Working Horse Twice a Day

[bingbingbing]

@DarkBayUnicorn

In my experience, it’s not always how much you work, but how you work.

Yes!

[DarkBayUnicorn]

@Calvincrowe

DarkBayUnicorn-- excellent post! Our riders, at home, are encouraged to go hack around the property after a lesson, or on a Sunday (no lessons that day), just putter and look and smell and stare at the neighbor’s cows and goats. They are turned out daily for hours, as well. At shows, horses should mosey around when not showing.

Motion is lotion! Can’t ask them to perform at their best after 23 hours in a box!

Rest and recovery time is also important. Breaking the day up into periods of activity and periods of mental and physical downtime is so important, both at home and on the road.

We have a litter of young bunnies born in the hedge between our sand ring and paddocks, who have just started coming out and playing, chasing each other and such. Much otherwise ‘productive’ riding time this weekend was actually spent watching those little lunatics roar around–both riders and their horses found it endlessly entertaining! Even the horses in the paddocks would stop and hang over the fence to watch them from time to time.

[2bayboys]

I have one that does best with a purposeful school in the morning and then a trail ride in the afternoon.