what would you do if you couldn't ride for a few months

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Mel1

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so! my horse is out of action for a few months,
and I have nothing else to ride for about 8 months, so what else can you do to keep you physically and mentally "in riding shape"
I go to watch my friend's lessons, write for dressage judges, and do plenty of reading on horsey books but I dont know what else to do, I'm going to be dead rusty when I get back on and need to find something to do! what can you do to keep you physically in shape as well for riding (and please, dont say running, I hate running!)
 
On a more serious/helpful note, it's a tricky one.

If you want to keep riding, I am sure you will be able to find people who need a hand every now and again and would appreciate a competent rider to keep their horses ticking over. You could learn a new horsey discipline ie polo or ride out racehorses on a Saturday morning from time to time or volunteer to teach at a local riding school/pony club/riding club.

For non-riding, I remember as a child wondering what on earth non-horsey people do on the weekends! There is lots though - if you are sporty, you could join a local team, learn to do something active and different ie rock-climbing/fencing/skiing etc or play squash with a friend or go for a good cycle or long walk on a weekend where there's half-decent weather (depending on how hardy you are). If you like a good challenge, there are plenty out there, and not just for running. I'm not sure where you are geographically, but there is plenty of coast path or hills to scale to keep you fit if you're not the gyming type.

I think I might relish in the opportunity to stay clean, have hands that aren't covered in blisters/bruise/sores, and catch up on some good cultural events; as well as keeping an eye on the horsey news and spectating or helping at events (you could be a fence judge/dressage writer at comps) of course.

Good luck - enjoy it! Let us know what you fill your time with :-)
 
I've been in this situation a couple of times and the biggest problem I had was finding much time to do different things - She was on box rest and I still had to walk her out at least once a day so couldn't necessarily just go away for the weekend unless I could find somebody capable (and willing) to lead her out for me. I still had all the livery bills so my great idea of going to have lessons on really good horses was a bit limited by finances.... although obviously I was saving on not having lessons on her or competing. All the above suggestions are good and hopefully you can find horses to ride regularly. I think Pilates is a really good idea. You could always subscribe to something like HorseHero to watch the training videos, I find them really interesting but never have enough time to watch them all.
 
stick an ad of facebook offering to exercise horses? people are always looking. Mine has an abcess at the moment and I already have offers of 2 to ride at anytime through the week when I feel like it.
 
I've had gaps before where horses have been out of work etc and I honestly would just try and enjoy it- see friends that you normally never get time for etc etc. I have ridden for other people on numerous occasions but I would just be careful with this as you seem to get horses offered for you that have various problems- not everyone is like this but I've certainly had my fair share x
 
Rosesandhorses said:
I've had gaps before where horses have been out of work etc and I honestly would just try and enjoy it- see friends that you normally never get time for etc etc. I have ridden for other people on numerous occasions but I would just be careful with this as you seem to get horses offered for you that have various problems- not everyone is like this but I've certainly had my fair share x
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I agree, have a break and enjoy.

At least you are not having to deal with a horse on box rest and all of the associated walking out etc!
 
As per the others... spend your time doing something else, like another sporting activity.

You could keep yourself entertained by training for a 10k run? Or some other sporting challenge?
 
If you have enough money - buy a project horse that you'd be able to turn around in the 8 month period.

If you have not enough money for a new horse but a bit of extra cash if you are not competing/having lessons etc then I'd have monthly (or more frequent if you can afford it) schoolmaster lessons.

Failing that try a few sports and see what you enjoy, it could be anything from walking and maybe you could train to do the 3 peaks challenge or something like that? Or try cycling, swimming, one of those horrible muddy obstacle courses :eek:, basically any sport you might have thought you'd like to try but horses got in the way!

Lots of horsey volunteering, so keep on with the dressage writing, maybe train to be a fence judge so you can do BE as well? As others have said, offer your services to ride other people's horses if you want, have a look to see if there are any local race yards who need their racehorses riding out....

There are endless things you can do really but you might find you enjoy having a rest ;)
 
I havent ridden since the end of August and its not looking like i will sit on him again for a while. To be honest while i have missed ridding and competing i actually dont have any inclination to ride. I have had lots of offers of horses to ride, some really nice quality ones that in a way i should as it will do me good but i cant be bothered.
As said above trying to fit in looking after your own horse and then doing another horse is sometimes a bit difficult. During the week i dont have time to do mine then go off to another yard and at weekends i find that im doing other things and still dont have time.
I would enjoy the rest, im worried about my fittness but with inhand walking then slowly bringing him in to work it will probably return at the same rate as his does.
 
I am the same, I always wondering what non-horsey people do at weekend???
I should have mentioned that horse is out of action because she's having a foal! she's due in April and will be most of the time at stud until the foal is weaned and goes away and I can bring her back into work. she was ridden normally till 3 months and hacked till 5 months (she's finding the whole pregnancy thing VERY exhausting), meanwhile I have been riding a horse for someone else 2-4 times a week to keep me going and it was all perfectly good until last week it ended up in a bit of a disaster so that has really put me off from riding other's people horse!
with the foal coming soon my top priority is to look after my mare and I want to enjoy time with the foal and establish a good start in life plus I need to save my money in case things get expensive! so buying a project or or taking one on loan is not an option. but they are both going to be at stud for quite a bit so I will have some time to do other stuff (I think!), walking and cycling sounds like a good idea, my boyfriend climbs so I could go with him. I love dressage writing, but sitting in a car all day is not doing my core muscle any favor!
 
MCTM said:
I've been in this situation a couple of times and the biggest problem I had was finding much time to do different things - She was on box rest and I still had to walk her out at least once a day so couldn't necessarily just go away for the weekend unless I could find somebody capable (and willing) to lead her out for me. I still had all the livery bills so my great idea of going to have lessons on really good horses was a bit limited by finances.... although obviously I was saving on not having lessons on her or competing. All the above suggestions are good and hopefully you can find horses to ride regularly. I think Pilates is a really good idea. You could always subscribe to something like HorseHero to watch the training videos, I find them really interesting but never have enough time to watch them all.
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I'm on horse hero, it is really good, I am the same, when I rode I found I never had time to watch all the video and now that I have more time, I find watching them a bit frustrating as I want to practice on what I just watch the next day or I'll forget! ;-)
 
I've only had 6 weeks off riding, but I don't find the inclination to ride others particularly. Just find myself missing riding mine all the more when I do.

As you've got a good time of year for it, make the most of the time to do other stuff - get on the BE volunteer courses and do some fence judging (some of the big events - Blenheim springs to mind - are often looking for volunteers). I personally find writing for a dressage judge a bit boring, but there's always plenty of other things that need doing. You could help out at your local RDA (although not sure of the rules on police checks etc), or at a local sanctuary.

Or just spend the whole summer in pub gardens ;)
 
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