Riding the day before a comp?

[Bryndu]

Hi all,
Just curious really...what type of riding do you do the day before a competition?

Do you school in the discipline you will be competing in...eg jump, dressage, XC.....or do you hack out...or even not ride?

Would love to hear your answers and reasons

Many thanks
Bryndu

 

[SpringArising]

I tend to go for a walk/trot hack. I don't like to jump on consecutive days and don't really see the point in practicing the day before; they're so unpredictable that even if they were angelic the day before they could still be a little demon come show-day!

 

[JustKickOn]

I tend to hack the day before a comp, with a low and low contact. If stressaging, I will do a quick 10 mins in the school afterwards just making sure she is forward and off my leg. If SJ or XC (not that we're jumping at the mo) then I will have done my prep the weekend before and probably a bit of fast work up the hills during the week.

 

[EquiEquestrian556]

If I'm doing SJ, then I'll warm up with some DR, and then go do some jumping, at the height that I'd be competing at the following day. As ours are all very fit, I'd just do what I'd do any normal day. For DR, I'll just practice a bit of the stressage, maybe go for a hack, and pop a small jump.

 

[kassieg]

I've tried a few different things to see what works best & it is a walk & trot hack. don't over do it usually just 45 mins to get her stretched out & thinking forward

 

[FfionWinnie]

I have to ride mine to the same amount of exertion every single day.

Unless you are doing a massive endurance ride or an event I can't see how ten minutes competing makes many odds to the horse.

Mine are all used to going to clinics and various venues so they don't get remotely stressed about an excursion, it's just a normal day to them.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I usually do a quick 10-15min ride of walk and trot just so they have done something before bathing them. The only one who does any more than this is Gray, he does a wee half hour session of nothing strenuous usually just a few gear changes, half halts etc to get him listening and he only does this because he tied up a couple of times during his racing career - we are talking 6 or 7 years ago here but I know he has done it so I will take every possible action against it happening again.

 

[Bryndu]

Thanks everyone for your replies...really enjoying reading your pre comp day routines
Just give mine an easy day slope around...as there is so much stuff to get ready and do isn't there
Best wishes
Bryndu

 

[PorkChop]

I wouldn't jump the day before a jumping competition, however apart from that just a usual day, whether that be hacking or schooling

 

[Jango]

It was a day off and extra oats that worked best for my boy when I was competing but he is a very laid back chap!!!

 

[naza]

Generally I give him the day off, or if he's had a quiet week, the most I'd do is a 30 minute walk/ trot round the village

 

[BBP]

I'd work mine as hard as I could in the hope it might wear him out to the point where he acts like a normal horse...and then remember the next day that it makes no difference whatsoever! Definitely wouldn't get a day off though.

 

[MagicMelon]

Depends on the horse and what we're doing. If it was eventing then I'd generally not ride the day before so they had plenty of energy and spark but I would lunge if I felt they might be a bit too sparky for the dressage. One horse I would always work flatwork-wise day before a dressage comp (or he was too wired), another I wouldn't because he ran out of energy quickly. My current horse I do ride the day before because she's sharp and new to competing so its good to try and take the edge of her I always give them the day off after a competition, just in case they're a little sore (like I guess we might be if we ran a marathon or something).

 

[Henry02]

I tend not to ride, as I'm too busy getting everything packed and ready!

 

[leflynn]

It depends what we've done in the past week, although I would usually go for a hack otherwise I risk a bit too much energy on the day!

 

[PolarSkye]

Jumping is what chills Kali out - much more than hacking - so the day before a dressage competition he has a little jump in the school . . . the day before a jump competition he has the day off . . . I don't like jumping him on consecutive days and a nice little mooch in the field gives his brain a chance to relax before all the excitement of going to a party. I know a couple of SJing rounds or a couple of dressage classes aren't all that taxing on their own, but Kal gets very wound up if he thinks he's going somewhere - there's lots of tap dancing on the yard, there's the journey there (he's a great traveler, but it's still taxing for them to be on the road) - it all adds up. And he always gets the day after a competition off.

P

 

[Jane_Lou]

Depends what we are doing - if eventing she will get a quick hack and then we get on with getting everything ready. If she is SJ normally need to take the edge off for the next day or she will be too full of it without doing Dressage first - ideally we will give her a pop but that depends on whether we can get off work in time, otherwise she will get a decent hack and schooled. For a dressage outing she will get a decent hack and a quick run through of the test after.

 

[miss_c]

Unless I have a lesson then Genie will go out just for a walk hack. If we're at a stay away show then we will have a short stretchy session the day before the actual competition. A friend of mine takes hers to the gallops!

 

[Charmin]

Completely depends on horse and level of training.

My current mare as a baby was a bit wimpy SJ so the day before we'd have a quick gridwork session with everything precisely on her stride, over spooky fillers (and gappy uprights she used to hate?) etc to get her thinking forwards off my leg. Just something to end on a positive note jump wise. Dressage with her was quick 10 minute in the school to get her off my leg then a hack on buckle end for a chill out.

Now she's established we're a bit blase about dressage and just do normal school or hack or jump day before. Before eventing she gets a hack which will have a few canters to get the tickle out her feet but nothing tiring.

On another to get the best results he had to have a hack with lots of fast work to take the edge off him.

Another gelding had to have an extra big feed of oats and the day off never mind how fit he was but he was so laid back he was horizontal.

So completely depends on the horse!

 

[milliepops]

Mine go for a hack. I only compete dressage now and I find that if I try to school the day before a show, the things that aren't perfect stress me out and I always have a horrid ride.
So I don't bother anymore!

 

[Firewell]

For me it's a hack or an easy day in the school. I make sure he has a nice hand canter to get him in a forward thinking frame of mind and get out any potential beans but I don't do anything taxing.
Day before that so say Friday when show is on a Sunday do I have a lesson, run through my tests or jump, that's our practice session where I make sure we are ready to go.

 

[Bryndu]

Thanks everyone for your replies.....great to hear from you all....

Chilled my pony yesterday...and had a super test from him today


Bryndu

 

[Lyle]

Quick hack or lunge, focus on stretch and forward, making sure their muscles have had a good stretch and warm-up. I may do a few laps of the school focusing on transitions, but I really keep it to a minimum. The day before is too late to fix any issues there may have been during the week, and I don't want to start anything or make an issue the day before! Horse then gets a hot cloth and a massage to make him feel good, I won't wash with cold water unless it's a hot summers day and they need to cool down I go to a lot of effort to get them feeling supple, so it doesn't make sense to douse their muscles in cold water! I'll wash his tail and plait the night before if it's an early start, otherwise I'll plait and tail wash in the morning.

 

[Pennythetank]

Unless horse is the type to go insane at a party or owner has a particular plan they like to stick to, my day before generally looks like this:
Dressage- a gallop set to take the edge off while keeping them fresh and on the button,ready to rock.
Sj- schooling session, lots of transitions within the paces, no jumping.
Xcountry- longish schooling hack, generally 5+miles at a slower walk/trot making sure they are on my aids.
Eventing- shorter steady hack, 3miles at a trot.
Then bathed in warm water, plaited down and off to bed!

 

[applecart14]

I always used to have a quick pop over a single jump or small grid the day before a show but when your horse reaches the age of 15/16 and has been jumping more than half its life you suddenly realise that you are probably only going through the motions for yourself and its nothing to do with the horse 'forgetting' how to jump

So I tend not to bother now, sometimes I won't ride at all or some times I will go for a short hack the day before, or if its the winter a quick schooling session. I always ride the day after a competition to alleviate any stiffness and because he doesn't work that hard anyway, and give him Mondays off work.

I think we tend to over complicate things and think our horse is actually working harder than it is. I personally don't think that taking a horse out to a show for five hours and jumping two single phase classes and 20 mins warm up each time with a single jump is too much to ask any horse, especially as during that five hours he is actually active for less than 50 minutes in total!

 

[Mike007]

Yogi Breissner has some interesting ideas on the subject. If I understand correctly ,the horse remembers where you left off when you start again the next day. It sounded mad to me at first but I think there is more than a grain of truth in it. The more I watch , the more I see the horse trying to carry forward.

 

[kzb]

I event and I usually school the day before. I've tried hacking but she gets argumentative when I get on the next day for dressage, plus I'm quite often working the day before an event and I really don't fancy hacking out at 6.30am!

However, I don't do hard flatwork - mostly just work on being calm, obedient and straight. I sometimes run through my dressage test but usually all in one gait (either walk or trot)... She anticipates transitions but is good about running through other movements.