31 July 2010

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HORSE Magazine



Spend more time with your horse

Make yard work easier

Thursday 17 September 2009

Gemma Teed

Do you spend more time mucking out than hacking out? Here's our top five suggestions for gaining more time to ride:

1. Get organised
Buy in bulk everything you never want to run out of, from hay and bedding to fly spray and Polos. That way you'll save time-consuming trips to the tack shop and feed store, as well as allowing you to take advantage of discounts for bulk buying.

2. Use the weekend wisely
Prepare for the week ahead by cleaning tack, making up loads of haynets and doing a full muck out if you use the deep litter method during the week to save time.

3. Enlist a friend
Could you share yard duties with a friend? If you can agree to muck out, feed and turnout for each other one day a week, this frees up time to squeeze in an extra or a longer ride.

4. Minimise yard work
Consider investing in synthetic tack to minimise cleaning time, rubber matting to make mucking out a breeze, a tack trolley to reduce trips across the yard and neck covers for mud monsters to cut down on winter grooming.

5. Adapt your routine
Could you ride early before work instead of afterwards? Or would your other half like to mountain bike or walk the dog beside you while you ride – and then help out with the yard chores afterwards!

This is a short extract from a feature in the October issue of Horse, on sale from 17 September.