Schooling 4x a week like Carl and Charlotte?

One instructor said to me that he thinks a jumper needs at least 3 horses on the go so that the rider can be fit enough without overdoing things with the horses. One thing I've learned from Endurance is that once a certain level of fitness is attained, many horses are ridden surprisingly little between rides. This year, I've sat on the Spooky Pony maybe twice a week, and he's been fit enough to do 60km in a decent time, or if we were in Eventer land, seriously fit for mid-levels. It's clear to me that he needs more roadwork, but not for fitness: he needs to condition his feet a little more. So that's what we'll be doing over winter. The Ballerina Mare will be getting the bulk of the work, but realisitically, that will be about 3 times/week in the worst part of the year, aiming for 4 when the weather improves. That'll have to be enough, but I know I need to get more organised about planning what I hope to accomplish in that time!
 
With one of my previous horse I rode her 6 days a week with a variety of hacking, schooling a lesson and a days competing. Needless to say she got stale and I bored the brains off her so she ended up lacking enthusiasm for anything.

The second one I did 4 days as she got to fit if I did more and that resulted in her being quite hot, 4 days kept her at a happy medium.

New horse is a newly broken 4 yr old I do 4 days a week one days a lesson one days in the school and 2 days are hacking the lesson I alternate each week to a jump or a flatwork.

sometimes weather depending I swap 1 of the hacking days to lunging or it is swapped for a days competing.

I find it hard to sometimes fit everything I want to do in but he always seems happy to work and I try and make the time i do do with him productive.

Ideally I could do with another horse sometime to practice more but that will never happen .

I'm going to stick with this routine as he gets older as I think its actually quite alot when you look at it and its less pressure to have to ride if I dont have time one day.

I think if I had done the first one like this she would have been a lot happier .
 
I watched it this morning and he made the comment whilst giving a demo with Charlotte riding one of the youngsters - i took it he meant with just their younger horses as he's said in previous programmes that Valegro/Uti get hacked the days they don't school? I could be wrong though - just how i enterpreted it!!
 
Well, we're no great shakes . . . Kal ain't no Grand Prix Dressage Horse/Four Star Eventer/Scope jumper . . . but we try to keep his work varied, give him plenty of time to think about new things and lots of hacking time to give him a chance to chill/relax and just "let down" . . . so he schools twice a week, hacks twice, has a couple of days off and either jumps in the school, jumps round our XC course, goes the gallops or goes XC schooling somewhere off yard . . . we obviously adjust for competitions but we find that down time really benefits him . . . mentally and physically.

By way of example . . . we've been teaching him flying changes . . . he had one lesson to start teaching changes . . . a week later he had another lesson and we saw massive improvement . . . he had the summer off . . . had a lesson this week to work on changes some more and then this morning went back into the school . . . clean, correct changes . . . he had had the time and the variety for his brain to absorb what he was being asked for without pushing him too far physically and mentally.

P
 
I didnt see the programme as i dont have posh telly! But i think its quite a standard way to work a horse. Mine work two days, rest day, work two days, hack, day off. So they are worked 4 days a week, hacked once or twice and the rest are days off, i have a 5yr old a 6 yr old and an 11yr old following that method. I have one 11yr old that hates that method, and instead works on alternate days and either hacks or day off on the alternate days. All the horses are turned out daily as well all year round. They are dressage horses, the older ones working GP competing Psg/Inter 1, the younger ones of course, working at lower levels. It works well for most horses i find, with the odd exception, like my funny mare who likes her alternate days. I also ride clients horses, so i think it am lucky that i am able to stay riding fit as well as not over working my own horses.
 
joeathh said:
Hi
The routine is detailed on his website see link. They school Mon/Tue/Thur/Fri, hack Weds and Sat and day off on Sunday.
http://www.carlhester.co.uk/yard/daily-routine/
Click to expand...

If I read that correctly all horses go on the walker everyday, are schooled 4x week, hacked twice then turnout or walker on 'day off'. If you count the walker as a work/fitness session (as opposed to a light morning stretch, guess it depends how they use the walker) that's working twice a day, 6 days a week- not a light workload in my book!
 
Also not everyone has access to all year turnout, so surely doing a hack or light schooling would be preferable to stood in for 3 full days 24/7. I am lucky & have plenty of turnout, but I pity those that don't.
 
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