Winter riding weekday nights

[Cheshire Chestnut]

Apologies if this has been done to death - I've tried searching the threads with no avail.

Anyway, I've recently moved to a Mon-Fri job from working shifts. Shifts were awful for my body but great for riding in winter, hardly ever had to ride in the dark. Now I'm working days, I'm finding it hard to keep to motivation to ride after work, especially when it's freezing cold, raining, pitch black and windy after I've mucked out and down jobs. We have a fab outdoor with some lighting so don't really have an excuse apart from wanting to get home and warm for tea/shower/pjs etc.

How often do you ride during the week in winter for those of your I who work Mon-Fri?

 

[Sparkeyboy]

I'm in the same boat as you, it is depressing.

I try and ride mine every day through the week (2 ponies), unfortunately we have no grazing and I feel guilty if I don't do anything with them. I set alarms on my phone to prompt me, so when i get home from work I have an alarm to say 'get changed and see to horses' (luckily they are kept at home) I make sure I take my tack with me and put it in the stables and it gives me more of a kick to ride if it's already there. I think it's good to have a routine, perhaps getting up in the morning and riding, mucking out later.

I've always been told to do my jobs before riding, but I do it the other way round. Once i've ridden, I HAVE to do the mucking out and nets, which means I'm super quick at them because I want to get home to a warm shower!

Make sure you're eating properly so you have the energy to ride after work. I went through a bad stage of getting home from work, sitting on the couch and within seconds I was asleep because my diet was crap and I was so tired.

Also invest in some good clothes to keep you warm and dry whilst you work and ride. To be honest, if the weather's absolutely horrific I won't ride, i'll just give the horses a thorough groom and perhaps strap them.

Don't feel down, it's all worth it when the summer comes back around!

 

[Branna]

I hate riding in winter evenings and really lack motivation. Also although our school has a floodlight I find I ride badly in the dark - I think it's a balance issue.
I tend to ride before work in the mornings instead which is much easier to get up and go. Usually 3-4 days a week.

 

[9tails]

Mucking out is done in the morning, just after I turn out. That way, I'm not pooped in the evening and therefore not interested in riding. Every third evening I make up more nets so that everything is ready for the mornings; chuck out, muck out, replenish water, hang net, close door, go to work. I ride at least three times a week after work and each weekend day for a longish hack.

 

[Equi]

I have a part loan twice a week and it's on my off days so I'm supposed to ride both days but I usually only ride one and lunge one. I don't have my own horse cause i know I wouldn't ride it enough.

 

[Hanson]

I do the same as Branna and ride in the mornings before work and stick to a routine, then I dont feel unmotivated as Ive got up so I may as well get on with it. Also find by riding in the morning I dont bring work stresses to the yard with me.

Its also quieter as I tend to have the school to myself (no one else mad enough to be up at silly o'clock!) and if we hack out, there is less traffic than in the evening (also drivers seem to drive a little less agressively early morning, we meet regulars who know us).

Riding in the dark does effect your balance I think - it makes you aware of your position and 'other' aids you might use without realising, such as your breathing.

When the weather is pants, I just lunge or given them a walk in hand, groom or give them a make over (the mare just seems to grow hair very rapidly!) - its nice sometimes as you can spend more time just being with them.

All in all I tend to ride Saturday and Sunday and aim for three weekdays with a lunge day and a day off just to chill.

 

[widget]

I must be nuts! Ive no school or lights but have been riding either in the field with a head torch or out on the lanes lit up like a christmas tree with flashing lights on me and the horse! I have two which I ride three days in the weeks and both days on wkend.

 

[Elbie]

I share a horse and ride 2 weeknights a week. As I have an hour+ commute back home each day it basically means I have to school from about mid-September to mid-April. So depressing!

Before having lessons with my latest instructor (been with her about 3 years now!) I always used to struggle but now I find generally I will always have something to work on. I try and come up with an action plan before I ride, even if it's basic like focusing on transactions or focusing on bend/circles. It does help to have a plan in mind beforehand. We also do winter dressage so may be practicing test for that. And have recently competed in Trec so may use the poles to practice some of the manouvers for that!

 

[applecart14]

Apologies if this has been done to death - I've tried searching the threads with no avail.

Anyway, I've recently moved to a Mon-Fri job from working shifts. Shifts were awful for my body but great for riding in winter, hardly ever had to ride in the dark. Now I'm working days, I'm finding it hard to keep to motivation to ride after work, especially when it's freezing cold, raining, pitch black and windy after I've mucked out and down jobs. We have a fab outdoor with some lighting so don't really have an excuse apart from wanting to get home and warm for tea/shower/pjs etc.

How often do you ride during the week in winter for those of your I who work Mon-Fri?

I know how you feel, having been in this situation many times before. But actually we have been incredibly lucky with the weather so far, its been very mild going on previous years and I look at it as us being incredibly lucky for that!

I love riding anyway but have the added enthusiasm and inclinaion to ride at the moment as my horse has a new dressage saddle which after 30 years of riding and 20 years of owning is something new to me, having always ridden and competed up to elem in a GP saddle - as per my siggy!! So currently my excitement knows no bounds!

 

[LHIS]

I work full time, 9-5.30pm weekdays. Yard is 30mins from work and I go straight from work (my pony is currently a loan, but we're buying him at Christmas, and he will be on full livery). I haven't done too badly so far with the riding in the dark. We don't have an indoor school, just an outdoor. When it's been blowing a gale or throwing it down I haven't ridden, but the rest of the time I've been cracking on.
I'm determined to make the most of my weekends at the moment and ride in the daylight.
I've also been saving up half days off work, which I will be cashing in as and when I see a break in the weather.

ETA - Although he's a loan, I got 7 days a week. He's on full livery at the moment at owners private yard. I don't think I'd be able to juggle it all if he wasn't on full livery (although I do jobs everyday in exchange for lessons - but I don't have the time to go before and after work every day).

 

[madlady]

I currently ride 4 nights a week after work - the only night I don't ride is Thursday.

I have no school so it's lights on and hack out. I have a couple of short ish circular rides that take about 40 mins each and I do one or the other of those and then weekends are for longer rides. I don't ride if it's sideways rain or a foot of snow but other than that I'm out in all weathers.

My lot have soon adjusted to their new routine and know that they are getting fed after being ridden so they are marching round. I actually quite enjoy riding in winter

 

[godfreyy]

I work full time 9am-5:30pm and usually make it to the stables between 6-6:30pm depending on traffic (also means I have to change in the car or stable otherwise I'll never get down there of an evening).

I try to ride at least 3-4 times during the week and both days on the weekend. Doesn't always work out that way though. I have 2, sometimes 3, to exercise (have a sharer for the 3rd, and she's getting on now so not worried about getting her competition fit). Problem is my older one hates lunging and refuses to do it (thought he didn't know how to at one point, but has proved he does just stubborn and hates it) so when I really don't have time to ride both in one evening he does seem to take the back bench as I don't want to do death by lunging with the youngster. I usually find the evenings when I lunge the youngster and ride my other boy it seems to work a lot better, if I could do it the other way round I reckon I'd have it down to a tee!

 

[vam]

I have always ridden about 5/6 days a week in the winter, normally school once lunge once, road work twice during the week and at the weekend hack, lesson or competition. I think what I did riding wise would depend on what I was doing at the weekend, I was having a lesson or competing I would do road work twice, if just hacking I may school twice. If the weather was truly awful like gale force winds, torrential rain then I probably wouldn’t ride but otherwise I would just make sure I had the right kit on both me and my horse and off we went. I was very lucky being at yards that had very good, quiet road hacking round housing estates so I made use of them, I didn’t want to spend my life during the week in the school only to then have a lesson or compete at the weekend, I didn’t feel it was fair on me or the horse. As it was the last yard had hacking round the land that you could do in the dark with or without a head torch, I found I was better without it as my boy would spook at the light moving.
I think being prepared is the key. I work 7 until 4.30, the yard was 10 mins from work but 30 from home, so I would be up the yard at 6, muck out and leave a small day bed down and turn out. The yard would bring in about 3 ish so by the time I got up the yard all I had to do was brush (well the muddy bits as he was clipped and rugged) tack up and go. Once back I would do the rest of my jobs before leaving. I had very good reflective gear and lights, good waterproof and warm gear for me and him and just cracked on.
It was often commented that I was the only one up there that would ride in all weathers and normally the last out the yard, often being the only one up there in the evenings after half 5 as most liveries went up during the day. I was very focused on my show jumping and competed most weekends so wanted to keep him as fit as possible so that was motivation. I will say that there were times when I just could not be bothered, when I felt like that I didn’t ride as the chances of things going well were slim. It was normally my body telling me to have a day off and I always felt better the day after.
I have never been part livery but I would imagine it would be easier but just be as organised as possible, find a routine and stick to it as much as possible and never go anywhere empty handed.

 

[blowsbubbles]

I ride twice during the week; once on each, then both both weekend days. They are on 24/7 turnout and neither of them need to be kept 'competition' fit and neither seem to suffer with less riding, so that works for us all. If it's bad weather then we don't go out! Basically you have to do what works for you and your horses. I have a goal on every ride which keeps my motivation going, and that does nt have to be a set length of time or distance.

 

[michelledud]

I'm rubbish at riding through the week, but have a couple of friends on the yard who always ride first then do jobs after, and they seem to manage riding every day that way.

 

[nato]

I work full time 9-6pm Monday to Friday, and have an hour's commute home from the office. Then it's a further 20 mins from home to the yard, so I typically arrive at 7.30pm.

I tend to ride 3-4 weeknights and both weekend days, my horse has arthritis so has to be kept moving, especially in the cold it's not good for her. We have an arena and floodlights with a decent surface, but we're in a valley so not very sheltered. If it's really crap I will still go up and put her magnetic boots on and just groom and do some stretches in the stable.

Getting to the yard is the hardest part - if you can make it up and even tell yourself you'll just go to say hi, you tend to find the motivation by the time you get there The other thing I do is tell myself I'll go up and lunge if I really don't feel like riding - it's actually more hassle to set her up for lunging (as I use a Pessoa) than it is to just tack up and ride, so I usually just end up riding anyway

 

[supsup]

I solve the problem slightly differently - I take a long lunch break and go to see the horse over lunch (then work late to make up for it). We don't have lights or an arena at the yard, so otherwise I wouldn't ride at all during the week. The downside is that I have very little time, so I can either fit in chores, or go for a quick ride but not both. I try to alternate and ride 2-3 weekdays (weather permitting) and catch up on chores (mostly poo picking) the other days.
I find it helps enormously if I can concentrate on either riding, or other yard work, but don't have to do both. Maybe you can work out a system where you minimize jobs on dedicated riding days by preparing/catching up on non-riding days, or trading favours with another livery. Maybe your horses could cope with quick skipping out on riding days, and keep a full muck-out for non-riding days.
Proper clothing also really helps to brave the weather when it's less nice. I have a fab riding suit for cold/wet weather, decent breathable rain gear for warm wet days, sealskinz gloves, muck boots etc.

 

[Girlracer]

I have to say, walking out of the warm office at 5.30 in the pitch black whilst it's drizzling with rain is a serious test of the motivation.

I work Mon-Fri 9-5.30 the yard is a 30min drive from work and 25min from home. To be fair, I have so far done pretty well, even riding in the wind and rain of the last few weeks. I would say I am riding 3 of 5 days on average, more if I can manage it. Then I try to hack one day and jump the other at the weekend - or at least that's the plan! Even if it's just a 20 minute stretch.

 

[nato]

For anyone who needs to go home before going to the yard (like me), I find that the key is not to sit down, or engage in lengthy conversations with humans in your home. This results in a distraction from the task at hand - getting to the yard before you actually realise it's happening.

 

[dibbin]

I work 9-5.30 with a 1hr+ commute each way, and I try to lunge/ride 1 or 2 weeknights and both days at the weekend. I decide in advance what nights I'm going up, get out of work sharp on those nights so I can catch an earlier train home and change into my jods as soon as I'm in. I find that once I'm at the yard I get my motivation back, it's just forcing myself out of the house that's difficult if I let myself get comfy when I get in from work!

I was up last night, lunged for 10 mins then did 15 mins of work on a square in walk. A decent workout for us as Jazz is just coming back from a month off for various reasons. We're lucky in that we have a floodlit arena, I wouldn't hack in the dark where we are as the yard's on a national speed limit road, it's not particularly busy at that time of night but most of the people who drive that road go far too fast and it's bad enough in daylight tbh.

We'll be moving the horses up to the house in the new year I hope, so we'll lose the benefit of the arena but we'll be a mile up a private road so will be able to hack out. I'm going to try and set something up in a corner of the field so we have some kind of schooling area until we can afford to get an arena put in.

 

[Bernster]

I sympathise! Some good tips on here to help organise things to make it easier. For me, I am lucky in a way as I have him on full livery and they are also now exercising him as work is busy and the dark nights means we're confined to the school and I want to limit that to twice a week.

It's easier that I go straight from work to the yard with no pit stop at home on the way. I also have weekly lessons so I have a commitment. Something to aim for is also good. But aside from that, if it's hellish weather then I do bail I'm afraid although thankfully that hasn't happened much so far. I have recently done a lesson in the pouring rain and been soaked through, it was horrid, but I feel I can say I'm not a fair weather rider !

ETA I generally make it twice in the week, and at the weekends during the winter.

 

[nfpony]

Reading about everyone who has schools with floodlights makes me jealous! by the time i get to the yard its 4.45ish and we don't have a school, or one anywhere near us with floodlights, and its too dark to hack so don't get to do anything in the week.

 

[Annagain]

I'm the first to duck out of riding once the nights are cold and dark. We have a floodlit (of sorts) outdoor school. It's quite poorly lit but I'm aware it's better than most have and I shouldn't moan about it!

This winter, I'm booking a lesson once a week and my instructor is giving me homework (perfecting our shoulder in this week) so I have to practice. We're aiming to give elementary a go and this is giving me a lot more motivation than usual (although we're only on week 4 and the horses are still out so no mucking out at the moment, we'll see come January!). I aim to ride 3 times in the evenings (share horse twice and mine once) and then hack / compete on both weekend days (share horse's owner and my horse's sharer ride with me so both get hacked. My horse's sharer also rides him once or twice a week.

Having said that, depending on what you're doing, does it really matter if you don't ride? Weekends will keep him ticking over and you can always up the work again in the Spring.

 

[fatpiggy]

I used to ride straight from work and it could take up to an hour to get to the yard so about 6pm on. My trick was always to have a list of the things I wanted to do, so warm up, 10 minutes of walk, halt walk transitions to improve accuracy, 10 minutes of trotting, increasing and decreasing circles, collected to some lengthening and back again, 10 minutes of canter work, including over some poles if possible, working on the very best upward and downward transitions as possible then cooling down with walk halt transitions again, turn on the forehand and finally long rein. Job done. Tacking up then wandering around the school aimlessly doesn't do anyone any good.

 

[wingedhorse]

I currently ride 4 nights a week after work - the only night I don't ride is Thursday.

I have no school so it's lights on and hack out. I have a couple of short ish circular rides that take about 40 mins each and I do one or the other of those and then weekends are for longer rides. I don't ride if it's sideways rain or a foot of snow but other than that I'm out in all weathers.

My lot have soon adjusted to their new routine and know that they are getting fed after being ridden so they are marching round. I actually quite enjoy riding in winter

Do you have safe tracks for off road hacking? CAn you see by your lights?

 

[xgemmax]

I hate winter riding! I try and motivate myself by putting some poles out in different exercises to make it more exciting. I also have a lesson every other wednesday, i find that helps as it gives us something to work on

 

[Cheshire Chestnut]

Had a lesson yesterday and my instructor gave me loads of new ideas to do to mix it up a bit during the week. Considering the cars around here, there's no way I'd hack out in the dark - they barely notice me in the daytime let alone in the dark.

Booked my ideas up a bit more last week and rode 3 times and managed to dodge the majority of the rain. Need to remember to be grateful for our lovely school.