I love early mornings.
The sun is just starting to rise over the pink and orange hue in the periwinkle sky.
The cool breeze softens the brightness of the rising sun.
The road is quiet, with rarely any cars passing through. All there is to hear is the singing of the chirping birds and the clip-clop of your horse’s hooves against the concrete path that leads to the riding arena.
At this time, you get to start a fresh new page in your life.
You get to start over and try again.
My favorite time to ride is early in the morning, around 7:15 a.m. Almost no one is at the barn, so it is very quiet and calm. There aren’t lots of cars, and nothing loud is going on.
If you have a spooky or skittish horse, then choosing to ride in the early morning might be ideal. The atmosphere is usually calm, so your horse won’t get spooked as much. Then your horse can concentrate, and you can focus on your riding better.
(Although I recommend that you also ride later in the day, too, so your horse can get used to loud noises. If your horse is not used to loud noises, he can get spooked during a competition.)
Additionally, if you ride in the early morning, the riding arena will be excellent because it hasn’t been used that early. The arena would be freshly dragged, ensuring excellent footing.
No hoofprints.
No moved or knocked-over jumps.
No horse poop.
No rocks or holes in the arena.
However, if you ride late in the afternoon, several horses would have already been there. There would be bad footing, so your horse might trip. The jumps would be knocked over or moved, and horse poop would be everywhere.
If you have a riding instructor, it would be a good idea to have them teach you first thing in the morning.
Your instructor would be active, and their patience and eagerness would be at a whole other level. If you ride in the afternoon, they may be tired from all the lessons they have had or annoyed by their last one.
Depending on where you live, the weather can significantly impact your riding. Here in South Florida, it rains a lot in the summer, especially in the afternoons.
If you ride in the afternoons here, it can rain a lot and there are often thunderstorms, so I have to cut my riding lesson short.
Additionally, if you ride at night after a rain, the arena will be filled with puddles. If the arena has many puddles, your horse might slip, which could be dangerous.
I ride a lot in the early morning in the summer, so the weather is perfect: not too hot, not too humid, and not too rainy.
Last but definitely not least, your horse! Your horse would wake up, fresh, clean, and eager to start a lesson. They will be more motivated and focused. In the afternoon, they may be dirty (from being in the paddock).
Your horse can easily get distracted by other horses when you ride in the afternoon. If you ride in the morning, your horse can focus and then play with the other horses in the afternoon.
Also, if you ride in the afternoon, it might cut into your horse’s feeding time. Horses are usually fed dinner between 5:00 and 7:00 pm. So if you ride around those times, your horse might get hungry and not perform very well. He might get distracted by food and pull at you a lot.
Also, if you ride after your horse’s dinner, at 7:00, your horse might be too full to ride well. So, if you wait an hour, it will be too late at night to ride.
Horses are fed at around 4:00-5:00 AM and 6:00-7:00 PM. So if you ride at 7:00-7:30 AM, your horse will not be too full or hungry.
I like riding in the early morning very much.
Riding at that time is highly beneficial due to its numerous advantages compared to riding in the afternoon, including fabulous weather, a motivated and focused horse, and a freshly-dragged, immaculate riding arena.
I ride early whenever I can, and you should, too!