How many times do you ride a week? Amateur rider, one horse...

Notimetoride said:
I sometimes wonder how other people find the time. I work full time m-f office hours, and have a round trip of 1 1/2 hrs. I also have a husband and home. so I school about twice (occasionally three times) and hack once or twice a week - only about half an hour. So i reckon i ride 4 to 5 days a week. We do BD and I sometimes think this is no-where near enough for me to progress, but I have to strike some sort of balance with it all.
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I'm lucky to have my horse on full livery 5 minutes from my house, and on a standard week will usually be in meetings/working from home twice a week which means I can ride during the day. I also have a super understanding OH who is happy to cook dinner/tidy up/accept the bulk of my housework is done on the weekend. It takes a certain level of planning and organisation, but on the whole it works for us.
 
How does everyone manage hacking more than once over the winter if you work full time? I am just about OK at the moment but I know soon it will be dark before and after work :(
 
off road in the dark, usually mornings as early light is better than evening light and quieter.
And a sharer who worked part time so usually did one hack during the week.
 
Lévrier;13644812 said:
How does everyone manage hacking more than once over the winter if you work full time? I am just about OK at the moment but I know soon it will be dark before and after work :(
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Winters a pain. I usually hack out both Saturday and Sunday in winter but I have a couple of early finishes in work so I usually slot a late afternoon hack in too. We have off road hacking so I can go in slightly dusky weather.
 
For a happy hacker I used to ride a lot, most mornings up before dawn to ride out as the sun was coming up but my health is not what it was and my job is more challenging and I suffer with confidence issues that impact on my relationship with my poor horse who does nothing wrong and deserves a good leader to believe in, so now I don't ride that much.
 
Work (the stuff that pays the bills) does get in the way of riding for me. Saying that the mare needs exercise 6/7 days to keep on top of her PSSM so is lunged for 30 mins before work if I don't have time to ride.

The fab yard manager has been riding her while I've been away and seeing the results she's got I'm thinking about paying for the yard to do 1 day a week over winter. Amazing how well my horse goes with a decent rider on top!

Winter is an issue as her muscles play up more and she can't see in the dark..
 
For me it depends on time of year and how tired I am after work. Always try to have a lesson at the weekend, and hack at least once a week, sometimes twice. In summer that will usually be on a Thursday evening when I am too tired to school properly, but once there's not enough light in the evenings hacks have to happen at the weekend. When it's 30°+ I am also more likely to hack more often rather than schooling. I try and ride three times during the week, but sometimes if work is particularly busy or I am under the weather I will only manage twice. So sometimes he's only ridden four times a week.

For my boy he is mostly more bothered about how well I ride than how frequently I ride, so I have given myself permission to have the odd lazy evening rather than force myself to try and school properly and stuff it up. Sometimes that means not riding, sometimes those are the nights I get the poles out, and occasionally I will just do 20 minutes in walk, working on walk/halt transitions, stretching and lateral work.

When I have the energy to ride better and more frequently, it's really noticeable how much more progress we make so it's more enjoyable. But it's work that pays the bills, so...

In the depths of winter when turnout is limited I make more of an effort to ride more frequently, as I think he appreciates the exercise and stimulation.

My last horse was a liability if he wasn't ridden or lunged 6 times a week, couldn't be reliably hacked the day after a day off and couldn't be given two consecutive days off, so it's nice to have a bit more latitude with this one!
 
Lévrier;13644812 said:
How does everyone manage hacking more than once over the winter if you work full time? I am just about OK at the moment but I know soon it will be dark before and after work :(
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Weekends only. Yard hacks him in the week.
 
I aim for 6 days a week in summer and 5 in winter. Sometimes ends up being 5 in summer depending on how tired I am (I work shifts, mainly nights so sometimes my body gives up and says I need sleep).

This is my first winter with a 'proper' job, I worked freelance before this so made time in winter for hacking. This year it might mean riding when I get back from work rather than after sleep to get the daylight but I tend to feel wretched in the mornings before I've slept so not sure how I'll cope!

Not sure how 9-5ers with a commute cope, I found it tough going during my training even during summer. Much prefer shifts as I tend to have just an extra hour at least either end of the day and when I'm on nights I literially don't do anything bar work sleep and ride but it's guilt free as I wouldn't see my partner anyway as I'm headed to work when she get home.

I just have to make up on chores on days off!
 
Lunging counts but for me is an easy/ exercise day not counted towards a training goal, as although it puts some fitness in, unless you are very competent (I am not :o) then it doesn't add much, I use it when I need a rest day but the fatty needs the exercise to keep the weight down.
 
I count it as exercise, for me it is part of schooling because I would usually do some ground work/straightness training type stuff in the same session. How effective it is at exercise depends on how you are lungeing and how the horse is. If it's just spinning round inverted falling in through the shoulder, probably not so much.
 
I count myself in the same group as you as an amateur trying to 'do' dressage :D.

I ride Topaz 4-6 times a week, she will get hacked 2, schooled at least 2, show or lesson on top of the schooling and then a fun ride of gallops, farm rides, jumping day, etc. If I miss a day, weathers bad, its taken me two hours to drive home, etc, then I'll pop a lunge day in to keep her working.

For me it is absolutely having a plan of the schooling days, the other days are just for fitness, down time, stretching and to keep her happy. Our progression in dressage comes from having a goal of what I'm trying to achieve in the school, this can be hard on your own sometimes.

Currently I'm trying to really work on our through'ness over the back and developing the canter work for the changes and pirouettes, and also in the trot to develop the passage type trot.

Short term goal is to qualify for winter regionals at Medium silver.

Our medium goals are to nail the single changes to become more consistent and higher scoring at adv med ready for AF's next year.

This is with the long term goal of tails in maybe the next 12-18 months all things going well.

This goal setting keeps you going and working on the right track for what you want to achieve in the school.

With my baby horse my goals are vastly different!

She is five (late foal so developing a bit slower), she is ridden about 4 times a week generally. Its split into 2 hacks, one schooling and one jumping/ fun type ride.

Currently working to calm her down and accept the aids quietly and without teenage drama. This lead me to moving out of the school and hacking her more as she is a happy chappy out hacking and she gets less uptight about being told what to do. It is progressing to the school and as I want her to be a happy hooman carrier I was happy to take some pressure off and go to what she enjoys whilst still teaching her the necessary life lessons ;).

Goal would be to improve our prelim scores at some point, but really I think once we've cracked being calm then she'll be good for novice/ elementary as I think busy tests will suit her and her balance in canter is really coming on, so will have to see what happens :D.
 
ester said:
I count it as exercise, for me it is part of schooling because I would usually do some ground work/straightness training type stuff in the same session. How effective it is at exercise depends on how you are lungeing and how the horse is. If it's just spinning round inverted falling in through the shoulder, probably not so much.
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Oh dear - this is why I never lunge lol - I've heard people advocate that you should simply lunge from a headcollar with no additional aids (e.g. side reins or similar) as it encourages the horse to find his own balance? Now if I do that there is every chance my horse might be falling in :(
 
Mine is only 4 - so I ride 3 times a week (variety of taking out to a clinic/show, hacking, lessons, schooling) and she is ridden for me twice a week. Only one ride a week will be longer than about 20 mins.
 
Lévrier;13645272 said:
Oh dear - this is why I never lunge lol - I've heard people advocate that you should simply lunge from a headcollar with no additional aids (e.g. side reins or similar) as it encourages the horse to find his own balance? Now if I do that there is every chance my horse might be falling in :(
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I lunge (well when I did) Frank from a headcollar, but only because he goes well in that, in balance and stretching forwards, helping his tendency to get tense. If he couldn't do that I would have been teaching him to do so first. Essentially all I am saying is that I don't think spinning a horse round in some fast circles in a headcollar as 'exercise' which I have seen plenty do is that helpful.
sometimes I would lunge him off two reins too, if I wanted something specific.
 
I don't lunge often unless I'm short of time, as it's a wasted day on a surface (and I try to limit work on surfaces) but I count it as exercise. I tend to do 20 minutes of fairly solid work in trot / canter, so it's good for waistlines and fitness, and do some in hand work as warm up / cool down, doing straightness and lateral work. I wouldn't say I'm especially skillful at lunging, and I do only use a headcollar or bridle (for F, because he knobs off otherwise), no gadgets, but once they're established you should be able to maintain decent standards of work with a compliant horse. I would say I'm good at the in hand stuff, but since I posted a photo the other day of F standing up like a knobber after a miscommunication / tact failure, I don't think I should!
 
Lévrier;13645231 said:
Do people count lunging as 'exercise' or do you think it isn't as good as riding?
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Depends how good you are at lunging I guess! I am not brilliant, so occasionally use lunging to exercise the horse when I don't want to ride, or if I don't have a saddle, but it doesn't really move us forward in our work.
 
I have always had 1 -3 horses to be ridden and used to have a full time job etc. prior to children so now I work for myself which is easier but I still have no school to ride in which makes life harder. When I worked full time I really struggled to ride during the week as it was dark when I got home so Id often lunge by floodlight (but even then that depended on the ground conditions) but luckily my horses lived out 24/7 and generally were very good at keeping themselves relatively fit so I did compete most weekends still. When its not winter, I find it far easier to ride and because I compete I always have events to work towards which gives me enthusiasm to put the hours in at home. So Id say try to have aims (like an event) as that'll help motivate you at home. Because I dont have a school, I cant find every single day - we live on top of a hill so it can get very windy up here for a start so if the field is too wet/muddy to ride in then I wont hack if its too windy either so horse gets a day off! If I did have a school, Id ride every day by choice.
 
Lévrier;13645272 said:
Oh dear - this is why I never lunge lol - I've heard people advocate that you should simply lunge from a headcollar with no additional aids (e.g. side reins or similar) as it encourages the horse to find his own balance? Now if I do that there is every chance my horse might be falling in :(
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hmmm I think when you have a horse in training that needs to learn a good way of going (and has already developed a less good way of going), there is absolutely no shame in using some kind of tool to help... you could find yourself just reinforcing the less good way of going that you're trying to train him out of if he was left to his own devices! That might be something like running reins which I personally prefer to side reins, or just lunging off 2 lines so you can effectively ride from the ground.

I don't lunge my 2, we aren't allowed to in our school for one thing and the round pen surface isn't very good so I'd prefer not to use it, but I can't think of a time when I have wanted to lunge rather than ride... I do long rein a bit, Kira's been playing with her half steps on the long reins because it's easier to keep her straight than i can manage in the saddle on my own at the moment.
But I really prefer the full feel you get from ridden work for schooling days, and like JFTD I'd rather not "waste" a surface day. It takes moments to get tacked up - I keep bridles/boots/girth etc right next to the stable so it's a 2 min job to get ready to ride so just as easy to hop on as to lunge really :)
 
Lunging is a very very good form of training and exercise IF the handler knows what they are doing! It is a fantastic way for the horse to learn self carriage in the manner we wish because we can shape the body and movement from the ground and guide the horse to put their feet in the right place without them having to worry about balancing us on top. If the feet are in the correct place then the horses core is working and the back is lifted, hind end engaged and neck arched. At first if I get this for a few strides I am very happy and will build on that one stride at a time :)

I do not use gadgets personally, just a lunge cavesson, line and sometimes a whip.

However, if the handler isn't quite sure on what to do, how to place the feet, move the shoulders or hindquarters, create impulsion without too much speed etc then the outcomes may not be beneficial.
 
I lunge in the equiami a couple of times a week - pop it on after she's warmed up. I was a member of the no gadget crowd until I impulse bought one and it's worked wonders. The muscular problems meant that carrying the weight of a rider was hard and the equiami has really, really helped her. I'm sure more experienced people could have developed her core without one, but I needed the help.

But I also don't beat myself up any longer if she has the odd session on the lunge which turns into idiot gallop, bucking mode. It's good aerobic exercise and she always rides better the next day!!
 
SEL said:
But I also don't beat myself up any longer if she has the odd session on the lunge which turns into idiot gallop, bucking mode. It's good aerobic exercise and she always rides better the next day!!
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You've just described my lunging session with P tonight. We've avoided lunging per physio instructions, but now I am allowing her to do a session once a fortnight, on a big circle, in walk and trot. Left rein, all was fine- long and low stretchy horse... fabulous! Right rein started off exactly the same... and then... well, the less said about that the better! My arm just about stayed in the socket, but the ménage looked like the surface of the moon..
 
SEL said:
I lunge in the equiami a couple of times a week - pop it on after she's warmed up. I was a member of the no gadget crowd until I impulse bought one and it's worked wonders. The muscular problems meant that carrying the weight of a rider was hard and the equiami has really, really helped her. I'm sure more experienced people could have developed her core without one, but I needed the help.

But I also don't beat myself up any longer if she has the odd session on the lunge which turns into idiot gallop, bucking mode. It's good aerobic exercise and she always rides better the next day!!
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Ah yes I used to borrow an EquiAmi - I really like them :) Might get one for Christmas :D :D
 
I love lunging mine, I find it really useful in his training (but perhaps because I'm not such a good rider as some on here so I feel he benefits from work without me interfering!). I loose lunge him, so no ropes or headcollars/bridles. He's really well behaved and sticks to a lunge type circle around me in the arena which I can make bigger or smaller. I've used clicker training to teach him to lower his head when standing which I have then transfered to his lunge work. He now really stretches over his back and it gives me a chance to see him develop his trot and canter, the difference in his posture is dramatically different to how he used to lunge, all hollow and crooked. He also does rein back and sideways to voice cues from a distance so I incorporate these into his transition work on the 'lunge'.

Generally I school 2x a week, loose lunge 1x a week, hack 2x pw and then 6th session will be jumping, xc, gallops or another hack. I'm not sure how much progress I make, sometimes I feel like I'm doing the same thing year after year, but we enjoy ourselves and I've started having lessons again with a dressage instructor who is happy to train a bitless pony. He is super fun to train as he's so quick and keen to learn everything, he just needs me to get my butt in gear, ride properly and find him fun things to do whilst schooling!
 
Before children I used to ride 6x per week. Now I ride 4. I am actually happier now... I feel I have a better balance between life and horses.
I have a jumping lesson every week which I love. The other 2 times I ride I practice what I am doing in my lessons and the last time I ride I hack about the farm.
I am improving more recently with regular lessons rather than more time in the saddle.
Riding any less than 4x I feel is not enough for myself or my horse to keep our fitness level consistent, plus I get grumpy if I don't have 'me' time with my horse.
I am very happy with 4x a week. On my non riding days I spend time with family, or peruse other hobbies and I am always fresh and happy when it is a riding day.
Maybe when the kids are older I will ride 6x again or maybe not. It's all about fun these days anyway.
 
I ride between 5-6 times per week; I try and have 1 maybe two lessons a month and compete twice a month generally. Through the summer i try and hack or ride in the field twice a week, the rest is in the school or competing. I don't tend to jump between competing unless XC schooling or a jump lesson, she jumps well and doesn't really need much work in this area for the level we are currently at, she seems to jump better if a little fresh and i never want her to get bored of jumping. I do alot of stretching/ gymnastic work on the flat so don't really benefit from jumping in between.

Try to concentrate on certain topics between lessons, but often end up polishing bits of work for tests so progress through the summer can be a bit slower. I quite look forward to winter and being able to try out different moves and teach different bits without worrying it might upset the applecart before a competition!

I also only lunge once in a blue moon, can get as much work done from on top so would rather do that.
 
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