Riders of more than one horse..

[atropa]

A random, musing question - if you ride more than one horse in a day, do you split them up throughout the day (e.g. ride one before work, one at lunchtime, one after work) or do you make time to ride one after the other?
I ask because I spent three straight hours today riding my three one after another and I am absolutely shattered now and not worth tuppence! But I feel like if I split them up throughout the day I'd feel like I was never away from the yard.
Love to hear what others do, or if anyone has any general tips on balancing riding multiple horses with everything else that comes in life.

 

[soloequestrian]

I have two. If I'm riding both I do them one after the other so I only get sweaty and dirty once. I had three in work for a while and it was too much, I hated it.

 

[hock]

Ride your best first. Maybe have them on rotation so only riding 2 a day. It is tiring but it brill for your riding amd your stamina will get better.

 

[maya2008]

When I was doing 3 a day, I got my husband to tack/untack and rode one after the other (to be fair, one was his). Missing out the tacking up bit hugely sped things up!

I have also been known to ride and lead when we were at more than 3 to ride (plus I found a teenage sharer for the best behaved one so she could help with the chores!).

 

[silv]

I have two at home, if I am riding both in my arena then will ride one after the other. If hacking one out will split the day up a bit, ie hack in the morning and ride the other at home before evening feeding or vice versa. Or else sometimes in the summer I hack in the evenings with friends when they are finished work. I suppose I have easy being mostly retired so have plenty time.

 

[atropa]

I have two. If I'm riding both I do them one after the other so I only get sweaty and dirty once. I had three in work for a while and it was too much, I hated it.

This is 100% my thinking - get sweaty and shattered once a day then I have my shower and try to look presentable afterwards. I definitely agree, 3 in work is A LOT and I say that with a sharer who helps out a bit.

Ride your best first. Maybe have them on rotation so only riding 2 a day. It is tiring but it brill for your riding amd your stamina will get better.

I definitely try to arrange days off and sharer days so I only have two to do a day but still end up with a couple of days with all three to ride myself.

When I was doing 3 a day, I got my husband to tack/untack and rode one after the other (to be fair, one was his). Missing out the tacking up bit hugely sped things up!

I have also been known to ride and lead when we were at more than 3 to ride (plus I found a teenage sharer for the best behaved one so she could help with the chores!).

I have to say I have thought about asking the man to act as groom and present me with the tacked up horses but thought that might be a step too far!

 

[DonskiWA]

I have two and I ride them on alternate days. It’s not enough for either of them, but it’s all I’m capable of. Otherwise half my day is gone.

 

[shortstuff99]

Sometimes I do one after the another but normally it is one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

 

[SEL]

During winter it's often 2 in the morning before work (no lights in the evening). A good spray of Chanel to hide the horsey pong before the office ?

I'll often do 2 in a row but I try to plan the longer fittening rides when it's just ride 1 and do groundwork with another.

 

[DabDab]

If I can ride two in the morning then I will, but most days I can't fit that in before work so I ride one in the morning and one or two in the evening. At the weekends I ride three back to back, but tbh one is just a hack on long rein job these days so doesn't take anything out of me really.

I definitely have one that I can only ride when I'm fresh, one that I can school even when not at my best and one that as long as I can still sit upright then it's ok.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

I Poo pick, fast hack the first, school the second then have lunch. Hack the third further or with a friend.

 

[Abacus]

I generally do them at the same time (one after another); as others have said I’d never be away from the yard. I tend to ride each of them for 2 days then they have 1 day off, so I stagger it. Day 1: ride no. one. Day 2: ride both. Day 3: ride no. 2. Repeat. (And my son does some of it with one of them).

 

[Squeak]

I've always done them at the same time, I found it much easier to blitz it and less invasive to the rest of my life as I could then go and do other things. I'm down to one now and have no idea how I used to ride two let alone 3!

 

[Polos Mum]

I have them at home so it's easer to pop in and out. One early usually sets my day up. and lunchtime ride usually makes my work more efficient in the afternoon.

Two in a row is certainly more efficient (less getting changed - which I do find a faff).

I lunge each once a week and ride and lead at least once a week so there's only a few days where I ride both. I only school for 30 mins or so, so a hack and a school doesn't take too long.

 

[RachelFerd]

I do two in a row. Usually try and do something different with them, so hack one and school the other. Unless I'm setting up for jumping, in which case I'll have a helper and jump them both.

I used to ride out racehorses though and would ride 5 lots in a row, and then go home and ride my own straight afterwards. So I'm afraid the answer is, just get fitter!

 

[JGC]

Both of mine have four ridden days a week, one lunge/long rein/in-hand day and I have two days when I don't go to the yard because I'm working an hour and a half away from the stables, so I do sometimes end up with both. But I always do them one after the other in the morning, I'd never have time if I was travelling to and fro twice.

So they are both ridden on Saturdays and Sundays, nothing Monday, a lesson with one on Tuesday, lunge/in-hand the other or light hack, swap over on Wednesday, Thursday nothing, both ridden or long-reined on Friday. Fridays-Sunday, I'll probably do at least one day where I pony one while riding the other.

I have to say, three were a struggle, I think I'd only want to do it again if one had to be retired or semi-retired.

 

[NR88]

I split them.

I have a rota with their days off spread out across the week. I usually only have a couple of days with all three needing worked and I plan that around work and weekends if possible.

I tend to do one am and then sort their stables. Then if two need exercised at night I tend to school one then hack or do groundwork with the other.

 

[nikkimariet]

When I had 2 in full work it would be 2 days on 1, then 2 or 1 day on the other (they were at opposite ends of age and training spectrum).

I prefer riding in the morning so I’d only ever do 1 a day unless it was the weekend.

It’s hard work. I’d never go back to more than 1 in full work unless I dropped to 4 days a week in my job etc.

 

[atropa]

I have a rota with their days off spread out across the week. I usually only have a couple of days with all three needing worked and I plan that around work and weekends if possible.

I've definitely been trying to do this as well and actually think I've managed to figure out a rota using days off and my sharers days that would mean I'd only have to exercise all 3 on a Sat, which would work okay.

 

[blood_magik]

I can ride anything between 2 and 5 a day, depending on how much help I have. I usually do 3 a day.

I ride the most difficult one first while I’m fresh and then the easiest last. If I have something sharp that’s likely to deck me then I ride that one last. ?

I’m not motivated enough to split them AM/PM so tend to ride one after the other until they’ve all been worked.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I tend to do them both in the morning some days I will only do one but if I leave it until later I rarely do it my motivation is not great in the afternoon unless I have some to ride with.

I used to ride 4 or 5 a day I wouldn't want to do it now 2 is enough.

 

[SEL]

I hand walked one in dense fog this morning (2 miles mainly off road but wasn't brave enough to ride the road bit when no one could see me)

Poo picked and the fog cleared

Rode the easy but wheezy one who needs to get out before it gets too warm - about 5 miles

Rode baby cob about 2.5 miles. Took a while because he was wiggling with the flies

Came home to lots of moaning emails despite the fact I don't work Fridays. I need strong coffee

 

[Cob Life]

I ride one after the other, start with the less challenging, funner one, wash him off then start with the other. I usually muck out or poo pick/ any other jobs first so that after riding I can wash them off, turn out and go.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Two I could manage. If doing flatwork, it would be one after the other.

I did a stint of hacking for two hours twice a day in winter, first with one horse then after coming indoors for an hour to thaw out, the other one. Three was just too many to be enjoyable and I got fed up with it all.

One's quite enough now.

 

[atropa]

I ride one after the other, start with the less challenging, funner one, wash him off then start with the other. I usually muck out or poo pick/ any other jobs first so that after riding I can wash them off, turn out and go.

I like your thinking, I always swither between riding first then jobs because I have to do the jobs, or jobs first so I can go straight home after riding.

Two I could manage. If doing flatwork, it would be one after the other.

I did a stint of hacking for two hours twice a day in winter, first with one horse then after coming indoors for an hour to thaw out, the other one. Three was just too many to be enjoyable and I got fed up with it all.

One's quite enough now.

Wow, four hours hacking a day in winter is really impressive!

 

[Mary3050]

I always seem to be varying between 2 -3 to ride a day some have schooling so I try to make sure it’s not all on the same day . I occasionally rider two can do three after each other but would only do 30 mins each. Depending on what I am working I sometimes do one in a morning or at lunch one in the Pm . I avoid doing lessons one after the other as my coach pushes me so if I have to do two on same day I do one first thing one later afternoon early evening

 

[Ample Prosecco]

When I had 2 I always rode both first, one after the other. Then did jobs. So I didn’t talk myself out of riding if the jobs took longer than expected.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I do two in a row. Usually try and do something different with them, so hack one and school the other. Unless I'm setting up for jumping, in which case I'll have a helper and jump them both.

I used to ride out racehorses though and would ride 5 lots in a row, and then go home and ride my own straight afterwards. So I'm afraid the answer is, just get fitter!

Same here when I had ridden ones. In summer I would occasionally ride one before work and one after work but not always. Winter was far easier as I never rode mine in winter. My theory being they are show horses, showing is a summer thing. Racing is a winter thing and I had no daylight. I would get to work in the dark and get home in the dark more often than not and had no where to ride but the fields they lived in so it was a plain no go from October-March. It made life a lot easier.