When to consider slowing the work load?

[Critter]

So my one gelding is turning 17…pretty sure he’s telling me he wants to lighten the work load (but he’s always been a push ride - so always happy to have easy days!). What are your tell signs it’s time to start semi-retirement?

A bit of history…I bought him as a green 3yo. At 5 he injured his SI (confirmed nerve root inflammation/damage)…we spent a year or two treating/managing. At that point vets were pretty sure he was going to be a pasture puff, maybe light trail work. A year and half off (Dr. Green) and 2 plus years of super slow rehab (I am a PT and created a very prescribed plan)…he came back and kept getting better. He got to show PSG…the next year with did I1 at a schooling show…then Covid. I didn’t show as I am very immune compromised. Last year we did his hocks…and he felt much better…still opted not to show.

So this year, I feel like okay showing locally will be safe enough…start to gear him up and he doesn’t feel quite right. Make appointment with specialist…boom while waiting for that he gets a massive blood clot in the hind leg. Luckily treatable, rest, etc. Leg him back up after time off…yup, still not comfortable. Specialist blocks hocks - better…so hock and SI injections.

Been legging him up again, as I would really like to get 1-2 more years to show. But, he just feels blah. I mean he’s perfectly healthy and happy…he feels better since the injections in his body…but he feels like he would rather go for a hack than have to do hard work. He will do it, but definitely makes you do all the work and is meh about it…if you do ask for too much he does get a bit cranky (so clearly not as comfortable in his body as he could be as he is super honest). Granted he’s a push horse now that he is older and grew a brain (just jump on after a month off, no problem)…but I’ve always been able to jazz him up a bit for arena work.

I have a 3yo coming up…hence why I was hoping for 1-2 more show years:) I sort of feel like he’s saying he’s happy to ride but he’s had enough of fitness training (me too buddy!! LOL).

Either way he has a forever home working hard or semi-retired (eventually fully retired)…he’s been my sanity despite what we’ve been through with his injuries, as he is 100% solid to ride. So, I can back him down to less intense work (he won’t be happy not working - he loves the attention and routine too much). It’s just hard as it took so long to get where he is with the various injuries (and he was a handful as a youngster)…that he’s at the point where he is super safe and fun to show.

So when/how did your horse say time to slow down?

[candyappy]

I stopped showing when my horse was telling me he just didn’t want to anymore. He preferred trail riding ( so did I ) and we were both tired and bored doing arena work. He wasn’t old and had zero health / soundness issues. He did real well in the show ring and since I feel it is a partnership I did what he wanted to do.

Sounds like your guy has plenty of health issues that warrant backing off on pushing him to compete and train. Maybe if you have a trainer you can show one of their horses until your youngster is ready?

[theresak]

How confirmed is he at the level you want to try and show? If he stays decently fit, you could cut down on his schooling rides per week and do more hacking/stretching on other days or shorten the rides and see if you can nurse him through another year or two. Or you can try lowering your quality expectations in order to continue schooling the harder movements. If you do a really good but low impact warm up, you can start schooling the harder stuff as soon as you start the work, then finish up the ride in a shorter time frame.

I get where you are with this - I wanted to keep schooling the upper level stuff with my older horse while starting my 3 year old last year and hoped to have them both working simultaneously for about 2 years. My 17 year old has many more physical issues than yours but I’ve been trying to keep him in some work as it helps with his anxiety. He was loudly protesting working earlier this summer, even a simple SI, so he’s had some time off and may be permanently retired. Last year while still schooling, I had to lower my expectations for some of the work - I had to allow for less throughness and roundness in a big/bouncy passage or settle for less passage and more throughness.

[Abbie.S]

@Critter

It’s just hard as it took so long to get where he is with the various injuries (and he was a handful as a youngster)…that he’s at the point where he is super safe and fun to show.

This, to me, is very telling. Not so much in it being the reason why he’s ready to step down a bit, but because this is obviously something that is weighing heavily on your feelings about stepping him down, which - from everything you wrote before the quoted statement - sounds like exactly what he’s telling you.

Whenever I’ve struggled with this - I have a coming 18yo gelding right now that I finally accepted this exact situation with - I remind myself that the horse didn’t ask for any of this. He didn’t ask to be ridden, he didn’t ask to compete, he didn’t ask to have the routine and the life we gave him. If we’re lucky, he’s accepted what we’ve asked of him for so many years and done his best to partner with us. So when I start to get the inkling that what I’m asking is getting to be too much, I’m duty-bound to listen regardless of what I might still want.

Something to keep in mind - if he’s as solid to ride as you say, then all the MORE reason why backing off practicing some of the higher level stuff would probably be a good idea. A good hack is an excellent workout, especially if you keep it at a good, swinging walk with some periods of long trot in there, and even better if it’s over varied terrain and footing. Do a little schooling 1-2x a week to keep him sharp, but if you know he knows the movements, why drill them? Focus on keeping his overall fitness where you need it, which is far more important at his age, and bring out the level-specific movements less frequently and with less repetitions. Make the ask, get a good one and move on. I find when I ride older, well-educated horses, it becomes less about asking them to do the thing over and over than it is asking the question one or twice and confirming they still know the answer. IMHO, a horse who gets to that point has earned a more relaxed routine.

[LadyB]

100% case by case and totally have to listen to your horse.

My guy is 18, eventing at Prelim and isn’t showing signs of slowing down just yet. I do my best to listen to him, and I stay on top of maintenance like massage and chiro.

They truly tell you when they are no longer wanting the work load. My guy is a push horse, signs of resistance would be key for me. He’s never been one to say hell no to work, but he’s always been a sausage to ride, but that is him. If he was to protest going forward with obvious signs, I would dial back the work load see how he is then slowly add to it again. If it happens again with same signs, I would assume he is no longer willing to be at the same level he was.

17 is NOT old, its a great age.

[Critter]

So, to clarify, most of the work I do with him is to keep him fit and not so much about drilling. I do have to do a fairly long build up warm up process…over the years I’ve found that helps him quite a bit. That part he has zero protest and only starts to feel like it’s work when I start adding more smaller circles/transitions…otherwise, it’s easy stuff he does in his sleep. Then I will pick him up and do a bit more “work”…but it’s usually some tempi work or half passes with different angles or spiral circles. Or we do trot work with half halts and transitions. I rarely do ext trot (his is a back breaker) so if I do I will often post it to save both of us (and that I might ask 1 long side maybe once a month…it is super painful - and only hurts to ride on him, not on other horses, so it’s not how I am sitting). Maybe once a month I will do a real pirouette or ride a section of a test. So most of the work is transitions and fitness to build the movements rather than trying to ride pirouette after pirouette (given his past history, I would never do that with him).

The only thing I do somewhat consistently is the tempis…if you don’t he gets very uncoordinated/scrambly with them. But again, we might do a few diagonals or some long sides and move on. Usually when he’s coming back in fitness these are messy…and now he’s been back to work enough that they should be easier, but they are still messier than usual. Which is what makes me wonder if he still is not feeling as good in his body as he could be.

Trainer is 2+ hours away, so not realistic to try and ride any horses up there.
He is very confirmed with the movements…but when his fitness drops a little it will make a huge difference in the quality…he knows what he has to do, but doesn’t have the strength/timing to do it. For example, he knows his tempis very well…but lose a bit of that fitness and you will have late changes and leaps to make the change or an extra stride.

I think I will back down for a bit and see how he feels…if he starts getting bored he will definitely tell me (he is a pretty easy horse to read!). Not like we were going to try to show this fall…see how he feels over the winter and go from there.