So my horse seems to forget how to horse if she isn’t ridden daily. I normally give a horse at least one day off a week, but typically two, not together though. With her getting one day off, the day she comes back to work she is just aweful! Like she has never been ridden before. She won’t go on the bit, she won’t listen to my leg, she becomes barn sour. It’s the most annoying thing! Even if I just do a short, 20 min hack, she comes back to work the next day all business despite not having really worked the day before. So, can I ride her everyday? And on “days off” just do a short hack around the field so I don’t frazzle her brain? Anyone else have this issue? FWIW, she is turned out 24/7, so it’s not like she is sitting in the barn on her days off either.
Yes of course you can ride her every day. I have had one where an off day was walking around stretching, and one who generally worked twice a day. No worries, she’ll be fine working daily.
Sure, you can if life doesn’t get in the way. I would probably do two really easy days if you’re riding 7 days a week, and space them out. I’ve had horses like that and I usually just plan for the day after a day off to be a write-off training-wise. In my horse’s case it means we just trot for a half an hour straight and then quit while I’m still alive.
Oh you guys make me feel SO much better!!! I thought I was the only one. Of course sometimes life will get in the way, but hopefully they will be few and far in between.
I’ve had a couple “8-day a week” horses. If they want to work, and do something? Go ahead. She’s working 1 hour a day or so, right? Horses can work for hours and hours, and we forget that our one hour isn’t really all that much.
I usually schedule a long trot/conditioning ride if they have had too many days off because trying to do flatwork is frustrating all around. 
The secret to riding is:
It is better to ride 5 minutes a day than 35 minutes on a Sunday.
To ride every day you must have correctly fitting tack.
20 minutes is all you will really need. If a young horse it is better to ride another 20 minutes in the afternoon than to ride longer in the morning.
The reason nobody does it is because of life getting in the way.
If you have the time to pull it off, go for it. I rode a mare who was best in very consistent work. She worked six days a week (because I need a day off from my hobby) and we did trot sets on the day following her day off. Our agreement was I would ride on a loop and she could do whatever she wanted with her body – go like a llama, stare at the cows, travel crooked – as long as she was in the requested gait and more-or-less on the requested track.
Yes. Every horse is different and some do better mentally being ridden every day. An OTTB I had years ago HAD to be worked daily or she was a nutcase. My current OTTB could go a month without being ridden and would be fine (she once went almost nine months without being ridden while I was recuperating from surgery - she was only six and never missed a beat when I finally got back on). Even doing a light hack once in awhile is enough for their brains. So yes you can ride daily :yes: .
Similar problem. I solved the “life gets in the way” problem by having my trainer ride him on my off days.
Oh awesome! Thanks everyone! Sadly, my horses live at home so my trainer cant ride her on my days off. Thankfully, I work whenever I want, so aside from being sick or gone, I have the flexibility to ride every day!
I had her on two-a-days (30 min hack in the AM and real work in then PM), but with it being spring, I have become OCD with my cleaning of house and bad, so one 30-40 min training ride or hack is all we are getting
Since you have the flexibility, sure!
I work my horse 7 days a week. However, his work is constantly varied. One day pole work, one day long-lining, one day hacking, a jump school, flatwork, longing with a chambon, or even a handwalk down the trails. He seems content with this, and doesn’t get sour toward one particular thing. So, just make sure to keep it interesting.
Sometimes I get “guilted” into giving him a day off when he has worked so hard for a few consecutive days, and they the next day I usually regret it :winkgrin: So I have learned.
I ride 5 days a week when I’m working, and every day when I’m on vacations. I do vary it a lot to keep both our minds fresh. In the better weather months, usually two days are dressage, one day is jumping, and the other two are goofing off (trail riding or running around in fields) If he’s put in a particularly good effort one ride, the next day we do a very light ride. Mine is also out 24/7, so he never experiences that cold out his stall thing. He is getting to middle age, so if he does feel really stiff or like a flat tire, I just give him a few days off.
No need to feel guilt. If your horse is like mine, he wants to go for a ride as much as you do anyway.
I’ve had a couple of those 7 days a week type horses, too. As the other posters have said, if a 20 minute hack on a long rein on her “off” day keeps her focused on her job, why not?
My plan is always to ride every day, that way if I must take a day off, I don’t feel too guilty. However I do do different things every day, dressage, hack jump, trot, and canter sets, all on different days. It keeps them fresh, Me too!
I agree with what others are saying, a short light riding day for a fit horse is ok instead of days off. But one thing to consider if you’re finding she (or you!) physically needs more time off, is doing ground work. Not lunging, just walking and short bits of trot in hand, showmanship like stuff. I do this some days with my mare if I need to give her a day off but still want to do something, or I need a day off. We’ll go for trail “walks”, or just school stuff at a walk in hand. For us there is a straight line between in hand obedience and ridden. So much so that if I don’t do some sort of refresher stuff on the ground before I get on (even just testing my in hand breaks and body language), it will actually take longer to get her on the job once we’re riding. Worth a try!
If you can choose which days you don’t ride, then make the 2 days consecutive. That way you will only have one wild day and you can progress more quickly.
It is usually the rider that needs time off, not the horse.
Nope, not the only one, I had a horse like this, mentioned to a clinician I rode with regularly that my mare was terrible after a day off. He said “then why are you giving her a day off?”. He was an old school, long format eventer, and said absolutely, give them light days, just a trail ride on a loose rein, whatever, but no reason not to ride every day and that’s how he handled his competition horses.
Mine can go through phases of this (spring can bring out the worst), and if I think tbt have earned a day off but don’t want a battle, tack walking works pretty well. Tack them up and go for a 15min walk.
