What does a show horse do when there are no horse shows in the near future? In the Saddlebred world it has been a longstanding tradition that many horses are “let down” for the off season, but the methods that are used vary greatly from barn to barn. When, for how long and to what degree a horse is let down depends on many factors, including the geographical location as well as the individual horse.
To “let a horse down” means to back off on a horse’s training or lighten their normal workload. In often substitutes work with unstructured playtime or turnout. The benefits of this can be far-reaching.
May Chadick, trainer at Vantage Point Farm in Tomball, Texas, said that their hot climate and long show season can take a toll on horses.
“We’re asking a lot of our animals,” she said. “I’m a firm believer in mental health time, and I think it’s good for their bodies.”
In the past it has also inadvertently helped with training issues.
“I think a lot of problems get solved by taking a step back,” she said. “We all run into training problems and things we’re trying to sort through with a horse, but I think it just lets them reset their brain and start over.”
At his Glendale Stables in Columbia, Mo., trainer Kent Swalla has found the same thing to be true.
“Like all athletes they need down time to freshen up, recover, and depending on those horses’ workload during the season, just rest,” he said. “As the saying goes, vacations are good for the soul. If it’s a younger horse, I believe it’s good for their mental being and growth to have a little time off. With an aged horse I think it helps with their longevity and muscle fatigue to recover.”
At Autumn Hills Farm in Simpsonville, Ky., trainers Steve and Tiffany Wheeler offer daily turnout to their younger horses – those under the age of 10 – and try to do the same with the older ones if they can.
“Some horse can stay out for several hours and be happy,” Tiffany said. “Others will be walking back and forth by the gate wanting to be back inside. We do it individually based on the needs of the horse.”
May follows a similar practice at Vantage Point.
“I have a lot of seasoned campaigners in my barn,” she said. “Those horses get their shoes pulled and go into plates … Weather permitting, they get to buck and play and be horses. Then they come inside and get cleaned up like they would any other day.”
However, giving a show horse turnout time is more complicated than just throwing them out in the field and walking away.
“We have paddocks of different sizes, and if I have something I think will be really hot and silly I’ll start them in the smallest paddock,” May said.
Tiffany Wheeler has an official protocol for this, starting each horse in the bullpen, then moving them to the indoor arena, a small paddock and finally a bigger field. She remembers one year when she had several extremely notable champions turned out together: CH Fox Grape’s The Tiger Lily, CH Courageous Lord and CH Break On Through.
“They had plates all the way around on them to keep their feet good, and I remember looking out there thinking ‘I hope nobody kicks and gets hurt,’” she said. “It is a risk that you take, but they really enjoy being together most of the time.”
Exceptions to the Rule
Sometimes letting a horse down may not be the best method, as Paul Boone, trainer at Boone’s Farm and Stables in Concord, N.C., learned the hard way.
“I had a very broke horse I let down one time that it took me six months to get back, if I ever got it back,” Paul said.
While this took place over 30 years ago, he has never forgotten it and has adjusted his winter protocol accordingly. Some younger horses, or ones that he thinks might take advantage of the situation, he will keep working normally through the winter months.
“It depends on the individual,” he said. “Some of them are 12 and still get in trouble. It’s more about their stage than their age.”
Others get a change in routine – but it’s a subtle one.
“The ones I let down I don’t let all the way down,” he said.
After show season has ended, these horses will be switched to plates at their next scheduled shoeing. They may get some turnout time, but they still retain a certain amount of structure in their day.
“It’s not as hard – not as intense,” he said. “But I still like to remind them to wear their bridle.”
Paul has found a lot of benefits to his method.
“With some you find out he doesn’t need to wear as much; he really looks good with plates on,” he said.
Another benefit is that owners can still enjoy riding their horses throughout the winter months.
“You’ve got people that want to be able to enjoy their horse, and for what they cost you ought to be able to,” he said.
And, of course, when show season does roll around, there’s less preparation that needs to be done.
“Not totally letting them down, they’re not that hard to get gathered back up,” Paul said.
According to Paul’s wife, Betsy, this “gathering back up” takes place around the same time each year.
“After the UPHA convention, you can walk in the barn and you can feel that the tide has turned,” she said.
For American Acres trainer Carol Jones, winter also brings a more subtle change, though it’s for a different reason. For her string of top western horses, turnout is part of the regular routine, as is trail riding around the barn in Little Rock, Ark.
“I’m fortunate to have wooded trails directly behind my training barn,” she said. “If a horse has too much energy to focus on learning, we go outside to the trails to work and then come back to more traditional arena work … It’s a valuable part of my overall training program.”
During the off season, the horses are switched to a lighter riding schedule, with increased trail riding and turnout time.
“They do get more pasture time in the cooler weather with fewer bugs,” she said.
When they do ride, they try to focus in on changes that could be made for next season.
“If they have had any particular issues during the show season, we also address those training issues by changing up methods and equipment to see if something works better for the horse,” Carol said.
While there is not a drastic difference from show season, Carol believes it works well for her horses.
“I feel like the change in length and intensity of work is enough for the horses to get a significant break,” she said.
When it comes to the off season, this is the most important thing to consider – the needs of the specific horse. Even the trainers who like to let their horses down completely do have exceptions of their own.
“Every horse has a bit of different situation,” Kent said. “If the horse is for sale, they don’t get let down but may go on a lighter work schedule for a few months – if possible, even a day of turnout or lunging. I’ve had others in the past that just didn’t like being let down at all, so we may just adjust their workload some to lighten it up.”
Conditioning can also present an issue, especially in older horses.
“Older horses we’ll keep them jogging to keep them fit,” Tiffany said. “We’ll jog them really quick in the morning, then that afternoon we’ll turn them outside to eat grass and play. For younger horses it’s not as big of a deal because they’ll run while they’re out.”
Sometimes a rider may need the winter months to practice with their horse. This year May has a 10 & under rider who is learning to canter and perform pattern work, so May put her horse in plates, and is reserving the first day of the week as turnout time while still keeping the horse up enough for the rider to practice.
“So she’s learning, but my horse is still getting what she needs,” May said.
Like Paul, May has also had her own share of tricksters who went rogue when fully let down.
“I have a couple I’ve learned I can’t give that complete time off because they’ll sometimes forget they were trained, but they’ll wear a bitting rig and every other day get turned out in a bitting rig,” she said. “It’s not an age thing, it’s a stage of training thing.”
Timing and Communication
For the horses that are totally let down, trainers have to put a lot of thought into the timing of things. Many barns, including Autumn Hills, let their horses down after the American Royal in November and start to bring them back to regular work around mid-January. Kent waits a little longer to start bringing them back into show shape.
“They will most likely have plates and pads until February or March,” he said. “This helps with hoof growth, especially one that may not have the best feet. We usually will start them back in February on a light work schedule and build back to a normal retain.”
However, in Texas the show season lasts into December and starts up again in February or March, so someone in that part of the country doesn’t have the option to wait that long.
“They only get literally about three to four weeks of complete mental health time,” May said of her horses.
May waits until the first of the year to start them back with quiet work in their plates, but even that is pushing the timeline.
“What price I do pay is that for those early shows – and I’m very upfront with my clients about this – their horses might not be Louisville ready, but that’s okay, we don’t want them Louisville ready in March,” she said. “When we get to summer and fall, we still have an animal with a fresh mind and fresh legs.”
There are countless ways to structure a horse’s routine during the off season. Different trainers employ methods based on their past experiences, geographical location and length of show season, but most importantly, based on the needs of each individual horse. If this is your first consideration, May said, there really is no right or wrong way to go about it.
“I don’t know if any one of us is smarter than the others,” May said. “I just like having a barn full of happy healthy horses, and I think we all do, we just go about it differently.”