How often ... schooling?

[blitznbobs]

I’ve always tried to school no more than 3 times a week (in an arena) but I’m working on something with my horse and am becoming a bit obsessed on it ... so how often is it reasonable to school a horse in a week? Opinions I’m sure will vary just wanted to get an idea about it.

 

[milliepops]

while some people will have very fixed ideas i think it depends on a lot of things really, including, the intensity of the work, the horse's temperament/age/fitness, the amount of variety in the work and what the horse has done either side of an intense period. From a pragmatic POV i would add, can the horse be exercised in other ways, and the quality of the surface

it's a balancing act but my reasoning being -
an older or younger horse might not be physically able to give its best multiple days in a row/week
a horse that is limited in terms of other exercise will benefit from the movement if it can't be turned out/hacked etc
drilling a horse on one exercise is unlikely to be beneficial physically or mentally
sometimes an intense spell can help them over a learning hump but I wouldn't want to make that a long term approach and would try to give an easier time afterwards

on balance mine (who is a very reluctant hack, putting it mildly) does probably 4 or 5 days a week by my preference but if we have a winter where there is no turnout for days/weeks then i will work in the school almost every week day (in some way) because it's the least worst option. I try to not do the same work 2 days in a row if i'm having an intense session, so I might work the canter stuff harder one day, and the trotwork another day, and then have a stretch day and so on.

 

[Tiddlypom]

4 days a week schooling/2 days hacking with a fit sound horse.

Two days of fairly serious flat work of 45 mins or so, with maybe a 20 minute circular hack to cool off afterwards, then on day 3 a much longer hack.

Repeat, then the 7th day is a day off.

 

[Austen123]

i tend to do 3 sessions a week. usually 2 back to back . i try to work on something different or add pole work in to each session so not repetitive, but like MP said, if there is something im really trying to get right, the 2nd day of back to back i may revisit for a brief period and she usually has learnt from day before. i then do a couple of days of hacking and lunging and then the 3rd session

 

[Leandy]

Agree with milliepops. I'm not sure there is a max amount of schooling which is optimal not to exceed. A variety of work is beneficial both mentally and physically but it is quite possible to keep a horse working well and happily through school work alone. If a horse is worked correctly and meaningfully to develop the way of going properly there should not be "boredom" issues as many fear. Many competition horses do little outside an arena but are happy and content in their work if managed properly, and especially if they have some other time out of a stable each day by way of turnout etc.

 

[eggs]

Mine are turned out for about 6 - 8 hours a day in the winter. The roads around me have become a rather scary place so I tend to 'hack' around the fields at home although as they are so wet now I have had to stop doing that.

Most of the horses are now going into the school 4 - 6 days a week. Most of them are working advanced dressage but I try to mix the work so one day will be 'indoor hacking' which is just doing suppling type work mainly in walk and then another day will be pole work or something similar.

 

[scruffyponies]

Define 'schooling'. Surely you should be working on something every time you ride it.

 

[milliepops]

it is defined in the OP as "in an arena" so I think that's fairly specific?

 

[Leandy]

but I’m working on something with my horse and am becoming a bit obsessed on it ...

There is nothing wrong with working progressively on and around a problem or area for development but that doesn't mean you need to drill them and do the same thing each and every day - and if it is not improving significantly as you go, you will only be teaching them how to do it wrong if that is what you are doing. Better to identify the areas of weakness which prevent the thing or exercise you want to teach being well performed and work on that. So for example the horse may find shoulder in hard because actually it is not sufficiently forward into the contact. So here you would not just do shoulder in over and over again for days, you would work on the underlying issue that is blocking progress in the movement ie forwardness and suppleness to improve the contact. So it is always important to keep going back to basics and checking for quality in the basic way of going as you introduce new exercises, not just to drill the new exercises. If you work the horse intelligently like this then you will automatically introduce variety in the work.

 

[milliepops]

There is nothing wrong with working progressively on and around a problem or area for development but that doesn't mean you need to drill them and do the same thing each and every day - and if it is not improving significantly as you go, you will only be teaching them how to do it wrong if that is what you are doing. Better to identify the areas of weakness which prevent the thing or exercise you want to teach being well performed and work on that. So for example the horse may find shoulder in hard because actually it is not sufficiently forward into the contact. So here you would not just do shoulder in over and over again for days, you would work on the underlying issue that is blocking progress in the movement ie forwardness and suppleness to improve the contact. So it is always important to keep going back to basics and checking for quality in the basic way of going as you introduce new exercises, not just to drill the new exercises. If you work the horse intelligently like this then you will automatically introduce variety in the work.

yes I totally agree with this.
the overarching thing I'm working on with mine is teaching her to passage - it's something she's struggling to quite grasp properly for many reasons, but that means there are lots of things we can work on to chip away at that in all paces - straightness, submission, engagement etc. it's tempting to just go round and round pushing and pushing but realistically she's not going to do it well until she's even straighter, more submissive, more engaged and so on. She's enjoying developing the 1 tempis at the moment, and while that seems unrelated, in order to improve them I have to develop the straightness, compressability ( ) submission and so on... so it's all money in the passage bank, even when we are doing canterwork

 

[Bernster]

2-3 times a week, and generally not on consecutive days. I’m not a fan of doing too many circles too often and like to mix it with straight line work (hacking).

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Define 'schooling'. Surely you should be working on something every time you ride it.

I maintain that every time you sit on a horse you are schooling/training it, whether you are doing that well or not

 

[ponynutz]

Whenever I can - as I don't have access to an arena! Because of that I tend to think of jumping rides as working on a separate list of things, and anything else is just keeping her ticking over.

 

[ycbm]

Define 'schooling'. Surely you should be working on something every time you ride it.

Horses are a leisure activity unless it's your profession. People can pootle about doing stuff the horse has done a zillion times before without 'working on something' every time they sit on their horse.


In answer to the original question I rarely go in the arena more than 3 times a week on any one horse. I'm sure there was some research which said that horses learn just as fast if not schooled every day. I'm also aware that I can get hung up on trying to achieve something and cause the horse stress that makes it slower to learn, defeating the objective.
.

 

[SOS]

At home not so often... I tend to only exercise mine 5 times a week. Can’t remember where I read that more than that can be counter productive as they don’t have enough healing time and less is optimal.

So with the 5 with previous horses, not in order..
1) Atleast one day is normally hunting or training away from home/competing
2+3) Hack twice as I struggle to get stamina up without regularly hacking
4) Jump once at home or do pole work (may do this on long reins)
5) School once

Now if I want to work on a particular thing or need to practice a test I may go in the arena and school before a hack then hack after. I’m a big believer in setting a achievable goal for your work and once the horse has achieved it having some down time or even finishing. My old YO has many years experience and would sometimes ride for 15 minutes in the school and be done as the horse answered all the questions correctly. They were then hacked or even just turned back out.

With my horses that have just hunted...
1/2) Hunt
2+3+4) Hack
5) Jump at home once a fortnight, schooling with poles or schooling

If they get particularly rude or less supple I may school before hacking.

 

[Translationsneeded1]

I do 4 days a week in the school. One session will include poles. And then one day hacking.

 

[Green Bean]

Goodness, I am way behind most of you. I don't believe in endless schooling, but then I am not aspiring for greatness. I school around twice a week, pootle around the fields for two (which is schooling but different as there are fire breathing dragons everywhere) and then the odd day where I just fuss and feed carrots and apples. This is all dependent on workload for my job, there are weeks where I only make it down to the yard once or twice during the week. I would think it would be very different if you have goals to improve you/your horse or have a youngster that needs bringing on. Mine is 13 and I am just building up strength and core on the most part, especially after her recent box rest.

 

[blitznbobs]

Interesting responses ... I took him on a hack as it was such a nice day and no I don’t drill a horse endlessly with the same exercises (hence my 3 times a week rule as I know I’m a bit of an obsessive) but I do have an issue with this horse that I’m keen to get past. Hey ho ... slowly slowly catchey monkey.

 

[blitznbobs]

I maintain that every time you sit on a horse you are schooling/training it, whether you are doing that well or not

I agree that’s why I specified in an arena

 

[scats]

Arena work- 2 or 3 at most. I tend to do one day in the school, hack or fitness work the next day out round the fields, the next day off and then maybe school the next day or day after. I love working in the arena and would do it all week if I could, but I like my horses to have variety both for mental and physical reasons.

 

[HG95]

I school once or twice a week incorporating poles into our sessions to keep things interested. One may be a lesson. Then the rest of the time is spent hacking. He's only 5 so schooling is kept to 20minutes max otherwise he loses interest.

 

[Annagain]

I'm currently trying (being the operative word as work is crazy at the moment and I've had several days recently of not finishing until it's too late to ride) to work Charlie in the school 3 days a week - usually two ridden sessions and one on the lunge - we then hack at weekends. 30 mins is enough for him currently. He's quite new to school work and you can feel the switch flick and he can't give any more. We've worked up from 20 minutes so we're getting there! In winter, this is our only option for riding mid week so I'm aiming to crack on with the schooling and then do a bit more hacking over the summer.

 

[Sprat]

Currently bringing back into work so not quite on our previous schedule, but I generally try not to school 2 days on the trot, I will mix up schooling, polework, jumping, hacking and 1 long reining session a week. Weekends are taken up with lessons / clinics / trips to the gallops so I do try and keep it as varied as possible. It seems to work for me, and keeps my mare fresh and fit.