what do you do with your hunters when not hunting?

[bella0987]

what do you do with your hunters when not hunting? and how many times a week do you ride them?

 

[palo1]

what do you do with your hunters when not hunting? and how many times a week do you ride them?

Our hunters have an indoor/outdoor yard/turnout setup so they are never stabled. They have open stables in a big barn they can walk in and out of as well as a large hard yard and a turnout paddock. That is currently just mud But they still lark about out there and snooze in the sun. They have ad lib hay, 2 meals a day which are mostly forage based but with added oats - quantity depending on condition and attitude. The two hotter types get ridden twice a week at least if hunting once a week (so one ride mid week between hunting days). If they go out twice a week hunting that is all they do. The more laid back one gets ridden at least 3 times a week (including hunting) and could probably do with more but is fit enough for the job and I don't want to add uneccesary miles on those legs! Hunting is usually quite a long day, they then all get at least 1 x 5 mile hilly hack in walk and trot and if possible a longer, slightly faster one too. December and January are killers though and we just do what we can in the week and modify the length of hunting day depending on the horse. I have found if they are really fit ready for November then they do fine without too much additional work in the depths of winter. Turnout helps too. As the days get a bit easier for me toward the end of the season I do tend to hack out more in the week too. I have nowhere I would want to lunge them and tbh our system has worked well enough for us for years but we are not in big jumping or very fast vale country. If we were I suspect our workload would have to be higher through December and January.

ETA - if you mean what we do out of season, sorry for the long ramble above!! Ours get a rest for several weeks or more at the end of the season, length depending on need and attitude, then some fun stuff over the summer. We try hard to make sure they get enough variety as well as rest and 'switch off' time!

 

[spacefaer]

Out of season, with the older boys, we tend to turn them away completely - shoes off, the works, until they come back up for fittening for Autumn hunting. They don't need miles adding to their legs working them on hard summer ground, and they never go in an arena. During the autumn, they'll do fun rides and some xc schooling, just to refresh their memories!

The younger gang will have a short break, depending on how hard their season has been, and will then do whatever fun stuff they need to over the summer to add to their general all round education. That might be fun rides, some jumping clinics, a little showing - whatever suits.

There was a local u/a ODE a couple of summers ago and I took one of the older boys for a bit of a laugh before he went out for the summer. He jumped a double clear and won his class, so none of them are one trick ponies!

 

[maggiestar]

As someone who is an ignoramus about hunting it sounds quite an idyllic life for the horses!

 

[L&M]

During the season ours hunt 3 times a fortnight, when not hunting always have turnout and get a leg stretch hack twice a week. They are stabled at night. We hunt welsh hill country so not particuarily taxing days, or a huge amount of jumping.

In the spring as soon as they can go out 24/7 they do, then tend to have until Easter off. Then it is a summer of fun rides, meeting up with friends for hacks and the occasional blast round a xc course. When my lad was a youngster I do some RC clinics and low level competing, but now he is more established just relax and have some fun.

I can't bare all the fittening work if they are turned away completely and think it is far better for them to be ticked over for the summer, so come autumn hunting, they then fitten up ready for Opening meet without too much extra work.

They seem quite happy!

 

[bella0987]

During the season ours hunt 3 times a fortnight, when not hunting always have turnout and get a leg stretch hack twice a week. They are stabled at night. We hunt welsh hill country so not particuarily taxing days, or a huge amount of jumping.

In the spring as soon as they can go out 24/7 they do, then tend to have until Easter off. Then it is a summer of fun rides, meeting up with friends for hacks and the occasional blast round a xc course. When my lad was a youngster I do some RC clinics and low level competing, but now he is more established just relax and have some fun.

I can't bare all the fittening work if they are turned away completely and think it is far better for them to be ticked over for the summer, so come autumn hunting, they then fitten up ready for Opening meet without too much extra work.

They seem quite happy!

thanks!
do you ever take them in an arena to school/flat

 

[L&M]

thanks!
do you ever take them in an arena to school/flat

No, any schooling is done on hacks, and being 11yrs and 13yrs both are well enough established not to need much. Whether they would do a decent dressage test is another thing entirely.......!

 

[palo1]

thanks!
do you ever take them in an arena to school/flat

Both of mine get a bit of schooling; the older one to keep him polite - he is rather sharp and can be opinionated and the younger one because I would hope she will do a nice test sooner or later! She enjoys it too.

 

[Jellymoon]

One of mine just hunts and hacks now, he has never enjoyed arena work and I’m a bit of a softy so I let him have his dream life! He hunts once a week, give or take, has 1/2 days off after hunting, and then has a walk hack, a slightly faster one, then a whizzy cantery long hack, then a quiet hack day before hunting. On the quiet hacks he is often led off another horse, mainly to give his back a rest from being sat on.
Out of season, I still hack him 3/4 times a week simply to keep his weight off and laminitis as bay as he’s the type that could get it. These would be longer, slower hacks, mainly walk/trot, very little cantering and very careful of hard ground. Often led off other horse.

My other horse is an allrounder so not really relevent to your post, he hunts a bit, maybe once/twice a month if it’s not too boggy, and then he does a bit of SJ and Eventing, has a few weeks off maybe 2/3 times a year where he would have a total break from being ridden. His regime is mainly hacking but he does like the arena so he goes in there aswell for flatwork and jumping twice a week.

They both live out as much as possible, and like Paol1, I too have an open barn system, they are never stabled.

 

[Jellymoon]

Oh, and I do think the type of of country you are hunting is very relevent, I’m in big jumping country, lots of rails, hunt jumps, hedges, and hills, so mine need to be fit and also well-schooled for jumping, so I do school them in that respect.

They would both go XC training several times in the autumn before hunting starts, and they do hunt fun rides with jumps too. The one that only hunts does not do flat work in an arena, nor does he do any gymnastic arena jumping, but he is schooled on hacks, so he is expected to be polite and go in an outline when asked!

 

[spotty_pony]

My boy only hunts quiet country and when the ground is ok these days so not a good comparison but when he was younger we used to hunt big Leicestershire country 2/3 times per month. He was stabled at night and out in the day, and in between I would probably ride him 2/3 times per week. He would always get a day or two off after hunting and then start with a gentle hack and I would try and get him out for a canter/gallop the day before we hunted. He was one of the fittest on the field but I feel they don’t need to do loads between meets when they are already fit, especially as the Season goes on.