Are horses sometimes ridden more than once a day?

[mydogs]

Someone told me that it wasn’t uncommon for horses in Europe to be ridden twice a day. Is this true? Of course, she said the horses weren’t doing upper level work twice a day and it wasn’t everyday, but maybe once or twice a week.

would it hurt an upper level horse to do two 45 min rides in a day, schooling lower level work? Example: Morning work consists of a walk/trot stretching session on the lunge line then evening was spent doing first/second level movements undersaddle.

Im curious to see if this happens more in Europe and if so, what is the reason the US thinks horses should only be ridden once (if that is even the case), other than the rider not having the time to do so? Or maybe my friend was just pulling my leg!

But then I started thinking about shows and how sometimes you may have one class in the AM and another 5+ hours later. Wouldn’t you want to condition your horse to that kind of work? I, personally, don’t have the energy to do two classes a day since being a show is exhausting enough lol. And those who event are riding 3 disciplines in one day! Brave souls they are.

sorry about typos - coth isn’t completely mobile friendly.

[alibi_18]

Some places in Europe don’t have the paddock space to put the horses out much.

Horses need to move. Best way if you don’t have paddocks is to ride them.

Also, I believe that the horses in real training programs needs more than the regular 45min/hr of ride. and I think that its not that uncommon here.
I believe Carl Hester has that type of traininh schedule.

Ideally, I’d do one active hack (walk/trot) in the morning and a training ride in the after noon 4-5 times per week and a light hack + a lunge/free lunge the remaining days.

At one training barn I was at, horses were all hand walked 30-40 minutes in the morning + turn out a few hours per day. Most horses were ridden 4-5 times per week.

[rjr]

I dont do it often, but if there is a reason to ride twice in a day, I don’t think it hurts anything. Sometimes the person half leasing my horse winds up riding on the same day as me.

[cmdrcltr]

When I was a kid at Pony Club camp, we rode twice a day.

[Cardboardoux]

Yes, that sometimes happen. For young horses in schooling it´s not uncommon to lounge them i the morning and ride in the afternoon or the opposite. Someplaces they ride twice a day to. Even if they have a paddock. Young horses sometimes have excessive energy or are in a place of training that needs to be intense.

A lot of horses over here(Europe) don´t have the opportunity to be turned out or are to valuable to be risked out side. These often get trained twice a day to. Or at least put in a walker.

[merrygoround]

Nor is it unusual to have a short training session at one time of the day and then a longer, more active in a straightforward fashion, ride later in the day. Dressage horses should be fit, very fit, and it should not be done by simply drilling the movements. So cross training is important as is simply hacking out to relax.

[2Below]

I know a stallion (pretty hot Grand Prix horse) who gets too amped up and distracted in turnout, so he lives in a double sized stall and is ridden twice a day. Once is a hack and once is a schooling ride. That routine seems to keep him focused but provides a safe and productive outlet for his energy.

[Guyot]

My horses are turned out all day this time of year. Or overnight in summer. My eventing background may have influenced how I work the dressage horses but I feel my horses are fit, strong, and happy!

That said the FEI horses have three days per week where they hack out for 30 minutes doing hill work. Then in the afternoon they have a work session in the ring. One day of the week a hard training session . One or two days off during the week depending on the work they have been schooling.

If weather is inclement we stay indoors for their walking workout and either increase to 40 minutes walking or add in walking over varied cavaletti.

A young horse may work twice a day occasionally if warranted but not ususly unless very bad weather and they are stuck inside for a few days. Those days are usually a long lining session and short training ride.

[Training_Cupid]

Working horses here in the US can go out twice a day, or just all day - lesson horses (especially if used for beginners), trail ride horses, ranch horses, carriage horses, etc. Probably less common for most ammy owned pleasure horses!

This is a skill my horse has yet to learn, and he can get kind of cranky at a show if his classes are spaces out, even if we actually spend less time riding than he comfortably does at home so I do need to practice split rides with him.

[BigMama1]

Lots of horses get ridden / worked twice a day…sometimes more in the case of busy lesson programs, riding camps, trail outfits and working / ranch horses. Nothing wrong with it at all as long as he work is and horse’s fitness level is built up gradually.

Show horses may not always be ridden twice in a day but many are worked a second time, whether in a water treadmill, conditioning pond, hot walker, etc.

Horses were not designed to move only 45 minutes a day

[halt]

When I was a teen I went to a 2 week riding camp that had lessons every day, AM & late afternoon. I was lucky enough to be able to bring my horse. Riding him 2x a day at first seemed so overboard and unnecessary, but my instructor pointed out he was fit for it and we were not doing strenuous work (WTC, BN/N stuff). I was fretful it would be too much for him and he’d go lame. He didn’t.

Prior to the camp he was WTC but not very willing with contact and kind of a bronc, he was also 6 so youngish (OTTB). I had some issues with my effectiveness because my position had been “sacrificed” to try to get a good ride out of him. He came out of it the best I had ever had him. I came out a much better rider as well. You’d be surprised what that extra ride a day can do to help you or your horse “get it”.

I think in an ideal world it is very optimal to have 2 rides a day a few times a week. Not every day, but maybe 2-3x a week. The first ride should always be a nice hack, walking only, hill work, etc. The second ride later in the day reserved for working in the ring. On days where they are only ridden once, it should be lighter work. I have seen this schedule work really well especially for horses who can get ring sour quickly.

[My_Two_Cents]

There are working horses in cattle lots and packing people in the mountains that work all day. They are saddled in the morning and unsaddled when the sun goes down. They are very healthy horses with few lameness issues even working in less than perfect footing conditions. So if a horse is worked more than once a day (depending on the horse) it is probably just fine.

[Rockfish]

When I was home from college, I’d hack my trainer’s GP jumper in the mornings. He’d then usually go for another hack in the evening, or a light jump sessions. That’s the way he kept fit, plus a few hours of private turn out after the morning hack. Not that uncommon, really.

[mydogs]

@Training Cupid

This is a skill my horse has yet to learn, and he can get kind of cranky at a show if his classes are spaces out, even if we actually spend less time riding than he comfortably does at home so I do need to practice split rides with him.

Funny that you mentioned that. I had experienced the same with my horse when he had two classes in one day that had several hours in between. He was not happy about the 2nd ride even though he hardly exerted any energy in the first ride.

[mydogs]

Thanks everyone! Happy to hear that my friend wasn’t pulling my leg

[joiedevie99]

I’ve done it before. I had an upper level horse that needed to be uber fit to do the work well. Riding 6x/week wasn’t enough to fit in all the conditioning he needed to not be pudgy, and also the training. 3-4 days a week he went on an extra 45 min. hack in the afternoon on the hills with our working student. Two of the days when he was ridden only once we real conditioning days with trot and canter sets.

[hoopoe]

when you think about it, it is a good idea. Many horses who show at the lower levels will have 2 rides in a day, often several hours apart. Being able to come out in the afternoon and lightly warm up then perform should be part of a training program too.

Having an area to hack out and let the horse stretch relax enjoy and do some longer distance conditioning on uneven ground would be a great luxury. In England there are extensive “right to pass” bridleways in most areas where it is possible to go out for a ramble and even places to open up for a good gallop

[phoenixrises]

heck I"m not upper level anything and during the spring and summer I hack in the AM go about my day then come back and work her at night. I feel like our work sessions are much more productive when I can do that. And she’s out pretty close to 24/7 so isn’t in a small stall.

[see_u_at_x]

I remember something about how Johan Hinnemann would work his horses twice a day. They would do a full school in the morning and then later in the afternoon, they would hack or do some walking and they would also school the more difficult movements from earlier in the day. His theory was that schooling the tougher movements again reinforced the positive training at the end of the day.

I used to ride my previous horse twice a day on weekends, especially in winter when it was harder for them to get out. We’d school in the morning and then have an easier ride later in the day. It also helped get me more fit and gave me more time in the saddle, which can sometimes be hard with bad weather and only having one horse at your disposal. The key is, of course, to make sure you don’t make the horse more fit than what you’re able to handle!

[Willy_Von_Whompers]

I just checked with my elderly and wise Trakhener and he said no way. His union doesn’t allow it.