canteron
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much for all your replies and making me feel more normal - and fingers crossed for those who have more complicated issues than rubbish weather - I hope Spring and warmer days bring better things x
When was the last time you rode?
- Thread starter canteron
- Start date
Tihamandturkey
Well-Known Member
Last Saturday - was hoping to today but it was fierce windy ? fingers are crossed for tomorrow ?
Winter, working full time and riding regularly is nigh on impossible - have been doing loads of groundwork however & that seems to be keeping us both fit ?
Winter, working full time and riding regularly is nigh on impossible - have been doing loads of groundwork however & that seems to be keeping us both fit ?
Mrs C
Well-Known Member
I was last Sunday. School has been frozen since and too icy on the hilly roads
cornish1
Member
Today. An hour and threequarters hack in the pouring rain, gale force winds and freezing cold. Actually felt sorry for the poor horses but I try to get a longer ride in at weekends as I work in the week. Have just moved yards and trying to keep the horses in a routine as they are better ticking over than not - my mare has a busy mind and the devil makes work for idle hooves! Older horse is saintly but on the better side of 'well' so like to keep him moving to help his waistline. A friend rides him on a Saturday so it's a chance to get them both out for a slightly longer jolly.
In the two weeks we've been at the new yard we've had sub zero temps, ice, snow, floods, torrential rain and 50mph+ winds. Really getting fed up with being wet, cold and filthy everytime I leave the house - roll on spring!!!
In the two weeks we've been at the new yard we've had sub zero temps, ice, snow, floods, torrential rain and 50mph+ winds. Really getting fed up with being wet, cold and filthy everytime I leave the house - roll on spring!!!
willowblack
Well-Known Member
I had an involuntary dismount in November resulting in an old surgery to fix my shoulder being undone. So no riding til Christmas when I felt better and then it has either snowed or we’ve had sheet ice for all except 2 weekends since then. So I’ve only managed about 4 rides since! Come on spring we need you now ?
willowblack
Well-Known Member
Glad you’re both okay! This is what scares me most about hacking in this weather!
Callieann
Well-Known Member
Last September, I've got two very green horses. I've got nowhere to ride them at the moment. Can't even do any ground work as the field is too bad to work in. Hoping that I can start doing something with them end of March when I can get some continuity going.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Last Sunday, for me. And I'll be riding again tomorrow. Temperatures are about -6°C overnight, and it should be between -2°C and 0°C for the start of my class at 11h. But wind chill will make it feel like -8°C or maybe even -12°C. I'll even be taking a pair of gloves with me, tomorrow.
blitznbobs
Well-Known Member
About 8 hours ago
Ali27
Well-Known Member
I hacked two and lunged one today! Same again tomorrow!
Kat
Well-Known Member
Today, it was absolutely freezing cold but dry enough that we were able to pick our way round the ice on the lanes.
PSD
Well-Known Member
Nearly 2 years ago now!
waiting for a friends saddle fitter to come and sort her horses saddle then I’m going to be riding her cob for her. He’s fat and unfit, as am I ? plus I need to get myself back into it before getting on my youngster over summer.
waiting for a friends saddle fitter to come and sort her horses saddle then I’m going to be riding her cob for her. He’s fat and unfit, as am I ? plus I need to get myself back into it before getting on my youngster over summer.
Dontforgetaboutme
Well-Known Member
I’ve had to ride, lunge or longrein both mine every day as they have no turnout due to the weather. They have been pretty good though yesterday was biting cold which put them both on their toes. Forecast says is going to be mid teens temperature next weekend so hopefully turned a corner weather wise ?
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite
Well-Known Member
Yesterday morning. With the "herd" (three of us out).
Encountered scary piece of silage-wrapping up the road blowing all over the place in the midst of a snow-flurry.
Interesting ride!!
Encountered scary piece of silage-wrapping up the road blowing all over the place in the midst of a snow-flurry.
Interesting ride!!
Carlosmum
Well-Known Member
Really not ridden since October, but did ride through the village last week and frightened both of us with the amount of traffic. There must be a lot of people with essential journeys!
J&S
Well-Known Member
I got all determined and rode round village/lanes block, about 45 mins in all, on Friday, very cold wind but no ice. I always feel better for getting out.
The Fuzzy Furry
Getting old disgracefully
Update, clambered on board for a 25 min walk trot this morning, sticking to the hard tracks as they are at least pretty level, unlike our poached common paths. Brrrrrrr!
spotty_pony
...
Yesterday - for three hours in total out hacking (exercised three) I must he mad in this weather!!
Evie91
Well-Known Member
Not Friday just gone, one before that! Much too long if you ask me but school is frozen, roads are icy and track to fields too frozen and rutted to risk, plus horses currently in due to the weather and the wind is bitter! The amount of clothing I’m wearing to manage in the cold probably adds another stone and certainly restricts my movement so no riding this weekend for me! Really looking forward to spring!
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
Weather rarely stops me riding, if I want to ride I do, rode Friday Saturday and today, at the moment due to menage surface being crap its just hacking out, I have been riding the 3 days on the go for a while, then he gets all week off, with him being nearly 27 it tends to be 50mins round the village on Friday, Saturday proper hack of 1.5 to 2 hours then Sunday 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on ground depends how quick we get round, as last week managed a couple of decent canters, this weekend the ground is far too hard for more than a walk or trot so took longer.
AdorableAlice
Well-Known Member
This morning, but only because I couldn't get enough riders to do the lot in one go ! I usually delegate so all the horses go out whilst I do the yard. I hadn't ridden for at least 3 weeks and I am still frozen now ! We only have one route that is usable at the moment and it is so short we have to go round twice so not ideal but it is a leg stretch.
At least the temperatures are rising so all the ice patches will be gone and the longer routes usable again. Soon be Spring and more pleasant.
At least the temperatures are rising so all the ice patches will be gone and the longer routes usable again. Soon be Spring and more pleasant.
Antw23uk
Well-Known Member
Genuinely cant remember, maybe Xmas day? I try and always ride Xmas day but possibly just after that? I dont think i have ridden this year yet, although i was tempted for a short hack earlier, the rain came in and it would have taken longer to tack up and untack than it would have been to ride down the road and back so i thought nah!!!
I dont think I've ridden since actually buying him! (I've had him on trial since October)
I dont think I've ridden since actually buying him! (I've had him on trial since October)
Ceriann
Well-Known Member
End of Jan. Had a poorly dog early Feb who we ended havibg to pts and just felt too knocked sideways. Then the weather - We live just off the peaks in a fairly exposed spot and its just not been safe to (or an attractive prospect). Might manage a quick wander today but looking forward to the milder week.
AandK
Well-Known Member
29th Sept, horse came in lame on 1st Oct and after some intermittent lameness, xrays, an MRI and a massive abscess, he had an operation to remove a keratoma from his foot on 24th Nov. All has been going well and he’s due to go back out in the field tomorrow, as long as the foot copes with that, I’m planning to get back on him the weekend after next!!
atropa
Well-Known Member
15 days ago.
Filmed online dressage in the morning and horse was hopping lame by 2 30pm, suspected massive bruising in hoof. Been on box rest since, pony has been in keeping her company and I dare not ride that one without turnout. Have been lunging pony every day and hoping big mare will be sound enough for new shoes, turnout and both coming back into work by Thursday.
Had a terrible year for riding so far, in January it was switched around with pony off lame and big horse keeping her company, so very little riding then too.
Filmed online dressage in the morning and horse was hopping lame by 2 30pm, suspected massive bruising in hoof. Been on box rest since, pony has been in keeping her company and I dare not ride that one without turnout. Have been lunging pony every day and hoping big mare will be sound enough for new shoes, turnout and both coming back into work by Thursday.
Had a terrible year for riding so far, in January it was switched around with pony off lame and big horse keeping her company, so very little riding then too.
Griffin
Well-Known Member
I rode this morning but before that was probably two weeks ago. I do always make sure she has time out of her stable (either turnout on grass or in the school) every day but I just couldn't ride more than once or twice in December and January.
I don't feel bad about it, it was cold, wet and dark when I got to the stables most days, who would want to ride in that?! Now, the evenings are a bit lighter, so I am hoping to do a bit more.
I don't feel bad about it, it was cold, wet and dark when I got to the stables most days, who would want to ride in that?! Now, the evenings are a bit lighter, so I am hoping to do a bit more.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
The most surprising thing about yesterday's lesson was that nobody fell off. Not even me.
The riding lesson yesterday morning was unsurprisingly in the covered manège because the outdoor arena was rock hard. It hasn't rained here in over a week, but it was about -8°C overnight from Saturday to Sunday and it was still -2°C when I walked up to the yard at 10h15.
I got the same horse as last week, and he behaved just the same when I went to get him ready. This time, though, I only gave him two minutes to settle down and he wasn't going to... so I put my helmet on and get my head collar out of my bag. And it was like I'd flipped a switch in his head: his ears pricked up, he turned to me and practically put his nose into the head collar. After that, he was a perfect gent: standing still to be brushed and lifting his feet to have them picked out.
There were seven of us in the class, which made things a little bit congested at times. The exercise was transitions. We bagan by trotting around on the left rein, asking for between three and five paces at a walk between manège letters P and R then back to trot. And most importantly DON'T CHANGE PLACES AND KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE APART!
We did this on the other rein, too, with the same predictable problem of a girl who couldn't get her horse back up to trot at R and several horses who are not getting out enough being particularly difficult to slow down (mine included).
So for the end of the class we divided into a group of four (including me) and a group of three (including the girl on the "lazy" horse).
The emphasis on not changing places was to get us ready for this part of the lesson. The idea being to get the horse settled into a nice, regular trot and then, when there was enough space ahead ask for a canter before dropping back to a trot before getting too close to the horse ahead.
"My" horse is somewhat difficult at the moment. I know, from talking with the instructor, that he doesn't get out anything like enough; on Sundays, I'm the first person to ride him from 11h00, and he usually doesn't get ridden more than once (if that) on Saturday, and maybe three or four times during the week. He'll get walked around or perhaps let loose in the mange for fifteen to thirty minutes on days when he's not ridden. So he's full of beans in the lesson, and wants to let off steam.
Doing this on the right rein was tricky, but I managed a few trot-canter-trot transitions without breaking the safe-distance rule, but getting him to settle into a nice trot was not easy, and as soon as he saw another horse go into canter, he wanted to do the same... trying to keep my body in a rising trot rhythm and gently tensioning and releasing the reins worked, but his reaction was not instant and it if he'd behaved like that with me last year I don't think I would have been relaxed enough to sit it out. Especially with the instructor calling out "lean back", which is his usual advice when a horse starts to buck. Last year, I would have sat still and probably pulled on the reins to slow him down.
Going on the left rein, though, was more difficult. In the first part of the lesson, the horse had been fine with going into all four corner. In the last part of the lesson and on the right rein he would also go into all four corners, but on the left rein he decided that there was something scary between K and F... Around E he started trying to move away from the track, at V his hind quarters were well inside and by half-way between V and K he was trotting like a crab and desperately trying to avoid the corner... and all the time the instructor calling out "on the track! he's going sideways!"... OK; I know that! And then to get away from the scary place as quickly as possible, he wanted to canter, of course. So I had a prancing, dancing horse under me, who then spotted that one of the others had decided to jump around as well.
But we got through it.
After the class, I asked the instructor if he had any idea why the horse suddenly found something scary about that end of the manège. He didn't, but commented that he had "calmed down a bit, compared to the two previous days"... I suppose I should be reassured that he thinks I'm up to riding a horse that he describes as "full of character" and "somewhat energetic".
The riding lesson yesterday morning was unsurprisingly in the covered manège because the outdoor arena was rock hard. It hasn't rained here in over a week, but it was about -8°C overnight from Saturday to Sunday and it was still -2°C when I walked up to the yard at 10h15.
I got the same horse as last week, and he behaved just the same when I went to get him ready. This time, though, I only gave him two minutes to settle down and he wasn't going to... so I put my helmet on and get my head collar out of my bag. And it was like I'd flipped a switch in his head: his ears pricked up, he turned to me and practically put his nose into the head collar. After that, he was a perfect gent: standing still to be brushed and lifting his feet to have them picked out.
There were seven of us in the class, which made things a little bit congested at times. The exercise was transitions. We bagan by trotting around on the left rein, asking for between three and five paces at a walk between manège letters P and R then back to trot. And most importantly DON'T CHANGE PLACES AND KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE APART!
We did this on the other rein, too, with the same predictable problem of a girl who couldn't get her horse back up to trot at R and several horses who are not getting out enough being particularly difficult to slow down (mine included).
So for the end of the class we divided into a group of four (including me) and a group of three (including the girl on the "lazy" horse).
The emphasis on not changing places was to get us ready for this part of the lesson. The idea being to get the horse settled into a nice, regular trot and then, when there was enough space ahead ask for a canter before dropping back to a trot before getting too close to the horse ahead.
"My" horse is somewhat difficult at the moment. I know, from talking with the instructor, that he doesn't get out anything like enough; on Sundays, I'm the first person to ride him from 11h00, and he usually doesn't get ridden more than once (if that) on Saturday, and maybe three or four times during the week. He'll get walked around or perhaps let loose in the mange for fifteen to thirty minutes on days when he's not ridden. So he's full of beans in the lesson, and wants to let off steam.
Doing this on the right rein was tricky, but I managed a few trot-canter-trot transitions without breaking the safe-distance rule, but getting him to settle into a nice trot was not easy, and as soon as he saw another horse go into canter, he wanted to do the same... trying to keep my body in a rising trot rhythm and gently tensioning and releasing the reins worked, but his reaction was not instant and it if he'd behaved like that with me last year I don't think I would have been relaxed enough to sit it out. Especially with the instructor calling out "lean back", which is his usual advice when a horse starts to buck. Last year, I would have sat still and probably pulled on the reins to slow him down.
Going on the left rein, though, was more difficult. In the first part of the lesson, the horse had been fine with going into all four corner. In the last part of the lesson and on the right rein he would also go into all four corners, but on the left rein he decided that there was something scary between K and F... Around E he started trying to move away from the track, at V his hind quarters were well inside and by half-way between V and K he was trotting like a crab and desperately trying to avoid the corner... and all the time the instructor calling out "on the track! he's going sideways!"... OK; I know that! And then to get away from the scary place as quickly as possible, he wanted to canter, of course. So I had a prancing, dancing horse under me, who then spotted that one of the others had decided to jump around as well.
But we got through it.
After the class, I asked the instructor if he had any idea why the horse suddenly found something scary about that end of the manège. He didn't, but commented that he had "calmed down a bit, compared to the two previous days"... I suppose I should be reassured that he thinks I'm up to riding a horse that he describes as "full of character" and "somewhat energetic".
I can never remember the order of the letters around the manège, but I found this useful little image on the Intarwebs.
Equi
Well-Known Member
Are lessons allowed over there? They’re not here which is probably why many of us have ground to a halt. We have weekly homework but no motivation.
Pippity
Well-Known Member
Instructors are allowed to travel to give one-to-one lessons, but horses aren't allowed to travel. So if you have a school on site and your yard is allowing visitors, you're fine.
Keith_Beef
Novice equestrian, accomplished equichetrian
Yes, lessons are allowed.
There is a curfew in place, so we're supposed to all be back home by 18h00, which has put a stop to a lot of the adults' lessons. Many adults would come during the week after work; I think that the last lesson would usually be 20h00 - 21h00.
There are no restrictions on travel between regions in France, but you need a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours to leave or enter the country by road, air or sea (but not by train), and people who cross the borders for work (very common in some regions) are exempt from needing the PCR tests.
Ski resorts are open, but mechanical ski lifts (chair lifts, gondolas and even drag lifts) are closed.
Cinemas and theatres are still shut, no spectators at football and rugby matches, non-food stores over (I think) 20,000 square metres are shut, and other shops are supposed to limit the number of customers at any one time so that there is one customer for every 10 square metres of floor space (it had been 8 square metres, a few months ago).