Q: How Often Should I Work My Horse?

Posted by Laura Thompson Sep 5, 2009

A kind Suite101 reader sent this question in yesterday:

"Laura, I love your articles! I always learn something new! My question, though, is about my horse Jasper. We're training for 3day eventing and I'm not sure how hard I should work him. I want to get in some dressage and jumping as well as X-country schooling every week but I don't want to burn him out. How often should I work on training versus hacking?"

This is a common issue for horse owners who are interested in competition. They want to prepare for horse shows by focusing on technique and endurance, but horses are no more capable of constant work than we are. Most of us, for example, enjoy relaxing on the weekends because we need a break from the weekly grind.

Horses need a break as well, but the question is how often?

In my experience, horses will tell you when they are burning out and sore. How often you should train depends on your horse's level of fitness and the type of training you are doing every day. For example, no horse owner should jump his horse every day. Twice a week is more than sufficient.

Dressage, although not necessarily as "active" a sport as jumping, also takes quite a bit of endurance and strength. Trying to ride dressage every day is like a human trying to do complex gymnastics every day. You get sore, tired and frustrated.

My advice is to come up with a schedule that works for both you and your horse. I usually recommend one day off from riding every day and at least one day of hacking (just riding). The other days can be devoted to hardcore competition preparation.

Other trainers might offer different advice, and some people never give their horses days off. This, to me, is tantamount to abuse, and will result in a very uncooperative horse. However, every horse owner has to make this decision for him or herself.

Additionally, you can throw in non-riding days that still provide exercise. For example, some trainers and horse owners will lunge their horses in a rig (or without) one day a week to work on form but reduce overload.

Good luck!

Got a question? If you have a horse question you'd like Laura Thompson to answer, e-mail her at horses@suite101.com and she'll answer in an upcoming blog post.