Over working my horse?

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showqa

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My horse ( 7 yo) is a lazy so and so, although very intelligent and often looking for mischief out of boredom. So, I decided to try a different approach to his work, by having two sessions a day rather than the one. The work is varied between lunge, hacking, schooling, pole work - lots of variety.

Anyway, fact is he has got a lot sharper and seems to genuinely enjoy more work. It's come back to me though that someones has said I'm over - working him.

What are your thoughts on this? He certainly seems to be coping fine with it and of course he's getting fitter (probably that's why he's sharper),

What are your thoughts and do any of you also work your horses twice a day? He does have a day off by the way.
 
My horse will sometimes be "worked" twice a day for example if I've ridden on the morning and the weather is gorgeous on the evening I'll happily take her out for a hack.

Sounds like it is working for your horse. Listen to him, not other people.
 
I'm working my 6yr old twice a day somedays. I'm trying to get him fit for his first BE and as it's a hilly course I want him to be able to cope.
Mine is actually a lot quieter with more work. He's pretty laid-back anyway but he seems to be enjoying working, always has a smile on his face.
For instance today I rode him for approx 45mins this morning in the field doing some schooling at walk trot and then some faster canter work. This evening I took him out for a hack, only 30 mins most of it at walk but we did have a canter along a field and up a hill.
If I ride twice I don't work him as hard as when I ride once a day. I rode him just once yesterday and he did some really good schooling, worked hard for about 45 mins and then I took him for a 10-15 minute fast canter around the field.
I only do work on good ground and I warm him up and down properly.
I won't work him like that all year, in the winter he gets ridden less and will also have a holiday.
At a show he will do a couple of classes.
I do think there is a balance of working then hard enough to be happy (lots of horses especially blood horses thrive on work), and hard enough to be fit to do competing but not working them so hard that they are over fit and prone to injury :).
I do listen to my horse, last comp we did I had worked him hard all week before, he had worked all day at the show so I gave him two days off in the field afterwards to wind down :).
 
i ride mine twice a day. he thrives on it just like yours :)

tell them to knacker off, they're jealous basically, either because your able to make the time to do it, or your horse is sound enough to.
 
monkeybum13 said:
Sounds like it is working for your horse. Listen to him, not other people.
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This ^^^

It sounds like you're both having much more fun - he gets to do varied, new and interesting things and you've got a more interested horse out of it. If riding twice a day is working for you and your horse stick with it. Think how many times a day a riding school pony gets used...
 
I have done this in the past with my boy, the fitter he is the nicer/more responsive he is to ride. As long as you are varying the work and including a lot of hacking and some easier days you should be fine! :)
 
i have very recently started working my cob twice a day to keep his weight down - he hates being in, hates a muzzle so i thought i would try this - exercise early morning and evening
I really thought i may have problems catching him but am amazed to see the opposite reaction - he is waiting at the gate when i go!
You know your horse - so long as you work to his capabilities i bet your horse loves the attention - i know mine does :)
 
I suppose it depends on what/how hard the work is on both sessions. Twice a day is ok unless you go hell for leather on both. Go for it, sounds like your being sensible and your horse will soon let you know when hes tired and had enough! People love to gossip just ignore them.......
 
Ask your critics if its ok for people to work 8 hours a day and yet doing 2 sessions with your horse is over work ?
If thats true, no riding school would work horses, no horses would ever hunt or do 3DE's and working carriage horses would be unheard of.
My horses are better when they are busy, more energetic and alert. Half the problems with horses these days could be avoided if they had more work.
 
horserider said:
Ask your critics if its ok for people to work 8 hours a day and yet doing 2 sessions with your horse is over work ?
If thats true, no riding school would work horses, no horses would ever hunt or do 3DE's and working carriage horses would be unheard of.
My horses are better when they are busy, more energetic and alert. Half the problems with horses these days could be avoided if they had more work.
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^^^^^^totaly totaly agree! back in the day when horses were horses *quoted by my mam* laminitis was unheard of! horses were worked properly treated and fed right. not implying that any of you dont know how to treat horses, just saying thats how it was:)
 
Thanks guys - you've settled my mind. I would hate to think that I was over - doing it with him, although I never even thought about riding school horses. Of course they do more than one session a day.

He's surprised me in how positively he's responded to the change in regime. I do watch him closely, feel his legs over regularly, and "listen" to him under the saddle, and frankly he's glowing. Not all of the sessions are intense - some of them are relaxing hacks - but mentally he's become much more engaged with me and with the work.
 
I thought I'd resurrect this thread because I've just been told by my vet to work my mare twice a day :)

She is recovering from a ligament injury and he has set us an exercise programme to build up to 2 sessions per day consisting of 30 min walk and 30 min trot by the end of 12 weeks - and then I can apparently find the time somehow to add in some canter work on top of that :eek:

Well, at least we will both be fit ;):D and (fingers crossed) well enough to do some hunting this season.....
 
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