Schooling several days in a row - do you?

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ecrozier

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Obviously in the summer it's not a problem, but I am struggling to get roo out hacking during the week at the moment. In an ideal world I would school Tuesday and Thursday, hack Wednesday and one day at weekend and final weekend day would be a competition or outing to a lesson or better hacking etc! However he isn't 100% in rush hour traffic alone - or at least not where our yard is (outskirts of large town on national speed limit road, lunatic drivers and very heavy traffic!) and I can only wangle a slightly late start once a week so would need to be back by 9 really - not do able at this time of year as by the time its light, it's already rush hour!
So what I'm wondering is would he be ok going in school three days a week tues weds thurs in an average week? I usually give him friday and Monday off although could swap that so he schooled say tues weds fri, although not sure if that makes much odds?!
What do others do during winter? I'm lucky with J that I have a friend who hacks him out every wednesday so that breaks up the school work also I can hack him out in rush hour without too much trouble - drivers hate me but he's not bothered by any form of traffic. I also lunge him - but am hesitant to lunge roo rather than school as I think the larger turns etc under saddle are probably better for his still fairly young joints - he turned 5 in July.
So anyway, what I am getting at is how do you guys manage riding in winter with dark mornings and evenings? What's your weekly routine? And would you hesitate to school a relatively young horse on the flat 3 days in a row - he's very willing and has a great work ethic, not doing anything particularly strenuous just basic stuff and starting some lateral work.
 
i personally don't have much issue with schooling 3 days in a row. as long as you mix the schooling up a bit. I am not on a livery yard some am restricted to when its safe to get to the field to school in. Hacking is restricted to when the road is safe and the horse's hoof condition (unshod and worn the backs out a fair bit)
I think your idea of giving a day off by schooling tues/wed and fri is good as its a youngster.
 
I try and school Tues and Thurs eves and hack Saturdays and Sundays (except when I'm competing at weekends), plus a quick lunge one of the "off" days.

In your situation I wouldn't worry too much, although I'd try and get some variety into it, so poles etc, so he isn't just going in circles three days in a row, or do a short lunge session on the middle day...

Have you thought about long reining instead of lunging if you are worried about his joints?
 
Polotash - I'm not sure I could run quick enough or for long enough to trot! Could long rein in walk though? And bits of trot maybe!
 
My mare is 6. i lunge her on Tuesday, school on wed. Day off on Thursday. Pole work on Fri if time available to set it up, otherwise schooling but work on different excersizes than wed. Sat hacking. Sun schooling with short hack to cool off or perhaps competition. Monday off.
 
Just because you go in the school every day doesn't mean you have to do the same things every day or that your horse has to be bored or somehow damaged by it. I can tell you, where I'm from, you wouldn't be getting out of the indoor arena for the next four months!! (More like five, most years!)

The school is just a place and schooling is just a conversation you're having with your horse. You can - and should - be doing a variety if work, with different goals and themes within your larger program. I had one today who is really benefiting in his contact issues by cantering with a slightly lower neck so he did only the minimum warm up and then lots of that. It also helped address the fact that he's quite fresh as they're not doing much outside now the ground is muddy. Tomorrow he should be in a better place to do some more collected work. Another horse addressed his tendency to ' phone it in' at first by coming out and being asked to do difficult work in a spooky situation. He was very good, so tomorrow he'll have an easier day, partly for physical reasons, partly so he keeps thinking the school is a fun place to be. All in the school, none of it boring. ;)

Also, it's not even an hour out of his day and presumably he has other things to keep him occupied the rest of the time. He can give you his attention for that tiny fraction of his waking day. :)
 
I often do,find horse listens more if I school 2 days in a row. He often had 2-3 days off a week this time of year, I find 1st day I
school quite hard as he's a lively sort then 2nd day I don't have to
do as much as he's concentrating better so we prob do more fun stuff & have a shorter session. Then the next time I ride I hack out so we can relax a bit. As Tarrsteps said it's only a short bit of thier day & as he spends the rest of the day turned out I don't feel guilty at all.
 
I go in the school at least 4 times a week as a) lack of light this time of year and b) I don't like hacking. As others have said as long as you mix it up i don't think it matters. Sometimes I'll do just walk Inc poles. Sometimes work on the canter. Sometimes lateral work. Sometimes bit of each. If someone said to me you can school everyday of the week and never have to hack out again I'd be a happy bunny.
 
I agree with TS and would like to add that I think it is difficult to progress with flatwork unless you do more than 2 sessions a week! It's gymnastic exercise after all, and I can't envisage a scenario where serious athletes only trained 2 days a week! Of course they work different muscle groups on consecutive days, and have different programmes so they don't get injuries, but so should your schooling I think!
 
Me and my boy find schooling hard work, and he gets very bored with it. We are lucky we have 2 schools on our yard one with lights and one without, I tend to mix up which one I go in, there is normally enough light from the yard to use the one without lights, just !

I have also this year for the first time in the 8 years Ive had him asked someone esle to ride him. She works shifts so can ride in the day light and hack and jump him for me, this has been working very well !
 
I find you have to do what works for your horse!
My mare, if you give her more than a day off in a row, she acts like youve given her a week off and plied her with sugar so we have to spread time off.
She is in hard work training for BD and she is schooled several days in a row, but doing different things, not just the same thing in and out, mixed up with the odd day of jumping and a hack once a week. She probably gets worked 4/5 days in a row before a day off as she is a tank and she tells us when shes ready for a day off.
My OHs horse though, he does one day on one day off of schooling, the off being a total rest day, or a walking hack and that is what he produces his best work from.

It really depends on the horse and what works for you and also your aim. We are all training hard for BD and so if we schooled once a week, we would never reach our aim. Plus my mare would kill me, or the the dreaded "Duracell bunny on crack" as i call her!
 
I agree with TS and SC, you can vary what you do in a school to keep the horse interested. I have to spend a lot of time in the school due to times i can ride so i try to work on or introduce something new in flatwork once a week and use some polework once a week.
 
Happily! At the moment I have to, as I have to do rehab work on our indoor surface so I'm "schooling" 5-6 days a week for an hour each (not really schooling though as still not doing many circles, just mainly straight lines etc). But in the depths of winter when it's icy out, I have in the past "schooled" 6 days a week - with variety of work, sometimes long-reining instead, polework, jumping, lateral work, transitions, sometimes being silly and doing bending work/mounting practice, or even round-the-world, riding backwards or with jockey stirrups etc. Just because you're shcooling/in an arena doesn't make it bad! My only rules are that I don't work hard 2 days in a row, and that I don't work on the same thing 2 days in a row (unless doing a short refresher the next day).
 
I think more riders get bored schooling thanks horses afterall they are happy with routine, the same company, feed, turn out...why should one hour out of the 365 day routine bore them.

Mine work Thursday (loosening up) to Sunday, then one day off to rest, one to think about it and Wednesday optional ...in can use instead of Thursday if weather isnt good.
 
I never tend to ride even 2 days in a row in the school just cos my older mare starts playing up when we do as she gets tense and upset and I dont want my 4 year old to lose keeness for flatwork, since dressage is his chosen career, if he gets bored. Also, even though I love dressage, I get bored out of my head if I have to ride 2 horses in the school several days in a row.
However, if u mix it up with polework or jumping on the middle day there cant be any harm in it. I lunge my 4 year old if the weather isnt ok to hack but only do it for 15-20mins in side reins and do 20m circle and then jog with him round the whole school while he's on the lunge asking for an attempt at medium and I never canter him unless he's a bit crazy and wants to canter as excess energy.
 
Thanks all. He's not a horse that gets easily bored - he is very happy to work even when having a bit of a 'crazy day' as soon as we are in school and I'm on his back he knuckles down and works. Yes TS he is turned out 12 hours a day in a herd of 5, so shouldn't really struggle to give me his attention for 30 mins I guess! SC his flatwork has come on loads I think with 2 sessions a week in the school but our hacking is very road based so hacking is mainly in a contact working up into the bridle, asking for lateral flexion etc and when on quiet roads asking for some leg yield/shoulder in etc.
So last night I did quite a lot of trot work, mixing up some 15 and 10m circles with going large and asking for flexion to outside, then some leg yield, and finished off with about 4 x 20m circles in canter on each rein but majority of session was definately in trot, so maybe tonight I will work more on walk and canter, then tomorrow we have a lesson so will do all of the above I think!
Good idea re pole work etc, after Christmas I might aim to ride one morning a week even if in school and do that - too dark in evenings, our lights aren't very good!
 
I have to school my horse several days in a row due to the lack of light at the moment, and she is only 4.

I try to give her a day off in the week to break things up, and try to vary the schooling so that we might have a slow and steady day after a day working on canter transitions. It is fairly limited though as our indoor school isn't very big and we don't have many poles. We do often work around whatever the pony club have left out though so will bend through skittles and so on. I make sure she gets a hack at the weekend and if DH isn't too busy he will hack her in the week too.

I also prefer not to lunge due to strain on young legs.
 
Madam gets schooled 3-4 days on week days, without an issue. If anything, it has really helped her flatwork, as she has a routine now with the warm up/work/cool down and as a result is a lot more settled. She is having a while off competing (more due to £ than anything!) which means I can hack her at the weekends, but will also jump at the weekend if necessary, which means ANOTHER day in the school ;)
 
In the summer I generally school on the flat twice a week (pony does get stale otherwise and so do I)

I then do some interval training and hacking or jumping inbetween to break it up.

In the winter I can only hack at weekend and even then it depends on weather so I still school twice a week if I can and then just do one lunging session with poles in between to keep him ticking over.

Not ridden in a week now though due to weather/illness and pretty resigned to not riding until after Christmas when hopefully we can get out and do lots of hacking during the holiday period and then get back to normal in the new year.
 
I wouldnt worry about it too much. I only have use of a 20x20 school during the week as the big one has no lights so i go in there mon, wed and fri i will school twice and lunge once or school once and lunge twice depending on time and how he is going. Its very difficult to mix it up in there as im limited in space but sometimes i wont move out of trot and will work on my postion or something, some days it will all be about flexing and so on. So far it has helped him loads as i have to school rather than hack out all the time! :D.
At weekend i hack, i kind of refuse to use what daylight i have to go in the school again. If i want to jump him then i will do it every now and again but i will try to get him out at weekends really.
 
i don't see a problem with schooling 3 days in a row, as long as it is varied so the horse doesn't become stale!!

as for my routine, luckily i have some mornings off from lectures so school bugsy tuesday and thursday mornings at about 9.30am, and my mum will hack monty in the afternoons, and then other days bugsy will get hacked and then competed at the weekend

it is very hard in winter!! roll on brighter days now the shortest day is passed! (nearly! haha)
 
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