Those who event/have all rounders

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Dizzydancer

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Hi all

I have bought a new horse in May this year and now we have got to know each other with lots of hacking and lessons over the last few months I would like some advice.

My previous horse I only did flatwork/hacking so easy to manage but with my new girl we would like to do a bit of everything an aiming to go out next year doing some eventing (low level- horse is great rider not so lol)
How did you manage your horses in a work routine to get in all elements that are needed? What is most important to work on or does it vary for every horse? On average how often should I be thinkin of jumping compared to flatwork?
jumping is her strong point- flat work not so good so I imagine this should be our main focus over winter.
 
I jump once a week, hack once, ride in the field, lunge and school on any of the others. Some weeks I get more hacking in. Normally one day off. Cross country schooling once a month or so, would prefer to do more

We do fun rides, cubbing, hunting etc
 
Am constantly struggling to fit in all the training we could do with! Our hacking isn't great so tend to only hack once a week. He gets two days off normally as he's 16 now and really doesn't need to be drilled every day. Normally a couple of flatwork sessions. I should probably do more jump related things like polework etc but with only 4 poles and no helper it's not easy. Usually go out once a week and hire a course to jump then compete at weekends. He keeps fit by competing and schooling. In the run up to Badminton Grassroots I tried hard to squeeze in several sessions on the gallops but it wasn't easy with working full time as well! He is competing BE100.
 
Thanks both!
I'm lucky I guess as our hacking isn't amazing but is undulating and we have fields with nice hills to go round and we have actually got gallops on site.
My instructor also gives her a good flatwork session weekly I have a lesson weekly (mainly flatwork and pole work) we hack once/twice a week and have a session round the fields once a week and she has a 2 days off a week due to work pattern.
I think I need to add in more jump sessions possibly in lessons or maybe alternate with the field/hacking days to try and get that in.
We will also head out to somerford/eland or on fun rides prob once a month/6weeks as time allows
 
I would concentrate on the flatwork and some indoor jumping over the winter - it is hard to fit everything in.

Ours would usually have a jumping lesson mid week, one hack/beach ride/fast ride a week. The rest of the time we would school/ride in the field over poles etc. Then a competition of some sort every fortnight.

The better you get your flatwork the better your jumping will be so investing in some good lessons is the way to go. We work mostly on the canter as it is so important for the jumping and find that it improves the trot and walk anyway :)
 
Thanks LJR- it definetly is a struggle to get it all in!!
I will concentrate more on the flat over winter and do some SJ- I haven't jumped much over last few years but have got the bug back so will try and mix my lessons up a bit so I can get more jumping experience- te horse knows it's job when it comes to jumping so that makes my life a bit easier!!
 
TBH for low-level stuff they really don't need to be that fit. My horse gets ridden usually 4 or 5 times a week, with usually one jump lesson, one or two hacks (generally just active walking as our hacking is rubbish), one flatwork session and then a second flatwork session or a lunge session. Schooling tends to be 20/30 min, hacking max 40 min, jump lesson 30/45 min. With this she is more than fit enough to get round a BE80 with breathing rate and heart rate back to normal well before we've hacked back to the box. Concentrate on keeping it varied and not drilling them in the school :)

Oh, and she's a pretty old-fashioned heavy set warmblood so not something that naturally keeps themselves fit IYSWIM.
 
I'm surprised at how little hacking everyone does, in my opinion the best way to get horses fit. Mine mainly does elem dressage with some low level eventing thrown in. We hack three times a week, usually 1-1.5 hours. School two or three times a week and compete approx. every two - three weeks. She is fit and strong (not to ride, condition wise)
 
sjdress said:
I'm surprised at how little hacking everyone does, in my opinion the best way to get horses fit. Mine mainly does elem dressage with some low level eventing thrown in. We hack three times a week, usually 1-1.5 hours. School two or three times a week and compete approx. every two - three weeks. She is fit and strong (not to ride, condition wise)
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I'd love to do that but unfortunately my hacking is naff and I'd be hard pushed to fit is an hour and a half hack once a week, never mind three times a week!
 
thanks- vallin it's more to try and get an idea of what people do not so much for fitness work as she is quite fit anyway and I can get her on the gallops if it was needed.
Sjdress- I spent nearly all summer hacking 4x a week and schooling once but she needs more flatwork help so I had to change the plan and out hacking I like to let her have chill out time rather than work her properly- maybe wrong but it's also my chillout time! We do hack for min 1hour when we go tho.
 
I must admit that come winter I can only manage to hack once, or twice a week if I am lucky, due to working full time and I do notice that her fitness decreases but she stays ticking over well enough with schooling. I think the key is variety so that you are working the different muscles etc.
 
sjdress said:
I'm surprised at how little hacking everyone does, in my opinion the best way to get horses fit. Mine mainly does elem dressage with some low level eventing thrown in. We hack three times a week, usually 1-1.5 hours. School two or three times a week and compete approx. every two - three weeks. She is fit and strong (not to ride, condition wise)
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I don't have anywhere to hack that long unless I box up which I don't have time for during the week. 45mins is about the max I can manage. The roads are too dangerous round here.
 
sjdress said:
I'm surprised at how little hacking everyone does, in my opinion the best way to get horses fit. Mine mainly does elem dressage with some low level eventing thrown in. We hack three times a week, usually 1-1.5 hours. School two or three times a week and compete approx. every two - three weeks. She is fit and strong (not to ride, condition wise)
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Hacking is the work of the devil - I try if at all possible to get my daughter to hack ours :)
 
My mare events at Novice/1* level and only schools on the flat once a week in my dressage lesson. She does fast work once a week either stamina training in my field cantering at 1/2 speed for 6+ minutes or interval training at the gallops gradually building up speed per interval. I don't jump her much at all. She has mostly only jumped at competitions this year with the occasional jump in between at home due to bad ground. Now that the ground is better she will jump once or twice every 2 weeks till the end of the season just to keep her eye in. She gets one day off (usually a Monday) and the rest of the time she hacks out on the buckle which she loves as it is her chill out time with me. I have only xc schooled once this year and even then it was only in a schooling field.
She only does one or two competitions a month as I don't want to break her and I cant afford anymore than that! I find this routine keeps her really quite fit. She was one of only 2 horses to make the time at Treborough Novice in June in her section, she would have made the time at the Gatcombe festival if I hadn't had to slow down to be ill and she was one of only a few to make the time at the Bicton 1*. Not bad for a gypsy cob!

ETA - I work full time and I am also doing a degree.
 
Remember that sessions don't have to be either/or. They can be combined. I often school flatwork with showjumps in the arena. Pop them as and when the horse feels right. Nothing wrong with taking horse for a hack after a schooling session.
 
Low level horse & rider, just doing unaff ode/xc and affiliated dr. We hack a lot as our arena is tiny and tbh I get bored schooling in the same place all the time. Summer we have use of fields. Summer is usually hack 3 times a week one is droped for a comp) for anywhere between 1 and 2 hrs (inc some schooling and some fast work round fields and up hills), then out of the other 3 sessions its either one flat and two jumping or other way around depending on the ground (SJ is on grass too). Winter hack three times, school once, 1 x comp and occasionally jump if we have lessons or hire an arena.
Horse is as fit as a lop and barely breaks sweat and never puffs after an hours xc schooling (not at full tilt all the way), didn't break sweat after a small ODE with only enough time to change tack two weeks ago. Normally compete once or twice a month due to time/finances/transport, he is a TB so he seems to keep himself fit without any help from me! If I jump at home it's not a long session, more like a few warm up jumps then a small course or just popping a few jumps after a bit of schooling :)
 
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