who doesn't have a school, how do you cope in winter?

alsxx

alsxx

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 January 2006
Messages
3,227
Location
Moved to Devon!
Visit site
I'm shortly moving to a place where I won't have a school, so schooling/lunging will be on grass. How do ppl cope in winter with no school/floodlights? Any good ideas welcome, I work full time so riding is done in the evenings when it will be dark.
 
I don't have a school, which makes things very difficult. It's a case of hiring out our local one, which i have to box over to. Schooling/lunging in the fields are a no go, far too muddy!
Hence the reason my horse wont be as fit in the winter as the summer! I hate winter and always dread it.
Roll on spring, tee hee
Kate x
 
Same as Kate, hire and box to a local school 2 or 3 times a week, and the rest is hacking out. That's when the snow/ice isn't too bad. It's a complete pain, but doable, though you don't get them as fit as you might like. Think you'll struggle if you can only ride at night mind.
 
we are pretty lucky that our land drains well so never too wet I can only ride evenings like yourself so I have a tourch attached to my hat and one to storms browband and away we go if anything she is better as she cant see all the scary monsters in the schoolng paddock sounds mad I know but I brought her back into work this way over the winter no probs x
 
My old yard didn't have a school- to be honest it was very hard! Weekends were fine to ride, but in the week I really struggled. Hacking is fine when there's enough daylight, but I wouldn't risk going out once the days draw in. Maybe in the darkest times of winter, a friend who's around when it's light could help you exercise during the week? =D
 
i have been moving mine to a yard with a school for the past few winters this year i'm going to try hiring a school once a week but it is a real pain
 
it is a bugger really i have no school or no schools near by so i try to luge ride and walk in hand in the field when it is not soaked otherwise i do nothing!
 
In winter I generally use weekends to go for long slow hacks to keep them ticking over, but I would like to aim to either ride or lunge at least twice during the week.

There is an indoor school about a 10 minute hack away, I am going to investigate using that, as I could always start work late/finish late and hack up there and have a lesson on a weekday morning. Dependant on light I may even be able to squeeze in a couple of short hacks on weekday mornings too.

The bottom half of the field is flat which I plan to use in the summer, but gets wet in the winter. The top half is sloping but there is a flat area in the top corner by the stables big enough to school in so I am hoping to rig a little light up and work here as it should drain quite well.
 
We've never had a school. We do now but its grass, it does have floodlights etc and drains quite well though. But I've been lucky enough to have fields that I can hack round very close by, which luckily I didnt have to go on roads to get to! So I managed to keep them quite fit, not as fit as in the summer tho! If I wanted to jump etc I had to hire one of the local schools. Very annoying though!
 
Frank is also better behaved in the dark, we have one light in a corner of the field off the stables.

We lunge/ school in the field in the dark, it is a bit ground dependent though and although you can do more than you think when it is wet when it gets really bad we ride round the edge of the field so as not to trash the middle.

We do longish hacks at the weekend or take them up the hills, we will try and go evening SJ every other week (and have a flat lesson the opposite week). If I am competing/hunting I have to try and keep my boy fit so in the week he will be lunged once, schooled once and hacked a couple of times. I tend to hack in the morning, go out at very first light with lights on and get off road after about half a mile but this depends on your situation. We are very lucky to have access to a straight stretch of wide grass about half a mile long. It has a small gravel path on one side so if it is muddly I ususally canter along this half on half off. And we go up and down this stretch several times.

We have no hills either which means keeping fitness is difficult. If I am not competing/hunting he will only get ridden a couple of times a week. Mums horse needs more work so we pay a friend to hack her once in the week.

The main problem is you spend a lot of time studying the weather trying to decide which will be the best day to school and jumping practice is normally out of the question. It is doable BUT I would LOVE a school.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top