How many times a week (inc weekends) do you ride in winter?

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cheekywelshie

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..and what do you do? (school v hacking)
...and what are your winter schooling plans?
And what if you have no school!
What do you focus on?

I aim for 4 times inc weekends and try and get a hack in once
No school but a few fields so rotate in each of those! One has jumps in and enough space for a good canter up a hill.

:) :)
 
I aim to exercise my gelding 5 times a week. Generally it's 2 x flat 1 x jump or fun hack 1 x lunge and 1 x interval training out hacking.
I'm aiming to start unaff dressage and SJ next year, so aiming on getting all the basics in place and working properly! Also keeping his fitness up and letting him have some fun without boring him to death with circles etc aha.

I'm lucky though in that I have access to 2 schools and offroad hacking on sandy ground so although it can get abit deep, it's never muddy.
 
2 horses, one does 7 days a week and the other does 6 days, so 13 rides a week in total!

One is only doing hacking at the moment, though will hopefully (fingers, toes, eyes crossed) tomorrow be signed off to restart schooling
The other schools and hacks alternately if I can get enough daylight, otherwise does 4x work in the school in the week and 2 hacks at weekends.

Wouldn't be able to cope without a school where we are, as all fields are sodden and on a steep hill.
Plans are - 1 horse gradual return to schooling fitness over the next few months, was working Advanced Medium before injury.
2nd horse is competing Novice, so picking away at little problems and developing work towards Elementary.
 
I have 2 ridden horses and I try to exercise them each day if I can. If I can't ride for any reason I lunge them even if only for 10 mins so they have done something (they are both good doers so mainly to keep their weight under control!). This week I have struggled though, not so much because of the rain but due to the high winds.
 
How many times a week? 4 or 5, depends entirely on work and the weather though. I don't do rain or below -20C

and what do you do? Trails

...and what are your winter schooling plans? None.

And what if you have no school! Have a school at home, been here a year, never used it yet :D

What do you focus on? Nothing in particular, I ride for fun.
 
Well, the plan was to ride my main pony 4-5 times a week, 1xflatwork, 1xjumping, 2xhacking, and if I have time for another ride, either another flatwork session or a hack. Then I'd hack the other pony twice a week.
However, they've closed the main road to the yard for repairs, so either I get up at 5am and ride as the sun comes up, then leave before the road closes at 8am, or drive an extra 40-50 minutes in total to do the ponies. Neither of these are particularly appealing or very realistic (I work part-time, am doing a masters, and go to the gym so need my sleep, plus don't really have the money to burn), so it might just be weekend riding for the next month :( I do go check them every morning though!
 
Twice :( Guess which two days I ride?

I work full time and leave the house at 7am and am back by 6pm, usually, although this can be later (and sometimes a little earlier...). Fields too boggy to ride in so school on hacks, and I won't hack out in the dark.
 
My daughter and I have three horses between us so we ride every day, they are ridden 6 days a week.

We do a mix of everything - hacking, schooling, competitions. One the ice and snow arrives we mainly go to the indoor school - for obvious reasons!
 
I feel guilty now!
I went from having an indoor school and outdoor to - none! So this will be my first year without a school, although i do have access for one to hire when it is available. I'm not sure I could do 5am start..7am is hard enough...I also have the trouble that when I school on grass...(our fields are oK even after the rain - prob cos it's only me mainly that rides in them,am on private yard, 2 others - who own the land :) but when i do hire the school he really takes a lot of persuading to move (can be very lazy and i have to mean business, but hmm funnily enough not on hacks!)
 
my sharers both ride when they can, usually weather permitting! horrible up here just now. i only see fox twice a week now due to work and college. usually just schooling with one sharer, the other does hacking, as do i when i can :)
 
I feel guilty now!
I went from having an indoor school and outdoor - to none, but three fields to ride in so i alternate between the,m . they don't get too wet because..its only me that rides in them mostly - is a private yard with the yard owners! When I do hire the local indoor school though he is not keen and takes a lot of persuading to move (dressage can be difficult!) but funnily enough doesn't have that problem on a hack...
 
I'm lucky enough to be retired (it's about the only compensation for getting old!) so I ride 6 times a week, 3 schooling and 3 hacks but if I miss a day or so it's no big deal, horse is just the same!
 
Between none and twice. If the weather is foul I won't ride, and I work five or six days a week, often at work before 8am and not leaving until dark. We are lucky to have our own land, but no schooling facilities, so riding is purely hacking. I often ride with a friend on Monday morning, when I don't have to be at work until noon. I dislike the short days more than any other part of winter, I can cope with wind, rain (not keen on snow or ice), but short days make me very tetchy!
 
I can only ride in the school during the week due to work, so I school twice then do inhand pole work once or twice. At weekends I try to hack once and usually box up and do a clinic or an away lesson on the other day.
 
My two horses live at my own place, on-site. We don't have a school, so only option is to hack out.

I try to ride each horse at least once, preferably more, during the week, for about an hour's hack. We are lucky in that we do have a bridlepath (right next to a dual carriageway) which has got the sort of surface that is basically a good canter-track for any time of the year; its too hard in the summer months but just right round about now, so that is a real boon to have available.

I don't necessarily concentrate on anything, just enjoying the ride; my two are both happy hackers and there are plenty of challenges en-route, among them a working quarry which we ride straight through!! and general farm traffic.
 
I have 2 ridden so ride everyday hunt once or twice a week in between hack go to beach & school the younger one, one gets done 6 days the other alternate days with day or two off after hunting depending how hard the day was am very lucky as beach within 10 mins drive have my own outdoor school plus 800 acre farm to ride to round although that is horribly muddy atm
 
I try to ride at least five times a week. Weekends I can hack or go out competing, weekdays restricted to riding in one of the schools (when they're not crammed full of RS lessons). Normally I also have one day off during the week so I try to hack then too as my boy gets easily bored going in the school too much.
 
I am quite lucky that I work shifts and do my full time hours over 3 days or nights. Depending on what shifts I am on and what start times I have I can ride 4-6 times a week. My horse is semi retired and just hacks to keep him active so I aim to do 4-5 hacks a week. The pony I ride is jumping 90cm and doing novice dressage so I aim to do something with him as many days as possible with a mix of schooling, jumping, hacking and lunging. Have an outdoor school so can school in there all year unless frozen x
 
I aim for 5/6 but this week due to high winds and an idiot of a horse in season I've ridden twice! I school 2/3 times a week and hack 2/3 times a week. If competing on a weekend day then I lose a hacking day. My mid week hack or one in 3 Saturday hack is an hour or quick whizz round the block as I don't finish until 2pm on those half days and it gets dark early. Hacking at weekends is for 2hrs or more. Schooling after I finish work at 4 is varied with pole work, flat only, jumping; grids, single fence or courses. We have a floodlit sand school
 
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Ella19 said:
I aim for 5/6 but this week due to high winds and an idiot of a horse in season I've ridden twice! I school 2/3 times a week and hack 2/3 times a week. If competing on a weekend day then I lose a hacking day. My mid week hack or one in 3 Saturday hack is an hour or quick whizz round the block as I don't finish until 2pm on those half days and it gets dark early. Hacking at weekends is for 2hrs or more. Schooling after I finish work at 4 is varied with pole work, flat only, jumping; grids, single fence or courses. We have a floodlit sand school
Click to expand...

Sorry to hijack post, but couldn't help noticing comment about in season - my mare has, for second year in a row, turned into an absolute madam in November, and I am convinced as she has been angel for the last 6 months, that it's something relating to hormones.

Any thoughts / advice on this gratefully received!!
 
I have two in work at the moment and try to ride both every day, unless the weather is really grim. Mostly hacking for me in winter unless I hack or box to a friend's manege.
I freelance from home so I'm lucky in that I can ride during the day and work in the evenings.
 
3-4 - one hack, two schooling sessions and a lesson. Will lunge sometimes but if I've got a slot to see pony aid rather use it to ride. Have huge outdoor with lights that are fine for flatworm but not really adequate for jumping
 
Thanks to the job I do now, weekends and Friday afternoon (early finish) if it's light enough. If I can wangle a day working from home I'll usually ride early that day before work too.
I have someone who hacks him out once or twice during the week for me too. I'd rather it was me as I go stir crazy when I can't ride during week but a time least he's getting work.

I usually school on Fridays and once over weekend which is followed by a hack, then hack on the third day.

No particular plans, just generally improving his schooling and my riding.
 
I try and ride 4-5 times a week, I don't get to the yard till quite late so by the time I have tacked up and got on it is normally about 7.30pm during the week so 3 times a week in the school after work plus weekends weather permitting.

I am normally the only person riding in the school at 7.30pm and it is floodlit.

However have not done much after work the last 3-4 weeks due to large amounts of fireworks in the evening in the local area because of bonfire night and divali.

If the weather is bad windy or rainy then I don't ride after work but would ride in those conditions at the weekend in daylight. At the weekends I try and hack out but with all the rain a lot of the hacking is very muddy so stick to the roads.
 
2 horses.
My TB is schooled 2 x week, 1 x lunged, 3 x hacked where possible.
Pony is schooled 1 x week, hacked 2 x week.
 
5 to 6 times a week. Hacking and jumping at the weekend, schooling and pessoa in the week. Yard is near busy roads so getting out for say, 7.15 isn't a good idea due to the high volume of traffic. Horse will be eventing next year so ticking over for now with training and then will up the anti in Feb. I would like to go hunting but it is nigh on impossible for me to get the horse properly fit enough at the moment as what he is doing would only be conduced as light work!
 
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