Working full time and fitting in winter riding!

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fairylesley

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Just got my new boy and have also gone back to work (secondary teacher). Work is very full on so I'm struggling to fit in rides during the week with the nights drawing in. Weekends will be no problem but I was wondering how others cope with the winter? And does it effect horses fitness level? I have a little section A but he my first biggy! :0)
 
I pretty much give up riding in the evenings after christmas. Yeas it affects their fitness but at some ppint aomething has to give.
 
It doesn't do them any harm if they only get ridden of a weekend. You've got the October half term and the Christmas holidays as well. Most without lights will just ride as and when they can, or just give them a winter holiday. As long as you feed accordingly he'll be fine :-)
 
Have riding nights and non riding ones. I am lucky my schemes if work just need tweaking, my marking little and often. In to school for 8am, 40 mins working before the day begins! Meeting nights a pain, like tonight extra 3 hours food practical as its open evening! Then fight through brum traffic. What do you teach?
 
I usually try to shift my working day back once a week, it allows me to get a midweek hack in at about 7am. Then I'll ride at 6.30/7pm another 2 times in the week.
 
I don't mind what weather I'm riding in but think its dangerous to be riding in the dark!? The 7am ride is a good idea but my daughter is only 2 and a half so tricky x
 
Same position!

Ride at weekends and am about to start going to an indoor school on a Tuesday evening when they have their show jumps out...will see how it goes!

During that winter of November 2010, no riding done for 6 weeks, just started lightly hacking again when we could!

I won't feel guilty though if the weather is so bad riding at weekends is out too, it'll just be a quick trip around the block when I can!
 
I've put my horse on part livery (with riding) this winter as after the last one I don't think I would be able to do it again! Nightmare is a huge understatement. So the horse is ridden 3 days with the livery, I ride 3. On the horses day off I fill up a weeks feeds/haynets/poo pick etc so it's easier though the week. We do have flood lights and 3 schools with shows held though the winter so want to continue with those and baby horse is just starting to come together after a very stop/start backing (my ill health) so I'm extra determined not to stop now! I work nights (45hrs) so the part livery is on my sleeping days, fingers crossed this winter won't break me like the last one!
 
This is why a school with lights is on my no compromise list. Between my sharer and me we manage to ride at least 4 days a week winter compared to usually 6 days in summer. Finding the energy and will to get on on cold dark nights after mucking out can be hard though.
 
All in the planning, once the dark nights hit I tend to get up early, about 5.45 and go down and do all jobs so feed, turnout, full muck out, haynets etc so that come evening when I get there I just do water and feeds, bring in and ride, tend to get home around 8-8.30pm.

It can be done, I've got two on diy, both in work and teach two evenings a week. Weekends are busier as more teaching and both get ridden both days, in the week I alternate them.

I'm taking till January off competing as lack of money but that does save me some time and energy on a weekend
 
Once the dark nights come in i pretty much have to give up riding in the week, i work 8-6 so am usually there for 6am to turn out muck out etc to be home for 7.15, wash change and out the door to work. evenings usually there for 6.30 to fetch in feed etc then home by 7.30.

I dont have a menage or use of one and my yard is straight out onto a busy main road which is bad enough in the day so wouldnt dream of risking it at night or early morning.

so i tend to exercise at weekends usually twice on a saturday once on a sunday :)
 
In summer I ride 4 times a week, twice on a weekend and twice on two weekday evenings, so in the winter I will just move my evening rides to morning rides before work :) but when it gets really cold and the menage freezes etc I just ride on weekends!
 
In the past we tried riding early in the morning before breakfast, rushing down to try & ride a bit before it got too dark but stopped doing this.

It became such a rush the enjoyment ceased. Also the ground could be frozen or we got soaked etc. Now we just do weekends/days off, a lot less stressful.
 
I'm fortunate in that there's a horse walker on site and make use of this at least 3 times a week. The outdoor school has lights on, so we should be OK.

As has been said though, it's always that bit harder to get motivated after working a full day and arriving in the dark to muster up the motivation to exercise!!

I'm going to see what this winter brings and take each day as it comes. My horse is out for the majority of the time so i'm happy that he's in a good sized field with plenty of shelter and a great herd so with his buddies and not restricted to being in our stable at all (which is what puts more pressure on yourself to exercise them i guess).
 
We have a flood lit arena so it doesn't affect my riding at all although it annoys me that from mid Sept onwards I can't hack after work as it's too dark :(
 
I have been very lucky as almost every yard I have been at has had floodlit (mainly indoor) schools, so riding in the dark doesn't bother me. I love being the last one down having the arena to myself at 6.30/7pm when everyone has been and done their horses lol

TBH having a floodlit menage is one of my top priorities for winter.
 
I can't believe how quick the winter seems to be drawing in already! Our new yard has lights in the outdoor school so should be able to ride (weather and workload dependant) 2-3 times a week and normal service resumed at weekends. I work 0800-1700 and currently only have one neddy (last winter I had 2..one now in the stable in the sky bless him..)and i always seemed to be exhausted, unfortunatly I seem to pick high maintanence ponios and ran a roulette of dealing with wet muddy grumpy horses with mud fever and thrush despite every effort to keep it at bay, the yard was also 20 mins away compared to the new one 2mins up the road. I pretty much gave up riding apart from the odd hack at weekends last year I think ponios and me got pretty depressed! Should be easier with just the one and the closeness..just have to find that get up and go at 0530 when its cold..dark and bed is so cozy!! :)
 
I work 9 -6 and my yard is 20 mins away (45 in traffic as I work in the city centre). I take my boy to a local SJ schooling night on a Wednesday night for a good work out them just ride at the weekends as normal. I may try and fit in an early morning hack though as it sounds like a good idea!
 
Agree with those that say a floodlit school is a no compromise when selecting a yard. The yard I'm on has a floodlit school and I continue to ride after work as usual, the pony goes on the walker 3 times a week all year round in addition to his ridden work anyway to help with weight management. I aim for riding 5-6 times a week in the summer and this might slip to 4-5 times a week in the winter but we try to keep going in everything bar heavy snow! I work 8.30-5 and the commute is about an hour in the morning and 45 minutes in the evening. I'm on DIY but use services provided by the yard as I tend to travel quite a bit with work. I also have no children and a saint of a boyfriend!
 
I keep mine fit with great difficulty! I normally work 5 day week plus have step son for whole day 1 day each weekend which rules riding out, for me as OH also rides but his horse is in 30 so can no longer lunge so he has to hack so I stay with son, sometimes I ride this horse and he'll stay at yard with son just dependends on what jobs etc need doing. I lunge 3 times a week for 20 mins solid trotting, about 100 circuits each way, I also sometime but a small jump each side or circuits as that gets her working more muscles. I then hack her on free day at weekend. I don't stable they are kept in a yard area about 20x30 which means they move around a bit which helps! I don't have a school, I have an area just big enough to lunge on that is woodchipped with no flood lights. I generally have to get to the yard by 6.30 each morning to get to work for 9! I muck out 9 everyday!
 
I think I actually ride more in winter than I do in summer.

I have very limited winter grazing and no menage so I need to ride as often as I can - I have lots and lots of high vis and lights and we get out in most weathers.

The only time I don't ride is when the lanes are too icy or it's thick fog.

Last year I lost a week because of snow and ice but the rest of the time I managed to ride 6-7 times per week :)
 
I work 8-6 during the week and riding in winter is horrible! I exercise her 6 days a week, we're lucky enough to have an arena but it has always been very dimly lit by 1 light - but quite excited about this winters riding as we have just put up a really bright floodlight so hopefully will be able to see where we're going this winter! Before living here I got home at about 4 and used to just ride up on the hills in the dark (high viz of course) - that was lovely, we never met anybody and hacking in the moonlight was amazing!
 
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Luckily we have a floodlit arena so can ride in that all winter. The arena will flood if it rains lots i.e. Last year! But generally it doesn't stop us. However everyone seems to go home earlier in the winter so I have to organise myself better so not left riding when everyone else has gone home!!
 
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