to rest or not over winter? (horse not me!)

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hopppydi

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Hi, its been awhile since i posted on here but have been reading lots. I am having abit of a guilt complex about whether i should be riding my horse in the horrible weather or not? He is a ex racer, kept out at grass and has spent the summer on training livery and is going really nicely. The problem i have is if i give him the winter off am i undoing the good work we did in the summer? He isnt very good out of a routine so riding as and when isnt really an option, when he is in work he needs riding 6 days a week which at the moment i am finding impossible..snow, flooded fields, dark nights etc.
I know this must be a problem lots of people face so just wondered what you all thought
 
If he has had a busy summer learning new things it'll do him no harm having some time off when the weather is too bad to ride enough. He will not forget what he has learnt, it'll take a few weeks to get him thinking again but it'll all flood back and might find he is even better when he comes back into the work nice and fresh after a holiday.
 
so me being a fair weather rider is actually a good thing!! He is turned out 24/7 and will only be stabled for a few hours if his feet are getting too soggy, he coped very well on this routine last year. I have been getting sarcy digs from the yo who worked on him over the summer and has made me feel abit rubbish hence the question
 
cant see why you shouldnt ride him at weekends and days off! and continue the same thread as through the summer. who is in charge of who ? .. the horse? the YO? or you the fair weather rider?
 
They always come back twice as good after having a holiday ... i find anyway also from a health and safety point of view if he needs working 6 days and only gets 2 or 3 days he could injur himself or potentially you !!! let him have a holiday
 
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