12/30/2025
Time off is not a failure in a horse’s program — it is often a necessary part of good horsemanship. Physically, breaks allow joints, soft tissue, and backs to recover. Mentally, they let horses decompress, reset, and simply exist without constant demands. That reset is often what allows them to come back softer, happier, and more willing.
We see it all the time: horses return from a few weeks off brighter in their eye, more relaxed in their body, and more receptive to work. Conditioning comes back. Strength comes back. Confidence comes back. What doesn’t come back easily is burnout, soreness, or resentment if we never allow them a pause.
Winter is a season. Rest is a season too. Let horses be horses, let their bodies do what they are designed to do, and trust that thoughtful, consistent care over time matters far more than a perfectly uninterrupted training schedule.
Your horse isn’t behind. They’re cared for — and that is what actually counts.
Right. A gentle reality check for January brains.
Your horse has had two weeks off over Christmas.
You feel guilty.
You’re convinced they’ve lost all their muscle.
Your brain is telling you that you’re basically back to square one.
Pause.
They are horses. Not fitness influencers.
They do not care if they have missed schooling.
They are not spiralling about topline.
They are not lying in the field thinking, “Well that’s my season ruined.”
What they care about is this: Are they fed.
Are they warm enough.
Are they safe.
Are they allowed to be horses.
Two weeks off does not undo years of care.
Muscle memory exists. Bodies adapt. Horses are designed to cope with far more than a quiet December.
The pressure you feel right now is human pressure, not equine need.
You do not need to rush.
You do not need to punish yourself with a “restart from zero” mindset.
You do not need to prove anything in January.
Start where you are.
Do what you realistically have the time and energy for.
Let winter be winter.
Your horse is fine.
You’re allowed to be too.
