Equestrian Life December 16 - January 17

FEATURE
Finding your
mojo in the dark
Tina Canton BHSI Bsc (Hons) UKCC level 3
It’s that time of year again; the clocks
have gone back and although we have
a brief reprieve of lighter mornings, the
evenings close in very fast and we have to
deal with leaving home and coming back
from work in the dark.
Keeping your motivation during the darker
months is very hard, unless you have the
luxury of an indoor school to play in, or
you are a keen hunter and love winter, but
there are some ways that you can try to
use the time constructively so you are on
your game when the Spring comes along
and the season kicks in. My top tip is if you
know you are about to have a busy time
and are going to struggle to do your horse
properly, let alone ride everyday, give
them an official holiday. This allows them
to go out and be horses - ours are turned
out 24/7 (rugged up) and gives them a
total break from being over handled and
changes the routine. This also gives you a
break and stops you feeling guilty that you
can’t do them! If possible we try to send
them away for holiday. This gives them a
total break and we always find that they
always come back better.
This is also really important for the
Hacking is very important
Holiday time
young horses to go and absorb the work
they have done and allow their bodies
to recover and grow. If the holiday is
less than 6 weeks, you tend to find that
they will have retained a lot of their base
fitness, any longer than this and you will
have to start from scratch. When the horse
are in and in work, try to look at your work
schedule and be realistic with time and
facilities. It’s ok for them to only work 5
days a week when they are not competing
hard, and a couple of those work sessions
may even be lunging. This saves time and
when done correctly is great for top-line
28 December 2016 - January 2017 Equestrian Life