Our show horses typically go out 8 hours a day in winter, 12-16 hours in summer, in small groups. Then we take them to a week-long show with no turnout and expect them to perform at the top of their game both mentally and physically.
At a show most would be ridden at least once,sometimes 2-3 times, a day (depending on show schedule), and handwalked multiple times a day. We pack a lunge line just in case, but rarely use it.
On Friday afternoons at a show, you will find me and my guy hacking all over the grounds and doing little flat sessions in multiple warm-up rings before hacking over to the next one. Along the way, we might stop to chat with friends, or watch a barnmate compete, or grab a snack of grass, or get petted by non-horsey spectators and sponsorsā¦We might be gone from the barn for well over an hour, but his brain is working much harder than his body, and his fundamental nosiness is typically satisfied enough to come out Saturday and Sunday as a quiet, focused ammy hunter.
In my experience, itās not always how much you work, but how you work. No drilling, no going around and around the outside, keep it interesting for them, take them out on trails or down the road or for a trip around the hayfield. Vary the terrain, sights and sounds. Let them choose the path and the pace sometimes.
And certainly a groundwork session thrown in from time to time can be hugely valuable. Even the older horses can learn something new. In the dead of a Canadian winter, we get some days when itās too cold to ride, or too icy to get them outside, so Iāll set up a āpole puzzleā in the arena for both mental stimulation and proprioception work.