Really honestly, how much riding is needed in winter, to keep a pony 'fit'

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DeliaRides

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So I've put 'fit' in inverted commas because I realise it isn't a binary yes/no thing, so I guess my definition of fit for daughter's pony is fit enough to still do an arena hire or clinic/lesson, or localish arena event/SJ/dressage comp maybe every other weekend, and be ready for a bit more come April when the weather picks up (in the summer she does lots of riding with friends, but also hunter trials, ODEs, dressage, combined training, bit of SJ etc. all local low level).

At the moment teen daughter is miserably schooling on her own in the gloom for 30 mins one evening a week, having a 30 min really effective lesson one evening a week, and then at the weekend she will ride both days and do one of the above (clinic/arena hire/comp) plus either a good long hack or a longer schooling session. If I can scoot out of work early she will do one additional schooling session in the week but this is variable.

Pony is looking very fit and well, he's a finely built sports pony kind of mix (no actual breeding in his passport), doesn't fluctuate with weight over the year and despite being leggy and fine, doesn't really seem to be bothered by hot days/cold days or much in the way of sweat. All that makes it sort of harder for me to judge how fit he is and how well he is coping with what we do and what we plan to do.

I suspect we are doing more than most for winter, because we have an indoor and a good surface on the outdoor, but I suppose my question is....would it do substantial 'damage' to his condition if we dropped the miserable lonely gloomy schooling session? It's a battle to get her on him on that evening, she doesn't feel like riding and is tired etc. and literally the ONLY reason we do it is I've always said if she wants to go out and jump or compete at the weekend, she needs to keep him fit enough to do that. But...would that one session make a real difference?

Interested in thoughts/opinions....
 
I mean personally Id say shes already not doing enough... In my opinion, to compete (especially as often as she is), a horse should be in work 4-6 days a week (minus the competition). Are you/your daughter able to lunge the pony once or twice a week? 15 minutes on the lunge will do so much to help the pony keep fit and takes less effort. When I want my horse competition fit they are hacked once a week, jumped once a week, lunged once a week, schooled at least twice a week, and then that last day is either competing or another lunge, hack or schooling session and that makes a full 6 days of work. My schooling sessions only last about 20 minutes (not including lessons) and I do this all year round. Winter or summer.
 
I wouldn't want to drop a session really, she is only doing an hours work in the week, is it possible for her to mix it up and do some pole work/ grid work in the week to keep it more interesting for them?

You might be doing more than many people but they wouldn't be expecting to go to clinics/arena hire/comps at the weekend.

Mine only gets 2 days off per week, I wouldn't consider him fit enough to take out at the moment as many of the sessions are 20-30min. We did an hour slow hack yesterday and now it is lighter i should be able to build his fitness
 
I also don’t think there is one answer. I have had horses that stay fit in the field, and horses that lose a lot of fitness with a few weeks off or a reduction in faster work (say ground too hard).

Generally the more TB types seem to hold fitness a long time in the field. Measuring fitness by willingness, breathing rate, recovery rate etc. .

But not sure you want to find out whether she is fit enough the hard way, as risk injury.

I would think that working 4 times a week is about the minimum for jumping clinics / competitions. Arena hires, and flatwork lessons maybe less so, assume flatwork lesson adjusts for fitness.

Also how old is the pony? Younger or older I think would lose fitness more quickly.

I would *so* love access to an on site lit indoor school for evenings. Can you make the evening unstructured ride more fun? Lunge her on horse? Ride bareback? Polework, find others and drill ride? Practice tests? Do courses as poles on floor etc.
 
You're doing a similar amount to me and I wouldn't drop the schooling session. I noticed quite a big difference when ice & snow forced 10 days off earlier this year.

Plus its good for resilience to school when the weather is awful!!

ETA mine is usually out 24:7 but came in overnight for 10 days when the fields flooded and again I noticed the difference when we had a weekend clinic.
 
I'm doing similar work at the weekends, and I'm happy that he is worked 4 days a week. 2 of mine would be hacking but only one of those is a faster hack, one is a plod round the village.

I'm not so keen on the one lonely schooling session either, but feel it has to be done 🤣 I have a cheat when I can't be bothered: 4 circles, 4 circuits. Basically, I do a circle, then a full circuit and on the the next quarter (ABCE) and do another circle, then a full circuit and on the the next quarter. I do 4 circles and 4 circuits at walk, trot and canter on each rein.

The walk is actually 2 circles/circuits before the trot on each rein and 2 circles/circuits on each rein as a cool down.

I know it is awful, but it is a discipline and I know how much I've done and how much is still to do. It is a meaningful amount of canter in one go. I do try to improve the paces within this frame. On the plus side, the horse is worked equally, the horse has warm up and cool down, all gaits are covered, he too knows what the game is, I don't have to think too hard about it.
 
Beausmate said:
How much turnout is he getting, and how hilly is the field?
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Was going to say this. Mine used to live out in big fields next door to the Prescott Hill Climb and always maintained some level of fitness. Our hacking was hilly which also helped.

Once a horse is properly fit, it's easy to keep them ticking over, particularly if you're competing most weekends which is exercise too. I used to go bloodhounding or team chasing at the weekends with two or three whizzes round the block in the week, my horse was super fit, schools were a luxury that most people didn't have back then.
 
I'm say it depends on your definition of fit and even more relevant is fitness for what specific activities? I ride 2 share horses who are the fittest horses I've ridden in my adult life, they hack at least 5 days a week, for 2-3 hours at a time, in extremely hilly countryside, with lots of trot work and some mile long canters.
In comparison the majority of the horses on coblets livery yard are only hacked out in walk 1-2/week.
 
2x schooling sort of maintains fitness but not wildly so and doesn’t enable progress.

3x schooling enables progress but if no hacking will quite likely create other issues (boredom being one!).

To progress I would do 3x schooling plus 1/2 long hacks. Could some of that be on the same day? Probably, if pony is fit enough.

If teen is dying from boredom on the one lonely schooling session could they find a friend to ride with, put earbuds in and have music playing or have the schooling session the day after her lesson so she has goals to achieve?
 
Why is it gloomy and miserable, is my first question I suppose. If she is having an effective lesson and enjoys it then one session to do her "homework" before or after seems perfectly reasonable. If she is just getting on and going through the motions for basic fitness then it might be dull as ditch-water for everyone involved, I'm sure there is a way to make it more interesting. Poles in some fun patterns, some lateral stuff maybe. If she enjoys dressage you could look at some of the online dressage comps for a bit of motivation, record it whenever you want midweek then send the video in and most will give you a frilly no matter how you do (which I appreciate 😂).
 
smolmaus said:
Why is it gloomy and miserable, is my first question I suppose. If she is having an effective lesson and enjoys it then one session to do her "homework" before or after seems perfectly reasonable. If she is just getting on and going through the motions for basic fitness then it might be dull as ditch-water for everyone involved, I'm sure there is a way to make it more interesting. Poles in some fun patterns, some lateral stuff maybe. If she enjoys dressage you could look at some of the online dressage comps for a bit of motivation, record it whenever you want midweek then send the video in and most will give you a frilly no matter how you do (which I appreciate 😂).
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I pick 1 or 2 e-riders tests each month which gives me something to work towards even if its improving my serpentines or getting a decent canter strike off on X - its focus for my schooling sessions otherwise they can get quite dull especially when you aren't really feeling the vibe because the sun hasn't appeared for days, its cold and both you and the pony want tea
 
You do pretty similar to me, mine hold their fitness well and will go eventing in March. I don’t sweat it too much if the horse is coping with the level of work well.
I would look to set better aims with the schooling sessions. Maybe a no stirrup lunge session with you holding the lunge rein, a couple of poles on the floor and adjusting the strides between. Some single poles dotted around and practice learning to develop better eye by being able to count down 6 strides away and hit the pole perfectly. A 15m square of 4 poles and be able to stay inside and then ride outside, come back in. Tbh if I really cannot be arsed to ride that day I free jump the horses, lunge them, lunge them over poles etc sometimes I just have treats and play games like teaching them to go and jump by themselves and do liberty work.
 
Some great thoughts here thank you folks. To answer why is it miserable and gloomy - it's because she's 14 and friends have recently moved off the yard, another's pony is out of work, so I think it's the on her own bit of it that is making it miserable for her, plus generally being a teenager. So yes at the moment it's just going through the motions for fitness. She actually does similar to what @Red-1 describes above. Her instructor is great and does give her homework but by the time it gets around to her gloomy schooling session again it's sort of gone out of her head a bit. I try and help her and say 'go online now and pick an exercise from xyz site' or YouTube etc. for your ride tonight, but....meh. We did better before Christmas as we were doing TeamQuest and MyQuest winter league so she always had dressage tests or moves to practice, we've just lost momentum on that a bit now.

You've told me what I need to know though, that actually dropping that session isn't a good idea generally and we likely will notice the difference. So we'll stick with it and cling on until it's a bit lighter (much easier then because she can hack off road for miles at our yard so we don't struggle as soon as we have a bit of light in the evenings). Some helpful ideas here though for switching it up and keeping it at least mildly interesting.

He's turned out every day for most of the day, but it's not very challenging terrain in the sense of helping to keep him fit.
 
Maybe try listening to music in an ear pod to make the solo session less gloomy?

I like listening to music very quietly in one ear when I school alone.
 
I mean it depends on whether she's out jumping 50 or 100?

I hack 3 times a week, for about 5 miles, mostly trot with bouts of canter if I can find a good verge. That keeps him fit enough that when I go jumping at the weekend he doesn't struggle and isn't out of breath by the end. He also lives out full time and keeps himself active judging by the skid marks!
 
You can "hack" in the school. Ideally with 2 people though, but just ride side by side, walk, trot, canter. Ideally you want them puffing so they are working, sort of like very watered down interval training. Takes the pressure off and makes it seem more fun though
 
I wouldn't want to drop the gloomy schooling session for fitness but agree with the comments of changing it up a bit. Polework might help bring some interest but appreciate it might be a PITA to set up when enthuasism is low! Could you switch the session up to interval sessions or a continuous session (by that I mean, warm up and then say trot 10 laps and then canter 5 laps then change rein and repeat but obviously adapt to how fit they are)? I struggle to flatwork school in the winter as it's just unappealing in the cold, dark, wind and rain but laps of trot and canter fly by. Especially with some music or a podcast on.

ETA: If she's really struggling to ride after school that one night, could she lunge instead? Over poles for bonus points. Or free school? If she doesn't 'have' to ride for a week or so, it might take the gloominess and battle away away, especially as it'll soon be lighter evenings again!
 
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I think that it is already noticeable lighter in the evenings and perhaps the "gloomy" schooling session will start to pick up. I also think that teenagers do need to take on some of the rough with the smooth though, the pony needs exercising, the pony is theirs, and if they want to do the "fun" bits, they also need to do the not so fun bits. A life lesson.
 
maya2008 said:
2x schooling sort of maintains fitness but not wildly so and doesn’t enable progress.

3x schooling enables progress but if no hacking will quite likely create other issues (boredom being one!).

To progress I would do 3x schooling plus 1/2 long hacks. Could some of that be on the same day? Probably, if pony is fit enough.
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Do you mean progress in terms of fitness or progress in general?
 
Yes exactly @Tarragon it absolutely is a life lesson and that's why I've kept it up so far. I asked here in case I was being a bit mean, but clearly I am not, which is....well...satisfying in one sense I suppose!

Actually useful thoughts though from @MuddyMonster as well about interval training a bit....I think daughter being 14 and very conscious of everything being perfect, she tends to focus almost exclusively on his shape and his bend, and tuts and gets frustrated and miserable if one night it isn't all perfect. But actually....maybe if we say this session is mostly just for fitness, stop aiming for everything being perfect dressage quality movement, and concentrate on sustained forward pace a bit more, and the lesson and weekend schooling (plus actual dressage if we're out competing at the weekend) is more about technique and making it perfect. Pony is naturally a nice mover anyway, so we're not going to lose ground, it's just if anything because he does naturally carry himself well, she has sort of begun to expect it to look and feel beautiful all the time, which is not realistic for anybody.

Love the idea of poles but our indoor is quite small and new and we haven't any poles in there yet (and the outdoor (dark) is a long way away to lug them, but it's definitely on the list. I'm a bit of a novice at lunging to be honest but might do some sessions with instructor and get us both more comfortable with it.

Really appreciate everybody's feedback and suggestions, thank you!
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Do you mean progress in terms of fitness or progress in general?
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In my experience progress in general, which does of course involve fitness. We don’t have an arena at home and 2x a week of arena hire in winter maintains what we have but doesn’t improve anything. 3x and things start happening. In summer obviously hacking can assist more (our hacking is mostly just mud in winter so walk/little trot only).
 
DeliaRides said:
Some great thoughts here thank you folks. To answer why is it miserable and gloomy - it's because she's 14 and friends have recently moved off the yard, another's pony is out of work, so I think it's the on her own bit of it that is making it miserable for her, plus generally being a teenager. So yes at the moment it's just going through the motions for fitness. She actually does similar to what @Red-1 describes above. Her instructor is great and does give her homework but by the time it gets around to her gloomy schooling session again it's sort of gone out of her head a bit. I try and help her and say 'go online now and pick an exercise from xyz site' or YouTube etc. for your ride tonight, but....meh. We did better before Christmas as we were doing TeamQuest and MyQuest winter league so she always had dressage tests or moves to practice, we've just lost momentum on that a bit now.
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Can you change the lessons so that they're only a day or two before the schooling session and so are fresh in her mind and she has a clear focus for the session?

If getting out to dressage was also helping then I would try and do that too. I would find just going round in circles dull but if I have a clear plan of what I want to achieve and what I'm aiming for then it's a lot more satisfying especially when you feel things starting to improve and progress.
 
I wouldn’t cut the weekly schooling session. Is it a possibility to get a local freelancer to either school or hack him out once or twice during the week in the winter whilst she is at school? If he has reached a level of fitness it is unlikely he will lose it but I wouldn’t leave him all week and then just ride at weekends to compete. Tbh the hack/school mid week will be fine if he is getting plenty of turnout and is fit enough for what is required though. I used to only ride once or twice when hunting fit in between meets.
 
As another suggestion, could the friend whose pony is out of work temporarily ride your daughter’s pony one day a week? She might appreciate the ride and it would help with fitness, even if she rode for half an hour immediately before or after your daughter rather than on a different day.
 
I agree with the others - if you are targeting Hunter Trials and ODEs - even at low level that involves sustained canter and multiple jumping efforts. Fittening work is for muscle/bone/ligaments strength as well as cardiovascular fitness. Particularly as you are not getting any of that from the pony living out on a hill. Not puffing is only one metric. Tbh this time of year when we had events planned from April, we did more fitness work than this - and included specific canter interval training to build up stamina to sustain canter for up to 5 minutes. I'd forget the 'shape/bend' focus on that nid week sesson- but for now the priority for me would be strength/conditioning and fittening which might mean canter intervals, pole work, gymnastic exercises - bounces etc.

It was tough on daughter when it was cold and wet, but the deal was clear - if you want to me to take you to clinics and events, then you need to put the work in the get your pony fit enough for that. If you don;t feel like doing that, that's fine, but then you can't do the stuff you want to do at the weekend either. It was entirely her choice so I never mithered her about it and she never moaned (much) because she knew I'd just say ' well it's totally up to you'.
 
Thanks again folks, you've all told me a) what I already suspected but am now more assured of, but also b) given me some new ideas, and also c) reminded me that I should be clearer with DD that shape/bend and fitness are two different things and we shouldn't concentrate on only shape/bend when much of what she wants to do requires the fitness.
 
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