When to stop driving before a show

[shandoaharabmini]

Since horse show season has started, I was wondering what other people do when it comes to stop working your driving horse before a show to allow them to rest up before going to a show thats several days long. How many days of rest do you give your horse? And what does your last work out consist of, for example a lot of walking or trotting? Is the work out a long, hard work out or a short, easy going lesson? Thanks for the comments.

Shandoaharabmini

 

[shalamara minis]

I work my driving horse 4-5 days per week and the only day off before a show that he will get is usually the day before we leave as I am to busy getting things ready. I work my horses hard to keep them in shape. Not by choice, but I have gone to shows and had 3 driving classes back to back. When I arive at a show I try to get there around noon the day before and I will give a short workout that evening (most of our shows are 3 day and you can arrive the day before it starts.) But this is just me other people have different methods. Good Luck!

 

[Mominis]

Though I haven't been to an AMHR/ASPC show yet, I've done quite a bit of big horse showing and we give them the day before the show off and then the day after. If there is a day at the show where they aren't competing, they will get longed that day, but not ridden or driven, especially if they have a hrad schedule the other days. Then the day after we get home, they always get the day off too. These are horses that work 5 days weekly and get daily turnout with 2 days off each week for just turnout R&R.

 

[disneyhorse]

I would say it depends on your horse and the level of conditioning.

If you haven't had a chance to condition your horse enough (meaning it regularly works far harder than it would in the number of classes it would normally show in) then a rest the day before might be helpful.

If your horse normally is worked and conditioned properly (regularly working harder than it would for the number of classes entered) AND/OR has a lot of energy, I would work it the day before and before the class(es).

My Shetland stallion has a LOT of energy and he gets excited at the showgrounds. I try my hardest to tire him out the day before the show, but he usually recharges overnight and then I have to lunge him a lot once we get to the show (one day shows).

I am likely driving him this year, and it will be a challenge to tire him out enough for his classes I am assuming! Days off would be NO good for him!

He usually gets his day of rest after he gets home from the show, but he still gets worked lightly to stretch muscles out.

Andrea

 

[Kendra]

When my gelding is fit, he's always a butt after a day off, so I try to make sure he gets at least some work each day leading up to the show - or I just have to be sure and leave time for lots of warm up!

I think the decision of how much to work them prior to a show will vary with the individual.

 

[RhineStone]

I would agree with most everything that has been said. I usually give them the day before off because I am getting ready for the show, but by "off" it means that they don't have a workout. They still need to be washed, clipped, etc. They also get the day after off, especially if they have had a long trailer ride. I usually need the time to unload the trailer, too.

The challenge with trying to "tire" a horse out, is that you have to keep doing it longer and longer each time they go out as they become more fit. We avoid that technique and concentrate on training to achieve the desired behavior we are looking for. (Andrea doesn't have access to turn her horses out, though, right?

Our horses are turned out the rest of the time they are not working.)

There was an article recently in one of the carriage driving magazines that stated that "days off" are for humans. Since the horse is not working 8+ hrs. a day like humans are, but usually only work 1-2 hrs./day, they have the rest of time to "recover". Plan to work the horse everyday, but if "life" gets in the way, so be it. (Life gets in our way a lot. I didn't drive my VSE all weekend, but we took the big horse to a trail drive yesterday, and he got quite a workout! We won't drive him today.)

Myrna

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm with the others- my boys do not get an official "day off" before a show. They already only get worked 3-4 days a week if I'm lucky (that same "life" thing Myrna mentioned

) so it's important to me as an event nears to ramp up the training and make sure mentally they are on the top of their game, focused, and know what's expected of them. They won't get worked the day before because I'm usually busy packing and traveling but if I should be so lucky as to get to the event early I will take my driving horse out and hitch him up to go tour the grounds. At a combined driving event this is essentially a trail drive in a lovely field and the horse is as happy to get out after a long trip as I am. At a registry show I will usually take the horse out in-hand and graze somewhere but don't often drive as it would have to be in the arena and that's not fun for either of us. When my green horse debuts I will probably drive him in the main arena the night we arrive to get him used to the sights and sounds but won't work him hard, just enough to settle him down. I care much more about where the horse's mind is than whether he's physically worked hard or not.

After the show is when we take some down time. Kody is rarely tired after a registry show but he is stressed and he gets plenty of time to take a nap in the sunshine and "recharge his batteries." We'll go back to work when he tells me he's ready- usually a day or two. After a CDE he's happy but physically exhausted so we'll take a walk and do some stretching the next day but I'm very careful that he gets time for his muscles to recover before we return to low-key, easy work. After about a week we'll return to full training if he's ready. I let the horse tell me what he needs and watch him closely.

I work my horses as often as possible but with Washington weather, working full-time and how early it gets dark for most of the year it's difficult to do it as often as I should. That's why I work them at every opportunity- I don't get many!

I do an awful lot of handling and bonding in the stall at dinner time and train during grooming sessions (move over, set your feet, desensitization for a driving horse, giving ears, how to manuever through a gate, etc.) and by the time I get to an official work session they've got the groundwork down so well we accomplish a lot. Like Myrna, these sessions are daily and continue the days before and after a show.

Leia

 

[Farina]

We are competing in CDE's and we would give the horses one to three days off before the show and the day after the show.

I believe that ATP has to be stored in the muscles for a harder workout at a competition especially at the marathon.

We have one shetland-mix that work before the show too, but he goes endurance drives up to 120 km (!) and he will be too spooky without a training the day before show.

 

[RhineStone]

I believe that ATP has to be stored in the muscles for a harder workout at a competition especially at the marathon.

What is ATP? Maybe I know, but I forgot to remember?

 

[Sue_C.]

I believe that ATP has to be stored in the muscles for a harder workout at a competition especially at the marathon.

What is ATP? Maybe I know, but I forgot to remember?

I am not sure either?

I have always given my fit horses a day or two off prior to a show, and light work the day after getting home...just in case they are a bit stiff from travelling. (Most of our shows are several hours away and I think trailering it harder on them than most prople think.) I have always been taught that giving them a rest prior to a show gives their body a chance to build itself back up so it will peak at the show, and that to over-train can actually be worse than not training enough.

I also beleive that a horse only has so much of itself to give, and nerves and high-spirits are best trained out by mental workouts, rather than trying to exhaust them with physically. Like Rhinestone said, then you have the horse sooo fit, you must work even harder to tire him physically. Been there...done that...

 

[disneyhorse]

Pulling back from my high school biology days, I *think* the ATP being referred to is adenosine triphosphate, which muscles use to convert into energy.

Yeah? Anyone? Or am I going too geeky?

Andrea

 

[Sue_C.]

Pulling back from my high school biology days, I *think* the ATP being referred to is adenosine triphosphate, which muscles use to convert into energy.

Yeah? Anyone? Or am I going too geeky?

Andrea

I have heard of Glycogen, which will replenish over a short period...will have to go Googling.

 

[chandab]

Pulling back from my high school biology days, I *think* the ATP being referred to is adenosine triphosphate, which muscles use to convert into energy.

Yeah? Anyone? Or am I going too geeky?

Andrea

I think you are right, but can't find it in any of my many books. I knew the adenosine part, but couldn't remember the rest, so went looking in books and couldn't find it.

 

[Peggy Porter]

Pulling back from my high school biology days, I *think* the ATP being referred to is adenosine triphosphate, which muscles use to convert into energy.

Yeah? Anyone? Or am I going too geeky?

Andrea

I think you are right, but can't find it in any of my many books. I knew the adenosine part, but couldn't remember the rest, so went looking in books and couldn't find it.

I googled and got this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenosine_triphosphate

I don't understand most of it, but there are some really pretty colors!!

 

[Farina]

Oh - I am so sorry that I haven't written understandable.

ATP ist stored in the muscle and is like gas to your car. It needs after a hard workout up to three days to rebuild. So it could happen, that if you trained your pony hard it couldn't do any strong muscle work because of lack of 'gas'.

I don't believe this would matter in one pleasure driving class, but it will matter with more driving classes to compete in or in CDE's.

 

[midnight star stables]

ATP is cell "energy". Well in a nut shell

I had to laugh at that, we talk about many body chemistry in class all the time that ATP means the same as CPD to me - second nature abbreviations.

I like what Myrna said, I will have to remember that! At the moment, I work my horses 3-5 times a week, but if I could more, I would. My horse also ofter get two days off before and after a show. My guys are older AMHR show horses and know the drill well. I often show at multi-day shows too. I give them more time off then I should I sure, but I like to try to keep them happy. I work younger horses more.

 

[Sue_C.]

I do think it is the same as what I was told to give them the time off prior to a competition for, which is to store Glycogen. Different names, different terms, sounds like the same thing to me.

Glycogen