pressure to ride in winter

I have just started facing the car headlights on the arena on full beam, not enough to ride really (it is if you've got two cars) but is ok to lunge. I just make sure the school is regularly levelled.
I am hoping that doing that tues or wed, then riding thurs avo, sat and sundays should see me through. I have a TB tho who does get very fizzy after a few days off!
I only rode at weekends when I had my pony. He settled quite quickly on the saturday hacks. I think that you will be fine. I would try to spend time with your horse though, grooming etc, that way you are still keeping a close connection.
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For me this time of year means there's no pressure whatsoever to ride. Mine do have 24/7 turnout, so there are no worries there, and after a very hard season keeping the boys fit for endurance rides of up to 80km, it's nice to be able to wind down, to NOT feel obliged to ride and only ride at the weekends if I fancy it. It's a kind of holiday for the boys and an easing off of pressure for me - until January time, when I start slowly building up the work again in preparation for the next endurance season.

As others above have said, as long as your horse has sufficient turnout, then there shouldn't be a problem with you only riding on the weekends. Why force yourself to do otherwise?
 
I used to feel pressure to ride when i was at a yard with a floodlit all weather school. It usually ended up in me riding several times a week in the horrid weather, walkignatound the school testing to see if it was too frozen or waterlogged, dodging puddles etc. Now I don;t have a school and just don't ride. So much more relaxed! Although, I can work flexi time so in the winter I try and do a late start one day a week (and late finish) so I can see the ponies in daylight!
 
My boy was a bit of a nutter and our yard had no electricity so couldn't see to tack up in the dark, let alone ride. Plus they were only turned out from 9.30am to 2pm as that suited the YO. He was always on his toes on a Saturday and much less of a handful on a Sunday but it was manageable and, if I was having a lesson on a Saturday, I always lunged first - partly because our outdoor school was the scariest place in the world for him! He would be completely loony bucking and running around for the first few minutes and then settle down. If hacking, I knew he was OK on the road but would choose somewhere uphill and preferably with a gate at the end for his first canter. He was definitely a horse who benefited from the occasional "blast" so we'd try to have a good gallop once a month. Because he wasn't terribly fit through only being ridden at weekends, this used to really chill him out.
 
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