How long do you school your horse for?

CentrestageSHS

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 April 2007
Messages
303
Visit site
Just interested to know how long you usually spend in the school each time when you school your horse, and what level your horse is at and their age?!!! I know it is different everytime, but just a general idea.
Thankies!!
grin.gif
 
45 mins or a bit more depending on how she is going... if she has been really good I leave it on a good note which could be 30 mins of schooling
smile.gif


She is just starting competing affil Novice, has just turned 6 and was rebacked in November.
 
depends a lot!

Dan is getting about 20-25 mins at the moment mainly walk and trot but he is coming back from injury very very very slowly. He is 13.

Fleur can be anything between 30 mins and 1h20 depending on what work she is giving me! If very good I will tend to keep it shorter but if like yesterday having moments of good then spooking for no reason will work longer till she will work consistantly. She is pretty fit though well she is now
wink.gif
tongue.gif
She is 7 and working at a good Elementary level at home.
 
Owen- 30 mins no longer he is 8 years old and working at Novice/Elementary level. If I have a lesson with him it'll be a good 50 mins.
Ellie is 4 and just does 15/20 mins.
I hate overschooling them, like to keep their minds bright and have them eager and willing to please, without being silly.
 
I school Archie for around an hr each day - depending on how much time i get. Thats about 4times a week. The rest of the time hes either competing/training/being lunged or on a day off! Hes 6 and is working at medium level at home (we are just starting half pass in trot and canter).

Bloss gets schooled for 20mins a day, or hacked out or lunged depending on what my time is like. Shes pregnant and i just do it to keep her supple, fit and not too podgy!! She was working at elementary/medium level before she got pregnant. Now i just do some rein back (keeps her supple over her back), shoulder in/fore, pirouettes and the normal stuff.
 
Not very long, 30 mins decent work and that's enough. When she's eventing she normally goes out for a short hack (20 mins which includes a long, steep hill) and then go in the school.
 
Chloe (15) working at novice/elem level gets 15-20 mins schooling, and 30 mins lesson.

Megan (6) working at prelim level gets 30-45 mins schooling and an hours lesson. She gets 20-30 mins in the school if I'm jumping.
 
About 30 mins, he's a very green Andalusian who has still only be in the arena less than 20 times. He picks things up very quickly so we have to be careful not to over do it.
 
It depends. If he is going well and fitness isn't an issue, usually around 20 or 30 mins (but with at least 10 mins walking included). If he is being a sh*t, anything up to an hour. But there should always be some petrol left in the tank. I hate seeing exhausted, dripping horses coming out of the school. They are not going to be very happy going in next time!
 
echo that about having petrol left! should have said actually if we end up doing an extra long stint (rare) a lot is done in walk to improve her submission and concentration. Yesterday which was lesson we were in school for about 1h20 but she was only sweating normally and only started showing fatigue in last 5 mins which was when we wound up the work with the good stuff we did have to finish on a good note!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Now i just do some rein back (keeps her supple over her back), shoulder in/fore, pirouettes and the normal stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]
Love that... "normal stuff"... you'd only catch me being able to do a pirouette during a huge spook!
grin.gif
 
I school Spider (5yrs) for around 30mins and Cruz being only 4 for around 15-20mins petrol and concentration doesnt last much longer at the mo!

Think it is important to do short and sweet with youngsters and I always go for a walk round the farm eiher b4 or after.
 
About 40-50 minutes, all depends what I am doing. We have just started affliated Novice dressage and she is 11 but wasn't school for about 3 years.
Normally compete once a week, lunge once a week, have 1 or 2 lessons a week and school and jump the others. She is quite often ridden twice a day so will hack in the evenings
 
I used to school Maiden for 20-30 minutes a time. We were only at prelim/ novice, she's 11 years old but hadn't really been schooled much (or not aiming for dressage things anyway) and preferred to keep things short and sweet.
Cookie gets 45 minutes to an hour (more if he's being a bugger). He's at about novice level and is 14 years old and gets a bit stiff in his legs and back, he always takes at least 20 minutes to warm up. I usually spend that time walking, trotting and cantering on a long rein in big circles and round the school, then when I pick him up after 20 minutes he's nice and loose and is much easier to work. Then it takes me 20-40 minutes to get decent work out of him in all 3 paces, plus some leg yielding, shoulder in, simple changes, direct and progressive transitions etc. to keep him going. The more I do with him the better he gets, sometimes it gets hard to stop myself doing too much wth him as I often feel we'd be working at advanced if we could do a few hours' solid work
laugh.gif
 
Normally around 45 mins including warm up and cool down, sometimes longer if she is being a git or if I hack then it can be up to 2hrs or more. If schooling beautifully I often cut it short.
 
Alice is only really a happy hack so generally i try to school once maybe twice a week and only for about 20 mins with a hack after and most of that is trotting work
 
Cass gets anything from 20 mins to an hour (always 10 mins walk first off), plus 2 one hour lessons each week. She is 10 and working at Elem.

Barney is 5 and is just ready for his first Prelim, but being a baby and still growing he only gets about 45 mins max schooling twice a week and hacks out the rest.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Now i just do some rein back (keeps her supple over her back), shoulder in/fore, pirouettes and the normal stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]
Love that... "normal stuff"... you'd only catch me being able to do a pirouette during a huge spook!
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

grin.gif
grin.gif
 
I thought about this yesterday. I had a lesson last night and we did 45 minutes hard work (shes a welsh pony but works at novice level). She was pretty pooped at the end. You dont keep an eye on the time so i knew it was time to stop because she was flaggin and it turned out we had done 45 minutes and hard constant work which is alot for her! I tend to like to do 1/2 hour if im schooling on my own as it can take 10 minutes to get her warm and moving through. I only school her twice a week though max. But if you come across issues in a session (common with my mare!) you have to work through them dont you and sometimes can be there over an hour!
 
Bo is 9 and compete BSJA to 1.20m+ and was competing dressage to Medium in a previous life. In the summer he rarely goes in the school..perhaps once a fortnight for 40 minutes. In the winter he is schooled 3 or 4 times a week for 35 to 45 minutes. We just do canter work mainly...pirouettes, leg yield, travers, flying changes etc and loads of transitions....walk to canter, canter to walk etc.

Trike is 7 and a retard
shocked.gif
He is never schooled but in the winter has to go in the school 3 or 4 times a week for as long as I can bear
tongue.gif
We just walk, trot and canter mainly with lots of transitions and a few flying changes. Anything else is pointless
grin.gif
 
Being a ridiculous arab, we tend to school for anything between 15 mins (if he is being truely hopeless, I just get something out of him then go for a hack!) and up to an hour and a half at times...we had a 1hr 10 lesson the other day, working hard with our new dressage instructor who is a listed judge and worked us HARD, but at the end she couldn't believe how he was just not even slightly tired, barely broken a sweat under his saddle. That was mainly trot/canter work, lots of 10m circles, walk-canter,canter-halt, that kind of theing. We did break it up with some walk and rein back. Thing abuot him is, stamina and fitness-wise, he can do as much as you like, as long as you keep it varied, as his mind is too active for his own good sometimes! He loves to be kept busy though.
ets spelling!!
 
I usually school for about 30 mins. This includes a warm up an walk off. Mine are quite easy going so don't really need any longer, luckily for me because thats about all my concentration levels can take in the schooling department!
tongue.gif


Although in my defence if I had a horse that played up I would spend as much time as necessary to achieve what I was aiming for.
 
Finnus is established and working at Medium at home and he will do anything between 45 mins and 1hr 1/2 depending on what we are doing. Schools 4/5 times a week, hacking once a week and competition or lesson.

Star does about 30 mins at the moment, is working at Novice. She is doing little and often and does lots of plodding around the farm too. She's just starting to get the hang of things. Schools 4 times a week, hacks once or twice and a lesson at weekend. Will start competing at end of July.

We have a lovely track around the farm for warming up and cooling down (and empty fields for galloping across!)
 
Top