Has anyone stopped riding?

hellfire

hellfire

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 July 2014
Messages
348
Location
Devon
Visit site
I was chatting to my friend today (on the phone) and she’s totally stopped riding as the rules are in certain parts of the world. Her reason for this is to stop any possibly strain on the NHS in the event of a accident. I agree her horse is a high risk nutter but wondering if anyone ruse has stopped? I’m lucky on the farm I have my fields and woods and did go out towards the moors the other day but am wondering should I be doing this? I’ve been using the school a lot recently and just lunging my own nut job of a horse. My others I’ve walked in hand and Dakota who’s bomb proof I’ve been riding. The reality is even walking in hand, lunging etc I’m still at risk especially with Sparky. Should I just give them all a long holiday and deal with 4 nutcases stuck in a field?? I’m confused after talking with my friend as to what to do and wanted to know how others are dealing?
 
I think if you have a look there are a coup!e of threads on this subject.
The Bhs advise not but it's not against government rules as yet
But you have to look to your own conscience. Is riding at this time essential? I think not but you need to make your own mind up.
 
I have stopped, because my 2 are without any medical complications and it is easy to control their weight, so I don't feel it would be right to risk burdening the health service where I am (not in the UK, but we have a public health service). I would agree with angrybird1 that I don't see it as a necessity for most, but I do have a great deal of sympathy for those who have problems with weight control if their horses do not get serious movement.
 
My daughter and I have stopped. Our access to our horses is restricted now and her horse is quite sharp. We were also concerned that restrictions could get worse so thought we’d reduce their work just in case. We still longline and work in hand but no ridden work for the time being.
 
I’ve stopped. I Have a quiet horse but I have come off him on the road recently (pheasant) so it made me think a bit.
Also just finished a book by an air ambulance doctor who said several times about horses being responsible for many call outs after road traffic accidents. So when I was thinking of Re-starting to ride I read this and decided not too.
It’s not essential and my horse is fine without the exercise.
I can appreciate others that do ride tho.
Except my yard owner who has decided to jump her newly backed horse in a field that has no grass cover and he only started cantering last week ?
 
angrybird1 said:
I think if you have a look there are a coup!e of threads on this subject.
The Bhs advise not but it's not against government rules as yet
But you have to look to your own conscience. Is riding at this time essential? I think not but you need to make your own mind up.
Click to expand...
No, the BEF have advised no riding but the BHS advised RS's to close due to social distancing and advised others riding to risk assess 1st.

So, having risk assessed, I am pootling out daily for a half hour leg stretch, which really helps my arthritis ease up and occupies B Fuzzys mind, I am very fortunate that I have direct access to hacking from my (own) yard gate :)
 
I had stopped riding but as the grass is due to shoot through now (and already is) I’ve decided to school my boy once a week, lunge/in-hand and try and hack once a week (on-site 30min woodland hill walk only) to try and keep any weight gain at bay - he was laminitic last year.
I am full livery Monday-Friday so have two, one hour long slots in the week and then I am DIY at weekend and go up both days - again for an hour. Weekends will be lunge/in-hand days as I don’t have time to muck out etc and ride in the hour. And I will school and hack during the week.
My horse is 6yo but he’s sensible and I know these activities carry the lowest risk. I won’t be jumping, won’t be going on the roads (I’ve seen so many idiots and fast drivers on route to the yard!) and won’t be going cantering/galloping in open spaces as these are the only times there might be any chance he’d get a bit giddy/spooky.
 
I have had a huge dilemma. B is bombproof and his sharer has been either taking him in the school or hacking him out. DP was lame so the decision was taken out of my hands but he is now sound and with EMS he needs to be ridden to keep things under control so tomorrow I am going to hack him out. He is better hacking but can be spooky in the school so I’m going for the option we both prefer.
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
No, the BEF have advised no riding but the BHS advised RS's to close due to social distancing and advised others riding to risk assess 1st.

So, having risk assessed, I am pootling out daily for a half hour leg stretch, which really helps my arthritis ease up and occupies B Fuzzys mind, I am very fortunate that I have direct access to hacking from my (own) yard gate :)
Click to expand...
care plan for your horse(s).

We are getting a lot of questions in relation to riding your horse, for which there are no specific government guidelines at present. We advise that it is not appropriate to put unnecessary pressure on the emergency services and everyone should make their own individual decision as to whether riding is necessary at this time.
Quote from Bhs. Now to me that's advising you not to..Each to their own though.
 
angrybird1 said:
care plan for your horse(s).

We are getting a lot of questions in relation to riding your horse, for which there are no specific government guidelines at present. We advise that it is not appropriate to put unnecessary pressure on the emergency services and everyone should make their own individual decision as to whether riding is necessary at this time.
Quote from Bhs. Now to me that's advising you not to..Each to their own though.
Click to expand...

And this is where confusion reigns :) as unless a statement says along the lines of 'we request that members do not ride', I make my own decision as to whether it is necessary.
As you say, each to their own:)
To add, I have to go twice a day as it's my yard, no liveries. So, I get my daily exercise whilst there, the one at risk of laminitis gets monitored, the one who tries to be obese gets dietary needs sorted and the one who bullys the other 2 if not worked, gets mental occupation :)

Also to add, nobody needs castigating on their decision to ride or not, it's getting very like a witch hunt in places. I understand people's frustrations at others doing activities that they cannot due to yard lockdowns and the like, but equally I understand the need to continue from others, provided it is safe to do so.
 
Last edited:
Both mine have come out of training and gone into the field.

The younger one who I don’t ride myself will come back in at some point (where he is have halved the horses in work as are now home schooling - of the human variety).

The older one I really don’t want to leave out of work too long as he looses muscle mass really quickly, but equally I’m loathe to pay training livery for no competing. I’ll reassess at end April, might do a bit myself with him from the field or from local DIY stables.
 
We risk assessed and decided to continue. We're in a field on our own. We don't see anyone else.

Welfare of ponies: lami risk x3, pssm x1. We have nowhere to lunge that isn't on a slope and they hate lunging to the point where it isn't very safe. Neither of the adults can long-rein as we're both too broken physically to walk or run for any length of time.

Welfare of kids: they need to ride to meet their sensory processing needs and can't safely exercise any other way (my daughter bolts, she's safe on a pony because the movement enables her to regulate, but off it she can just leave in any direction, at speed!). They ended up unable to self regulate while I was ill week before last and they weren't getting to go anywhere. The resulting throwing themselves on each other/the sofa/toys/off the trampoline wasn't pretty and resulted in lots of bruises and some egg head bumps, as well as broken crockery (dangerous in itself) and other broken items.


I've put measures in place to reduce risk:
- No solo hacking except on my oldest bomproof one
- Only hacking round the farm (no roads, no gates, few people in sight ever, terrain the ponies know well)
- I went round the hedges and removed spooky litter (plastic bags basically)
- We walk or trot round corners to reduce unexpected leaps upon finding unexpected pheasant/whatever the other side
- Ponies are only getting one day off at a time so no 'woohoo' effect and are doing a decent amount of work so they're tired.
- No jumping of logs.
- Appropriate bitting. It is spring, the grass is coming through and the world is coming alive. I'm not hacking in a snaffle right now.
- Youngest child is back on the lead rein. Now isn't the time to be slightly wobbly about your control out solo!
- We know our saddles fit and will continue to do so - they're reputable treeless makes that don't need adjusting (Torsion and Freeform) and a Thorn pad for the kids. So no likely bad behaviour from those.

I adjusted that risk assessment yesterday - smallest one I ride needs more work, I don't want them full of energy! She did so today and was much more settled. None of them are far off the ground, that in itself reduces risk. We're doing all we can to be safe and keep everyone healthy.
 
There is a long thread on this already with some very strong and differing opinions.

I am riding but have stopped jumping, cross country and hacking as I see those as the more risky things. I am schooling at home on my fairly well established non neurotic connemara and doing groundwork on the days I would usually hack or it its bad weather etc. If I still had my slightly oddball thoroughbred I would probably give it a miss.

There is a possibility that we may be in some kind of lockdown with a very busy NHS until a vaccine is found so potentially a year or more. I wonder how many of those people who aren't riding now (out of choice, not forced due to yard closures) can last that long because it would feel like a very long time to me
 
I think part of the difficulty in deciding what to do stems from not knowing how long the lockdown will last. A friends DIY yard was locked down completely with full livery provided at no extra cost however the YO cannot do this indefinitely so she is already discussing allowing liveries access again. I think lots of us will have to reassess if this goes on for several months.
 
I am assuming that I won't see mine until at least September. Where I am there is nothing to stop me going, but since they are not complicated and I can arrange the necessary care from on site staff, I don't feel that visiting the yard is the right thing to do in the middle of a public health crisis. Of course I miss them every day, but there are so many people suffering, and so many people on the front line risking their own health every day, so I really feel that if not seeing my horses for a while is the worst that happens to me then I will have been very fortunate indeed.
 
I haven’t because I feel rushed as we have a set time we’re allowed on yard for. I also would feel guilty.
 
I have stopped taken the shoes off Sky and H but have one of the freelancers riding Fatty we are bit up against it with him at the minute .
Lucky Fatty is truly bomb proof he could become a police horse with no training .
the decision was not taken without without a lot of heart searching .
I am going revisit the decision for me in twelve weeks .
 
Would if I could... our yard has banned riding. Lunging and groundwork are okay though so I can keep him somewhat fit. And he’s learning the Spanish walk in hand, just for fun, so I am at least keeping his brain busy.
 
I have stopped riding but it’s a massive dilemma which I’m sure will involve different aspects for different people. One of my over riding issues are my kids and partner are stuck at home and I feel a bit bad swanning off to go riding when they are all stuck in. Secondly we are on a bit of a rota system so feel a bit rushed time wise
 
Winters100 said:
I have stopped, because my 2 are without any medical complications and it is easy to control their weight, so I don't feel it would be right to risk burdening the health service where I am (not in the UK, but we have a public health service). I would agree with angrybird1 that I don't see it as a necessity for most, but I do have a great deal of sympathy for those who have problems with weight control if their horses do not get serious movement.
Click to expand...
That’s the issue with one of mine as he has IR. Although he’s on restricted hay as he’s not being ridden like he was I’m concerned about his insulin levels rising as diet alone with him has never been enough. I’ve been lunging but even that carries risks and obviously can’t lunge a horse too long or too hard.
 
OlderNotWiser said:
I think part of the difficulty in deciding what to do stems from not knowing how long the lockdown will last.
Click to expand...

We took the view that September (at least) is very likely. Quite possibly even longer. It was never going to be 'just three weeks'. That was to make it seem more palatable at the time!
 
We're hoping to be allowed back on the yard next week, with heavy restrictions. I won't be riding, even though Blue desperately needs exercise to control her weight. She's had a long time off work with various health niggles, and the last time I rode her she bucked me off. I was about to start bringing her back into work with guidance from an instructor, but I just think it's too much of a risk to do it at the moment.

Instead, we'll be doing groundwork, long-reining, and a bit of lunging. I may take her out for an in-hand hack.
 
I’ve stopped riding and it’s making me miserable! I have a large proportion of my family working in the NHS and I work directly with the NHS myself and they think its absolutely the right decision to limit risk where possible. Not just due to the strain on the NHS but rather that A&E is a pretty lethal place to be, if not for me then potentially my at risk partner. If I am being completely honest if this was potentially going to continue until the end of the year, I would be seriously thinking about reviewing my decision! I have a pony with EMS who literally gets fat off thin air, hard exercise is the only thing that keeps him off medication and sound. I’m currently long reining every day, trying to do at least 20+ mins in trot, which is at least keeping me fit! All the yards near my house are still open and everyone is riding (bar my yard) and I think that’s just making me bitter if I’m honest! Particularly the girl jumping 1m+ the other day with two friends in the ménage with her... I’m turning into a jealous old crow.
 
No not riding, wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I ended up in A&E and riding isn't essential. although the lanes are quiet what traffic there is, is big and fast now and Rose would be bored witless schooling quietly in the arena.
 
Looks like there is some mixed views. Didn’t realise there was already a post so do apologise. I do think it’s down to the individual circumstances looking into people comments. I’m lucky I live on my own farm and have land to hack about if needed so no worry of livery rules etc. I’m just concerned about Sparky as he is a spark to say the least and with his IR hard work is all that keeps him from being stupidly fat or dead! Walking in hand is not a option with him. Riding out clearly will be too risky as he can do stupid things and although for the most part I’ve been fine he has landed me in hospital three times in the 12 years. Riding around the farm in big open fields with him is asking for trouble so I’ll stick with schooling and lunging and hope he stays fit enough and not fat. The others are safe and I’d have no issues walking out in hand my shetlands (I won’t be driving now) and will just poodle about the farm for now and see how the situation progresses. Dakota is safe to ride but you never know with any horse. He’s still very young so who knows. I’ll stick to my own land at least.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top