How Often do you ride ?

[IamMe]

Not at all atm as she is recovering from an injury so long reining for 20 minutes daily and me old boy is retired, when she's well, 4 or 5 days a week and when both where in work I'd ride 5 days a week, hack one and school the other, on a rotating basis so both got schooling and hacking through the week

 

[Joyous70]

I really would not worry about giving a day off. Schooling every day might make her stale, but you are doing a mixture, and a day when she only hacks is essentially a day off. Remember that most of our horses usually work at most a couple of hours a day, and I believe that proper exercise makes them fel good.

Thank you this has made me feel better. She is a very good doer and is naturally well built so I like he fact she isnt massive which means I can give her plenty of hay when in at night.

 

[C24]

Before I put my horse out on loan (and before I had kids ?) I would ride 3-4 time’s per week and then lunge one day per week. Typically hacking for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. He’s a pig in the school - he goes around like a bull, broncs every time your leg touches him, puts his head between his legs if he doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to listen, etc ?. He’s coming back off of loan next month and I’m hoping to be able to ride 4-5 times a week as he’s been on good grass all summer due to being turned out with a 26yo TB and he’s not had much work due to his hot and cold nature and the loaner being pregnant.

This all being said, I have two kids age 5 and 19 months. One is at school full time but the other is with me all the time. Realistically I know that some weeks I’ll be lucky to ride more than once, my son will not sit in his pram while I ride in the arena if he’s in a bad mood. I’m just playing it by ear, thankfully my horse is more than happy to continue to reap the benefits of being paired with his field mate. ??

 

[AUB]

I ride 4 days, my sharer hacks out 2, so horse is ridden (or worked, at least) 6 days weekly.

 

[Gloi]

I did an seminar with Dr Kirstie Pickles on EGUS and she said ideally horses need two to three days off a week, with two being consecutive.

I'd agree if a horse is in really intense work or working long hours like some riding school or landeau horses. I think most private horses don't do enough to need a day off. An hours hack isn't work, it's just a leg stretch.

 

[P.forpony]

I agree with Gloi,
I think it massively depends on what work they’re doing when they’re working.

When I was breaking for a living they would all get 2 consecutive days off a week and it was amazing how much better they would be the first day after, as if they were just sat there thinking about what they’d learnt the previous week.

I think that breaking is really intense physically and mentally for them despite only being ridden for short periods.

Also after nearly killing myself trying to ride ‘properly’ every day to keep pony ‘hunting fit’ with full time job, husband who needed feeding and no arena lights I decided to try,
Sat hunting
Sun leg stretch with 5 mins trot.
Then during the week 2 days off 2 days ridden and one quick lunge.
She was super fit, looked amazing and went all day every time ?

 

[GinaGeo]

My four year old gets ridden 3-5 days a week and I do try and give him two or more consecutive days off a week. Not all of his sessions are hard, but I find it freshens his brain up.

The older two I try and ride 5-6 days a week and every couple of weeks I try and give them two consecutive days off.

Not all of their sessions are hard, some days we just go for tootle.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

How often do I ride? according to my horse, too much!

I ride 5 days out of the week. However, if his weight is under control and he's on the field in the summer months, I'll give him a few consecutive days off every now and again.

The other two days can involve some sort of lunging, long-lining, hand-walking, or just grooming.

Example of this week:

M: Ride in the outdoor school
T: Ride in the indoor
W: Day off lazing around the field
Th: Riding lesson
F: Hilly hack
Then he either gets Saturday or Sunday off - or both in the summer, whichever I feel like. Or maybe he'll get long-lined one day.

His work is all dressage work including poles.

He's not thrilled with the idea of being a working animal, but he does like human interaction and doing the right thing, so he deals with it.

 

[Sprat]

My 10 yr old is generally ridden 6 days a week. She will never do the same thing two days on the bounce. A mix of schooling (nov / ele), jumping (70cm ish), hacking, polework or gallops. She is fit as a fiddle and genuinely enjoys her work, Competitions and clinics are also pretty regular, as well as lessons.

I have no problem with her workload currently, until she tells me she isn't happy with it I'll continue.

 

[SpizWiz]

Semi retired 14 year old. Ridden every other day if I can be motivated, or no more than two in a row. Mix of 30 min prelim level flatwork, in hand poles and up to 2 hours hacking in all paces with lots of walk. In winter when turnout is reduced to every other day, he will also do 20 min on the horse walker in the mornings he stays in.

 

[Micky]

Only managing twice a week if that at the moment, it’s tough without a school to use so just hacking and that’s just as tough on old boy as we have so many big steep hills here, I end up on getting off him going down! Would love to school twice a week too but it’s just not available to me now..

 

[Mrs G]

I have ridden more than I ever have this last 6 months due to Covid. My horse and I are probably fitter than we've ever been! In normal times it was about 4 times a week, a mixture of hacking, schooling and the odd lesson. Now I'm riding most days and we do more fast work. I hadn't noticed but a friend saw my horse for the first time in a while recently and she swore he'd grown because he has muscled up. I like to think I'll be able to keep it up when I'm back to work properly but....!

 

[Summit]

I ride everyday unless I am away .

I wouldn’t have time to ride everyday. I ride whenever the mood takes me but that’s what I wanted. I didn’t want a horse which had to be ridden all the time

 

[Tarragon]

I ride almost every day, Spring to Autumn, but not if the weather is inclement (too wet, windy or foggy) as the ponies are field kept so don't "need" to be ridden. But, I have two ponies so the ponies don't get ridden everyday, though they go out as a pair, ride and lead, at least once a week.
I don't really ride in the Winter as not enough daylight to fit it in before work, so just occasionally at weekends.
I don't think that the average horse in work needs to be rested from a physical point of view, providing their work is varied, but a hard working horse, like a riding school pony, would need some time off every week and I reckon a longer "holiday" period at least once a year.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Younger horse I hack about 5 -6 times a week for 1.5-2 hours with occasional longer ones and maybe one lunge as an alternative. I’ve not got any schooling mojo at the moment. Old boy (25) is never ridden more than 4 times a week and not more than twice in a row. My sharers mainly ride him though.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Just curious to know what others do, my girl is ridden 5-6 times a week, a mixture of hacking, schooling, polework and jumping, she is 10 healthy & fit.

So what do you all do with yours? do you have a set regime, or just as and when and whatever takes your fancy?

have not ridden in 10 weeks, vet check mare still lame

 

[scats]

I have to say, what I love about both my girls is that I can give them a few days off here and there and then get back on and hack out no issues. Yes, they might be a bit sharper and spookier, but I never have that feeling that they have to be ridden near enough every day for my own safety. Been there and done that and frankly it doesn’t work for me.

Polly is amazing, I can give her weeks off and then pop on board for a walk and you’d think she’d never been out of work, her attitude is just the same.

 

[milliepops]

Most days for me.
Welsh girl goes feral after a few days and also needs work to maintain her fitness. I do quite often give her 2 days off back to back though, sometimes life just works out that way and it means I worry less about working her hard a couple of days on the trot beforehand. i usually plan her working days a week + in advance to make sure it all fits in and she is my priority, if I only have time for 1.

TB goes.. um, feral in a different way. I prefer to try and ride him every day to save myself from too many white knuckle rides. Though he's had several days off now and I need to psyche myself up to getting him back on the straight and narrow, ugh

 

[SEL]

1 is fully retired and the other 2 should be in work. The mare with PSSM used to be in daily work until we found the navicular damage - 20 mins a day walking now (under saddle or long reins)

Micro cob was schooling 3-4 days a week with a couple of long hacks until her breathing problem. Currently getting her exercise breaking electric fencing.

My plans are to ride daily..... My horses have different plans....

 

[Chinchilla]

Never lol, for myriad complicated reasons. Horse is not fat at all though and actually was quite fit until earlier this year when she mangled her legs.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I ride 6 days a week most weeks. Occasionally 3 or 4 depending on when I am away racing.

I don't ride my own however ? they are all a bunch of lazy field bums! I really do need to crack on with the Welsh Cob. He is 11yo and has done bugger all in his life. I am refusing to admit GrayMo is retired but realistically he is. He has a melanoma on his side just where your knee would sit, it's small and pimple like but it really bugs him when you put your leg on. He also has a few under his tail and what I suspect is one just above his cheek bone - in the hollow just under his ear.

 

[firstfrost]

I have 3 horses so I ride at least 2 a day.
My 16 year old and my 7 year old work 6 days a week, a mix of schooling, hacking, jumping, poles and lunging. My 5 year old works 5 days a week having a similar mix to the others.
I rarely have a day without riding and am often in the addle for 4 hours a day.

 

[irishdraft]

I was talking about this the other day with a friend I ride 6 days a week , off road hacking , jumping lesson and half hour or so schooling session plus I usually go out most weeks for a competition or hunt ride just low level stuff . My horse is never particularly enthusiastic what ever i do but my friend thinks I ride him too much she only rides 2/3 times a week on the basis she wants the horse to be keen to work but I think this is far to little to keep a horse fit for all round activities.