuff we find round the farm. The girls play gymkanas alot too!
 
When you lunge do you always use (e.g.) a Pessoa or side reins? I don't tend to use either, but I am sure lunging would be more beneficial if I did? Although all I am looking to do is exercise him to keep him fit
 
Use pessoa as they dont need to do it for as long as without.Start with 5 mins each rein and build up to a max of 20 mins . I find it very good. Only bought a cheap one off ebay but worth the money. Great when I have one to ride and another to do and help my daughter!!!!
 
Really, I didn't realise that! What an incentive to get one - not really keen on lunging either
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I have a friend who has one, will ask if I can borrow it once a week
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Me too, I sometimes feel guilty for not riding in the winter but then I kick myself and think there's really no point in riding when your heart isn't in it as you aren't going to acheive anything anyway!

I do just enough to be able to do the odd bit of show jumping and stressage lessons and keep Wally's grumps at bay, which he gets if he's not worked at all!!
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Yes do. I hate lunging and would rather ride but some nights I just cant. I have one show jumper and a 4 yo who should event next year so I can alternate how there work goes.

My youngster was a bit freaked out with all the ropes on him the first time but he isnt bothered now.

Try it they can be a godsend and let me know how you find it
 
I shall definitely give it a go, my boy is 11 now so fingers crossed he should be OK about it! I was told when I bought him that he wasn't into being lunged (he was on our yard for a year before I had him) but when I have lunged him just in a headcollar he has been fine and as much of a gentleman as always
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Yes, my philosophy exactly! Especially at this precise moment, I am sat at work in Malvern looking out the window at the rain POURING down outside....
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I'm with you and wallyevent on this one. I only school a couple of times a week during the winter and hack/jump at the weekends. Mine would get very bored if worked in a school five days a week.
 
Unfortunately for me what I enjoy doing is hunting so my horses have to be fit in the winter which is why I get up at the crack of dawn to exercise them 6 days a week. I have no schooling facilities so have to ride in the dark until it gets light. I'm struggling at the moment to ride the fit one and then come back and get the one on walk only and lead him out too. I have to leave home by 8.30 to get to work for 9 and its dark when I get home at 6. I manage but it can be very tight.

I think so long as your horse is fit enough for what you want to do then that's all that matters. I hardly ride from the end of the hunting season until the end of July because the horses are turned away for a good long rest. It would make life so much easier if they hunted in the summer but sadly life doesn't work like that!
 
Maloo is currently turned away at the moment (manic at work plus trying to studying for work related exam). She keeps showing me how bored she is by fence hopping during the day just for the hell of it (I'm sure she knows the Hunting season has started without her!!) We never know which field she will be in at the end of the day!
Roll on 21st Nov when exam will be out of the way and work should be getting a bit better and I can actually get out and ride again. So yes my horse is very bored being turned out - she is much happier when in work!
 
Yes I use side reins but I suppose I should use a Pessoa instead. Trouble is, I haven't got the time in the morning to try and work out how to put the damn thing on!!
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My two horses are very different. Darcy needs to be worked as much as possible, 7 days a week if possible, he ends up getting lunged quite a lot in the dark evenings as even 10 min in the pessoa seems to keep him happy. If he hasnt been worked for a couple of days he gets nippy and bolshy and constantly has his ears back. I try to vary his work as much as possible but its difficult in the winter.

Pinky however can have a week off and apart from forgetting everything she has learned she is no different from when being worked every day - she will hopefully be out every other weekend over the winter jumping or stressaging so I do make sure she is worked 5 days a week minimum.
 
Boo usually works twice a day most days, with one day off a week, so I HAVE to introduce some variety otherwise we'd both go potty
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Her work consists of hacking (both roadwork and off-road, faster outings), conventional schooling, jumping (grids or small courses) long-reining, lunging and pole work.
Lunging I will either work her in a headcollar and nothing else, just for exercise and to work on the transitions and general control (!), or pessoa her, but I only like to work her in the pessoa a max of 3x weekly.
Long reining will either be in the school or out and about as a 'hack'.
At the moment she's purely doing this much as she's got too many of her own ideas and needs the work to keep her occupied otherwise I find myself launched into orbit, but once she's matured a bit I'll bring it back down to normal levels. Her sessions are only short though, as she just needs the stimulation rather than the actual work load.

Rage gets hacked, schooled and occassionally pessoa'd and works once a day.

When I need them polocrosse fit they'll do 2 sets of fast work a week (1 blow out, 1 practice match) and a fair bit of stick and balling so that I can practice and actually do my horses justice!
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Confess I mostly lunge Rosie in a headcollar. I've got an Equi Ami, which Rosie just fixes against. I use lungeing for fitness really, and because I'm lungeing her on grass/mud that's slightly uneven and on a slope I feel she needs her head and neck to balance so the headcollar will do!
 
PNE, apologies in advance for thread hi-jacking!
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Oooh, I was really interested in the Equi Ami a while ago, I didn't know whether to go for that or a pessoa, but didn't know anyone who'd got one to give me feedback.
I *think* I'd like the Equi Ami better as there is no chance of the jabbing themselves with their hindlegs, but I couldn't afford to take a risk at the time, and they do seem expensive... from what I gathered they are like running reins with a separate breeching strap??
 
In the summer mine both get ridden 6 days a week, but in the winter it's more like 4 or 5 & I don't stress if it's less.
I don't get to the yard until 6.30pm & have 2 to do. I try to school each of them twice during the week. Someone hacks each of them for me 1 day in the week & I either hack or compete at the weekends.
That way I ride 4 nights but can be home by 8pm, I get 1 night a week def off & if it ends up more than that, I don't stress as they are out in the field all day.
I agree that mine would get bored silly if I took them in the school every evening during the week, plus so would I
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Yep, think I'm going to get an imitation one (cheaper!) but I really hope they come with instructions or I will be completely stuffed
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