How much do you travel your horses?

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frankieduck

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Prompted by recent threads/discussion on travelling and rest days, it's made me curious - how much do your horses travel?

Have to admit mine travel a lot and I've never really thought about it or given them extra days off because of travelling. We don't have off-road hacking or the best facilities so mine will travel at least 3-4 times every week during summer:

1 x trip to the water treadmill (20 mins each way)
1 x trip out to a farm ride to canter on grass and do some hillwork (anything from 20-45 mins each way)
1 x trip out for a lesson with my trainer (40 mins each way)
1 x trip out to either a competition or a clinic, or another farm ride

In between they generally hack at home and have 1 day off a week, I will give them a day off if they've done 2-3 days travelling in a row (as is often the case Fri/Sat/Sun) or a particularly long journey (over an hour each way). But rarely more than 1 day off at a time unless they've done a ODE when they get 2 days off in the field. In winter we travel less and do more schooling at home.

They don't seem any worse the wear for travelling and seem to prefer being 'busy', if I gave them a day off every time they had been out in the lorry as suggested by a recent FB post I'd never ride them 🙈
 
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I think it is all about what they are used to and comfortable with. A Police horse will travel daily and work 4 hours as well, but they are steady hours by enlarge and the horses are comfortable with it. They don't need a rest day because of it. There again, the wagons are purpose built, airy and ventilated. The drivers drive them daily too. Water is carried.

There are many variables.

H is travelled whenever I choose. This week, he will have had a lesson and a beach ride. He has the day off from the beach ride as it turned out to be a 4 hour round trip journey and he is more used to 1 or 2 hours round trip. He also worked very hard!

I just gauge it by what they seem comfortable with.
 
I travel mine 1.5hr to my trainer twice a month, out to local off road rides/gallops probably 3 or 4 times a month and then a show once or twice a month. I used to travel them at least 4 days a week, but lost the enthusiasm for competing! I know i read somewhere that for every hour you travel it is like half an hours work for the horse, not sure how true that is. After a show i always give them two days off.
 
Britestar said:
Normal day to day no days off, unless maybe competed.

Two just undertook a 900 round journey to compete. Home late Sunday. They're off until Thursday.
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I often think we can be a bit dramatic about travelling in the UK as we are relatively spoiled by venues being quite close by. In the US people regularly travel horses several hours to a show and back again in the same day and think nothing of it?

Edited as a reread that and realised it seemed like I was disagreeing with you, I was actually meaning that it's interesting to see someone travelling a reasonable length to a show as so many of us (myself included) positively faint at the prospect of travelling more than an hour anywhere 😳
 
So far not travelling at all. I don’t have my own transport so individual trips are expensive and we have an excellent venue in hacking distance for clinics and comps. Also excellent hacking and nice arena at yard, I have always found travelling stressful but if opportunities arise would go along of course
 
I'm mega lucky that I have two show venues within a 1 to 2 hour hacking distance of where I livery (we're talking walking at a glacial pace, stopping to natter to whoever we meet on the way who wants to say hi and letting the local children come over and give the horses a pat and cuddle), so I don't really bother with transport unless I really can't be arsed to ride there and back (lazy I know!) , so in terms of transport my boys don't really go out a lot on a lorry etc. Despite this, they're always ace to load and travel really well :)
 
I think if they are used to travelling mentally & physically, there's no need to give additional time off for it for regular travel.

I'd give time off for longer travel if and shorter travel if it's new and they are not used to I'd give more time off to mentally and physically if needed to recover until it became more normal.
 
1 day off per day away competing. It’s easy to underestimate what the big trips take out of them when they travel well. I wouldn’t give time off for training less than an hour from home.
 
frankieduck said:
I often think we can be a bit dramatic about travelling in the UK as we are relatively spoiled by venues being quite close by. In the US people regularly travel horses several hours to a show and back again in the same day and think nothing of it?

Edited as a reread that and realised it seemed like I was disagreeing with you, I was actually meaning that it's interesting to see someone travelling a reasonable length to a show as so many of us (myself included) positively faint at the prospect of travelling more than an hour anywhere 😳
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It was 6 hours day one, 5 hours day 2, onsite 3 days and then 10 hours home day 5.
 
When Little Madam is not on maternity leave, I can travel her 5 times a week to the riding school (less than 10min away in the trailer) and I wouldn't consider giving her time off for that.
Competitions are generally between 1 and 2 hours away and I try to schedule the horse's regular day off on a Monday anyway. A further away, stay-away competition would probably get them a week of light hacking afterwards, though I haven't done one of them in ages.
 
I wouldnt compare travel here with travel in Aus & the US etc, it is a very different sort of travel over there - 20/30min to a highway then smooth cruising in largely straight lines till you near your destination. I'd travel 1-2hrs for a lesson and not even think about it.
Whereas 2 hours travel here might include some motorway (with much more braking) but also a lot of windy lanes which I think must be far more tiring for a horse.

Having said that I wouldnt give a day off, maybe a bit of an easier day or just hack not school dependingon what we'd done. Most trips these days are generally 30-40min each way.

But as others have said, horse fitness and how they travel plays a big role in rest or not.
 
I think it also depends on how well they travel. Possibly my thread you're referring to and my younger cob isn't the best traveller - he had weak stifles at 4/5 and travelling backwards is tougher for him than some.

Last week he did 2x15 min journeys to my friend's for hacking, 1x15 min journey for a lesson and 1x40 min for camp (& returns as well obviously). He had a day off after the lesson & camp but not for the hacking which was around an hour w,t,c

It also depends on the roads. 90 minutes on the motorway is easier on their core muscles than Bucks / Ox dreadful roads! Driving in the US is a lot less stressful.
 
My horse travels well (as in, loads well, stands quietly etc) but he finds it a bit stressful and I know he doesn’t love it. Therefore I try not to expect it of him more than once a week or so. It takes more out of them than we think- standing, balancing, dealing with the change of venue etc and they have to be conditioned for it.
 
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