Who else is giving up riding for winter?

[rachk89]

Come on someone's got to be with me on this.

Its not the cold that bothers me to be honest, it's the bloody horse. Can't ride him anywhere during the week as he freaks out in the dark in the outdoor arena (even with the floodlights on) and it's too dark to go for hacks not that he would anyway. So riding him only in the indoor arena which is small (about 30 x 30) just seems bad for the physio required for his back.

And then only having the weekends to ride again seems bad for his back, how can I keep putting muscle on him properly with just 2 days? I sadly can't afford to pay someone to ride him or I would.

I'm thinking best I can do is each weekend take him for long walks on the hacking routes in hand (lots of hi vis on of course) and leave it at that. Maybe lunge one day during the week too but give up riding. Sound OK?

 

[Chianti]

When I had a oldish mare I only rode her at the weekends in the winter. The school wasn't that big and was always wet and didn't really appeal to either of us in the dark. She was out for about nine hours during the day and had the odd charge round the field with the other mares. At the weekend we hacked out for up to an hour and a half - quietly but we would have a short canter. This kept her a bit fit over the winter and we picked up again in the spring.

 

[rachk89]

I cant hack unfortunately even with other horses as he's a danger to himself and anyone near him.

He does go out to the field though every day and charges around on a daily basis. He's the only idiot that does, he's known to gallop around the group like a lunatic while the others all eat or sleep. He does usually have a friend to play with, but that changes every few weeks as they get sick of him after a while.

He's sounding like a right reject.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I haven't ridden mine all year! I haven't had the time! I only ride the ones I am showing and I didn't have anything out under saddle this year. Gray got a bit fed up showing so he has had a year off and he is absolutely loving it! I'll get him back in in the spring. Lance was backed but due to lack of time never got schooled well enough to hit the show ring, that plus a lack of rider meant he has escaped the ridden circuit until his 5yo year.

I wouldn't worry about not riding if it's too much hassle. So long as your horse gets out of his box everyday whether it's in the field or a play in the school loose I doubt he will care if he is ridden or not!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I only ride weekends in the winter, and then only some weekends-we just pootle about. mine live out though.

 

[rachk89]

I haven't ridden mine all year! I haven't had the time! I only ride the ones I am showing and I didn't have anything out under saddle this year. Gray got a bit fed up showing so he has had a year off and he is absolutely loving it! I'll get him back in in the spring. Lance was backed but due to lack of time never got schooled well enough to hit the show ring, that plus a lack of rider meant he has escaped the ridden circuit until his 5yo year.

I wouldn't worry about not riding if it's too much hassle. So long as your horse gets out of his box everyday whether it's in the field or a play in the school loose I doubt he will care if he is ridden or not!

Oh he's not bothered at all, he's loving life of stabled at night and out during the day. Think I still might do the walks in hand as it will get him out to places he finds scary and hey, I might have a semi sane horse next year that hopefully won't be a common visit for the vets. Please no vet visits next year...

 

[meesha]

Very tempted, had a lesson Saturday and got hailed and sleeted on!!!! Blumming freezing!

 

[Dave's Mam]

I am down to weekends only at the moment. Hoping to boost midweek riding soon now, pony loves work.

 

[Lintel]

I'm with you.
I'm on uni placement 9-5 during the week and work 12 hour shifts the weekend.... So riding is a no just now. I only have a small arena and me and pony hate schooling.
So Defintley no riiding in December!

 

[JillA]

Me me me!! Horse is 20 and doesn't hack (long story) and I'm 70 and have a home to run. The days are too short and the weather too depressing to ride in the school so I haven't even clipped him this year. I did previously and carried on into November but this year I accepted the inevitable and gave in with a good grace. Horse is chuffed to bits lol

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Well one is having till may off to see if he will heal a suspensory branch injury the other has been given the all clear to come back into 🙈🙊 so it will be slowly slowy with that one till his xray and check up in jan.

 

[Leo Walker]

I'd find him a huge hilly field and rough him off for the winter. The turnout and constant movement will do wonders for his muscle tone and thus his back.

 

[Snow Falcon]

Ooooh, I'm actually quite envious! I'd love to have an area to school in (Ok, I could chuck the pony in the trailer and go 2 miles up the road) but I'm time limited. Has the physio given you any exercises you could do? My mare has had treatment the past few months and I've been doing in-hand work as well as finding as many hills as possible. Given the opportunity I would be doing pole work.

I can appreciate that if you have a tricky customer then it makes it more difficult. I would say that most horses/ponies are happy eating and not being worked so if he's roughed off over the winter I don't think he'd be crying into his feed bowl!

More so this is a hobby, enjoy it as you see fit.

 

[rachk89]

I'd find him a huge hilly field and rough him off for the winter. The turnout and constant movement will do wonders for his muscle tone and thus his back.

I would but he'd lose too much weight. He does need stabled in winter unfortunately.

Got loads of exercises from physio and he does them all brilliantly, I can even finally get him to walk backwards on the ground and ridden. He has always struggled to understand that, he gets it if I'm pushing him back away from me when he's gotten too close, but never understood why I'd ask randomly.

I can do polework in hand, can't lunging as he gets too excited and starts cantering/leaping over trotting poles so that's out of the question. I think though the in hand work out on walks will help get him used to the area and that he won't die leaving the yard.

 

[Ceriann]

Nope - had newbie for almost 9 months and the third enforced break (only a week this time with an abscess) means any planned month or so off is cancelled. Plus I put lights on the yard and finally got us hacking so lots to do and get stuck into. I'm still managing 4/5 rides a week - I do need to get some decent winter kids or tights though!!

 

[Antw23uk]

I dont ride much in the winter and I certainly dont put pressure on myself to keep them ridden. Best decision I ever made about the horses and winter. No pressure, if its a nice weekend I saddle up and go for a hack, anything up to about 2 hours and that will include some trotting and cantering if the mood takes us. If its wet and cold then I dont ride, they dont care and I certainly dont care.

The gelding now has his shoes off and he wont be shod and unlikely to be ridden until next year. I kept the mare shod because I had a jump clinic at the weekend just gone and will likely do one more before Xmas and then when her shoes are due I will likely whip them off and she can have a winter break .. as long as i get my Xmas day hack in .. its tradition. Having shoes off rests the feet and saves the ground. My two are out 24/7.

If your horses is doing loop the loop when turned out you need to adjust his hard feed, he is being fed for energy and he has too much of it! Also you mention he doesnt hack out? But yet you walk him out?

 

[BBP]

I dont ride much in the winter and I certainly dont put pressure on myself to keep them ridden. Best decision I ever made about the horses and winter. No pressure, if its a nice weekend I saddle up and go for a hack, anything up to about 2 hours and that will include some trotting and cantering if the mood takes us. If its wet and cold then I dont ride, they dont care and I certainly dont care.

If your horses is doing loop the loop when turned out you need to adjust his hard feed, he is being fed for energy and he has too much of it! Also you mention he doesnt hack out? But yet you walk him out?

Totally agree with the first part, I’m so much happier since I took the pressure off, I used to ride 6 days a week through winter, 4 of those in pitch black either at 5am or 8pm. Now I ride if I feel like it as don’t if I don’t. Pony is not as much of a lunatic now so I don’t risk so much death if he has a day or few off.

Disagree with the second part though, mine likes to run laps, and he gets fed nothing but low sugar hay and chaff! He’s just a high energy bouncy sort of a horse. Not much I can adjust in his diet.

 

[DD]

me haven't ridden in winter for quite a few years now. horses live out so they are fine. they live well on hay.

 

[Wimbles]

I usually struggle with riding in winter due to illness, injury, dark nights and no facilities but since moving to a new yard I'm really trying to up my game a bit. I hated not being able to ride at all last winter so I am trying to make the most of it. After a long day at work I drove home to get changed, it started raining and is was 3 degrees, so much of me said that I still had all the other animals to feed etc and that I should just do that but I made myself go up and WOW! I felt so much better after it and I had a great session on Brian.

 

[Cortez]

Nooo! Winter is my time to really get on with all the training we can't do in the summer as we are out doing displays and otherwise working. The only bad thing (other than the wet & cold, when we most definitely DON'T ride) is the short days and mushy field which means we stay in the arena.

 

[Antw23uk]

I usually struggle with riding in winter due to illness, injury, dark nights and no facilities but since moving to a new yard I'm really trying to up my game a bit. I hated not being able to ride at all last winter so I am trying to make the most of it. After a long day at work I drove home to get changed, it started raining and is was 3 degrees, so much of me said that I still had all the other animals to feed etc and that I should just do that but I made myself go up and WOW! I felt so much better after it and I had a great session on Brian.

Of course there is the smug factor as well when it comes to riding in winter .. nothing beats that superior than everyone else feeling, hahahaaa

 

[Horsekaren]

when you give them time off in winter do you not find they turn into beasts when you saddle up again. I worry if i go 5 days without riding that he is going to turn into a pent up beast and forget how to do anything plus bomb about trying to kill me .... he has never done this but this is what i imagine :'D and i make myself feel so guilty about not riding

... he is fed hay and fast fiber so not a high energy diet.

 

[Antw23uk]

when you give them time off in winter do you not find they turn into beasts when you saddle up again. I worry if i go 5 days without riding that he is going to turn into a pent up beast and forget how to do anything plus bomb about trying to kill me .... he has never done this but this is what i imagine :'D and i make myself feel so guilty about not riding

... he is fed hay and fast fiber so not a high energy diet.

Nope. Both my horses might be a little fresher and keen to be out again but i can leave them for weeks and they will still be the same when I get back on. My old horse was an ex racer and you took your life in your hands if you left him for three days between riding!

 

[claracanter]

when you give them time off in winter do you not find they turn into beasts when you saddle up again. I worry if i go 5 days without riding that he is going to turn into a pent up beast and forget how to do anything plus bomb about trying to kill me .... he has never done this but this is what i imagine :'D and i make myself feel so guilty about not riding

... he is fed hay and fast fiber so not a high energy diet.

I agree with you Horsekaren. This is what one of my boys is like. I would love to give him the winter off because he is always much more difficult to ride, spooky and sharp. However I worry if I don't ride him at all he will be even worse to handle and when I do get on he'll be a complete loon.

 

[southerncomfort]

I usually take the whole of December and most of January off. However, due to moving house my girl hasn't been ridden for weeks and as she is a bit arthritic she benefits from a little hack a couple of times a week so might have to force myself to get on with it!

 

[Michen]

I thought I would have to this year. Riding my youngster sporadically when work daylight time etc allows meant some serious bad behaviour from him. Started paying a rider a few days a week and it's the best decision I've made for us both, I now have a jolly and fun horse to hack at weekends whose busy brain is kept busy during the week!

 

[ihatework]

when you give them time off in winter do you not find they turn into beasts when you saddle up again. I worry if i go 5 days without riding that he is going to turn into a pent up beast and forget how to do anything plus bomb about trying to kill me .... he has never done this but this is what i imagine :'D and i make myself feel so guilty about not riding

... he is fed hay and fast fiber so not a high energy diet.

Completely depends on the horse, it’s general temprement and how well trained it is partly too. Some you can, some you can’t. I just gave my young horse 2 weeks off, then tacked him up, hopped on and went for a hack with no issue. However he had no hard feed and was out in the field for the majority of his time off.

 

[rachk89]

If your horses is doing loop the loop when turned out you need to adjust his hard feed, he is being fed for energy and he has too much of it! Also you mention he doesnt hack out? But yet you walk him out?

He isn't fed much, when he does loop the loop I imagine he's seen something scary and decided to panic, like if a pig squeals or something. The rest dont bother as they are sane, he isn't. I left him for 9 days and got on with no issues he was perfect actually. Got on again the next day and nightmare. There's no sense to this horse.

I don't walk him out yet, well done it once, but I'm planning on walking him out to get him used to hacking. I can't think of any other way to do that as having other horses doesn't calm him down.

 

[ihatework]

He isn't fed much, when he does loop the loop I imagine he's seen something scary and decided to panic, like if a pig squeals or something. The rest dont bother as they are sane, he isn't.

I don't walk him out yet, well done it once, but I'm planning on walking him out to get him used to hacking. I can't think of any other way to do that as having other horses doesn't calm him down.

For this sort of horse I would honestly send him away somewhere with large hilly acreage, ad-lib hay and a stable herd. There are very very few who don’t flourish like this. Sounds like he needs to unwind physically and mentally.

 

[rachk89]

For this sort of horse I would honestly send him away somewhere with large hilly acreage, ad-lib hay and a stable herd. There are very very few who don’t flourish like this. Sounds like he needs to unwind physically and mentally.

He'd lose too much weight. He's been in places like that before and he was half the size he is now. And he has been checked by a vet, he's perfect as he is, if he dropped that much weight that he put on, he'd be severely underweight again.